A big “hat tip” and heart felt thanks to Teaching Australia for the wonderful celebration they put together last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Canberra. The organization of the event, the variety of sessions and the venues were top class and really enjoyable.

There were many highlights:

The ceremony at Parliament House, and meeting the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard made the honour “real” and won’t be forgotten any time soon.

Meeting the terrific Anne Mirtschin f-2-f. Anne’s friendliness and sense of humour kept me laughing (and talking!) the whole time.

Sharing the amazing things that are happening in schools around the country, and being inspired by the teachers and leaders who are instigating the innovation and successes. Truly exciting!

Learning new sharing and thinking techniques and strategies courtesy of Eric Frangenheim.

Talking to teachers and leaders from across the country, across sectors and across stages – thinking, exploring and wondering together – trying to solve problems and make a difference.

Laughing during Peter FitzSimons’ after dinner speech at the National Portrait Gallery. I wish I could tell jokes like that – they just don’t come out funny when I try to re-tell them. Guess you had to be there – ;-0

The friendliness and support of the Teaching Australia crew – Peter, Anita and Helen. Thanks for your care.

Listening to Andrew Douch reflect on the wonderful opportunities he has taken advantage of whilst remaining true to himself and his beliefs. I like what he said about the need to share what you are passionate about with others – stand up and let people hear what you have to say – its not about you but about the students and what’s best for them.

It was an honour to be part of this celebration / event, it’s not often that teachers are recognised in this way. Thank you to all.

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!

A fun aspect of the presentation was the backchannel chat that occurred alongside the streamed version of the session. I can’t remember the name of the application Will used, but he videoed the session live and the viewers watching live were able to chat along as they watched the session.

The comments and quips came quick and fast as people asked questions, requested more info, passed comment and shared insights. Very enjoyable, but really fast paced and a little scary for a newbie

“We write to connect – to publish as a mid point – to converse and engage. There is no final copy – we can articulate our ideas to a certain extent – but we put it out there to be read and to be pushed.

We publish because we want to engage in the conversation.

World Map is the child’s classroom. “I ask my readers”

Connective writing – real audience and real purpose to engage with people – to expand efforts and knowledge.”

Will walks the walk – his sessions really encouraged you to push your own ideas, and the chat with others also pushed Will’s ideas along as well.

Image: ‘speech‘ 
www.flickr.com/photos/98624608@N00/75288771

Or what can it look like in the classroom?

“Create Something Extraordinary” – Oceans of Info Project

This is what we were studying as a class:

•       Sustainability focus, environmental issues nationally and globally.
•        Mapping, locating oceans and seas around Australia and the world.
•       Food chains, adaptation of species

Which led to a negotiated Individual enquiry project.

Rubric – negotiated with students, expectations high and clear.

Oral presentation of information highlighted – talking & listening.

Researching – reading, writing, playing

Planning – writing, reading

Performing – negotiating, practicing, 

Outcomes/ presentations can be seen on AllStars blog.

CODA

Games in the classroom!

DS Lites, wii, Playstation

•       Contexts for learning
•       Springboards to spark and inspire
•       Collaborative knowledge gathering
•       Practising skills, attitudes
•       Authentic purposes and audiences
•       Group responsibility
•       Cultural relevance

Find examples and write ups of using these games here!

Dolphin Island

wii Tennis

Learning Teaching Scotland’s Nintendogs Project

END OF STORY

Well that’s my story, now its time for you to come on board, to take time to explore and play with these tools that offer so much  – especially in the areas of connecting, communicating, collaborating  and creating.

Your task is ……..

To play

To discover

To choose something new

That could fit in your classroom and that you would share with your class or your staff, tomorrow or the next day…….

Go on, try for yourself ………. What’s the worst that could happen?

Here is a friendly slideshow that reassures (and offers practical advice) for …. facing the ICT  elephant

Change

The world has changed.

The students have changed.

Knowledge and learning have changed.

Schools and teaching have changed ???????

Here are two short presentations to promote some discussion:

See Think Wonder

Child Centred

•       Individualised / personalised
•       Information skills for active strategies to research
•       Literacy for authentic and personal purposes and audiences
•       Interests / enquiry focus

Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson – “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” TED Talk

“If human intelligences were limited to the abilties measured in IQ tests, most human activity would stop, or would never have started …..”

Out of Our Minds, Ken Robinson, 2001. Pg 102

Where to go for exciting, web-based tools to spark and interest?

Try ……. Cool Tools for Schools wiki

Here’s a mind map of the session:

Creative

Innovative

Student centred

Bouncing boards for teachers and students to use to explore and enhance learning.

All on my list for BETT 09. 

BETT Show 09 – bring it on!

That’s what I wanted to see – and here are my best picks:

Film Club – great resources and ideas for using films with students, to widen worlds, explore feelings and reactions and share enjoyment of films and capture imaginations.

“FILMCLUB is designed to inspire, entertain and arouse creative and curious minds.”

Lots of potential here – maybe not as an afterschool activity – not really part of the culture in Australia – but as part of what we do in school, as a lunchtime activity or a reward activity perhaps. Though the use of film within classrooms should be encouraged across the board.

Students manipulating film and creating their own trailers; students exploring themes and mashing, examples from films to demonstrate or present their opinions students creatively exploring , learning and presenting – great!

Pixton comic creator provided more ability for students to manipulate and control images, text and storyboards. A class account was also a good idea (even though it costs!) to keep the sometimes unsavoury comments and comics made on sites such as ToonDoo away from the kids.

Students love working on comics; they used them in history, geography and literature contexts and were able to construct pertinent and enjoyable comics about a variety of subjects. The extra features and manipulation of objects available in Pixton will mean that they have even more control of what and how they use these objects. Looking forward to trying this out when I’m back at school.

Microsoft Innovative Teachers programme gives teachers the chance to share what’s happening in their classrooms with other teachers around the world. Innovative practices are displayed, written up and shared so that others can learn alongside outstanding teachers.

A great model for encouraging and supporting all teachers to improve, experiment and achieve. Will look into this programme with staff at Belmore South when I get back.

The Promethean Team were enthusiastic, skilled and passionate about the new Promethean products. But by far the most impressive aspect of the team was their ability to keep all demonstrations and talk within the classroom. They knew what they were talking about and related example after example of how and why to use each feature with students in the classroom.

Promethean products and support are available through the Promethean Planet site that encourages and celebrates the creativity of teachers and students in designing quality flipcharts for inspiration and ideas. Definitely a place to look at to help find and share new ideas and ways of using the Promethean software.

Well, that’s it – I know I’m extremely late in posting this, but better late than never (not sure this applies in the blogging world tho)