While I was at the hair dressers this week I came across this very interesting article exploring the issue of 'oversharenting'. Oversharenting is parents sharing details about their children using social media. How much is too much? I have been thinking a lot about this lately. This article is great food for thought.
Click here to read the article
Saturday, 26 April 2014
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship has become a topic we touch on every day in our class because our programme revolves around the use of Google Apps.
We are making it a priority in our staff meetings also to get teachers continuously thinking about not only digital citizenship with their students and also their own personal digital citizenship as adults. Interesting rich discussions have taken place around this topic but there is far more to explore and dive into.
Further to this, I was involved in a thought provoking thread in a mummy's Facebook group I am part of. The discussion revolved around what photos parents post of their children. Some people felt it was fine to share all photos including toilet training, nappy rashes, bath time etc and others (including myself) feel that some consideration is needed as our little people don't yet have a say about what we are posting about them.
I found this picture on-line which illustrates the point really well.
I am constantly thinking about this in regards to the photos I and others post of my daughter on Facebook. She isn't able to tell me what she is OK with me sharing about her. When I was little, all Mum and Dad had were photo albums. Embarrassing photos were only ever shared with people who came over to see the albums. The photos were no where near as accessible as they are today. With a few clicks on the computer photos can now be uploaded into the digital world and are there forever.
So what sort of digital citizen are you being? What information are you sharing with the world? What is the reason for the sharing? Who can see your personal stuff? What are you privacy settings?
Saturday, 12 April 2014
Don't want to go back - and don't think I could!
After visiting Selwyn College on Thursday, I left feeling great about the work we are doing to improve writing using Google Apps for Education. As I started to reflect, I realised that Google Apps has not only changed the way I organise and teach my class, it has also changed the way I plan and organise myself. This lead me to thinking - I don't want to go back to how I did things before and I don't think I could!
Planning is easier! I have a planning template with all the stuff that doesn't change week to week and then I simply just 'make a copy' of the plan and add in the current weeks details. Everything saves automatically and I can access it no matter what computer I am on as long as there is an internet connection. I am able to check in on children's work and give feedback and feed forward and see what learning I need to address - informing my planning. I have shifted all of my diary onto Google calendars so that I am no longer bound to having to have a paper version of my events. I can also share dates with the children in my class so they can see what is going on in the year.
Children are more involved in class as well as at home. I am getting documents shared with me that are above and beyond what we are doing in the classroom. Some children are writing just because they want to write. Some children are emailing me photos of hobbies they do or they are adding it straight to their blogs and writing about them.
Again, everything saves automatically!!! No lost work, time or effort - it just makes sense! My students are accountable for the work they are producing. They share documents with each other and use the comment feature to give feedback or feed forward. Things are more seamless because everyone has a Google account. Logging into new apps and websites supported by Google is a breeze. Children don't end up needing to remember password after password.
I am hooked on Google and looking forward to what else we can achieve this year using it.
Planning is easier! I have a planning template with all the stuff that doesn't change week to week and then I simply just 'make a copy' of the plan and add in the current weeks details. Everything saves automatically and I can access it no matter what computer I am on as long as there is an internet connection. I am able to check in on children's work and give feedback and feed forward and see what learning I need to address - informing my planning. I have shifted all of my diary onto Google calendars so that I am no longer bound to having to have a paper version of my events. I can also share dates with the children in my class so they can see what is going on in the year.
Children are more involved in class as well as at home. I am getting documents shared with me that are above and beyond what we are doing in the classroom. Some children are writing just because they want to write. Some children are emailing me photos of hobbies they do or they are adding it straight to their blogs and writing about them.
Again, everything saves automatically!!! No lost work, time or effort - it just makes sense! My students are accountable for the work they are producing. They share documents with each other and use the comment feature to give feedback or feed forward. Things are more seamless because everyone has a Google account. Logging into new apps and websites supported by Google is a breeze. Children don't end up needing to remember password after password.
I am hooked on Google and looking forward to what else we can achieve this year using it.
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Professional Development at Selwyn College
My colleague and I had the opportunity to go to Selwyn College to see how their e-learning journey has gone over the last 5 years. It is always great to get out of your own classroom box to see what others out there are doing.
