The arrival of chrome books

This week I have been extremely fortunate to begin a pilot of 15 chrome books in my classroom. These coincide with 2 Mac Airs and a top up of laptops that the class previously used. The arrival of chromebooks brings us up to 1:1 devices!

I am in the throes of coming to grips with Hapara (Teacher dashboard). I have the "Interact" function too, which enables me to see what is on the kids chromebook screen; get a screenshot of their screen etc.

Some of the interesting tidbits so far...

• Thinking I'd busted someone on Youtube, trawling for songs.
• they were actually running some music in the background while working on task!
• Actually busting someone just listening to youtube music.
• I had the ability to close their window from my laptop (much to the amusement of the reading group I was working with, who waited with baited breath to see the reaction when they realised I'd had the ability to do it!)
• 3 kids realised they could create their own blogs... before I'd preceded them and set them up properly!
• Empowering the kids by getting them to share their writing documents with each other, then giving each other feedback and feed forward on it.

I've given the kids a bit of sandpit time this week. I've given them the digital tools but left them to their usual classroom program. The kids themselves have experimented with the chrome platform, by creating drawings of designs and diagrams that relate to their literacy tasks. 

Kids have been working on their work at home, sharing it with their families.

I've spotted kids smuggling their excercise books out the door, so they can take them home and experiment with ways they could have done their work on a google platform.

Next steps:

1. Write each child's google drive on an iceblock stick, so that kids can draw one out to send their work to a peer for feedback. This will ensure that they are seeking feedback from peers that they may not neccesarily approach. They will be exposed to a wider range of peoples interpretations and work as well.
2. Create a 'wheel' with the students names on one circle and the various devices on the other. This will ensure an equitable way of kids experiencing all devices when we need to go 1:1, rather than it being a race.
3. More awareness of G.A.F.E. 

Three days in, and I'm wishing my own kids had the same experience!

My first Collaborative teaching experience

We kicked off term four with a BANG! Our library and the neighbouring room, which was the computer suite, have been cleared out. This has created a larger open collaborative teaching space in which we are able to experience a taster of what collaborative teaching can feel like. Here's a link to the blog that documents our syndicates journey into the unknown!

http://room16shscollaborate.blogspot.co.nz/

Two of us were first in... and, to be honest, it felt like we were leaping off the cliff into the abyss, hoping like hell we didn't hit a high spot or floating log!

Looking back, we created a huge amount of pressure on ourselves, as we didn't want to be the "crappy first prototype".

We created an environment with minimal furniture, with most of it ensuring it catered to those kids that had specific physical environment needs.

In terms of learning, we placed an emphasis on literacy, with a focus on problem solving... specifically looking at problems that kids their age face. 

We used SOLO to brinstorm ideas of problems that kids have, which was then transfered straight to the wall.

SOLO hexagons, placed on the floor
by the kids. They justified why they
were choosing to tessellate them,
using a ... because... statement.

The SOLO hexagons were then transferred
straight onto the wall, so the kids could
refer back to them. This proved great for
those kids that happened to be away on the day.

The kids had to story board a scenario which identified the problem, as well as a possible solution to that problem. They did this in groups of three. They grouped themselves, with the only stipulation being that they must consist of a mix of male/female; Yr 5/6; and classroom. Groups of three were stipulated to try to prevent the inevitable floater that occurs in groups of four.

The end product was left open to them, however they were given examples such as Imovie; puppet show; comic strip; a videoclip of them enacting a play, etc.

We had flips, 2 Ipads, a few digital cameras, and 6 Macs available.

They were provided with a template on A3, however some groups quickly opted for a large sheet of paper.

A storyboard to create an IMovie.

The only limitation that was placed on their storyboards was that they were only allowed to use one colour. This was to ensure that it was purely used as a planning prototype, without investing too much in it, as they would a finished product.

Another SOLO task was to get the kids to identify Cause and Effect based, again, on a problem that kids might have. We asked them to work in a different trio for this, with the same guidelines for grouping themselves. They weren't allowed to use a problem in which any member of their new group had already covered with the story board. In fact, they were encouraged to think of an entirely new problem.

Overall, the level of engagement we received from our kids was amazing! They superseded our expectations. It felt fantastic as teachers, and the student voice we captured of the kids comments cemented the positive vibe they were emanating. We collected the student voice on a google doc reflection, at the end of each day. The common theme running through was then copied and pasted onto out collaborative journey blog.

