Jill Hammonds EdBlog

For all those who have been moaning that summer hasn’t started yet, its because it’s all been hiding over in the Bay of Plenty. Paengaroa turned on a beautiful day for us to shut ourselves away indoors, but teachers turned out in droves for a great day of learning to focus the beginning of their year.

Warren Patterson set the tone of the day with a keynote on working for success – looking at the keys that lead to that and lessons from the research for us as teachers. This was followed with Russell Brebner introducing us to Umajin software, and then, after morning tea, we were in to the first round of workshops. Many of these were hands on sessions, but many of them with teachers being able to work on their own laptop through the local school wireless network. Teachers learnt lots of practical ideas for their classrooms and had their ideas and practices challenged.

Lunch, a fabulous spread, was eaten sitting out in the sunshine, and then it was in to the second workshops followed by a keynote on gaming by Gareth Schott – not just about playing games, but using game strategies and technologies in learning. When games are so motivating we all have much to learn about the strategies involved.  The software developed through gaming also has much to contribute to the classroom.

The final workshop round followed, and then many of those who had stayed on for the final round were fortunate enough to take home some fabulous spot prizes donated by the conference sponsors.

Listening to the talk during refreshment breaks, those who gave up their day to attend had plenty to take back to the classroom with them next week.  New strategies, new management systems, new software, and hopefully a new awareness of the present and future reality that our students are already embracing.  Teaching with and through ICT is not just about the  technologies, it is about the change  to

• students taking more ownership of their learning
• teachers being aware that students need to learn about and understand how they learn, and enabling them in this process
• students and teachers developing their thinking and creativity along with many other skills that will stand students in good stead to be empowered in their now (21st century) world
• greater partnership in the classroom with each learning from the strengths of each other
• developing curriculum that is relevant and meaningful to all those involved
• greater joy, energy and persistence in learning

There are many more things that could be added to this list.  The great thing about this and other such conferences is that they begin (or build) the process.

Great work Lorraine, Bruce and all the team who made this such a great day. 

Well, hard to believe that 2007 is one month down already and this is my first post for the year. Schools will be back in full swing next week and already the ICT PD National Support Services Team are now in full gear with Learning @ School Conference planning high on the priority list.

We have had our first team meeting at Core Education Ltd in Christchurch, and a conference planning meeting in Hamilton, and by next week we will be able to contact all our new clusters. We are now into a new contract with the Ministry of Education, and there are lots of exciting changes in the way that we will work to support clusters, that will be announced at L@S Conference in February. With changes in the team membership there has also been a redistribution of areas, and I am looking forward to spending time in the South Island again this year, as well as having a group of clusters close to home in the Waikato and King Country. I will however miss the clusters that I worked with in 2006, but will look forward to catching up at conference.

Tomorrow sees my first day out workshopping at the Together Towards Tomorrow Conference hosted by Nga Tii Roa Cluster at Paengaroa School. I look forward to having photos and ideas to share with you following that event.

Now, however, it is time for a walk to freshen the brain, and then pack my bags and get on the road. May 2007 be a great year for all those who read here.

Cheers,

Jill

The loss of my South Island clusters and move to mostly North Island has meant that I now have only first and third year clusters. Doing the final visits for the year has made me realise just how marked the contrast is between the two.

Last night I stayed with a friend who has a very young puppy. This puppy is full of energy, explores everything with its teeth and gets very excited over anything new. This is so much like the first year clusters, where they are excitedly telling me about the new things that they are discovering and learning and seeing make a difference for their teachers and students. There are reports of those aha moments where connections are made and new territory unfolds. There is also the uncertainty of writing their first variation report with all that that entails in reviewing, meeting with principals, tracking their progress and deciding where to head next year. There are also often little yelps as they discover some things that don’t go smoothly and where they need some additional support to ease the way and resolve issues. Not all schools are on the same page and there is more diversity of need.

In contrast, the visits to my third year clusters to date, have been golden years, with really solid discussions about learning, achievement, processes, learning, teacher capability, students articulating their learning, teachers reflecting on the three years, recognition that there is ongoing learning to be done and practical discussions about how this can be achieved now that the funding is drawing to an end. There is discussion of the Draft Curriculum and how this fits with where their thinking has now lead them. There is recognition of the opportunities that Web 2.0 presents and last minutes requests for more input into setting up good resource areas for clusters and establishing lasting communication channels using the technologies.

Three years and smiling. Still work to be done, but at a settled pace. Time in the day to bask in the sun as well as to hunt and enjoy the feed. Three years and smiling.

