Thoughts on the beginning of the school year.

We hear the phrase “information overload” and think about the wealth of resources and information available to us in this age of the internet.  As the new school year approaches with increasing speed, I am experiencing “ideas overload”.   Browsing Twitter, websites and blogs and talking with my colleagues provides me with a plethora of inspiration – ideas, thoughts, concepts, plans, programs, projects – all a click away.   Global projects, challenges, programs ranging from short term to long term abound.   They all have merit and some are very exciting.

A recent conversation with a wise woman reminded me that we need to filter the possibilities and choose a few simple goals.

“”You can do anything but not everything”.

The tendency to want to do everything , read everything, try everything, is really quite self-destructive.   A similar idea is discussed in the article  by Harry and Susan Squires “Talking back to your brain”, although with a different slant the principle applies in my circumstance.

The concept is simply that if we ask ourselves small questions, we are more likely to be able to come up with achievable answers (apologies to the authors for my paraphrasing).

I don’t want to exclude the time for ‘big picture’ thinking, but in order to be able to function effectively, to take the next step, to get the ball rolling, I need to bite off achievable chunks from my vast array of choices.  I need to work within my many limitations but still strive to extend my boundaries – if that makes any sense?!

So the thinking continues.  Following Harry and Susan Squires advice, what small questions should I ask?

Reflecting on the year at our school, a major theme would have to be CONNECTING. A few examples follow …

In the past week, I have watched our classes finish up for the school year – the usual gift giving, carol singing, graduation ceremonies, packing, moving classes and reminiscing. This year our classes had not only to say good-bye to each other, they needed to acknowledge connections they had created throughout the year via their blogs. Five classes joined together to create a particularly Australian Christmas message for their blogging friends. They continued to appreciate, as they had all year, that they had a unique story to tell their buddies in NZ, Canada, USA and the UK. “What’s a ute?”, came back a reply from Canada, highlighting our individuality.

Our recently graduated Preps prepared a movie (cleverly orchestrated by teachers but filmed, written and performed by the students) for the incoming class of preps introducing them to their school. They were ‘Taking Action’ after spending the term examining their community – sharing their knowledge and experience and connecting with the newest members of our community.

Our Middle students connected with US students when inquiring about endangered animals and a wonderful learning opportunity developed.  They also shared and received feedback on their writing from a diverse group of readers through their class blogs.

Our Community Arts Project recently culminated in the unveiling of a montage of family photographic images – connecting the families to the school community being a major focus of this project.  The project also connected our students as a peer mentoring process was put into action.

All members of our staff have participated in Professional Learning sessions most Wednesday mornings (Techie Brekkie’s) where we share new tech skills and tools and learn alongside each other. We were connecting as learners as we acknowledge our individual needs and skills. The staff has also recently planned to further the connections with other schools as well as create opportunities for more collaboration within our school, benefiting both the teaching staff and students alike. Many staff have continued to embrace the world of Twitter and blogging as an amazing opportunity to connect with other educators and our school is richer for this process.

Whether it be in the physical sense of a Better Buddies program, Junior students making a luncheon for our Parish senior citizens, having grandparents come to school to share their stories of the past or singing carols at a nearby nursing home or in the virtual sense through our on-line connections, connecting is a vital aspect of our daily lives in school. The days of closed doors are over !

Personally, I have loved the opportunities that I have had this year to have face-to-face meetings with people I had only previously connected with on-line – the first Melbourne TeachMeet in September and a trip to Sydney to work with the George and Alec Couros at Ravenswood School being highlights.  A key thought from that conference was that ‘Learning is Social’ and I believe we have demonstrated that well.