Now that we're out, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves by creating an intense high level think tank, which was amazing for a week... but long-term, it's probably unsustainable! By the end of the week, we felt that we hadn't really come up for air. The kids commented on feeling really tired too.

I can now see the theory behind the "power of three" model, where two teachers are 'teaching' and one 'roams and activates'.

We're out of there for a week now... giving another pair a crack at it!

Next week, it's a short week (labour day holiday) and a busy week with a choir exchange where an Australian school is visiting. This means three teachers are in "the tank" as I'm finding myself calling it. We'll have all the 'non-choir' kids. This comprises of the equivalent of three classes.

The journey continues...

Huge day yesterday...

What a day! Red eye flight to Rotovegas for #ULearn14.

Flew through the hotel to drop off bags only to land in the best breakout of the day!
'NoTosh Technology to support thinking and meaningful inquiry'
- Tom Barrett was excellent! http://goo.gl/TNOv47
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/575501894105956352

Ulearn14

skillset - mindset

Entering the Chrome domain

This term, I have been experimenting with incorporating Google docs in my classroom. It has evolved to the point that I now share a document on a Sunday night, entitled Room 16 Self Managed Learning program.
It highlights any upcoming events for the week, any thing that might interrupt the usual timetable or any quirky days. - Talk like a pirate day and Odd shoe day proved popular!

As our confidence in using Google docs grew, we began to change it up a bit. Each reading group would have a link which took them to their text related reading tasks. 

Benefits: The kids have been really excited about the ability to keep a digital record of their learning. They show parents at home and even continue working on things out of school time.  (Now THAT's engagement!)

The learning programme is more transparent for the kids. The expectations are explicit and the accountability is there for them too.

Downsides: It's required a paradigm shift in the way I plan my classroom program. It's meant taking down barriers, such as teacher vs student speak; changing some of my routine in order to have it ready to launch on Sunday night (no exceptions!) 

Another benefit, and powerful opportunity arose when I was at home with my own sick child. Pinned to the couch, with her asleep, I surrounded myself with technology. IPad and laptop at the ready, I was reading through the kids google docs etc while they were working on them. I was able to leave feedback, comments, prompt kids who were procrastinating... the list went on. 

The kids were blown away by it. I was still 'in the loop' with the learning they were doing. It was effectively business as usual!

Filling the gap...

Things have been a little crazy in between my last post and now! I'm retrospectively wishing I had taken some photos at the beginning of the year, to show how far we've come in such a short space of time. It has been a process of 'lots of little things' which has amounted to a great deal! I'm finding myself scrawling through photo's taken for other purposes, which show anything remotely relevant!

It started with rolling out the desks.  The kids all had an individually named desk. so... one day I ripped the labels off! This was met with an element of opposition! (there may have been a petition from one student!)

Groups of three/four desks were spaced around the outer classroom, with space to move around all sides.

Next came the 'acquiring' of tables on the spur of the moment! Other classes were clearing space too, so as the saying goes: One person's trash is another's treasure... and oh how we treasure their arrival! We now had two large tables, meant for four students, however we sit six around them comfortably if that's how the kids choose to work. They have proved invaluable as an impromptu art/crafting table when the need arises.

A rolling table came in, which can be put on the mat area as a workspace, or wheeled out of the way.

Where they are from, waka etc.

Hands on independent activities, with a degree of autonomy.

Bus stop of what our school values mean.

I reevaluated our wall space and the way in which things were presented. Once upon a time, it was a rush to fill the walls with as much work as possible... now, we treat the walls like our writing. In writing "words are like weeds" carefully chosen and the unnecessary weeded out. On our walls, a degree of calmness is kept to prevent information overload. This was an idea picked up from a Reggio Professional Development workshop. I felt it catered to those kids in my class who are susceptible to sensory overload. 

It's now all about giving the kids ownership and showcasing their ideas and creations. 

We started out on post it notes and just 'getting our ideas on the table'.

Now we have moved towards SOLO hexagons in order to discuss, justify and explain why certain things fit together or don't relate to each other at all.  We've been pushing the notion of effective feedback among peers. This was reinforced after looking at Austin's butterfly -see http://goo.gl/pSyzAf

Our latest and greatest aquirement is to have our wheely table painted with a whiteboard surface. We use it for everything! The kids scrawl notes and ideas on there. Someone came in and wrote a message in Japanese the other day... then wrote the translation later in the day. It's spurning so many teachable opportunities that never cropped up before.

My intention in jotting this all down is because things are about to reach the speed of light for change...