Discussion

Technologies Education

Discussion is an important aspect of learning. While you are free to engage in the course how you wish, there may be times when you wish to ask questions and discuss concepts raised during the course.

Lectures are tightly structured for a large number of participants, and while there is some scope to ask questions during lectures, and we will use a range of technologies to enable you as a group to engage with course concepts in a question/response format, there is not the opportunity for true discussion.

Tutorials are the primary course structure to facilitate detailed discussion and you are encouraged to raise any aspect of the course during tutorials and we will discuss these.

Discussion

In addition, we have a Facebook group that you can join and use to discuss aspects of the course. While Dr Zagami will participate, you are encouraged to respond to each others posts and have indepth discussion on the concepts and approaches suggested in the course, share resources and lesson ideas, and support each other in preparing to teach the Technologies learning area.

Over time, NAO will also be participating in discussions, and will eventually be available 24/7 to answer and discuss all aspects of the course, but NAO is not quite ready for that responsibility yet, still learning and building a database of questions and appropriate responses.

Regular announcements and reminders will be posted by Dr Zagami to the facebook group and also to Learning@Griffith that will send emails to your university email address, you should check this regularly or set up email forwarding to an address you do check regularly.


  • Look for ideas that are different from yours.
  • Whose ideas raise new questions?
  • In what ways can you build on other’s ideas?

If you need to have formal communication with the course convenor, Dr Zagami, for example to raise an issue about the course or another student, this must be done using your university email to Dr Zagami's university email j.zagami@griffith.edu.au as this ensures confidentiality and a comprehensive record of formal communication is maintained. If it is extremely urgent, e.g. life threatening or an imminent apocalypse, a message can be left on Dr Zagami's voicemail via 0755528454, but generally, email is a faster and more effective way of contacting Dr Zagami.

While Dr Zagami can be available by appointment for consultation on campus or via email/phone/videoconference for significant course issues, consultations are not opportunities for personal tutoring or sycophancy. Questions about course concepts, assessment, etc. should be first addressed by reading the extensive details on the course website, raised in tutorials, or on the Facebook discussion group. If a consultation is required, you are requested to provide details in your emailed appointment request on what the consultation will involve to assist Dr Zagami in preparing a response for the consultation to address your issue. Please consider if the questions can be better addressed in tutorials, on the Facebook discussion group, or with an email to Dr Zagami. While not adverse to meeting with you by any means if it is the best alternative, trivial consultations can be annoying with well over 100 students in the course, and this being just one of several courses taught by Dr Zagami. In any event, chocolate is always appreciated.