NEWS: Innovation in action

IT was a memorable moment for Flight BPF creative thinkers Emilia Miranda, Marise Brandao and Marli Fiorentin when they won third place in the Innovation in Collaboration category of the Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards.

The project saw the Brazilian, Portuguese and French teachers offering students the opportunity to experience borderless collaborative learning through the Internet.

»The use of technology in education is the starting point for students to develop problem-solving and collaborative skills« RALPH YOUNG

Operating from their respective countries, the trio had elementary and high school students read Brazilian writer Claudio Fragata’s book Seis Tombos e um Pulinho (Six Tumbles and One Small Leap) — a narration of the life and contribution of aviator Santos Dumont — before getting them to share their work and thoughts on a blog,
voobpf.blogspot.com.

The students then had to choose from specific classroom subjects to work on, from Portuguese and Geography to Arts and Computing.

An online learning initiative like this certainly takes the sharing of knowledge, skills and experiences among students to a new high.

Winner of the Innovative Teacher of the Year award, Andrew Douch is one forward-thinking and resourceful teacher at Wanganui Park Secondary College in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.

Three years ago, the tech-savvy man came up with a brilliant solution to make the most out of only 200 minutes of class time a week with his secondary school students. He incorporated podcasting into his pedagogy.

Since then, the motivated innovator has not looked back, for that solution not only helped him prepare students for their exams but also got him to redefine classroom teaching and learning.

The outcome? The birth of his Anywhere, Anytime Biology Class.

Instead of listening to teacher talk in class, his students have the option of tuning in to his podcast episodes at their preferred time and place, be it day or night, whether they are in the gym or out in the park.

“That way, we can fully utilise class time for practical,” said Douch, who also adopts the use of a website, discussion board, blog, and interactive media in his teaching and learning.

If you think that his students are the only beneficiaries of his innovation, think again. His interesting Biology podcasts, complete with music and sound effects, have a listening audience of an estimated 3,000 students from 22 countries.

Flight BPF’s Marli Fiorentin (left) and Marise Brandao won third place in the Innovation in Collaboration category.

Highlighting the advantage of podcasting, Douch, who won first place in the Innovation in Community category, said: “Students who have been sick and missed their Biology lessons can benefit from podcasting too. All they need to do is to download the podcasts from the Internet, listen to them, and participate in online discussions.” (For more information, visit
andrewdouch.com.au).

Nothing motivates like success. It was to rousing applause that the winners of the Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards were announced. There were four categories of awards — Innovation in Collaboration, Innovation in Community, Innovation in Content as well as the Educator’s Choice Award.

Among those who bagged awards were Nathan Kerr from New Zealand, Parambir Singh Kathait from India, Dan Roberts from the United Kingdom, Fong Yin Kuan from Singapore and Pongpanote Phongpanngam from Thailand.