Interface Expo - May 2015

Spent Thursday at the Christchurch InterfaceExpo. These expo days are often about selling a product - BUT there were some great learning tools on display and demonstration.

1 ) Mind Lab - were one of the main sponsors. Their philosophy includes the statement 'Technology takes the classroom out into the world.' 

Frances Valentine - Founder MindLab - NZ Tech Board - was one of the opening speakers. The aim of Mind Lab is to create innovative kids of the future. Last year 12,000 students went through each of their 3 'workshops'. This year they are hoping for 30,000. 

One key message was that we have a fantastic primary school system. A system that 'does' learning well - student focussed, contextualised, project based - then they hit secondary!! Secondary teachers are having to cope with the 'tsunami' effect of these primary students flowing into the secondary system! 

She noted that even traditional careers are being  influenced by new changes - eg 'big data' - medical outsourcing ?

Mind Lab - is partnered  with Unitec to deliver a  PostGraduate Programme - philanthropic support to keep costs down - $750 for post grad programme. Looks good to me!

Excitingly - won $1000 staff PD voucher! Checkl out The MindLab - here

2) The GAFE team - clearly reminded us that online /blended / elearning focusses on the 5Cs- 

Communicate

Collaborate

Create

Consume

Coordinate

And that teachers need to ensure that they are making best use of GAFE by making sure that students have - 

1.  customised chrome experience 
2.  automatic web pages 
3.  enforce bookmarks URLs 
4.  chrome web store - apps and extensions 

At RHS we use Google Sites for teacher portfolios and appraisal - this presentation was a good reminder to me that Sites can be key for- 

- developing digital communities of practice 

- increase student agency 

Clearly we need to use Sites for more than just teacher inquiry in fact any opportunity for  divergent thinking via individual creating - could be Site based

Learn Create Share 

As school leaders we also need to remember that the 'pedagogical experts may not be the technological experts' - pedagogy 2.0 and 3.0 - new pedagogies need to be taught 

Google Classroom and Blogger 

Blogger as a portfolio - teacher, student, class 

Importance of linking to RTCs 

Student blogging - authentic digital footprint, student led conferences

3) ETV - while I have delved in to ETV and 'archived' a few really useful clips, I have not used them in the classroom yet!! 

I liked ETV's 'tagline' of  'real time, real life, learning resources'

- live TV - only live TV service in NZ 

- in the cloud - no software, no boxes

- biggest supplier of video content in NZ 
The fact they when contacted, they will search for ANY resource to assist you with ANY topic you want to work on.

BUT - what we do need to get onto using is their ZAPTION app

- research simply pointing students to a piece of video does not work 

- students bombarded by 'noise' - they need to interact with content 

- Bill Gates education award winner - 

- wrap learning around the video content - easy to use and many ways to engage students

4) N4L - making our schools safe online....

- the education system is becoming digitised - exams, moderation

- we need to know that it will work and work safely

- apparently our schools are under attack from overseas locations - thousands of times a day...who knew???
So I have bitten the bullet and signed up to the Pond, which seems to me to be another aggregator - I already use Delicious and Twitter and Google alerts ......

5) By 3.00pm my brain was starting to hurt - but not enough to stop me buying (well Josh actually buying) a  SWIVL - robot controlled camera - track as you move, insert content during the lesson, 360degree, tracking, can be paused, stored in the swivl cloud, can include slides and still record lesson in action. I have it on very good authority that it is excellent for tracking evidence in the PE clasroom - but for me the most useful use, would be for teachers to view their own practice. 
You can see more about how it works here http://www.swivl.com/




OK - enough new things to be think about ....and try out....and find the time to ......

A timely reminder - why teaching's FAB

This post that popped up on my my Facebook feed today -  http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/why-teaching-is-the-best-job-in-the-world/
- and was a timely reminder for me, that despite all of the issues in teaching (and not just confined to NZ), teaching is still one of, if not the, best and most important jobs in the world.

We continually read of the wide world issues facing teachers and teaching - new teachers leaving in droves, head teachers / principals stress load, unreasonable overtesting of students .....and it goes on.

My own current stress levels are somewhat elevated around specific site based issues at my school - but I'm a reasonably chilled person, so having an elevated stress levels is not too much of a problem!

Teaching today is about continual improvement - the cycle of inquiry is essential in this process. All teachers at our school carry out an inquiry - as always there is a spectrum of engagement from simple low level compliance through to those who actively and passionately want to do better, who realise that the students in front of them are individuals and that delivering the 'same old, same old' from year to year is just not going to do it for the students. These are the ones who are a pleasure to have a learning conversation with; who willingly share in cross-curricular meetings and are excited to tell you when things do (or more likely, do not) work as expected.

