This Thinglink image is a selection of the gems of knowledge, tools, resources and a couple of twitter handles that I encountered at the most recent WAPA session which was focussed on eLearning.
I currently am employed at Hobsonville Point Primary School where I work in a year 5-7 learning common, this is my 8th year at HPPS. I teach, lead and learn. Previously, I spent 3 years teaching at Henderson North School with a class of Year 5-6 students.
Sunday, 8 June 2014
WAPA eLearning Session Term 2
This Thinglink image is a selection of the gems of knowledge, tools, resources and a couple of twitter handles that I encountered at the most recent WAPA session which was focussed on eLearning.
Friday, 16 May 2014
Hacking our history - first steps
What a week! I've had moments of frustration but finished wishing that tomorrow was another school day thanks to my first forays into hacking the learning in @rm1hns.
I've experimented with Adventure Learning in the past and started 2014 with the intention of using this form of learning again. The class had moderate success with their adventure learning last year but as is typical one thing led to another and we just didn't get there. As I completed my long-term planning for this term Adventure Learning had fallen back off my radar in favour of some inquiry learning and a couple of projects that I thought would allow enough differentiation that the class would be engaged with their learning.
We're studying NZ History as a school (not my choice but I can definitely make this work), so in the past two weeks I've really tried to immerse them in content with the hope that I can inspire some curiosity and get them moving. I was trying to widen their horizons but instead they were following my ideas as their topics rather than using them as the starting point to discoveries of their own.
But then I saw the blogpost by @Juliet_Revell for the Kidsedchatnz session on Hacking -
Twitter then assisted the next part of the journey. An HPSS staffmember who posts & tweets about hacking regularly retweeted the latest post to Carl's Blog. It was time to learn some more so I opened the link. This succinct post, some bravado and a little experience with Adventure Learning led to some great first steps in hacking today.
We started with the NZ History calendar view, we quickly had a look through the posts on the month of May. Ten minutes or less allowed us to skim through the May and 2-3 of the classes birthdays. We got out the BYOD devices, handed out a few of the school iPads and divided up the desktops so the kids could go exploring the timeline. Carl's post had led to three easy questions that I posed to @rm1hns today; What do you want to learn? How do you want to learn it? How do you know when you have learnt it? As each of the kids found something that they wanted to learn more about I assisted them with possible learning outcomes.
Here are 2-3 of the results:
1 girl is delving into the Treaty of Waitangi and wants to write a script to recreate the signing. I can see this getting quite big but there is so much learning embedded within this that I'm going to let it.
2 boys discovered that Sir Edmund Hillary also trekked to the South Pole, they're thinking about building a model to show his journey. Minecraft got mentioned here! They'll need to be able to talk me through it but the enthusiasm & curiosity are there.
Another girl came up to show me a history event she'd discovered, the Maori language finally being made an official NZ language. I'm not sure how this project will look at the end of her project but I'm convinced that it is going to be a great learning journey for this student.
2 other girls discovered Minnie Dean, they never would have got there with my original plans but this is what has excited them and isn't this what it is all about.
Kidsedchatnz had led me back to where I am happiest, facilitating the children in their own learning. I'll be reading a lot more posts and tweets about hacking from here on, I might even manage to educate my peers who raised some eyebrows when I said we had been busy hacking the school and our learning.
Who knows what is next but it is definitely going to be interesting, motivating and worthwhile.
I've experimented with Adventure Learning in the past and started 2014 with the intention of using this form of learning again. The class had moderate success with their adventure learning last year but as is typical one thing led to another and we just didn't get there. As I completed my long-term planning for this term Adventure Learning had fallen back off my radar in favour of some inquiry learning and a couple of projects that I thought would allow enough differentiation that the class would be engaged with their learning.
We're studying NZ History as a school (not my choice but I can definitely make this work), so in the past two weeks I've really tried to immerse them in content with the hope that I can inspire some curiosity and get them moving. I was trying to widen their horizons but instead they were following my ideas as their topics rather than using them as the starting point to discoveries of their own.