We were particularly interested in going to Selwyn College because they started their Google Apps for Education journey last year. It was great seeing older children using the tools that my colleague and I are introducing to the children in our primary classes. It was also great being able to talk to other teachers about their experiences and ideas and sharing our own.
I think it is important to try and do things like this more often and I will endeavour to try to seek more experiences like this in the future. The kids in my class loved hearing about my visit too.
We were particularly interested in going to Selwyn College because they started their Google Apps for Education journey last year. It was great seeing older children using the tools that my colleague and I are introducing to the children in our primary classes. It was also great being able to talk to other teachers about their experiences and ideas and sharing our own.
I think it is important to try and do things like this more often and I will endeavour to try to seek more experiences like this in the future. The kids in my class loved hearing about my visit too.
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Writing Parody Songs
I love how ideas grow.
Some boys in my class had an idea of writing a parody song using 'like a drum' (a song we have been singing) and it would be called 'like my Mum'. I think it just started as a joke idea really but we ran with it. We have now written lyrics, sung it as a class and recorded it. We want to then make a music video and then burn it to a cd/dvd. Hopefully it will be a very special surprise for the mother figures in our lives.
These boys are so happy with how this song has turned out so far - they are inspired to write more song parodies. So watch this space! It might even get posted on this or our class blog!
Some boys in my class had an idea of writing a parody song using 'like a drum' (a song we have been singing) and it would be called 'like my Mum'. I think it just started as a joke idea really but we ran with it. We have now written lyrics, sung it as a class and recorded it. We want to then make a music video and then burn it to a cd/dvd. Hopefully it will be a very special surprise for the mother figures in our lives.
These boys are so happy with how this song has turned out so far - they are inspired to write more song parodies. So watch this space! It might even get posted on this or our class blog!
Manventure Update
So as I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the writing clubs in my class is called 'Manventure'. I was really pleased with a conversation I had with one of my students parents where she mentioned that she is really blown away by the motivation 'Manventure' is creating with the boys. She made a comment that has stayed with me - It's almost like the process of this Manventre thing is more important than the actual end product. This is so true. All of the conversations and engagement in the writing process has been fantastic. These boys are showing other kids their age that writing is cool and that both boys and girls can enjoy it.
Another great thing to come out of this has been a recent birthday present one of the boys received this week from his 'Manventure' crew - a t-shirt with the groups name on it. This young man got others printed too and decided to give one to a friend (pictured below).
Engagement, motivation, unity and teamwork in the area of Written Language.
I am sure this idea is going to continue to grow.
Regardless on the final result - I am happy with what these young men are getting out of the journey .
Another great thing to come out of this has been a recent birthday present one of the boys received this week from his 'Manventure' crew - a t-shirt with the groups name on it. This young man got others printed too and decided to give one to a friend (pictured below).
Engagement, motivation, unity and teamwork in the area of Written Language.
I am sure this idea is going to continue to grow.
Regardless on the final result - I am happy with what these young men are getting out of the journey .
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Handwriting Versus Typing
Please bear with me a little - these are just my thoughts at the moment and some food for thought...
I have taught many children in my almost 9 years as a teacher and I often come across children who find writing physically difficult. They complain that their hand hurts or that it takes too long. Often in my experience I have found that these children don't lack the ideas or creativity to write amazing stories however the ideas they do have come thick and fast and the pencil just can not keep up. By the time the first word is written down on paper - the story is finished inside their head and it just seems mundane to go back and write the words down. It is true that other tools such as mind mapping or voice recording are other options to capture these children's writing however is there a place for teaching young children to touch type?
The skills that have helped me not only in my own university schooling but in my career as a teacher have been the skills learnt during the I.T lessons at college. We learnt how to use Word, Powerpoint and Excel as well as how to touch type and even a little bit of game making. Of course this was in the early stages of computers being in schools however these skills have served me well so far in life. I wonder what my parents thought at the time of me being in the I.T class. Did they think typing skills, using Microsoft programmes or game making would have any impact on my future success? Or did they think it was just a fun and light option to take? It is a fact that we are teaching students now for jobs that may not even be invented yet. I think it is not the actual tool but the thought process behind it that is important. Although I learnt to use Word, Powerpoint and Excel I have been able to transfer that learning into using other programmes that came out later on.
