From little things...

One of my missions this year was to build capacity in those around me. This has taken me on many paths and some dead ends :) thankfully most of the paths have lead to positive endings for the teachers and students involved :)

A recent remarkable moment... And I know it has been awhile since I posted!! Those silly reports get in the way!! Oh... Back to my remarkable moment... I love Teachmeets!! By far the best PD we have to offer all teachers, accessing, building and maintaining PLN's for NST's and my trusty non digital natives. They inspire and reignite the fire in those who attend. I have been bringing along one of my wonderful teachers to previous TM's, she is always up for a challenge and WANTS to be inspired. For a long time it has really only been the two of us who potter along and soak up the enthusiasm and energy that these TM's provide... They are truly amazing!! Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I discovered (via twitter) an upcoming TM at a private school... I thought to myself this would be interesting... See how the rich do things :) jk!! But I truly was interested to see how they ran their format. Knowing many of the twitter names attending I approached my principal and asked if she would be happy for a few to attend as it was on a staff meeting night... She agreed ( because she is super supportive and amazing) and off I went to recruit some un-expecting prey!! ;) to my delight it would not only be myself and the other avid TM attendee but we had also roped in a NST and a NonDig!!! I was sooooo excited!!! And this was not even the remarkable moment... I know, this feels like the never ending story!

The remarkable moment was not getting them to sign up but what happened next.... I became sick and couldn't attend! The three ventured off and not only did my NST tweet the whole way through but when I walked into the staffroom today there was the NST and my NonDig sitting at the computer and he was setting her up on twitter!!! Remarkable Moment indeed!!! It was Amazing to see the confidence he was showing and the willingness to learn she was displaying!

All three cornered me at different times in the day thanking me for introducing, informing and pushing them to TEachermeet as well as;

1. Wanting to know when I could sit down with them and unpack the possibilities for what they had learnt and what else was out there.

2. When is the next

and

3. What is happening to the iPads at the school once I leave at the end of the year!!! :)

For people who didn't even want to know about iPads and twitter, elearning and ICT I think they are remarkable, interested and energized teachers who are embracing learning!!

I think it's pretty remarkable!

I convinced

The Remarkable Moments Keep Coming

Wow... Wow... Wow!!

Our second attempt at Discovery Time was AMAZING!! The difference in one week was truly inspiring.

After last week I sat back and reflected on how could I engage those students who really had no idea about what was going on. I thought about those student and what challenges they were facing in moving forward. It came down to two things.

The frist was that they didn't want to do the wrong thing so they just did nothing :) and the other was that they didn't know what to do with the information they had or what their next step would be.

So.....

This week we spent 30mins with me modeling and guiding the 62 students as a whole on what to do with the notes we have and identifying what step we might be up to (gathering, reading, identifying key points, note taking, conferencing or making). We also disussed 'how do we know if we are ready for the next step?' I used students at different stages to model the steps and then gave all students the opportunity to decide what stage they were at. We had an hands up response to what stage they were up too. We had time for questions and discussion.

It was apparent that through this interaction the students felt more confident to state what stage of the discovery they were at.

From this we then moved into 'Think Tank Time'...

This was to address one of the other challenges we faced the previuos week... What do I do now?

Students had to spend 5mins (this was a very long time for Year 1) to think about what stage they were at and what was their goal for today? They had their discovery journals and thinking caps on!! They were not to get up or begin until the 5mins had passed. There was to be no "I don't know what to do" or "mrs Irwin, mrs Irwin". They HAD TO sit, THINK and PLAN their discovery for the session.

At the end of the 5 mins nearly every student had the capacity to direct their learning and discovery for the day! It was truly magical and inspiring and a definite REMARKABLE MOMENT!! I took the time to stand back and enjoy the problem solving, critical thinking and authentic learning that was taking place!

They could have worked all day and when I told them it was time to back up they all looked at me like I aaas delivering the end of the world to them. When when reflected on the discovery session all agreed that they worked harder and better today than the previous week. They flet that they knew where they were in their discovery and what steps they needed to still take.

