KimP’s Blog

I was introduced to Mouse Woman today, a cute and cheeky character found in stories from the Haida, one of the First Nations bands of the North West coast of Canada.

Mouse Woman is a shape changer, a narnauk, who lives and travels between the human and spirit worlds, helping and guiding young people in need by offering suggestions, options and alternatives.

Mouse Woman, or Grandmother, likes life to be balanced and works with humans and nature to equalise good and bad, right and wrong, and deal with the humans or spirits who had upset the order of the world.

As payment for her help, Mouse Woman loves wool, which her ravelly little fingers like to tear into a lovely, loose, nesty pile of wool.

The stories, written by Christie Harris, are refreshing, fun, mischievous, scary and thought provoking. I ‘m sure that I will be using the stories with my class. They will be great for discussing and exploring positive values, symbols and actions, and even ideas of natural balance, ecology and rights and responsibilities.

The stories also give a wonderful insight into traditional Haida life and beliefs – the descriptions of the forests, coasts and oceans are beautiful and poignant. The social structures and way of life in the Time Before are also shown and explained.

I’m so glad that I’ve met and fallen under the spell of Mouse Woman – and I hope she will join me back in my classroom to share her adventures with children on the other side of the world.

OR

“GOING TO WHERE THEY CAN FIND YOU”

Today’s keynote was presented by Eleanor Duckworth who, according to the conference website: 

“…. is a former student and translator of Jean Piaget, Dr. Duckworth grounds her work in Piaget and Inhelder’s insights into the nature and development of understanding and in their research method, which she has developed as a teaching/research approach, Critical Exploration in the Classroom. She seeks to bring a Freirean approach to any classroom, valuing the learners’ experience and insights. Her interest is in the experiences of teaching and learning of people of all ages, both in and out of schools. Duckworth is a former elementary school teacher and has worked in curriculum development, teacher education, and program evaluation in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and her native Canada. She is a coordinator for Cambridge United for Justice with Peace, and is a performing modern dancer. ”

The ideas that resonated with me are:

•       “work at it, work at it” – you can’t make certain things happen (like thought, imagination, different ways of thinking) so you need to “go where they will find you”
•       we must put learners into contact with the physical world
•       students take their own learning seriously when there is someone there to talk to, listen to
•       “critical exploration” within the classroom = long term in depth study/exploration by students over time
•       accept all ideas from the students – it’s the teachers role to then take these ideas further and deeper – and the ideas can become more playful
•       explore
•       wonder
•       question
•       play ……… and surprising things will happen!
•       encourage students to find the mysteries in the something ordinary
•       a study of “something” – pose a question – explore, notice, share, question
•       all ideas are open/equal/possible = truth is in the subject matter

I am currently in Vancouver, BC, attending the 7th International Conference on Imagination and Education where I have been introduced to the work of Dr Kieran Egan and the Imaginative Education Research Group (IERG).

” Imaginative Education is an approach to education that effectively engages students’ emotions, imaginations and intellects in learning.

The Imaginative Education Research Group has developed theories, principles and practices designed to explain, describe and implement this approach.

Imaginative Education offers a new understanding of how knowledge grows in the mind, and how our imaginations work and change during our lives. The IERG has developed innovative teaching methods based on these insights that offer new ways of planning and teaching….”

The 2 day, pre-conference workshop, showed alternative ways of thinking about education and the different kinds of understandings that come into play as children grow and develop and make sense of their world.

Examples of classroom applications demonstrated what the approach look liked in action, and planning frameworks were shared and explained.

We then spent some time trying out the approach by playing a number of thinking games/activities and beginning to plan lessons using the  frameworks to encourage creative and imaginative ways to explore traditional topics and content.

There were lots of opportunities to share ideas and questions about IE and this was really important so that our early thoughts could be clarified as we contemplated incorporating this approach into our teaching toolkit.

Check out the IERG website for more info, research, examples, resources and lesson/unit ideas.

I think my brain is about to explode!

Today was the third 7 hour, all day workshop that I’ve attended over the past four days – have to make the most of my NECC experience!

A plethora of web2.0 tools were presented enthusiastically as a way of teaching various (and varied) reading skills across the grades. From phonic awareness, to vocabulary, to comprehension, to talking and listening – all apects of reading instruction were comprehensively covered.

Linking assessment  was always stressed and ways and examples were demonstrated. The importance of always ensuring that the use of a tool is based on its relevance to the learning task and outcomes, was also constantly reinforced.

Ideas and examples of teachers and classes using these tools in a variety of ways was really helpful to visualise the use of web2.0 in the reading classroom:

• Using simple voice recordings (and using Vocaroo to embed on blog or wiki) for multiple purposes – such as identifying rhyming words, syllabification,fluency, reading out loud, oral instructions, books onto a podcast for listening to whenever you like (family members can record books for class to listen to).
• Making simple word/vocabulary alphabets for class topics and units or basic English words for ESL students using Yodio – where you add voice to digital photos.
• ClassTools.net have lots of games that you can adapt to your class’s needs. There’s a random name picker – try matching rhyming words or homophones or opposites.
• Some great hands on and practical examples of using Voicethread were also shown to help students develop fluency when reading, to develop critical thinking and responses.

A frenetic paced session where Hall Davidson from Discovery Education  illustrated the many ways that students could demonstrate their learning using video.

I must admit that I haven’t used video as much as I should in my classroom – all of those cords and missing bits and pieces that went with the school video recorder – but it’s just getting easier and easier with video capable cameras and phones – and the FLIP cameras we have now.

