workshop

ISV – 5 Day Series: Day 2

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Enriching the Your Site

The main purpose of today is to explore Web 2.0 tools and resources that enrich your main online platform – for most of us this is our WordPress blogs.  There are a lot of great things to explore and get familiar with and immersing ourselves in this is the first purpose of the day.  The second is to brainstorm how you might use the construct of a “ClassPortal” to engage students in ongoing personal learning and knowledge-building.  Let’s get started!

Review Look to Learn

Before getting started on new things, let’s review the Look to Learn activity format and see if anyone had a chance to use it with students or colleagues.  Here are the Help Links again:

Adding Rich Feeds with NetVibes

Podcasting & Audio

Web 2.0 Tools Review

Social Bookmarking & Personal Research with Diigo

ClassPortals

Participants Sites

AGQTP Group

Real, Rich and Relevant Group

ISV – AGQTP 5 Day Series: Day 1

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Welcome

Today is an important day as we begin another year-long, five-day series of workshops at Independent Schools Victoria.  During the series we will develop a robust online presence to explore Web 2 applications and strategies like Looking to Learn, ClassPortals and WebQuests.  Today people will begin by setting up a WordPress blog and finding Web 2 apps they want to try out with students.

You can go to the Workshop page elsewhere in ozline.com

something they have created and we will review our learning.

Presentations

 

Day 1 – ISV 5 Day Series

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Welcome!

Here begins a great opportunity for us: 5 days spread across the year to develop deep and sophisticated ICT and pedagogy insights and skills.  In other words, fun!

Here’s a set of handouts that mirrors the links below and adds a bit of detail.

The main purpose of today is to set up an easy but powerful online space.  This will be the launch pad for everything else we do.  Think of it as your digital file cabinet, your grab bag of Web 2 tricks, your online classroom.
To begin, let’s see that others have done along these lines.

Activity 1: First Impressions

Skim through some of the links below.  Pause when one catches your attention.  Look more closely.  Consider how you could use something like it for your self and your students.  After about 15 minutes, we’ll brainstorm what we’ve seen and thought.

Examples from 2010/2011

Brainstorming First Impressions (using Stixy) (AGQTP Group)

Activity 2: Creating Your Smart Online Space

Fine-tuning your Blog

Pause for Reflection

From the Dashboard or your blog, go to “Pages” and edit the “About” page.  Use this to reflection on how you think you might use your blog in a range of ways for yourself, your students and colleagues.

Activity 3: Look to Learn : : Learn to Look

Online Samples

Activity 4 – Web 2 Tools

Pause for Reflection #2

Now that you have explored Look to Learn activities and a range of Web 2.0 tools, return to the Dashboard or your blog and edit your “About” page reflection.  Add your further insights gained from the last sessions and what strikes you as useful tools and strategies. Specifically, describe how you think you could use what you’ve learned today.

Feedback Form

Please complete this online feedback form (JotForm!)

Great work by Participants

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The following is a list of the Web sites created over two days by teachers supporting studies of Asia.  We used WordPress.com as the main platform to post Look to Learn activities.  These included embedded YouTube videos and a clever workaround to open shortened versions through direct links to TubeChop.  Thinking prompts encourage students to engage in open inquiry in order to develop a disposition for critical thinking.  The sites also link to Netvibes pages teachers created to enrich the current multimedia resources available to themselves and students.  Finally, we joined Diigo as a way to bookmark, share and collaboratively annotate Web content.  A full two days, but visiting the links below will reveal the great work achieved by all participants.

Lindy Stirling organised this workshop and did a fantastic job rounding-up such a motivated and talented group of educators as well as the location which was perfect for a group this size.

Here is the link for the original workshop posting with all the links and resources.

Studies of Asia in Melbourne

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Welcome

Please begin by using the comments link on this post
to share your personal learning goals for this workshop.

I have the pleasure of facilitating another 2 Day workshop for the Studies of Asia group at the Victorian department of education. Lindy Stirling, State Advisor, Studies of Asia (see the Studies of Asia Wiki) has organised this session at the Clifton’s in Melbourne’s beautiful CBD.

Studies of Asia Links

 

Activity 1: Great examples from previous Studies of Asia Workshops

To get a sense of what we will be creating over the next two days, please explore the work created by participants in previous sessions.  Try to notice the features, strategies and benefits gained from such a learning platform.

Extended Variations

Brainstorm what you noticed using shared a shared Stixy board or Twiddla

and debrief Web 2.0 terminology


Activity 2: Creating Your Smart Online Space

Fine-tuning your Blog

Activity 3: Look to Learn : : Learn to Look

Online Samples

Activity 4 – Web 2 Tools

Download the Web 2 Tools Overview handout and paste in the Tools Panel for your site.

