Finally got rid of the trojan web site that had taken over my blog!

I found the html code that had been infiltrated on my blog and deleted it  - now I can post!

Great list of current apps and digital tools

Kathy Schrock's 2014 list of apps and digital tools for the classroom is very comprehensive - not everything here but some interesting tools to try.

I-Pad apps linked to SAMR and Blooms

A new taxonomy wheel which can be downloaded and printed from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/a-new-wonderful-wheel-on-samr-and.html
Attributed to Allan Carrington

Skoolbo - register for free till end of September

Skoolbo is a new game based app which has been developed by the same person who created Mathletics - I used it at a school last week and the children were very engaged with it - at first I couldn't understand it until I realised that they had to listen for the instructions so might be good to use with earphones. The idea of the spiral curriculum intrigued me so I phoned the makers and found out it is tailor made for individual students and after an initial test set of questions creates games that challenge at the student's level. There is a Te Reo and Samoan version too which make it great for NZ schools.

Alice Programming tool

I used to use Alice in the classroom years ago and just had a look at the new version which looks better. (The 3.1 version) It's a good problem solving activity - great for the GATE group.
Here is a good tutorial if you are interested. I would give the student group this video and the task of learning it themselves and creating a purposeful animation to share with the class - probably link to an inquiry topic. I would get them to map out the animation first using Google Draw to brainstorm and create a flow chart sequence. See programme at www.alice.org

Science Learning Hub

Science is one of the most important things we should be teaching and it seems to get left behind in the turmoil of delivering the curriculum and meeting National Standards. Check this fantastic resource site out and get inspired! Also look at the NZ science capabilities

What have we learned?

I was very impressed with the info-graphic on this site Some great ideas for getting those on the spot assessments for learning.

Fluency 21 Unit planner

This looks quite good as a unit planner guide - lots of great plans uploaded from teachers and you can use the template to create your own. I like the way it integrates e-learning and digital citizenship.

Google's new Classroom resource

Read about the new platform for teacher/student education portal here. At the moment in Beta form and invite only but it will be free and looks like a great resource for the flipped classroom!

Visible learning

At Cognition we have a wonderful programme for schools called the Visible Learning programme. It is a professional development programme based on the research about learning by John Hattie.
Read more about it and watch John talk about learning (Know thy impact) in the video clip here http://vimeopro.com/cognition/portfolio
You might be interested in viewing the other video clips about best practice teaching and learning on this site too.

iPad apps for ESOL or struggling writers

This looks good, the site has resources and the app supports students who needs literacy support.
See the video to explain what the app does.

Google Drive I-Pad app

So many schools are now using Google Apps for Education! I thought this video was very good at explaining at a basic level which most teachers want. It is made by Richard Byrne who has some really good info for teachers on his websites.

Digital literacy

There is often confusion about what digital literacy is. I found this link on Teach Thought (great site) very clear. Clink on the link for further information.

5 Dimensions of Digital Literacy

I-Pad news!

The great news is that the alpha tool feature on the Keynote and Pages apps has been added. This is the great feature that allows users to take out the background of images. I used this in my classroom to create all sorts of fantastic images for our inquiry as the students can layer their own photo over other images.
Read about it here

i-Pad site

Apps in Education
Link to a great i-pad site for apps advice 

Happy New Year

I have just got back into writing today after having a busy holiday time with Christmas and New Year visitors. I have been showing Jane how to write stories to share using Gone Google Story builder. You choose characters and write the story from the perspective of each character as dialogue. The cursor acts as a  typewriter with speech and you can choose backing music to enhance the story. When finished you can share the story via a link or on to Google +
It could help make story writing a bit more fun for those reluctant writers.

Another similar type of enhancement for story writing is Booktrack. Students can write and add sound effects or music to their story.

The wonderful Allanah King created this site to help teachers learn more about Google. It has some very helpful ideas for teachers.

Great work on Prezi with Room 30 teacher James from Red Beach School. Prezi created by Room 30 students.

Hekia Parata speaking at Albany Senior High about new strategies and the Festival of Education

WebQuests get new image!

