Things to do over the summer break!

Last summer I wrote a post on “Ten things to do over the Summer Break“. This summer I could have:-

• Updated my blog – given it a complete summer clean!
• Updated my profiles on many networking sites
• Completed the challenge by linkedin to ensure my profile is noteworthy
• Listened to many of the recorded sessions from the Global Education Conference that I missed
• Played further with google hangouts
• Written many blog posts including a reflective summary of 2012 and so much more….

Instead, I have taken deliberate time off, from being online, and:-

• Travelled to Sth Africa to spend Christmas and New Year with our son and his family who live there
• Spent further quality time with our grandchildren, daughter and her husband camping  by the sea.
• Revitalised my energy in preparation for the 2013 school year.

It can be extremely demanding to maintain an online presence and to work in eLearning and digital learning. I found 2012 a challenging year  teaching prep through to year 12.

Sometimes we simply need time out from our online existence. Time must be spent with family and physical friends and a forced break from the online presence does not mean that you have missed out on many things, rather it gives an increased enthausiasm and  renewed energy levels.

Today as teachers return to school in Victoria, it is time for me to network, catch up with emails, check out twitter updates, read some blog posts and continue that online existence.

Tech Talk Tuesdays: Tech Talk Tuesdays: Implementing the 1:1 Environment – the challenges, successes & moments of madness!

When: Tuesday 11th September, 2012, 4-5pm, Melbourne Australia time (gmt+10)

About this session: David Simpson will share his experiences in implementing a 1:1 environment in his school. He will outline the process that my school has followed for the whole-scale introduction of 1:1 computing in a large Government secondary school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

This implementation has not been without challenges but has been in place for 6 months and the benefits are becoming clearer with each passing week.

This session would be ideal for anyone that has been down this road or is thinking of heading this way. The areas discussed will move beyond 1:1 in the classroom and also into broader areas of management, security, resourcing (booklists, etc.) and teacher pedagogy.

About our Presenter: David is eLearning Leading Teacher at St Helena Secondary College, Victoria, Australia

Here is the recording of this session.

Randomly linking to Design a Book Cover

My attempt at the Book Cover

Several years ago, I used a post by another Australian librarian as a basis for my class to design a book cover for Children’s Book Week in Australia. This week my students designed a book cover using the following online sites.

1. The title came from Random Article link on left hand sidebar of Wikipedia 
2. The author’s name was created from Random Name Generator
3. Students used word generator to get the search term for their cover image. That search term was used in Flickr CC to choose an image.

Students then saved all three results and created a book cover using MS Powerpoint or MS Paint, saving the final file as a jpg and adding it as a post on their blogs.

What worked well:

• Students were engaged
• Most completed the task in 50 minutes but did not have time to place it in a blog post.
• I used it with 13 year olds. Care may need to be taken with younger students as one topic from wikipedia random articles was not suitable. Care may need to be taken with the photos as well.
• Great teaching lesson on creative commons for the use of image. Students had to read the licensing and save the image url to place on their blog post or in small print on their book cover.
• Exposed them to some tools that may help when they cannot think of titles or prompts etc  the random type generators.

Have you done something similar? What other ideas do you have for some of the random generators on the internet.

What

50 things to do during Connected Educators Month

Although I live and teach in Australia, I love the notion of Connected Educators Month during August, which is an initiative of the USA. Here are some ideas and thoughts on what to do during and beyond the month of August.