 

Day 2 – Personalising Your Learning to Personalise Student Learning

Paths to Personal Success

Download the pdf for Tom’s strategies.

Path 1: Create 3 – 5 Look to Learn Activities for your students

Path 2: Enrich your site with content and rich media

Path 3: Create a ClassPortal

Manage your Rich Media Links

Piecing together Digital Learning

1. Smart Online Environment

  • Your current space or WordPress.com
  • Get a Blog
  • Modify the Blog’s Appearance
  • Settings for success
  • Making a Post – embedding YouTube
  • Creating a Page

2. Rich Resources

  • Get a Diigo Account
  • RSS Feeds from Netvibes
  • Set up a page of feeds
  • Add it as a link from your blog
  • iTunes – browse and subscribe
  • YouTube / TubeChop
  • TED Talks

3. Digital Learning Pedagogy

  • Dispositions, Habits of Mind, Intrinsic Motivation
  • Look to Learn
  • ClassPortals
  • WebQuests 2.0

4. Self-managed Learning Framework for students

  • CEQ•ALL
  • The Remembered 20%
  • Map Skills to Hit 50
  • The Students’ Half

Feedback

Important – please complete this form (made with jotform)

ISV – Look to Learn for Early Years

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Welcome!

Look to Learn: Developing a Culture of Inquiry in Early Years’ Classrooms

The Blurb: Experienced teachers know that positive routines form a foundation to classroom learning. However, routines can also be used to engage students in critical thinking and knowledge building, activities often considered beyond the abilities of early years learners. Participants in this one-day session will experience what it’s like to ‘Look to Learn’ from the inside and then use and create such activities for their own students. See how rich digital media like blogs, videos, podcasts and images stimulate interest that is then developed through routines that prompt critical and creative thinking. This hands-on workshop provides the theory and practice to enhance the spirit of inquiry and appetite for learning that is already alive in your classroom.

Here’s a set of materials to go along with this Web page.

Discussion and Orientation

Given “The New Default”, what are our challenges? (stixy)

examples 1: Mankind is No Island, Miniature Earth, Global Rich List

examples 2: Slides

Look to Learn Links

Online Samples

Building your Looking to Learn Platform

Choose your Approach

  1. Easy YouTube downloader for Firefox
  2. TubePrompter
  3. Get a WordPress Blog

If WordPress, then get started!

Visible Thinking Tools

Site to visit Regularly

Manage your Rich Media Links

iPad for Learning Intro

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Note: Once your iPad is set up for local networks with its WiFi Address, make sure you know your wireless passwords.  Once you have added these zones, they will be remembered and you won’t have to log into them again.

Do you want to download the handout?

test dropbox

Initial Sharing

As we wait for WiFi access, let’s share what we’ve found so far.  Some things can be demonstrated through the projector.

Common Tasks

Things you might like

  • ABC iView (media streaming)
  • TED – Technology Entertainment Design (consider an iTunes Subscription)
  • Others?

Subject Specific Apps (Free + Paid)

Activity #1 – Shared Analysis

In this activity we will use the Diigo Web Highlighter in the context of discussing uses for the iPad in the classroom.

  1. Go to this Web site: 10 Ways to use the iPad in the Classroom
  2. Make sure you have your Diigo Web Highligher installed
    • If you get stuck with the deleting bit, paste this into the Bookmark in your iPad when you are editing the Web Highlighter:
    • javascript:s=document.createElement%28%27script%27%29;s.type=%27text/javascript%27;s.src=%27https://www.diigo.com/javascripts/webtoolbar/diigolet_b_h_ipad.js%27;document.body.appendChild%28s%29;
  3. Make sure you have a Diigo Account
  4. Go ahead and highlight, add a new comment or comment on someone else’s comment.
  5. Should we use an education account?  A possible pilot project?

Activity #2 – Social Bookmarking

Now that you have access to Diigo and the Oxley Learners Group, let’s help each other by adding links to our shared collection.

  1. Make sure you have the WebHighlighter bookmarking button, a Diigo account and membership in the Oxley Learners Group.
  2. Surf the Web and when you find a link that you want to share with students or staff, Click the WebHighlighter and add it to our Group.
  3. Use the Tag Dictionary or add your own tags

Here is a cloud of current links:

Activity #3 – Shared Writing

Try our a shared document.  Here is a Google Doc that is open for everyone’s input.  Share something interesting or whatever you like.

  1. Contribute to a Google Doc
  2. Do you want to sign-up for a Gmail / Google Apps account?
  3. Do you want to contribute to an FAQ page on our use of iPads?

