Take me to the desert...

In the June break this year, I was one of the lucky few who had the privilege (pardon the cliché, but it truly was) of heading up to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the central Australian desert for the Education, Practice and Place elective here at Melbourne Uni.  I was placed in the senior girls’ class at Ernabella Community School, and to say it was an incredible experience is an understatement. 

 

                                                                  Pasta Day at the school

Pukatja (the town formerly known as Ernabella, its name from mission days) is situated about five and a half hours’ drive south-west of Alice Springs, in South Australia, and has a population of around 3-400.  For the sake of my ICT blog, I will attempt to post a link to Google Maps for the benefit of my broad readership!

 http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Also for the sake of my blog, let’s talk ICT.  It’s quite amazing what can be achieved, and what fantastic resources can be created when teachers have a great deal of both time and resources at their disposal.  There were smartboards in every classroom, and as opposed to the token board I have noticed sitting in a back corridor of my placement school this semester, they actually get used (to be fair, so does the smartboard at my placement school, but as far as I have witnessed, solely to play films).

 

Many of the impressive ICT-based learning resources I saw in action in the Lands came from teachers staying at school until as late as 10pm of an evening, plus weekends.  Their dedication is truly honourable, but their lifestyle is also limited outside of the school environment.  I doubt that many urban teachers would be prepared or even able to put in those kind of hours, in addition to living their lives.  Almost impossible!

 

However, the resources do point to the potential of ICT for engaging students, notably students who may historically have faced challenges in connecting with the ‘standard’ classroom environment.  This can be as simple as PowerPoint storytime – see the link (fingers crossed)* to a PowerPoint I made for one of my lessons up there.  Many of the school library’s books have been scanned for this purpose; all the students can see the pictures and read along with the words.  This may be more suitable for primary levels, but it is a simple idea, and representative of the plethora of concepts and tools that teachers on the Lands utilise to enhance their classroom practice.  They are, quite simply, inspirational.

                                                                    A Pukatja sunrise

*no such luck, but it's quite self-explanatory...I hope.