Sunday, 2 August 2009
PLP final reflection
The excitement of being involved in the PLP project was enormous for me at the start of the year. I had been blogging and connecting with other educators for 18 months and had established the OZ/NZ Educators network. The online meetings and the Bloggers Feasts were all part of developing a community of like minded educators who could talk freely about their exploration of Web 2.0. The opportunity to give a formal title to what I was doing and to allow some fellow staff who were starting to share the interest the chance to learn and develop a PLN was fantastic and so we started off with a team of five. The first session was like oxygen for me but for others it was confusing and perhaps overwhelming.
Within a week one overcommitted staff member had basically backed out and another was in danger of losing her contract position and so had to withdraw from the group and concentrate on her core teaching. So five had become three and our third member was only able to be involved at a minimal level due to a number of family issues. The remaining two came from one faculty area was good because we had a similar focus , but it was also a problem as we didn't have the spread we had in the original group.
Issue one- make sure the group is broadly based and fully committed to ensure a more successful result across the whole range of subject areas.Try and have at least five people in the team who want to be challenging themselves and who can speak to a number of faculties.
Pam and I blogged, discussed and planned a number of projects together and tried to include other staff in our activities with varying degrees of success. Marie-Josee started blogging in her classes and really moved into web 2.0 with enormous enthusiasm. We created wikis for our Year 11 classes on a number of texts, we used Inspiration for mind mapping and started discussion forums for our students.
As the year began we were in the middle of a $4 million refurbishment of the school which caused major disruption to all areas of the school and did not end until just before the mid year break. This in itself did not create a climate for learning new skills as teachers struggled to get a basic teaching space and to have available resources to teach as all of the school was affected and staff lost their teaching resources as they were boxed up to be moved around the school. Not a great environment to ask people to undertake more change when they are already struggling to cope.
As well as the physical environment being radically changed, the school has had a major upgrade of the school computer network and this has had a number of problems which made many staff very disheartened and cynical about what they could possibly do with computers in classes. Despite a climate of more funding by the Federal Government for funding of better ICT access for all students, we are still yet to see any effect of this money in the school. Many teaching areas have been left with poor or no access or very outdated computers as we wait for the new machines to arrive and as this is taking so long staff morale is extremely low and this affected our ability to create a sense of enthusiasm among teachers. Thses issues are still current.
Issue 2 Be realistic about how much change is possible in the life of a school.
Raising the profile of the project was difficult in the huge number of other changes happening in the school at the moment. VIT registration changes, the current agreement which changes peoples ability to attend ISE the need for accreitation and curriculum changes have made it difficult for us to get meeting time in the formal compulsory sessions- so we ran our own Sandpit sessions on a non meeting day and worked that way - usually with a small group. As the time for us to report came near we finally were allowed a session with the whole staff and we presented the ning to those who attended and some videos to start discussion. We filmed this session and have plans to keep getting people to see it as a real and active resource centre for their own use.
Issue 3 Patience, Patience Patience
It is only through 1 to 1 conversations by team members that things have been happening. I am so frustrated by the process so much of the time and then suddenly people are asking me about some app or activity. Displaying work of students helps create interest and targetting particular faculties and change instigators in faculties has been good. So yes I have moved down a path that has no going back. Yes I have gained some new people skills . Yes I will keep going and 'Yes the PLN I have acquired in the last two years has changed everything' and I mean everything!! I have now organised two groups - one for networking teachers in Australia and New Zealand and a local one for Mac users in my region. I am out there making connections and doing just what I want my students to do. Thanks PLP
Reflecting on Powerful Learning - International Cohort for PLP (2 August 2009)
http://internationalplp.ning.com/profiles/blogs/reflecting-on-powerful
http://snipurl.com/oivvu
We also produces a blog as part of our final presentation which contains all the digital objects we created in the period of the project
http://uhsplp2009.globalteacher.org.au/
Certainly seeing all the blogs and wikis and nings we created as part of the project I feel that we have achieved some things but I still have some concerns and I do want to express them .
The programme is a fantastic idea- creating cohorts within schools and having them recognised as doing something important is an essential part of raising the profile of 21st century education. Linking them to an international programme is a really powerful tool for change- getting teachers to connect beyond their staffroom is fabulous. Sheryl and Will's work has been beyond reproach- they have been supportive and inspiring - something which must require a huge personal effort to hear the same conversations over and over and to be still enthusiastic and engaged. I am not in any way trying to criticise their work. My concerns are about a broader issue.
My school received a grant of $15,000 to be part of the programme. That is a huge amount for a grant, but I have only heard once from the department regarding how we have gone with the project and that was at the very start. No-one has spoken to me about our presentation or what did- or didn't happen with in the school as described above. Surely this can't be correct?
All the other school except one sponsored by SLAV were private schools with far fewer funding issues than us- including funding of internet access. The connections were interesting- but we constantly felt like the very poor and under resourced country cousins.We didn't get time or much real support for what we were supposed to do and a bit of follow up and department weight would have helped to get some attention paid.
