In the spotlight
By Ms Lisa Plenty, Director of Digital Learning and Innovation
It may go without saying, but in an era of significant technological change, the digital learning and innovation space at Radford does not stay still long. I have the great privilege of working across the College and leading the digital learning and innovation staff team. This team includes our Digital Learning Coach, Mr Eric Jensen, and our Intranet Administrator, Ms Harriet Huynh. Both are exceptional colleagues - intelligent, experienced and dedicated. They make team leadership a dream!
From a macro perspective, our team helps to inform and lead Radford’s strategic direction for the use of learning technology. Key focus areas currently include the transition to College-provided devices for Years 4-12; cyber safety education; the College position on artificial intelligence and overseeing our College portal and Secondary School learning management system, Nexus.
On a day-to-day basis, Eric and I work mostly with teachers, to guide and support their use of classroom technology. We design professional learning resources and sessions to help teachers build skills and understand the digital learning landscape. Eric has the enviable opportunity to co-teach in classrooms, promoting successful and valuable digital learning. He is well-known to students and is always greeted like a celebrity during Junior School visits.
Harriet manages all aspects of Nexus and she does amazing work to maintain what has become a very big and important College system. Harriet works strategically and with a vision to ensure everything runs smoothly. I am very grateful for her expertise in managing the vast array of requirements.
In addition to our core team, we have four Digital Learning Leaders who support the implementation of the Junior School Digital Technologies Curriculum. Ms Bella Dalton, Mrs Emma Booth, Ms Janine Crookes and Mrs Taryn Fisher are all classroom teachers with a passion for digital learning.
We also work closely with our dedicated IT services team, and I feel fortunate to collaborate daily with such great colleagues.
As we work in a transformational space, we seek to be agile and regularly review our practices and focus. We view our commitment to learning-focused technology use, along with our students’ digital literacy and well-being, as a shared responsibility with families. We have considerable resources for parents available on Nexus. In addition, we subscribe to the Cyber Safety Project parent webinar series, through which we receive valuable insights and advice from experts regarding the best learning opportunities of technology, within the parameters of student safety and well-being.