1. Share with one other staff member at your school on the importance of connectedness. Skype a class within your school. Learn to use a collaborative tool together eg twitter
2. Start a blog – a necessity  for ongoing connecting
3. E-Lurk and explore. Get lost in cyberspace reading other blogs.
4. Leave a comment on a blog, making sure you leave your blog address for return comments and connect ions.
5. Blog about what connectedness means to you
6. Share a lesson or something simple that worked for you, tweet out your blog post url.
7. Participate in quad blogging. Get to know three other classes really well.
8. Join the Blogging Challenge for Teachers – don’t just lurk, do it!
9. Involve your class in the Student Blogging Challenge
10. Read the posts for Create your own PLN (Professional Learning Network)
11. Read and comment on the Connected Learner Manifesto document created by Sheryl Nussbaumbeach
12. Leave a comment on each of your student blogs, get to know them on a more personal level.
13. Have a lunchtime sharing session with students on the technology they use – get them to share. How do they connect?
14. Start your senior students on twitter (age dependent) Teach them how to effectively connect.
15. Complete the challenges in the PLN Challenge of Edublogs
16. Attend a face to face conference and swap contact details with someone new
17. Attend a teachmeet either f2f or virtual Plane group, Teachmeets (Australia)
18. Attend one of the online webinars organised during Connected Educator month.
19. Attend Classroom20Live  webinars, Tech Talk Tuesdays webinars, Australia Series  webinars
20. Attend, present or volunteer for the Learning 2.0 Virtual Conference
21. Follow someone new on twitter, DM them, retweet their tweets, actively include them in a tweet
22. Join in on one of the regular tweet chats eg #educhat #globalclassroom etc Lurk, then share or ask questions (lots of them)
23. Setup columns for hashtags in one of the popular twitter clients eg tweetdeck, hootsuite
24. Set up a twitterchat account and follow a trending hashtag, conference hashtag or other
25. Add your name to this list set up by Sue Waters, of Edublogs, and mentor others in the use of twitter.
26. Join a collaborative ning or space eg Classroom 2.0, the Global Education Conference Network, Educators Guide to Innovation,
27. Join a global project eg the Flat Classroom Projects, (there are fabulous projects for all year levels) Taking IT  Global
28. Create a global project of your own
29. Join skype in education, join one of the projects
30. skypeplay. Join the wiki.
31. Check out the Global Classroom  Wiki, read what others have done, email those people, join the wiki. Read the Global Classroom Blog, add a comment, share in the conversations.
32. Join an educational group on facebook, ask a question, add updates
33. Like a fellow educator’s update on FB or add a comment
34. Participate in a MOOC eg  Games Based Learning, Google Search for Learning MOOC.
35. Connect with parents – run an information session at school sharing collaborative technology eg blogging, facebook, or run an online session. Commence a class or school blog.
36. Connect with community – actively seek out a community member eg an author, a scientist etc and get them to share with you and your class
37. Try a mystery skype session
38. Create a Family Feud skype session
39. Join the connected educator challenge
40. Show you care – Empowering Children and Youth  Open World Cause, projects from TIG
41. Share your connectedness online, share what you have done with others, why it is important to be connected
42. Join linkedin and join some groups. If a member join a new group
43. Create a google hangout and invite others in to learn with you
44. Join an educational edmodo group
45. Early years teachers should #skypeplay or #kinderchat. Join their wiki, follow their hashtags
46. Complete the VICPLN course
47. Join the Powerful Learning Practise
48. Join the Connected Educator Bookclub
49. Check out Design Thinking for Educators
50. Just connect and keep on connecting!

My connections started through blogging, classroom 2.0 and then twitter and they continue to grow. How did you start? What other ideas do you have for connecting? Please share in a comment below.

Games in Learning MOOC

Having enlisted for the Games Based Learning MOOC, I am determined not to be a lurker, but a participator of some nature. I am not a’ gamer’ but I have participated in Second Life and worked with my students in Quest Atlantis. Having observed students at school being distracted, when bored, by playing games and  willing to spend hours playing their favourite games, I am curious about the nature of such engagement. On Friday lunchtimes I open the computer lab for students to come in and play games. A group of 10-15 students will happily sit, just watching two or three players on their x-box. How can  games be used for effective learning in the classroom.  I want to learn more and this means having a go at some of them. During week 1, the following actions were completed and following observations made:-

1. Played two of the three suggested serious games - Eye of the Donkey and Viking Quest.(When time permits I hope to try Darfur is Dying
2. Participated in the social forum
3. Watched suggested, purpose created videos  and read some of the suggested blog posts.