My next nagging thought is 'Why did we need to pay $15,000 to have two American leaders tell us what we knew needed to be done anyway? Why did we need people from the US to get this rolling? Are we so unsure of ourselves that we needed Will and Sheryl to get us going on change? Why could we get $15,00 for us to attend two meetings f2f and several online ones when I could have bought 15 desperately needed Macs for my year 8 centre? I still can't get the funding for them despite showing with the five I got last year what could be done with them.
Another nagging thought what is the result of all this money- what will come of the project? Were we a trial? Why hasn't it been followed up? Although we are sighing with relief that we got the presentation done- what happens next? I know it is up to us as a school to keep it growing and I know that will happen, but I wonder if the other teams have discussed post project plans.
On a final note, it was faintly amusing that as we got ourselves set up on Wednesday for the meeting and showcase we found that the departments chosen meeting platform Elluminate was blocked at school and we had to pack everything up and rush around to Pam's house and do the presentation there and then sit and listen to the voices of teams from three other schools do exactly the same thing! Yep there is still some distance to go..
Within a week one overcommitted staff member had basically backed out and another was in danger of losing her contract position and so had to withdraw from the group and concentrate on her core teaching. So five had become three and our third member was only able to be involved at a minimal level due to a number of family issues. The remaining two came from one faculty area was good because we had a similar focus , but it was also a problem as we didn't have the spread we had in the original group.
Issue one- make sure the group is broadly based and fully committed to ensure a more successful result across the whole range of subject areas.Try and have at least five people in the team who want to be challenging themselves and who can speak to a number of faculties.
Pam and I blogged, discussed and planned a number of projects together and tried to include other staff in our activities with varying degrees of success. Marie-Josee started blogging in her classes and really moved into web 2.0 with enormous enthusiasm. We created wikis for our Year 11 classes on a number of texts, we used Inspiration for mind mapping and started discussion forums for our students.
As the year began we were in the middle of a $4 million refurbishment of the school which caused major disruption to all areas of the school and did not end until just before the mid year break. This in itself did not create a climate for learning new skills as teachers struggled to get a basic teaching space and to have available resources to teach as all of the school was affected and staff lost their teaching resources as they were boxed up to be moved around the school. Not a great environment to ask people to undertake more change when they are already struggling to cope.
As well as the physical environment being radically changed, the school has had a major upgrade of the school computer network and this has had a number of problems which made many staff very disheartened and cynical about what they could possibly do with computers in classes. Despite a climate of more funding by the Federal Government for funding of better ICT access for all students, we are still yet to see any effect of this money in the school. Many teaching areas have been left with poor or no access or very outdated computers as we wait for the new machines to arrive and as this is taking so long staff morale is extremely low and this affected our ability to create a sense of enthusiasm among teachers. Thses issues are still current.
Issue 2 Be realistic about how much change is possible in the life of a school.
Raising the profile of the project was difficult in the huge number of other changes happening in the school at the moment. VIT registration changes, the current agreement which changes peoples ability to attend ISE the need for accreitation and curriculum changes have made it difficult for us to get meeting time in the formal compulsory sessions- so we ran our own Sandpit sessions on a non meeting day and worked that way - usually with a small group. As the time for us to report came near we finally were allowed a session with the whole staff and we presented the ning to those who attended and some videos to start discussion. We filmed this session and have plans to keep getting people to see it as a real and active resource centre for their own use.
Issue 3 Patience, Patience Patience
It is only through 1 to 1 conversations by team members that things have been happening. I am so frustrated by the process so much of the time and then suddenly people are asking me about some app or activity. Displaying work of students helps create interest and targetting particular faculties and change instigators in faculties has been good. So yes I have moved down a path that has no going back. Yes I have gained some new people skills . Yes I will keep going and 'Yes the PLN I have acquired in the last two years has changed everything' and I mean everything!! I have now organised two groups - one for networking teachers in Australia and New Zealand and a local one for Mac users in my region. I am out there making connections and doing just what I want my students to do. Thanks PLP
Reflecting on Powerful Learning - International Cohort for PLP (2 August 2009)
http://internationalplp.ning.com/profiles/blogs/reflecting-on-powerful
http://snipurl.com/oivvu
We also produces a blog as part of our final presentation which contains all the digital objects we created in the period of the project
http://uhsplp2009.globalteacher.org.au/
Certainly seeing all the blogs and wikis and nings we created as part of the project I feel that we have achieved some things but I still have some concerns and I do want to express them .
The programme is a fantastic idea- creating cohorts within schools and having them recognised as doing something important is an essential part of raising the profile of 21st century education. Linking them to an international programme is a really powerful tool for change- getting teachers to connect beyond their staffroom is fabulous. Sheryl and Will's work has been beyond reproach- they have been supportive and inspiring - something which must require a huge personal effort to hear the same conversations over and over and to be still enthusiastic and engaged. I am not in any way trying to criticise their work. My concerns are about a broader issue.
