VISUAL SEARCH ENGINES

Wanted: A visual search engine
Missing: Searchme (seems it has been lost in action)
Came across: Viewzi.
Wondering: What are other teachers/students are using?
Reasoning: Our kids are such visual learners we need search tools whihc cater to this. Search me was great. It was handy to be able to create stacks.

PHOTOPEACH

Tonight I stumbled across Kevin McLaughlin's blog Steps in Teaching and Learning. Amongst other gems, Kevin shared the work he and his children have been doing with Photopeach. What fun!!

Quick and easy to use, I liked the fact that the slideshow is fully editable. You can go back and add more photos, rearrange and edit them, add and alter captions and music, and control the speed etc. I didn;t try out the quiz option but will when I find the need. Time now to add this little gem to our digital story telling list on the cluster wiki. Thanks Kevin!

HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

EASI SPEAK MICROPHONES

What a great little tool! I first came across the easispeak microphones during the Learning At School 09 conference in February where Garry introduced me to it at the Sitech stand. A purchase soon followed and I have continued to be delighted at the ease of use and possibilities uncovered in capturing sound files.

The first time I used it was to capture student voice. Passing the microphone over to the group, the children worked out very quickly how it worked. Other than showing them where the on/off switch was, no further instructions were needed. The portability, independence and ability to record, replay, add to and delete are great options. The 7 & 8 year old students were delighted to work all this out and then teach me.

One of the group, Andrew was a reticent speaker. He tended to hold back, leaving the talking to others. He had a lot to contribute but found it difficult to organise his thoughts and have them flow into the conversation. Passing the microphone around the group really illustrated the impact. Students recorded, palyed back, assessed and moved on. You could see the group rehearsing, analysing and thinking! When it came to Andrew's turn he took his time. People waited. Andrew's eyes were closed as he rehearsed, thought quielty and then aloud before he turned on the record button. He recorded, pressed play, listened, repeated the recording adding and clarifying and then passed on the microphone when he was happy.

The other problem, now eliminated when capturing any student voice, has been background noise. A microphone attached to a computer has to cope with whatever else is happening within the room and as you know this is not always conducive to great recording conditions! The independence, ease of use and portability of the easispeak solves this issue.

The microphone has impacted to improve these situations straight away.
- We can take the microphone with us where ever we go - on our walks, on class trips or to a quiet space when we need to record.
- The ability to rehearse, play back, delete and redo adds to content and clarity.
- Passing the microphone easily from one person to the next and having the users hold it in our own hands allows us all to predict our turn and prepare, increases ownership and responsibility, and improves participation and contribution.

Once the recordings were done, the black cap was removed to show the USB connection and voila! in a very short time the podcasts were uploaded and inserted via the computer. What a great little tool. So simple, versatile and transeferrable!

The microphones are now being used in all our cluster schools. They are being used -
- By both teachers and students to capture reflections on their learning.
- By students to record and playback their writing.
- In the process of transforming narrative writing into plays, cartoons, animations and movies
- To record student questions
- As a record of oral language
- By staff and students as they record interviews with visiting speakers, experts
- By students to record their times tables
- On class walks and trips to capture special places, sounds and observations. e.g. Hamilton Zoo

We are only limited by our imaginations. How else is this tool being used to enhance learning for you or your students?

VoiceThread: Building Collaborative, Community Oriented Learning Environments from Michelle Pacansky-Brock on Vimeo.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANDRAGOGY & PEDAGOGY?

I find this table (below) very interesting, particularly the "permanence of learning" row. I know what I am striving for... and it does seem to reinforce my previous postings. Is pedagogy a blst from the past and should it stay there?

From http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/andragogy/index.htm

	Andragogy	Pedagogy
Demands of learning	Learner must balance life responsibilities with the demands of learning.	Learner can devote more time to the demands of learning because responsibilities are minimal.
Role of instructor	Learners are autonomous and self directed. Teachers guide the learners to their own knowledge rather than supplying them with facts.	Learners rely on the instructor to direct the learning. Fact based lecturing is often the mode of knowledge transmission.
Life experiences	Learners have a tremendous amount of life experiences. They need to connect the learning to their knowledge base. They must recognize the value of the learning.	Learners are building a knowledge base and must be shown how their life experiences connect with the present learning.
Purpose for learning	Learners are goal oriented and know for what purpose they are learning new information	Learners often see no reason for taking a particular course. They just know they have to learn the information.
Permanence of learning	Learning is self-initiated and tends to last a long time.	Learning is compulsory and tends to disappear shortly after instruction.

30+ WAYS TO USE WORDLE IN THE CLASSROOM

Thanks to Tom Barrett for this link sharing a multitude of interesting ways that wordle can be used in the classroom.

Mel's idea was a brilliant one too. Parent feedback to a survey was entered into Wordle and the display was really informative and showed direct links ot the school vision for learnning. What a clever cookie!

I wonder how others are using it...

XTRANORMAL - A GREAT DIGITAL STORY TELLING TOOL

Wow Wow Wee!!! Thanks to Twitter I've linked to this great tool. It is still in its beta site and because of this free at this stage.

