Learning Spaces....

I am passionate about 'learners loving to learn' in spaces of their choosing.  I really have to reflect on my own learning experiences recently.  

Yesterday we celebrated #educampdunners in the AMAZING learning space, Te Manawanui, at St Clair School. We had the freedom to move around, to sit in groups, to collaborate, to present, listen, share, learn and grow...

Each space was unique and was chosen to meet our learning needs... How important it is for me to encourage my learners to identify and chose learning spaces to suit their mood, learning task and need.  

On the 16th and 17th of April I had the MAGIC  experience of Ignition2012 in the inspiring learning space of Albany Senior High on the North Shore, Auckland.  Again, we were able to choose our space to meet our needs.  

Ignition, like #educampdunners was an unconference.  

On Wednesday 18th April, Allanah, Barbs, Ingrid and I had a MAGICAL tour of Hingaia Peninsula with Jane Danielson...

I was speechless when I was there... well - as speechless as I can be - and I am gobsmacked when I look back at the photos now...  They say a picture is worth a thousand words... but even a picture doesn't share the MAGIC of the learning journey at Hingaia - if you get a chance to visit - grab it!

Compare this with how I spent the 19th and 20th of April at the NAPP Hui at Holiday Inn, Auckland Airport.  With more than 250 of us seated in groups of 8 around tables crammed into a room with no room to push out your seat.  The Hui was fantastic and the learning journey and networking was MAGICAL.  The learning experience however was incomparable.  I was 'trapped' at my seat.  I was unable to move, relax, or decide on a space or mood for my learning.  

I am not saying that this is wrong.  It is hard to imagine how this would have been possible with such a HUGE number of people.  However, I am saying that the more I learn, the more I reflect, the more I network and discuss, the more determined I am to assist, encourage, model, choice of learning space for my learners.  I am continuing to work with my learners as they reflect and identify their preferred 'space' for individual learning activities.  

What is your preferred learning space?  Does it depend on the learning?  The time of day? The challenge? Your mood?

#educampdunners MAGIC

The MAGIC of #educampdunners began when Caroline, from Oamaru, arrived at my school yesterday morning.  We spent the day together chatting and sharing, eagerly anticipating educamp.  The MAGIC ramped up when Tania and Victoria arrived and we headed into St Clair school for a quick reconnaissance then off out to STARFISH for pre-unconference dinner! Stimulating conversation, sensational food, good times....

A quick walk along the St Clair Esplanade back to the car saw an opportunity to share Geocaching.  Two 'finds' later and we have two newbie cachers hooked.  As Caroline, Tania, Victoria and I were heading over the hill to Mosgiel we noticed the early hour and took a right turn into the CBD for an adventure, and a Geocache or two... 

The conversation and the MAGIC continued with a little bit of Jazz at Carousel.

Followed by another very successful caching session in and around the Octagon.  Coffee and dessert at Nova rounded off our day... pre-educampdunners...

And so dawned the day - 5 May 2012 #educampdunners.  With 29 of us gathered at St Clair school, the MAGIC of the day began with coffee, conversation, connections and re-connections..

Pure MAGIC to have educators from primary, secondary, and library; Tauranga (virtual chocolate fish to Pascale @phpnz from Tauranga for furtherest travelled), Christchurch, Darfield, Oamaru, Milton, Lawrence,   Invercargill, Dunedin and Mosgiel...

Powerful conversaton continued upstairs in Te Manawanui, with a World CAFE.  Three questions to ponder, discuss, share... 

• Why are you here?  
• What are your current successes? 
• What are your current challenges???

Thanks to the inspiration of the MAGIC folks at #ignition, we followed this up with the 3 concepts or words to describe us, followed by our name as introductions.  Off downstairs for the SMACKDOWN and moving into various discussion groups - ipads, apps, daily5, CAFE, BYOD, mobile learning... 

Followed by yet another little bit of MAGIC for #educampdunners2012 shared onsite lunch!  Almost too good to be true - all gathered together, sharing food, conversations continuing....

As lunch was digesting we shared the pure MAGIC of speed-geeking, reflecting on, clarifying and sharing our tangible takeaways!

Hot on the heels of our speed geeking session was the MAGIC of connecting with our fellow educators at #educamptt The serendipity of two educamps at extreme ends of NZ could not pass without a connection.  This bought back such MAGICAL memories for me of my first educamp experience!  http://annekcam.blogspot.co.nz/2011/07/educamp-tai-tokerau.html  

Continuing the MAGIC, a further two discussion sessions... google docs, apps, my portfolio, Twitter and learning spaces...  Great to welcome so many newbies to the Twitisphere.... 

The conversations continued as we reflected on the MAGIC of the day...

What then, is the pure MAGIC of educamp?

Undoubtedly - it is the people, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata!

29 educators gathered from around New Zealand, across sectors... gathered to share, network, learn, inspire...