My school received a grant of $15,000 to be part of the programme. That is a huge amount for a grant, but I have only heard once from the department regarding how we have gone with the project and that was at the very start. No-one has spoken to me about our presentation or what did- or didn't happen with in the school as described above. Surely this can't be correct?
All the other school except one sponsored by SLAV were private schools with far fewer funding issues than us- including funding of internet access. The connections were interesting- but we constantly felt like the very poor and under resourced country cousins.We didn't get time or much real support for what we were supposed to do and a bit of follow up and department weight would have helped to get some attention paid.
My next nagging thought is 'Why did we need to pay $15,000 to have two American leaders tell us what we knew needed to be done anyway? Why did we need people from the US to get this rolling? Are we so unsure of ourselves that we needed Will and Sheryl to get us going on change? Why could we get $15,00 for us to attend two meetings f2f and several online ones when I could have bought 15 desperately needed Macs for my year 8 centre? I still can't get the funding for them despite showing with the five I got last year what could be done with them.
Another nagging thought what is the result of all this money- what will come of the project? Were we a trial? Why hasn't it been followed up? Although we are sighing with relief that we got the presentation done- what happens next? I know it is up to us as a school to keep it growing and I know that will happen, but I wonder if the other teams have discussed post project plans.
On a final note, it was faintly amusing that as we got ourselves set up on Wednesday for the meeting and showcase we found that the departments chosen meeting platform Elluminate was blocked at school and we had to pack everything up and rush around to Pam's house and do the presentation there and then sit and listen to the voices of teams from three other schools do exactly the same thing! Yep there is still some distance to go..
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Time for a second look
Following a post by Adam Brice at Skoolz Out I took a second look at Simply box . In the constant onslaught of new apps and variations of new apps - it is easy to say this is too hard I will stick to what I am doing, but after watching the video and reading the post i am going to give this a try with my Year 8 class that is studying the topic of Refugees. Simply Box seems to have so many ways to teach social book marking in such an accessible way. Sure I still love delicious and Diigo, but this has more power in terms of selective capture and the use of visual prompts rather than just text. I am sure the kids will love it.
Adam has also written about Shelfari and I am going to get my students to construct a Shelfari of their fave books on their blogs for all of us to read what they like.
Thanks Adam for your timely posts. I have seen these tools before many times but your posts have made me rethink my attitude to these and I am looking forward to trying them out. If you go to Adam's blog make sure you check out his new book all about Digital storytelling and the work he has done with primary school students on film making- it is absolutely fabulous!!
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Unnamed 07/12/2009
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Blooms Digital Taxonomy - the video
Thanks to Andrew Churches from Educational Origami for posting this video by Kellie - I think it is great - a good starting point for lots of discussions especially about blogging!
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
NECC one year on.
One year one from my ACCE tour to NECC and I stop to look at how my world has changed. I spend so much more of my life online but I am also feeling more connected to people in a broader sense. Fellow bloggers are at NECC in Washington or watching from afar like me. I am trying to stay awake at night to catch sessions online and I am missing the social magic that came from meeting people whose work I so admire face to face. It only lasted four days but I still think about it all so much.Other bloggers are travelling the world and I keep connected by their blogs and tweets.
At the moment I am dithering around being a presenter- still so terrified of the gaps in my knowledge, but wanting to move on to the next level. I have just picked up the green chromakey and a stand from the post ofice and have organised lights and a spare computer so we can have the TV station actually working in the Year 8 centre.
I applied for a secondment position as an Innovator Trainer at the Ed Dept two weeks ago and actually got an interview, but not the job. I applied for another emerging Tech grant for using Ipod Touches in class and didn't get that either, but that is ok cos we did get one last year. I am still working on how to complete our PLP project with only three of us to work on it- this one is tricky but I will keep at it. I have requested being released from a two period class so as to do some regular coaching in others classes. I am trying- I am seeing ways into moving things forward and I am wishing I was over there for another drink of the Cool- Aid!!
The plan for the Year 8 Centre is to run the Murder Mystery unit as a cross curricular one in english, sose , maths and science. I will use the resources we have built up plus the ideas from the Sleuth English festival I ran as part of what happens. Incursions, dress up days and across the centre displays will be all part of what we do. Maybe a Detective TV edition?
This is a catch up ramble here and my thoughts are racing across a number of subjects and classes, so I apologise to any reader but that is how it feels in my head at the moment. I am organising two bloggers feasts - one for Judy O'Connell who pens the amazing Hey Jude blog and one for Julie Lindsay who is a co founder of the Flat Classroom project.
I am exploring podcasting with my classes and movie making as we finally get some access to the macbooks I got a year ago but haven't been able to use this year.The slidecast above is about Mahara - New Zealand free product that is directed towards use as a digital portfolio platform so I will be researching this one. I am trying to train myself to use ILife09 and IWork 09 properly and be able to teach and use them effectively. Adam Brice and I are hoping to set up EMUG an eastern region Mac users group and I just love the name and the possibilities. Off to a meeting about planning a conference now- yep life has definitely changed and I am loving it!
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