But then I saw the blogpost by @Juliet_Revell for the Kidsedchatnz session on Hacking -
Hacking your Learning: What would make you happy? I'd noticed the social media attention to hacking without paying a great deal of attention. My only firsthand experience was when visiting Taupaki School and @jjpurtonjones had her students demonstrate a hacking programme. To be honest, I was guilty of thinking hacking = computers. I'm wrong and so glad.
Yesterday, as prep for Kidsedchatnz we watched the videos, Logan's video resonated with me straight away and the kids were starting to get intrigued as I wrote a few soundbites onto the whiteboard. By the time we'd watched the final video the kids were buzzing to design their own classrooms and learning. The class had a great time inventing their own classrooms. My brain was ticking over rapidly as I got to the end of the day, I'd learnt even more about some of the students, their interests, and how they'd like to learn.
Twitter then assisted the next part of the journey. An HPSS staffmember who posts & tweets about hacking regularly retweeted the latest post to Carl's Blog. It was time to learn some more so I opened the link. This succinct post, some bravado and a little experience with Adventure Learning led to some great first steps in hacking today.
We started with the NZ History calendar view, we quickly had a look through the posts on the month of May. Ten minutes or less allowed us to skim through the May and 2-3 of the classes birthdays. We got out the BYOD devices, handed out a few of the school iPads and divided up the desktops so the kids could go exploring the timeline. Carl's post had led to three easy questions that I posed to @rm1hns today; What do you want to learn? How do you want to learn it? How do you know when you have learnt it? As each of the kids found something that they wanted to learn more about I assisted them with possible learning outcomes.
Here are 2-3 of the results:
1 girl is delving into the Treaty of Waitangi and wants to write a script to recreate the signing. I can see this getting quite big but there is so much learning embedded within this that I'm going to let it.2 boys discovered that Sir Edmund Hillary also trekked to the South Pole, they're thinking about building a model to show his journey. Minecraft got mentioned here! They'll need to be able to talk me through it but the enthusiasm & curiosity are there.
Another girl came up to show me a history event she'd discovered, the Maori language finally being made an official NZ language. I'm not sure how this project will look at the end of her project but I'm convinced that it is going to be a great learning journey for this student.
2 other girls discovered Minnie Dean, they never would have got there with my original plans but this is what has excited them and isn't this what it is all about.
Kidsedchatnz had led me back to where I am happiest, facilitating the children in their own learning. I'll be reading a lot more posts and tweets about hacking from here on, I might even manage to educate my peers who raised some eyebrows when I said we had been busy hacking the school and our learning.
Who knows what is next but it is definitely going to be interesting, motivating and worthwhile.
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
BYOD Journey
Last year HNS started down the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) path with my beloved room 1 and the neighbouring room 2 trialling this strategy. Both f us teachers love technology and were looking to integrate it into our programmes more regularly and believed it would be beneficial for our teaching and learning outcomes. Next term we're planning to present some of our work and its effect on engagement at a WAPA e-learning strand but I feel the need to share my own personal journey for the benefit of other schools and teachers who are thinking about adopting a BYOD policy. We are now looking at moving BYOD into other classes and, naturally, there is apprehension among some of our teachers which is another reason for me to share some of this journey.
Before we first started last year we conducted some questioning of our children, what devices did they own (tablets, phones, laptops) and what platforms were they using (Android vs Apple being our main concern). Initially, we started pretty slowly but this year both classes have steadily had increases in the number of children using BYOD and naturally this has affected both the classroom management aspects as well as the pedagogy.
Currently I have 14 of my 28 children signed up to a BYOD agreement, this agreement outlines proper use and the responsibilities of all people involved. Not all children bring their devices every day nor do they get to use their devices for everything, that is still at my discretion.
Key lessons
App decisions:
I always try to avoid telling the children which Apps they use to do their work but Pic Collage is a firm favourite, while Book Creator and Flipagram are getting more use. Dropbox is an absolute must, while we get some use from Socrative also. The children have a range of different apps on their devices and I have had to exercise some restraint as I don't want anybody feeling pressured into purchasing particular apps.
