Taking a Collective Responsibility for Educating our Children

'If we could put all our teachers and all our children in one room how would we organise learning?' Trevor discusses the potential of UFB to enable us to approach learning in innovative ways but it is down to us to work collectively to realise those opportunities for our students.

It won't happen automagically for us when we switch on the fast internet switch, we have to make it happen ourselves! So get up and start learning with others beyond the walls of the classroom. VLN Primary schools are already starting down that journey, some on Number 8 wire & satellite connections - roll on UFB!

Enabling e-Learning web presence - NOW LIVE

Thanks to Hazel from VPLD to alerting us that the new Enabling eLearning website is now live.

This web presence is the Ministry’s online ‘hub’ for ICT related education resources and programmes in New Zealand. It brings together everything that school leaders and teachers need to develop their the skills, knowledge and confidence in using e-learning.

This web presence consists information, research and resources in the Enabling e-Learning website supported by an online community in the Virtual Learning Network.

From the Enabling ELearning Team:

"Enabling e-Learning, the Ministry of Education’s new online ‘hub’ for ICT-related education resources and programmes in New Zealand, is now live on TKI.

About Enabling e-learning
Enabling e-Learning, is the Ministry of Education’s online ‘hub’ for ICT-related education resources and programmes in New Zealand, bringing together everything that school leaders and teachers need to improve their e-learning practice. Enabling e-Learning will continually evolve and change in response to feedback from New Zealand schools and communities. We want to hear from you about what you’re doing in the e-learning space, so please visit us regularly and share what works and what doesn’t, and all your news and views.
You can connect with Enabling e-Learning in the following ways:
● Explore our dedicated area on TKI
● Participate in communities of interest on the Virtual Learning Network
● Follow us on Twitter
● Post your comments on our Facebook page 

21st Century Teaching & Learning - NZCER Research Project - Be Involved!

A call from NZCER to be involved in a new research project on 21st century teaching and learning. 

NZCER is beginning a new research project for the Ministry of Education entitled 'Supporting 21st century teaching and learning for New Zealand students'. The project aims to develop a vision for what future learning might look like for New Zealand students and to contribute to educational futures thinking and policy development. Further details about the project can be found on NZCER's website.

Can you contribute to this research?
We would like to hear from principals, teachers, and others who work with school-aged learners (approx 5-18 years old) about their innovative educational practices and ideas for teaching and learning for the 21st century.

From mid-September 2011 we are inviting schools that teach in English-medium, and others who support young people's learning, to contribute their stories of innovative practices and future-focussed thinking through an online submission form, where you can also read more about the kinds of practices we are most interested in hearing about. 

I know that there are lots of great things happening in schools across the VPLD community - so make a submission to contribute to this research!

VPLD 2012 - Expressions of Interest now open

The Virtual Professional Learning Development programme (VPLD) team is very keen to hear from NZ teachers, Principals, APs and DPs, who are interested in participating in the next VPLD intake (programme beginning in February 2012).

The VPLD programme offers flexibility of choice, time and approach, and is designed to fit in with what you are already doing as teachers and/or leaders.  Each participant is partnered with a mentor, with whom they meet online using Adobe Connect (a Web conferencing tool that enables interactive synchronous communication), or Skype, once a month for between forty-five to ninety minutes. The programme also provides professional learning through engagement in the VPLD professional online Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP offers a safe environment where you can discuss and challenge alternative points of view about pedagogy and practice, across disciplines and sectors.

The literature suggests that the duration and frequency of effective PLD are important - little and often over an extended period of time being the most effective. Participation in the VPLD programme is therefore over the course of three years. In the final year, you will be encouraged to develop your own mentoring skills, and are scaffolded to work with someone of your choosing in a mentor role.

The overall aims of the programme are to raise the professional knowledge and skills of participants, while also accelerating students' achievement of learning outcomes.

If accepted onto this programme you will develop your own learning goals around projects that interest you, framed within an inquiry process.

Find out more about the VPLD programme:

• An overview of the VPLD programme.
• Selection criteria, protocols of participation, values statement.
• Recommended computer specifications for participation in the VPLD
• The VPLD online community of practice
• Hot Seat webinars

Please use this form to submit your expression of interest.

To discuss participation, for yourself or a colleague, contact Hazel Owen hazel.owen@core-ed.org, Rachel Roberts rachel.roberts@core-ed.org, or Clarrie Yates clarence.yates@core-ed.org.

The VPLD programme is part of the eLearning Professional Learning and Development programme, managed on behalf of the Ministry by Te Toi Tupu, a PLD consortium that comprises CORE Education, Cognition Consulting Education, NZCER, Waikato - Tainui College of Research and Development, and The University of Waikato.

Moodle Help Musings?

There are a host of Moodle resources out there for the novice Moodler but what is worth spending your precious time on? This was a question i was asked recently, where is the best place to go?

