Teachers do stuff.

I like primary school teachers. Don't get me wrong. They are hardworking and love their jobs (in the main) and their students. 
Although, -  they are a bit overloaded with "doing National Standards." They are a busy lot. Some are also busy "doing" Science or busy "doing" an inquiry or busy "doing something for assembly."

 I don't like to be a pedant but isn't it the students who should be "doing" stuff? Or rather, shouldn't the students be LEARNING stuff rather than have the teacher "do" stuff to the students (or for the students).

 It grieves me to see teachers working their butts off making nice wall displays, or preparing a million and one resources that a student will never use again aften they have "done" that topic. It grieves me to go into a class and see acres of brightly coloured wall displays all "done" by the teacher or worse still, artwork "done" according to teacher recipe.

 What happened to the original student work up on the wall - their questions in scrawly writing on an old fingerprinted scrap of paper? Or even Post-It notes, or a modern day equivalent on a digital noteboard? What happened to the answers that the students worked out themselves, displayed in a myriad of styles of communications?

 An attractive environment is nice BUT learning is not always bright and beautiful. It is often messy and mucky. Students need to learn to make connections between what they already know and new stuff. Some of the best learning corners in a class have bits of wool connecting ideas and questions that the students have put up, not the teachers.

 It also grieves me to think of whole school "doing" topics like "the environment", being covered in a term or other set time frame. Who thinks up these topics? Please ask yourselves another question - what do you want the students to learn? Once you know the answer to that question, you will be able to let the students decide the context that they work in. Give them choices of contexts if they have no idea. Don't give them a topic or a unit.

And secondary teachers "do" units of work, too.  The trouble is that they often do not have a context to "do" the stuff to the students and learning is very disjointed.  It all comes back to that same question - what do you want the students to learn?  Once you know that, students can choose a context in which they can explore the answers.    If they don't have a clue, put some choices in front of them and let them come up with the answers.  Better still, let them come up with the questions.  There is a lot more learning involved in that.

I think a lot more learning needs to happen under the title "The Big Picture".  How does this relate to that?  What intereactions and follow ups and follow ons and backward mapping and forward steps will help students understand the big picture?

And where will you find the big picture?  Why, in the New Zealand Curriculum of course. On page 4 in the foreword, Karen Sewell writes the NZC ..."is a clear statement of what we deem important in education".  On page 6, under the purpose and scope, "Its principal function is to set the direction for student learning and to provide guidance for schools as they design and review their curriculum."  It is a framework for every school to align their curriculum to.

Does your school curiculum truly align to what is important in education?

Teachers, you work far too hard on doing stuff.  Take a step back and speak to your colleagues and principals about what is really important for your students to learn.

RTC blogging as a way of gathering evidence for teaching criteria

In New Zealand, all teachers must provide evidence that they meet the registered teacher criteria every year.  There are twelve of these criteria.  The teachers council (soon to be EDUCANZ) is the registration body for NZ teachers and every three years, teachers must apply to have their teaching registration updated with the support of their principal who is charged with ensuring that the teacher is meeting the standards and signing them off.
I have shared a template and videos for creating a google site for the purpose of gathering evidence against each of the registered teacher criteria before.  This new video is about how to create a google blog (using Blogger) which reports on your "teaching as inquiry" with a view to also gathering evidence against the RTCs and Tataiako (the cultural competencies).
The idea is to write a blog (I would make it private as shown in the video and share with only your colleagues, your principal and/or professional appraiser) about your inquiry and as you write a regular "diary" of what has happened in your inquiry (with videos and photos to support), label the posts with the appropriate RTC or Tataiako or both.
This way you will build up a good body of evidence without having to rewrite your evidence against each criteria because sometimes your evidence crosses two or more of the criteria.  It is then much easier to retrieve evidence by just clicking on the label.
Good luck!

Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls

When looking at the elearning planning framework review tool, you will find a dimension called Beyond the Class.  Many teachers think that this is restricted to ways in which schools can make connections to their parents, whanau, and local communities so that they become more richly involved in their child's education, but although it encompasses this concept, it is a lot more than this. It is also very much about learning outside the classroom walls.  One of the great things about using digital technologies in class is that learners can learn in authentic contexts without leaving the classroom.

There are a multitude of ways to connect and collaborate outside the school.  One of the most interesting ways I have heard about lately comes from Matt Miller (Ditch that Textbook) whose Spanish class in Indiana (US) connected with students from Valencia in Spain,  using Skype on ipads and sharing using Google docs.  Groups of about 4 students on each side were able to have conversations with each other, getting to know each other and answering verbal questions about their lifestyle as well as answering written questions on a google doc which the opposite group would comment on and edit to correct the language.  Learn more in this Youtube video from Matt Miller shown below. What an awesome way to use the technology to have an authentic language experience using peer assessment while building relationships and connections.