A newish WebQuest site has a huge range of really good WebQuests for all levels and curriculum areas and also has a portal for you to create your own WebQuest. Go to Zunal
See an example shot here:

Go Animate

I was working with a Year 2 class today and showed them how to use Go Animate for learning conversations. Here is what a pair of children came up with in only ten minutes, I thought it was good as it was just a practice learning how to use the programme.

lion escape by roomfive on GoAnimate

Student Agency

This seems to be coming up all the time and I have been wondering how it differs from student centred learning. I happened upon Nick Rate's blog where he looks at various viewpoints on this concept including Brian Annan's presentation (Which I recently heard at the Leadership Symposium at Botany Downs Secondary School run by out Cognition team) 

Nick sum's it up as "enabling, empowering, self-monitoring, goals, feedback, meta-cognition, active, responsive, self-directed and meaningful." pedagogy.

See his blog post on this here.

Learning in a Networked World - Presentation by Derek Wenmoth

I read this on Derek's blog and thought it was so good it needs to be shared!

Learning in a networked world from Derek Wenmoth

I-pad apps to support literacy

One of the schools I work with is conducting an inquiry into the use of i-pads to support literacy in the junior classroom. We have been using a range of content creation apps such as Puppet Pals, Educreations, Show Me, Sock Puppets, My Story, Book Creator, I-movie and Tellagami. Most are the free versions.
One success we have had is around the use of Tellagami where the students create an avatar to tell a learning story. They write the dialogue for the avatar or record their own voice. The students have been very excited about this.

Mix and Mash competition

This is a great way for your students to share their know how about e-learning and create great content at the same time. Closing date for submission is Nov 8th and the theme is - Future.

E-Qualities

I am not sure how I acquired this compilation of e-resources but there is an attribution at the end to the ICTPD cluster in Nelson so this might have been shared by Allanah King
I think it is a fantastic resource so I'm sharing it here

My Story App

I worked with students in a year two class yesterday, they were trialling an app which would enable them to draw, write and tell their stories. We tried My Story, the children worked in pairs to create a page of the book each. Here is a link to an example

LEARNZ

LEARNZ is a wonderful NZ resource for schools. I remember using it and it was great to have audio conferences with real experts. The links and resources provided are really good and it is all free. There are two modules available for term 4. Great environmental learning about special aspects of our own country.

Maori Language Week

Check out the resources and activities on this site for Maori Language Week. A great place to go for Te Reo is also here. I also have some great You Tube videos and other resource pages on my Delicious site. You might also use this week to refresh your knowledge about Maori learners here. Have a great Maori Language Week! Don't forget it can carry on all year too!

Interesting ideas around future education by Tony Ryan

Hear how students use learning journals as their e-portfolio

Matariki resources

This is that exciting time of the year we can celebrate Matariki. Here are some links to resources you can share with your students http://www.nzonscreen.com/collection/the-matariki-collection http://www.matarikievents.co.nz/matariki-stories/ http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/Education/OnlineResources/Matariki/Pages/MatarikiTeacherResource.aspx

I created this Prezi to provide more ideas and resources for teachers wanting to transform literacy learning in their classroom using e-learning tools.

Prezi - great for online presentations

I spoke to teachers at the lovely Brookby Primary School today. It was one of those wet miserable days outside with rain thundering down but the teachers inside were buzzing with their e-learning day. While browsing around Prezi this afternoon I came across this Prezi about literacy written by one of our fab NZ teachers who presented at U-Learn.

Cyber Security Awareness Week

This week is a great one to reinforce digital citizenship and cyber security. Students need to be aware of their digital footprint and the dangers that come with the Internet. Recently Netsafe created a new web site filled with resources for educators, it's worth a look. The Netbasics Comic Creator was launched this week. Students can create their own comic about Net safety using the Netbasics family of cartoon characters. I like these video clips made by older students as part of a competition - they might be worth showing to the class to spark a discussion or as exemplars for making their own movie clips.

Minecraft in the classroom

After visiting two schools recently and seeing students using Minecraft as a tool to create environments I was interested to find out more. When I spoke to the children using it at one school some could not clearly articulate their learning intention and seemed to be just playing around. They were supposed to be designing a kiwi enclosure but had no success criteria to show what they needed to have to make it a successful enclosure. This made me realise how important it is to do the ground work before we set e-learning tasks. Even using the most creative and powerful e-learning tools are only successful for classroom learning if students have a clear purpose for their learning. This is an interesting video clip supposedly about using Minecraft for learning digital citizenship.

