EdTech Summit 2018

-

What?
Jo asked if I would like to be the Year 5 Technology representative and I decided that this would be great professional development for me. This means that if anyone has a technology question they can come to me and I can try and help them before they need to go to the ICT Dept. I can also share any ICT learning that I am involved in.

So What?
Because I accepted this role I was offered the opportunity to attend the EdTech Summit 2018 in Auckland in the holidays. I was nervous about this as I didn't think my ICT knowledge was sufficient going into the summit. 

 However this was a wonderful learning opportunity that presented our group with many professional questions/concerns/development. Many of the group discussions and new learnings created conflict within myself. It made me challenge my pedagogical beliefs and ask questions about the direction our school is heading.

These professional conversations within our own team were invaluable and it was great to share ideas. It did make me feel that we need to collaborate as a staff more often and use the skills that some of our team already have. There are some incredibly talented teachers within our staff that have so much to offer. 

 I enjoyed learning how to use and implement several new Google tools:
Screen casting        https://anthsperanza.com/screencasting/
You tube Mashup    https://sites.google.com/view/ytclassroom/genre-mash-up/genre-mash-up-workshop
Spine Story             Lady Wesner
Adobe Spark         
Google Classroom  
Read & Write extension

 One guest speaker Anthony Speranza from St Joseph's in Melbourne was excellent to listen to. He was so inspiring and showed how his school uses many of these tools. 

Many of these tools allow students to present their learning in a creative way. The key note speaker Patrick Green spoke about being a relevant teacher, what should that look like and what does that mean. We need to be preparing our students for the future but what does that look like? 

There was a lot of mention about accommodating students differences e.g dyslexic, ESOL students and the tools that can be used in the classroom to ensure they are part of the learning and most importantly relevant and age appropriate learning.
This is what created a lot of internal conflict for me and those of us who attended this Summit based on the PLD we have recently had with Learning Matters. It is also difficult when each educator presenting their information quotes evidence based research, however this research is also conflicting. We have listened to Nathan Mikaere who stressed the importance of being a relevant teacher, and accommodating those with learning difficulties. But then we have had feedback about GLOW KIDS, should we be using technology in the classroom as much as we do. Very confusing.
Now What?
I need to prioritise which tools I incorporate into my classroom rather than trying to use everything. Choose one thing at a time, have a go, make sure it is actually improving students learning and then evaluate how successful it was.

 I definitely want to use Read + Write for my students who have dyslexia and difficulty reading more difficult vocabulary, especially when we are researching. Some of my students already use Voice recognition which allows them to get their ideas down without getting caught up in trying to write as they go.

 I will also load my class onto Google Classroom and then compare this platform with Hapara which I currently use. Spoke with Anthony Speranza and asked him which he thinks is better and he agreed with me that he was totally a Hapara fan but as he has persisted with Google Classrooms he feels there are some benefits to this platform. So I;ll give it a go and then decide.

 I will have a discussion with my Dean about my personal conflict regarding accommodating students in my classroom to help them learn and what the schools vision is for using technology in the future. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recognising a Commitment to Tangata Whenuatanga

-
Image
What? We need to embrace Te Reo Maori at Southwell School and celebrate how unique New Zealand is to have its own national language. Our Year 5 Production was a reflection of our Camp in Rotorua. The students learnt about the Tarawera eruption and the times and lives of those involved. This gave them a great opportunity to learn about Maori culture.                               The Buried Village Waimangu Valley         The Buried Village So What? When we came back the Year 5's scripted their own production to share with the rest of the school. They showed the interactions between the Maori and Pakeha during this time.  Each class was responsible for a particular event and within that groups made their own portrayal of these. The creation of these was student driven with support from me as their classroom teacher.  In music the students learnt a Maori song Etu Ka...
Read more

Professional Development in Physical Education

-
Image
What? We had someone come in from NZ Football to take us through the 11+ KIDS warm up programme developed by FIFA. The 11+ Kids warm up is designed to be fun and effective for younger players to learn to move well and build upon their fundamental movement patterns for sport. So What? The  11+ KIDS  is a brand new programme that has been proven to reduce injuries in our junior players (from 5-12 years old) up to 50%, as well as develop fundamental movements that form the basis of every athletic movement we do. The 11+ is suitable for youth players up and is the most researched and validated programme in existence, book a refresher course to check up on technique and to develop a further understanding of the importance of keeping your players injury free, fast, fit and strong. Hopefully using this programme will help build the fundamental movements for our athletes and also help reduce injury. Now What? Now that I have the knowledge of this programme I wi...
Read more

Writing PLD

-
Image
What? After camp we did some PLD on writing within Southwell school. Thinking critically about our practice in the classroom and the effect this has on our students. So What? Key messages on pages 8 and 9 of Effective Literacy Practice 1-4 Teachers matter - and what they do matters Teaching practice can be described as truly effective only when it has a positive and measurable impact on student achievement Students may take many different pathways on their literacy learning we as teachers should have appropriate tools for different students. The quality of our teaching is imperative to achieve results in the classroom. Your teaching practice matters Evidence based teaching practice can make a major difference.   What happens in classrooms through quality teaching and through the quality of the learning environment generated by the teacher and students is key Goal directed literacy instruction. Evidence based. Progra...
Read more