Gender

Female

Location

ARMIDALE NSW 2350,

Birthday:

March 18

School / Work Affiliation

ICT Project Officer, UNE

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/learningcontract11448457/

Skype, Twitter, or Other Accounts

hihelen18

About Me

Helen Doyle, wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend and an educator. Being an educator encompasses all areas of my life as well as all my roles. I must be one of the few adults who still know more about computers than their offspring!! My parents have owned a computer since the very early 1980's and were possibly one of the first farmers to use them. I believe in the philosophy of "If you feed a man a fish, he will eat today but if you teach him to fish, he will eat for a lifetime". I have had a varied career. Started out Nursing but had to leave due to health reasons and then spent the next years of my life being a management accountant as well as educating people to use their computer software in the most efficient and effective way. I have also created and maintained websites for clients. In 2008, I retrained as a High School HSIE teacher as I believed that I could make a difference to kids lives if they were taught financial literacy as well as ICT skills. I learnt from my teacher friends that there were very few trained teachers comfortable using ICT in their classrooms. I believed passionately (and still do) that I had a very important role to play as 1:1 computers were introduced into schools. I live at Kellys Plains, near Armidale, NSW. In the past I have taught Years 7 - 10 HSIE (History, Geography, Commerce, Civics and Citizenship) and HSC Business Studies. I am qualified to teach Economics and Legal Studies as well. I am passionate about schools providing extra curricular activities and in 2010 was the Horse Sports Coordinator at the school I was teaching at. My aims and objectives are to improve the uptake of ICT in the school (teachers and students) as well as work on gaining improved ICT facilities. I consider myself to be a Digital Learning Facilitator. Currently I am in the third semester of a Graduate Diploma of ICT (Education) through Charles Sturt University receiving a part scholarship to enable me to study. I plan to study for a Masters in ICT (Education) on the completion of this degree. My goal is to gain a position that enbales me to work fulltime as a Digital Learning Facilitator as I believe that this is where I can make the most difference in the lives of our kids. If their teachers can use the technology to make the most engaging and empowering experience for their students, I will be very happy. I have experienced first hand a child who had written not one word for 3 terms, suddenly write over 50 blog entries when part of a connected classroom project and a mediocre student provide the most heartwrenching video on earthquakes when given an option of how to present her WebQuest on Natural Disasters. I have marked University ICT in Education papers and this has taught me that there is a long way to go until we get all graduating teachers on the same page as far as having a basic knowledge of ICT goes as well as them knowing how to implement them into the classroom and the curriculum. My youngest daughter last year commenced her teaching career at the Tibooburra School of the Air and I encourage her in her use of technology and try to be a mentor for her, so that she can use the technology that is in place in her classroom. http://www.tibooburra-d.schools.nsw.edu.au/. In 2011 she is working as the STLA corodinator for the BSEG and she is undertaking a Masters in Special Education and she will continue her interest in ICT as well. My eldest daughter, is studying Special Education teaching and likewise I try and mentor her as well as forward information her way that I come across in her field. I avidly follow the blogs of some of Australia's most innovative educators, Martin Levins, Chris Betcher and Judy O'Connell. Their blogs can be found in the useful links link.