Wordle Cloud For This Blog

New Spelling site discovery

I was introduced to this site by one of our senior teachers.

Spellingcity.com is a site where you put in your spelling list and it then goes on to play a range of games (hang mouse - really cute, crosswords, wordfinds etc) to aid in the learning of the words.  After learning your list you can then be tested (reads the words out in a sentence if you like).  A certificate and report card can then be printed out.

If you join the site you can save your lists and then come back to them later or add them into the current games….lots of fun and really engaging.

Have fun and a play!!

Some fun new sites

I really love Interface.  I eagerly wait for it to arrive and then walk myself to the far corner of the staffroom with a cup of tea and read it from cover to cover.  Every issue has been full of exciting new sites, lesson plans and something for me to either try, discover or learn about.

This issue was no different.  One of the sites that was mentioned was www.tutpup.com.  This is a site where kids can sign up - they choose a colour, an animal and a number (I ended up being pinkcat379) - and then play maths or spelling games against kids from across the globe.  Think mathletics but free and less formal - no lessons or results to print out, just a hall of fame for your class as well as how many games each child has won.

I had a go.  I had a class have a go.  I got addicted.  The kids got addicted.  45 mins later, we reluctantly had to part ways.  I have to admit that I snuck online a bit later in the day to continue to play (is there something slightly wrong in wanting to bet some kids on the other side of the globe??).   Anyway, we are going to continue to use this as a math tool and a spelling tool.  Great for a writing and maths tumble.

We are also looking at using mathletics next year.  Having seen how the kids reacted to tutpup.com bodes well for mathletics.  It would be interesting to see how many of the kids have gone home and gone onto tutpup.com and continued to play and challenge the world!!

Try it, I promise you will get addicted!!!

Tags: maths, spelling, online_resource

Ulearn 08

So excited.  So terrified!!! I received an email this morning saying that I had been accepted as a presenter at Ulearn08.  I still can’t actually believe that they liked my submission.  Now it this means putting together an hour and half about online collaborative learning communities and the tools that we use to make these effective.  Still fizzing so will keep this short…will keep up dated with how it’s all going.

Robyn

Children, Writing and Engagement

As part of my integrating ICT into literacy programmes throughout our school, I have been surveying kids beforehand to gauge who they feel that they write for (their audience).  The intention then is to get the classes motivated and engaged with an audience through a means such as blogging. 

Yesterday I received the most insightful answer as to why a 7 year old child doesn’t like writing.  Here is the answer “because it’s a waist[sic] of time if you do it at school because know one [sic] will read it.  I only like writing at home because I show people”.

If a 7 year old can verbalise this and feels this way about writing, what are we doing as teachers to recitfy the situation so that kids know that they aren’t writing just for the teacher.  I am hoping that there are kids out there that write because they are passionate, write because of a desire, write because they want to know not just because Mrs So and So said I had to write.

When I think back to when I was in the classroom, I have to admit that a lot of the writing I got my kids to do was because I said so.  There was very little “authentic” writing, and as a teacher I felt I had to teach towards portfolios and assessments.  I want to change this about my practise. 

Earlier this year, as part of a class’ Inquiry Based Learning, the kids needed to write to the council, write newsletters, write a script in order to convey a message or ask for assistance.  The quality of the writing that was produced was very high.  The class teacher was even “blown away” by the level of writing that the kids were producing.  When I asked the kids if and why they were enjoying the writing, the majority said it was because it was a real problem they were trying to solve so it was a real letter (etc) that was going to be read by someone.  

As teachers we need to provide a context that is authentic and has an audience in order for our kids to engage and attain in writing.  What do you think???

Tags: engagement, writing

Some of our class blogs

We have set up some of our classes with blogs….hopefully by the end of the year all the classes will be blogging.

Check out these budding bloggers, admire their writing and leave some words of encouragement…

Room 1, Room 2, Room 3, Room 4, Room 5, Room 6

Room 7,  Room 8 

Scholarship Day….Over….Phew!!!

Oh my goodness…I finally taught adults…one of the scariest things I can think of. I was awake most of the night having those god awful nightmares about everything going wrong and true to form those nightmares came true.

Started off ok….had a few problems with videos buffering but got those sorted asap. Unfortunately when it came to making blogs with my small group of 6 teachers edublogs failed us…..the whole point of today was to get everyone set up with their own blog and they walked out without setting one up….disappointed, yes, excited by their reactions, definitely yes!!

I think today I was able to pass on my enthusiasm for blogging and the possibilities of web 2.0 technologies. We watched Karl Fisch’s “Did you know…” presentation and got some great conversations out of it. We also watched another video “top 10 reasons to blog” by Frieda Foxworth.  All in all it started conversations about web 2.0 and how we can use it both professionally and personally.

Of course there were all the questions about privacy and security, who really cares what I write? type thing, but I  think that after reading a few blogs, the teachers were beginning to get into the idea that this whole blogging lark might actually be beneficial to our own professional practise. (correct me if I’m wrong!!).

Anyway, right now, I’m shattered…I haven’t had such a full on day being able to share something I am truly passionate about with people who understand my passion.  Thanks guys for a fab day!!

A Lightbulb Moment….

It is always exciting when a child can listen, follow instructions and then create a piece of work then and there using the skills you have just helped them discover.  What is even better is when nearly 12 months later, a child can produce work that draws on those skills in a different context and produce an amazing piece of work.  This happened this week….

One of our year 6 classes was given a home learning task to create an advertisement for Walk To School Week.  Most people created paper versions (posters, brochures etc).  However one girl took it further and created an animation based on the topic.  The skills she used I had taught her in term 2 of last year and to see them being used in a different area of her curriculum made me all aflutter….

Check it out here 

Coaching blogs

Just a quick one….

read my coaching blog here

Read my coaching buddy’s blog here 

I’ll add more once we have more up and running

New Year, New Challenges

So 2008 has sneaked up on us and here we are just three years out from the world cup coming to New Zealand (not that I’m counting).

As usual the first few days of the new school year were filled with teacher only days, organising classrooms and unfortunately filling in insurance forms for 12 of my laptop babies that some awful people stole from our school - locked classroom, locked cupboard, alarmed school…..and here we arrive at Friday of the first week back (week being yesterday and today!).

It’s always so refreshing to see the kids and their natural enthusiasm for the new year, new teacher and new class.   Of course it’s also heartbreaking to see the new five year olds crying (although mums crying always outnumber children?!?!?).  So what are my goals and aims for this year….

i) The first challenge is do with the scholarship that I was lucky enough to be awarded.  I am currently in the process of arranging a day of PD for 6 teachers at my school to set up and begin to experience the blogosphere and the learning and conversations that take place.  I have some goals that I want to achieve this term but I am still in the process of writing them in an articulate form so will post once they are here.

ii) The second challenge I wish to accomplish is to create a culture of blogging to enhance literacy within the school.  I am hoping that my scholarship will help implement this.  After reading and discovering so much about the benefits of literacy using web 2.0 technologies, I want to share them with my school.  Due to the lack of my own class, I am having to rely on other teachers to try this and see for themselves the benefits of the experience in order to create this culture.

iii) I’m also lucky enough this year to be able to take a gifted and talented Maths group.  People who know me are aware that although I am a computer geek, maths is my passion (I’ve been known to dream about binary numbers!).  I am wanting to use ICT and technologies to help further and extend these kids.  Any ideas greatly appreciated!!
I will keep updating progress on all of these…..