Ulearn Breakout #5 – Mathletics @ Meadowbank School

Started with these couple of cool/funny videos…

mathletics.co.nz

Mark Webster – teacher from Meadowbank Yvonne Blanch – 3P learning.

Teachers are still being taught the traditional way but are finding it difficult to find jobs because everything is Inquiry Learning Based in schools. This is another tool that you can use your class and do it at home.

KEY POINTS – How does this reflect the key Competencies?

Digi-stores show how much the government is investing into web 2.0 technologies.

Kids can see their progress – compete against students around the world. Kids wanting to do questions at home.

Graphs that show weaknesses and strengths – can focus on either.

What would make my life easier?

*smaller teacher student ratio

*less paperwork – planning, marking, assessment

*managing personal learning

Allows up to date planning – real time planning – can log on straight after the kids and “rejig” planning to fit kids – strengths and weaknesses – great reports based on what the kids have done. Good diagonistics based feedback. Good report for parents – shows weaknesses and strengths.

Ulearn07 Workshop 3 – Toni Twiss

Taken by Waikato Dio – Media Studies and English Teacher Toni Twiss

How to set up a blog (supposed to be Encouraging Reflective Teacher Practise Through Blogging)

Web + Log = BLOG

Why do people blog? – diary; Hobby; Money making; Reflective practise;

Two aspects – SOftware

Web based programme like word press

Computer software – iweb

HOSTING

Free hosting

Host your own – more freedom/flexibility, more space, control uploads, control your data, own all your content

At about this point the edubloggers website decided not to play ball and crash out while we wanted to play with out blogs…however Toni trooped on and using her own wordpress blog was able to share and teach the workshop..YAH TONI!!!

Anyway, a great workshop with some cool sites shared – twittervision, flickrvision, twitter (still getting my head around it!!).  Toni also shared her site of her net surfing finds that she uses to share with her staff at Dio – possibly something I may like to look at for myself and setting up my own version of this.

So now it’s lunch and just a funny mention that I am glad that the Mini Chocolate Mudcakes were indeed the vegetarian variety – no mince in them!!

Ulearn Keynote – Helen Baxter

Again apologies for any grammer/spelling/general rambling…blogging this live so it may not make sense. These are my notes.

Helen Baxter – Renaissance 2.0

Learning Pathways – clear pathways and steps so that you can map your own learning. Showed a Mind Meister of her own learning pathway.

Knowledge Mangaement – knowledge walking out in peoples heads…needed to make it available to all (early 90’s).

Provide pathways of potential but not clear cut any more.

Educating New Leonardos

Now is the time to move into the future. Need more creative thinkers…NZ is full of them. History of backyard tinkering – #8 wire tradition.

Coined by NY times journalist – concept of multi disciplinary studies.

NESTA UK – amazing projects coming from it.

Big attitude shift towards life long learning – not just our kids but also for ourselves because we don’t know what we need to now. Need to implant the joy of learning – playful, engaging. Need more auto-didacts (people who go and just learn what they want to learn when they want it).

Western vs Eastern learning philosophies – eastern = learning over earning….continue to learn gives the opportunity to earn over a longer time. Not deliverers but rather facilitators. “What have you learnt today?”

Need to bridge gap of the two generations – Let generation Y teach you.

What will the campuses f the futures look like? Googleplexes – hybrid of work and play.
NZ curriculum shift from what to How style from 2009 – Mary Chamberlain quote – no need for knowledge banks on legs…got computers for that…people got to get used to this!!!
Machines supporting us.

LEARNING 2.0
1. Learn how you learn
2. Core foundations
a. Context is important
b. Avoid early specialism
c. Theoritical, practical, social
3. Provide pathways to open source knowledge
a. Intellectual property is holding back invention and innovation in some areas – should be secondary to public good. Paten law being abused now (?)
4. Life ling learning – develop skills around needs and interests – why do I need to learn this..when will I ever use it? Teach where the knowledge is not what the knowledge is? Einstein had his ph number and address in suit pocket on paper as opposed to in his head
5. More Montessori styles and practises – google founders

6.Physical space and time
Teaching and using the same kind of practises they will be using in their future work environments. Centres for academic excellences being used in the UK – community centres for learning. Schools of ambition and design schools 2.0. Virtual Rome

TEDucation – technology, entertainment, design; ideas worth sharing. TED under 30’s Eva Verte = age 14 came up with a breakthrough in Alzheimers

Cafescribe -online text books. Open Wikis.

Screen generation taking in huge amounts of information being taking on board through the reading of online media.

Able to re-use media over and over – podacasts and blogs able to leave comments in the future.

Careers 2.0

Projects vs jobs – jobs for life not around anymore – even BBC has everyone on temp contracts. Shift of perspective.

Powersearching- how to find information quickly and efficient.

Gaming – is important – training for future careers eg Robot Surgeons. Strategy an teamwork.

Manage knowledge not the process

Self Publishing for $$

How do we educate our leonardos?

You cant but you can instill the right attitudes !!!!

Something Fun!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SO5JY1KKYZo