Some new Explain Everything projects

I find myself continually looking to create different projects and ideas for my learners in order to keep them engaged with purposeful learning.  This term is no different and I'm trialling a number of new things to suit the needs of different learners.  Here is a small selection:

Pre-Writers:

A project for some learners who are struggling with fine motor skills and the formation of letters - allow learners to form lines and work on controlling the stylus (which is shaped very similar to a pencil).

Whole Class Inquiry Project:

A project for the whole class to document our inquiry journey this term.  I've combined a combination of activities over different pages and we work on 1 - 2 pages per week.  At the end of the term their completed project will be turned into a movie to document both their inquiry learning and their improvement in skills using Explain Everything and the iPad.

Beginning Writers:

A project for learners who are beginning to learn to write but need to practice their letter formation and letter size.  The learners use the lines as a guide and practice all letters.  This project also has them practicing their own name.

As documented during earlier blog posts, I'm finding continued success with using visual prompts to remind leaners which tool to use on each project page, and I've continued with this system this term.

Art Attack!

As I head into my last term of team teaching with Michelle George I want to draw on the successes I’ve had with our learners over the past three terms and the growth I’ve experienced as a Beginning Teacher.

I continually feel lucky to be part of the MDTA (Manaiakalani Digital Teacher Academy) programme and know that I’ve experienced a different (and probably more supported) pathway than a usual BT.   I’ve been well scaffolded and had a great role model into the pedagogies of Pt England School and also had support in developing my own personal teaching style.   Having this level of support helped me try things that I may not have, and also allowed me to be involved in a 1:1 pilot class with iPads in my very first year of teaching – for someone with such a passion for digital learning environments, this has been an amazing challenge and allowed me to grow even further.

Last term I created a site for our Integrated Learning topic – Game On.  The learners accessed the site pages through the use of QR codes, which proved to be extremely popular and successful.  It gave the learners an opportunity to take control of their own learning and make decisions on what they wanted to learn about within a modeled and supported learning environment.

The beauty of using a Google Site was that I was able to add to it throughout the term.  This was highlighted during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony – the learners were hooked and wanted to explore independently and were able to choose to do this with the additional page.   As we explored and used the site throughout the term I also made modifications and took note of things that could be improved, or weren’t as successful. 

As we begin our last term, the Integrated Learning topic is “Art Attack” – focusing on The Arts curriculum area and based around a trip we have in week 2 to the local river.  Initially I thought this topic would be a challenge to create a “Site” for – let alone integrate with QR codes (the learners all asked for QR codes again this term)!  However, the wealth of available material on You Tube around art has made it relatively easy for me to create several pages that learners can explore, giving them ideas on different types of art and ways to create it.   The viewing of these clips will help enhance their vocabulary with topic specific words, which will feed into their writing.  Once again we have a rich topic wall with vocabulary, images and QR codes for learners to refer to and explore throughout the term. 

It’s been great to be able to go to some of the resources I created during my teacher training (never throw anything away) as both displays and inspirations for the term.   Art is not a curriculum area I have strength in, but I look forward to undertaking this learning challenge and to sharing the results of our Art Attack later this term!

Term three review .... three quarters complete!

With the school year three quarters over, I'm again taking the opportunity to reflect on my amazing year to date and my personal growth as a teacher!

My Provisional Teacher goals for this term were around behaviour management and taking a lead on our Integrated Learning topic - both were a challenge but also an opportunity to test things and further my learning.

My highlights of the Term:

• An amazing school wide Commonwealth Games day to finish the term
• Whole team trip to Lloyd Elsmore Park for our own Commonwealth Games events
• Creating healthy snacks in class
• Visiting the Life Education bus early in the term
• Using the QR codes to explore the Commonwealth Integrated Learning site
• Using Explain Everything to scaffold story writing by recording the story orally prior to writing
• Amazing reading improvements which were highlighted through reading graph and running records
• Trip to Samsung to explore the amazing technology they have on offer (and play with some tablets!) 
• Implementation of the "monster madness" behaviour management within the class
• More solo teaching time - although working with Michelle is amazing!
• Pt England School staff and the MDTA team - they continually amaze me with their professionalism, collaborative nature and willingness to go the extra mile for our learners - I'm so proud to be part of these amazing teams of teaching professionals.
• Creating a movie for the Manaiakalani Film Festival - but I can't say more - watch this space later in November!

