All our classes have class blogs and we have been dabbling with Student blogging for a few years.  I began the students with KidBlogs and think it is a wonderful introduction – very easy to manage from a teachers perspective and easy to use from a student’s view.  There are enough features to introduce them to many aspects of blogging.

This year, I feel we are ready to move on and I am introducing the students to Edublogs (via Global2) and using the Student Blogging Challenge as a catalyst.

I asked for volunteers to be accept the challenge as I felt that mandating it would be too much and a bit unfair to some students.   I am thrilled with the first response and will begin working with the first group of volunteers next week, hoping their activity might inspire a few uncertain ones.

I am doing this as I believe that blogging has so many benefits for students.  When blogging,

• we create an audience for our work and writing and thereby inspire a quest for excellence
• we can gather ideas from many more people than just our small class or school
• we can share the wonderful things we know
• we feel good about ourselves as we get positive feedback about the things we do
• we let our families know more about what we do at school
• we get feedback by wonderful comments that help us think more about what we do and sometimes why we do them
• we interact with our readers via comments and practice appropriate language skills for online interactions
• we create a wonderful positive digital footprint
• we  model and practice Cybersafe behaviours

More to follow as the challenge begins.

Visual http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/4343432434/sizes/s/in/set-72157625878283389/

My short introductory presentation at TeachMeet Melbourne 16 Feb 2012

I would like to set the scene as to where our gathering today  fits in to a much larger picture.

1. The concept of Teachmeet is not new – the earliest mentions I found seemed to be around 2005 and associated with Ewan McIntosh from Scotland. Today, Teachmeets occur in many countries around the world. Highly evident in the UK, I also found mentions in USA and South Africa. There is also a Kidsmeet and Studentsmeet movement. There is a similar movement that seems much bigger in the USA referred to as Edcamp – the difference between these is not as obvious as the similarities.

2. Our Melbourne meetings were directly inspired by the Sydney experience where Teachmeets have grown dramatically in the past 12 months. Henrietta Miller and the Sydney team are amazing examples of enthusiastic teachers who began a movement that is now exploding. They are currently working on a world record TM with 160+ people already registered. A website has been created by them to keep the communication open and we are grateful to be included in that. The mission is clear and simple – teachers sharing with teachers.

3. The format for most meetings seems similar and we have chosen the 2 or 7 min presentation style. Two min micro presentations and slightly longer seven minutes presentations. If it happens that you are listening to a session that does not exactly thrill you or is not relevant to your current needs – the longest you will have to wait is 7 min until another session starts. The conversations and connections we make – putting faces to Twitter names etc are as valuable as the presentations.

The format depends on the willingness of participants to present and we are very grateful to those who have put their hand up for today. Obviously the example and experience of the team who presented at No 1. was motivating and we acknowledge that without volunteers, there is no TeachMeet.

4. So, in summary a Teachmeet has the following features and benefits -

5. TeachMeet International has also evolved as an online option for those who cannot meet personally . The second one is happening in March. As you can see it lives up to it’s international name with presentations from all around the world.

So, I am sure there will be a post after this one …….

Day Two of the 2012 school year, 55 senior primary students, class teachers and support staff  jumped in the deep end – collaborating, connecting and creating.   Firstly, we took the opportunity to participate in World Safer Internet day activities.  Beginning with an on-line ‘Blackboard Collaborate’ session presented by Greg Gebhert from ACMA and arranged by DEECD.  We were thrilled when 9 parents joined us having only been given a days notice.

We watched the presentation along with students from approximately 60 schools across our state – getting a sense that there is a bigger picture – a shared journey with similar issues and questions.

Following up from the presentation, we decided to test our ambition this year to include lots of collaborative activities with our students and staff and therefore conducted the first of what I hope will be more Jigsaw activities.     I loved learning along with the kids when a colleague lead the children through the philosophy behind this strategy.  Each teacher took on a role and shared the responsibility.   Co-teaching has so many benefits and I am looking forward to reaping many of them as the year progresses.

As the day progressed, the students watched a variety of Cybersafety videos and read brochures and posters. They learned together, shared their learning with others and then created CommonCraft style videos to display their learning. Here is one

Untitled from vgridley on Vimeo.

All in all, a successful day and start to the year.

There are some wonderful resources out there and here are a few we used today

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.