At the VPLD (virtual professional learning and development) hui in Auckland this week I learned more about Over the Back Fence project through Skype which is the brainchild of Geoff Woods (and I think Anne Kenneally had more than a casual hand in the development of the concept).  It links students who teach others from a range of countries - up to 40 classes from 10 countries.

Skype also offers Mystery Skypes in which your class can connect with another and guess where the class is limiting themselves to questions that can only be replied by yes or no answers.   You can also connect to a mystery guest through this same medium.  There is plenty of help available through the Skype site, even telling you the correct skype etiquette to use.   Google Hangouts can also be used in the same way through the Mystery Location Community.

Google also offers Connected Classrooms which are Hangouts on Air - a recorded field trip like this one to the White House vegetable gardens.  Google's Cultural Institiute offers a variety of experiences beyond the classroom walls as well.   There is the Art Institute, Historic Moments and also Wonders of the World available through a variety of Google tools

Here in NZ, we are lucky enough to be able to take our classes on a Learnz field trip.  This site offers a variety of opportunities to explore previously unreachable places for most NZ students including one coming up in November to the Antarctic or the recent High Country Hi Tech trip to the MacKenzie country using drones and moible maps. Watch a video which summarizes what the high country field trip covered.  The LEARNZ trips are extremely well organised with activities and resources to support the learning.  These must surely be at the redefinition end of the SAMR scale.

This blog on Ditch That Textbook  lists 10 ways to connect globally and includes Quadblogging which offers the opportunity to connect with classes all over the world through their blogs.  The New Zealand version Quadblogging Aotearoa is very successful for making connections throughout New Zealand and takes new enrolments twice a year.  Students have the opportunity to comment on other student or class blogs, learn a lot about the others and their lifestyles, plus it is an ideal opportunity to teach digital citizenship to our online learners.

The VLN - primary also offers students in rural schools, the opportunity to connect with others wanting to study subjects outside of their own schools.  It is a great way to connect with others that you would not normally have the opportunity for.

Using Twitter as a medium for learning has become increasingly popular in New Zealand and across the world.  Here in NZ we have Kidsedchat for the younger students, which operates every Wednesday between 2 and 3pm using the Twitter medium.

School in the Cloud offers the opportunity for students to connect globally in a self organised learning environment (SOLE) and supported by Grannies in the Granny Cloud.  The students work on answering "big questions" that may not necessarily have discrete answers but the learning is more about what processes, skills and methods are needed to pursue the answer.

What other ways are student learning beyond the classroom using digital technologies?  If you and your class have learned in this way, I would love to hear more about what you are doing.

Overview of Google Apps For Education - Introduction for Teachers

Over the weekend I have been preparing this video for some of my schools. It provides an overview of some of the apps which are available to teachers and students in the Google suite.The video will give you some idea of what each of the apps are and how you might use them in a class.  It is rather long but you can stop and start and play with the apps to explore their functionality as you go.
Enjoy the journey!  As with all of my videos, it is warts and all!

Don't throw out the MLE's. (Modern Learning Environments)

As a follow up from the previous blog, I thought I had better make it clear that I do love the idea of a modern learning environment.  Oh yes, I am not against that at all.  I am against trying to change based on furniture and space alone and trying to do it without much thought.

MLE's work when they are coupled with effective pedagogy.  Effective pedagogy is spelled out very clearly in the New Zealand Curriculum.
So here are the points summarised: -

• create a supportive learning environment

• encourage reflective thought and action

• enhance the relevance of new learning

• facilitate shared learning

• make connections to prior learning and experience

• provide sufficient opportunities to learn

• inquire into the teaching–learning relationship.

Question: 
What could this look like in your secondary school class?  (I am a secondary school teacher).  
Answers: Here are some ideas that I have about what a MLE would look like in my school.

