Teacher eTalk

The New Learning Revolution

2009-11-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a fascinating book, 'Unlimited - The new learning revolution and the seven keys to unlock it' by Gordon Dryden & Jeannette Vos.

'All of us, together, are surging through the most profound revolution in human history. Its impact is personal, national, global - and, in many ways, unlimited.

'At its core are seven catalysts, now converging and fusing to change the way we live, work, play, learn, teach and create - at any age.'

The Learning Network's blurb says: "In this book, New Zealand authors Dryden and Vos explore the current direction of learning and challenge our traditional thoughts of intelligence. They cover how to develop your own unique talents, find your personal learning style and give advice on how to embrace a life of learning and creative thinking. Plus they give advice to parents and teachers on how to maximise the learning of children. An excellent book for teachers and parents and those who want to enhance their own learning and understanding."

The book covers the 21st Century trends in teaching and learning across the world. This is a MUST READ for everyone interested in eLearning!

Closer, my dear come closer, with Web 2.0

2009-11-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent's research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

from www.ted.com

The Wonder of eLearning

2009-10-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

In the latest Interface magazine, David Warlick says that teachers should focus on information and learning, not on the technology and simply getting ICT into their classrooms.

"The purpose should be creating the new information environment, one that's at the core of our children's 'outside the classroom' experience with technology. We have to bring digital, networked, abundant, overwhelming information into the classroom."

This article, (together with my studies in EDPROFST 714), has really nudged me to try a new way of teaching. I've tried Inquiry before, but never with as much success as this time, and in the past I've ended up feeling quite dissatisfied with the whole process.

But, the winds of change are blowing in Room 24! This term, I decided to take up the challenge, and use technology, together with our school's inquiry model, to let my students manage their own learning. It has been the easiest few weeks in my teaching career, and the most gratifying. My class has gone from a structured, disciplined and teacher-led environment, to one in which I am sitting back taking photos of them, for lack of anything else to do, while my students work at their Inquiry topics. They are surprisingly quiet, and on-task, and need very little support from me, mostly shunning my conservative suggestions for more ambitious ideas. For example, they want to take a video of themselves explaining a concept against a green screen, and then point at a diagram on a Keynote page. (Yikes - we'll have to ask an expert!)

Our topic started out being 'States of Matter', but as the students continued the process of asking questions, and wondering, it became, quite simply: Water. (We were interested in more than just 'states of matter'!)

This is the process we have followed so far:

I set the scene by creating a web page in KnowledgeNet with links to websites, videos and online interactive games about Water. I then set my students free to explore in a very unstructured way. (For me the letting go was the hardest. I like structure!)
After that we discussed what they knew already. But, once the list was made, it covered my whole term's planned teaching! (No sense in teaching them what they know already!) Then we made a list of what we wondered. A very interesting list of questions came up.
When we sorted the questions, we discovered that they fitted into about seven categories. We decided that we would have seven groups. Now to decide how to find the answers to our questions. (Social media was their first choice, but we ended up using books and websites mostly). They decided how to share their findings, and the kids decided on various forms of Digital Books that could be embedded in our class blog. We made a list of media to use, and came up with some tools that are available on our laptops and are approved in school. Once we were ready students chose which topic they were interested in, and chose which software to use for publishing their findings. We also talked about their focus audience, and it became a literacy lesson on Audience and Purpose!
After that we started looking for relevant info, adding sticky notes to seven posters with the topic written in the middle, as they came across relevant facts. We did this first as a whole class activity, quite randomly browsing a selection of websites and books. Later each group focused on their topic only. The next step was for each group to sift and sort the information into at least eight pages. Once more, Reading comprehension skills, such as Finding the Main Idea, Determining Importance, and Summarising all came into play, in a very natural and unstructured way.
Once that was done, students proceeded to write their scripts, using all the terms and jargon they needed, and explaining processes that they would follow. We spoke a bit about the structure of Explanation writing, but their eyes glazed over after a while, and I left it. They may as well find out for themselves, that you need a structure!
When everything was ready, they started gathering media, taking photos and recording video and audio. At this stage we are synthesizing all of this created material into eBooks.

The most amazing part of this whole process has been not my student's learning, but MY learning. I am starting to realize that children respond to media that interests them, want to have fun, and learn better when they are doing and not just listening. (Duh... didn't Piaget say that centuries ago?) Even my most hardened ADHD child is on task, producing good material, and reflecting their learning in the material they are producing. They are all writing, reading, measuring, discussing, thinking, managing self, discovering and solving problems. And all this is happening without much input or support from me. I'm just watching and learning!

Open source tools for you to use!

2009-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

I had an email from Adrienne Carlson today, telling me about her informative blog post : 100 Best Open Source Apps for Educators. Have a look!

Some of the ones I liked were

Penzu, a journalling site with opportunities for online journalling for our students.
WordSift, really handy for visualizing words, especially when teaching reading comprehension strategies.
UDL Book Builder - cool tool for creating digital story books.

By the way, she also has an interesting blog post for iPhone enthusiasts, 100 iPhone apps for Academic Types. This blog is definitely worth adding to your RSS aggregator! Definitely worth checking out - make sure you have loads of time, though. Her '100 lists' will keep you busy for a while! Have fun!

Image: http://www.thefattytalks.com/

More about ePortfolios

2009-10-08T12:41:00.001-07:00

Further to my recent blog post, this video explains the use of ePortfolios very nicely.

Fostering creativity in the classroom

2009-10-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

This fun picture taken earlier this year when I was shopping in Singapore, was created with photofunia, one of the tools my teenagers are using to create profile pics for Facebook and Bebo.

Sadly, I'm not at uLearn09 this year, but such is the power of technology that I am actually able to follow most of the keynotes, and twitterings about this year's conference in Christchurch.

Yesterday's NZ Herald reported the following:

Californian Gary Stager, an expert in computers in schools for 27 years, has travelled the world spreading the message of what can be achieved if children get proper access to technology in schools. He is disturbed by the "narrow thinking" he has found from the adults in charge.

"I think one of the trends I am seeing globally is an increasing conservatism, not just in educational policy, but a narrowing of the imagination of what kids can actually do with computers," Dr Stager told the Herald, after speaking to the ULearn education conference in Christchurch."

Many schools, including mine, feel the need to control the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classrooms. They have various reasons, often citing the need to 'support' the use of these tools (which seldom need support), or the cybersafety policy of this school. At my school I am fortunate that the powers-that-be are openminded to the creative use of new technology, and we are usually allowed to try out new tools that we come across, as long as it is embedded in our planned program. This is not so for many teachers at other schools. Even so, schools are doing some pretty amazing and creative stuff.

I have heard - through my Twitter network - that many New Zealand teachers were left feeling pretty disgruntled by Dr Stager's comments. But, I suspect he may be right. Yes, we are pretty forward thinking in New Zealand. Yes, we are blogging and podcasting, and even putting our student's faces on the net in classroom blogs and - very risque - even TV channels. But are we really unleashing their full potential?

I've been browsing some of my own teenage children's Bebo pages - which I do from time to make sure they are using safe practices - just to see the most amazing creative artifacts that these youngsters are producing. Video's, fun photo effects, slideshows and audiocasts, are among the few masterpieces I came across. The irony is that these kids are getting almost no exposure at the Secondary School they attend.

So sad that in the Primary and Intermediate schools we are teaching kids all these wonderful tools, just to let it all fizzle away - except for privately, in the children's own use of social media.

Dr Stager might not be entirely right about Primary School's use of technology in New Zealand, but I'm afraid at Secondary level we are still sadly lacking. Or are there Secondary Schools out there that disagree?

ePortfolios and eLearning

2009-10-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

At our school we have been using ePortfolios for the past two years, using KnowledgeNet. Using a template, our students keep track of their own learning, upload their projects and reflect on their goals. Parents can view their child's progress at any time, and teachers give feedback and feedforward as needed on a regular basis.

Although it was initially a bit of hard work to set it all up, and get teachers trained to use KNet, the kids took to it like a duck to water. In my class I tend to break down tasks, so that we focus on one task at a time. I then model the steps to take to the whole class using my Smartboard. After that I ask for confident volunteers to go and try it out on their ePortfolios. I can have seven students working straight away, as I have 4 standard computers and 3 laptops in my class. Those seven students support each other, and working according to a detachable name list, they then call the next seven students, and teach them the process. The new seven students then teach the next seven, and so on. As I only have 26 kids in my class, the whole process takes about 45 minutes. I try to align the tasks with whatever lesson I am taking, in other words, if we are uploading evidence that we have reached our Maths goals, it will take place in Maths time. I supporse there's no need for this, though - it's just my old fashioned way of keeping track of what's happening in my classroom.

I feel very positive about the use of ePortfolios in our school. Students are learning to metacognitize about their learning. They can see how they have reached their goals, and they love to see my comments.