It is often easy to be self critical, to not appreciate things whilst you are too close to see them properly. It is hard to remember how things were before when we so quickly become accustomed to them in our lives. I hereby acknowledge the efforts and appreciate them ! Thanks to all the people who make these things happen – you know who you are.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last week I attended a two day ‘conference’ at Ravenswood school in Sydney.  The dynamic Summer Charlesworth (@edusum) had arranged for Alec and George Couros to be part of the school Travelling Inspiring Educators Program.   There were many ‘take-aways’ from this feast of ideas and challenges.  I have struggled to synthesise it since, so will use elements of the Tweet stream to help me.  This was made all the easier by taking advantage of Tweetdoc - a wonderful tool that records Twitter Streams – and in this case, the participants had very generously shared their tweets at great regularity and with great insights.

Therefore, these are snippets from the days, which recorded quotes, ideas and thoughts and are in no particular order.  I am a believer in short blog posts, so I will only choose a few and perhaps a few more in another post.

This struck a chord with me as I have occasionally reviewed my own blog posts and marvelled at the documented journey it portrays.  Reviewing our own thinking and seeing growth, or even just being reminded of what was important at a different stage is a great process.  The use of blogging as a digital portfolio was discussed and encouraged.  Wouldn’t you love your students (or children) to have a progressive record of their thinking and learning?

Our need to look at the potential benefits of connecting via social media rather than focus on the slight possibility of the not so nice.   Alec and George produced a beautiful array of examples of how these connections can enhance our existence.

I love Twitter and Blogging but the benefit of meeting people face to face cannot be underestimated.  Much of George and Alec’s message revolved around the importance of relationships and it reinforced my belief that participating in gatherings such as Ravoties and Teachmeets is powerful and important.

We know the internet is full of tools to help us connect: each comes with idiosyncracies that mean we need to be aware of their features and choose the right one for the job at hand.  Collaborative tools mean we can harness the value of connecting and produce amazing learning opportunities that are no way hindered by physical restrictions.

The concept of the teacher and leaders in schools demonstrating that they are the ‘lead learners’ was widely discussed.   “Live your messages” being a mantra to live and work by.

I loved this discussion.  I have often thought about who we classify as successful students and note that in general, our system rewards those who ‘play the game’ – they fit inside the boxes that our system requires and their success is applauded.  The more divergent thinkers – or the one’s not so willing or capable of complying – are deemed less successful.  Our attention to the individuals in our schools is obviously vital. 

I have seen the benefit of using our networks to connect our students and value the strength of a strong network.  A lovely exchange between a US educator and myself over Twitter evolved into a great learning experience for our students (See this post) and this is one of a multitude of examples. Accepting that our students can and often do learn better from people other than their teachers is vital and exposing them to strategies that expand their horizons is exciting.

It was a wonderful experience that I will continue to mull over and I echo Tom Whitby’s thoughts

I am a connected educator. It has had a profound effect on what I do, and how I do it. It has taken me to places that I could not get to without being connected. It has taken me to discussions with the leading authors and educators of today. My connectedness has made me a better educator.

Or at least I hope it is getting me there!

Do you remember when you were in Prep/Kindergarten?  If it was anything like my experience, we sat in rows, recited and learned by rote.   Personally, I have very few memories but there is no doubt that we learned to read and be numerate.  We began our schooling with a strong sense that education was given to us: the empty vessel concept.   That was the way it was then.   Now consider this example of Prep children in 2011

“This term our Inquiry Learning has been about reusing products and recycling to reduce landfill. Prep S and Prep K discovered a problem at our school – we use too much paper. So we worked through a Problem Solving Strategy to decide what we could do to change the way we use paper at St. Luke’s. After much discussion and considering the pros and cons of all ideas, the Preps decided to make a video about how we can stop using too much paper. Together we wrote a script – practised our lines and made props to make our video.” Learning Together 

These  6 year old Australians, presented their learning to the school at assembly inviting their school mates to follow their initiative.  The video has had a number of airings, published on their class blogs,  BrainPop UK site and also used by a Canadian teacher to help her class understand the recycling and re-using message.  It was also shared with their QuadBlogging buddy classes in NZ, UK and USA.   Of course, a lot of modelling from the teachers occurred to achieve these results from such young children, but they are not passive players in their education.

