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5 reasons why education needs to go back to school.

1 - A large % of a degree is spent online.

2 - 'Effective' workspaces are not in rows and do not have bells.

3 - University entrance exams will be done online.

4 - Gen Y are inclined to 'watch' over 'read'.

5 - We now 'pull in' the information we want to learn, instead of having it 'pushed' onto us.

Let go and just watch

This afternoon I had one of those magical teaching moments, only difference… it was at a family function!

My 2yr old niece was lazing about on her mum after the usual ‘very filling’ meal. She then found her mum’s Iphone and got to work on one her older sibling’s games.

She then came and sat on my wife's lap and I sat there amazed, watching this 2yr old, control the game with her little fingers, as we held the phone!

What did I have to do… just hold back from ‘helping’ aka interfering with her learning.

I know there are times to assist students, but there are also times to monitor, facilitate and just observe!

math / e / mat / ics ~ phase 1

The Aim: The teaching and learning of Stage 3 Mathematics to be taught with relevance to each student.

Process:

~ Students watch a variety of pre-learners on the upcoming topic via the school’s portal at home.

~ Following day each student completes 3 questions (of varying difficulty).

~ The question the student gets incorrect refers them to the specfic workshop they are to attend to develop their knowledge in that specific problem.

~ The students that get all 3 questions correct are allowed to sit that week’s assessment. If they achieve a 100% in that assessment they are given ‘challenge tasks’ that are found on the school’s portal.

Result:

~ Less streaming = higher motivation

~ Making the most of each minute. Through finding each student’s strength / weakness, they are not sitting through understood concepts.

It takes a village to raise a child

To start the 2013 our Principal, Stephen Harris asked staff to email or phone their class parents /students to further develop the school’s sense of community.

Following my email, the response from both parents and students was one of immense gratitude and warmth.

A simple email, that was it. It may have taken time to send it individually to each family. However weigh that against the overwhelming joy that brought, and there is one clear winner.

A blank EDcanvas

A few weeks ago a colleague introduced Edcanvas to me. Once aware of its capabilities, it reminded me of a childhood memory, my 'Sensory Box'. A box I filled with a mix of special items.

This inspired me to in our upcoming numeracy program.

Instead of ordering/catagorizing our resources, pictures, videos, games to do with the topic were thrown onto to 'canvas' (with instruction).

This has enabled extension and remedial resources to be added into teaching without any obvious segregation.

Edcanvas, give it a go.

Are you an anchor in the sand?

Teaching methods and styles are changing. However, how much has the structure of management changed? Have we created static management systems?

To quote Stephen Harris , are you an anchor just sitting in the sand? Are you static? Worse yet, are you an anchor with barnacles?

Leadership... You know that thing you do with your ears?

Is it just someone with a bunch of good ideas?

Someone who can speak over others?

I read an interesting article, 'Toxic Leadership', that highlighted the importance of a leader that listens, you know that thing you do with your ears?

Through listening to others, you earn both respect and trust.

Time is on my side?

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn

- Philiosophies of teaching

- Child Pyschology

- Mathamatics 1, 2 and 3

These were just some of the subjects we are taught at University. Important, don't get me wrong, But as I travel through my teaching journey, how important a skill is time management to a teacher? Should it be pushed more in the education of teachers?

Talking: Are we setting a false precedent?

Yesterday for a maths lesson I wrote up a range of activities and stuck them up around our learning space.

As time progressed, the noise grew and grew and I found myself having an inner-battle, do I ask students to be quite or not? Some conversion was to do with the topic, other was not.

Is that a bad thing? When I am working well I will often have a quick conversion with a colleague. I cannot think of a time in life where I have had to sit quietly and just work; so why do we force that on students?

A Day Made of Glass 2: Unpacked. What an exciting video... all up until the classroom! (4 min 50sec) I do not mean to be come across negative. However, I do find it interesting with ALL that technology, students are still in rows watching a teacher out the front?

A clear reminder that innovative technology does not equal innovative teaching.

Online vs Classroom Teaching, no debate really?

I recently stumbled across an interesting article "Online Learning, the Ruin of Education". I expected a few comments voting one way or the other. But instead one common thread appeared, and I think Stephen Harris founder and director of SCIL (Sydney Centre for Innovation and Learning) summed it all up,

Part of the work of SCIL us to explore/demonstrate that online learning done well can be equal to or better than f2f. Just as with f2f there are good teachers & poor teachers. So too online.

I believe that the true potential of online learning is being reached through organisations such as SCIL. However at the core of its success lies good teaching by good teachers.

Gamification

"The use of game design techniques, game thinking, and game mechanics to enhance a non-game context." Wikipedia

During a maths lesson last week a fellow teacher implemented a range of games to help teach 'Time' to Stage 3 students. The games were creative, and hands on, nothing big or grand .... and that's just the point!

Gamification it can be done on both a large or small scale, either way it will enhance student interest (and outcomes).

Imagine creating, the 'How?'

Berndnaut Smilde created the 'cloud in the room' project, where he has somehow created and suspended this cloud. Imagine the amount of thought, attempts and knock-backs that went into creating this?

I want to create that same risk-taking approach to my students.

Do you like adventure? Do you have ideas? Do you like change? Do you want to impact a nation in the most positive of ways? Watch this.

I first saw this video on Sir Ken Robinson's website. What can happen when you give students from around the world a technological platform? It is innovation such as this, that can bridge the gap and equip students for the world in which we live in.

A World of Dots rewarding a new World of Students

In The Zone work space at NBCS we have (lead by Lou Deibe) been inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama's World of Dots. Throughout the year students will be rewarded with stickers which they can placer anywhere in the World of Dots. This evolving artwork is already proving to be a major success.

"If you are not prepared to ever be wrong, you are not going to come up with anything original".

- Sir Ken Robinson

There is nothing bad about getting anything wrong! So let's not stigmatize mistakes; and let kids have a chance.

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