I hope everybody’s enjoying their holiday at the moment. I’ve already seen a couple of people, but I know I’ll catch up with more of you during the week.

I’ve just been looking at a few things and thought about where we’ve got to so far with CENet. A number of classes are already under development, and it may be that you will want to start sharing those classes with others very soon. This may involve giving your colleagues access rights, or even rights to assist you in maintaining the class.

To help you with this next step, I’ve put together a little video which shows you how it’s done. This was made with a fantastic piece of software called Jing. Jing’s is a free program available for Windows or Mac that can take still images of your computer desktop, or record short movies with sound of what you do on your desktop. The movies can then be saved in a flash format and shared with others (like we’re doing here!). It could be a great tool for capturing a demonstration of something you want children to do on the computer for their later reference. It could also allow students to capture how they do something on the computer so the rest of the class can learn how - endless possibilities!

swf (Flash) file, 5MB

Last Wednesday, we got through the first week of CENet training.  From an organiser’s point of view, I was impressed we got through the meeting with over 20 laptops wirelessly connected to the network and without the internet grinding to an absolute halt.  That would have been impossible when I started this LTC gig!

Don’t forget your CENet homework!  Make sure you complete the survey and send it to me by Friday!

In an earlier post, I explained a little of CENet and how it would be introduced as a learning tool to St. Michael’s this year.

Well, the time is now.  Next week, we will begin our first of several staff meetings this term of CENet training.

After several meetings with Ian from Learning Technologies at CEO, and several discussions within the Leadership Team, we have managed to draft together an implementation plan that will take us to the end of 2007 and into next year.

The focus for the remainder of this year will be to integrate our introduction of CENet into our work on HSIE.  Our HSIE professional development this term will focus on the Inquiry Process and the skills and processes that underpin the HSIE curriculum.  With CENet we will create learning resources that will support our teaching of HSIE units next year.  CENet then will be a tool that helps us in engaging students in parts of the inquiry process.

One of the presentations made at the Leading Technologies for Learning forum last Thursday was a brief introduction to CENet. The main question it tried to answer is, “What is CENet?”

CENet is a Virtual Learning Environment

A short answer, but one perhaps requiring further explanation and detail, is “a Virtual Learning Environment” (VLE). CENet brings together a range of facilities for the management and conduct of online learning and teaching. The main facility our schools will most likely use is that called myclasses, where online learning activities can be managed, shared and undertaken. Around and within this are other features such as web-based email for staff and students, file storage, forums and discussion boards, and resource collections, such as the Learning Federation learning objects. Essentially, CENet takes our school Intranet concept further, providing features such as home access, sharing and collaboration tools that were beyond our means as an individual school to provide.

Above is a screenshot of a CENet class I created as a test, given that I have had absolutely no training whatsoever. The creation process took no more than a minute.

The best answer I have at present about what is CENet is this:

CENet is what you make of it.

OK, this sounds like a cop-out, I know, but it’s true! CENet is a collection of tools that give us the opportunity to engage our students in relevant, meaningful and exciting 21st Century learning. The CENet experience in other dioceses reflects a range of use and quality of use from one teacher to the next. Quite simply, exceptional use of CENet relies on a sound, contemporary teaching and learning pedagogy.

CENet is part of our school’s Professional Learning and Learning Technology Agendas for 2007 and beyond

Initial training and professional learning for CENet will commence later this year once we establish a timeframe with the Learning Technologies team at CEO. From that initial PD, we will need to continue to commit ourselves to developing not only the skills required to operate CENet, but to ensuring quality teaching and learning to make the CENet journey worthwhile.

All staff now have access to CENet through the “Resources” menu in Staffnet. A default password has been set (available from the LTC), which can be changed after you first enter CENet to match your password for Novell/Staffnet/GroupWise/etc.