We have slowly been working on creating our own HNS App chart but it is definitely a work in progress. There are a number of Apps that I feel the children could be working with successfully such as Explain Everything, other digital writing tools or even things such as Sock Puppets or Puppet Pals but the cost of them has been put a dampener on recommendations, hence the emphasis on the free side.
My biggest problem has been trying to navigate my way through the Android store to find equivalent apps as I am far more familiar with those available in iTunes.
Workflows:
When we started out the children weren't too sure about what to do, what to use or what to do when they're finished. Layering of Apps still isn't a regular occurrence but I'm hoping that this will improve as the year continues and the the children become more confident in their ability. My BYOD regulars are now more self-managed when it comes to full BYOD tasks, with an understanding that the work needs to be shared or published at least to their teacher. We have set up a shared BYOD folder that we use for issuing tasks/instructions and each student has an individual shared folder with me to upload their work or for any individual tasks they are given. Twitter regularly gets used to share their work also. We ought to be publishing work straight to our class/individual blogs also but I think that will be the next step.
Reflection still hasn't become a regular part of their learning which is something I need to push more in the future. A simple exit task is easily managed through Socrative, Google Forms or Exit Ticket.
Class Management:
Thankfully, the journey to 14 students has been gradual! It has definitely been some trial and error and I have found that it has had an impact on my instructions. I need to be far clearer about my expectations, the success criteria and the time expected to be used. Dropbox has assisted in this greatly, as I am learning to make instructions/tasks available electronically.
Naturally, the introduction of more browsers and publishing tools has had a positive impact on some disruptive behaviour. There are more ICT resources to share, therefore less frustration as we're not waiting as long to publish our work or do the research to create work. This also has an impact on differentiation, it is now relatively easier to give students tasks that suit their personality and learning needs/style.
Where to next:
I know I don't have BYOD working perfectly in my class, sometimes I still ask/invite them to do something off the cuff. But there are far more BYOD notes in my planning, more kids asking for agreements to take to their parents and more kids clamouring to show what they've just created.
Time to do set up another task for my kids...
Before we first started last year we conducted some questioning of our children, what devices did they own (tablets, phones, laptops) and what platforms were they using (Android vs Apple being our main concern). Initially, we started pretty slowly but this year both classes have steadily had increases in the number of children using BYOD and naturally this has affected both the classroom management aspects as well as the pedagogy.
Currently I have 14 of my 28 children signed up to a BYOD agreement, this agreement outlines proper use and the responsibilities of all people involved. Not all children bring their devices every day nor do they get to use their devices for everything, that is still at my discretion.
Key lessons
App decisions:
I always try to avoid telling the children which Apps they use to do their work but Pic Collage is a firm favourite, while Book Creator and Flipagram are getting more use. Dropbox is an absolute must, while we get some use from Socrative also. The children have a range of different apps on their devices and I have had to exercise some restraint as I don't want anybody feeling pressured into purchasing particular apps.
We have slowly been working on creating our own HNS App chart but it is definitely a work in progress. There are a number of Apps that I feel the children could be working with successfully such as Explain Everything, other digital writing tools or even things such as Sock Puppets or Puppet Pals but the cost of them has been put a dampener on recommendations, hence the emphasis on the free side.
My biggest problem has been trying to navigate my way through the Android store to find equivalent apps as I am far more familiar with those available in iTunes.
Workflows:
When we started out the children weren't too sure about what to do, what to use or what to do when they're finished. Layering of Apps still isn't a regular occurrence but I'm hoping that this will improve as the year continues and the the children become more confident in their ability. My BYOD regulars are now more self-managed when it comes to full BYOD tasks, with an understanding that the work needs to be shared or published at least to their teacher. We have set up a shared BYOD folder that we use for issuing tasks/instructions and each student has an individual shared folder with me to upload their work or for any individual tasks they are given. Twitter regularly gets used to share their work also. We ought to be publishing work straight to our class/individual blogs also but I think that will be the next step.
