Student Led Conferences go digital!

 STUDENT LED CONFERENCE ACCEPTS INVITATION FROM OUR 21C CLASSROOM: SLC INVITES GO DIGITAL!!

With the seamless integration of technology into our every teaching practice, the search for new and innovative ways to share student learning in a digital format is constantly at the forefront of my mind. Planning and delivering a student-centered program that aims to cater to each individual’s needs and strengths, while equipping them with the necessary tools required to not only participate, but excel in a digitally literate world, really are ‘big’ areas of focus for 21^st Century teachers like myself.

At the Australian International School we are conscious that our students operate in an increasingly digital and global world. The use of ‘Technology’ in my classroom is very highly valued and promoted. I believe technology can provide a platform from which my students are encouraged to research, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, innovate, create and present in ways which celebrate individuality and creativity, as well as connecting them in a collaborative sense with their peers.

“Technology amplifies my pedagogy, inspires my students and produces multimodal pieces of work that can be shared globally with the click of a button!”

For our Student-Led Conferences (S.L.C) this year, my class embraced the idea of co-constructing multimodal invites that were presented in a digital format to their parents, prior to the event.

The students’ presentations were recorded and then uploaded to our class website. A uniquely individual ‘QR Code’ was then generated for each student and printed on his or her family’s S.L.C invitation. QR stands for ‘Quick Response Code’ and is a machine-readable optical label that contains intelligence about the item to which it is attached. Using a ‘QR Code Reader’ the parents were able to simply hold their device over the code and the magic of technology took them directly to our class website and their child’s recorded invitation.

The feedback received from our parent community regarding this type of approach to S.L. was overwhelmingly positive, with many stating the highlight of the invitation was the chance it provided them to be more actively involved in their child’s learning experience. 

As an educator in a classroom where 1:1 iPads are a reality, I really enjoyed the opportunity to engage and interact with my community of learners in a new and innovative way. I invite all of you to explore the challenge of going ‘digital’ where possible. I promise you’ll be asking yourself why you didn't do it sooner.

Michaela Dalgleish

Year 2 Teacher

Australian International School