The games:-

Eye of the Donkey:- this is a chemistry game created by Nobel Prize Educational. It seeks to teach students about the process and nature of DNA testing. First players sit through an interactive lecture on DNA. The lecturer ‘pings’ the player to answer the question and will not move on until they do. Next the player is taken into the game where they collect DNA samples and analyze them in a lab. Prompts, notes etc are provided to ensure that the player can succeed. This would be suitable as revisionary exercise for students who are 15 years older whilst studying DNA.

A screen shot of the lab and the final stage of DNA

The Viking Quest, by BBC History Games, is a game for students studying the Vikings. Players are given choices re location, boat building, employing labour, venturing into the seas and returning home again. This is one that I did not successfully complete. The game would be suitable for middle school students. Both games are engaging and required quite a bit of reading and problem solving.

Choosing a boat building location

Using these games with the students:- I asked around school staff to see who might use these games in class. No-one was currently studying the Vikings. Fortuitously, our year 10 science students were just completing a unit of study on DNA.  To my surprise the science teacher showed interest in the Eye of the Donkey and gave it to the students to play today. It was a success! He was really happy with the engagement of the students and the learning experience. They tried to skip the lecture and go straight to the game, but this prevented them from fully playing the game. So, they had to listen to the theory first and then play. It took them approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Year 9/10 ICT students:- Today was my first elective class for games based learning. I decided to get my students to play the Vikings Quest and give me feedback. Here is what I heard from one student!

• I am going to play it again, cos I failed and I want to win! (First go she got 240 points)
•  Cry of delight on playing the second time. She got 690 points but had still failed to succeed.
• “I swear I am going to win this game even if it takes me all day” and she did!

Another student was successful on the first game and is writing a blog post discussing the choices that she made that allowed her to achieve success. If only we heard such comments from students when they are not successful in their usual school classes.

The challenges:

• the time commitment,
• home bandwidth is too slow for some for watching the longer  videos.
• the MOOC and some sites were blocked at school, but were unblocked upon request by technicians.

Overall impressions: a well organised MOOC, with many interactive activities and opportunities for networking, including a tweet chat with the tag #gamemooc

How’s this? I won the Herald Award for the best outside post from the MOOC!  Thanks guys! The organisers of the mooc just rock!

An uprising – “Learning at the grass roots”.

Last year, I received this message:-

‘”Miss, can you please give me TRIAL EXAMS for unit vce accounting 2011 and from previous years

My classes are big and my teacher isnt that good withrevision so i was wondering. i was wondering if you know any VCE MATH METHODS and ENGLISH  sites like this so i can email teachers if i dont undertand or want practise exams.”

I had been googled, found on slideshare where I had been uploading digital learning objects for my VCE accounting class. (My class included three virtual students). What impact will requests like this have for students and learning?

When working on a collaborative project with students from a university in Japan, this request was made of my students in the forum section of the moodle:-

I have a favor to ask of you. Now I study English, but my English have a lot of mistakes. I want you to check my English and correct  mistakes if you have time. Thanks, Ayaka

Your English is quite good for the majority of your writing but I have written it now as I would have. However, I was unable to complete your second paragraph because I could not understand what Obachann was. Could you please tell me?   Chloe

Hi Chloe!

I appreciate your kindness. ”Obachan” is women whose age are 30-50 and they have warm heart and great energy. Most of them love going to shopping, watching Korean dramas and having a chat in the street. Thanks,  Ayaka

Is this an indication of the future of learning? Students at the grass roots are using technology to take hold of the quality of their learning and its direction.

1. Have you any examples like these to share?
2. What will this mean for the future in regard to learning and teaching?

Oh me, of little faith!