They are connected learners, making a difference that would not have been possible without today’s technologies.   The networks that have been opened to them through the initiatives of their teachers are enormous and I congratulate them.  They now know that they can make a difference and that they have a voice.    I think I would rather be in school now ….. but wait I don’t want to be 6 again !

Picture and title idea :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/4492877553/sizes/m/in/set-72157617682813952/ Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano 

What makes 40+ teachers give up an afternoon of their precious holidays and come from all over town to talk ‘shop’?  I guess the answer is that there are a variety of motivations.  Yesterday, I shared a few hours with such a group: our first Melbourne Teach Meet.  I wrote about the beginnings in a previous post.

The success or otherwise of events such as this relies on participation as well as content and context.  Jess McCulloch (@JessMcCulloch) set the context for us by reciting her poem “Magical Connections” – reminding us that the heart and soul of teaching lies in the children we teach and our relationship with them.

We then heard from volunteers in either 2 or 7 min spells – they shared skills, tools, experiences and passion.   A great mix which I would hope provided some food for thought for all in the diverse audience. For the details see our Wiki. I came away with a variety of feelings:

Awe – at some of the clever technical things some people are doing with their students but also at the simple but powerful classroom techniques being employed

Inspiration – the feeling that I could give that a go

We are in the midst of a term break from the regular school activities, but that has not stopped some of my colleagues from consulting with each and collaborating on school based matters (and a few non-school based ones as well). After a gentle reminder of the potential of Yammer by @HamishCurry from The State Library of Victoria’s education team, we have been giving it a go. In the week since we began experimenting, we have had shared discussions, highlighted websites and resources we might use in the upcoming term, encouraged each other and generally got to see the potential of this tool.  This is quite remarkable seeing we are supposed to be on holiday, but just proves that teachers never really shut off.

Yammer is a microblogging or activity stream application which allows a particular community to communicate in a manner very similar to Twitter. It can be accessed via web browser, desktop client, or smart phone. The main difference between Twitter and Yammer is that Yammer is for internal use within an organisation.
Yammer is not a replacement for regular meetings, email, or face-to-face conversation—it is simply another communications tool which extends staff experience with new technologies and complements existing forms of communication.
National Library of Australia – Gateways

I am yet to decide if I think it will have a future in our small school circumstance, but I do like some features:

• the similarity to Facebook and the common skills
• the simplicity – it is not over the top with gadgets etc
• the ability to connect it with Twitter by using the #yam hashtag
• the private nature – only people sharing a common url email can see your network
• the ability to create small networks within the system

We are often asked to consider what evidence we have to prove that our teaching initiatives are working towards positive outcomes for our students – sometimes it is easier to identify than others.

I am currently beginning a Professional Learning adventure – expanding my horizons and participating in the Professional Learning Flagship Program: Leading Curriculum Change run by Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). It is an on-line learning opportunity and an amazing mix of people have already begun the journey – class teachers, school leaders, primary, secondary and from all over Australia. One facet of the course is the on-line forum, a feature I am accustomed to from other online connections. I found it interesting to see that the participants in this course, mostly very experienced teachers and many with previous leadership positions needed to be coached in on-line forum etiquette and style. It makes sense as this is obviously new to many teachers as our learning has been conducted in different formats. The skills needed to participate in forums and collaborative learning spaces have not necessarily been practised.

I then thought about the 5 – 12 years olds at our school, they are already being coached, modelled and are experiencing on-line collaboration. They will be ‘naturals’ at this form of learning as they have started young. Equipping our students to be lifelong learners is one of our mission statements (and I know it is shared by many). Exposure to Web 2.0 tools that encourage co-operation and to projects like Quadblogging which connect learners and expand their horizons are part of our strategies. The evidence however, will perhaps not be visible to us while they are in their primary years, the evidence will be when they move to their future lives with such confidence, such familiarity in the ways of on-line learning.

We may not see the fruits, but we have planted the seeds.