The MAGIC lies in the 'wisdom in the room' philosophy, the conversations are led, facilitated, inspired by passionate educators.... The MAGIC lies in the 'rule of two feet' - if you find yourself in a session that is not 'right' for you, move onto a session that is a better fit.  The MAGIC lies in the inspiration of spending time with like-minded educators... The MAGIC lies in the collaboration, the sharing the networking.  The MAGIC lies in the passion and power of sharing.  

Thanks to all involved in what really was a MAGIC day in a stimulating learning environment.  

I arrived home from a MAGICal day, to the serendipity of my postcard arriving in the mail from #ignition2012.  All thanks to Mark Osborne and the team at Albany Senior High for the MAGIC of #ignition and the sheer serendipity of this arriving today... Quite a profound co-incidence... or pure MAGIC - you decide....

I would love to hear what others feel is the MAGIC of the #educamp model....

ANZAC day MAGIC

I just have to blog before I go to sleep today...
This morning we baked four batches of ANZAC cookies in groups...

Yes, it was in our maths or numeracy slot and yes, authentic maths learning happened as the learners weighed and measured and counted.  The challenge offered now is to work to realise the actual cost of an individual biscuit.... A real challenge...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_P9H-8oviic8vEwrCGEOe52MdMJ3i_E6cJ1OfyNRVsE/edit
Then we packaged the biscuits individually for delivery to the RSA.

This is where the MAGIC really begun.  We walked to the local RSA carrying our individual devices, ipads, ipods, digital cameras and iphones.  As we toured the RSA, talked to the people, listened to the stories I was totally in AWE of the learners 'capturing' the story of ANZAC and war...

The story was 'captured'.  The learners were engaged, motivated, focused on capturing the story.  They now own the learning and have the experience to blog about and share.  The power of this learning really touched  me and made me realise just how important it is to embrace these opportunities....
I am in awe of the questions, reflections and family stories appearing on the blog and the wiki tonight...
As I have always believed, the technology does not control the learning, it enables learning.  The authenticity and ubiquity of this learning really is MAGIC!

The right gear...

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have 

gears we never use. 

--Charles M. Schulz 

This quote has really got me thinking... Returning to full-time teaching this year has been a real challenge.  I am absolutely loving the time in class, learning, growing, challenging, seeking and discovering with the learners.  The real challenge is everything else... The endless meetings, the paperwork, the compliance, the feeling that there is just never enough of me to go around...


Am I stuck in the wrong gear???  Am I trying to do the impossible? Did I really get in the right gear for a full-on term?  Reflection is an amazing tool.  Looking back on the term, I see deep shades of grey!  Week three and four I was very unwell, maybe I lost some of my immunity last year... Then I lost my sister-in-law and my Aunty. Then we had ERO.  I wonder now if I really got back into the right gear for the journey?  Teaching has a way of consuming you and overwhelming you.   Did I really take time to bounce back from illness and grieving.  The answer is NO - I really didn't.  I carried on in the vortex of term 1.  


I clearly remember listening to a presenter telling us to get off the teaching roller-coaster everyday - don't wait for the holidays... Although I heard these words and remember them clearly, I have not practiced them.  I have worked through the holidays catching up on readings, reflection and my inquiry for NAPP. 


Today I head to Auckland for two MAGIC days at Ignition , a MAGIC play day on Wednesday with two dear friends, and two days at the NAPP hui.  A full-on time ahead,  but a MAGIC  learning adventure I am really looking forward to!  This afternoon I am catching the ferry from Devonport and biking along the waterfront with a friend.


Just as I will make sure I am in the right gear to bike around to St Heliers this afternoon, I will reflect on being in the right gear for term 2.  I know that there will be some challenging times, but if I want to enjoy the 'ride' I must get in the right gear, use all my gears, and get off and enjoy a balance in my life...


I would really appreciate any ideas of how to maintain speed, keep in the right gear and have a balance in life...

Test, learn, teach

Yesterday, somewhere, on the MAGIC of Twitter I read a post along the lines of test, learn, teach!  It really spoke to me and today I witnessed MAGIC in my class.
We have completed all our standardised testing.  After marking and analysing the tests, I realised that the teaching was only just beginning.
I began this morning by carefully grouping my learners according to how they scored on Maths PAT.  In small groups they worked their way back through the PAT test.  Their brief was to discuss each question and come to agreement over the answer, teaching each other along the way.  I worked with a group but had to tear myself away to roam around and listen to the power of the conversations.  I was in awe of the discussion, the negotiation, the trial and error drawing, the persistence to get the correct answer.  I witnessed delight in working out where they were getting it right and where they had gone wrong.  I witnessed learners explaining problem solving approaches in a confident, easy-to-understand way.  I witnessed collaboration and persistence.
What I learnt today - Let the learners learn!  It would have been so easy for me to mark and file the PAT tests.  It would have been so easy for me to show the learners their results and file the PAT tests.  It would have been so easy for me to show the learners their results, then give them the answers so they could see where they need to work.
Today though, was pure magic, they own the learning of today.  Yes, of course we have lots of learning and teaching to go to reach our goals, but today was a gigantic step in the right direction.
We need to do a whole lot more testing, learning then teaching.

If I could link to and acknowledge you I would!