Jamin Lietse has been researching ePortfolios and provides a link to an MoE document 'ePortfolios - celebrating learning' for those that are interested. You can also get this document, and more, from Ian Fox's download page.

Image

Student created quizzes

2009-10-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking and reading about how to use technology to improve student's learning, and not just as a teaching tool.

Thinking specifically of Inquiry Learning, here are a list of 12 interactive quizzes that student's can create themselves, to reflect their learning and to test their peers' understanding of their Inquiry findings.

eLearning Research

2009-10-05T11:44:00.001-07:00

I found this interesting document via my eLearning Research Network. Just scroll down to the third comment and click on the pdf download. This document highlights a Framework for eLearning Research, which is well written and summarizes the current thinking of the MoE.

"e_learning Research and Evaluation Framework 08 FINAL.doc, 125 KB"
- areas of research in e-learning - e-Learning Research Network (view on Google Sidewiki)

Do 21st Century Learners REALLY learn better?

2009-10-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

I must admit - I'm feeling decidedly grumpy! I'm not at uLearn 09. For various reasons I couldn't attend this year, and I have to say - I'm green with envy... So, I'll pacify myself by immersing in all things technological, in the comfort of my own home, and under my very warm, fluffy, pink blanket!

I've been reading the research done by Kirkpatrick (1998) in which he looks at the correlation between the use of computers in the classroom, and improved student learning. According to this article, computers in classroom make very little impact on our students learning. At the time of the article being written research was inconclusive, and not much progress was being made. Many further studies done at the time, underscored these findings.

In an article written a year later, Schacter (1999) argues that computer technology is effective as a learning tool, only if paired with appropriate pedagogy and if designed according to different educational theories and principles. He encourages teachers to not just implement computers technologies for the sake of doing so, but to 'endorse and exhibit the learning that we want all children to engage in.'

In the world of computer technology, changes occur with lightning speed. These articles were written a decade ago. Shortly after these articles, came Web 2.0. How has this changed these earlier findings?

Larry Ferlazzo, one of my favourite bloggers and Grand Prize Winner of the 2007 International Reading Association Presidential Award for Reading and Technology, explains how his use of ICT in teaching ESOL students changed their learning: "Students could create online journals, read each other’s entries and comment on them, and, at the same time, learn more about each other. Students could design their own online English games and tests that other students would take. These activities, in turn, would lead to further face-to-face conversations"

In spite of his successes, he still feels that "Technology has its place, but also has to be kept in its place. Our students need the support, and power, that face-to-face, flesh and blood, relationships bring – not the virtual ones of MySpace “friends.” Instead of having our students primarily relate to computers by sitting in front of screens and just using well-intentioned learning programs, let’s have them use these computers to relate to peers and help create a community of learners. This can lead to students teaching, learning from, and supporting each other, as well as challenging themselves."

A recent article, by Hattie (2009) comes to the conclusion that there is no necessary correlation between having computers, using computers and learning outcomes. In his opinion, there are more instances of teachers using computers for instruction, than students using computers for learning. He goes on to indicate that the best results are found when there is a diversity of teaching methods being used, teachers are well trained, peer-tutoring is taking place, computer time is being planned to integrate self-managed learning, and feedback is taking place.

And that's why I would have loved to be at uLearn '09! It is such a wonderful opportunity to learn all of these skills, so that computers in our classrooms can be used effectively to increase student learning! For those lucky delegates that are there: Enjoy every minute and please keep the blogposts and tweets going so that the rest of us can collaborate and learn with you!

Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement (pp. 220-233). London: Routledge.

Schacter, J. and Fagnano, C. (1999). Does computer technology improve student learning and achievement? How, when and under what conditions? Journal of Educational Computing and Research, 20(4).

Kirkpatrick, H. and Cuban, L. (1998). Computers make kids smarter — right? Technos Quarterly for Education and Technology, 7(2)

Image link

Teaching Content through Technology

2009-09-24T01:38:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling to consistently integrate ICT into my daily classroom program for the last 3 years.

Now I know what is missing in my classroom practice! According to Mishra & Koehler, 2006 I need a new special kind of expertise: TPACK! (Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge.)

"True technology integration is understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components of knowledge. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and greater than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a mathematician or a historian), a technology expert (a computer scientist) and a pedagogical expert (an experienced educator)."

When I first started reading this article, my first thought was: 'Yeah, right. I've got to figure out the new curriculum, get my head around National Standards, meet assessment deadlines, and then still have expert content, pedagogical and technological knowledge.'

So how does this relate to the reality of teaching in my classroom?

Let's take Writing. I may need to teach the text type Recount Writing. First step would be to find out about the text form. I will need to look up resources such as exemplars, matrices and language features for a Recount. (Content). After that I need to decide how I'm going to teach the framework in such a way that my Year 5's will get it, and be able to apply the knowledge. I may use different strategies, like modelling, scaffolding, writing frames, peer-writing or collaborative writing. (Pedagogy). Now I can decide which ICT tool is best suited to meeting my needs. I may decide to let them blog about an event, create a ComicLife recount, or have different options for different ability or interest levels within my class. (Technology)

The paradigm shift has to take place in my head first. I need to get away from the idea there is only one tried and trusted way to teach specific content. And after 22 years of teaching, that is a real challenge. Fortunately the Digital Natives that I teach have no boundaries or pre-determined expectation of how their learning should be presented. To illustrate this point, I will share what happened in my class this week: I needed to have my students give evidence in their ePortfolios of how well they had reached the goal of 'being able to apply a range of word-identification strategies'. We talked about it for a while, and I had them make individual lists of the strategies they were using. They then explained the strategies to each other. The kids got the idea of putting their ideas on a poster. "Fine", said I, "get out the sheets of coloured paper". The horror on their faces! "Why?" they asked. "Why can't we just do it in Glogster?" Why indeed? They could. And they did - every single on of them managed just fine, without any support from me. What's more, they could continue work on their glogs at home, and are commenting on each other's work in a positive way.

This is a prime example of TPACK. I have managed to transfer my knowledge of Word Identification Strategies to my pupils, I have used effective pedagogy to have them self-assess their knowledge, and I have taught them a techology tool which they could effectively use to illustrate their skills.

Image: http://tpack.org/

Reference: Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2008). Introducing Technological Pedagogical Knowledge. In AACTE (Eds.). The Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Educators.Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Ten Tops Tips for Teaching with NET

2009-09-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

"Innovation is the process of altering existing practice in order to achieve more effectively certain desired learning outcomes" (Fullan, 1985). You can read a summary of his book here. Without these three dimensions of change in ICT, these desired outcomes are not likely:

Teaching materials
Teaching strategies
Teaching beliefs

These days we are extremely fortunate in that materials for teaching are readily available online. Our biggest challenge in the classroom is implementing our known strategies in new ways, and adjusting our beliefs to accommodate the new set of skills our 21st Century Learners need.

To help you in your quest to be a 'change agent' the George Lucas Foundation has posted a handy booklet, Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media, on it's website. You can download it for free, and it's choc-a-block full of tips for integrating ICT in the classroom:

What's Inside:

Break the Digital Ice
Find Your Classroom Experts
Get Off to a Good Start
Think Globally
Find What You Need
Make Meaning from Word Clouds
Work Better, Together
Open a Back Channel
Make It Visual
Use the Buddy System

I've been using some of these strategies and tools in my classroom, and they certainly do make integrating ICT into the daily program much easier. There are also heaps of ideas and websites, that I'm looking forward to trying out!

The next challenge of course, is getting the school to let me try out all these new and exciting disruptive innovations (Clayton, 1995)....!

Image: http://www.edutopia.org/ten-top-tips

The Digital Generation

2009-08-16T03:28:00.000-07:00

Mark Prensky (2001) so aptly describes the new generation of learners as 'Digital Natives'. This video illustrates beautifully just how seemlessly our learners are immersing themselves in the New Educational Technologies.

Read what I had to say about the Digital Native / Digital Immigrant debate in a previous post: I'ld rather be a Digital Pioneer.

Video retrieved from:
http://www.schoolwaxtv.com/welcome-digital-generation
Reference:
Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved 9 August 2008 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Cool Tools for Classes!

2009-08-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Kellow (2007) discusses some of the difficulties with using computers for Inquiry learning. I've found a cool new tool for creating interactive games that could be used successfully in Inquiry Learning. It's called Classtools, and I used it today, both for a reading comprehension task, and for a general knowledge quiz we're getting ready for. Best of all, my kids helped me set it all up in no time at all!

My class has had a very disrupted week, with me being away for two days, and a number of other out of the ordinary activities happening around the school. I wanted a Friday afternoon activity that would be short, but that would have a high level of engagement for all levels. Creating our interactive games certainly did the trick!

You can see the comprehension game on my class blog, Sparkle. It's based on a fun newspaper article that we read this morning, and is loosely based on the comprehension facts we focused on, as well as on some of the vocabulary we learned. It took as long to create as it takes to type in the ten questions and answers!