One of the great things about my job is that no matter where I go to visit schools, I always seem to find something to excite me.  I’ve seen a fair bit of technology use and students doing some pretty amazing stuff.  However, you may have picked up by now, that what really turns me on, is seeing students and teachers learning in powerful ways.  This may or may not involve plug in or push button technologies, but does include some component that changes the way people think or operate.

Today I met a really vivacious second year teacher who is also a lead teacher in her school.  She didn’t just talk to me about what her class were doing, but shared her passion and excitement.  She had been to the ULearn Conference and had learnt about podcasting during one hands on workshop, and decided she would like to try that with her year 3-4 class.  They began by listening to some podcasts and critiquing them to then make a list of criteria that would be important to  use for their own attempts.  The criteria related to the message, the delivery and the technical skills they would need to employ.  These were then built into a period of focusing on each and brainstorming how they would operate.  They discussed the collaborative skills they would need to develop, and assigned a variety of roles for each team – which included a quality control component.  Whoopee – critical and reflective learners aiming for high standards.

Book reviews were their first context, so book selection, review writing, reading with expression and awareness of pace, podcasting techniques were all skills to be developed.  Finally they were ready to record and then to listen and critique.  Audacity and a cheap, very basic microphone had been employed, but the cheap microphone amplified all the consonants producing the popping sort of static noises.  Teacher recording studio knowledge and a bit of No 8 wire ingenuity solved the problem via a coathanger and a pair of pantyhose.  Check it out in the photo – note the X on the home made sound boom to ensure that the readers faced the microphone.

So OK, we can now podcast and we’ll use this skill again as part of our space unit to provide some sound files for other classes.  But wait – this is a critical reflective teacher and so there is more learning that can be developed from the experience.  So now the class have looked at audience and how that impacts their context, their presentation style and the content.  They looked at how having an elderly audience would impact what they produce.  What if any changes would they need to make?  And to interest fathers?  Kids in kindergarten? Others?

Well the story ending hasn’t been developed yet, but what is brewing for the future is podcasting for the blind.  Talking books via podcast maybe.  Obviously there will be much research required and the year is running out but plans are afoot nonetheless.  I hope I get to hear more about the sequel to their first exploration of podcasting.  Real learning is evident even in the preliminary process.  This teacher has paid more than lipservice to the desire for her students to be collaborative, critical thinkers and problem solvers.  They are already building practise of these into their work.  Well done Kelly.

Another great day out in a cluster, this time closer to home in the Waitomo area. Towards the end of the day I had the chance to pop in to some junior rooms at Pukenui School to chat briefly with some teachers about how they were using ideas gained in a full day workshop. One of the things that had really taken off in this school and some others in the cluster, was the idea of having a computer by the mat and using it for modelling on a daily basis. Several teachers had been using a powerpoint template to capture a bit of student news each day, and in so doing, focusing children on the typing and editing of their work. The template had a place for the date using WordArt, a simple sentence in a text box, and the space for the child to create their own illustration using a Paint (Bitmap) insert. The animations and transitions were set from the first slide by the teacher, so there was no time spent on this feature, but the result was that the class created digital readers that used their own vocab and experiences that became part of their reading rotation – no big deal – but the kids loved it.

However, the big aha came when one teacher told me how when she first used it and asked the kids about how they could go back and fix up the spelling errors (typos), the kids started calling out whenever a red wiggly line appeared as she typed or they spotted some other mistake. “So what?” you might think, but then they became very error conscious, and the teacher found that they were now spotting errors in not only word processed writing, but they became much more aware of them in their own bookwork, and also started to self correct more in their reading and running records.

Ahaaaaaa :->> It impacted their learning!!!! No-one told them to do it – they just became much more aware and this awareness transferred to other situations.

And that is what ICT enhanced learning is all about! 

Today I visited a school where a group of 7 and 8 year old kids worked alongside an engineer to design and build an outdoor chess court for their school.  The principal had set one up originally, but the kids were critical because the squares were black and red, and too small.  They felt it should be black and white and larger.

An IPENZ competition provided the fuel for these kids to select building a new chess area for their competition entry.  A local engineer volunteered his time to work through the design and specification process with the kids.  They found out about using a theodolite, measuring angles, calculating dimensions and depth requirements, drawing up plans and scale diagrams, calculating and costing materials, and then assisting to carry out the work.

