2012 Reflection

Well the year has flown by.  So as I look back I think that the year has been successful not only in my classroom, but also school wide.  There is more of an engagement from staff and the students, as always, are keen. 

We have had the introduction of some new technologies such as new desktops and ipods.  A lot of learning has taken place to best use these tools.  I have enjoyed using the iPods and allowing the children to just go and explore.  Many of the web 2 tools that we use such as fotobabble and animoto are also available as apps so the children don't need a computer to work from.  It has been great for impromptu posts especially if children have an aha moment and want to take a photo and upload it to their blog.  They can do all of that instantly on the iPod.

It has been great working out ways to integrate the technologies we have in class within our daily programmes.  The children enjoy working independently and collaboratively with the technology. They are exploring on their own through discussions with their peers from other classmates. A great example was when when Emily & Kayla taught themselves how to use animoto then taught the class. It was their chosen tool which met the purpose of the activity. Now the kids are seeking every opportunity to use animoto.

With the introduction of 3 iPads I'm sure there will be many more apps that will engage and challenge the children. I'm looking forward to the ICOT to get more ideas and new ideas. I'm also looking forward to making more links to thinking through technology.

Teacher Challenge

So I put my name on the list for the web 2.0 tool "jog the web".  It is a tool that allows you to select websites based around your topic or teaching point and put them into one page.  

It's very difficult to explain but I am experimenting with this tool and have found it very useful in the sense that the children don't have to search the bookmarks or type in an address as it is already there.  They can go between all the websites you have chosen.  I can see this being useful for group work e.g a math group doing decimals.  

You could use it for topic based learning as well.  Children could also make their own jog's to share their learning in different tools e.g. fotobabble, glogster etc

Have a look at my first jog on multiplication.


Multiplication Jog

Blogging

Well I am very excited about next week as our third cycle of Quadblogging starts!  Our order is as follows:


Kellie - Mrs Dibattista's 4th Grade Blog
Antony - The Fantastic Year 5
us - Team 12 Vardon
Laura - Mrs Minters Class

I would like to see the kids posting more on their quad buddies blogs so I am looking at creating a roster for before school and after school (8:30 - 9am and 3pm - 3:30pm) as we often have lots to cover in our weekly ICT suite time.  I'm also going to make commenting a rotatation/indepedent activity during my reading and writing programmes.

The focus is a result of the children's excitement when they get a comment on their post.  It's also a result of the excitement that the children have when they put up a post that they are really proud of and want to share with the class.  So I would like to pass on that excitement to another class.

I am also going to share this blog with my quad blog teachers, hopefully to share ideas and comment on each others (if they have them) as well.  If it's good enough for the kids it's good enough for the teachers too.

Using iPod touches

Well we started off with one iPod touch in class and the kids really enjoyed using it.  I found it quite difficult to use with a group and fully utilise the apps as it was small so isn't ideal for lots of children to sit around.  Also I often had to rotate it between group members so everyone got a chance to use it.  So I applied to First Credit Union for sponsorship of some more iPod touches.  They kindly donated 4.  We now have 1 pod of 3 and 1 pod of 2.  It has been great to have 3 in class.

The apps that I have been using frequently are math magician, splice, blogger and spelling games focusing on homophones, plurals and tenses.

Tia has become our blogger app expert.  She has started to ask to use the iPod to do blog posts throughout the day.  Tia has also taught a few other children to use the app.  It will be great when all the iPods are connected to the wifi so more children can use this app.  i could see this as a math activity for a group.

Splice is great too.  The enviro-agents took videos on the iPod for their application for a treemendous makeover.  We then put the videos onto splice.  Fingers crossed the application is successful.

So because we now have 3 iPods I am now more able to include the ipods into independent activities and group rotations for my reading, writing and maths groups.  I'm really excited about exploring this mobile learning device.

Goals for Term 3

Hello blogging world.  It has been awhile since we have chatted.  Well where to start.  I have just returned back from an intrepid trip of Thailand.  What an eye opening experience, such a different way of life.  I loved every minute of it, so much in fact that we are already planning our next intrepid trip!

The last two weeks I have been sharing with my class the places I visited, the experiences I participated in and lots of photos.  We learnt about the Thai currency of Baht and completed math activities converting between the two and purchasing items in Baht and NZ dollar.  The class have enjoyed these and I have too as it puts math into a real world context.

I have learnt to convert video files into smaller files using anyvideo converter (thanks Shane) which has made our uploads on our blogs much quicker.  I have also downloaded blogger onto our iPod and am going to use it this term for the impromptu aha moments.

I was clearing out my emails last week and came across a link that has a 30 day challenge of web 2.0 tools for the classroom. teacher challenge is the link.  I have set myself the challenge to learn about a new tool each week and implement it in my classroom programme.  I'm also going to add it to our eLearning wall so me and my class don't forget about them and can choose which one would be best to use for our learning at that time for that particular task.  I will be sharing this at the next staff meeting so maybe check it out beforehand and see if you already know some of the tools.

Restorative Practice Reflection

Our syndicate has been exploring aspects of restorative practices so I found the workshop very useful and interesting.  For me relationships was the theme throughout the two days, and how we go about restoring the relationships that have had harm caused unto them.  Consideration has to be made for all those who are affected by the harm.  So that wasn't just involving who the incident took place with but also who it will affect. 

Another point that really stuck with me was the word outcome.  What outcome do we want from this discussion?  When you... what did you want the outcome to be?  I use this more frequently to put the incident into a bigger picture and also it enables children to be reflective on their behaviour.  "I just wanted them to play with me", "I was angry and I wanted them to leave me alone".

It also alerted me to remember to constantly use the language of restorative practice and to also stop talking.  Sometimes as teachers we put words into the childrens mouths without giving them the time to think it out then respond.  Often it's that we see how we want the outcome to be, and we forget to wait or lose patience.

My next steps are to share the prompts with the class so they are aware of the language being used and they can practice responding or thinking about how they would reply.  I would also like to share the booklet with the class leaders so they have the tools and strategies when they are asked by their peers to help them solve problems.

Teach and learn Te Reo Maori blog

I found this awesome blog with helpful phrases, tips and activities for Te Reo Maori.

lets learn te reo maori.blogspot

Check it out