MIT14

What is the plan for my MIT 2014 project?

Improving NCEA success with blended learning.


I am looking at how to extend my use of blended learning at Levels 1, 2 and 3 in Design and Visual
Communication, and how this can raise the achievement of the students.

As I have a junior class again, this will also used in the junior school with the target that it prepares students for choosing DVC at Level 1.

In DVC, the students have to produce a lot of work on paper in the form of sketches and rendered drawings. They also make 3D models. I want to focus on how this is blended together with online work and how using more interactive online content can enhance the experience in DVC.

The Manaiakalani research report recommends a focus on accelerating student progress to enable our students to succeed and I want to look at how blended learning can achieve this. I have been working on this during 2013 with the use of cameras, scanning and more use of online design tools so that the students can work at home more.

I want continue working to significantly increase the number of students achieving merit in my subject and up to excellence, by capitalising on the digital learning environment I am building, to accelerate success.

Key points...

• What online design tools can we use to extend the work and experience of the students? If they can do more design thinking outside of the classroom, we will have more class time for development, group activities for support and higher thinking skills. 
• As a technology Department, we have been working on embedding SOLO taxonomy into the project preparation for the students. How can I enforce this thinking by using online tools and support to enable the students access to the higher end of the taxonomy into Extended Abstract. 
• How can the students analyse what they are doing in a more effective way, that shows a deeper understanding? This is a key point in raising the achievement from achieved into the merit and excellence levels. 
• Getting NZQA on board so that for the external submission, we still send the original drawings but everything else that the students have completed in their projects stays online on their individual Google sites.

Here are the blog posts that are to do with my MIT14 research.