The chess court has recently been completed and the write up of their process submitted for the competition.  Today the students were finalising a presentation about their process, and practising delivery for this week’s assembly.  No doubt they will eagerly await the results of the competition, but the real benefit was obvious when talking with the kids involved about the learning that had occurred while working alongside the engineer and asking their questions.

Anyone for chess – just check out Otatara School in Invercargill.  The paint is now dry.

Well done and good luck to this great group of Yr 2 & 3 students. 

Another great day out in cluster schools, and today a discussion with a principal about authentic contexts. Students in this small Southland school had been pushing for the installation of an ATM machine in their town. They had written to the banks etc., but were frustrated that businesses were not taking them seriously, and in some cases not even bothering to respond.

Fortunately the students were encouraged to work through the ways that they could gain more credibility and engagement in some substantial discussion on the matter. It became a topic of discussion with parents for homework and lots of suggestions were put forward, and the students have launched in to following through to see if it makes a difference. It’s great to see students actually getting to look at ways they can be more empowered to influence their world. it will be interesting to hear what develops, but the observation of the increased engagement in relevant contexts has been noted.

This then led to a discussion of how one can keep on finding authentic contexts for students to work on. I hope people reading this will contribute further ideas, but a couple of thoughts that occur:

• Relevant or authentic does not need to mean local. The issues of the world affect kids and can be just as relevant to work on as the things in the immediate physical environment. The web now enables students to become just as involved in global issues and to find contacts with whom to debate these matters. It may take a little more search skill to get in touch and create a trail of people to engage with on a topic, but we need to get plucky and seek them out.
• Newspapers, TV and other media, stories, song lyrics – all of these and many more can be the trigger for authentic contexts. What will make them authentic or otherwise is whether they strike an emotional chord with the students. hence the need for the topics to be decided in partnership between teachers and students.
• When teachers take the rsponsibility for the context or topic of study, these are best when very broad to allow students to get involved or immersed, and to then find specific tangents that they wish to pursue. Students need to take ownership for the study to be authentic. Of course, the art of the teacher, is in being able to sow seeds that will then grow in fertile ground. A particular story can channel students to want to take up a cause, but they feel like they made the decision.

I would encourage people to read Stephen Downes on his 10 things that people should learn:

http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2006/09/11/how_to_be_successful_stephen.htm

http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2006/08/things-you-really-need-to-learn.html

Here’s one that particularly appeals visually and to the heart for me.

How to empathise.

Cheers,

Jill

Y-E-S!!!!!

Today was one of those days when you can see something really taking off. I’ve been into promoting wikispaces for use in classrooms with something like missionary zeal lately. Some of you may be aware of that :->>

This week while preparing a keynote address for the weekend, I’ve been looking for examples to show the possibilities. I knew my Rosetown Cluster were getting underway with using wikispaces for their online community, and was excited to see that three such wikis had been created by the facilitator, and these are now starting to be populated by cluster members. Check out http://www.rosetown.wikispaces.com to see their professional development area, http://www.edresources.wikispaces.com for their resource area and http://rats.wikispaces.com for their Really Awesome Teacher Stories. These have just been set up in the last few weeks but reflect the facilitator’s enthusiasm for this “new way of doing things.”

As if that weren’t treat enough, I was expressing a desire to find a class using wikispaces well, and that too had already blossomed in the lead school with a Year 7 & 8 class. Take a look at http://room3tai.wikispaces.com to see how this class at Te Awamutu Intermediate are changing the way they work through use of this environment.

Be sure to click on the Discussion tab to check out the students driving their own learning between home and school.

You may struggle to read some of their txt language, but remember that is your problem not theirs. They’re asking each other and their teacher questions via this medium at home while using the internet to find info for what they will be doing at school tomorrow (while by the way, simultaneously chatting in MSN, listening to iTunes and gaming), and supporting each other with problem solving in maths, and maintaining their reading logs. They are your Mark Prensky “digital natives” in full flow. Lynne, their teacher, later told me that she sits at home with the computer open while watching a bit of TV, and often responds to their questions at the same time, and this certainly fits with one of their explanations of why they like this medium – “you can be ‘chatting’ with your teacher and she hasn’t got any other distractions at that time of day.”

But hey! There’s more! Today I visited the class and the teacher was happy for them to stop what they were doing and just talk with me about their learning. What an articulate lot of students. This was no question and answer session. I asked one question and then we just had a conversation that flowed between the students and occasionally me but in which these students poured out all their understanding about how they learn using the now tools of their day. This was no practised performance – they didn’t know I was coming – hadn’t heard of me before I stepped into the classroom. But it was one of those times when I was so absorbed in hearing them that I forgot that I had my digital camera in hand and could have recorded it, but at the end it was agreed that I would come back later and capture a replay on video.

