Activity 1: Introduction

This blog will form part of my Unitec Digital and Collaborative Learning course and as such will revolve around digital tools and pedagogy. I am Dorian Caudy, the HOD for Technology and eLearning facilitator at my school.

HOD of Technology, this is an interesting one. For me it encompasses all aspects of the Technology domain of learning including food technology, not that I am an expert and qualified to deliver all aspects of the technology curriculum. HOD of technology is a management role. Co-ordinating resources and day to day activities of the Technology department. Analysing staffing and deploying staff accordingly to support our tamariki in the best way possible to assist them along the pathway to success. The HOD role is also one of leadership. Curriculum decisions and staffing deployment will sometimes need to be led and staff may be asked to teach outside of their specialist subject area, especially in a small school such as ours. There is also the aspect of leading initiatives; elearning, standard alignment, culturally sensitive pedagogy, literacy, assessment for learning and more. Furthermore, the Technology department is a very expensive area of the school to operate if done well. There is a huge amount of capital invested in a Technology department and as such this capital equipment, machinery, must be kept up to safety standard to ensure safe operation during the school day. John Eggleston argues this point, “...managing the Design and Technology department is the most difficult management task in the school short of that of the head teacher”! (Eggleston 1996).

The curriculum in the department can also be quite fluid. As a HOD of a small department, the demands placed upon teachers to be more versatile in what they can deliver to the students and flexible about how tasks are resourced is tangible. As a Technology teacher I have taught in the following areas:

Generic Technology - essentially design thinking
Systems and Control - essentially design thinking from an electronic and engineering perspective up to level 3
Product Design - essentially taking inspiration from existing designers and redesigning products accordingly
Electro-technology - Unit standards
Automotive engineering - through MIT - unit standards
Mechanical engineering - through ITO - Competenz
Technology from the NZ curriculum especially standards that relate to implementing skills learned.
In 2016 I shall be delivering BCATs standards for a construction course.

However as a HOD I am also responsible for the performances of teachers within the department like Graphics, Home Economics and Hard Materials and the teachers delivering such subjects. It is a complex web of connections yet, myself and the members of the department form a community engaged around a common goal. The desire to lead students towards credit acquisition for the benefit of the academic progress and to follow a pathway to a career.

Here are some of the projects we have undertaken in the department thus far:-

The second aspect to the role I undertake is eLearing. We have embarked upon a process of improving the learning outcomes at our school and will be using SOME digital tools along the way. I teach Automotive Engineering and construction but have taught systems and control topics up to level 3. It is my aim to make more productive use of the Google Apps for Education suite to enhance the experiences of the students and empower them to keep exploring the digital age in new and innovative ways.

References:

Eggleston, J. (1996). Teaching design and technology. Buckingham [England]: Open University Press.