My challenges of the Term:

• Balancing family, work and study commitments continues to be a challenge, however with my last assignment for the year due just after these holidays, I'm looking forward to a temporary break from study.  That said, I'm excited about my proposed research topic for next year!
• Effectiveness of the Integrated Learning topic site when related to the time it took to create - again an area for learning and once created the site exists forever, but I need to carefully plan and consider how much to include in future sites.  The engagement effect of the QR codes however continues to amaze - and I was constantly asked when taking down our display if we'd be using QR codes again next term!
• Sickness - unfortunately working around five year olds, it can be a challenge to stay "healthy" and I definitely experienced this during the term.  While I managed to escape with just two days off during the term, I was definitely not at 100% for many more - here's hoping my immunity kicks in soon!

So, looking forward ....

As I enter into what could be my last term of "team teaching" with Michelle, I want to continue to explore and improve my own teaching practice and pedagogy.  Our school wide topic has an art focus - something which I admit is not a strength - so it will be a small step outside my comfort zone as I look at ways to inspire creativity in my learners.  With my study commitments complete for the year I expect to have a more controlled work/life balance and am looking forward to putting a little extra time into Explain Everything projects to extend the learners.

We have an extremely busy term ahead, with the Film Festival, a team trip, athletics day and prizegivings at the end of the year.  In combination with these great events is the end of year testing and I'm contributing to Toolkits and a Hangout session to highlight the piloting journey I've contributed to this year.  I constantly get told that Term Four is the busiest in the whole year, and I just can't wait to get it started!

An exciting lesson .... a healthy snack!

As we near the end of our Integrated Learning unit, we are looking at healthy snacks and what the benefits are of eating healthy foods.  We completed an amazing brainstorm with the learners identifying many great ideas about why we should put healthy food in our bodies.

Last Monday, we had the opportunity to make a healthy snack.  Michelle was on release for this lesson, so I had the opportunity to plan and manage the lesson and am really pleased to report it was highly successful.  I made sure I was really clear in my instructions and demonstrated steps so the learners were able to enjoy the lesson within a framework which ensured success.

In order to reflect on this lesson and draw on aspects in future lessons, this blog post reflects on the lesson and unpacks what I would do differently next time.

• Having two Year 8 learners to assist - Class 20 related really well to them and it enabled me to put a small group of learners with each of them
• Unpacking the ingredients and discussing the vocabulary - when we revisited the activity the next day at writing, many of learners were able to identify the ingredients and equipment and use that same language
• Allowing a whole hour - I was unsure if we would be able to use the entire hour, but by taking things slowly we were able to do a good job and discuss the whole process
• Clear and precise instructions - all but two of the learners were able to make the kebabs completely independently (and they enjoyed the task more I feel because of the participation)
• Well scaffolded steps and discussing these before we started so there were clear expectations - the learners also knew they would be able to eat their finished product, but not until the very end
• Being able to eat the end results - definitely appreciated by all the learners
• Following the activity up the next day with writing and KidPix - this really helped cement the learning and some amazing stories were created from the experience

• Need to be aware of balancing the instructions and scaffolding with allowing learners to explore, but within boundaries - we discussed all steps but some of the learning may have been more beneficial by learners trying certain things eg trying a whole strawberry or apricot on the kebab stick and seeing the result
• Set instructions - having a procedure printed to refer to (like a recipe) may have been beneficial for working through the steps
• Small group versus whole class - this activity we completed as a whole class, with each child making their own kebab when the ingredients were all prepared - could try as small groups which would give each learner a greater hands on experience (perhaps with additional senior students as support)?