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This week, I was fully reminded of the fact that I should never, ever doubt the ability of students and what they can achieve when highly motivated and engaged. Thinking it would be great to blend two classes – one in Boston, USA and mine in Hawkesdale Australia in a virtual classroom, it was suggested to Lorraine Leo, my great colleague in USA. Lorraine suggested Friday 16th our time, or Thurs night 15h March, their time. Yikes! That was only two days away and we had nothing organised.

The challenges

• That was only two days notice.
• the interesting mixed collection of students in my year 9/10 ICT elective class
• the student mixed ability levels
• lack of time to practise, rehearse etc.
• our continuing problems with sound on the student netbooks (they had just been reghosted and handed back to students)

As there was one single, precious lesson prior to the online session, we tested sound/audio/access/application sharing/use of web camera etc to Blackboard Collaborate, the webconferencing software tool to be used and also brainstormed some ideas on a wallwisher. However, the time was not long enough. Students were then told to bring their photos and scripts with them on Friday ready to share with their global counterparts.

Feeling quite nervous on Friday about whether:-

• anyone had brought photos and more importantly how many had not done anything
• they had anything to talk about and would they stutter, stumble and take frights (as many of these students are extremely shy)
• they would behave online
•  the webcam would be used to good effect
•  the application sharing of pivot and some stored photos on student computers work etc…
• sound/audio would all work

I was surprised to find all of them were all organised. They had taken time consuming, fascinating photos at home and on their farm, had brought products into share and wanted to come in at recess to get organised. Some of these are students who rarely complete homework! Here is what it all looked like.

• an opening comment by Lorraine : Thank you for inviting us to Australia to visit your students.
• Problems as always with sound – most students had to come to my laptop to speak and demonstrate
• in my nervousness, I forgot to go through the tool bars and elements of Blackboard Collaborate at the beginning, but most seemed to work it out as we went a long.
• A classroom of 21 participants, including Mrs Leo, the teacher from USA, 5 of her students, logging on from home (as it was 7:30pm at night for them), two adults from Japan – one  a university professor creator of a global project – World Friends with Scratch, the other a parent, a student teacher from Saskatchewan Canada; a parent of one of my students and Mrs Leo’s mother, an amazing 86 year old lady in blackboard collaborate for the first time. Such a blended classroom, made possible with technology.
• my students presenting on topics such as:- Hawkesdale, my farm, my pets,our school, my interests, pivot and demonstrating sample student work, including quilting.
• Once the initial nervousness dispersed, the obvious pride that my students took in sharing their passions, how well spoken they actually were and that they were all organised!
• the support that students gave each other
• the fast paced nature of the chat, where participants asked questions, gave feedback and generally shared across the globe.
• interacting on the collaborative whiteboard to share names, farewells, favourite technology.

Despite being  pushed outside their comfort zones, students really enjoy interactions such as this. They find it fun and engaging and are curious about each other. Each person has a voice and is able to interact in the chat. A big thank you to our global participants for coming to learn about us and to Mrs Leo for her work in making it possible.

I love this comment from a thankyou email from Lorraine:-

 Thank you again!  I really appreciated your time and all of the behind the scenes work in putting the meetup together. I know that for many of my students and for Noriko and my mom, being in a Blackboard Collaborate room was a completely new experience.  Can you only imagine what it must be like for my mom — at 86!– listening to students all the way over in Australia!  She really enjoyed the experience and I’m sure will want to be included the next time there is a meetup.

Read the student reflections

1. Georgia
2. Rachael
3. Sean
4. Tamiko
5. Kim
6. Jess
7. Ivy
8. Aza
9. Nathan

Here is the link to the recording

Trending Tools for 2012 – eT@lking in Review!

Trending Topics for 2012 was the topic for eT@lking this week. Although the group participating was small, we covered the breadth of education – from the young through to the senior citizens. The suggested tools came from practitioners.