So after week two I can confidently say that...

25 out of 31 students were totally engaged in their discovery,
3 needed guided teacher assistance,
2 needed reassurance of what to do next,
1 still had no idea what was going on until the last 5 mins when the light bulb went off!! We will get there!!

So pretty successful session in my eyes!!

Keep your eyes out for remarkable moments... They are all around us!

Xoxo

A

Let the Discoveries Begin

Discovery Time in Year 1

Well Friday maked our first Discovery Time!!

It was a great experience of learning and thinking on our feet :)

We begun the two hour block with all 62 Year 1 kiddies together and talked about how things were going to take place:

1. For the first 20-40 mins of each Friday we will come together and have an expert research skills workshop run by the teachers to begin with and then some kids later on. We will discuss how to search for information using different tools on the computers, iPads and books.

- today I introduced them to duckduckgo search engine. They love it!! Was great to model how to search using it and what to do when we find some information. We discussed what is 'key information', what was 'extra information' and what was 'silly information'. This then brought us to the conversation of relevant and trust worthy information and rubbish information. We talked about how we can all be authors on the Internet so we need to be careful where and what information we use :) I used the example of myself going on to Wikipedia and saying that rockets are made of popcorn and posting it. They all thought this was very funny.... But they got the idea!!
- We talked about what happens if we come across a word we doing know?? They came up with solutions like cut and paste into a new search and find out what it is, use e dictionary on line and real dictionary, ask a friend and ask the teacher. Pretty good problem solvers :)
- we came across some hyperlinks and once again branched out to a discussion about these.

The amount of incidental and unplanned learning that took place was incredible and truly uplifting for me!! I honestly didn't know what or how it was going to work out!!

Any suggestions for future workshops???

2. Talking Circles

Each week students will get into talking circles and talk about what they accomplished in the last discovery time. They can ask questions and seek clarification from peers and teachers.

3. Self reflection for 5mins to set goals for the session.

4. Continue independent discovery - reasech, note taking, conferencing, making and presenting.

In the class of 31 I had I think the following is a pretty accurate account of the fourth step of our first discovery.

10 students off and running fully independent and self guided.... Yay!!!

8-10 students needed help to get started and on track and then were off and working.

6 students needed more support and direction as to what and how they were going to use their time.

5-8 students had no idea what was happening or what day it was!! :)

All in all pretty good!!! Much better than I expected!! :)

Issues
- not enough computers or iPads for those students who were still gathering information.
- need more instruction as to how to highlight and identify key information from books or printed information. Leading to summarizing key points and note taking.
- management of the 'no idea' kiddies :)

Possible actioning
- the reseaching and research skills will be built upon on Monday Technology Centre time :)
- hopefully this will emlimate the need for heaps of computers for research on Fridays!!

Well that's a wrap from me about discovery for this week. Heaps of little remarkable moments takng place!! Awaiting approval to add pictures on her. Can't wait to share them with you all!!

Any suggestions please comment!!

Keep your eyes open for remarkable moments....

Xoxo
A

How I use my iPad2 as a Teacher?

The two biggest things I am currently using my iPad for is.... Evernote - I use just about daily as a way to make observational records, take pictures and recordings of my students progress. Particularly handy in literacy groups and maths groups. We can have the conversation recorded and I can make notes for the groups and individual students. I also take many photos using Evernote. The biggest plus to using Evernote to do all of this is that it is all in the one place and then I can flick it to my email if needed. I also use this at meetings then email notes and bits to different parties that need it. Google Docs - record keeping and assessment. I have set up a Google Doc and use this spreadsheet to track and record their grades and marks. The only problem with this is that when accessing it on the iPad for editing it is a little painful to edit as you need to save each individual change. Also accessing web, email... All the stuff I would use my iPhone for :) Any other apps for teachers that are useful? Thoughts? Xoxo A

