The Astronomical Brainabetizer
Yes… that is Thinking Past The Square written in brain matter…. oooohhhhh squishy!
Check out The Astronomical Brainabetizer to write your words in all its brainy or astronomical goodness!
Yes… that is Thinking Past The Square written in brain matter…. oooohhhhh squishy!
Check out The Astronomical Brainabetizer to write your words in all its brainy or astronomical goodness!
Through the Unisys Grant we brought a wireless tablet. The kids had some good thinking with this one but it is one we are still coming to grips with.
The students wanted a wireless keyboard or tablet to use for when we were presenting. They thought it would be good because they could have someone else control everything so that the group teaching would be able to concentrate on teaching. We trialled this with our last video conference and it worked really well, though we have also discovered that a wireless keyboard would also be handy. As we were using Skype, it was handy to chat type the Maori words when the lag became too much. On a good day with a good connection this wouldn’t be necessary though!
The kids picked up using the tablet much faster than I did. They discovered being able to hover over the pad works just like touching the board. We had a few hiccups with the mac recognising the tablet and allowing us to write. After a few retires and a bit of searching I got it to work – yah!
With our video conferences complete I am looking for another class to complete a few lessons – with this we also will be able to trial this more as the students saw it to work. I am interested to hear from other classes that are utilising a tablet in their classes – how are the students using it? I can see that it would be great while whole class teaching presentation style – I don’t have to be at the board, I can monitor kids, rove etc etc. But I am interested to know what other ways people are utilising them for their teaching methods and their students use.
Our last cluster day was based around Inquiry Learning and SOLO taxonomy with Pam Hooks and Julie Mills (see earlier posts for the notes). The day was full of really good discussion, some thought provoking conversations, topics and ideas. Ideas were challenged and all in all in made me think even more about what’s going on in my classroom. There was a big emphasis on the use of SOLO to develop a thinking planning and classroom model.
I am interested in SOLO but sometime I feel like it is shown to be the be all and end all of classroom additions. After an thoughtful introduction to it there are aspects that I am interested in seeing, but parts that make me wonder is this being covered by other thinking tools/strategies etc. It seems there are SO many things that we could be adding to our classrooms – where is the limit?
So I am really interested to hear from teachers using or not using SOLO in your class – i’m interested in the process of beginning to use it, using it and sustaining the use of it in the classroom. What benefits does it have to you and your students or why is it that you are not using SOLO if you have tried it?
I am in love with these things… I can see myself going a little bit overboard with them so I am keeping myself very reserved and calm. Head over to The Next Web to check out their post about their fab wee toolbar addition.
Just add it to your favourites toolbar and away you go with all sorts of wee symbolly goodness! 
Only on Twitter could such things happen… and happen they did last night.
Digitalmaverick (Eng) was sharing his enthusiasm for the upcoming Talk Like A Pirate Day (Friday 19th September). His enthusisiam sparked a collaboration of global and piratical proportions…
Keamac began a voicethread , I set up the wiki , Lenva organised the graphics, while Allanahk and Tasteach (Aus) sorted through links upon links. As more and more people heard the news they joined in with ideas and added enthusiasm – along with a lot more pirate speak me mateys!
Out of this collobration the Talk Like A Pirate Day wiki has been launched and is to set sail in many a worldwide classroom for this festive event… arrr even Blackbeard would crack a smile!
So please… head along and sign up yer Band O’ Pirates and join in the fun and festivities that will be
Talk Like A Pirate day!
Image: Costumzee
Head along to The Tree People to show how you are making a difference to the environment.
When you are there sign up and create a pledge on how you are going to make a difference to the environment.
A pledge is an agreement.
It could be switching off the lights, not watching tv or switching off appliances at the wall.
Assessing Key Competencies?
Rose Hipkins – not to be assessed
Planning
Insights & controversies
Building up learning intentions from Prestructural upwards.
What thinking strategies are going to support this.
What ICTs will enhance students thinking?
Pulling the four together:
Common understanding of the learning process
Common language of learning process
Common tools and strategies to enhance learning process
Common classroom process
The "L" Word: What is learning? Finding out new things, discovering, creating, communication, Interacting and reflecting on/with the world around you. A want.
Solo Taxonomy
Prestructural – No idea. Something new.
Unistructural -
Multistructural -
Relational -
Extended Abstract – Developing through to Predicting and Reflection
Developing the language of learning from day one. Transparent to teachers and students regardless of the institution. All four commonalities must exist in the classroom.
Continual skills development. Thinking strategies coded against SOLO – handout.
Creating a pre-knowledge or understanding of the topic: voicethread, scribed etc then gauge them on the learning and where based in the taxonomy they are at. Where is their starting point?
Creating purposeful use of the ICTs based on the pedagogy and purposely chosen activities.
Coding your planning against the SOLO – how much of your plan can be ticked off on different levels? What percentage of your teaching/learning sequence is at which level?
Where is your planning against this?
How are you sharing this with the students?
Utilising the language of SOLO – Common language of learning. Making learning language explicit across the school at all levels.
Define Map – large scale and in class after the definitions with words. Relevant vs Not relevant.
Rubrics
How can we help learners better know themselves as learners?
What is inquiry learning?
What makes the difference and teachers have different belief systems and ideas about what inquiry is. Teachers have a lot of opinions about what makes it and what isn’t making it work in the class. Pulling it all in and together with how it works in the classroom and assessment.
http://inquire2learn.wikispaces.com
Alot of schools start from "their" model and the "right way" to do inquiry but there is little discussion as to the student learning outcomes in inquiry. There needs to be more focus on this aspect rather than the "right" way. What is happening across NZ in the context of inquiry? What is missing?
"If we inquire to learn, how should we learn to inquire?"
What questions are we asking? What do inquiry and ICT mean in the learning process? How can I utilise the ICT? Is there particular software we need to use in inquiry?
What is inquiry? The process of discovering to learn. Structure. Collaboration. Research. Finding Out. Asking Questions. Meaningful – not just research, connecting and integrating.
Reduction in questioning from pre-school to high school. How the institution changes thinking and questioning.
Inquiry is an approach to learning that evokes a process exploration , and leads to asking questions and making discoveries in search of new understandings. – Ton De Jon, University Of Twente, 2006
Inquiry is old – its what was needed for the 20th Century Learner not just whats needed for the 21st Century Learner.
Why is that we do inquiry?
Improves social skills. More heads are better than one. More diverse ideas. Lifelong skills. Discerning Information. Authentic. Challenging. No limitations. Builds experiences. Government wants us to. Ownership. Encourages thinking. Gives students choices in their learning. Who decides what we are learning? Authentic vs The Big Picture events. Discern knowledge.
Gamers and inquiry thinking.
Inquiry is pervasive – it’s throughout every event. Creating hypothesis, gathering information and forming an opinion. Why is it kept seperate in the classroom day?
The negatives of inquiry?
Time. Teacher Knowledge. Its the thing of the moment. Function of it in the class. The previous years. The amount of inquiry. Change. Insecurity – change for the teacher. Societal Nirvana – is it suitable for all students. Workload. Resource hungry – learning environment/resources/time. Basic Foundations are needed. Thinking Inquiry is the always and only pedagogy.
The Hidden Lives of Learners – Graham Nuthall
Timings – how much time do we give them to get things complete, research etc? What is the purpose of your inquiry? The end part takes on more of a focus than the learning part beforehand – what is the time balance between the two?
Where is children’s natural curiosity?
Check out one of the the other Kidz Connect Grant winners – Pahoia United who have just finished their first music video.
Well done guys!
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