Using One Note
Throughout the year, our Year 7 students have been learning how to download curriculum materials from the student common drive and to organise materials into English digital notebooks which are set up for different tasks. A most efficient feature of One Note software is that that it automatically saves material and with the use of search buttons students are always able to retrieve their work. An additional feature which comes as an intrinsic part of tablet computers is the pen or stylus, enabling students to highlight, draw and write notes on documents in a way that makes note-taking easily accomplished on screen. Recently, some of the Year 7 students have joined a Year 7 ning, communicating around the class about the books they have enjoyed reading. The closed nature of the ning means that the teacher is able to invite students into the site, making it secure for all contributors. As well as text contributions, students can engage in discussion, post images and create individualised pages. With the teacher monitoring discussion through presenting challenging questions about their reading, students are able to develop higher order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. With this innovative use of computer technology there is lively engagement with a wide range of books and authors, encouraging students to share the joys of reading and the pleasure of interacting with others.
Connecting with the World
"To succeed in the world, all students need to develop capacities to manage themselves as individuals in relation to others; to understand the world in which they live; and to act effectively in that world."
[VCAA, Victorian Essential Learning Standards – Overview]
In Year 9, the study of the classic novel, 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' is linked to a Human Rights Project which is designed to alert students to the issues of Human Rights in our world and thus provide a global perspective to their learning. The methodology for the Project focuses on providing opportunities for students to be resourceful, independent and collaborative learners, while teachers take on the role of mentor and guide. The use of technology is an integral part of the Project for research and publication of their writing. Accessing the excellent web sites designed by the United Nations, Amnesty International and the BBC, students locate and research a selected issue which then becomes the focus of their speech for the Year 9 Orator of the Year Award. Assuming the role of a magazine writer and designer, students compose an article to be published in a magazine titled 'React' whose targeted audience is readers of mid to late teenage years. As well as the article, students design a creative front cover for the 'React' magazine and write reports on their chosen social issues such as world poverty, homeless youth and racial discrimination. In this study of world problems, students are highly engaged as independent, resourceful and collaborative learners. The following is the work of Imogen Walsh. (The audio track has had to be removed for copyright reasons).
Similarly, the Year 10 electronic magazine, 'Expanding Horizons 2009,' intended for a wider public audience, engages students in a collaborative project which affirms and gives a voice to their personal learning experiences in America, Canada, England, New Zealand and Outback Australia. Designing a Web Page provides students with the opportunity for exploring the way in design features such as colour, layout, font and visual images are used to enhance the written text. In their different ways, both the Year 9 and Year 10 Projects provide for students' personalised learning through participating in a project they believe to be important and relevant [Victorian Essential Learning Standards, Level 6]
In addition, the English curriculum provides a broad range of imaginative texts through which students can extend their understanding of the world in which they live by connecting with worlds beyond their own. In Year 11, the study of 'No Great Mischief' connects students with the significance of exterior and interior landscape in the lives of the Clan MacDonald who settled in Nova Scotia while opening up opportunities for students' reflections on the significance of landscape in their own lives. The historical background for texts deepens understanding of individual and collective experiences in different times and different places. In Year 7 ('The Silver Donkey') and Year 10 ('The Divine Wind') the novels opened up rich opportunities for students to discover more about the influences of events which shaped people's lives.
Writing - the World of the Imagination
An integral part of the English curriculum is entering the realms of the imagination through creative writing. It is through the creative act of writing that students can also feel empowered either through inventing their own imagined worlds, or through giving voice to their own personal experiences. In the popular Journalism Elective, students work in a simulated newspaper office to create a magazine for a student audience. The English Department at Ruyton has an enviable reputation for excellence in creative writing, evident in the number of students whose work has been published over the years. This year has been no exception with five pieces of students’ writing appearing in 'Inscape 14,' a Literary Magazine for VCE students. Our own competition, 'The Isobelle Carmody Award,' is a significant event in the calendar as is the 'Boroondara Literary Awards' (BLA) where we have had notable and continued successes over the years. Now in its sixteenth year, 'The Isobelle Carmody Award' for Creative Writing is an annual event that not only generates much enthusiasm but also profiles the imaginative talents of our students and their facility with the written word. The opening lines of novels, used as the theme for 2009, triggered a great diversity of narratives. We are also fortunate in having our own Literary Magazine, 'Scripsi,' for the publication for students' personal narratives, fictional stories, poetry and speeches.
The Art of Public Speaking
In addition to creative writing, the art of Public Speaking continues to reach standards of excellence at all levels in the School. In Years 7-10, students present a speech to the class as part of their English course with a Grand Final for the Orator of the Year Award. In the Suzanne Northey Award (Year 11) and the Alan Patterson Award (Year 12), we see the culmination of talent in the art of public speaking that students have developed over the years.