Literacy resource

Have you ever thought of using You Tube videos to inspire students at writing time? Try asking your students to view this video and then describe carefully how the eagle catches it's prey. The class could view and discuss the video and build a word bank of words suitable to describe what is happening in detail. It's a great way to reach reluctant writers and scaffold the literacy learning.

Adding voice to Google Docs

Not sure why you would want to when you could have a hangout or chat but maybe you could be explaining something about the doc. Anyway here are the instructions for adding voice to docs (Drive)

Google Play vs i-Pad I don't think so

Google announced new initiatives on Wednesday. The new Google Play for Education is an attempt to compete with i-Pads in the classroom. I don't think so though. After seeing the wonderful classrooms at Ahuroa using iPads and seeing how motivated and engaged all the pupils were in their learning I am a real i-Pad fan.
This article shares info about Google Play for Education. Interesting to read the comments. I like the one from the caped crusader!

Junior Maths app

This looks like a good app for junior classes and it's free

IPad Research

(innovate) educate | 6 Studies Showing iPads Improve Learning | Diigo

BYOD day at Albany Senior High - reflections

Last week I attended a really great conference at Albany Senior High. It was all about BYOD (Bring your own device) in schools. I attended some really interesting workshops, Luke Sumich from Summerland Primary gave a really interesting presentation about his experiences while on study leave investigating schools overseas. This is where I first heard about the SAMR model and will definitely use this in my work. Above is a presentation about it.
Luke made an e-book about his experiences on his travels and it is available in i-Books.  He had many great ideas to share but his main point was PUT THE LEARNING AT THE CENTRE, NOT THE APP


The presentation by Barb Dysart  really intrigued me, it was all about QR codes and how they use them in the classroom at Summerland Primary. I didn't realise how simple it was to make my own QR code. Here is the one I made. This is the link to make your own  You can download the QR reader from the app store, there are heaps. I chose inigma (think thats it without looking at my phone)

 

The most fun presentation was of course Allanah King, she is full of practical ideas and the presentation was all about using i-pads. She has done an amazing amount of research and is very generous with sharing all her great ideas. Her experience is very relevant as she has had current experience in the classroom too. She is a very clever and knowledgeable lady!  

 Links to her work on creating i-books. 

Link to her blog

Her oral presentation on EdTalks

I also went to the presentation given by Georgie and Gemma from Stonefields School in Mt Wellington. They were discussing the strategies they used in the classroom and planning collaboratively using Google docs (Drive) As I had visited the school recently and seen all the amazing work they do in action it reinforced my feeling that this school really does have a handle on 21st Century Learning. Their pedagogy model is taken from James Nottinghan - The Learning Pit. The programme Teacher Dashboard overlays Google Apps for safety and organisation. The teachers have access to anything the children create including emails. It is worth a visit to see all the exciting things happening in the school. You can view the planning on their website and it is shared with the students too. 

Lenva Shearing's presentation about 'One Size Fit's All' she shared the experiences from her school at Bucklands Beach Intermediate regarding BYOD. Their digital citizenship model is based on trust and all students use a range of BYOD. Google Apps and Teacher Dashboard replaces LMS. Both teachers and students have e-portfolios for reflection on learning. Everything is stored on Drive for access all the time so students often complete work at home and parents can see what they are doing. 

 

Added more links to Delicious site

My Delicious site - I add to this nearly every day so you should find something interesting!

Link to language web site

This is the link to my language alive site

One teachers ideas for using i-pads in the classroom

Apple TV and I-pads

This clearly explains how i-pads link with Apple TV to provide a new way of collaborating in the classroom

e-learning presentation

Keynote whangerei from Angie Simmons

Find my i-phone

Make sure you secure all your devices such as i-phone, i-pads with the Find My I-phone app. It means it your device is lost you can track it through GPS as soon as it is connected to the Internet. People have been able to retrieve their stolen i-phones through this app so it is a valuable one to have.

