Our Term 1 Reflection

We have done a lot of learning this term about e-learning and we can use it enhance our class programmes and support learning. It is important to reflect on what is working, what is not and where to next so our professional learning can meet our needs. Please use the questions below to help reflect on your e-learning this term so we can plan ‘where to next’ for term 2 and beyond.

 1. List some of your successes with e-learning you have achieved this term. Briefly indicate what curriculum links you have made. e.g. IWB – letter identification games to support written language programme. 

 Links to mathematics - mathletics, maths world, math group blogs with links to games that practice current learning outcomes linking our blogs with an audience - quadblogging -social sciences Techsperx club - developing leaders in E-Learning. Using the flip video to instantly record science experiments, reflections - student voice Commenting - making those connections Myra - Using Study ladder with children no longer able to attend our school! I made links to literacy and mathematics curriculum. IWB Room 13 and I have had fun exploring our IW. The Year 5 interwrite knowledge has really helped us. We are looking forward to making greater use of it next term as we become up-skilled. We have been using our flip video to help us self assess our behaviour, work habits, group work relationships and handwriting posture. It has been good to hear how much noise our talking in groups causes.
 Emailing skills developed through emailing schools and students overseas.
 We have found the images of animals very exciting and can see how the animals move and behave. It is very quick to find images of animals to share with others. I am pleased that all the children know how to log on and off properly (at the beginning many just wanted to flick a switch) make a document, save this and find it again. the blog for room 2 is a home-school connection and I’ve found that many parents are going and looking. Some have had problems setting up a google account so have been unable to leave comments. All sorted now.
The children are regular users of Study ladder and the parents are supporting the use of the programme by allowing their children to use it at home.
Some of the class are very capable inserting word art and clipart and drawing using microsoft word. They have learnt a lot, as a class, and I prefer them learning together and the more able helping the less able rather than using “experts”. I want them all to be “doing” the task themselves.
Myra and I (the oldies) have set up a drop box to collaboratively share some documents with other schools. using study ladder with my junior class both in class and in the ict suite with our buddy class - next step partnership Building connections with home and school.
Tuakana Teina: blog buddy - helping them write posts, type their posts, commenting on their posts, helping them use study ladder quad blogging - creating global connections Youtube clips of energy sources, music & lyrics Using interactive websites that catch the childrens attention and maintain them (in particular, arcademics)

 2. What successes have you had with your student blogs this term? How have used them to support learning?

Sharing science experiments through reflections and videos and photos.
Myra -I have been involved in the Junior syndicate by sharing a photopeach for them to have a look at some of my personal photos. this supported their learning because children were able to reflect on their understandings about animal habitats. Yes, my class loved looking at your photopeach. Aidan felt quite connected to everything that was on the screen and important as it was his country. it has been great using our senior buddy class - room 12 to support our class blog. room 12 children were very encouraging and patient with our young children - listening to and recording their ideas.
 Getting chn motivated about using them for a real, genuine purpose. They see a purpose for learning and sharing with others.
Glitter lettering.
 Making more regular posts on our and other peoples blogs. I don’t have a class but i find the blogs great to reflect on new learning and share my thinking. I need to work more on my blog to share with parents. My class love getting comments from Room 12 our buddy class. love putting the children’s work on and sharing things they are doing at school with their parents. The children can add to the blog themselves. a highlight has been the thought and effort being put into not only the posts but also to the comments my class have been making.

 3. What are the next steps for in terms of developing your class or teacher blog? 

Learn how to quad blog with other classes
Netbooks to increase amount of time on blogs! - I agree, more netbooks would make things alot easier time wise and user friendly.
 Using voicethread. Myra’s personal blog development - I want to really grow this as a professional learning journal for myself.
 Photopeach - how put videos on my blogs, I have been shown I need a refresher.
 I want to set up my blog with links to specific learning areas for children to practise on if they wish at home. I also want to add videos of children learning in the classroom. - A focus I have is getting children to independently write posts when they feel successful or want to share that particular learning rather than telling them to go write one.

 4. What areas of e-learning would you like to find out more about as part of either personal or staff professional development?

 Using our Interwrite to further engage chn and make the most of this programme.
 How we can move our buddy blogging system further - to make connections across classes.
 continue with my learning of adding childrens reflections/ photos etc to our class blog Myra - I’d like to develop my use of the IWB with my buddy class (room 13?) !! how to fit this in is my next real challenge!! The PTA has made a significant investment in interactive technology so it would be great to know that everyone has a basic understanding of how to use it and incorporate it into learning programmes.
 Some of us had the IWBs for a while and I am wondering how we can extend there capacity to use it. I agree! I would love to have a session on this too. I agree with the above as well!
If you have a session in the first 5 weeks of next term could you please invite me Gwynneth
 Webquests - whoever wrote this please elaborate, this sounds interesting! Definitely using the whiteboard for maximum effect and using this for group work and children interacting with this.Becoming more skilled in using the video as an effective learning tool.
More practice using the mobi with my whiteboard Other comments: Ideas from others about how they are connecting and helping their blog
Room 4 urgently needs an IWB so that progress can be made with class blog etcetc - would add to the motivation and could be on in the mornings when parents are bringing children to school. it also would be used throughout the day to support literacy and numeracy learning. Yes I agree. I wonder whether we ask the PTA to fund this instead of more netbooks? That way all classes with have a technology and therefore no teacher or student will miss out

 How do we know that our children are increasing their IT skills? Can we measure this? Set of indicators to show what children are able to do. turn on correctly log in find programme to use - Can I add that they need to be able to select the appropriate program to use e.g excel for graphs, publisher for posters etc word processing basic drawing on word inserting text box,clipart etc etc etc Could this be done in levels? e.g. level 1 turn on, log onto comp, open a programme, level 2 log onto your blog, spell check? As I wrote that I thought maybe instead we could do a Blog level 1, 2, 3 - skills could vary from logging on to adding glitter text or adding a gadget etc?? This will ensure all children have at least the basic skills So if we are setting indicators on their skills, will we need to set indicators on the programmes etc we use? e.g. voicethread, animoto, glogster etc. Is it essential?

Reflection on your learning so far...

Your holiday task is to... post a reflection on your teacher blog about your learning of ICT so far.

• what has worked well



• what you have enjoyed



• your next learning steps

Onwards and upwards!!!!

Reflection

How do we teach chn to be reflective?

• end of the day reflections


• where to next?


• where can chn use strategies in other areas of learning


• teacher model what reflection should look like - the reflective process


• beginning statements to begin reflection


• reflect on what you have posted


• use modelling books/class work to use to reflect


• use success criteria


• use learning logs to prompt learning and where to next