NB:  Images in this blog post created using Pic Collage iPad app

Game On ..... a personal review!

After using my Game On site for seven weeks now, I thought it was timely to review how its gone from both a teaching and learning perspective.  The site was time intensive to create (although much of the work could easily transfer into a new site in the future) but did it achieve the outcomes I intended?

• The use of QR Codes for learners to navigate to the pages - extremely easy for five year olds to use, highly engaging (they were always keen to use them) and were very simple to create and display on our integrated learning wall.  I would definitely use these again, in fact the learners are already asking if we will have them again next term!
• You Tube clips on the site for learners to view and hear the information - again, extremely successful (although a little noisy in the classroom) but many viewed the same clips more than once and were able to remember and report back on what they had viewed.  
• The world map with links to the Commonwealth Countries we intended to investigate - this worked really well and provided a visual link for the learners as to where each country was in relation to New Zealand!  I feel I didn't unpack this map as well as I could have and this is a "need to work on" for next time.
• Ability to add additional pages to the Google Site - so easy!!  After focusing on the Opening Ceremony during our class time I easily added a page to the site to include some of the images we'd discussed in class.  Creating an additional QR code and adding it to our display wall saw the learners being able to access the page the very next day!
• Ease of creating a Google Site and sharing it with multiple teachers - again, so easy!  I was able to give Michelle editing rights to the site and she could add and edit our site.  Other teachers in the school also indicated they intended to use some of the site for their learning.

• Topic specific words with corresponding pictures - these made our inquiry display in the classroom visually appealing but I feel I didn't unpack these words with the learners so they could benefit from this rich vocabulary.  Something to improve on next term!
• You Tube clips on every page - because I had a You Tube clip on every page, it was impossible to have students exploring the site at various times as the noise was extremely distracting for other learners.  This wasn't a huge problem for this topic as we all explored the site at the same time (it was a little noisy!) but it definitely is something to remember for future sites if the intention is to explore it at varying times throughout the day.  In the more reliable summer months, there is always the option to head outside and listen to clips.

• You Tube clips relating to the 20th Commonwealth Games - when I created the site I added clips from previous Commonwealth Games as a starting point, with the intention to upload additional clips as the games got under way (I created the site during the Term holidays before the CG started). However, I didn't expect such limited access to You Tube clips once the games got under way.  Even clips from the Opening Ceremony were extremely limited except for those on NZ news sites (Stuff, TVNZ) which were much harder to link to directly.  This meant while we were able to play content for the learners on the Apple TV (using the Stuff & TVNZ sites) I wasn't able to add these to my site and have learners look at them independently.
• How many site pages did we need?  I'd created pages for six commonwealth countries and five of the commonwealth games sports.  This gave the learners a huge selection to choose from but took a significant amount of time to create.  While this variety was great for the learners, it could easily be scaled back to be more manageable from a creation perspective.
• Height of the QR codes - oops!  While visually appealing to have the QR codes at different heights, in reality this made it hard for learners to scan them.  We had a number of work-arounds throughout the term - some learners standing on chairs, me moving them down temporarily so they could be scanned, but the big message for next term - KEEP the QR codes lower!
• Explain Everything projects linked to QR codes - this just did not work.  It was a great idea, but when learners scanned the QR code linking to the Explain Everything project (despite intensive testing) there were always problems, such as it not linking into the Explain Everything app, taking too long to load, or just not opening at all and displaying an error.  It was worth trying, but definitely Teacher Dashboard remains the best way for sharing these projects.

As we evaluate the learning that has occurred this term about "What Makes a Champion", much of the learning has come from the information provided on the site.  While it is impossible to tell if the learners would have 'learnt it anyway', it was extremely obvious that they were very engaged and motivated in their learning when using the site.  They were able to share things they had discovered independently, with the class and revisit the information when required.  There are definite areas for me to improve on with future Integrated Learning sites, but for a first attempt I'm extremely pleased with how the site was used.  I'm confident that using QR codes with this age group makes the learning more accessible and will continue with this system into Term 4 and my teaching in 2015.  Overall, a grade of ...

iMovie ... the upgrade!