Of course later became 2.30p.m. and the class were off at assembly, but there were 4 students who had stayed back to complete some work – who had been out of the room during my morning visit so knew nothing about the earlier session or what was planned. But they were quite happy to oblige with an interview. With the digital immigrant facilitator on camera, the discussion just took off with very few questions needed to set the flow going. Being newbies to the particular video camera we then struggled to shift the filming on to my laptop, and currently have some totally raw, unedited footage that I can use for my keynote on Saturday. With the help of some more technically able friends I’m hoping I will be able to add this video to my blog next week – check back and see.

Days like today really show what can be achieved when we “let” kids use the technologies and we as teachers focus on their learning, extending their thinking, developing their oral language skills and allowing them to be a community of learners. Any teacher who thinks they need to learn the technologies so that they can teach them to kids is missing the moment.

And by the way, in answer to my question this morning “What is your message to teachers about the way you like to learn?” the response from several members of the class was:

“We do like to have structure because it helps us to sort out what we need to do and how to get there.”

“We don’t like really fixed deadlines- because sometimes we find there is a whole lot more we can learn and we want to be able to carry on.”

“We like to be able to talk about what we will do with the teacher, and suggest changes and different things that we can do and negotiate all that.”

As you can see by the timing of writing this post, it was all still swimming around in my brain, and I’ve given up any ideas of sleep until I’ve got this recorded in my blog. Pictures and hopefully some of that video can be added later. I need those singing nuns from The Sound of Music to tell me that it’s “time for bed.” Sorry Room 3 if you are reading any of this – you probably won’t know about that because it’s from another generation :->>

The hills are alive, with the sound of music – la lalala . . . .

Another great day out in a cluster, this time with the principals’ management group reviewing their year and planning for the next. The cluster facilitator took them through a process that moved them from a group of schools looking to write up an action plan, to a motivated group who wanted to be a leading cluster, who knew what that needed to get them there, and were putting their hands up to say, yes lets get on with it.

They used the thinking hats as their starting point:

White hat – lets get the facts down about where we are at and what we are currently doing.

Yellow hat – what are we really happy with?

Black hat – what are the issues and what’s not working?

Red hat – how do we feel?

Green hat – let’s be creative in our thinking and design what we want.

Current thinking was then extended with a reading of a chapter from “Schools That Learn: A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education” Peter M. Senge p.325 “Triangle of Design, Circle of Culture”

What lifted the subsequent discussion out of the ordinary was the big focus questions – the first major one being “What do you want to create out of this contract?” Responses were questioned and challenged further to push the principals out of the ordinary into specific, unpacked, clarified statements that were then summed up in the statement:

More challenge – “So what are 21st century learners?” This provoked a lot of discussion, pooling of ideas and eventually the realisation that like many “cliches” there was little clarity about what that meant and no time to do it justice now, so this became one of the goals for the cluster “To unpack what a 21st century learner is like” followed by the other things that the cluster wanted to achieve:

Note the identified weaknesses that this cluster saw they needed to work on to help them to be not only a motivated group, but a more empowered and enabled group – help with their communication and interaction skills etc. How often is that built into the programme? More often clusters struggle on without getting expert input to streamline their procress.

From this came the guiding ideas,

the organisational structures to implement their programme, and the success indicators. These will then morph into the milestone tasks.

All wrapped up in a day? Not likely! This cluster know the work they need to do and have planned for further meetings. They know that they will only get the results they want, if they continue to develop clarity around that through revisiting the ideas and goals. Their next step is to set up a wiki space where today’s notes will go so that they can all continue to add ideas, comments and questions to guide the next stage. Well done Bush Cluster.

It has been great to get back out visiting my cluster schools today – its always invigorating after days behind a computer screen completing admin tasks. As well as the buzz of talking to principals and teachers and seeing the lights coming on with the new learning occurring in the clusters, I always like to get inside classrooms and see what is happening.

Today, at the end of the school day, I was just in time to see a group of 5 year old students working on creating images using blue screening (or green screening if that is your preferred colour) :->> These children had been sharing in a learning experience for their teacher and were excited about showing me their achievments in the afternoon session. If anyone thinks 5 year olds can only play reading and maths games on CDs – take a look at this! And think what these pictures could do for their writing stimulus.

A free trial of the UMAJIN software used is available for download from http://www.umajin.com

 Believe it or not!