Caught a Remarkable Moment Today

When you think that you aren't having an impact... all it takes is a few 7 year olds to bring you back!! So Year 1 ventured off on an excursion to how things used to be in the Past... Seeing that they are only 6&7 I was worried that anything before 2001 would seem a long time ago to them :) Remarkable moment 1.... In the replica olden days school building the guide asked the students what they thought this classroom would need form their classroom to make it better. I was thinking... Yeah, yeah they will say computers, IWB, iPads etc... And yes they did. This was not the remarkable moment. What followed was... After each child said a piece of technology they followed it with 'because it will' or 'to help' or 'to show'.... One of them went on to explain to the older gentleman... 'You really need to have computers, because then you can have a website and once you have a website then you can blog about what you are learning to show mum and dad. That's what we do and it really cool'. Another stated that you must have a camera so you can capture your learning and show people. Remarkable moment!! They... At 6 and 7 they can tell you what and how they use the technology in the classroom to help them and inform others. For me the biggest shift over the past years is from the technology to the pedagogy.... And even more than that it is about how ANY tool can build capacity, inspire and encourage students in their learning. Moving beyond the flashy tool and whats the next big thing but rather building creative problem solving THINKERS who can rationalize their learning and choices. Thoughts??? Xoxo A

Discovery Time - Year 3

Year 3 have begun the planning phase of discovery time!!

One of the teachers said that it was amazing to see those students who can ask questions and those who struggled. She said it was a great opportunity for her to identify a learning need and act on it!!

How inspiring!! Loving it!!

xoxo
A

Discovery Time - Part 1

The World of Discovery....

After visiting Silverton Primary School in September I was inspired to have a go at the notion of guided students lead discovery. I played around with a few concepts and ideas and came up with the following.

Discovery Time is guided student led learning that will take place for 2 hours every Friday. The process will involve students selecting a topic or area of interest that they wish to investigate for example; flowers, planets, robots, popcorn etc.

They will be required to keep a ‘Discovery Journal’, in which they will plan their discovery and record their progress.

Students will be working with the teachers to organize and plan their discoveries. During their planning time students will list two to three key questions they want answered and the different steps they might need to take in order to answer them.

During the allocated weekly technology time and as part of homework, students will begin to gather information about their topic.

Once they have some information during the discovery time they will begin to answer the key questions they asked during the planning stage. They will develop the research skills of Identifying Key Points and Note Taking.

Students will then be able to present their discovery in any format they would like e.g poster, PowerPoint, Prezi, podcast or pictorial form etc. 

Students will be given a maximum of three weeks to complete a discovery project, during Discovery Time on Fridays. They may complete it in one or two weeks also.

Once they have completed a discovery, students will share their discovery in their home class. Teachers will then use this time to generate feedback and assessment.

So this term Year 1 and Year 3 are embarking on this journey. I am blessed to have a team of teachers who are willing to take risks and have a go. I told them that we are just trailing it and seeing what works and what doesn't....

It is as much of a learning experience for the teachers involved as it is for the students.

Interesting points for discussion and thought -
*Resources: as we are not a one to one laptop school and only have four computers in each classroom finding and gathering information was the first problem. In year 1 we asked that they students gather and only gather some information at home and bring it to school for unpacking. This did however mean that some students went home and found all the answers to their questions.

*Reseach Skills: During our Technology Centre (YES, we still have a lab!!) we have begun to use different search engines to find more information and locate what information is 'key information' and what is extra information what we don't need. Very interesting with 31 Year 1 children!! I used 'askkids' as the search engine but I am sure there are better ones??? Any suggestions?

* Working with 31 different topics: Was always going to be something to overcome.... We are however getting there. Having the students write two to three key questions has meant that the search for specific answers has been easier than if we had just said find information about the topic.

The students are SUPER excited for our first actual Discovery Time session this Friday!

I will update you on how it goes! Fingers crossed!

xoxo
A

Build capacity in my non-digital native grade partner

It's all in the WE.... not the ME!