A new job - Blended e-learning facilitator

I have started this year working for Cognition Consulting as a blended e-learning facilitator. This is similar to the role I had as ICTPD facilitator. One of the great differences is the scoping tool we use called the E-learning Planning Framework. This enables us to work with the school to establish exactly where the school is at in their e-learning journey. I am looking forward to building a rapport with the schools and helping to enable them to move forward with the use of relevant e-learning tools to add value to their teaching and learning. One of the things I have noticed is that schools are rushing out to buy i-pads but have little clear idea or rationale for using them. Apple TV's are popular too.
One of the great tools for professional learning for teachers is the VLN (Virtual Learning Network) which all NZ teachers have access to but many know little about it. It is a great community for discussing professional practice. The Enabling e-learning discussion is very relevant.
Other new ways of connecting teachers and students is through using Google+ Creating circles of different people such as students, colleagues, friends allows you to engage in discussions and share ideas and links to good things you have found. You can also have a google hangout (in the tools section) which enables you to have a synchronous discussion similar to Skype but with up to ten participants. Google is a one stop shop for educators, one of the Google web sites I have made which may be helpful for literacy is Language Alive

Joomla

Create free web sites for business or home  - easy to manage yourself.

My Scoop it page

I have now created my own Scoop.it page and have put RSS feed to my Google Reader.
This could be a great tool for students to create pages about their inquiry topic.

Followed a tweet from Jacqui Sharp to get this collection of articles about i-pads in education from a variety of sources.
My grand daughter uses my i-pad to play the piano, create art works, write stories and play educational games, she listens to music and stories and this is all on my i-pad first version so when I update she will have a lot more functions and apps to use.
I think it would be fab to have a set in any classroom - there is so much you can do! 

Found this on pininterest, I like it and might use it in a classroom for plenary discussion time.

Source: bbc.co.uk via Rebecca on Pinterest

Recording and sharing info and ideas

This is a great tool for students to make quick recordings to share. Download the app and use on class trips or sports events.

New but old ideas

I remember years ago using Alice to introduce chn to programming animations - the newer and revised Alice is still a great tool for chn to problem solve and create. It is a great tool to get them thinking - could be a maths tumble activity.

I can't believe it's already 10pm and I've been on Facebook for so long! What a time waster! Had my last day at the Herald Office on Friday so this is my first real day off, apart from edit my book I have done nothing and it was very easy to do.

Social Media Core-Ed workshop

Becky and I went to this workshop with DK from Core-Ed last week. It was a bit of fun, DK was really interesting and it was refreshing to hear from someone who was from a different background to teaching. I liked his sense of humour and laid back style. The school was amazing - all collaborative spaces and unlike any other school layout I have seen. I loved the way students lay back on bean bags while listening to the teacher. I bet the kids love it.

Looking through my old slideshare presentations and thought this may be useful for some people.

Online Learning Resources2

View more PowerPoint from anjistar

At Social Media workshop with DK from Core Ed at Hingaia School. An amazing school with collaborative learning spaces all new Look forward trying out some of the social media sites I haven't used such as ISSUU and like the idea of using booktrack app with my kindle books I wonder if that works together.

ICT PD journey

An ictpd cluster journey

View more presentations from Angie Simmons.

Facebook idea

Hi great day today in Whanga - I saw an interesting idea when I was reading Interface  mag - there was a secondary teacher who was using Facebook as a discussion board and learning tool for studying Shakespeare. All the students in the class were friends, the settings were private so just the class used it. It sounded a great way to utilise the students' love of social media!

Great to be back at Marist School

I spent a day at Marist School in Herne Bay last week as I will be working with the teachers in an ICTPD role again after three years out teaching. It was great to be back in this role and work with teachers again. It made me aware that I need to update my resource web site for teachers so there will be new things happening on that site.

Sad news

On Monday we were given the news that the NiE programme which has been published in NZ for the last 25 years is to close. What a shame as so many schools and students from all over NZ have enjoyed all the learning activities and it has been a valuable resource for teachers. I have only been there a short time and just lately I was working on an Olympic Games resource kit which will not be printed. We will be working till the end of term 2 so will publish the pages and web activities till then - all the work I put into the Olympic resource kit will be put into the published activity pages.
A beautiful crisp autumn day here on the coast and the sea is sparkling so not all bad in my world!

