Two Teachers

I used stripgenerator last night to include in my DPLA belief statement. The "classroom" vision on the right certainly looks messier, but I know which one I'd prefer to call mine.

Progress

Today I hosted our first ever Digicafe. Staff were invited to come to an informal session where they would have the opportunity to play with this week's featured "toys", chat to others about what's happening in their classrooms and the potential of different digital tools, ask questions about their ICT Certificate/ Pedagogy Licence portfolios. The real kick back was - food was provided. Teachers love a good free feed and our catering ladies do an awesome afternoon tea.

This week's featured toys - the Pulse Livescribe Smartpen, Diigo and Delicious.

I really enjoy seeing people's faces when I first show them the Livescribe Smartpen - the disbelief, the awe, the inspiration and the ideas. The idea that something which looks remarkably like a "regular" pen can do so much, so simply, just blows people away. What I particularly loved about this afternoon was the discussion that happened between teachers from different subject areas and contexts (middle school and senior school were both represented) about the potential of the tool in each of those situations. Everyone's immediate reaction was to ask how we go about getting enough to be able to use 4-5 for different groups to work with and share their sessions with the whole class later. Some fantastic cross fertilisation - and I've just got an email calling for "dibs" on it first up in the morning to use with a class. Awesome stuff!

Diigo and Delicious were received too - even the idea of being able to access their bookmarks regardless of location and which computer they were on get their attention. The ease of searching, organising, managing and accessing these sweetened the deal. What sealed it? Diigo's annotation/sticky note ability. They immediately saw potential for using with students and with colleagues to share resources and ideas. Winner!

I love days like today, they make up all the times I've felt like I'm not making much of a difference. Especially because the Digicafe wasn't our only digital win for the day! Staff who have been resistant and negative in the past about heavily digital units today got excited and enjoyed themselves playing with some of the tools they will need to be familar with for our next Year 11 English unit. For the final assessment of the year students will be produce a slidecast or video incorporating images, footage, music and a recording of themselves delivering their oral presentation. The recording of themselves can be video or audio, or they can do a little of both. While the team was talking about what the final product might look like we showed them some options (using Encoder, Audacity, and MovieMaker). Lots of laughter, lots of "Ohhh" moments, lots of happy staff = happy Mobbsey.

Today was a great day in so many ways - I think I'd better ride the wave of positivity and do some more work on my Belief Statement!

The Education Jigsaw #2

This is a working draft of part of my #DPLA Belief Statement - any and all feedback is welcome.

This follows directly on from Part One of this series of posts.

Work in the Now

The world has changed dramatically since I was in high school just eleven years ago, in no small part thanks to the rapid increase in personal computer ownership and the development of the internet as a tool for information management, communication medium and creative outlet. Technology will continue to change the world so long as we maintain our ability to imagine new possibilities and in acknowledging that fact we must remember Arthur C. Clarke’s wisdom that “We need to educate our children for their future, not our past...”

Learning opportunities must offer learners to participate in the moment of NOW – they must consider the knowledge and skills relevant to working in a world constantly shifting and adjusting. In developing learning opportunities for learners we must then consider and clarify just what knowledge and skills are important to 21st century learners?

The evolution of technology in the storage, management and accessibility of multiple and wildly varied knowledge, experiences and understandings has seen the individual, isolated nature of constructivism changed. Knowledge is no longer reliant on individual ability to store and recall prior experiences, individuals can now use technology to store and access their own prior experiences at a later date and can be further enhanced by the availability of others’ experiences.

Stephen Covey in his book, “The Leader in Me” (p.30) , also published a list of the “Top 10 Qualities and Skills Employers Seek”. These include:

• Communication Skills (verbal and written)
• Honesty/Integrity
• Teamwork Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Self-motivation/Initiative
• Strong Work Ethic
• Analytical Skills
• Technology Skills
• Organisational Skills
• Creative Minds

By acknowledging that the world of today’s learners is very different from the one most of the “learning facilitators” teaching experienced I am able to look for ways to embed NOW into the learning opportunities I offer learners. I actively seek ways to embed the development and mastery of key 21st Century Skills in the formal curriculum allowing learners the opportunity to prepare themselves for engagement in an ever changing global community.