We are also getting ourselves ready for a New Zealand General Knowledge quizz which is being held schoolwide, and my class have been learning hard! Using the Flashcard Generator tool we've been able to create an interactive game based on the first 10 questions, and on Monday each group will take a section of the rest of the questions, create the games and then embed them onto our class website, which runs on KnowledgeNet. Here's the one we did collaboratively:

(To get the full benefit, you will have to click 'play' in the full screen version. You will have the choice of several games! Go on, have a look!)
Quiz One

Click here for full screen version

There must be loads of other uses for this cool tool, and I'm looking forward to looking at some more of the templates shown. (You can read more about this in the July Interface magazine on p37.)

Kellow, J. M. (2007). Inquiry learning in an ICT-rich environment.
Computers in New Zealand. Schools, 19(1), 24-31

Back to the future with Skype Screen Share!

2009-08-10T18:09:00.001-07:00

My class and one of my fellow students, Debbie McSkimming's class, just had the most awesome Skype audioconference! The Year 7 and 8's from her school are studying 'What's New?' and my Year 5's were eager to share the technology we have been using!

Both Debbie and I stayed well in the background, and the whole call was run by the kids. We knew what questions were going to be asked, which was just as well, as we were having sound difficulties.

From my side it was really easy, as I just had to get the kids on the mat, let the office know to do no speaker calls, and plug in my laptop to the Smartboard. I know Debbie had to book a room, and maybe she can tell you herself how her technical setup worked.

I had the new version of Skype downloaded, and it has a great new feature: Screen Sharing. My kids were able to share their projects, like digital animations, digital storybooks, blogs, Glogs and so on, by just sharing our screen. How cool is that!

As a child I remember watching Star Trek and they had all sorts of special communication methods, long before Skype. Remember? Well, beam me up Scotty ... we're in the future!

Learn IT! Teach IT!

2009-08-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

I found this super website off Larry Ferlazzo's website of the day blog. (A great resource for ESOL teachers!)

It's called Learn IT - Teach IT, and it has loads of information for teachers to implement Web 2.0 tools into their daily practice. The videos and 'How To's' should be really helpful for use for teachers and for students. Have a look!

Let me know what you think!

Te Reo Maori Week

2009-07-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

As many New Zealanders will know, this week is Te Reo Maori week. (Maori is the indigenous language of New Zealand.) Each year at our school we have a school wide Maori lesson for every day during this week. In the past it has been done in various ways, but this year one of our ICT lead teachers, Kerry Tetupu, has used her students to present the lessons in a really inventive way!

Korero Mai

Each day's lesson has been made available in video format on the server. Teachers merely have to drag the day's lesson on to their desktop, and show it using the IWBs or dataprojectors that we have in every class. The whole school participates at the same time.

Our students were able to participate in the Waiata, the lesson itself and the karakia at the end. Words of the song and key vocabulary are included, and the presenters have been really good at creating long enough pauses, so that the students watching can interact, and repeat terms and words. They have even used praise and motivation, to encourage their learners! These video's have been scripted, filmed and edited by the children themselves. Each lesson includes a seperate digital story, in the form of a podcast, that was scripted and created by the students themselves. A competition question is asked at the end of each video, and a daily winner for each year group is announced later in the day by that morning's presenters, using our speaker system.

The videos are currently being uploaded onto a wiki, and I will add a link to it as soon as possible.

Well done to Kerry, and to Room 22. Ka Pai!

Share your links with Sharetabs

2009-07-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

For my online university paper on Literacy (EDPROFST 702) I'm looking at ideas to use for teaching phonics to struggling readers. I needed a tool where I can list all the websites I've found. Usually I use my De.lici.ous account, but reading Hey.Milly's blog I got the idea to use Sharetabs.

Here are some interesting games and links that can be used for Phonics. I prepared this list using Sharetabs. I can see this tool being quite useful in class for inquiry or when wanting to focus on a specific skill for a specific group. My tabs are here.

ShareTabs - Share your links as tabs

What other uses can you think of for this tool?

Skype in the classroom

2009-07-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

We have been experimenting with using Skype video calls quite a bit in the classroom lately, and I have found it to be such a useful tool.

The added bonus is that I have 100% student participation and focus! I use the interactive whiteboard, with a MacBook with built in webcam for our calls, so all the students can see the video, and can see the participant on our side.

Last year I Skyped my cousin, a quadriplegic,who I had grown up with in Zimbabwe. Until the very end of the conversation the students did not realise that he was physically disabled. We spoke about his childhood and growing up in Africa. He also told them that as a child I had stolen his ice-cream, which delivered roars of laughter, and made it all very real for my students.

Last term we were having a look at World Geography. I contacted my 14 year old nephew in Michigan, and my class were able to ask him questions about the climate, population, schooling and so on. What worked really well, was that we planned the questions before hand, and I forwarded them to him, so that he could prepare answers. Each child had a turn to introduce him/herself and then asked the question assigned to him. We practiced listening and responding to the answers. At the end of the conference some of my boys performed the haka for him, which was a great hit at the other end! I have many other friends all over the world, and if I repeat this unit, I will certainly draw on my contacts to talk to my students about their countries!

This term we are focusing more on health and body issues. Yesterday we had a call to a colleague, Sue Hodge, who is at home with a back injury. She had a discussion with the students about back injuries, possible treatments and prevention. Although we had not prepared questions this time, it went really well, and the student participation was once again excellent.

Success depends very much on good organization. You need to have informed the participant on the other side of your learning intentions, and what type of questions they can expect.Remember to work out the time difference and agree on a suitable time and date! America is particularly tricky, as the time difference can be up to 16 hours! Also make sure that your students are prepared with questions, and understand what procedure is being used. A chat about protocols and ettiquette, and also interview techniques is very important. I like to send a quick chat message about half an hour before our call, just to make sure the participant is standing by, and that connectivity is OK.

I'm looking forward to Skyping more often, and will keep you posted. I would love to hear from anyone else that has used Skype in an interesting way!

I found this interesting post by Vicky Davis (Coolcat Teacher blog) on how she has implemented Skype in her classroom: Skype in the Classroom. She has a great video, so have a look!

Skype to Singapore

2009-07-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Singapore last week, but it overlapped with an exciting ICT expo hosted by my school. Fortunately Alicia and I had a plan!

The two of us hosted a breakout called 'Skype to Singapore' and delegates were able to set up their Skype account, learn to use text and video functions, and take part in a live audio-conference with me in Singapore and Alicia hosting from Auckland.

We had really good feedback, and delegates were excited about the ability to have first hand real time experience in the use of Skype!

Of course, I breathed a sigh of relief that the hotel's rather unstable wireless kept going for the entire 45 minutes!

Photoface from Oddcast

2009-04-22T02:20:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for interesting ways to add audiocasts to ePortfolios. I found this cool tool, and have been having fun with it for the last hour or so! It's called Photoface and it's by Oddcast. You can upload a photo or use one of their's and make it younger or older, fatter or thinner, add backgrounds, face art and all sorts of fun elements. You can add audio recordings, or just type in text and use one of the pre-recorded voices in different accents. I chose Tessa with her South African accent!

You can get an embed code, but for some reason I can't get it to work, so here's a link. You can also download or email the image. Fun, isn't it!

Teacher eTalk Wiki

2009-04-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

It's not very flash yet, but at last the Teacher eTalk wiki has enough content to let everyone in!

You can access it by clicking on the link in the sidebar. Mostly the wiki is for teaching resources that I need in my Year 5 class. Please feel free to join the wiki, or to add to it if you are already a wikispaces member!

If you have a cool wiki to add, please do so on the Teacher's Wiki page!

My next task will be to add the bling! I have to figure out how, first, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!

Prior Knowledge leads to Making Connections

2009-04-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

My classes' recent AsTTle results once more showed that my students' comprehension skills are greatly lacking. Two of the areas which they need to focus on are Finding and Processing Information, and also Making connections.

I found this excellent thought provoking video, in which Professor Daniel Willingham describes why content knowledge is so essential when learning to reading with comprehension, and why teaching reading strategies alone is not sufficient. He makes the point that the more a student knows about the subject content, the better he will score in a reading comprehension test.

As one of the commentors said, 'student's actually have to learn stuff' and not just rely on Google to get their instant knowledge! I think in our quest to move towards 21st Century Learning, we tend to forget that our students still need to know 'stuff' to have better understanding of the world around them! What do other educators think?

Posterize your learning!

2009-03-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite tools is Glogster. We are looking at 'Change' as an overall topic this year. To help Set the Scene, I had my students do brainstorms, first by adding their ideas with sticky notes to large pieces of paper with some of the crucial questions they had formulated. I then divided them into groups, and had them sort and clarify the answers, and choose their five favourite responses. Each group then had to work out a way to work as a team to get their posters on Glogster.

Here is the first completed poster:

Extreme Playground Makeover.

2009-03-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Botany Life Church is upgrading our playground. Have a Look!