New look to blog!

Now I am no longer an ICT facilitator and also have no classroom of my own I have decided to change the ICT emphasis of my blog. I am still interested in latest happenings in the world of technology and will post any new ideas I come across but it will not be the focus of this blog as it was in the past.
I have just completed a page about local government and the consultation process for council draft plans for the NiE page and still working on more books for Essential Resources. Am working one day a week at the local school teaching dyslexic children, it is a great programme (Steps programme) and it is 1-1 teaching so better results and something the children do not get in their classroom.
Check out this site about local government in NZ - hover over the map and select your area to find out more and link to council in your area. Good for looking at in classroom now as all councils reviewing the 10 year community plan and up for consultation - young people have a voice too.

Online Interactive Curriculum Planner

A wonderful new online interactive curriculum planning tool has just been released. i had the opportunity of seeing it in action today and was really impressed with the ease of use and practicality of it. You can set up your class and groups for planning, all of the AO's are there to link to and you can add your own learning intentions and experiences. It really is very comprehensive and too much to tell about here. Have a look at it and use the videos to show how it works. I particularly liked the way you can set up lessons for groups and the fact that plans can be stored and used by other teachers too. As it is all in the cloud you can't lose it and can access anywhere.
It will be shown at the Learning at School Conference later this week and if you are lucky enough to be there ask Jo at the Essential Resources stand to show it to you. She is taking a workshop there but it may be full already. While you are there check out my latest book - Assessment for Learning!

2012

Well back to the real world - holidays over and my days as full time teacher are over for now too. I said farewell to my lovely class at Sherwood and all the great teachers there. I have now started back at APN and go into the NZ Herald office 2 days a week and work from home writing for a day. I am working on a literacy resource for teachers until end Feb when we start the activity pages and web site again. The resource is free and is called Dive in and Read. Unfortunately only the regional papers around NZ publish it but we are working on having a more comprehensive and interactive web site which teachers in Auckland will be able to utilize. At the moment anyone can register and use the resources on the site but the resource pages are only included in the regional papers.
The Spotlight on Sport resource will of course be the Olympics this year.

Resources link

Here is a link to a great online resource page!

i-pads in the classroom?

A lot of schools are considering i-pads for the classroom. Our school purchased six and they were distributed around but no one used them as they were unable to load any decent programs as the IT person was the only one with a password and had uploaded what she thought we would use. Not a good idea, they have been in the school a year now and sit on shelves. I would love to have a set in my room as they could be used in so many ways - using the apps I know would be of use. I wonder how many times this sort of thing happens in school. There are downsides though - small and portable means easily lost or stolen, especially as they are a very popular item.
Here is a link to a wiki made by a school using i-pads.

Pics from my classroom

I thought I would try a different slideshow generator for showing photos - this one - Photopeach seemed very easy and quick to upload photos. I tried Onetruemedia but that was very limited and photos took far too long to upload. These are some images of a couple of walls in my classroom
Pics from my classroom on PhotoPeach

Maths site

We are learning about lines and angles this week, I found this great maths site activity - a lot more on maths topics too.

Ambleside also has some great interactives too! Scroll down the page to check out the numeracy interactives.

My new job

I am starting as a writer for the Newspapers in Education programme at the NZ Herald in a couple of weeks. It is a part time job so I will also be working at Sherwood Primary for one day a week which is great as I have such a fantastic class and would miss them. Check out the web site for NIE, it is a great way for teachers to link current affairs to the curriculum.

Flags of the world

With the rugby world cup representing many different countries you may be interested in sharing this site with your class. Roll the mouse over different countries in the world and the flag and a blurb about the country appears.

Want to make a wiki web site?

I have made a web site which shows you how to create your own wiki web site for yourself or your classroom. There are step by step instructions and ideas about how to use this tool effectively in your classroom.
Check it out here.

Wordlings

Create a montage of words inside a shape. I have made one for our biodiversity PYP theme. Sign in for kids and take a screenshot when it is ready - it takes a little while to load the words into the shape but result is great - put on the web site or blow up into a poster for display in the class!

school report helper!

Prada loves to eat newly written school reports, especially after she has chased them around the room and caught them!