About+Me

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Having spent many years working in the I.T. related fields of technology interfacing and system management, I made the transition to teaching. With my previous experience and qualifications, I readily took to math and technology related subjects. I also realized that I had the necessary skills to readily integrate the use of technology into my pedagogy and use the advantages of teaching through technology as leverage to engage and empower my students.

My activities at present see me working in cooperation with organizations, with the aim of promoting technology integration to educators. The four axes of my current focus are Corporate Work, Professional Development, Research Activities and Consultancy. I hope to be able to assist educators to realize and utilize the advantages of forming professional learning communities, where the fruits of working together greatly outweigh the sum of the individual skills and knowledge.





o **Software Solutions Advisor for Schools** As a Heulab representative and Business Manager, I am able to supply schools with complete software solutions for their digital classrooms. Heulab applications are central to my promotion of a collaborative and communicative learning environment with a strong focus on future technologies and digital inking tools which enable the full productivity of computers.

o **Teacher Training and Systems Implementation** Maintaining a presence at schools during the implementation phase as well as the initial training of staff is essential to promote the use of technology in the classroom. Teacher training involves not only software usage instruction but also focuses on the pedagogy of teaching with technology.

o **Project Officer – Partner organization liaison for large scale implementations** Leasing with educational organizations in the implementation of professional programs ensures that a structured approach to implementation, training, P.D., usage and feedback is achieved. Project work is one way in which the building of professional learning communities is achieved.



o **Video and media application for teaching with technology** The age of visual communication is upon us and the more our students engage with rich media sources such as web, video and animation, the more accustomed they become to this type of medium. In comparison, text books and paper just don’t measure up. In this PD course focuses on bringing the advantages of teaching and communicating through video media sharply into focus for educators. Most of all, I hope to leave the participants with a set of practical skills and examples which will make a real difference in their classroom.

o **The pedagogy of tablet PC usage in the classroom** Tablet computers with digital inking have the potential to revolutionize the classroom and the way in which we teach. In these sessions I seek to provide educators with practical examples of the advantages of using tablet computers. I also hope that educators will come away with a more informed view of how the move toward a total digital learning environment will benefit their teaching.



o **Indigenous student engagement through math software** I am presently assisting researchers involved in federally funded research projects which focus on indigenous students and the teaching of maths. My input to the project involves the implementation of math software which seeks to increase student engagement and thinking skills. I am responsible for teacher training for the math software and oversee its implementation. As well as this, I make observations of in-class usage to assess the software’s viability.

o **Video usage for data collection, reporting and assessment** My involvement in research projects also involves the implementation of systems to enable researchers to collect data in the form of video. Computer based screen capture software is utilized and teachers as well as students are trained in its usage. This video evidence is used for benchmarking and the assessment of progress through-out the project.



o **One to One program implementation and ramp-up planning** For schools considering one to one notebook or tablet programs, the choice of software will ultimately govern the productivity of students and teachers. In regard to software I offer advice on which Heulab applications will be best suited to the school’s needs. Implementation of software packages and training in advance of computer purchases can make for a smooth transition. This ramp-up planning and implementation is vital to the success of any one to one rollout.

o **Organizational level I.T. skills auditing and road mapping ** Assessing the readiness of teaching staff for a digital learning initiative is always the first step in designing a training schedule. I offer assessment of staff’s I.T. abilities and assist schools in mapping out a training regime and technology uptake schedule which will pace staff member’s computer skills with the technology implementation schedule.

 Mark Christensen (Business Manager) mark@heulab.com