Watch the video below and see why I'm excited.

Make your own mini-movie using avatars in four easy steps and all for free.

XtraNormal - great for creative writing, sequencing, structure and just having fun. Have students create their own show complete with camera angles and attitude. Story board first is a recommendation.

Don't let the kids have all the fun - go on in and make one to show them too. You'll have fun!

Visit xtranormal.com
I'm off to add it to the Digital Story Telling Page on our RELLco wiki Shows how helpful a tweet can be.

ADDING VIDEO TO BLOGGER ARTICLES:

Locate the video you want to add from the www video site it is stored on e.g. YouTube, Teacher Tube etc.

You should see a box referring to Embed: with html text in it

Copy all the html, the embed code offered within the Embed: box

1. Login to blogger with your ID.


2. Click New Posting.


3. Choose Edit Html tab (up by the Compose tab)


4. Move the cursor to where you want the code to appear and paste the embed code.
   
   
5. If you want a line break between this and the next line of text add where you want the break to appear
   


6. Click Publish Post button


7. Done. Please see the results

View your blog. Don't forget to refresh your page if it was opened before publishing.

TWITTERING SATURDAY

A wet ANZAC day in the Bay spent watching out for Marty at ANZAC Cove, Turkey via the TV coverage. No sign so far. However while watching I have enjoyed twittering around, catching up with my facebook, emails etc. Have enjoyed the time talking with people and catching up on their news etc. This brings me to some musings about Twitter...

A while ago I blogged about this social networking tool, querying its worth in my overflowing life. Then at a couple of conferences last year I found it invaluable. To sit in a room and listen to a speaker with no interaction is hard for me now and it doesn't have anything to do with getting old! It is about being able to interact with my thinking. Where people would have whispered and talked, disturbing others in the past, I can now twitter. This allows me to have my questions asked - and answered, hear what others are twittering in the same space, expose myself to new links and thinkings etc and come back to them all later when more in depth follow up is possible.

I found this video on YouTube and am still smiling. I guess it is about us as users. It is about us using the tool to meet our individual needs. Thank goodness I don't have an addictive personality... but then perhaps I wonder, have I??

Enjoy:



If you want to find out more about twitter:



If you want to join: http://twitter.com

If you want to meet me there: http://twitter.com/lwatchorn

IS THERE STILL A PLACE FOR PEDAGOGY?

The thought just wont go away! Last June I blogged about the place of pedagogy as opposed to andragogy (Knowles…)within a 21st century learning environment. The article focused around the pondering: Is it a case of only one (pedagogy as it is seen to apply specifically to children) or andragogy within the classroom?
I am still wondering....

Should we be examining a learning theory in light of the learning rather than the age of the people involved? My current leaning is more and more towards the principles of andragogy rather than pedagogy in a child centred classroom.

Two Definitions of Pedagogy From A Google Search:

o "Pedagogy , or paedagogy is the art or science of being a teacher. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction."
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy

o "An educational approach characterized by teacher-centredness. The teacher is viewed as an authority figure and students are not generally involved in decisions/actions in regard to learning. Related concepts include: directed learning."
From: www.nald.ca/adultlearningcourse/glossary.htm:


I understand the word pedagogy comes from the ancient Greek paidagogos, the slave who took little boys to and from school as part of paideia. The word "paidia" (παιδιά) refers to children, which I guess is why people make the distinction between pedagogy (teaching children) and andragogy (teaching adults).


Two Definitions of Androgogy:

o "Andragogy is the process of engaging adult learners in the structure of the learning experience."
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy

o "an educational approach characterized by learner-centredness (ie, the student's needs and wants are central to the process of teaching), self ..."
www.nald.ca/adultlearningcourse/glossary.htm


Aha! Perhaps the later definition is the key.


I am at the Art of Facilitation Course run by Joan Dalton and David Anderson. A poster displayed on the wall has caused me to reflect on my thinking and how it may have progressed since my June 08 article. I am feeling more and more that I lean towards pedagogy either needing to be revamped or trashed altogether. Wow! Now, this statement is a risk, a dramatic concept for me to publicly declare! As I do this, I wonder about the ramifications. Hmmm, I'll risk it.

The poster refers to the assertion that adults need:
- to be involved in planning and evaluating their instruction
- to use experience as the basis for learning activities
- to learn what has immediate relevance to their jobs/personal lives
- problem-centred learning rather than content-oriented learning.

Isn't this what we do and want for our classrooms? Why should the adults have all the fun?

Have a look at this link. Which on the list does not apply in a 21st C Classroom?

What am I missing?? I'd love some feedback and to have my thinking challenged.

Has the time come for pedagogy to be discarded and replaced with another term which encompasses all learners, recognising their cognitive ability rather than age?

What is informing our current practice and assisting us as we travel towards our vision for learning?

Pedagogy?

......Should it be?

SLANZA 2009

I spent yesterday with a wonderful group of people involved in school libraries, all keen to find out about this "new Web2 phenomenon". And did we have fun!! All created either a wiki or a blog and most did both! Hosted at Otumoetai College in their library and suite (for the hands on) we dived right on in. If you want to find out more, check out the SLANZA wiki which was set up last year for a similar foray. It is always so nice to work with Linda and thank you for organising it all. I was just able to turn up and have fun which I sure did!