Time to share a great project happening at my school.  Firstly, I will state, I had nothing to do with it.  The story is contained on the project blog, but in short, it is a Community Art Project.   The organising team decided to use the artistic medium of photography as the focus whilst integrating values education into the mix.  Community (family) involvement was also a strong target.

Tonight, our students, parents and staff shared an evening of hands-on learning – a minor culmination in the journey of the project.   Leading up to this event, the students have had wonderful sessions with a professional photographer (and wonderful teacher), they had learned, practised, modelled and then taught others.   Our young students have exhibited remarkable vision incorporating simple lessons and techniques and produced some amazing pieces of art.

The session with parents, challenged the families to bring artefacts that represent their families, and to compose a photograph with this in mind.  Tonight was practice night and the families have been sent off with a brief to create their personal family image.  These will be shared and celebrated in an art exhibition at the completion of the project.

Our artist-in-residence explained to the parents tonight that photography was an amazing art form as it quite levelling – anyone can create a great photo – regardless of artistic drawing skills or the quality of the camera, the thinking behind the photo is what is important – taking a ‘considered’ image.

A by-product of this project is the increased usage of photography in all areas of the curriculum, and I have the feeling it will be the catalyst for many creative and great learning moments now that it is so entrenched into the thinking of staff and students.

All in all, I came away enthused by the potential of this project and congratulate those who had the vision at the beginning.     Looking forward to seeing it flourish, or should I say ‘develop’, No, that would be old-fashioned!

I saw the following quote on Twitter

To not move forward, is to retreat.

It made me think, is that true in respect of our teaching practice?  Is it fair to denigrate practices that do not change?  Perhaps, they are being followed as they are tried and tested and successful.  So I think I will re-word the quote to

Not to consider moving forward, is to retreat

I have always held that social media is used expertly by teachers who value ‘moving forward’.  Those who actively participate in Twitter, Blogging, on-line conferences, Google+ etc are demonstrating a need and willingness to change or at the very least to ‘consider’ changing.

Then, thanks to EdTechCrew I was alerted to the following TED Video

So, in an attempt to be moving forward, what professional challenge could we set ourselves to try for 30 days?

So back to Twitter and another quote appears

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn & relearn”Alvin Toffler.  Teachers need to model this behaviour.  Personally, I am lucky enough to be going on Tuesday to the State Library of Victoria to participate with Steve Hargadon in Teacher 2.0: Your Personal and Professional Growth.  I imagine I may come back with some inspiration.

it can’t be a bad thing …..

A month ago, whilst listening to Henrietta Miller present at the 2011 Reform Symposium, an idea was born.  Okay, not a new idea but a version of an old one.  In the Elluminate (on-line conference) room there were three Melbourne based educators who were inspired by the ideas presented by Henrietta of face to face meetings of like-minded educators.  Through the ‘chat’ @Mr_Mitch_Hughes, @Aimee_Gale and I created the Melbourne version.  #TMMelb as a Twitter hashtag was born.   Mitch Hughes then very quickly started a wiki and that was the catalyst for the rest.

We already have a fair few interested members (could do with some more!)   We have a date set for our first event (Fri 7 Oct – Pascoe Vale Primary School) and we have a few people who have expressed interest ……

We are in our infancy, but every good thing started somewhere.   As far as I see it the benefits are enormous, including the obvious stated here :

• face to face meetings of people who have previously only connected  via virtual means (Twitter, blogs etc)
• sharing of ideas amongst teachers from amazingly varied contexts – primary, secondary, class teachers, specialists, leaders etc
• an opportunity to view different learning spaces (Thanks to Margo Edgar from Pascoe Vale Primary for TM No 1)
• teachers who are pro-actively taking control of their own professional learning and embracing a philosophy that relies on the sharing of ideas
• evolving and allowing contributions from anyone who cares to contribute – for example, one teacher who happened upon this #TMMelb and has experienced similar ventures previously and is already offering wonderful perspectives such as the following video

So …. what’s next ? ….. I don’t know …. but I am happy to be along on the ride …..