Teacher. With a capital T.

Back to this video again;

 

I'd like to highlight the section starting at 3 minutes and going through to about 5 minutes again.  There's 3 very important points in there.

• Having great teachers is key to student outcomes.
• The transfer of knowledge from great teachers is key to making more great teachers.
• You are who you are going to be as a teacher after 3 years.

1) Having great teachers is key to student outcomes.

We are not just some cog in the wheel of some massive machine designed to turn out functional adults capable of reading, writing and basic maths.  We are the most important part of that machine and we create rocket scientists, politicians, humanitarians and business giants too.  No mater how marvelous a construction or feat of planning, design and engineering the machine is?  It will fail without us.  Miserably.

Many people don't know this but in many Asian countries Teachers, even in the equivalent of Primary education, hold a position of respect in the community right up there with Doctors.  While I don't see this being achieved in Australian communities any time soon I marvel at the Teachers who buy into that community view that we are often "just teachers".

We are some of the most important people in the lives of millions of Australians, both children and adults.  Teachers as a whole are some of the most important people in the lives of billions world wide.  We aren't "just teachers", we are Teachers.  With a capital T.

2) The transfer of knowledge from great teachers is key to making more great teachers.

I covered this one in a previous post so I won't go into great depth.  If you missed it, please feel free to scroll down the page!

The transfer of inspiration is also key.  Everyone gets jaded about their job sometimes and it's a lot easier to do better, and have fun, if we are happy and excited walking in the gate.

3) You are who you are going to be as a teacher after 3 years.

My first reaction was to get a little worked up over this.  Until I actually stopped and looked back on my 8 years as a CRT and all of the experiences that came along with that.

I believe this is true.  Being a CRT I am perhaps in one of the best positions to see this in action.  I move through schools and see many different teachers in action.  We replace other teachers and get to observe the similarities in their classes year after year.

I have now taught along side some of my old teachers and on behalf of some of them too.  Watching them in action, and observing their class, it is easy to draw parallels to my experience with the same teacher 10-20 years ago.  I have observed a large number of beginning and returning teachers, seeing their skills evolve at a massive rate for the first few years and then plateau after about the third year.

And it's not just others, I recognised this in myself too.  There was a period there where I "knew I was good enough".  It wasn't until outside forces started in on me, namely becoming a CRT Network Coordinator, that I thought I needed to change the way I did anything.

My observations mirror what Bill Gates is saying the study showed.

There are a couple though.  The exceptions that prove the rule.  What makes them exceptions?

In a clinical sense, we need to look at VIT and what it does for a moment.  It maintains our registrations partially on the basis of ongoing learning.  The learning requirement is the same for everyone, 20 hours a year (or 100 hours in 5 years which amounts to the same).If continued learning part of maintaining your registration, meaning we all do it, there shouldn't be a 3 year plateau.  Our continued improvement is reliant on more than just continued gaining of knowledge.

They want us to submit 20 hours of PD a year and what should we think about that? Everyone receives ongoing training but some teachers are "better" than others.

Which begs the question "is the key to continued growth as a teacher getting well-rounded doses of knowledge and inspiration"? Of course I'm on post number two backing that statement so I guess it's easy to see which side of the fence I sit on.

The question I'd like Teachers asking themselves though, is this;

Is it the teaching strategies and methods you employ that define who you are as a teacher or is it something else?

Continuing education certainly helps you keep abreast of the latest teaching theories and strategies but if a Master's Degree is showing so little improvement in the end quality of teaching being delivered?  Extra training, even some of the highest level training available, can't be the complete answer.

So should we really be defining ourselves by how many degrees we have or how many diplomas hang on our wall?  Or should we, perhaps, be digging deeper to find that aspect that defines us as a teacher and using it just as much as any training we receive?

That something that made us decide to be Teachers in the first place.  I firmly believe "that something" is just as important today as it was back then.  Find it every time you want to think that you are "just a teacher".  You aren't "just a teacher".  You are a Teacher.  With a capital "T".

Regards,

Mel.

Auditor General's Report - CRT Arrangements.

April of this year saw the release of the Victorian Auditor General's report on CRT Arrangements.

You can read the document here;

http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20120418-CRTs/20120418-CRTs.pdf

My comments;

As a CRT;

I'm happy that a lot of things have come out of the realm of "we are just complaining" and moved into the arena of "Here is some hard evidence". That being said, I caution against expecting sudden change.  Change takes time and changing in the right way takes even longer.  Hopefully this report will start to move many schools away from the view that we are just babysitters and we start gaining wider recognition as willing and capable educators.

Nothing much in the report is a shock though I'm a little saddened to see schools undervalue us in so many ways.  A while ago Memo's were issued to Victorian principals suggesting that CRTs should, under certain conditions, be included in in-house Professional Learning Opportunities and provide Edumail accounts to CRTs.  The low rate of schools supplying edumail in particular is disappointing.

