As the lead teacher for ICT in my Team I have used two different ways of supporting my team members this Term as they are at different stages and have different needs and also have individual personal ICT Goals for this year which link to their performance management at the end of the year.
For TG and RT who don't have projectors in their classrooms I provided individual support within their class. So each was given a block of my release where I discussed with them in advance what they would like to work on then went into their class and helped them achieve this. RT was keen to do a photostory with a group of capable children and also for the teacher aide to observe and participate so she could assist in the future. We successfully made a photostory for the letter p with the children finding lots of things beginning with that letter and taking photos which were then uploaded into a photostory which the children added transitions, titles and music to. They were very keen and RT then went on to make a photostory on popcorn which was part of our Pod 1 assembly this Term.
TG was keen also to do a photostory which we did for the letter m which had been their letter of the week for the previous week and so the children had already discussed items beginning with that letter. After that we introduced the children to their class knowledgeNET page which TG is developing together with me at the moment. The children played reading and maths games and practised logging on and browsing through the different areas.
For JL and WD who are new projector users this year I invited them to observe in my room. JL wanted to observe maths and so I had a group doing a smartboard activity using interactive number dice and adding them then completing the word and number problems. I had planned to have a group using rainforest maths which is a fantastic website which I secured a username and password for at the beginning of the year but which I feel I have been neglecting a bit! Unfortunately the site was under maintenance so we were unable to use the planned for activity. However, I was able to use another knowledgeNET link to a similar activity and showed JL how I hyperlink to my worksheets and websites and smartboard activities from my weekly plan which she found helpful.
WD observed a group doing blogging on my class computers. Unfortunately we are in the middle of changing over internet provider and so the internet was fluctuating. However, we managed to get all 4 children in the group to view a poem in one of our blog friends blogs and they then orally told me a comment which I scribed in their writing books and they posted. We had to do one at a time on one computer which was the only one working but it was ok because I always anticipate there will be problems and had paper publishing for the group to work on while they took turns blogging. Luckily though this was my teaching group and I wasn't having to manage something else at the same time! I also had a group working with my teacher aide on our letter of the week g and finding objects with a g - goat sound and a g - gel sound and separating these into 2 groups. The children then took digital photos which I uploaded to our class blog.
I really enjoy supporting other people but every time I do some sharing or have someone observing I am reminded how organised and prepared you have to be thinking through what might happen so that when it does you are not caught out! The best advice I can offer during technical difficulties is stay calm and if all else fails flag it and move on!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Term 2 Unconferences
We have held 2 successful unconference sessions (week 3 and week 7) this Term which have really benefitted staff and had a positive effect on ICT integration throughout the school. We thought about holding e-cafes before and after school throughout the Term but decided instead on 2 blocks after school from 3-5pm with workshops which people signed up for. The expectation was to attend at least 2 of the sessions each time as this is providing staff with support to achieve their individual ICT Goal which forms part of their performance management.
The first unconference covered KnowledgeNET - setting up class pages, Inquiry - sharing what each of the different Pods (Year 0-2, Year 3-4 and Year 5-6) had done in Term 1 when we had a big focus on inquiry throughout the school on different topics. The last session was on Photostory which staff who attended Learning@schools had learned about. This is a fantastic, easy to use slideshow program which is free to download and can be worked on off-line which benefits those of us who have internet difficulties!
The second unconference covered blogging - ideas for putting things on to your blog and how to integrate using blogging in to reading and writing time and smartboard tools with a particular focus on using SMART notebook with projectors as we only have 1 smartboard per year level at the moment.
I have now presented at the Cluster share last Term, held a blogging session during the Term 1 holidays and shared at two in-school unconferences. I am holding a session on KnowledgeNET class pages for the junior team in the Term 2 holidays and also presenting at the Cluster Expo and KP and I will be holding a blogging wine and nibbles evening early in Term 3 to further support staff. I am lucky to have some extra release time to prepare for all this.
I am wondering where to next for myself as I am always keen to help others and learn new things to extend my skills and knowledge which is essential if you are in a lead role, however, I am finding it a struggle to maintain the high standards I expect from myself with regard to my classroom teaching and at the same time build my integration of ICT skills further while at the same time supporting my team and other staff members and still make time for further professional development myself! I hope I can have more opportunities to attend professional development during release time so I can fully focus my attention on this vital area. We have gained good momentum with staff motivation and application of new ideas and this has been largely due to the release that has been available. I think release to prepare allows quality support for others.
The first unconference covered KnowledgeNET - setting up class pages, Inquiry - sharing what each of the different Pods (Year 0-2, Year 3-4 and Year 5-6) had done in Term 1 when we had a big focus on inquiry throughout the school on different topics. The last session was on Photostory which staff who attended Learning@schools had learned about. This is a fantastic, easy to use slideshow program which is free to download and can be worked on off-line which benefits those of us who have internet difficulties!
The second unconference covered blogging - ideas for putting things on to your blog and how to integrate using blogging in to reading and writing time and smartboard tools with a particular focus on using SMART notebook with projectors as we only have 1 smartboard per year level at the moment.
I have now presented at the Cluster share last Term, held a blogging session during the Term 1 holidays and shared at two in-school unconferences. I am holding a session on KnowledgeNET class pages for the junior team in the Term 2 holidays and also presenting at the Cluster Expo and KP and I will be holding a blogging wine and nibbles evening early in Term 3 to further support staff. I am lucky to have some extra release time to prepare for all this.
I am wondering where to next for myself as I am always keen to help others and learn new things to extend my skills and knowledge which is essential if you are in a lead role, however, I am finding it a struggle to maintain the high standards I expect from myself with regard to my classroom teaching and at the same time build my integration of ICT skills further while at the same time supporting my team and other staff members and still make time for further professional development myself! I hope I can have more opportunities to attend professional development during release time so I can fully focus my attention on this vital area. We have gained good momentum with staff motivation and application of new ideas and this has been largely due to the release that has been available. I think release to prepare allows quality support for others.
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