Participants were first asked to share the tools that they were increasingly using in their own lives or classroom.

These tools included:-

• social networking: facebook, twitter, google+
• use of the cloud:- google apps, dropbox
• curation: scoopit, pinterest, RSS feeds
• web 2.0 tools wikis, blogs,
• learning management systems: moodle, studyladder
• resources: scootle, studyladder
• tools for students with special needs:- iPads, proloqo2go, pictello
• software: MS Powerpoint

Participants discussed how they used these tools. Ness walked us through studyladder and Sandi app shared photoscape. Discussion then centred around what tools we thought we might be using in 2012.

Participants’ suggestions that differed to the above, included:-

• web conferencing tools eg Blackboard Collaborate
• tablets, iPads and associated apps
• screencasting tools
• organisational tools eg trello
• email (with the senior citizens)
• most things google as people know of it

Reference was made to the recently released Horizon Report 2012, Higher Education. The session finished with a quick look at pinterest - a trending tool on the networking sites.

To learn more, listen to the recording. What do you think will be the trending tools for 2012? What tools are you increasingly using in the classroom or your personal life? Please leave a comment on this blogpost with your thoughts.

 

Too Young for Technology?!?

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a secondary teacher and in the last few years have taught predominantly senior students. Due to a small year 11 group moving through our school, subjects are combined for year 11 and 12 classes. This has left gaps in my timetable and in 2012, I shall be teaching two prep/one classes  and a grade 4/5 class ICT. (Information and Communications Technology ie Computers and technology)
The question that my principal posed to me when I went to enquire about the direction to be taken with the 5 years olds was “Are preps too young for technology?“. My immediate reaction was ‘yes’ but on further reflection, I have come up with the following thoughts-

• the majority are most likely using technology at home eg wii, games machines, ipods, iPads, Mum’s iPhone etc
• most are too young to type and login with a username when they first start, but they can use their fingers for gesture based learning and hardware use, talk and use other forms of body language for communication. They can draw, take pics, record etc
• I am in an almost ‘unique’ position being able to teach 5 year olds through to 18 years olds. Imagine the learning that will take place for me.
• opportunity to teach them cyber safety from the youngest of ages
• use technology to help with literacy and numeracy skills
• chance to develop global competencies from an early age

Some tasks:-

• check the VELs (Victorian Education Learning Standards) to see what is prescribed curriculum wise for level 1.
• discover what technology students already use eg do they skype grandparents/relations?, have a wii, games machine etc
• create a class blog – (dare I experiment with individual blogs halfway through the year?)
• communicate regularly with parents, encouraging them to comment back on the class blog
• setup an ultranet space for students and parents
• enlist the help of parents during class time
• book and use the school set of 10 iPads wherever possible
• develop a buddy system
• trial the use of easyspeak microphones to create simple podcasts to be embedded on the school blog
• experiment with skype/playchat (first chat will be on Wednesday with Amanda Marrinan from Queensland) and with skype play. See the skype kinderchatplay project
• participate in and lead a pioneering Flat Classroom K-2 Project
• Add a column to my tweetdeck for #kinderchat, #elemchat #earlyyears, #skypeplay and follow the conversations on twitter

Do you think they are too young for technology? What have I missed? What apps should I use on the iPads? I like the idea of creating with technology. What have you used? What would you like to try? What advice do you have for me? Suggestions for any blogs, wikis etc as resources?

Are the littlies too young for technology?

Meet my two classes (Wordle was used to create the word clouds)

“Connected” Learning!

At the  !dea11 conference in Melbourne this Thursday a forum will be conducted to tackle the following questions:

1. How would education improve if things were better connected?
2. What things need to be better connected?
3. What needs to be done to make the connections?

I am really proud and honoured to be one of a panel of educators and ICT experts who will present their views and discuss with the audience. If you have any comments, please leave them on the post Linking Learning in Education or leave a comment on this post and I shall forward on. Thanks in advance