There are some quotes and "bits" I am still sourcing to include here, the 21st Century Skills identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills included... I'll add the next bit (be themselves) tomorrow (hopefully). Please feel free to help a girl out and share your thoughts and ideas on ways to improve what I've got so far.

The Education Jigsaw

This is a working draft of part of my #DPLA Belief Statement - any and all feedback is welcome.

I am a firm believer that every individual is a learner – adult, child, parent, teacher, office worker, lawyer – learning is not limited to one discourse or one context. Learning is a process which allows us to make meaning of the world around us, to master skills relevant to our context, to question ideas, to imagine new answers, to gain knowledge.

Knowledge: "Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study " (from: WP1 Presentation_Tallin)

I envision the process of learning as a gigantic jigsaw puzzle – when the pieces are in the right places you reveal a picture barely imaginable when you first opened the box of disjointed pieces. When preparing to facilitate my own, students or staff learning I divide the pieces of the puzzle into these loose groupings: Learning Opportunities, Teaching Opportunities and ICTs for Learning.

Learning Opportunities

Every experience learners engage with offers an opportunity to apply a skill or understanding previously learned, or to explore something new and different. I believe that learning opportunities offered in the formal education setting must be carefully considered to ensure that they allow learners to build on the foundations, be themselves, work in the now and connect and collaborate with others.

Build on the foundations

It is essential that learners have the opportunity to use their knowledge foundations (prior knowledge and understandings) when they approach new learning experiences. Without this opportunity they will be more likely to struggle when making meaning of new information and therefore less likely to succeed at processing and mastering new knowledge.

The constructivist understanding of how people build, maintain and expand their understanding of the world around them through every experience mirrors my approach to learning. Every learner’s framework for making meaning and gaining knowledge is shaped by individual experiences depending on their social, familial, economic, and educational experiences. Therefore every experience helps learners to construct another piece of their knowledge framework and the learning opportunities offered must be carefully thought out and considered, especially when working with groups of 25-30 learners, each with different frameworks for making meaning.

In considering and planning learning opportunities for learners I draw on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning to scaffold learners through the new learning experience from the foundation of Remembering through to the deeper understandings of Evaluating and Creating.

Using constructivism and Bloom’s taxonomy to frame my understanding of how learners build their own knowledge forces me to see that “hands-on”, “real world” experiences are those which allow learners to expand their understanding and knowledge base. This recognises the responsibility for gaining and maintaining knowledge largely of individuals, especially as the framework for understanding is limited to the experiences of each individual, as well as ensuring I am aware of my role as a supporter and facilitating in helping learners construct their own meaning.

I want to add something in here about PBL and the power of "hands on" learning experiences, but I'm not sure if I'm even on the right track yet... I'll add the next bits (work in the now and be themselves) later tonight or tomorrow. Please feel free to help a girl out and share your thoughts and ideas on ways to improve what I've got so far.

This I believe about teaching...

There's a few posts starting to pop up around the blogosphere from the group working towards their Digital Pedagogical Licence Advanced from the Smart Classrooms Framework. Today @jnxyz shared an extract from his belief statement. I really like how directly and simply he's framed what he's shared and really recommend going to have a read.