Although i must confess i haven't extended myself in the Moodle arena, since i came to grips with the basics of setting up and developing courses, these are the resource links i would recommend to others:

• WelCom clusters Moodle help page because Anton their ePrincipal is doing a fantastic job, always working with teachers on Moodle, i would be confident that this is all relevant to what your average NZ teacher is wanting to do;
• 2 Minute Moodles aiming for simple bite size Moodle help;
• Moodle for NZ schools NZ Moodle community, lots of screencasts, & forum, good to subscribe if you want to hook into some local expertise. 
• If you want a full reference you can download the Moodle book. It is free & published by the Moodle developers.

Your recommendations? Please share

Students Love Tech

It would be great to see what the stats are for NZ students:

Via: OnlineEducation.net

Password strength

Makes you rethink doesn't it? How many passworded logins would the 'average' person use?
What web activity does the 'average' person engage in? Would be interesting to know (if there is such thing as an average person).

http://xkcd.com/

Light at the end of the Broadband tunnel?

This release from Minister Joyce's office today gives us hope that we are soon approaching the light at the end of the tunnel for a level internet playing field for all of our schools.

"the remaining 60 schools that are located in very remote places will have access to improved terrestrial or satellite wireless broadband services...Contracts for the remote schools are expected to be entered into progressively over the coming months so that these 60 remote schools have access to the improved services by the start of the 2012 school year"

Wahoo :-) our online classes will work for us so much more effectively from 2012 if all goes as promised...

Core Foundation Awards

Check out the new Foundation Awards from Core Education. Take this opportunity to further your professional learning through this opportunity! You can see 2010 award winners and their submissions here.

CORE 2011 Foundation Award applications NOW OPEN!
CORE would like to enable worthy educators to pursue professional learning opportunities – we invite you to apply for the following:

1. The CORE Education Travel Scholarship
Recognises New Zealand teachers’ and leaders’ contributions to educational thought by awarding a travel grant to attend an international education event.

2. The CORE Education Awards for Professional Learning and Reflective Practice
Recognises teachers and institutions that can demonstrate how they have applied lessons from professional learning to improve their practice.

There are two types of award:
i. Individual Award, one each for:
• Early Years
• Primary/Intermediate
• Secondary

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ii. School/Centre Award, one award

Applications close Monday 29th August 2011
More information and applications: http://www.core-ed.org/foundation

Talkwheel – just another collaborative tool?

I came across this new tool this morning www.talkwheel.com as i was browsing through my rss feeds. I had just been talking to a colleague about strategies and online tools that would enable our students to interact more with each other in class, instead of just the teacher led discussions and interactions. I know there is no such thing as a silver bullet solution but could this be a tool that our students would be keen to engage in?

To me it looks like an old fashioned threaded forum but attractively packaged to be more visual than simple text flowing down the page. Though with any tool, it depends on the skill of the teacher/facilitator to engage students in learning - we can't and shouldn't rely on the 'gee whiz' factor of online tools alone to hook our kids into learning.

Remember the Magic School Bus...

http://xkcd.com/911/

Hurry in for Adobe Connect Workshops

Adobe Connect is the tool we are using for our VLN Primary real time online classes. If you are interested in learning to use Adobe for online teaching, or professional learning you are welcome to register for these workshops.

PETs and how they are changing our lives!

PETs aka Personal Electronic Toys or for me lately my new iPhone. At the risk of sounding trite these are really 'the best thing since sliced bread'. Here is what i shared on a discussion forum recently about how i use my iPhone:

"I have the usual stuff like gmail, calendars, my feeds, news (Herald, Stuff, TVNZ). It's easier to run all these off an app than through Safari. I like iTorch turns your phone into a torch very handy when you are looking for your keys in the dark. Photosynth is cool for creating panoramic pics and sharing - to think how i used spend hours doing this with carefully stitched together pics in downloaded software on my computer - now you can do it with a few clicks! I keep my translater handy when i am teaching my French class. Shopshop is great to keep my shopping list, make my list and tick it off as i go round the supermarket, or email it directly to my darling and he does the shopping. I love BigOven and haven't opened a recipe book for ages, though glad i have got a plastic cover for my phone now it is starting to get grubby from kitchen use ;-)

There is an app you can get that lets you connect and display on wireless projectors. Can't remember what it is called but very cool to project straight from your phone onto the big screen in the classroom. For more cool apps check out LifeHacker.

I love my iPhone, every teacher & principal should get one so they would see how awesome these are and let our kids use their itouches & phones at school! (maybe TELA should switch from laptops to iphones)

Snacking on Digistore

Check out the opportunity to learn more about using Digistore with their free facilitated sessions "Online Snacks".

Digistore has been around for some time now and continues to grow in it's range of learning objects, take the time now to work out how you can make the most of this valuable resource.

Organise your staff to attend a session together (sign up here) or join in on Rocky's session with VPLD in August.

Learn how to search Digistore effectively, create learning pathways and learn more about Digistore & Software for Learning with DigiAdvisors Suzie & Rocky.

Changes to PLD for Schools

At the end of 2010, the MoE went through a process of retendering all it’s professional learning development (PLD)contracts for NZ schools. More information can be found about how to access PLD here on the Educational Leaders website.

