Why are there so many….songs about….

Was driving to school this morning along the Southern Motor way when I saw my first ever full rainbow.  It was arching from at least the Shell Service station at Greenlane to the bottom of Mt Hobson….so I took these photos on my mobile.  Have to say they looked heaps better on the phone but I just had to share why my Monday morning is all roses and candy!!!

Is this a New Boundary????

I have just finished watching the Pre Conference Keynote of the K12Online Conference given by David Warlick. It’s called Inventing New Boundaries. It’s 10.18 am on a rainy, windy morning here in Auckland, my partner is asleep after finishing a night shift and I am sitting here in my pajamas, dressing gown and pink fluffy slippers with a cup of tea, listening to and learning from a man who lives on the other side of the world, where according to my ipod it’s 4:21pm yesterday afternoon…if this isn’t reinventing or re-establishing the boundaries of learning, then I may struggle to understand it.

David’s keynote addressed similar points as he did here in Rotorua in February, however after having been more “educated” on web2.0, the flat world and how to cross borders, I found it more beneficial. One point that comes across loud and clear is where and how we access information. He produces (after a great deal of searching) an encyclopaedia from 1961. That’s 18 years before I was born, before CD’s were invented, before programming video recorders became the bain of my mothers life, before IM, text messaging and the language that comes from these was invented. I recall an anecdote about how within a minute of Pluto being downgraded – wikipedia had been updated. How many text books, encyclopaedias in your school still have a entry about the solar system telling us, the reader, the consumer of the information that there is nine planets? And how many of the above have been updated, re-published with the correct number of planets??? Media, technology and how we access it, is changing.

I left university seven years ago with a BA in Film, TV and Media studies. I recently moved house and found all my old textbooks. I was about to donate them to a hall of residence but realized that when I was studying the media, it was print, radio or television. The idea that every one of us, regardless of age, race, sex, qualification could author and publish media for a global audience was not one that I entertained at the very least. Those boundaries of media have been pushed aside and now that 11 year old sitting in your class is just as likely to be a published film maker as Peter Jackson.

The traditional gatekeepers of content are on the verge of extinction. We as educators need to teach kids how to access the information and as David says “find, evaluate and organize” the information so that it is relevant to the context of our kids. We need to participate like our kids – being part of online communities that help each to achieve own personal goals (be warned: it can be very addictive!!), taking risks (use that inbuilt i-sight to create your own version of Madonna’s Vogue and put it online), start twittering, play a collaborative online game (personally I haven’t done this – but it’s on my short term goal list) – Become part of the world that they are living and learning in.

Information and how it is produced is constantly changing. We, like our students need to adapt to how we can access and use it. Teach them reading, writing and maths, but also evaluating skills, accessing skills, so that they become literate in their own learning environments.

Ulearn Keynote - Tony Ryan

Excuse spelling and grammar etc…live blogging this as I go….My notes…

Inspiring Classrooms

Saying exact words - for this stage of the conference you’re looking sensational

What is a “Keynote”?

SOngline - series of songs and chants from Aboriginal culture? What is our global songline in education?.. Pathway to be inspiring in classrooms.

“Exercise your Goosebumps” in terms of inspiring our classrooms

What will I implement from this conference?

What 3 main comcepts/processes/ideas are you most likely to take further?

Will they measurably enhance your students’ learning?

Will they support your present great practises?

Can you pay respect to your Self while implementing them?

How to I put it into practise?

What could you do?

what will you do?

How and when will you do this?

HOw will you maintain??

Other follow up options

De-brief by next Wednesday - go back to my blogs and write a reflection of the conference and what I have got from it.

Build the conference material into your professional dialogue

Find a life coach - find someone who can challenge me to be the best I can be!!!

How can I stay inspired throughout this ongoing learning

Systems and schools; Classrooms; YOU

What is inspriation/: Enthusiasm, passion, purpose, spirit

Systems and Schools

Practise ‘abandonment’ - drop things that aren’t working

Understand that you ARE the system - one teacher can change to whole school for the positive or negative - we all count

Develop sustainable practises -

Create Green Light environments - red light vs green light thinking - I can do environments

Classroom

Promote intellectual rigour

Encourage IBL

Be EXPLICIT - tick off the learning for the lesson with the kids

Help students to create solutions

Personally, locally and globally

Students Against Landmines, Schoolaid, global ideas bank

Own Inspiration

Second life, Third life, Fourth life

Who do you know who is truly inspiring?

Why is that person so inspiring?

What’s your score for ATTITUDE?

Maintain high energy levels

It’s not hard work

Fuel body so works as good as possible

Focus on the positive and meditative practises

Having depth, substance in life - give everything to life

Is it possible to be inspiring most (all) of the time?

Put a pen between your teeth and move your lips away from the pen so that they aren’t touching.