SOLO taxonomy in practice.

2009-03-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year the lovely and inspiring Pam Hook from Hooked-on-Thinking fame visited our school, and introduced SOLO taxonomy to us.

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare my students for the inquiry process, for reflecting in their ePortfolios. To me SOLO seemed just the ticket, but I wasn't sure that my Year 5's would actually understand it. As with many other learning areas, they have once again surprised me. Not only do they have a good understanding of the model - they could actually define it, and apply it to their thinking!

Video removed.

I am so impressed by my students! The students in this video have a range of abilities, and some are normally very reticent to answer questions. Strangely enough, they loved talking to the video camera, and seem to find it less threatening than their 'dear old teacher'! What also surprised me is how quietly they sat while each got a chance to explain their thinking. Not one complained of boredom, or became disruptive. Obviously the idea that they could share their learning with the blogosphere was a great motivation for them. Also, there was no 'hands up', and each child got a chance to assess their definitions, write their reflections down, share them with a buddy, and then share them with the camera.

I'm looking forward to using this model over and over again, and can't wait to see how their new skills will reflect in their e-Portfolio reflections.

Crazy Professor Reading Game

2009-03-11T22:07:00.001-07:00

I've loved Power Teaching since the day I stumbled upon it on Youtube. In Room 24 I have some rather rambunctious pupils, and Power Teaching is my saving grace. The kids love it, it keeps me sane, and the classroom management is a breeze.

This year I have a class with very low Reading comprehension skills, so I gave the 'Crazy Professor Reading Game' a go.

The results are not yet clear, but I certainly have students who are usually very reticent readers very excited about reading now!

Watch Room 24 enjoying the Crazy Professor Reading Game:

Video removed.

For more info on Power Teaching, see my earlier post, or go to the website where there are heaps
of free downloads, resources and videos.

Collaborate...or not?

2009-02-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

The thing I love most about ICT conferences, is the ability to share, create new context and collaborate. During a given session I will twitter to my friends about what I'm learning, share my notes on Google Docs, look up websites and paste links, and all the while participate effectively in the Breakout. As I'm a tactile learner, this is the way I process, think and reconstruct ideas.

Sitting in my second breakout at Learning@school, I found myself next to a colleague from a different school. In the spirit of 21st Century Learners we decided to collaborate and share our notes using Google Docs. The presenter had asked us all to move the furniture into a kind of horseshoe shape, which had me inadvertently shifted to the back of the room. He then proceeded to instruct us that he wanted 100% eye contact. A bit tricky now that I was sitting at the back of the room, with my back to him. 'Well', I thought, 'I better get myself organized quickly, before he starts'. He sidled over at this point and in a friendly manner asked whether there was anything wrong with my computer. I assured him that I was fine, just getting myself organized. Gee, was I surprised when he pounced on my colleague and I a few moments later. (We had been quietly setting up a shared Google Docs document to take our notes.) We were told that we were annoying him, and that he wanted 100% participation. I was last so chastised by my Principle in Standard 5.

Needless to say, I was a bit switched off for the rest of the (double) presentation.

Moral of the story: Choose when to collaborate!

What do you think? Should we have boundaries to our collaboration, and if so, what are the boundaries?

PS: If anyone wants to share my notes on Google Docs, let me know!

Class TV Channel made easy!

2009-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

For a while now I've been researching a way to have a class TV channel, on which we can add video's, images and news items.

I've been on various workshops to schools like Point England and others that have their own TV channel. (You can find more on the NZ Learning Channel.) I've also learnt to use Mogulus, which I find quite hard to get my head around. At last I've found something which is easy, quick and most of all practical to use in class with Year 5 students: WorldTV!

Here's a look at how I'll be welcoming my class on the first day, using our brand-new class channel, SparkleTV:

It's still under construction, but it gives you an idea of what can be done! I'm still trying to figure out how to convert the Keynote that I used for the intro, in such a way that it retains the audio. If anyone knows how to do that, please let me know!

Teacher eTalk Widget now available!

2008-10-23T21:08:00.001-07:00

Widgetbox is a gallery of interesting widgets that you can embed into your blog to add a bit of bling.

You can also use it to create a widget of your own blog! This is a great way to promote your blog, and for followers to keep up with your new posts.

Here's my new widget. You can get it by clicking on the 'Get Widget' button in my sidebar widget! All you have to do is grab the embed code, and embed it in the sidebar of your blog.

Let me know how it goes!

Use 'Power Teaching' to create Powerful Learners!

2008-10-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

By the last term of school, teaching with high energy, and captivating student's attention, becomes quite a challenge... and so does student behaviour. This year I've stumbled upon a methodology which has changed our entire class energy and dinamics: Power Teaching.

I was looking through some You Tube videos on teaching Writing skills, which I wanted to show my students. One of the videos used a method called Power Teaching. The students mimic the gestures of the teacher, and in turn teach each other. Student engagement is high, critical thinking skills are stimulated and the fun factor is extreme. Even for the Classroom Teacher!

Last Monday, after showing my kids the video, they begged for us to try Power Teaching in class. Being a good 21st Century Teacher, I told them I would find out more about it, not thinking it would be so easy. To my surprise, I found the Teaching Power website , and the Power Teaching Home page with all the information you could possibly need. It even has downloadable posters, an instruction manual and some case studies written by teachers! I read late into the night....

By Tuesday, I had started introducing the '5 rules' to my class. They caught on quick as a whistle. By Wednesday, they started teaching each other. By Thursday it was part of our class management routine. By Friday one other teacher - in a new entrant class - had started to implement Power Teaching, and two regular relievers had written down the website URL!

At the end of every day we have a quick recap of the day, which we do in the format of '2 stars and a wish'. Every day this week, one of the 'stars' was: 'WE LOVE POWER TEACHING'. Their wish for next week: "We want to do more Power Teaching"!

I'll try to post a video of us trying it next week. In the meantime here's the video that originally captured my attention. Take a few minutes to watch it - you will be astounded!

Now I'm just wondering: Are there any of you trying Power Teaching, and what are the pro's and con's?
Also is anyone doing Power Teaching training in New Zealand? If so, please let me know!

Cultural Kaleidoscope

2008-10-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

Our theme for this term is 'Celebrations' and today the entire school celebrated their own culture by coming to school in our traditional dress.

I used Vuvox to create this beautiful kaleidoscope to remember our day:

What beautiful people we have in our class!

Making a difference by donating Free Rice

2008-10-12T01:18:00.000-07:00

Our school-wide focus this year is Making a Difference. One of the ways to do this is to make use of the site Free Rice, where you donate grains of rice with every click.

I've been wanting to write about this site for some time now, and many bloggers have mentioned it before me: Free Rice. Initially you could only play a vocabulary game, but now the site gives you different subjects to choose from like Grammar, German, Multiplications Tables, and more!

I've played the game with my class a couple of times, using the Interactive Whiteboard, to improve their vocabulary. They loved it, and I'm sure they're going to love practicing their tables this way too! It's an ideal whole class warm up before starting small groups. At the same time we are helping feed people who are less fortunate, and Making a Difference in a very real way!

To get a running total every time you play, you need to set your options like this. Every time you start, it will remember your total from the last time you played.

I decided to see how the 'German' questions were, and to my surprise, I'm not as rusty as I thought! I managed to donate 1340 grains of rice in about 10 minutes. According to Lance Wiggs, 1000 grains is equivalent to 26g of rice. A child's portion is about 50g of dry rice, so if my calculations are correct, every 2000 grains can feed a child!

Is there any class out there who would like to take up the challenge this term, and try and see who can donate the most grains of rice?

Best Teacher Blog, runner-up!

2008-10-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

One of my first posts 'To Blog or not to Blog' was written a year ago, at uLearn '07. I remember how excited I was when Jane Nicholls posted a comment!

It's just a year later, and my blog is a finalist in the Interface Magazine's Best Teacher Blog category. I'm so thrilled! I've loved every moment of blogging, and this is just the beginning!

Please vote for my blog here!

Thanks for everyone's support and positive feedback, and keep the comments coming!

Day 2: uLearn08

2008-10-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Both breakouts today have been great, and I'm looking forward to the next one, too!

Breakout 3: Inquiry with Interactive Whiteboards with Clair Ross

This was really inspiring. Claire is a down-to-earth and engaging presenter, and sure knows her stuff.

The session was focused more on getting kids to interact and discuss during inquiry, and we were given some really effective ideas. I can't wait to try them with my class. It's also made me realize that an inquiry can be one lesson long, and doesn't have to be a long, difficult process!

I loved the little activote-gadget that she used to have us vote on the Big Question, before and after discussion. It demonstrated really well how people's opinions change once they've received information on topics. Does Smartboard have that too?

Plenty of work and thought went into her presentation, and it showed! Just a pity I didn't realize that it was on Promethean, as I have a Smartboard.