As I blogged about a couple of days ago I'm presenting my belief statement in a multimedia fashion (typical for Mobbsey really, above and beyond and putting far more pressure on myself than necessary...). It's coming together quite well, my big problem is going to be stopping. Because of the nature of how I want to present my information I've had to consider making navigation as simple as possible and as a result have split my belief statement into four sections:

• This I believe about Knowledge (presented as a basic test video)
  
• This I believe about Learning (presented as an interactive Wordle)
  
• This I believe about Teaching
• This I believe about ICTs in Learning and Teaching
  

I haven't finalised how I want to present the Teaching and ICT sections yet. I'd like to use photostory for one of them, with a voice over and the other I may keep as "traditional" text. I'll admit I'm pushing the boundaries, and honestly, it's motivated by more than just trying to do something "flashy". I've not seen many portfolios that are more than text based responses to the guiding questions, why not? Is it that we've not been brave enough? Is it that it's easier? Is it that we haven't thought about the other options? It's probably a little bit of all of those things, but I've long been a believer in Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and am a more recent convert to the ideas behind Universal Design for Learning and presenting a purely text based portfolio seems quite limiting from these points of view.

Unfortunately, at this stage I can't share my interactive Wordle with you or a completed belief statement draft, but I can share some thoughts around the next section on my list to tackle.

This I believe about teaching...

1. Relationships are the key to any class's success
2. Teach the students you have, not the students you wish you had
3. It's best to not know everything about the topic
4. It's best to ask questions (colleagues, students, others)
5. You can't ask the students to do something you wouldn't at least try yourself
6. Your job is more than content, you're a role model in social interactions and ideals too
7. Firm and fair will win over more classes than iron fist or light and fluffy
8. Helping them find their strengths prepares them for success
9. Guiding them towards their own answers is more important than them getting it right the first time
10. Make sure it's their work and that you're not doing it for them
    
11. By the end of it your job is to be there when they need your input
12. It's more about helping students to master skills than knowledge
13. It's about helping them grow and broaden their awareness and understanding of the world around them
14. It is about the students and not the teacher

I know my list isn't done yet. What would you add to it?

#DPLA - Getting Started

I've shared here before about joining the community to begin the next phase of my digital pedagogy journey and attaining my Digital Pedagogical Licence (Advanced) from the Smart Classrooms Framework.

We had our first teleconference on Wednesday night and I've made contact with my assigned learning partners. The community seems to be rolling along and interactions through the course spaces and the twitter backchannel are happening pretty easily. I'll be happier when we get to webconference and I can see the people I'm talking too in real time - I found it frustrating not to put faces to voices during the teleconference.

I'm excited by the range of people I'm working with in the course - everything from prep teachers through to senior teachers and people not presently working in the classroom. So many different points of view, different experiences and areas of expertise! There's no way any of us are coing out of this without learning something new.

I'm slightly daunted by some of the expectations for our portfolios and the evidence we will need to show in order to meet the indicators for the #DPLA, but it's nice to be challenged. I've already had to reassess some upcoming units against the indicators and see how I can _meaningfully_ adjust some of my planned activities. I don't want to do something purely to force fit my practice with the indicators - and I certainly won't be forcing students to work digitally if it doesn't work for their learning style (in my opinion that goes against what we're trying to achieve with moves towards a 21st century education framework), but there are opportunities I'd glossed over - probably because I'm time poor at the moment...not that that's a good excuse if I'm looking at it from best for my students.

I've had an intense couple of weeks and I'm afraid some of my frustrations are showing in the #DPLA at the moment. I'm honestly not that negative all the time, #DPLA crew - and I'm doing something to adjust my attitude right now.

Right now though, I'm taking a night off...to a degree. I'm going to stay with a friend for the night so am happily walking away from the temptation of the marking pile, the virtual learning spaces that need updating, the reports that need writing, the blogs to read, the tweets to write. I am not disconnecting entirely though (surprise surprise) my ipod is fired up with the BBC production of Hamlet, I'm taking my elearning brain along because I'm being fed and housed in exchange for some ideas and basics and I'm sure I'll sneak a tweet or two from my phone ;)

A night away, a day of taekwondo tomorrow and I think I'll be in a much better frame of mind to tackle that workload and face the #DPLA with a more positive attitude.

Bring it.