We hear about student creativity all the time from educational superstars such as  Sir Ken and Stephen Heppell, but how often do we think about creativity in ourselves as teachers and in the facilitation of learning in our classrooms? How creative are our lessons? Our timetables? Our curriculums? These are questions that we are grappling with as we go through a major rebuild. I'm looking forward to the conversations around this. Creativity will be a challenge for some - creativity may well be a synonym for change! The 21st century is well and truly here, and has been for 15 years! We need to make the changes that will allow for the delivery of engaging and authenic curriculum.

So many parts of the work are satisfying. Self improvement is satisfying. It might also be hard and time consuming. Using the 'teaching is inquiry cycle', self improvement is linked to improving student outcomes. That is satisfying. Focussing on 'growth mindset' (one of my goals for this year) is satisfying. Seeing students improve is satisfying.

So the post 'Why teaching is the best job in the world' was a timely reminder. Not the easiest. Not the least time consuming, Not the best paid. Just simply the best!

It reminds me of the quote that has a prominent place on my office door and features in my CV - the words are from Christa McAuliffe, the civilian teacher who died in the US Challenger disaster - 'I touch the future. I teach' 

Simply the best!

Dr Liz Gordon - a divided society: education and 25 years of the 'NewRight' in New Zealand

Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the first of a series  of lectures on Education and Poverty in NZ-presented by Dr Liz Gordon, Director of http://www.pukekoresearch.com/ . Dr Gordon spent four years on the Massey University Council and is an active member of QPEC (Quality Public Education Coalition) She is a council member of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 

Her research work focusses on the education, justice and social science fields. 

She began by referencing an ealier paper that she wrote - 'Rich and Poor schools in Aotearoa' - 1998 - which askes the question - how can this go on - these unequal engine rooms? Ironically, this has gone on for 25 or more years.

The examination system pre Tomorrow's School was not a fair system - 50/50 pass/fail - a system of structural segmentation. Classist and racist - especially in Intermediate and secondary schools. The fact that there was a strong anti education discourse in the 80s was not therefore surprising !

Tomorrow's Schools - led to the increase of parent power - and the promotion of choice. The creation of the 'zoning wars' - Chch  Girls' High Reject Association (1994).  Who does the choosing? Schools of choice are the ones who do the choosing. Schools of choice inevitably end uo beubg the ones who choose. 

What have been the effects on this 'endless choice' schools?

- rich get richer poor get poorer - since the 1980s the number of 'poor' in NZ has doubled 

           - Decile 1 and 3 schools drop in population over 20 years - the choice has been 'up' - led to a    change in structure of schools and school size - impacts on what can be delivered  - reputations factors 

           - Decile 3 the biggest drop

           - higher % of students not ready to learn in lower Decile schools

           - higher % of Maori and Pasifika students 

- sad case of deciles - became a proxy for quality

- redrawing of zones - to maximise SES

- what choice is it?

           - does choice inevitable mean unequal access 

The picture for Maori is better than it was in terms of access to education - more Maori attending higher Decile schools. Pakeha numbers down in lower  Decile schools - Pakeha parents choose 'up'.

A problems of a segmented society and the dangers of polarisation 

- poorest areas are out of sight - therefore out of mind 

- are we scared of what we might find there ?

- less interest in compensating the 'have nots'

- more inclusive societies are likely to help each other - damaging social policy effects (ie what will happen if decile ratings disappear?)

Endless Choice 

- our current education policy is an enduring one - be worried 

- a self perpetuating policy that 'is profoundly damaging to our society' 

Does sending Johnny to an out of zone, higher decile school, make him a better person? A deeply important, unanswerable question.

- if dropping performance since 'endless choice' was introduced, then what is the subtext? 

Dr Gordon's seminar asked many questions of us - most of which have no easy answer!

I'd like to get to the next seminar - David Mitchell - Equalising Educational Opportunity with Particular Reference to Decile Funding. But this wil depend on what is on the agenda for school that week!

Authentic and Courageous

Both of these words are in my thoughts after reflecting on some of the schools I visited in Australia. However these two words are as, if not more, relevant, in two NZ schools that I have a keen interest in - Alfriston College and Hobsonville Point Secondary School.

Hobsonville Point is in its' second year of 'life' and the staff are planning for what the curriculum might look like for their students in 2016 - with their first Year 11 cohort. I follow both the blogs of Principal - Maurie Abraham and DP Learning Technologies - Claire Amos. Recent dicsussions have been around the value of the Level 1 NCEA qualification - and if and how it fits the school's and community's vision and its' aspirational learner profile. Courageous conversations are taking place - 

'Last week Claire and I hosted the 13 Year 11 students and their parents and laid out our plans on how they would be prepared to achieve NCEA L2, as a minimum qualification, without devoting their Year 11 Year to the pointless pursuit of dozens of credits which only serves to take their focus off deep learning and understanding.' Maurie

All Level six, seven and eight modules will be designed with opportunities for students to be assessed against Level One, Two or Three Achievement Standards which are clearly signalled alongside learning outcomes and rubrics. Where appropriate, modules will assess learners at Level One and Two or Level Two and Three so that learners can be assessed at the level appropriate for them. Modules offered will be a mixture of single or integrated learning (when integration will facilitate deeper more connected learning). Modules in the latter part of the year will be designed to ensure learners are being prepared for required external standards to provide opportunities for gaining Merit and Excellent endorsement.
Claire

I will follow the continuing journey with interest.