As I ventured into the world of Year 1 this year I was fortunate enough to work with a very talented teacher who has been working on year 1 for many years. She has many gifts and talents, particularly in the areas of literacy. However she is nearing the end of her teaching years and technology, elearning, and contemporary models of pedagogy were not things she was particularly fussed with. She has been doing the same things for many years and her results have been great. So why change?

Sound familiar?

Many of us have teachers like this in our schools. The biggest thing I have learnt is that in order to build capacity we need to celebrate the talents that both or all parties bring to the table. We need to pick our battles and not try and change everything at once :) We need to be reflective and patient, change does not happen over night. We need to show teachers who are reluctant to change the benefits of the change. Show them that the input is worth the output. At the beginning of the year we did most things in isolation, as she had her way and I had mine. We all know this is not a productive or efficient way to work!! She didn't particularly want some know it all 20 something teacher telling her to do things differently as I didn’t want to change my philosophy of teaching just to suit her. We both stuck to our guns!!

Slowly we begun to talk about what we were doing and the ways in which we could do things. We identified our strengths and areas that we wanted to make changes to in the program. Together we begun to ask questions and make changes. We both feel valued (which is extremely important) and equal members of the team.

We now collaboratively program and trust each other to do so :)

We have embraced using the iPads and other digital media in both classes.

We have a class website that both classes use regularly to blog and learn.

We work together with all of Year 1 to do Expert Afternoons and Discovery Time. We support and help each other.

We are excited about what and how we can work with, challenge and inspore our students. We are inspired to help and learn from each other!!

As you can see we have gone from ME to WE! And it is AMAZING!

What experiences have you had?

xoxo

A

Student Choice and Voice

This is something that I am very passionate about and a fundamental part of my pedagogy!



The notion of 'choice' and the idea that responsibility comes with any choice we make was going to be key in empowering and instilling the Elearning principles to my students.

This is something I am very passionate about. I believe that if students no matter if they are 6, 16 or 36 a given a choice and a voice in the way they learn then they will automatically be motivated. One because it was their choice and two because they want to show you that they made the right choice.

In my own schooling experiences it was those teachers who let me explore and learn through discovery rather than belt the information into me that made the biggest impact.

I believe that if students have choice in how they learn then you are teaching them about risk and responsibility as well as giving them ownership over the task. If the child chooses to write a letter or essay, draw a picture or compose a song in response to a topic is anyone way worth more than the other if the child has talent in that area?

Yes there is a definant time to write, time to draw and a time to dance. However their is also areas in our curriculum that we can trust our students and push them to lift the bar and produce work in a format of their choosing.

One thing I have discovered this year is that if my students choose to do a task a particular way and take the 'easy' road I am able to challenge them and push them. When given a choice task now they will often sit and think about what and how they learn best and think about what task Will challenge them. Pretty impressive for Year 1!! Already critical thinkers.


Here are a few things we have done in Year 1

We began with a few choices and then blossomed into choices that impact the way in which we learn and interact with each other.

Choice as to where to sit and who to sit with.... Are the people we play best with the people we learn best with??

- went from teacher choosing where everyone sat to
- teacher making certain selections for certain children but others being able to place their name tag on any desk.
- to optional name tags for members of the class to have a piece of property that was theirs.
- to no name tags and students arranging furniture and desk selection based on the learning task for that session.

Little reminder.... They are 6 and 7 years old.

At times.... Yes I have needed to place all the name tags back on the desk and reminded the class about taking responsibility for choices in their learning. They are only human and we all need reminding of that from time to time.

Choice as to how they complete learning task and the order they do them in
- especially in areas of RE, literacy and maths.

To the point now that one of my students came to me the second day back this term and told me "I think we worker better and harder when it's choice Mrs Irwin" I asked him why and he replied "because its our responsibility to"

Choice and voice in how the classroom runs
- class meetings "lets have a chat" and expert afternoons.
Class Meetings
- In Term 1 and Term 2 we would have weekly class meetings in which the students would run and I would be the minute taker :)
- now we only see a need to have a class meeting about two or three times a term. This came from the students as they thought we should only have meetings when there are big issue that effect everyone in the classroom and how it is run.

