Sir Ken Robinson - A Gem

Times of inspiration

There are times when we remember why we advocate the use of technology. This youngster has had his own battle to fight in his his short life. We made his learning just that bit more fun recently with the use of some modern technology. Go the iPad.





I especially love the display of achievement at the end.
Well done Noah.

2010 - Hmm where am I now?

I may be slow but I'm rough . . . that saying brings back fond memories of a time when getting paid for an honest days work was the highlight of my life.

Now I find myself motivated by the job . . . and the pay is secondary.

After a sojourn from writing and teaching I return to the scene of the crime (so to speak) and I find myself back at the chalk face. I wonder why I ever left, teaching is the spark that ignites my fire.

Enough waxing lyrical. Let's get down to the nuts and bolts.

Whats happened since my last posting?

• Floppy discs - what are they?
• 250mb memory sticks - bahh try 20Gig
• We skipped through gigabyte and landed right in terabyte (1000 Gig) hard drives
  
• Tablets were the future - where was I? iTouch and iPad are the present
• Lost in Space type interactive polymer screens are no longer only seen in the movies
• Actors have been replaced by CGI and not only that, 3D now actually works
• Everyone has a cell phone and they are being used as a teaching tool
• The hybrid car is off the drawing board and in the garage (apart form the ones recalled cos they got the braky-stoppy thing wrong)
• Everyone got a Facebook account and spends too much time tending virtual gardens and farms
• Moore's Law has been revised in accordance with Moore's Law to the point its like looking into a picture of someone looking into a picture of someone looking into a picture . . . you get the point.
• To "google" something is now a verb
  

and the big one has to be . . . technology is now only worth having if its intuitive and doesn't need a manual.

Which brings me back to why I decided to start writing again. The integration of ICT throughout the curriculum is now more important than ever. 60% of the population have Broadband (according to some survey thing) and10% actually understand what a web brower does. The focus has to be teaching information skills.

Just as we spend time teaching children how to read and write and numerate, there must be active teaching of searching and sorting and reporting.

Kids today need to be able filetr out the garbage and get the real oil. In the past books were published after being checked and double checked for facts. Yes information was controlled but at least in most cases it was accurate. Today if you did it and it was caught on some digital device; you are busted and within minutes the web has it for the world to see.

It reminds me of an off colour joke about the difference between a certain venerial disease and true love . . . the disease is forever. Once its on the net it's there forever.

So what should I be teaching:

• the ability to search
• the ability to filter
• the ability to file/store
• the ability to communicate
• the ability to keep safe
• the ability to think
• the ability to understand how thinking works

Lets start there and see where it leads

See ya in a week or two

LEARNZ - What is it

The by line is LEARNZ - "takes you there".





Basically the premiss is that in today's education it is becoming more and more restrictive for teachers to take students into the field to study. OSH and RAMS (risk assessment management), all make field trips problematic.



This is where LEARNZ virtual field trips, come in. A virtual field trip provides an experience for students to visit dangerous and remote locations from the safety of the classroom. They visit places that they may never otherwise go to and interact with people they may never otherwise meet.



A LEARNZ teacher and a support crew member supplied with a cellphone, digital cameras and a video camera, head off to the location. They set-up an audio conference so that the students can ask experts, questions in the field . The images/videos are posted up on the LEARNZ website and are used by the classroom teacher as both immersion and as a resource that supports the learning. />



How does it support inquiry learning when its so information rich?

• The audio conferencing aspect means that teaching good questioning skills is paramount.
• The idea that it is web based means the content is current and it is localised to New Zealand, therefore the context is relevant.
• As its both audio and imaged based, it also becomes a resource the students can browse as they seek answers to their inquiry based questions.

How difficult is it for teachers to manage?



The steps are quite easy really. The teacher registers the whole school and from there each class enrols for each field trip. After that the enrolled teachers receive emails and manuals from the LEARNZ team. Full support and an 0800 number help.



The website contains:

• a programme of events and timetables
• background research for both students and teachers
• archival resources
• curriculum based planning ideas and lesson ideas
• fun activities
• competitions

This is all wrapped up in a teacher/student friendly product.



I would suggest just checking out the website and see for yourself.



Learning together with technology - the future

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The Odyssey Continues . . .

Here I sit in my new office at Heurisko and look out over the car park at a gloomy January day. So much for summer.



Well life has taken an interesting turn. I am now the new LEARNZ teacher and so far I am loving it.



What is LEARNZ?



"LEARNZ is an online education programme for students in New Zealand state, private and integrated schools."

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The return of the Wonderer.

I have been very busy looking into what technology can be used in the classroom. The landscape has changed a great deal since my last entry. We now see more than two blogs being started every minute somewhere in the world.

There is even a movement looking at the usefulness of Online gaming as a from of education.

Here is a really good link for those who are thinking of Buying CDs for the classroom (DON'T). The need to purchase CDs that will quickly outmode has passed. Some basic research can unearth some real gems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/index.shtml

Cheers

New Zealander

I was sent this via Email the other day. We are looking at Census 2006 in the class and discussing why we have them. The Email raises some very good points. I would be interested in your views.

Cheers
Mike


Did you know that New Zealand is pretty much the only place in the world
that you can not actually be a New Zealander?

Whenever you fill out a form or survey in New Zealand you can tick the box
to say you are Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Australian, European (or NZ born of
European Decent), Asian, etc but there is no box provided to say "Yes, I am
a New Zealander and I am proud to be one"
In Australia, you can be an Australian... In fact in Australia you can be a
New Zealander. Why is it that we can't be New Zealanders in our own country?
Most people are proud of their ethnicity, heritage and family origins and so
will tick whichever box they feel applies to them, and they have every right
to do so whether they are Maori, Pacific Islander, European etc Many of us
however consider that we, and our families, have been in New Zealand for
long enough now that we should be able to claim that as who we are...
regardless of where our ancestors may have come from many centuries ago or
what the colour of our skin or shape of our face might indicate.

If you support us in our desire to be recognised as New Zealanders in our
own country then there is only one way that this can be achieved...

On the 2006 NZ Census form, when you are asked for your ethnicity, choose
the option "Other" and state your ethnicity as "New Zealander"

If we can get enough people to do this then maybe, just maybe, we can get
the powers that be to sit up and recognise that we are proud of who we are
and that we want to be recognised as such, not divided into sub-categories
and all treated as foreigners in our own country.

Please forward this on to as many people as you can; friends, people you
work with, kiwi's you know who are overseas, anyone... No, you won't receive
amazing good luck by doing so but you will have the knowledge that you have
done your bit to help us, as New Zealanders, fight for our right to be
recognised as who we are in this proud and strong country of ours.

And remember... at census time... "Other - New Zealander!" (and proud of
it)

A new form of commuter transport.

A new form of commuter transport.
Originally uploaded by Mr C Ohoka.

Had a great day at sailing. The 6 hour race saw some great sailing.