• Students arrive in the MLE, very clear on the learning outcomes for each area of learning that they can choose from.  They know what they could learn about and they have choices. 
• They feel welcomed by the teachers and they are a valued member of the class and school.  They have shared their own (digital) mihi, or poster in the MLE that identifies them as part of this community but also as an idividual.  They have had a chance to share with the school community, who they are and where they have come from and where they want to go.  The rest of the class know what their interests and strengths are.  They feel safe and are also confident to share what areas they want to develop further.
• It is easy to sign on to the digital learning management system, with easy access to school devices if students do not have their own.  (Their own devices can be stored as safely as school devices.)  
• When students get online, they can see what work they have already done and what needs to be completed in the future.  They can see other students who are available to work with them on collaborative projects.  They can see what other students have been working on, and elect to join a particular group work or not.  
• There are a variety of relevant online resources and students know how to seek out, search and share new information and resources safely.
• They can choose from a variety of learning media and strategies like group discussion, individual reading, creation of knowledge, giving a talk or teaching others in their group about what they have learned.  They can have quiet time to work on their own or join with others to share knowledge, ideas and wonderings.
• Real life contexts are exposed by teachers and students alike.  The student is encouraged to find out how the work is relevant to them or if there is hidden relevancy that needs to be uncovered.  There are groups having discussions about contexts and relevance, both online and face to face and these are advertised both formally and informally.  Next steps are decided and acted on.
• New knowledge is shared (- either digitally or face to face as appropriate) and celebrated.
• Students value feedback because it helps them to take further steps.  They improve and refine their work based on their evaluation of the criticisms. They can not only reflect on their own work and the journey that they have travelled but they are happy to receive critical evaluation from their peers and others, because they are confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.
• They keep portfolios of their work online - showcase, process and accountability portfolios and share them with a wide audience
• Teachers meet with the students regularly to evaluate and determine next steps in collaboration with the students.  Parents and caregivers are fully informed about the progress that the student is making and how they can help at home.  At home they know what outcomes are expected and what outcomes have been achieved. Students can continue to work on and access their learning from home if there is a need or a desire.
• Teachers would meet regularly and the students would see this happening in the MLE.  They would talk about what was going well and what not so well.  They would pick up the stragglers and loose ends and tie them into the fabric of the class.
• The class would come together at times during the day to share, and celebrate.

A stranger coming into the room would see students working in front of computers or whiteboards, or teachers or their peers.  They would see some students by themselves reading, making, thinking, performing and some students together doing the same.  There could be loud raucous learning going on but that would generally involve the whole class or small groups would be in a place that did not disturb the others.

What other factors would ensure that my MLE worked well?

Modern Learning Environments without the Pedagogy- Building a Plane In the Air?

Well, MLE's are the flavour of the year, aren't they?  I want to get on my high horse over this one.  I have seen MLE's fail in a number of schools.  It is not that the idea behind it is not an excellent one. It is just that those schools have not looked at the reasons for change closely, nor have they looked at the pedagogy behind the concept and so teachers have been caught unawares, ill-prepared and doomed to failure.  It has left a bad taste in the mouths of the schools and their communities, who saw their students start to "run wild" without structure to their schedules.  It has put those schools back to square one with a lot of rebuilding and public relations to be done.
The schools went into the MLE with good intentions but eyes shut.  These changes take a lot of planning.  Time for all involved to settle down to establish a clear vision, set strategic intentions and goals, provide targeted professional development for teachers, engage in consultation and dialogue with the community, establish agreed outcomes, develop a long term plan and a short term plan.  Years not months.
I started writing about this a few weeks back but got inspired to say more when this blog by Karyn at Te Karaka School caught my eye in my facebook feed (via Rebbecca Sweeney).   Karyn asks teachers and schools to lots of questions about what they are doing and how they are doing it.
I started thinking again about the tension between striving to meet school goals around numeracy and literacy, or NCEA and the seemingly opposing pull toward future focused personalised learning, nurturing of individual talents and abilities, and desiloing of schools, with establishment of contextual learning in the "real world."
It seems to me that the short term numeracy, literacy and NCEA goals are looming too large in the teachers' worlds.  I am not a primary school teacher but a secondary one.  NCEA can and does open up opportunities for a lot more peronalised learning pathways, but not within the existing timetable  restrictions that many schools place on themsleves because that is the way they have always done it.
How do we build this plane while it is flying?

An update on making a digital mihi using Google Maps

Some time ago, I made a video on how to make a digital "mihi" (a greeting and introduction of yourself and where you are from).  This was useful if you wanted to embed this in a google site or in a blog.  Google Maps have changed in appearance and functionality since then so here is a bit of an update.
In a traditional mihi, you usually say, in Maori, where your mountain is, where your river is, what your name is and other information about yourself.  It is a culturally placed protocol to establish links with the people you are introducing yourself to, and you can learn more about it here.
I think it is a nice and appropriate way to introduce yourself, particularly if you go into a lot of different schools as I do, but I also think that in an educational world, a digital mihi can be used for other purposes.  For example, students can be encouraged to make a digital mihi to introduce themselves on their blog.  It is a great way to help focus on improving writing for an authentic digital audience, in a culturally responsive way.
Students love to gather images and videos about their important places, and this makes their learning much more engaging.  It is relevant to them, and they are learning new skills and how to write for an audience.
One enhancement in a digital world may be to embed a sound recording of the student speaking their mihi in a blog or site, but a video is a pretty awesome way of doing this as well and so this method is for you to check out and use as you wish.  I hope you enjoy it.