I'll be trying out all the tips and tricks, and pestering the Smartboard people to find ways for me to do things like embedding videos, and having those funky little tags that hide notes off-screen.

Breakout 4: Lights, camera, action! Dean Rogers

I've been dying to start a school TV channel, and this, together with yesterday's Mogulus session, was just the thing. He presented director's jargon and tips and tools in a punchy, easy to understand manner. The session was fast-paced, and entertaining.

For all my sessions I've been making notes in Google Docs, so anyone who wants notes can just email me, and I'll share them! This enables me to work on my notes from any laptop, so I haven't really needed to lug mine along, and I didn't yesterday. Best of all, I don't even have a pen, or paper with me!

Breakout 5 : Stuart Hale (again) : Keynote

I thought I pretty much knew everything I could do in Keynote. Gee, was I surprised! I learned soooo much! I have to make a presentation to our BOT about what I've learned at uLearn '08 soon. They may not be blown away by my content, but they will sure be blown away by my slides!

Of course, Twittering away during sessions has kept me informed of what's going on! Oh, how I love Web 2.0!

Image: wikipedia

uLearn 08 is here!

2008-10-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here I am, waiting for my first breakout of this year's uLearn '08 to start. It's a marvellous day, I had a great breakfast, and I'm still buzzing from yesterday's pre-conference breakout on photography!

Breakout One: David Kinane (Turning the Supertanker) is just introducing himself, and will be showing us how to use Mogulus to start a TV network. He has set up a wiki, and you can have a look for yourself!

Have to go! I'll keep you posted... What breakouts have you been at, and how are you finding it?

I had a cool teacher-moment this week!

2008-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

I had such a cool teacher-moment in my Year 5 class this week! In the life of a teacher, these moments are rare, but cherished!

I've been encouraging my students to become 'powerful learners'. On their ePortfolios, they have had to reflect on last term's goals, think about what they've achieved and set new goals for next term. I want them to take ownership of their learning, and I'm encouraging them to really think about their learning.

To do this I have empowered them by giving them links to sites explaining the strategies in Maths and Reading that we are focused on. All year long I have kept referring to our AsTTle results, and explained the relevancy of every task we do in connection to the skills they are practicing. On my class Home Page, I have a link to the NZMaths Numeracy Framework. It has each of the stages illustrated by animations, and you can even see videos of students explaining their strategies. I use this to help my students verbalize their goals.

This week, I overheard a conversation between some students. It seems my efforts have been rewarded!

(I've changed the students' names to protect their identity.)

Sammy: John, you're stage 8 for Maths aren't you?
John: (In the middle of a chess game, and from a different class.) A-hu.
Sammy: (Persistently nudging John.) So what did you have to do to get to Stage 8?
John: Huh? I dunno? I just got it.
Jim: (Who's sitting at a nearby computer, and is in the same class.) It's on our Maths page, silly. Come here, I'll show you.

A while later, I notice Jim and Sammy pouring over the Numeracy Framework and looking at the animations, but I get sidetracked by another student and forget the whole conversation.

Next Day, enter Sammy with ear-to-ear grin.

Sammy: Mrs T, I'm ready to be tested for Stage 8 now.
Me: Oh? How do you know.
Sammy: I know rat-tee-oh now, Mrs T. I asked Mum and Dad to help me. I have to know decimals, percentages and rat-tee-oh to get to Stage 8. And I can do it.

Bless his little cotton socks - it took me a while to figure out he meant ratio!

P.S. I've just noticed that Sammy wrote on his Maths Goals, for his ePortfolio: "I want to find out more about phi = 22/7 = 3.14285714." Gulp. Anyone know of Maths catch-up lessons for teachers? ;)

Retro - look Podcasting tool

2008-09-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I came across this tool, Mixwit, from Dean Groom's post, Learning with an audience. He has been using it to record student's reflections on their use of Web 2.0 technologies, and how it affects their learning.

For now, I've just popped a normal MP3 song on it, but I'll experiment next week with my students' own stories about their 'Production Highlight'.

Is anyone using it, and what interesting ways have you used it in the classroom?

Ahoy Ye Landlubbers! Talk like a Pirate Day coming up!

2008-09-15T23:01:00.001-07:00

I read about an interesting event on Amanda's blog: It's 'Talk like a Pirate Day' on Friday, 19 September! Everyone on Twitter is also talking about it. Check out the cool wiki and add to the Voicethread with your class.

It sounds like so much fun: - I'll be planning a fun Pirate-themed day for my class for Friday! After our week of production, it will be just the right way to end a busy, busy week...

Image: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/pirate-9.jpg

How to make your Digital Photos even more fun!

2008-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've just found a brand new fun application, called dumpr. It's free, and all you need to do is register. As with all the other fun toys I find, I don't know yet how I'll apply it in my teaching, but it's pretty cool! Have a look:

I'm sure my pupils will come up with some cool ideas for this application pretty soon!

I can teach Hip Hop!

2008-09-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

I'm at home in bed today. I have two complaints: 1) I've lost my voice. 2) Every muscle in my body is protesting.

Now, it may be the lingering flu / lung infection that I've been battling since last week, or... and this is more likely ... it may be that I've taught my kids a Hip Hop dance for our upcoming production.

This is how it happened: I was in bed all last week, so we weren't able to practice the more traditional dance that I had chosen. (Our theme is 'The ebb and flow of the Waikato River'). When we eventually got around to it on Monday, I realized that the dance just wasn't working. The kids were NOT INTERESTED. So I asked them (like a good 21st Century Teacher should) "What kind of dance do you want to do?" "HIP HOP!" was the answer.

I already knew what Hip Hop was, as two of my boys had done their speeches on that subject. (See my previous post on Speeches.) I also do have extensive dance experience, having been a ballet dancer myself (way back when) and also having been part of a dance troupe as a student (many moons ago). But.... that was then and now I'm fat, frumpy and forty-plus. And recovering from a lung infection. And... I had one day to do it!

This is where the marvel of 21st Century Education comes in. I hit YouTube. There are loads of lessons - online and free - on how to Hip Hop. First, I found music I liked. I chose "The World's Greatest" by RD Kelly. It has loads of images which we could translate into dance moves, and a really strong motivational message. It empowered me to learn to Hip Hop!

My daughter helped me work out some 'moves'. My three teenage sons stood around making appropriate comments. (At their age 2 grunts means 'Cool' and 1 grunt means 'Not cool'.) One of them did say "Gee, Ma, I didn't know you could Hip Hop!" and the other one grumbled: "That's too hard for eight year olds." (Which actually means 'Wow, Mum, that's pretty impressive footwork'.)

Yesterday in class we pushed back the tables, got into rows, and learned the dance. We ripped up our flowing river fabric, and made them into bandannas and hand-scarves. We even added some glitter paint. My students' comments? "Mrs T, this is SOOO COOOL!" Praise indeed!

I will keep you all posted on the success of the production next week!Here's my class and our last practice before the final dress rehearsal!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Educating boys.... and girls?

2008-09-06T01:30:00.001-07:00

I've always been really interested boys' special teaching needs. But do you ever stop to think about the girls' special needs and maximize their learning?

I found this provocative article in the Teacher Magazine (I get a free email subscription) : Teaching Secrets: Bridging the Gender Gap by Laura Reasoner Jone.

"Many teachers have been observed giving different kinds of feedback to boys and girls. Boys tend to receive correction, help, and criticism. Most follow-up questions and suggestions for improvement are directed at boys. But girls tend to receive comments on the appearance of their work, rather than the academic content," she says.

Sounds familiar, I'm afraid. I'll have to give the matter some thought, and dig deeper! What is your opinion? Are we giving our girls the same consideration as the boys?

21st Century School Speeches

2008-09-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

These days, we know all about 21st Century Learners, and most of us are proud to implement the new strategies. Just to refresh my memory I've been reading up on 21st Century Learners:

"A 21st Century Learner tends to be a multi-tasker that uses sound and images to convey content whenever possible. Text, the primary medium of traditional academics, is tolerated only when the technology does not (yet) support something better." (Dr. Roger Von Holzen, Director, Center for Information Technology in Education Northwest Missouri State University in his paper: The 21st Century Learner)

"For New Zealand, the development of a prosperous and conﬁdent knowledge society means the development of new skills and knowledge. It will require a culture of continuous enquiry, innovation and improvement, risk taking, and entrepreneurship. This can only come from the education system." (Enabling the 21st Century Learner - e-Learning Action Plan for Schools 2006-2010)

"Speaking, Writing and Presenting
Students will:
• Integrate sources of information, processes, and strategies with developing confidence to identify, form, and express ideas...
– construct texts that show a growing awareness of purpose and audience through careful choice of content, language, and text form." (from New Zealand Curriculum, Level 3.)

I recently had to sit (as did the other 21st Century Learners in my class) through 30 x 3min speeches. I had to assess each of the speeches according to specific criteria, such as voice quality, eye contact and speech content.