One of the big changes in the elearning area was a move away from the ICTPD clustering model to a regional model “Blended e-Learning Professional Learning and Development Programme” in addition to this there are other supporting initiatives such as VPLD (Virtual Professional Learning & Development) – which i now have a facilitative role in. You can see an overview of the VPLD programme here. The PLD projects in the elearning area, as well as other areas, are provided by Te Toi Tupu. Check out their website to find more information about Te Toi Tupu and what programmes they are providing.

“Te Toi Tupu - Leading Learning Network consortium (CORE Education, The University of Waikato, Cognition Education, The New Zealand Council for Educational Research and Waikato Tainui) are providers of professional development and professional learning programmes.”

Bright Sparks @ Matapu School

Today students from Matapu School got to explore some electronics with Andrew Hornblow from Bright Sparks. It was a very quick introduction for them, as the main purpose of Andrew’s visit was to show me how he works with kids and what Bright Sparks is all about. Never the less, though the sessions weren’t linked to any integrated learning objectives, they were very engaging, lots of fun and we learnt a lot about circuits, electronic components, control & programming. In fact it was very cool, creating preprogrammed ‘robots’ or cars, with a garish array of LED lights, having burn off competitions, developing sensors for measuring light and temperature and seeing how the data can be logged into the computer.

My focus was to look at how we could take this into an online environment through the VLN Primary initiative and extend this type of learning to students around the country – particularly to those who would not otherwise get this opportunity (that is the big picture philosophy behind the VLN Primary). Bright Sparks has a website and a club for students who are keen on electronics where they can earn points and access free electronic equipment, project ideas, mentoring support and enter Bright Sparks competition.

This is definitely a programme that could be adapted to the online environment, through real time tutorial support in our Adobe Connect classrooms and one that would have benefit younger students by introducing them to electronics and bringing those keen ones into the Bright Sparks fold. The challenge now is to find someone with the time and expertise to work with us to develop and deliver and online introductory electronics class for our kids….. I will keep knocking on doors.

Mount SPA – ICTPD workshops

Here are the presentations used in today’s workshops. Please feel free to give me feedback or comments in the comments box below this blog posting. Hope you find it interesting digging a bit deeper into some of these things – let me know how you go with this and add me to your skype contacts :-)

E learning landscape2011

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Skype

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Cracking Adobe Connect

Finally i have worked out how to enable my students to be more active participants in our Adobe classroom without having to promote them with permissions that will allow them to ‘accidentally’ muck around with layouts & settings etc.

The secret is to assign individuals enhanced rights to only certain areas within the Adobe classroom – these can be turned on or off at any time – but need to be applied each time you come to class. Now they can write on the whiteboards, notes and upload files etc

Global Connections – Join the Roof of the World Tour!

NZ schools are warmly welcomed to participate with their students in this ‘ANZAC’ connection with the the people of the Himalayas and celebrating the work of Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust during their 50 Year Anniversary.

Visit their website to join or contact Maggie. 

Roof of the World Tour Spreading laughter and fun… sharing cultures, sparking imagination : 20 April- 20 May

Come and visit the Himalayas with us as we travel to 25 schools, teach juggling and theatre skills and learn about life in the highest mountains in the world. Ask us questions and watch our site for updates on the adventure.
Our group are a performing troupe, 2 Aussies and 2 Kiwis, performing for 25 schools in the Himalayas in April and May this year. We have been invited to provide performances in physical theatre and comedy as part of the 50 year celebrations of Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust. While we tour we will also be finding out a lot about Hillary's legacy, the history of the country and a range of other lessons. We will be posting quizzes, hosting a forum and providing lesson plans and teaching resources free to use. We are keen to enable as many NZ schools to participate.

VLN Primary Kicking Off for 2011

Taster class

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Things are ready to roll with the VLN Primary online classes for 2011. We are starting with confirmed classes this school term of Te Reo, Japanese, French, German & Astronomy. In the wings, to be confirmed and starting from next term will be Spanish, more Japanese & Te Reo classes, Gaelic & Electronics.

It is great to be continuing with a small but solid base of schools who collaborated last year and to welcome a growing number of schools to the VLN Primary community. I have been running Taster Classes the last couple of days (and on request for anyone interested in learning more). We have had quite a number of students from schools as diverse as Thorndon in the heart of Wellington city, to Kaingaroa a school in a lovely and remote Chatham Islands fishing settlement and smalls schools in the hill country of Eastern Taranaki.

Taster classes are designed to familiarise students with the online learning environment and iron out any technical problems schools may encounter when they connect, before they come into our scheduled classes. Students learn about the technology and they also learn how to communicate & interact with others in a way that is quite different from face to face classrooms. These classes allow schools to get an inside look into how online classrooms work before they decide to make a commitment to participate.

One of the students said ‘This is so cool, I can’t wait to start my class!’ Though i responded with a reality hit back to say, ‘Yes i hope you feel like this every week till you complete your class.’ I don’t want students and schools to be instantly hit by the WOW – novelty factor but understand this is an ongoing  commitment to learning. Even so, i was also thinking ‘Me too!’ Looking forward to teaching my class on Friday!