Young monk approaches the wise old monk…why do we have bto be celibate?,,,,two days later….It says celebrate……

Tell people the good things in life and education.

Be a mexican sky dancer…..

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”…Ghandi

Ulearn Breakout #6 - Tony Ryan

Web 2.0 Intelligence: How are strong relationships between family, whanau, communities and places of learning fostered?

Collaboration vs group work - Collaboration is coming through in the web 2.0 environment.

Clock face partners - 12, 3, 6 and 9′0clock - find partner for work during the session.

Making Connections

web 1.0 - one way - search engines, internet banking

web 2.0 - two way - second life, facebook (challenge to create a 2nd life avatar)

2nd life - Two countrues already have established an embassy

No one is overweight

no one has wrinkles

several unis have set up a campus on a 2nd life island - could schools do the same??

If you join IBm you must be in 2nd life as they do all their training.

OHMYNEWS.com go2web20.net

The Wisdom of 2.0 crowds - more than 1 is smarter than 1. group mind crucial. GEN Y life ethic involves learning with and from other people - no discrimination based on avatars - wouldn’t it be great if our world would be like this.

Deeper applications of technology

web 3.0 - Avatar synchronisation and Ubiquitous computing within the next 5 years

web 4.0 - around 2025 - download of entity; marrying robots - ethics???;

Neo-ludities - infecting tech companies when they are fired.

180 degree dialogues - into 2’s; one choose yes and one no; statement; defend your side. now change sides - Talking is Critical

Living in First Life

Two sets of meta skills - Goleman, Daniel - “Social Intelligence”

Personal - bounce back; need to feel good about self to collaborate; less resilient people focus on probs whereas more resilient people focus on solutions and able to cope with distressing situations better. Determined by your thinking - wake kids up to their own thinking “dumping crappy thoughts”.

Stress conditions -
Eustress - motivating stress - planning a party etc (Good Stress - for kids)

distress - situations out your control - indicators:loss of control, disturbed sleep, eating patterns, apathy, emotionally volatility

Hyperstress - burnout - overloaded with distress situations

Hypostress - unchallenged insufficient amounts of positive stress

Stress Busters -put them in place daily - exercise, meditation, listening to music, reading the newspaper, playing a game.

What do I do to destress - for rest of the year swim mon, wed, thurs and walk two days a week.

Social - Emotional intelligence

Mentoring across year levels - new kids buddied up with older kids; year 6s helping year 1s

Solution based projects within the curriculum - IBL, focus on solutions not the problems - personal, social and global lives.

Active citizenship opportunities - help kids help each other. Social Justice - helps centre kids in later life. Power of 100 - write letters because at least 100 people are thinking the same things. 6 degrees of separation rule, if we each know 37 people we are connected to everyone on the planet by less than 6 degrees.

PRACTICAL STRATEGIES

Use collabortaive learning strategies

Generate supportive classroom - respect - respect- respect-

Help students to know more about each other

Fun activities - social venn diagrams, This is my life (one piece of paper, 4 things the’ve done in their lives, swap papers then people have to read it out and guess who it is), 2 truths and 1 outrageous lie;

Having a laugh as a group draws them together - humour not sarcasm - group collective

First 90 seconds of a lesson are critical - kids make up their mind about the lesson in this time

Teach the social skills -

1.Draw up a t-chart (looks like/soundslike) and writie the name of the skill at the top eg Top Listening

2.Role model the skill to the group

3.Clarify the specifics of the skill with the T-chart

4. Practise it immediately

Further WEb Options

pltopd.com

schoolaid.org 

tonyryan@headfirst.com.au (need to send a joke if I want anything)

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

Ulearn07 Keynote - Ewan MacIntosh

The following is my recording of notes during Steve Maharey and Ewan MacIntosh’s keynotes this morning….will update the links later.
Excuse grammar spelling and general lack of any sense making….these are my notes

RU Blogging this…..davidleeking.com

Steve Maharey - Personalising learning in a digital age How do we make use of the new technology in our schools.

A changing world Maurice Williams - parliament ICT guru. Do you know you will be able to walk into your fridge to be a certain temp in a certain time?

Nano Technology - science of extremely small things. The future of our world. How do we prepare our kids for this? Sir Ken Robertson - genetics, information communication coming together. Science exists for us to have information entirely on hand and in day to day minute to minute.