So this brings me to reflect on teaching children skills such as touch typing in today's world. Is handwriting important? Does there need to be a balance? We need to keep in mind that our students still live in a world where they still sit exams in college where they have to write essays and answer questions. This handwriting needs to be legible in order to get marks but does this mean we push these children to write rows and rows of certain letters in order to get the formation right by the time they get to Year 4? Another thought is that without touch typing training, students could be in the same boat as slow handwriting because they will be just as slow with trying to find the keys to type the words.
I have often had these questions in previous years of teaching but because my class is working so heavily with Google Apps this year, I feel that I will be able to measure the impact of teaching touch typing a lot easier. Therefore I have introduced my children to Dance Mat Typing on-line as a starting point. Each child has been given a particular day where instead of doing SSR for 10 minutes after morning tea and lunch time - they go onto the typing programme and practice their typing skills. I will be interested to see how quickly this increases my children's speed at typing and I am also interested in seeing the flow on effect of its assistance with writing stories in written language. Perhaps I could test students on how many words they can hand write in a minute and then compare that to how many words they can type in the same amount of time? And maybe I need to look into signing my students up for a free on-line typing programme where they log in and it records their results?
The more I read about this topic, the more I learn that it is around the Year 4 age that children can cope with learning to touch type - with both co-ordination and hand span. I look forward to seeing what will come of this over the last few weeks of Term 1. I will update you with reflections as I go.
I have taught many children in my almost 9 years as a teacher and I often come across children who find writing physically difficult. They complain that their hand hurts or that it takes too long. Often in my experience I have found that these children don't lack the ideas or creativity to write amazing stories however the ideas they do have come thick and fast and the pencil just can not keep up. By the time the first word is written down on paper - the story is finished inside their head and it just seems mundane to go back and write the words down. It is true that other tools such as mind mapping or voice recording are other options to capture these children's writing however is there a place for teaching young children to touch type?
The skills that have helped me not only in my own university schooling but in my career as a teacher have been the skills learnt during the I.T lessons at college. We learnt how to use Word, Powerpoint and Excel as well as how to touch type and even a little bit of game making. Of course this was in the early stages of computers being in schools however these skills have served me well so far in life. I wonder what my parents thought at the time of me being in the I.T class. Did they think typing skills, using Microsoft programmes or game making would have any impact on my future success? Or did they think it was just a fun and light option to take? It is a fact that we are teaching students now for jobs that may not even be invented yet. I think it is not the actual tool but the thought process behind it that is important. Although I learnt to use Word, Powerpoint and Excel I have been able to transfer that learning into using other programmes that came out later on.
So this brings me to reflect on teaching children skills such as touch typing in today's world. Is handwriting important? Does there need to be a balance? We need to keep in mind that our students still live in a world where they still sit exams in college where they have to write essays and answer questions. This handwriting needs to be legible in order to get marks but does this mean we push these children to write rows and rows of certain letters in order to get the formation right by the time they get to Year 4? Another thought is that without touch typing training, students could be in the same boat as slow handwriting because they will be just as slow with trying to find the keys to type the words.
I have often had these questions in previous years of teaching but because my class is working so heavily with Google Apps this year, I feel that I will be able to measure the impact of teaching touch typing a lot easier. Therefore I have introduced my children to Dance Mat Typing on-line as a starting point. Each child has been given a particular day where instead of doing SSR for 10 minutes after morning tea and lunch time - they go onto the typing programme and practice their typing skills. I will be interested to see how quickly this increases my children's speed at typing and I am also interested in seeing the flow on effect of its assistance with writing stories in written language. Perhaps I could test students on how many words they can hand write in a minute and then compare that to how many words they can type in the same amount of time? And maybe I need to look into signing my students up for a free on-line typing programme where they log in and it records their results?
The more I read about this topic, the more I learn that it is around the Year 4 age that children can cope with learning to touch type - with both co-ordination and hand span. I look forward to seeing what will come of this over the last few weeks of Term 1. I will update you with reflections as I go.
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