Expert Afternoon
- In term 3 we decided to take on a concept that our year 3 classes had been doing all year. The idea is that student nominate to run a small group workshop teaching the other students something. Paper folding, drawing, chess, card games, craft, computers, iPads etc...
- this was a major success and something that will be continued this term.

All food for thought....

Xoxo
A

What is a Digital Native now?

I do not claim to have all the answers or in anyway think that the 'YOUNG' are all 'digital natives' and the 'OLD' are all 'traditional' and non committed to technology.

Some of the most inspiring people in the world of elearning and technology are as old or older than my parents. Some are even no longer with us, we will all miss the work of Steve Jobs. I know of two or three people within my own PLN who are of the more mature era, not to mention names 'cough Mick, Mary-Anne, Scott cough' that would be some of the first people I would go to if I have any questions around elearning and technology. I also have many friends that wouldn't know an app form a mac to a PC or ipad from ipod to itouch.

So really the non-digital native is no longer defined by age but rather curiosity and need?

We all need to know some aspects about technology to survive, so some learn only the basics to get them through whilst others delve deeper...

The difference is those who want to learn more about technology do and those who don't, don't.

What impact does that have on us as teachers?

xox

A

The Journey in Year 1 -

Building Capacity in Year 1

This can be broken down again into a few mini areas of focus :)

1. How do I empower 6year olds with the elearning skills of risk taking, collaborating, communication, problem solving, critical thinking?

2. What do I do with the 5 iPads I just convinced my principal to buy??

What i learnt.... Never underestimate a 6 year old yet alone 31 of them!

Coming to me in January from a very traditional and structured kindergarten setting 31 fresh Little faces looked at me as though I must be the keeper of all....

How was I going to empower them to become creative thinkers, problem solvers, risk takers, knowledge creators.... All the skills I had embedded into my pedagogy from years of teaching Year 6 and being a part of elearning projects??

We started small... And I mean really small!

- let's retell the story of Hattie and the Fox as a class and film it. They were so excited and overwhelmed by the fact that we designed masks and set up each part of the story. From there, well there was really no stopping them! We begun to have mini-video homework projects and they started to bring videos from home. They would ask if we could film different stories that we read and what other things they could use to retell. From this we developed one of our literacy tasks to be retelling stories using different equipment and then showing them to each other. We started to take pictures of them as well.

I suppose the next logical step would be to get the students to use the class camera and flipvideo to record themselves retelling independently!!

This blossomed into many projects including;

Image of the day: We start each day with a new image. It could be about anything. I usually pick images that inspire them to think or are in some way connected to the work we are doing that week. I have even taught maths concepts through image of the day... very sneaky I know!

The students love to come in and as we get ready to start the day have chat or a reflective thought about what and why this is the image of the day?

Once I forgot and they begun to talk about what the blank screen meant to them. Some said that it made them have a sense of emptiness and wonder whilst others said it was a new beginning or fresh start. They are truly amazing!

Photographer of the day: Each day a different student was given the class camera and asked to take photos (10-15) that showed our learning journey for that day. At the end of the day I would upload the images and as a class we would decide on which image best represented our learning journey. This started with great gusto and enthusiasm, however became very time consuming and difficult to manage. I now have the camera on my desk and the students know that if they see a 'remarkable moment' they can capture it and it is placed on our website (I'll get to this later!!).

After the experiences with image of the day and photographer of the day I realised that my students didnt really know how to take a photo at all! So form that I designed our Term 2 Visual Arts unit on digital photography and how to go from ordinary to extrodonary. We ended the unit by going to the local park and being professional photographers for a day. Once back at school one of our parents printed the images for us (very lucky) and the students judged the best images.

I will hopefully add some pictures to show you how amazing these little photographers are!!

They take great pride in their classroom and their classmates.

Class Website

Due to their amazing skills and love of an audience (nothing like their teacher) we decided to have a class website. After much discussion with many of the Ceolli team and my ever growing PNL I decided to use Webbly.