Activity #4 – Online Survey

Google also provides online forms that work great for easily posted surveys or quizzes.

Resources from Apple

Pass the Pen – IWB Workshop

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Empowering Primary Learners through IWBs

The Blurb: In a world where rich resources have never been so freely available, our students must get “hands-on” experience making learning choices.  Thus, once teachers have learned the basic tools of the Interactive Whiteboard, the challenge is to use IWBs as a shared learning space with students. Employed as a window to the world, an IWB connects classroom learning with engaging Web 2.0 resources and applications that can enliven classroom practices and “flatten the learning hierarchy.” This session prepares teachers to empower their students to move beyond “technology as entertainment” and to apply the riches of the Web to achieve deep learning and positive habits of mind.

Pedagogical Framework

3 ‘levels of use of IWBs by teachers in their research:

  1. Supported didactic – where the IWB is used to enhance traditional board-focused didactic teaching
  2. Interactive – where the teacher recognizes some of the additional benefits of the technology and endeavours to stimulate interactivity by questioning and involvement of pupils
  3. Enhanced interactive – where the teacher moves from the instructional to the involvement role and uses the technology to stimulate, integrate and develop interactive learning.

Benefits from the Enhanced interactive phase:

  • makes learning more interesting, authentic and relevant to students
  • allows more time for thinking, observation, discussion and analysis
  • increases opportunities for communication and collaboration
  • supports exploration and experimentation by providing immediate visual feedback
  • support multiple forms of conceptual representation

Today’s 3-Ring Circus

pre-requisites:

  • online space
  • IWB Basics

The Productive Circus

  • Students as Teachers
  • Students as Real-time Collaborators
  • Students as ongoing Content Creators

Download the Handout for today

Links – Students as Teachers

Literacy

Numeracy

Mega Sites

Students as Real-time Collaborators – Web 2.0 Tools

Students as ongoing Content Creators

Audio – Podcast

Text – Wikipedia Page

Video – Interviews, Guides, Screencasts?

Maps – Producing Google Map Tours

News Updates – Blogging

IWB Resources

Smartboard

Promethean

The Sites you made!

Curriculum Mapping @ the AIS Executive Conference

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I’m spending two days at the AIS Executive Conference in Brighton-Le-Sands on Botony Bay, Sydney.  On day one, the committee set up an excellent program featuring John Hattie, Alma Harris and Peter Freebody.  The three keynotes complemented each other and contributed to a solid basis for further discussions.  My interest focused on John Hattie whose book Visible Learning is fast becoming the bible for evidence-based educators.  John made presented an insightful and no holds barred case for what strategies have a greater effect on student achievement.  His bottom-line is that the difference is educators whose attention is on evaluating the effect they have on student learning.  It’s a reminder of the simple wisdom of questions like those put forward by the likes of Rick Dufour:

  • What do we want the students to learn?
  • How do we know when each student has learned it?
  • What do we do when a student experiences difficulty in learning it?

On Day Two, my friend Steven Armstrong (Deputy Head Academic) and I shared Oxley College’s journey so far with Curriculum Mapping.  We offered a “warts and all” tale that begins with a hazy vision of where we want to go and ends (so far) happily with a very successful inspection by the Board of Studies earlier this month.

Our slides are available (+notes page) as well as a handout with a few example maps and template.

AGQTP WebQuests 2.0

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First Impressions

  1. Here’s a Stixyboard for brainstorming  “What are WebQuests?”
  2. Now let’s try Putting the WebQuest Pieces Together (doc)

A little history lesson & Background

WebQuests all started with this page posted by Bernie Dodge: Some Thoughts About WebQuests.  I was team-teaching with Bernie in a teacher prep course on creating interdisciplinary units.  I soon began a three year fellowship where the first thing I did was to post the first (non) WebQuest for use outside of our course: Searching for China (version 0.9).  This was, “good, but not a WebQuest.”  Why? A few years later it became this updated version of Searching for China.

Use the QuestGarden Search to explore others’ WebQuests.  Use the Comments on this post to share good ones that you find.

Sample WebQuests by Tom or Web-and-Flow

Getting Started

One really good way to develop a WebQuest is from a ClassPortal.  Below are the ClassPortals you’ve begun.  Do any of the topics suit a WebQuest?

Reviewing ClassPortals from the group

If you want to use this approach (or begin a new blog for a WebQuest) you might want to copy/paste this template into a Page on your blog.

Guides for your Process

Collaborative Checkpoints: add your milestones – Questions, Roles, Tasks, etc.

Resources

Articles