Using the tools readily available in classrooms, Hall took us step by step through the technical aspects (usually just click, copy, paste) of the programs and apps he was using.

He shared how easily students were able to control and manage the videoing of their learning and he shared quite a few very interesting and fun projects to try.

Sessions such as this act as a springboard for ideas for teachers who then are able to pass on the excitement, tools and opportunities for their students to use.

Keeping the videos in the hands of the students must remain a priority – to ensure that it’s the students driving their own learning.

I’d hate to be the one in control of the video – that would be taking all of the powerful learning, organizing, planning, rehearsing, delegating and negotiating fun away the people who need to be demonstrating these very skills.

BOSS – Can I book our FLIP video cameras for ALL of next term?? Please???

Angela Maiers writes one of my favourite web sites, full of interesting and practical ideas to get kids, and teachers, talking about thinking and learning.

She presented this morning, as part of the NECC Unplugged sessions, on Literacy in a 21^st century world. Along side her were Ben Grey, and David Warlick so it really was a session not to be missed!

Ben Grey encouraged us to talk about Literacy and the need to see literacy not as a set of skills to be learnt, but as a learning skill that will enable us to learn what we need to know in order to learn. Ben stressed communication was the context and students needed working skills to enable them to learn from people who know.

Angela used the Luke and Freebody model of reading as her 21^st century framework for learning, and likened reading to driving a car, where readers are in charge of all simultaneous processes at the same time, rather than just using one skill at a time in a step-by-step fashion (as reading has been taught in the past).

This really resonated with me and quite a few pieces of the literacy puzzle seemed to slip into place during this session. NSW schools have used the Luke and Freebody model in reading for many years so I was quite familiar with the model itself. However, the difference is in looking at all areas of literacy and how this model provides a framework for the many different aspects (and even types) of literacy that we use and teach today in our classrooms.

Lots more here to think about and work on.

Thanks Angela, Ben and David award to you as the biggest AHA moment at NECC09!

I attended a number of sessions around using the iPod touch and iPhone in classrooms and across schools.

Everyone in the sessions seemed to have one and wanted to know how they can use them in class. Our students have these in their pockets and as teachers, we need to show how they can be best used.

Some teachers are using these devices already and are willing to share their experiences and speak of the way their students are using them in class.

The number and quality of education apps was not great at the start so teachers were adapting other apps to use within the class, while quite a number of enterprising teachers have begun writing their own apps to use in the classroom.

A database of apps will be published through the Classroom2.0 ning at the end of July. This database will allow teachers to easily and quickly scan lists of apps that are good to use with students.

Great fun was had in a session when a group of unlikely musicians were called from the audience to join in playing various instruments in a jam session using a music app.

I think that this sort of experience (ie linking to real world – off phone) is the way that I would like to move towards – being able to extend my students experiences through using the iPh

one rather than just doing the same things with a new technology. I think the iPhone adds to the opportunities I can provide within the classroom – by bringing in any number of instruments to play and experiment with.

All this thinking is hypothetical at the moment because mobile phones are banned in NSW schools at the moment. Might have to get my hands on some iPod Touches though!

Standing in line for a coffee,

Tired, and feeling brain dead.

On a break from an all day workshop

Something  great happened instead!

“Thank you for wearing our T-shirts,”

the Pearson people say.

“Have an ipod with best wishes,

and we hope you have a good day!”

We couldn’t believe our extreme good luck

But this we have to say:

“Thanks so much to Pearson Ed

and their T-shirts we wore today!”

Kathleen Blake Yancey wrote this great piece about writing in the 21st century, so I was not going to miss this session!

How is literacy different now – not just the tools.

Community

Cramped definition of writing – what does writing look like today?

Writing is happening in new and exciting ways

Historical context - 

•       Personal + response
•       Discipline & punishment – punitive
•       Cartoon + humour
•       Protest – graffiti, posters
•       As a process different types of writing
•       Writing model is made linear ( in learning institutions)
•       Digitised – publishing opportunities
•       Connecting + visuals (colours, images impact on writing)
•       New & exciting ways to connect – part of the process – which medium and why??
•       Now not just the computer or screen BUT web2.0

WRITING TODAY IN SCHOOLS – activities to try

1.    Blogging from school to the world

•       Discussion board
•       Answering about book
•       Different criteria – not words but response to others (respect, regard for others)

2.    Becoming Jane Austen

•       Character/ persona of someone you study
•       Relationships with others, thoughts

3.    Information Ecology

•       Owned by others, gated, bureaucracy
•       New model = online
•       Answer a question using only blogs
•       Map the journey
•       How do we decide what is trustworthy and what is not?
•       Academic, mainstream & alternative sources
•       Need to be explicit so students can be explicit
•       Time Magazine top 25 list of blogs

4.    Blogging as Learning in Action

•       Where do we see poetry in the culture – how is it poetic?
•       Blog of unnecessary quotation marks
•       Signs – changing over time and the assumptions they make

WRITING TODAY

•       Need to de-construct
•       “out in the culture” & blog about it to share with others
•       embrace learning together – participation
•       tool set (blogs, wikis, twitter) to control – which tool to use when to connect to others???

PARTICIPATION NOW

•       experts and lay people composing knowledge
•       citizen knowledge – available to participate in science projects -
•       built into the model of scientific data gathering
•       citizens journalists composing news
•       “I” reporters
•       started as a result of crisies
•       when people are helping each other there is greater trustworthiness
•       history is being made before our eyes – primary sources
•       now people are reporting why
•       citizens composing power
•       eg Iran – twitter, blogs
•       blog is a tool that connects to other tools