And a group of Bloggers was born!!

We have only had our class website for a Term and already they are addicted to blogging and commenting about their learning. As well as the students I have added an area for parents to add comments also. Here is a sample...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:20:59

Hello Year 1, Mrs McLaughlin and Mrs Irwin,

Firstly I would like to congratulate Mrs McLaughlin and Mrs Irwin for all of their outstanding hard work, dedication, time, knowledge, passion and education that they have instilled into our year 1 children. Your efforts and commitment to our children are greatly appreciated.

Secondly, I believe the year 1 website is fantastic because it allows parents, families, friends and grandparents to view what our year 1 children have been learning and performing throughout the year.

Finally, to all of our year 1 children. It is excellent to see how hard you all have been working and developing. Learning looks like a lot of fun and it's wonderful to see you all happy. Well done year 1!! Keep up the great work and I look forward to viewing more of your great learning adventures.

Kindest regards

Marlaine

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:18:23

Hi Mrs McLaughlin & Mrs Irwin & Year 1 kids,

This blog is great for all the year 1 kids, parents and teachers.

The last couple of days Joe has been looking forward to getting on to the computer and showing us comments he and his friends have made on the blog. It is great for their basic reading, writing and learning.

The kids get a real kick out of reflecting back on comments they have made on the blog!!

We look forward to watching the progress of the webiste/blog for the rest of Term 4.

Can't believe this is their last Term of Year 1! Great work guys :)

Kind regards,


Lou Hogan

I will post some student blogs shortly.

iPads in year 1

At the beginning if the year I was given 5 iPads to use in year 1.

I will only place a snap shot here as a few posts will be dedicated to this particular journey!

Let's play to play

Let's play to learn

Let's learn to learn

Let's help others learn

Looking back now... The best thing about all of this is that my students have grown to embrace all of the ilearn skills I thought they would struggle with... they are amazing problem solvers, who no longer ask me if they can sharpen their pencil. They are creative thinkers who are embarking on Discovery Time this term. They are knowledge creators who lead class meetings and run expert afternoons. They are communicators and collaborators who take risks and feel supported by their teacher and their peers. They are empowered to find solutions to problems and find problems within the classroom. To have a voice and choice in the organisation of their learning and learning space, to have a go and be creative.

xox

A

Walking backwards is more fun!

As I am only blogging about my journey now... I will try and keep each blog for each section separate... that way you can read as you please!

Becoming a member of the Ceolli Group this year has been amazing! I have developed a terrific PLN and some real friendships that will stay with me hopefully for many years! One of the biggest aspects of the entire project I feel is the networking of like minded teachers. Putting us together to help us build the confidence to take risks in what we do and try to empower us to challenge our students, our colleagues and ourselves to be better, more creative and bring the fun back into education!

I remember early in the year Tony Ryan mentioning... that if you are not excited about coming to teach each day, then don't! How true this statement is and I am sure that many of us have teachers and know teacher that have this sentiment everyday. Scary to think that they are influencing the youth of today. But instead of blaming them and telling them to just retire what is the system and what are we doing to inspire them to want to be the teacher they once were? Part of my journey is tapping into this... how do we reignite the flame in teachers who have lost the passion to learn themselves?

I have learnt soooo much! I have become a better teacher and learner through this process. Hopefully you too can learn from my experience.

xox

A

From little things Part 1

What can 1 person do in one year?

The ideas and possibilities began to race through my mind and they were endless...I could do this... Or this... What about that.... I have heard that they can.... What if... Do you think we could, should... Maybe...

However the means and resources were endless.... This did not deter me... I still kept bouncing 100 ideas around this crazy brain of mine.... Then a voice said "Mandy.... Just pick one and go with it" ... But for those of you who know me only doing one thing at a time is well... Not my style! So I narrowed it down to three.

My goal within the year was to;
Build capacity in my year one students
Build capacity in my non-digital native grade partner
And attempt to build capacity in other teachers.

So how was I going to do that?

Xox A