A request on Twitter:

Was answered by the wonderful @allanahk

...so I was able to find my way back to the original post that got me thinking...

...and so the power of the blog and twitter continue to intersect and challenge and extend and empower...

Thanks DK 


The learners are reflecting on this experience here...
http://stmarys-room6.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/reflection-on-our-pat-maths.html

Reading, learning and reflecting in the vln today!

I'm catching up on my reading for NAPP 2012 today.  I came across this quote and just had to share it!

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” 
― Lao Tzu

As I read and reflect today, I feel a blog post developing, so will be back soon.

Benefits of blogging...

As we extend our use of blogging in the classroom we need to reflect on the benefits..

Today at staff meeting we are going to reflect on the benefits we see and we will share these here soon!

Registered Teacher Criteria One

http://registeredteachercriteria.wikispaces.com/Criteria+one

Thanks to Kathleen Morris for sharing this insight:

http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2011/01/17/a-reflection-on-the-benefits-of-blogging/

As we share our learners writing we give an authentic audience, we involve extended whanau and community.  

Adding a label of tag to a post allows us to track our writers and ensure all contribute.  

Lack of immunity...

Today is only day 11 back in class with my wonderful learners and here I am home in bed.  I have a very sore throat, a bark of a cough, can't decide if I am freezing or burning up and I ache all over.  I am really surprised that I feel so unwell, so soon in the year.  Has the year off softened me?  Have I not been exposed to enough germs to have developed immunity?  Is it the sheer shock of being back at the coalface?  I am absolutely loving every moment working with my class.  We are really setting up for an AMAZING year of learning.  I am absolutely NOT ENJOYING the sheer volume of meetings and paperwork, that I am really struggling to see making a direct impact on the child's learning.  Have I become cynical?  I am really concerned that I do not have the balance right... Maybe I am being too hard on myself, because it is only week three.  My focus is firmly set on an AMAZING experience for my learners.  Am I being unrealistic?  My head is a jumble of thoughts as I try to get it all in perspective...

Daily 5 in action...

Last year I visited Amanda at Summerland Primary School in Auckland.  I was fascinated with the literacy programme she was running and have spent considerable time becoming familiar with Daily5 and CAFE.  I am soooooo convinced that the programme will help learners with all aspects of literacy and will make it possible to teach to the learners need.  A key component of the programme is reading mileage - reading more everyday.  To make this possible all learners today were given their literacy kit, or learning lunchbox as one excited learner called them.  With this kit, learners are prepared for reading to self, reading to someone (reading buddy or teacher), listening to reading (reading buddy or online), writing, or vocabulary/sounds alive work.  The readers have a range of reading material and 'work in progress' in their kits.  A really exciting moment was when we set up our individual learning zones so we are now ready for the movement of some desks to bring in collaborative tables and learning spaces.
As I was working with a group I glanced up to see the class in action.  I had tears of joy as I saw motivated, engaged, focused learners working in and around the class.  I sent a couple of learners of with cameras to record what they saw. These photos give an idea of the exciting learning in action.

There are so many places around the class where we can read with our buddy.  The important part is EEKK, we are reading elbow to elbow, knee to knee, so we can really focus and share our reading.


There are many learning spaces for working on our writing or sounds alive.  It is soooo exciting to see our learners trying many different learning spaces and working out which ones work well for each learning session.   I even saw learners listening to a CD in the cave and writers writing at the 'writing desk'.  I will try to get someone to take photos of these tomorrow.

I think the most exciting of all was to see how easy it will be for us to spend our time on learning, not searching, organising or being distracted!  We have now set up our learning space to have our individual workzone - with our bags now stored in the back room.  EXCITING!  I can't wait for the sessions tomorrow to tell and show you more about it!

A message to all the learners in Room 6!  I am sooooo excited about the development of our learning spaces.  And I am so in awe of your enthusiasm and excitement for our learning.  YAY!

I reflection for me: take my time; reflect on the successes of today with the learners; discuss challenges; work slowly towards the development of the next phase of learning spaces!

CELEBRATE the success!!!

Meeting the families

Tonight was AMAZING!  My scheduled time to meet with the families was 7.15 to 7.30 but of course it went for a lot longer. I was delighted to see such a huge turnout!  I was even more delighted to share my presentation then let the discussion evolve.  What wonderful challenges, questions, discussion, ideas!  I think it is invaluable to keep everyone as informed as possible and this is even more crucial during times of change.  Our learning space journey and our BYOD option is really creating discussion, question and enthusiasm.  We don't have all the answers yet.  We are very excited to be trialing lots of innovative, collaborative learning opportunities.  Our next move is to get our student wireless network up and running.  We are discussing a school wide meeting with families to look at our technological short and long term plan.  The next steps for me are to move towards a blended learning environment on the wiki and blog.  Our wiki is now our communication point to parents through our 'notices' page.  I have already had very favourable feedback from families with this ease of information sourcing.

Blur the line between work and play...

I just had to post this quote...

The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. --
Arnold Toynbee 

I will reflect on it after a day out at the beach....