Conversations Around Writing

I recently wrote a blog post for CORE Education around conversations I had had recently about writing. I even drew the image!

“I have had a number of conversations recently with teachers about the role of digital technologies in the teaching of writing. I spend a lot of my professional learning delivery around the teaching of writing with a focus on Māori and Pasifika boys through Spirals of Inquiry — looking at making changes in teacher practice to engage and enhance learning experiences for their learners.”

Read the whole post on the CORE Blog.

Ngā Mātāpuna o Ngā Pākihi

Today I am sharing some of my learning around using iPads to create learning artefacts and extending Google thinking at Ngā Mātāpuna o Ngā Pākihi Cluster Conference at Lincoln High School.

Cheryl Doig was keynoting and used the acronym of WYOD (Wear Your Own Device). I was thinking of smart watches and Google Glass.

Mary-Anne Mills followed with reference to me wearing my QR Code earrings. I hadn’t thought of them particularly as wearable technology but I suppose they really are!!!

Also here is the link to my iPad presentation that I am going to use. Hat tip to Fiona Grant for cleverly showing me how to link to the iPad Google Slides. New learning from #gafesummit.

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What’s On Your Horizon?

I have been asked to share some of my learning around what is just around the corner for the future orientated learning and teaching for the Nelson Principals’ Association at Lake Rotoiti.

Without wanting to geek out too much I looked at the 2013 K-12 Horizon Report, CORE Education’s Ten Trends, the NZ Curriculum Update and my personal learning network.

I also wanted the session to not only share what I think is on the horizon but to also engage and involve the principals so the presentation is mainly videos. This made the Keynote huge so for publication here and as a reference I just took screengrabs and linked to the videos.

To view the Keynote in large text format click here. The links don’t work in presentation view but if you download it as a pdf that will all work.

Keynote Presentation

I then want the Keynote to lead to a discussion around the NZ Curriculum Update Issue 26 October 2012 and what the themes that underpin a future orientated learning system might mean for individual and groups of schools.

  • Personalised learning
  • Rethinking Learning and Teaching Roles
  • A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders
  • New views of equity and diversity
  • A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity
  • New kinds of partnerships and realationships

To download the presentation click on the picture and click on the download button as in this screengrab.

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School Newsletters

A conversation with a teaching colleague today prompted me to think more deeply about school newletters and their uses as a means to connect home and school.

Pre-digital times they used to be typed up and photocopied off by someone and sent out to all families or one was given to the oldest/youngest child of a whānau to hopefully get out of the school bag and read by someone before getting lost in the melee of worksheets that often lie dying in the bottom of a school bag along with the apple cores, crusts and dribbling yoghurt containers.

Then people started adding photos which was lovely until they wanted to be in colour.

Then along came the internet and the newsletters are emailed out with the non-internet families still being given a hard copy.

I know of some school newsletters that are 4MB- imagine what that does to a dial up connection- yes there are still people who are on dial up!

Some schools just send out an email with a link to the newsletter- that wouldn’t take up bandwidth as such but I wonder how many do actually take the time to open the attachment or click on the link.

With the rise of social media I wonder where the school newsletter now sits? More and more schools are now using Facebook or Twitter to update what schools are doing and what is coming up for them.

Are emailed school newsletters are thing of the past?

This short Twitter conversation gives both side of the debate.

https://twitter.com/tonyandrewmeyer/status/337849044997140481

What do you think?

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Chalkboard Newsletter drawn by Allanah with Draw Board iPad app.

 

What’s On Your Horizon?

I have been asked to share some elearning trends that I see happening over the next couple of years. I took my ideas from the Horizon Reports of 2011 and 2012 which I have had the privilege of supporting. I have some video and audio to support my thinking around this but you sort of need to be there to see it so I have hyperlinked the resources in this Slideshare so the learning can be rewindable and available to everyone, not just for those in the room! @kevinhoneycutt