According to the school-wide benchmarking structure, the students are not allowed to use any visual or audio aids, and they should refrain from 'over-dramatizing'. Students were expected to write their speeches in class. They were allowed to use cue-cards, which they were permitted to take home to practice their speeches. I heard some teachers say that they did not allow the actual speech to go home, because in the past parents have been known to assist in the speech writing process. Others did not want their pupils to introduce themselves.

Each teacher has different views on the actual content and delivery, probably framed by what their teachers had expected them to do/ not do when they did speeches (in the 20th Century). This is completely plausibly, because, let's face it NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

While listening to these speeches, and sensing the students' growing boredom / frustration / disinterest in the whole process, I started thinking: Why are we still doing speeches in this archaic way?

Our 21st Century Learners find it arduous to write a speech independently. Even when they can use Google to find the data they need. (They don't have loads of general knowledge stored in their brains - they know how to find it, though.) Rather, they want to collaborate, give feedback, create information and most of all, they want it all to be interactive. Speakers of today are using audio, video and images to convey meaning and capture audience attention. They are inviting audience participation, even letting audience's needs direct the presentation. (Heard of an unconference, lately?)

My pupils took weeks to construct their speeches - not because of interest or meticulous care. It was really hard to keep them motivated. I'm sure if they could have done digital presentations, it would have been a different story!

Listening to the speeches was arduous as well. I had a discussion first with my pupils on what constitutes a 'good audience'. They were still bored, and fidgety. Is forcing our modern learners to be 'good audiences' realistic? Do 21st Century audiences today really just sit and listen? Certainly not at the Keynote Speeches I have attended lately. As an audience member I contribute, Twitter, chat and collaborate. I have a Voice.

Why are we still expecting 2oth Century Speeches from 21st Century Learners? I reckon it's time for the 'culture of continuous enquiry, innovation and improvement, risk taking, and entrepreneurship' to be related to School Speeches too!

Images:
http://pro.corbis.com/images (THEN)
http://bigfamilyt.blogspot.com (WHEN?)

What a fun class!

2008-08-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to find a way to share my student's work in KnowledgeNet in their ePortfolio's. In my quest, I came across One True Media. What fun! Check it out!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Reading Rocks!

2008-06-25T01:50:00.000-07:00

Teaching kids to read is not that hard. Most of my pupils have learned to decode, and read with fluency, and some can even entertain you with wonderful expression. Teaching them to read with comprehension, however, is a different matter. At our school we found that a great number of children tested very low on understanding of reading material. We used AsTTle assessment tests, and an alarming 84% of my pupils were unable to infer or make connections!

This term I have used some amazing tools, online and 'manual' to support me in my teaching of comprehension strategies.

Our school has adopted the First Steps program. This staff development program comes with comprehensive manuals and great resources. The trainers are professional, experienced and inspirational. The resource books include heaps of fun teaching ideas, games and guidelines. Unfortunately, the program is not online or interactive, but still a fantastic teaching and planning resource. The program is in line with the new NZ curriculum, but I'm sure is adaptable to most international curriculums, and is being used world-wide.

In our reading resource room, I came across a long-forgotten gem: SRA Reading Laboratory. I remember using it as a child, and I believe that my life-long love of reading can be directly attributed to this program. Although our set is a bit out-dated, it's still relevant and interesting for my pupils. How do I know? Well, they love it. I haven't seen kids so enthusiastic about written comprehension tests for ages. Even the boys have taken to the self-evaluating 'Power Builders', and work independantly and steadily, with very little motivation from me.

My all-time favourite online tool this term has been Into the Book. I have downloaded beautiful posters, songs and worksheets from the Teacher's Area. The Student's area is colourful, interactive and exactly on the right level for my Year 5's. The kids love the songs and we have been using the videos each week on the Smartboard as a whole class activity to introduce the strategy of the week. There are usually 3 or 4 interactive lessons to support each strategy, so I've been using them as follow-ups during our daily warm-up lesson before we break into groups. They focus on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. Your class can watch their engaging 15-minute videos, and try the online interactive activities.

Another favourite website is Busy Teacher's Cafe. This cute website is jam-packed with teacher-friendly tools. It has a special area for Language Arts, with links to a variety of great resources.

If you haven't found Woodlands Junior School's website yet, check it out now. This award-winning British school site is fantastic! Although the interface is a bit staid, and not as flashy as some sites, it is not only super for Literacy, but also really useful for Maths and other learning areas. They have a link to some very handy comprehension tests, which are great for kids to do in their literacy computer time.

For excellent, colourful posters on Reading Comprehension strategies, try the Santa-Maria Bonita Schools website. I have downloaded and laminated these posters, and am filing them in a ring-binder for use with guided reading lessons.

Once more, this resource fits in well with all the others I have been using, so there is some continuity in my teaching and my planning is so much easier.

For loads more links check out the comprehension tag on my Del.icio.us bookmarks!

I have really enjoyed teaching Guided Reading this term. Best of all though, my students have enjoyed, and looked forward to learning these strategies. It's such a thrill to see their eyes light up when they realize that they've made 'a text-to-world connection' or say 'I used my visualising strategies, Mrs T'. See more of our class in our class blog, Sparkle24.

In Room 24 we all agree: Reading Rocks!

Funky Faces

2008-06-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

I've just had loads of fun with a cool site, called Befunky. It has a collection of applications, including a cartoonizer, uvatars and a video cartooniser.

I can't wait to use this in class to cartoonize photos and create uvatars. They can be used to enhance students blogs, or ePortfolios. It solves the problem of looking for free images, and is an easy way to protect your student's identities.

The only problem I'm having is that currently our school firewall blocks the uploading of images. I'm waiting for our techie team to sort that out.

Doesn't it just drive you crazy when you find something new, and just to find you can't apply it in class!

Blog Makeover

2008-06-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I've been blogging now for a little longer than 8 months, and I'm absolutely hooked! I started out, not really knowing what it was all about. My first few posts were, well to say the least, mundane!

Now that I actually get it, and have started making some friends in the blogosphere, and actually get comments occasionally - I thought it might be time for a makeover. I've changed the name of this blog, too. (Derek may get away with having his own name in his blog name, being so well known, but now that I know better, I'll stick to a name that actually explains what my blog is about!)

I found these Ten Tips on writing a good blog by Darren Rowse:

Here are his ten tips:

Make your opinion known
Link like crazy
Write less
250 Words is enough
Make Headlines snappy
Write with passion
Include Bullet point lists
Edit your post
Make your posts easy to scan
Be consistent with your style
Litter the post with keywords

That doesn't seem too hard to do! Anyone have more tips for improving my blog?

I've just gate-crashed a Voicethread!

2008-05-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

I feel a bit guilty for joining in the conversation uninvited, but it was just so interesting, and so real to my teaching, that I couldn't resist joining in! Serves you guys right for making it public!

I'ld rather be a Digital Pioneer!

2008-05-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

In answer to the Learning Circuits Blog's May 2008 Big Question.

I've only been on the blogosphere since last year. One debate that I keep coming across, is the Digital Native / Digital Immigrant one.

According to those in the know, the Digital Native's are users that automatically and intuitively use new technology. Digital Immigrants are starting to use the technology, but seem to keep reverting to hard copies and tried and trusted methods for finding information / communication and collaboration.

Where do I fit in? I'm not that young anymore, and didn't grow up with computers, but I have been around them since the advent of Windows 3.1. I still believe that my students should know some facts and have some general knowledge. I still drill their Times Tables into them. (Yes, yes, I know, it's sooo old-fashioned - but I do use online interactive activities to do it!)

I'm not an expert at anything, really. It keeps changing too fast. I dabble in blogging, create a podcast here, try my hand at Voicethread and RSS feeds, there.

What I do find, is that a lot of the stuff I'm trying and introducing, is new to my students. I'm leading my students into unchartered territory. They trust my leadership. To them, I am the one that tests the waters; I tread unknown paths before I let them try; I lead the way to safe learning. My next years' students will probably find the projects I've done this year ''old hat". But I think of it this way: Together we will be on a new adventure in new technology highways, that do not even exist yet!

Do I need to change the way I teach? Yes and No. Change is inevitable in some ways. The resources may have changed. I see computer technology as a tool, and not as a pedagogy. Learning has not changed, though. My students still need structured tasks. I will still be choosing appropriate learning areas, asking open-ended questions, keeping my students engaged and interested with whatever resources I can find. The classroom may have glass walls. We may be part of a global community. But we still want to optimize learning, just as we always have.

One thing I am certain of. Together we will have Digital adventures. Together we will navigate new lands. My students and I are Digital Pioneers!

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.

Image: http://www.wmtps.org/eletech/w_crossingshalloww.jpg

The New Learning

2008-05-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

I found this video on Youtube. It really underscores the new learning reality:

- Teachers are no longer the experts.
- Cost no longer curtails our learning, but access rights can!
- Participation and collaboration are vital to successful learning, and one of the most important skills we can teach our students.