I organize PD myself.  I understand what an issue it can be.  I also understand that budgets are limited (and the report bears this out) so it's not always practical for schools to be supplying PD to CRTs.  I didnt' expect the numbers to be so low but that one is at least understandable.  The low number of schools actively supplying Edumail accounts is another matter.  Techs in schools are busy, that I understand.  But Edumail is vital if you want your CRTs to be on the ball with things like Ultranet where, to gain access as a teacher, you need to have an edumail account.

As a VIT CRT Network Coordinator

I'd like to point out that some of the details regarding the CRT Professional Learning Support Initiative are a little outdated.  The Initiative has improved since this data was collected though some situations remain the same.

The report puts a somewhat negative light on this but I assure you, we are out there, we are supplying PD and the students in our areas are benefitting immensely.

Regards,

Mel.

Inspire Magazine; May 2012 Edition

Here is the May edition of the DEECD's Inspire Magazine.  Clicking on the picture will take you to the online version of the magazine.

Alternatively you can download the PDF version on the following link;

http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/inspire/inspiremay2012.pdf


Happy reading,

Mel

e5 after PD report.

The after-PD feedback video and report have been posted on our PD Information Blog.  You can view them here;

http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/koncept-masterys-e5-workshop-with-kate.html

Regards,

Mel.

Interactive Whiteboards.

Hi everyone!

Interactive whiteboards are an amazing educational tool and Australian classrooms are rapidly filling up with them!  I thought it would be worth taking a look at the different aspects these bring to our Student's education at a grass-roots level and where the technology is going in the future.

Utility.

At the Michael Ymer PD in March 2012 it was interesting to see the reaction of those in attendance to his use of the interactive whiteboard.

On TV we are seeing the fancy versions of interactive whiteboards used in procedural medical shows, police procedural shows and the like.  From clicking remotes to make the next picture display, dramatically zooming in, showing some clandestine video taken from an ATM or enlarged MRI scans it's easy to see that it's leaning heavily towards the dramatic because viewers are looking to be entertained.

Not a huge deal is made of their capabilities as a whiteboard.  I will admit that not getting frequent access to one had prevented me from understanding the full applications and the grand visions ones were the ones that always stuck in my head.  But you know what?   The basics are beginning to astound me too!

Focusing on the class.

When my parents were in school, times tables were handed to you on a piece of paper.  You memorized them and you got it right on the test or else!  When I was in school though, I got handed a grid of numbers from 0 to 100 too.  When you counted by fives?  You put a counter on the 5.  A counter on the 10.  Then 15 and so on.  It was a step forward that gave us visual learners a big step up.  However there were always the individuals that struggled on their own.

Interactive whiteboards allow you to bring the learn by wrote and visual references together without alienating the strugglers;

The first time I found this video my 3 year old was standing next to me.  With the circles appearing on the board and the kids shouting with a steady beat?  She was engrossed.  Now she can count from 81 to 100 by ones!  It's clear that this sort of activity has marvelous benefits.

The astounding rate of technology.

Interactive Whiteboard Technology is coming along in leaps and bounds all of the time.  The previous two videos show dimmed rooms and darting hands to tools here and there.  The current technology is getting more and more user friendly all the time.  Take a quick look at this to see how close to a normal old whiteboard the technology is becoming;

Of course this is a company's own promotional video but notice the difference?  Rather than all revolving around the tools on them, they have truly concentrated on the board itself.  Brighter rooms.  Coloured pens.  Erase with your hands.  Closer and closer to a normal white board in use, closer and closer to a laptop in power and versatility.

It's even getting to the point where mainstream companies are venturing down this road and it's not the realm of specialist companies to produce them anymore.  Samsung's offering integrates true Touchscreen technology without the projector we normally experience;

Again, a company promoting itself but it won't be long before more and more companies begin to go down the same road.  No more bright light in your face when you turn around to address the class!

Further viewing;

If you are like me and don't get much of an opportunity to use Interactive Whiteboards, the following 6-part video series is an eye opener.  It was converted from an online presentation so the audio is a bit grating and the video is a little jerky but there's still a lot of information to absorb!

Cambridge University - Using Interactive Whiteboards.

Have fun everyone!

Mel.

Youtube Channel.

Most of you will have noticed that we have been producing video, putting it up on Youtube and using that to embed in our blog.

Once the blog had all the video etc it needed we had always intended bringing more utility in the PD area into the equation.  Today we are going to be doing the first step in that plan.

We have started formulating Playlists of videos all centered around the same topics but from different people's Youtube channels so it gives a variety of views into the same types of ideas.  These are coming in the future but for today we are introducing the most basic format of our playlists.

