Project Team
Professor John Hedberg – Professor of ICT and Education, School of Education, Macquarie University. Executive Director Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre
Meredith Ash – Director, Public Schools NSW
Myra Wearne – Principal, North Sydney Demonstration School
Cathie Howe – Professional Learning and Leadership Coordinator. Manager Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre
Michael Stevenson – Researcher CC21. Doctoral Student and Casual Academic, Macquarie University
Participating Schools
Artarmon PS, Beaumont Hills PS, Carlingford West PS, Killara HS, Chatswood HS, Turramurra HS, St Ives HS, Pymble PS, Manly West PS, Killara PS, John Purchase PS, Quakers Hill PS, Epping North PS, Hilltop Road PS, Barnier PS, William Dean PS, Regentville PS
The Showcase
The culmination of our 8 month “Researching Connected Communities 21” project with 17 primary and high schools and over 100 teachers, executives and Principals was held in the form of a showcase at Macquarie University on Tuesday, 10th September. Two key ideas were used to frame the showcase: “Tell you story” and “Why learning matters” as these encapsulated what we had been exploring in our workshops, school visits and data analysis.
After welcoming everyone including teachers, school executives, academics, parents, students and pre-service teachers, Meredith Ash told a personal story about why students matter and why we need to consider student voice when we look at curriculum, pedagogy and technology. Myra Wearne followed with a personal story on why teachers matter and when looking at curriculum, pedagogy and technology why we need to consider their professional learning needs. Professor John Hedberg concluded this segment of the showcase with a story on why research matters including the importance of evidence based practice.
After showing a video mashup of the project, guests were then invited to visit each school’s stand where schools had set up displays showcasing highlights of their involvement in CC21. Displays included work samples, photographs and video content. Guests were able to chat with project participants including students from project schools about what they had done to embrace change in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and technology and how they plan to sustain and scale best practice into the future.
You can find out more about the project here. You can also visit the active Community Blog where all the teacher involved shared their experiences, advice, questions and successes by clicking here.
An air of excitement filled the showcase as project participants animatedly shared their stories with the guests.
Congratulations to all the participating schools and staff members who contributed to such a successful showcase.
Many guests appreciated the openness of schools in sharing information and resources.
It was wonderful to see student representatives from various schools interacting with guests and explaining their projects and the technologies they used.
All around the room CC21 project participants were engaged in meaningful conversations with guests. All were happy to share their stories.
Project Mashup Video
Congratulations to all 102 participants in the Connected Communities 21 project. It has been an absolute pleasure for the project team to work with so many different schools and to see and hear your unique stories of how your school is embracing change and transforming practice through a focus on curriculum, pedagogy and technology.