Have a look for yourself!

Becoming a better Teacher!

2008-04-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Darren Drake writes the following in his blog:

Carl Glickman hits the nail on the head on one of the pages in his book entitled Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed. In my opinion, his message should be read and synthesized by every teacher worldwide.

He also provides a solution. "How do teaching and learning improve? The answer is no mystery. It’s as simple as this: I cannot improve my craft in isolation from others" (p. 4). "

Glickman, C. (2002). Leadership for learning: How to help teachers succeed. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

In reading this, I was inspired to start thinking about my own teaching career. I have been teaching for many, many years. Am I the best teacher I can be yet? Surely after all these years, I should know how to teach?

I remember a time when I thought I knew it all. I had been in the job for a handful of years, and had become quite secure in my knowledge that I was pretty good at what I was doing. During another successful appraisal, a man I still remember with warmth and respect, Gerhard Koen, told me that I knew just enough about teaching to think I knew something. I was pretty taken aback. What did he mean? "You will reach a point," he said, "when you will know enough to realize how little you know." Now, a lifetime later, I know what he meant. It has become true that the more I learn (about Teaching, about Learning, about Children, and definitely about ICT) the more I am aware that I still have so much to learn. I'll certainly be looking for Carl Glickman's book!

How to Encourage Effective Learning

2008-04-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

We all know that effective learning occurs when...

Student autonomy and initiative is accepted and encouraged
Teacher asks open-ended questions and allows wait time for responses
Higher level thinking is encouraged
Students engage in dialogue with teacher and each other
Students engaged in experiences that challenge hypotheses
Class uses raw data primary sources, physical and interactive materials
Knowledge and ideas emerge only from a situation in which learners have to draw them out of experiences that have meaning and importance to them

Derek writes: "In my experience these are exactly the sorts of learning experiences that many of these emerging social web applications enable and encourage."

This brand-new state-of-the-art 21st Century pedagogy was first written about in....
1915 by John Dewey in his "Constructivist Pedagogy". Makes you think about how much progress we've made in the last 100 years in education, doesn't it?

These are my top ideas for using Web 2.0 tools in class, to encourage the type of learning experience John Dewey was dreaming of:

Tip #1
Class Blog: Use blogging software such as Edublogs or Blogger to create your class blog. In a Primary class, it works well to have one student log on username and password, and let them publish their best writing and pictures. I let my class look at our blog every morning just after we've done the roll, and the excitement is always great if we have a comment. The clustermap also lends itself to a quick Atlas search to find out who our readers are!

Tip #2
Class Wiki: I like to use Wetpaint. (You can ask for the ads to be removed, if it is an educational wiki. You can also use PBWiki. For me a wiki is the ideal showcase for students' work. You can create a page for each project, and students can add a page for themselves, on which to add their notes, links and work. Students can edit and comment on each other's pages, and you can have a discussion thread going. This is also something parents can access (but not edit, unless you let them.) My class wiki is still under construction, but it will be used as a sort of filing cabinet to store our work digitally.

Tip #3
Voicethread: This is something I've just learnt about, and I can't wait to try it out in class!

Am I still 'fit to be a Teacher'?

2008-04-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

This term has been a wopping eleven weeks long. This is a tongue-in-cheek look at my state of mind as a teacher by the end of the term!

In the April edition of NZEI Rourou, a small insert asks the following question: Are you of "Good Character" and "Fit to be a Teacher"?

It continues:

The Teachers Council defines "good character and is fit to be a teacher" as someone who

a) 'has a police vet satisfactory to the Council';

Yeah, this I can attest to, after months of waiting. I applied for my Police vet in November for immigration purposes. (I had to have it done through the South African department of internal affairs, although I hadn't set foot in the country since moving here in 2005.) After months of telephone calls, payments to various individuals (I won't go into details) and desperate emails to family members living in Pretoria, I now have the police vet. Actually, I don't have it. I sent it straight off to NZ Immigration. I've just thought of something: I hope the Council finds it satisfactory, once I get it back!

b) 'displays respect for persons, for cultural and social values of Aotearoa New Zealand, for the law and for the views of others.'

Well, I have a bit of a confession to make here. While I do respect said persons, cultures and values of Aotearoa and also the law... the views of some others are not always to my taste! And by the 11th week of the term, I find myself, well, a trifle outspoken. I don't think I actually always display the respect I feel. As a matter of fact, what I might be displaying is considerable disdain at some people's views. (I'm thinking: That's ridiculous! I don't agree. What a nincompoop! Oh, no, don't ask me to do that stupid admin again. It's too much work / too hard / too boring. I don't wanna!) I'm not normally a negative kind of person, but I seem to have undergone a personality change of late. Hope no-one gossips about me to the council! I probably just need some rest!

c) 'upholds the public and professional reputation of teachers;

I haven't been dancing on the tables recently, so I reckon I could say 'Yes' to this one. Fat chance of putting the reputation of anyone at stake, including myself, with the work load we teachers have! Life has pretty much been school, school, school for the past 11 weeks. Note to self: Go somewhere, over the rainbow, where no-one knows you're a teacher, and have a wild party during the holidays. Stay up until at least midnight. Be wild. Throw all caution to the winds, and go to bed without flossing.

d) 'promotes and nurtures the safety of learners within his or her care;'

Yes, they've got the 'his or her' part right. I don't know whether I'm Arthur or Martha by week 11. Regarding the 'safety of learners' I've told my learners all about Cybersafety, Road Safety, Water Safety, not talking to strangers (except while blogging) and saying 'No' when it's appropriate. I've encouraged them to wear their hats all summer (repeatedly) and their shoes on rainy days. I've asked, cajoled and commanded them to 'walk, not run'. I have reminded them over and over and over again to wash, blow and wipe the appropriate body parts. How do you 'nurture the safety of learners'? I've nurtured the learners themselves, though. I've even been pretty patient. Well, mostly.

e) 'is reliable and trustworthy in carrying out duties;'

Oh Dear! Does that include Road Patrol? Shh, don't tell anybody, but I forgot to go out the other day to check on the duty parent. No-one noticed. Does that make me unreliable? I can say uncategorily that I am trustworthy, though. You can trust me to put my foot in my mouth at least once a day. You can trust me to forget to check that my window monitor has closed the windows. You can trust me to steal a few moments of quiet before I go out to field duty. You can even trust me to wait until after school before I read my RSS feeds. Except today. I have to confess, I sneaked a peak today.

f) 'is mentally and physically fit to carry out the teaching role safely and satisfactorily.'

I dunno...! Kids drive you crazy on rainy days. And windy days. And hot days, too.

Physically I'm not doing too badly. I do count kilojoules and at least once a fortnight I remember to wear my pedometer. (So far my upper limit has been 7500 steps per day.) Not completely sedentary. I have the occasional wack at a golf ball at the driving range. I even beat my teenage kids at mini-golf the other day. Much to their chagrin!

Mentally? Is it OK to keep on babbling away, while you have a group of kids looking at you in awe and wonderment? No, it's not the riveting lesson I'm teaching that's creating the awe. It's the fact that I've absent-mindedly reverted to my home language - which they don't understand. Am I still mentally OK, if all I want, after a term of hard work, is to crawl under the covers with a soppy, mind-numbing, zero-literary-value-at-all love story? (I've been reading kid's books day after day, week after week. I have to progress to adult fiction slowly, step-by-step.) Can the snappy, grumpy, growly, quick-to-criticize, slow-to-smile, cannot-be-pleased-even-by-a- chocolate-peace-offering person I have become (after a hectic first term) still qualify as 'fit to be a teacher'?

I realise that I do have some introspection to do about my character and desirability as a teacher. But first I'm going home, pouring a big glass of red wine, and relaxing with my feet up! I'll worry about the laundry/ planning / groceries / kid's squabbles / term goals / classroom displays next week. When I'm on holiday!

A Vision for 21st Century Learners

2008-04-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

This video was created to inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills. Equally important, it serves to motivate school leaders to provide teachers with the tools and training to do so.

Teaching in the Olden Days

2008-04-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and I've just put the laptops away, locked up the digital camera, shut down the computers and switched off the Smartboard. I've done my planning for next week, adding hyperlinks to all the internet resources I'll be using during lessons. I've downloaded some video's I want to show my class and they're sitting safely on the desktop waiting for next week.

When I started teaching, many moons ago, my shut down routine was slightly different. I would be closing books, putting text books away, returning the encyclopaedias to the library and requesting VHS video's for next week.

The Year 5's homework task for this week is to find out how things were when their parents went to school. My colleague, who set the task, is still quite young, and it has occurred to me that my pupils' parents are also probably in their 20's. They may have to ask their grandparents for some interesting stories.

And if you think I'm going to start telling my pupils how I walked barefoot in the snow for 4 miles, I'll set your mind at rest: At least I wore shoes to school, and travelled by car. I'm not that old!