I'm in Hamilton now and loving this weather!!

INSPIRATION IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

Here I am at Owhata School and loving it! I always feel so inspired when talking to Trish. The learning focus she has is wonderful!! I love listening to the enthusiasm and passion, Trish's reflections and ponderings as she shares her progress with her Junior class. I just can't get enough!!!! Trish is going to become a blogger too so others will get to feel inspired along with me which is great news. I'll post Trish's URL up here when we get going.... so watch this space!

WHO WANTS TO BE MARY?

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:

Interesting isn't it how the technologies we use have the power to change us as users. Reminds me of the first ATM machines that were put inside the banks, alongside the tellers, available only as much as the human versions were. It took a while for the thinking to alter and the new ways of doing things to occur.

Similarly I wonder about the tools as I consider options for sharing e-portfolios. Google Docs has such potential and again I ponder how these tools may alter what we do now. My thinking then meandered on to consultation over the school curriculum ( I really must learn to sleep at night) and I came across Dr Cheryl Doig's work in this area. She talks about our schools perception around engaging with our communities. Check out Cheryl's voice thread on the subject

I remember years ago a high school my children went to engaged us as parents in a community consultation meeting. Not much consultation and very little opportuntiy for engagement. Made me think - not about what was presented but how they could even consider this "community consultation and engagement". It was simply a Show and Tell. How many schools still see this as consultation, I wonder. What does that form of consultation tell us about what the school values?

What is the role of the school in reporting to parents .... ?

- informing (one way conversation, school decides),

- consulting aka "selling" (two way relationship, school decides),

- involving - (discuss, school decides),

- collaborating - (school and community decide together),

- empowering - (trust based relationships, joint discussions and decisionmakers)

PODCASTING TOOL:

Just discovered a nice new podcasting site - one which hosts your podcasts and prepares them for embedding into other web 2.0 applications.


I love it - it seems so simple, so clear in its processes. So much easier than some I have worked with (podcasts that is!:-)

Check it out: Podbean.com

"Education is not the filling of a vessel, but the kindling of a flame." - Socrates

LEADING STUDENTS TO AUTHORSHIP:

Thank you Mark for the invitation to blend in at the Nga Tii Roa cluster’s TO day. (Yeah I can hear the "Lorraine - blend???" comments. :-) I have long wanted to participate in one of Gail Loane’s workshops, ever since the 1990s when I heard Julie share her student’s writing following such a course. Today I found out why.

It is interesting to reflect on the successful strategies promoted to support authorship. I can see why I felt such a buzz. It links so much to what I believe, to what I do in my work.

21^st C Learning – Rich, Real, Relevant

We can’t give children rich lives, but we can give the, the lens to appreciate the richness that is already there.

~ Lucy Caulkins

Value the real, getting kids to see what is there, learning to look closely, to describe, share, to write what they see, feel and do and not what they think their teachers want them to write. To empower students. Their writings, their views, their reflection of their lives, are valuable.

“If nothing happens for the writer, nothing happens for the reader”

~ Gail Loane

e.g. Do sentence starters help make things happen for the writer? What do these contrived starters say about our beliefs as teachers? Is it perhaps that we believe students have little or nothing to write about unless we prompt them with a narrow sentence starter? If we start the story, who owns it? We saw examples of thin narrative. We want to engage in rich experiences, rich writing, rich authorship, rich narrative.

How many of us will begin our school year asking students to engage in a recount? How could this be made so much more interesting? Gail shared with us a poem by J.K. Baxter which began: “The town was usual enough: it had….” It was here we began. Rather than the usual recount we looked at what response this poem engendered for us. Did it trigger a memory, a visualisation? Any unfamiliar words? Emotional engagement? How were the words broken up? What effect did this have? Why did Baxter do it this way? What are the clues that tell us this was a small town… or being hot….

What if we replaced the word, “town”? By deconstructing Baxter’s poem we unpack the keys to this successful piece of writing. Once done it allows us to make our own reconstruction….

Inspired by James Kay Baxter’s poem & Gail Loane’s passionate facilitation –

The ditch was usual enough; it had

A dip, sheltering trees, the soft earth, pine needles

Covering the hollow at the end of our

Street. Seldom visited. My sisters, neighbours and I

Dug down, hidden from adult

Eyes with matches and stolen cigarettes

Dad’s pipe, sucked sharply, breathing

Life into the curl of charred tobacco

Scorched resin, soft earth, our secret place

A Sunday Afternoon.

~ Lorraine Watchorn

Just bought the book "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech from Fishpond. Love It!!! It tells the story of a Jack who doesn't care too much for poetry, his teacher, Jacks learning reflections and his dog.

VOICETHREAD & SOLO

At Ulearn'08 on a beautiful Christchurch day. First Breakout with Marnie Thomas looking the use of SOLO with a Yr 2 class. Now a time to play, along with Rachel from Kapiti Coast, a handson explore with Voice Thread