Reflection still hasn't become a regular part of their learning which is something I need to push more in the future. A simple exit task is easily managed through Socrative, Google Forms or Exit Ticket.
Class Management:
Thankfully, the journey to 14 students has been gradual! It has definitely been some trial and error and I have found that it has had an impact on my instructions. I need to be far clearer about my expectations, the success criteria and the time expected to be used. Dropbox has assisted in this greatly, as I am learning to make instructions/tasks available electronically.
Naturally, the introduction of more browsers and publishing tools has had a positive impact on some disruptive behaviour. There are more ICT resources to share, therefore less frustration as we're not waiting as long to publish our work or do the research to create work. This also has an impact on differentiation, it is now relatively easier to give students tasks that suit their personality and learning needs/style.
Where to next:
I know I don't have BYOD working perfectly in my class, sometimes I still ask/invite them to do something off the cuff. But there are far more BYOD notes in my planning, more kids asking for agreements to take to their parents and more kids clamouring to show what they've just created.
Time to do set up another task for my kids...
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
MLB Opening Day & Maths
March 31 in the US is celebrated by baseball fans everywhere, its Opening Day for Major League Baseball and I love baseball! I'm not american, have never played baseball but I love the game and one day will be heading off to as many games as I can afford.
Anyone with a limited knowledge of American sports will understand that there is an obsession with statistics in all of the professional leagues and amongst other aspects, this makes US sport an amazing tool for maths lessons. This post is to share some of my resources, successes and some failures (professional & otherwise).
I have a very sporty maths class and I'm a sports nut, so it makes sense that I utilise this to engage the children. Yesterday, I let my passion for baseball spill into class a little in order that I build the anticipation of today. I explained that tomorrow was Opening Day and that it would be baseball, baseball, baseball.
Teaching Tools Planned
Dice baseball: There are many different versions available online but I use the following dice baseball game rules. After trying it last year, it is simple for even non-baseball players to pick up. I introduced a scoresheet also but in the end concentrated on teaching it to a couple of the more-able children.
Success: Engaging, quick addition practice, allows for high turnover of games, great for fraction work as children build toward 3 strikes = out, 3 outs = innings and 4 bases = run.
Failure: Should have scaffolded the scoresheet but was too excited.
Range of computer games: These are too practice maths skills and continue to engage the children with baseball themed maths. I found two free game sites with the appropriate type of games: Math-Play which had good decimal & fraction work; and Maths Playground which had some good maintenance work and word problems.
Success: Independent, enjoyable and ability to tailor to different needs using both sites.
Failure: n/a
GloSS cards: I prepared a set of Gloss assessment cards that were baseball themed, I did not prepare a full set of the 22 cards that we now use but just for the Stage 4 - 6 area.
Success: Some kids had a look at the cards and found them engaging. I will have these available at any stage to use for maintenance, revision or with kids struggling to engage in maths.
Failure: I spent way too long preparing these (don't ask), with a small number of kids using them this was a poor investment of time.
Baseball gloss cards from reidhns1
Baseball Stats Card: I also had decided created a template for a baseball card so that the kids could investigate some of players in their allocated teams. Any stats based research was considered valuable and this would get the kids further engaged in the whole theme. We didn't even get these out.
Success: Template made, little time invested, can be used at another time.
Failure: Inability to recognise that I had already over-overprepared!
Like all passionate teachers I arrived at school this morning excited about the day & eagerly anticipated the coming maths lesson. I even had a whole heap of popcorn to add to the Baseball Theme (I plan to take some hotdogs along at another stage - nothing says Baseball like hotdogs). In my excitement I decided that enough wasn't enough and quickly downloaded some photos to use with protractors to study angles. Surely, we would have enough work to engage & immerse everyone in baseball mathematics?
Over-planned = Yes!
Worklifebalance = So far out of kilter that my wife joked as I got off the computer last night "Oh look my husband has just got home!"