Over the last school holidays I upgraded my OS to Mavericks and as a result of this, I now have the new iMovie!  I've always been a "learn by doing" person and have definitely found this continues with using iMovie - at the beginning of the year I'd never used it at all, and this week I've finished my 6th movie - this time using the new version!

I actually found having used the previous versions, that the new version was easier to use!  Some of the features that I "knew" existed somewhere, took slightly longer to find in the new version but once I'd located them I was away!

Each term our class needs to produce a movie for PENN (Pt England News) and today is our scheduled turn - check out this terms class movie which explores what Class 20 thinks makes a champion and incorporates some of the exploring we have been doing in class using our QR codes.

With our PENN movie complete and reading for broadcasting, tomorrow is filming day for our Manaiakalani Film Festival movie.  Yesterday we had a "dress rehearsal" with the costumes so I could work out what we still needed.  Thankfully we are nearly sorted and the learners are getting really excited about filming day!  I just hope that we manage to get it all sorted in the one day - I have scripted the movie, and listed out screen shots that we need!  It will just depend on the learners - they always say never work with children or animals - time will tell if that is a wise adage.

Challenges - an opportunity for further growth!

Two weeks into Term 3 and its already very busy!  While there have been a number of successes this term already, there have also been some challenges to overcome but as with everything, this is an opportunity for me to learn and grow from mistakes and be a better teacher as a result.

As the Commonwealth Games draw to their conclusion we will start to revisit some of the great sporting achievements as a class!  Already we have taken opportunities in cycling, shot put and gymnastics to showcase these sports with our learners.  The Class Google Site continues to be a huge hit and having the ability to add to this following the inquiry approach has been extremely beneficial - unfortunately many of the You Tube clips are not currently available to view in New Zealand which has made it harder for us to source relevant and timely information!  Linking to news sites via an iFrame window has helped with this - some new learning about Google Sites!

We have also begun to unpack what it means to be a Champion and what attributes a champion has - I was really surprised at the rich ideas that learners in Class 20 were able to contribute to this discussion this week - just wish I'd remembered to photograph the whiteboard BEFORE it got rubbed out - more learning!  Our cross country training kicked off last week and we will begin gymnastics this week to complement our integrated learning unit.

On the professional front this week, Michelle, Helen King and I hosted a Toolkit this week around using Explain Everything.  My major contribution to this was creating a handout to summarise the information we would be sharing.  As most of our session was "hands on", I was keen to provide a quick-look reference document for participants to take away, rather than having to make notes throughout the session.  A copy of the handout can be downloaded here.

On a personal front, the workload balancing act while also having a young family continues to test me! Using a suggestion from Michelle, earlier this week I timetabled our term and have made a list of all the things that need to be completed this term - it will be an ever changing list but having the visibility of the tasks definitely helps, as does working to deadlines which give me a little flexibility before the "official deadline"!  It will be an exciting term - how many beginning teachers get to create a movie to be seen on the big screen at Hoyts Sylvia Park!  Just one of the challenges I'm looking forward to conquering this term!

QR SUCCESS and some tweaks :)

Yesterday afternoon we discussed QR codes and how they worked.  Using the Apple TV we used just one of the codes for our Commonwealth website (New Zealand) and I modelled how to scan the code to bring up the webpage.  After having a brief look at that page as a whole class on the Apple TV, all students had a go reading the QR code and exploring the page on their individual device.

Today, was an opportunity for the learners to explore the rest of the site, using their iPads to select a QR code from our topic wall.

The enthusiasm and engagement both Michelle and I observed in the learners over the 45 minute session was amazing!  Not only were they keen to use the QR Reader, but they had the opportunity to choose which code they scanned.  In giving the learners this choice, it was interesting to see the selections that were made - some learners made their choice based on the images around the code, while others randomly selected a code.  Others were influenced by what their peers had scanned with several learners coming back to the topic board to be shown which code to scan.  Importantly, the learners were equally as engaged when they were interacting with the material on the webpages as when they were scanning the codes!

