Another excellent Edublogs.org weblog
In the last week of term I was given the opportunity to attend a digital animation workshop provided by DigiED. It would have to be one of the most valuable, enjoyable and practical professional learning workshops I have attended in my 20 years of teaching. Watch the animation created by myself and a colleague. I believe the success of the day is demonstrated in the quality of the animation (no bias intended).
Today was Day 2 of the Connected Classrooms Training for teachers working in various schools in Sydney’s south west region. The first session was a review of the Smart Notebook Software, which is being installed on all new hardware being rolled out to schools, and time was provied for teachers to work on their projects which were presented to the group during the second session.
I would consider myself to be an experienced user of the IWB and related software, compared to my collegues who were only introduced to the hardware 5 weeks ago. I have developed a large bank of interactive flip charts, which I used on a regular basis, in my Stage 1 and Stage 2 classrooms. In fact, the IWB was vary rarely out of use in my classroom. However, I found myself floundering to prepare flipcharts at a secondary level that are both engaging and interactive and incorporate the pedegogy of the Quality Teaching Model. I have seen some flipcharts prepared for secondary students, but, and no offence meant, I have found them to be no more than a display of information for students to read. I have found the IWB invaluable for students to interact with internet sites collaboratively.
So here I sit, quite late at night, pondering these questions:
Are you a secondary/middle school teacher who uses an IWB in your classroom? I would appreciate some feedback.
I have been feeling a little disappointed with my students’ contribution to the ‘09 Blogging Challenge. As access to their class blogs had been denied to all students at school, I had tried to encourage them to access the blog from home but with little success. The students really needed to have access in the classroom so that I could continue to encourage and steer them through the process until they felt comfortable in using the tools at home. Logging on for every student in the class become an onerous task, and I guess in the end we all gave up through sheer frustration.
On the positive side, the IWB has finally arrived and I’m hoping that this, together with the connected classroom technology, will assist the students to “connect ” with students around the world.
This term I’ve embarked on 2 projects:
Through these projects I’m hoping that students will be encouraged to blog about their projects and hopefully receive advice from fellow film makers and podcasters around the globe.
All participants in the Blogging Challenge ‘09 have been asked by Sue Wyatt to answer several questions to assist teachers on their path to successful blogging with students.
Why did you choose the blogging platform you are using?
I was introduced to Edublogs almost 2 years ago by a colleague who had been successfully using blogs and wikis in her classroom. Having very little knowledge of blogging, I relied heavily on her expertise and thus began with Edublogs because I knew no better. Two years later, and after looking around at other blogging platforms, I continue to use Edublogs not only because I now know much more about it, but I also find it fairly easy to navigate my way around and the forums are brilliant for answering those puzzling questions when things don’t quite work when you want them to. In fact I believe, posting my first question in the forums and receiving replies from several other bloggers was the exact moment that I got hooked.
What have you found most easy or difficult in blogging with students?
Blogging with one class fulltime is far easier than working with 4 different classes as I am doing this year. When I was blogging with my Stage 2 class last year, we began each morning by checking the class blogs for comments and new visitors on the cluster map and flag counter. This year, not having my own classroom and working with different classes hasn’t enabled the same consistency or regularity of blogging as I have experienced in the past and thus the engagement and interest of the students isn’t as intense. Last year I assigned students the role of “Blog Reporter of the Week” where they were responsible for writing a post about a school or classroom event. This worked extremely well in encouraging all students to contribute. This year I have asked all students to write about activities that they are doing in the different subject areas. This hasn’t been so successful because I only see each class 3 times a fortnight and thus I’m unable to offer consistent encouragement to the students.
What recommendations would you give to new teachers to blogging?
These are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way:
Last Tuesday I was given the opportunity to attend the 2009 21st Century ICT Pedagogy Conference which showcased new and emerging technologies and explored the pedagogical implications for the 21st Century learner. I was truely inspired by two brilliant speakers, Jonathan Nicholas (Inspire Foundation) and Steven Doyle (Apple) who raised some very thought provoking and pertinant issues relating to the social impact of technology. For me, the major issues raised were:
Listening to Jonathan and Steven helped me to clarify the purpose of the Year 7 project I have undertaken this year and has provided me with new perspective and increased enthusiasm.
I would also like to give a special mention to Cheryl Butler and Jan McNeill from Hannans Rd PS who demonstrated the use of film making to develop literacy skills in primary school students. I have been experimenting making short films with Stage 2 students for the last 2 years and really enjoyed the opportunity to hear about the work of others who are on a similar path. They presented a very detailed step-by-step process which would be simple to implement into any classroom.
It has been an incredibly busy 2 weeks, getting to know new colleagues and students, not too mention, trying to find my way around a new school with very long corridors and many, many rooms. The variation in bell times each day has also taken a bit of getting used to but I’m starting to get the hang of it.
The last few weeks have also presented many challenges in terms of technology. For the last 3 years I have been very priviledged to have an IWB in my classroom and I never realised how integral this has been in my teaching until now when I have returned to the old days of a normal whiteboard, screen and data projector. Whilst this has been a little frustrating, I am going to continue, as planned. When the IWB finally arrives it will be a bonus. On the positive side of things, I have set of my four Year 7 classes with blogs (see Class Blogs) and have signed up for the Blogging Challenge starting in March, and have made a new blogging associate, Sue Wyatt. I will start off slow, looking at other school blogs and discussing the elements that create high quality posts and comments. I would be interested to share ideas with colleagues who are new to blogging and how they began the process, particularly with secondary school students, who already have vast knowledge of Web 2.0 tools.
I began the day, very excited but also quite anxious. I wasn’t off to a very good start after having very little sleep the night before, tossing and turning, thinking about the day ahead.
The morning meeting began with a breakdown of the 2008 HSC and School Certificate results. It was very interesting to note that there are obvious similarities between the areas of weakness in both secondary and my previous primary school results. Whilst most students cope quite well with the literal and factual questions there is a great deficiency in their ability to answer questions that require higher order thinking skills – critically analysing and applying learnt knowledge to new situations. Definately something to think about and there are serious implications that arise from this – as educators we need to provide students with learning experiences that promote the development of higher order thinking skills.
My day ended with CPR and Emergency Care Training, of which I passed both assessment tasks. Tomorrow will be another exhillarating day, meeting new students and parents. Hopefully sleep will come a little easier tonight, although I’m not so sure about this, my brain is working overtime at the moment with the anticipation of things to come.
If you are a High School Musical Fan, the title of this post may sound somewhat familiar. However, do not be mislead. This is my “Start of Something New”. For the last 20 years, I have been teaching in a primary school setting, working with 5-12 year olds. I have had the priviledge of working with some very talented students and inspiring educators who have assisted me to gain a great depth of knowledge and expertise. They have also fostered in me a love of learning and a thirst for ”something new’, to explore new challenges and to take risks – which brings me to 2009.
My new journey begins Tuesday, 27 February when I “graduate” to high school. My role there will be to assist with the development of the Year 7 program ensuring a greater transistion into high school and improvement in student outcomes. As this is a totally new concept, there are few guidelines, boundaries or borders, only that it is engaging, creative, relevant - the possibilities are endless! The program will be totally guided by students – their needs, interests, hobbies and passions.
This blog will be a journal of my adventures as I embark on this journey. I’m not sure where it will lead me, but it feels very exciting. I hope along the way, I will be able to provide insight and gain insight from others.
Let the adventure begin! 
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