Our educations aren’t what our kids need to know. Very content based PASSIVE LEARNING - changing to finding the content - access, compile, create, reflect - ACTIVE LEARNING How do you personalise learning? Effective teaching Assessment for learning - form up the learnings, constant feedback

Flexible Curriculum - No need for a prescriptive curriculum, where they are to the outcome , suits the context of the learners

Engaged families - Professional leadership model- not just from principals but from throughout the school

ICT- Is the tool to achieve the last five points. not just adopting it for the sake of learning but using ICT as a tool to be more engaging for the learner. Technological competencies - one of the eight new learning areas for the new curriculum. Use it as everyday practise. Critical about it, why they use it, how they use it rather than just that they can use it. Implications socially, environmentally, mentally. Ethics come into it. Children like to use it. “I know I can do it myself” Networked learning for teachers and students: useful and easy for digital immigrants. Nelson Loop. replicate it nationwide ($$) Assessment for learning - radio stations, sophistication of the kids doing the media. Podcasting/television stations. the APPLICATION of the information as opposed to the regurgitation of the information. ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO LEARN!!! Student management and learning management systems becoming connected. E mentoring - able to pull the distance together. Professional discussions without having to be there.

Trying to find equity of access. BEING DIGITAL IN THE FUTURE

Keynote #1 Ewan MacIntosh Leading Edge

HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY ON AN EVER CHANGING WORLD What is private? WHo am I? Public face - teacher Identity 2.0 - Secret spaces (sms, IM, mobile) Group Spaces - Bebo, Facebook, Tagged, etc Publishing Spaces - LiveJournal, Blogger, Flickr, Performing spaces - second life, world of warcraft, home etc participation space - marches, meeting, markets, event Watching spaces - tv, gigs, theatre, All of these spaces going on in the classroom??

FEAR: Always loathing? As soon as social networking is mentioned, FEAR sets in. Can find out what the kids are doing.

The Bass Player;s Blog

overplaning - teachers who don’t teach ICT set out to plan and follow t through to the end. Happy accidents aren’t allowed to happen. Getting off subject can help with the understanding. Are we allowed to fail???

The Pepsi Challenge

Thin Slicing - Blink Malcolm Gladwell. Going to see technology for a thin amount of time. Will go No or Yes!!

Digital Holiday Makers - Maggie Irving. Moved away from the natives vs immigrants. Holidaymakers can be at any age. People come along and try something new for awhile but then go back to their old styles/

WHY BOTHER? 1991 www released - has education changed since then to reflect the changing technology? 2001 - Blogging and sharing became normal SOMETHING HAS CHANGED SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE Scotland and NZ two of the best places to see the change.

compkid.co.nr - stupid? waste of time? useless? Placed on youtube and near to 841,498 views, 8041 comments, 9102 ratings - PEEr ASSESSMENT Cup stacking - how long do kids spend learning this new phenomena compared to school?

ICT -emerging technologies make the biggest impact.. Emerging practises make the biggest impact - uncertainty, not knowing what they are, role of students, role of teachers.

1. Audience is critical.

2 new blogs every second. Max audience in school is 30 - 19th century classroom. 21st century classroom - 300,000 readers of Ewan’s blog

2. Creativity has to have an audience. Flickr - stories in 5 frames. Lego vignettes. 6 word stories.

3. Differentiate nature of the task and allowing the kids to find their own niche in the task.

4. Authenticate goals: travel journal. blogs get away from officialdom. micro writing - social interaction can help it. 5. It’s not about the technology numeracy scores went up by 2% when they were playing computer games.

four challenges

Media literacy and the role of the teacher - what is my role? Do I believe in it? Knowing when to teach and when to stand back and learn from the kids.

Death by risk aversion - fear of not taking risks. Ban things that don’t understand. Care about the comments the kids are leaving. Inverse relationship between control and understanding.

Spreading the culture - turn the people around me into trainers. use the ideas of colleagues and students “ask the kids”. Learn to deliver the messages without making people afraid.

Make it sustainable - change your game when necessary. don’t become a holiday maker.

Ulearn07 Day One

Okay so here I am…finally. After a huge lapse in time between last post and this post I have managed to get myself to Sky City with my purple shopping bag (one of many) and sitting in the bloggers cafe. Weather here is diabolical and thank goodness I get to be inside for the next three days. In a few moments it’s off to see Steve Maharey and Ewan MacIntosh. The former I could take or leave but very much looking forward to Ewan. Will post my thoughts and notes after the session (although lunch may be a first!) Looking forward to meeting my fellow bloggers over the coming days!!

Also just started a group in Facebook (ulearn 07)…come join in!!

Oh… the dilemmas that surround me…

I’ve been in the process of getting together my workshop selections for Ulearn07 and have been reading the abstracts from all sorts of knowledgeable and intelligent people. My dilemma comes when there are so many workshops that I want to do and so many of them that clash that I am starting to fret about which ones to choose. Why is it that as teachers we want to learn - have to learn - and when there are so many options I can’t make up my mind. I may end up doing what my sister did when it came to naming her new baby and flip a coin….

Back to the whole blogging thing. I have been reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat and as I am am going I am writing some thoughts about what he has written and how they apply to me and my own professional practice. Will add these later once I’ve converted some of my scribblings into something I can decipher and share with the world at large. I have to say its been a great read….not at all the falling asleep late at night stuff that I have picked up in the past.

Anyways back to making decisions….wish me luck!!