Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Ideas for Starting off with a New Class/New Term
Click here for a great link on Ewan McIntosh's blog to the GETideas website which I've just joined. Great online, open community for education leaders. I have had a read of the full article which is very interesting and am considering joining the live chat event on Tuesday 27th July. Could be a good way to hear and share ideas. I can always benefit from ideas on how to use my time effectively to manage my workload!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Visit to Summerlands School
I was very fortunate to go on a school visit on Wednesday to Summerland School in Henderson. We were welcomed by the Deputy Principal, Blair Giles, and then introduced to the Principal, Luke Sumich, who generously gave us his time to give us a tour of the school while sharing his knowledge and inviting us to interact with the children and teachers. It was a highlight to spend time in Amanda Signal's classroom and meet the Tumeke 12 kids (as an NZ immigrant I must admit to Googling "tumeke" to discover the literal translation means "too much" but that it now commonly means "awesome" thanks to the Urban Dictionary for filling me in) and the Tumeke 12 kids were definately awesome as were all the Summerland kids I spoke to!
I found the school organisation fascinating. The teams, I believe, can be formed by teachers wanting to collaborate and/or sharing a similar philosophy. Everyone is on-board with the benefits of eLearning but teachers have the freedom to be creative and integrate a wide variety of tools to support childrens' thinking: Bloom's taxonomy, double bubbble map, Habits of Mind, Thinkers Keys, Thinking Hats, Inquiry learning etc. But the difference between Summerland and other schools is the teams consist of different year levels. Luke explained this was to allow positive peer role modelling especially for the new entrants joining the school. Having taught in Year 0/1 for the past three years positive peer role modelling is very powerful and effective and it is certainly something I encourage in my Year 1 children. I often remind them that they can set an example for the younger children and they are equally able to empathise and remember how they felt when they were new at school. At our school we encourage role modelling with all classes, with the exception of Year 2, being composites i.e Year 0/1, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6. This gives the children an opportunity to be supported by their peers and then take on that role themselves the following year.
At Summerlands there is a really good vibe. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect; committed people working together; children keyed into what effective learning looks like, sounds like, feels like for them; evidence of asessment and thinking about where to next and confident, independent eLearners everywhere! I was keen to see Tumeke 12's Learning Links in action and I wasn't disappointed, happening upon a child sitting outside the classroom reading his book expressively into photobooth and then inserting it into keynote together with his self-reflection. I like the idea that he will be sharing this with his parents at Conferences, how powerful for them to be able to see his level of achievement at the beginning of the year on a reading graph and then watch him reading at that time and then compare that with where he is now!
We left the school smiling, with lots to think about especially as we near the end of our Cluster Contract. Luke mentioned recently learning what a wiki is and creating one for his school BOT and I think he made a lot of sense when he said that people need to have a reason for learning how to do something new. I personally learned to create a wiki when I had a need to house digital resources for the young learners in my class. But once I had done that I could then see more possibilities for wikis and when I created my Action Research wiki I found a use for the Discussion tab which is not relevant in my junior resources wiki! The exciting thing for me about eLearning in Education is that there is always a new way of approaching things, new possibilities for capturing interest and engaging children and providing reasons for continuing to learn.
Here is a slideshow of the photos I took on the visit:
I found the school organisation fascinating. The teams, I believe, can be formed by teachers wanting to collaborate and/or sharing a similar philosophy. Everyone is on-board with the benefits of eLearning but teachers have the freedom to be creative and integrate a wide variety of tools to support childrens' thinking: Bloom's taxonomy, double bubbble map, Habits of Mind, Thinkers Keys, Thinking Hats, Inquiry learning etc. But the difference between Summerland and other schools is the teams consist of different year levels. Luke explained this was to allow positive peer role modelling especially for the new entrants joining the school. Having taught in Year 0/1 for the past three years positive peer role modelling is very powerful and effective and it is certainly something I encourage in my Year 1 children. I often remind them that they can set an example for the younger children and they are equally able to empathise and remember how they felt when they were new at school. At our school we encourage role modelling with all classes, with the exception of Year 2, being composites i.e Year 0/1, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6. This gives the children an opportunity to be supported by their peers and then take on that role themselves the following year.
At Summerlands there is a really good vibe. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect; committed people working together; children keyed into what effective learning looks like, sounds like, feels like for them; evidence of asessment and thinking about where to next and confident, independent eLearners everywhere! I was keen to see Tumeke 12's Learning Links in action and I wasn't disappointed, happening upon a child sitting outside the classroom reading his book expressively into photobooth and then inserting it into keynote together with his self-reflection. I like the idea that he will be sharing this with his parents at Conferences, how powerful for them to be able to see his level of achievement at the beginning of the year on a reading graph and then watch him reading at that time and then compare that with where he is now!
We left the school smiling, with lots to think about especially as we near the end of our Cluster Contract. Luke mentioned recently learning what a wiki is and creating one for his school BOT and I think he made a lot of sense when he said that people need to have a reason for learning how to do something new. I personally learned to create a wiki when I had a need to house digital resources for the young learners in my class. But once I had done that I could then see more possibilities for wikis and when I created my Action Research wiki I found a use for the Discussion tab which is not relevant in my junior resources wiki! The exciting thing for me about eLearning in Education is that there is always a new way of approaching things, new possibilities for capturing interest and engaging children and providing reasons for continuing to learn.
Here is a slideshow of the photos I took on the visit:
Friday, June 12, 2009
Supporting my Team
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!
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!
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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