Successful lesson = Baseball - yes; teacher excitement - yes; engagement - yes; maths - yet to be decided but kids were excited and starting to see potential.
I'm planning to teach the scorecard tomorrow, that way we can investigate batting averages. I'll use the GloSS cards as an activity for some independent work as I'm not wasting them. But I've also thought of a better way to use the Baseball Stats card...
Time to go, as I'm still trying to be allowed out on the golf course!
Anyone with a limited knowledge of American sports will understand that there is an obsession with statistics in all of the professional leagues and amongst other aspects, this makes US sport an amazing tool for maths lessons. This post is to share some of my resources, successes and some failures (professional & otherwise).
I have a very sporty maths class and I'm a sports nut, so it makes sense that I utilise this to engage the children. Yesterday, I let my passion for baseball spill into class a little in order that I build the anticipation of today. I explained that tomorrow was Opening Day and that it would be baseball, baseball, baseball.
Teaching Tools Planned
Success: Engaging, quick addition practice, allows for high turnover of games, great for fraction work as children build toward 3 strikes = out, 3 outs = innings and 4 bases = run.
Failure: Should have scaffolded the scoresheet but was too excited.
Range of computer games: These are too practice maths skills and continue to engage the children with baseball themed maths. I found two free game sites with the appropriate type of games: Math-Play which had good decimal & fraction work; and Maths Playground which had some good maintenance work and word problems.
Success: Independent, enjoyable and ability to tailor to different needs using both sites.
Failure: n/a
GloSS cards: I prepared a set of Gloss assessment cards that were baseball themed, I did not prepare a full set of the 22 cards that we now use but just for the Stage 4 - 6 area.
Success: Some kids had a look at the cards and found them engaging. I will have these available at any stage to use for maintenance, revision or with kids struggling to engage in maths.
Failure: I spent way too long preparing these (don't ask), with a small number of kids using them this was a poor investment of time.
Baseball Stats Card: I also had decided created a template for a baseball card so that the kids could investigate some of players in their allocated teams. Any stats based research was considered valuable and this would get the kids further engaged in the whole theme. We didn't even get these out.
Success: Template made, little time invested, can be used at another time.
Failure: Inability to recognise that I had already over-overprepared!
Like all passionate teachers I arrived at school this morning excited about the day & eagerly anticipated the coming maths lesson. I even had a whole heap of popcorn to add to the Baseball Theme (I plan to take some hotdogs along at another stage - nothing says Baseball like hotdogs). In my excitement I decided that enough wasn't enough and quickly downloaded some photos to use with protractors to study angles. Surely, we would have enough work to engage & immerse everyone in baseball mathematics?
Over-planned = Yes!
Worklifebalance = So far out of kilter that my wife joked as I got off the computer last night "Oh look my husband has just got home!"
Successful lesson = Baseball - yes; teacher excitement - yes; engagement - yes; maths - yet to be decided but kids were excited and starting to see potential.
I'm planning to teach the scorecard tomorrow, that way we can investigate batting averages. I'll use the GloSS cards as an activity for some independent work as I'm not wasting them. But I've also thought of a better way to use the Baseball Stats card...
Time to go, as I'm still trying to be allowed out on the golf course!
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
WAPA2020 Presentation
Today I presented at a WAPA2020 function. The topic of today's session was engagement and I presented on the use of Twitter and Blogging in the classroom. I made special mention of Storify, Thinglink and my beloved Kidsedchatnz. This is the slideshow I used and below that is the Thinglink image that I showed but in it's interactive form.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to tweet, comment on the blog or send me an email. I do respond.
The links will not work on the slideshare so here they all are:
Blogging in the classroom
Quadblogging International
Quadblogging Aotearoa
Storify - for curating social media
Thinglink - for creating images with rich embedded text.
The links will not work on the slideshare so here they all are:
Blogging in the classroom
Quadblogging International
Quadblogging Aotearoa
Storify - for curating social media
Thinglink - for creating images with rich embedded text.
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