Lifelong Learning, and affairs of the heart.

2008-04-03T23:25:00.001-07:00

My husband feels neglected. It's not my fault, I tell him. "Yes, I am interested in the elections in Zimbabwe," I tell him. "Yes, dear. I heard you." (Hilary Clinton - in Zimbabwe... no, that can't be right...) "Yes, dear, I'm watching." (Which elections ?)

What I don't tell him, is that I'm keeping my eye on the exchange on Twitter. And reading Ewan's blog. And tagging the cool Maths website I just stumbled on. And figuring out what a blidget is. (Blog widget? Anyone know?)

Are you a lifelong learner? I've always seen myself as a learner. I read anything, and everything that comes my way. As a child growing up in Zimbabwe, entertainment was not easily accessible, and books were my constant companions. My Dad subscribed to the Reader's Digest, and I would read it from front page to back page. I loved the 'Laughter's the Best Medicine' section, tested my vocabulary on the 'Word Power' page and marvelled at the 'book inserts' at the back. We had no art galleries to go to, but I studied the art works reproduced on the back cover. And that's where my love affair with words started.

I still read avidly. Only instead of curling up with a paperback, I settle myself companiably on my bed, while my husband watches Sky News / History Channel / CNN. Yep, you've guessed it - he has the remote, and the laptop is keeping me warm. Occasionally I reach over, and absently-minded pat Dearest's tummy - just to show I care. And then eagerly resume my browsing, reading, tagging, learning, blogging activities. I can justify my actions to my neglegted other half: I am learning.

Or I soon will be, just as soon as I've finished bookmarking all the stuff that interests me! I'm afraid my affair with my PLN (personal learning network - who coined this term first?) is creating a void between me and my PND (personal nearest and dearest). I was discussing this issue with some colleagues today, who all do the same, and who all agree: It's not healthy for the marriage! I'm closing the laptop in a minute. Just want to read a tiny bit more.

"Yes, Dearest, I heard you... Osama Bin Laden has won the elections in Zimbabwe, did you say?"

Now why would he look at me like that? I'm learning!

Be Safe, not sorry!

2008-03-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

Most of us have a vague understanding that the internet can be dangerous for kids. Do we really understand exactly what the pitfalls are? Or are we just keeping our kids off the internet, because it's a dangerous place to be.

"Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe – this isn’t just about a top-down approach. Children will be children – pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim."- Safer Children in a Digital World

How true! We teach children safety rules for the road, water sense, social interaction rules, and now cyber safety rules. Children tend to trust and obey. It's our job to explain the pitfalls in a clear and easy to remember way. I've come across a great site, called CyberCafe, that I will be using to explain and teach cyber safety in my class. We also need to our students strategies to use, should cyber bullying occur. This site walks them through all the strategies in a fun way.

Web 2.0 opens up a world of opportunities for learning and reflecting on learning. Before my students run into trouble, I'll be making sure that they are Cyber Safe!

Changing face of education

2007-10-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I recently had to give feedback to our staff about what I had learnt at ULearn 07. I spent some time thining about it, and together with the inspiration from the current K12 Online Conference, this is what I've learnt:

The audience is no longer just the teacher, or even sharing with the class - the audience has become global. We will need to teach our students a whole new set of thinking and communication skills. They will have to speak, and write a standard of English which is globally acceptable and understandable. They will have to learn to respect the diversity of their audience. They will have to use words which convey their meaning and emotions without offending or putting themselves at risk. They will have to start thinking about what information they want to share, who their target audience is, and how to best present their ideas. Stuff we've been teaching them anyway.

Our students will probably be earning their money doing a job that hasn't yet been invented. Very few - if any - of them will have routine, run-of-the-mill office jobs sitting in rows of desks with the same colleagues until they retire. They are unlikely to have a physical inbox and outbox, or go to work carrying a briefcase. Our students have to be prepared by us to work in a virtual office, be able to keep up with constant change, and communicate with anyone, anywhere to find information. Networking skills will be vital, as will creative communication skills.

Our students no longer have to be taught masses of facts. Yes, basic Maths and grammar facts, and general knowledge is still important, but more important is to teach them where and how to find the information they are looking for. The old encyclopaedias on the bookshelf, even the dictionary and thesaurus will be gathering even more dust. They'll just source information on line. After all who of us are still using the Yellow Pages for anything else than a doorstop?

All the old teaching ideas need to be chucked out the door.

What? Just kidding:

None of the old teaching ideas need to be chuck out the door. All the good ideas we've alwyas had can still be used, just in a different and more exciting way. Here are some examples:

Playing with plasticine or clay: Yep, they can still do it, only now they will use 'I can Animate', and create digital animation stories with our little characters. Imagine doing volcano's, and creating an eruption, or dinosaurs, and making them walk across the set. Students now have to do more research to figure out how the set will look, what the vegetation looked like, what the backdrop needs to look like. They will need to write a script, draw a story board and collaborate with their peers to put their plans in action.

Dress up corner: My students love dressing up, and I have a whole corner of my class dedicated to dress up. At the cheap $ stores, I buy fancy hats, wings and other novelties and I add to our store every now and then. The students then take photos of each other wearing the fance dress. Sometimes they make up a character as they go along, Sometimes they depict a character from a book, depending on how I set the task. The photos are downloaded, and used to create comic stories. We use ComicLife. They have now learnt 'old' skills like retelling their story, or creating a story and new skills like digital photography, and publishing in graphic novel format.

TV Broadcasts: One of my favourite ideas from my college years, was to paint a box like a TV and have the children deliver their news as a news broadcast. I have used this idea over the years with great success to get even the most reticent student to order their thinking, and deliver their story with confidence. Just think how exciting this idea will be if I chuck away the delapidated old cardboard TV and replace it with a real video machine, have them edit their broadcast and publish it in the form of a podcast!

More ideas in the next blog! Watch this space...

Get on the bus, guys!

2007-10-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's easy to get frustrated with my colleagues, who just won't get on the eLearning bus, but I'll try not to!

As one of the ICT lead teachers, I've been blown away by the Web 2.0 tools. In my Year 3/4 class I have kids blogging, podcasting (well almost), creating comics, dressing up as book characters and publishing and editing their own digital photo's, and more. Today we are starting with digital animation. My students are eager to learn, are writing fun and entertaining scripts, are authors, editors and publishers. Isn't that what we want to teach? Some of the other teachers have got even more inspiring projects running. At my school we have wonderful resources, and everyone can easily integrate ICT into their lessons.

Yesterday we had feedback time about uLearn. Six of us had been there, and come back buzzing.

Our children are growing up in a new, exciting world. My teenagers at home contact their friends in South Africa every day. Cost free. One of them wouldn't eat with us last night, because he didn't want to let 'Morgan' down, who was gaming with him out of Montreal.
Our students will be needing more than the knowledge of 'the bonds of 10' and '20 words with -ing'. They will have to survive and earn money in the global community.

Come on, teachers. Get on the bus!

Webspeak

2007-10-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

My kids are starting to think I'm actually quite cool. (I'm talking about the one's I live with.) But, I've had to learn a whole new language first! I can now blog, twit and flikr with ease. I organize my links in del.icio.us. I even make use of an aggregator to manage my RSS feeds. No, not the evening meal, the RSS feeds. But the thing that impressed them most, was my weekend animation exploits. I have just discovered Apple's 'I can Animate'. What fun! My kids and I (and I have four aged 12 to 17) spent a couple of hours creating fun little animations. The attractions of the World of Warcraft was abandoned to play with their Mum!

The implications for use in class are limitless. I showed my class the projects today, and they're so excited. Some of my most challenging boys are planning to bring their lego men, and are looking forward to the next Writing lesson, so that they can write their script! These are kids that have been reluctant to write more than 2 or 3 very poorly constructed sentences at a time. Eager, willing and animated!

To blog, or not to blog?

2007-10-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

I overheard someone saying that to blog, was a bit like 'blowing your own horn'. Well, maybe it is, but maybe the bloggers out there just love writing. Or talking. Or sharing their thoughts.

Why does it appeal to me? Is it just that I like the 'sound' of my own voice. Or do I have something worthwhile to say? Or is it just the flavour of the month? I honestly don't know. But I'm loving it. It gives me a reason to write. A reason to share my thoughts. And I might just get some communication from out there, which will expand my world!

uLearn '07 - I'm sure learning!

2007-10-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to attend the uLearn conference in Auckland this week (during my non-contact time - previously called 'holidays'.) WOW! What a load of mind-blowing ideas! I've seen (and been able to try out my own) podcasting, and got to grips with Garageband. I learnt how to create an animation using I can animate..., and had a look at the easy ComicLife. Today I'll be attending breakouts on more interesting topics. The best thing of all is that the presenters are mainly teachers themselves, which meangs they are not sitting in their thrones sprouting vague grandiose ideas, but are giving us hands on ideas. My was of teaching, but most of all my attitude to my students' learning, has certainly been changed!