T21-1 Synthesis

Introducing the Course Project

For the Synthesis component for the course we will take a lot of “ingredients” gathered in this class and “cook up” a project. This week we look at the project requirements, and start considering options. The requirements for this project are flexible to allow you to choose a project topic that is relevant to your work role but your choice should be something new for you.

You are to develop a comprehensive plan for a technology initiative that will incorporate a range of ideas and/or proposals presented during the class. The scope may be for a single class, a group of classes, a complete school or group of schools. The chosen technology initiative should go beyond using particular software or hardware in a classroom. The use of technology for the development of 21st century skills should be very evident in the project.

The project could involve one or more of the following but is not limited to this list. You could do a project of your own choosing that has a similar scope to the options shown below.

1. A unit plan that uses technology to incorporate 21st century skills. Eg a collaborative project with a school in another country or a unit where your students will develop short audio or video presentations and publish them as podcasts.
2. A staff development program to prepare teachers to use technology to incorporate 21st century skills.
3. An implementation plan for using a learning management system in a school.
4. An implementation plan for using ICT to facilitate a collaborative network for teachers.
5. An implementation plan for introducing 1 to 1 laptops. (This could become a very large project and we are mindful of your time. If you choose a big-picture plan, you may need to limit the depth of detail. Alternatively you could focus on one aspect of the implementation such as staff professional development in which case it will be similar to #2.)

If you wish to ask questions about the project, please use the Questions forum.

Next week we examine 21st century skills.