Alfriston College is at the opposite geographical extreme of the Auckland isthmus to HPPS. It is also 10 years older. AC's vision for 'independent learners' has always been embedded in the schools 10 'Independent Learning Qualities' (ILQs). But this year AP Karyn White and a team of 20 staff (T20) have taken a courageous leap into a fully authentic and integrated approach to their Yr 9 Foundation curriculum. 

Yr 9 students are combined in their whanau (house groups) where pastoral amd curriculum are closely linked. No streaming or 'banding'. 900 minutes of a 1500 minute week are in these groups. 4 teachers are timetabled for these sessions. That is the end of the formal plan in the timetable - the rest follows below -

• Is an integrated curriculum delivering the core learning areas (English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, andHealth and PE) with emphasis on the development of a core set of learning dispositions and skills ultimately transferable to learning in the senior school and beyond.
• Is based around a learner's place in and connection to their world view which will include their own whakapapa and heritage, Alfriston College, Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand, Earth, the Universe and the future.
• Is delivered by a small, consistent, connected team of learning leaders - the Authentic Learning Team.
• Is a time and place where and individual's learning goals and learning pathways are co-constructed, recorded and used to track and review progress. These are available 24/7 and accessible to parents and whanau via the internet.
• Is a programme of learning that builds on learners' capacities to be connected, confident, competent learners of good character with a zest for learning.  AC Website

Following the T20 2015 learning journey on Twitter will be inspring I'm sure. Hopefully I will get to take a group of teachers to see this Foundation Programme in action.

Kia kaha

One week on.....future planning

One week back on deck from my two week 'adventure in Aus.'  Where is my thinking at? Where is my school at? What plans are in place for the next week...month..term...year....?

I made a list on notepad as I was leaving Future Schools Conference two weeks ago. What we could change now, this term, this year, next year. It looked like this -


Things to change now
- encourage staff to flip the classroom
- weekly sharing of Yr 9 class docs - via Google Docs
- any staff who want to trial different furniture - get it!
- look for further integration - not just the MLP trial going on now

Short Term  
- remove walls where we can 
- plan for vertical forms

Long Term 
- one year's warning / notice possible change to school day - two shifts
- evaluate pastoral care system - time/value
- IT teacher support - investigate 
- add solar power, extend undercover - change the building
- de-isolate SLT from rest of the school 


However....a colleague reminded me that we should be using 21st century thinking and that I should just not be diving in and ploughing ahead (nothing like mixing metaphors) with what should be the final stage of any 'design thinking process' (thanks Mr O)

So....we have a framework for out TOD in June.

Looking forward to working through the process ...and then diving in...

Time and Title	Content
8.45 – 9.00 Staffroom	Define the Problem / (Solution needed) OL/CL In order to solve a problem we need to clearly define what the problem is first. We must decide exactly what needs to be solved, and give proper context to the problem.
9.00-10.00 Staffroom	Discover – Feedback from teams from Melb/Sydney/Chch/Auck/Tauranga/ModCurDes/ MLP trial etc This is the stage of researching and gathering, and analysing clear knowledge about the problem. This helps us to give the problem context so that we can identify with it easier. (This is where we record and document all our professional learnings from conference, keynotes and professional readings over the last 18-24 months. This is the groundwork that has been done - visits to MLE schools in Auckland, Edutech conference, Melbourne conference, future schools conference, PPL last year etc)
10 – 10.25 Staffroom	Morning Tea
10.30 – 12.25 Set venues	Dream – cross curricular teams (readings provided beforehand) Here we open up the heart and mind to the possibilities and visions of a Modern Learning Curriculum at Rangiora High School the way we wish to see it. This phase is all about imagination, extrapolation and visualisation. (This is where we put everything on the table, dream big, see how much of the dream we can fit in. )
12.30 – 1.00 Staffroom	Debrief - Dream – feedback
1.00 – 1.55	Lunch
2.00 – 3.00 Set venues	Design – Learning Teams – extended learning episode Term 4 This is basically the workshopping phase. Here the actual mechanics of the Modern Learning Curriculum begin to take shape. It will require amongst a number of other technical requirements - consultation, critical analysis and evaluation, financial forecasting, timetable models, trials and further evaluations. (This would be the perfect phase to be the main part of workshopping in the TOD April 20? TOD could then be part of the 2 year process of gathering information about where we are going and allow staff to co-construct the MLC look for RHS based on the problem/solution as stated in phase 1 and the gathering in phase 2 - it would make the day highly targeted and productive to producing an outcome for MLC at RHS)
3.00 – 3.20 Staffroom	Debrief – Design  – feedback