As with anything tried for the first time, there were a few things that needed to be tweaked!  One of the codes didn't work - I'd blue tacked the codes to the wall so it was easy to take that code down until I could replace it tomorrow.  I also discovered that the Explain Everything projects embedded onto the bottom of the pages were not able to be downloaded (despite testing)!  After some thought I've circumvented this problem by creating QR codes that link learners directly to the projects in Google Drive - these codes will be blue so they are easily recognisable and we can have learners scan the blue codes when we are ready for them to complete these activities!

I think I was the most unpopular teacher at Pt England School this afternoon when I told the learners they had to pack up for the day - just as well we have a whole term to explore!  Based on today, QR codes are here to stay in Class 20!

Our Commonwealth Site was created using Google Sites.  We are using QR Code Reader by Scan, Inc on our iPads.  I used QR Code Generator to create out QR codes.

Game On! with Google Sites and QR codes

Term Three is about to begin!  Our school wide topic is "Game On" and in Team 1 we have a focus on the Commonwealth Games and how to be a champion.  As part of the Manaiakalani Digital Teaching Academy (MDTA) we are encouraged to create an interactive Google Site each term to assist our learners - one of the many ways that the learning is "visible" in a digital learning environment.  I've found this a real challenge as my learners are just 5 years old, and are not as able to negotiate the web in the same way that learners can in other year levels.

I have been constantly thinking of ways that I could use a Google Site with my learners!  This term, using Google Sites,  I've created an information portal, which learners can access on their iPads using QR codes. We will start by unpacking the site as a whole class, but the aim is for learners to be able to use it independently later in the term.

I have selected several countries to initially focus on - including New Zealand - but can add additional pages to the site as we explore the Commonwealth Countries using the inquiry approach to learning.  Likewise, we will begin by looking at four of the sporting areas (Aquatics, Athletics, Cycling and Gymnastics) but as we follow the progress of the Commonwealth Games it is easy to add additional content to our Google Site.

Each country/sporting area has its own page, and the QR code for each page is displayed on the "Game On" topic wall in our classroom.  There are navigation buttons at the bottom of each page which links the site together as well as a "home" button.  In order to make it as easy as possible for learners to navigate the site I've tried to keep the layout as similar as possible.

  

As my learners are beginning readers, there is only a small amount of text on each page, with visuals and video clips providing learners the ability to see and hear the information.   I have created several Explain Everything projects as follow up activities which learners can download from the page and complete.  Only two of these have been released to date as I want to trial these and see the results before making others available.  I'm ready for the term ..... Game On!

What Makes A Champion? - Class 20 Topic Google Site

 

Explain Everything to extend our Integrated Learning

Our integrated learning theme is "Working Smarter not Harder" based around equipment in the kitchen which makes things easier to do.  On Thursday we planned our first cooking session with the class but wanted to unpack this learning by introducing the vocabulary of the equipment we would use.

We started the session by showing all the equipment we would use (waffle iron, measuring cups, mixing bowl, apron etc) and we provided labels for each item to scaffold the learning.  We decided to have learners use Explain Everything to take a photo of each piece of equipment and then rather than simply photograph the label, they would use their stylus to label their photos in Explain Everything.  The results were extremely impressive and it was great to see the engagement of the learners as they completed this task.

Unfortunately some learners learn the concept of saving the hard way - when they accidentally deleted their work before saving it - this reinforced to Michelle and I the importance of going over this step with the learners.   Many of our Explain Everything projects to date have been templates shared with them so they were easier to save as the file name was already completed.  As a result of this I will create a screencast as a reference for learners to reinforce the saving process.

After cooking (and eating) the waffles, as a follow up, learners were asked to add to their Explain Everything photos with an additional slide.  The instructions were to draw a picture of cooking waffles or the equipment that was used and talk about their photo as they did it.