Occasionally you run across a series of videos from someone and they havn't created a playlist of their own.  While in the past we wanted to bring them to you, it involved a series of links soaking up space on the page which we weren't happy about.  So we create our own playlist to make it easy for you to watch the series from one end or the other without having to switch between pages or search them out yourself.

In the next post, at the bottom of the page, there is a link to a Playlist that will move you to Youtube and queue up the videos for you.

Alternatively, you can go to our Youtube channel, click the "Playlists" button near the top left (under "Uploaded Videos) and brows through the ones we have on offer.

http://www.youtube.com/user/WodCrt?feature=mhee 

Regards,

Mel.

Network and Blog updates..

Blog Updates

We have been working on adding different teacher blogs, other blogs of interest and websites to the side bar over the last month.  If you have any that are of interest to the wider CRT community, please email me and I will add them to the list! 

May Meeting

A reminder that the May meeting is tonight, the 16th of May.  This will be an open session for the sharing of resources and discussion of any topic those attending would like to discuss.

** Addendum **


We are also making out way through the pages of both blogs.  We are updating information, re-formatting older pages on the PD Information Blog to match the new theme and preparing for new Video content.


You may have noticed that Video content has been slowly appearing since October 2011.  This started with Presenter feedback video's for our Professional development Workshops and included the trial run with the "Wodonga CRT Support Network" promotional video which appears in the side bar.

We have been keeping an eye on how often these videos are utilized by our visitors.  View Counts have reached a stage where we believe it is worthwhile following through and upgrading the entire blog.

Since our first video we have been slowly aquiring the raw video to roll out more promotional/informative videos.  We are approaching the amounts we require to make this a standard feature for the blog and hope to be upgrading with new video content within the month.

Bonus May Meeting page.

We have updated this page (on both blogs) with more up-to-date details more in line with our current PD Information Pages.

e5 Workshop.

The e5 Workshop has been successfully run.  An After PD Report will be up as soon as we have crunched all the numbers and get the video done!

2 New PD Workshops Approved.

In Term 3 we have chosen to focus on students with Learning Difficulties and we have just received Approval for 2 more full-day Professional development Workshops.

You can find out moreby visiting our PD Information Blog;

http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/more-pd-opportunities-on-way.html

Regards,

Mel. 

Motivation and Inspiration. Key factors to being a great teacher?

I've been sitting on this video for a while now.  It strikes at my core in a couple of ways though I was a little unsure on how to approach the subject.

Some of you might not be impressed because it's Bill Gates and there's that whole "Which Operating System is better" between PC and Mac which has been raging on for years.  And, of course, everyone loves to hate the richest man in the world.  I'd like you all to set that aside for a while and listen.  It's an interesting view from outside looking in.  Someone who isn't a teacher so lacks any of the jaded outlooks that teaching can instill in us.

I'm actually going to discuss this video more than once for a while because it says a lot of important things.  Some are, of course, bold and out there.  Today though, I want to talk about something that is implied and stems from the section from 3 minutes to 5 minutes and it's "Transfer Knowledge from Great Teachers" part.

I don't think that's all that there is to it.

Being CRTs we are perhaps in the best position to see that 3-year plateau at work.  We move through schools and see many different teachers in action.  We replace other teachers and get to observe the similarities in their classes year after year.

I have now taught along side some of my old teachers and on behalf of some of them too.  Watching the, and observing their class, it often sparks some memory and makes me reminice about some experience I had with them 10-20 years ago.  The class isn't mine, schools have changed and methods have moved on but there's certainly enough to set me off on a daydream for a few seconds.  

I have also observed a large number of beginning teachers, seeing their skills evolve at a massive rate for the first few years and then plateau after about the third year.  My observations mirror what Bill Gates is saying the study showed.

There are a couple teachers though...  The exceptions that prove the rule.  Those who remain passionate about their teaching and their students.  I believe it's just as much about the transfer of that inspiration and enthusiasm from great teachers as their knowledge.  Perhaps more so. 

Inspiration and Motivation.  We can all have it!  We can all think back to that idealistic young us, applying to University to follow our passion to teach the young and improve their lives immeasurably.  We can take ourselves off the 3-year plateau and put ourselves back onto that rapid evolutionary standard that we started out on.  All you need to do is find your inspiration.

My inspiration?  I'll share an example or two.

I worked for a year, half a day a week, teaching Literacy to VCAL students.  When I started?  It seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to teach these children.  I'd replaced Teachers fairly regularly in the school and I felt, and the staff often told me, that I was doing a good job for the time I was there.  But this was different.  Suddenly I was responsible for the literacy plan for a whole year and I couldn't just follow through on the plan that had been left.  It was not an easy road, that I can tell you!

Out of that?  The improvement in the class is certainly satisfying but there are a couple students in particular that give me back that inspiration I had when I first started out on my teaching journey.  Both started out as struggling students.

The first, a boy, was transferred in from a mainstream school part way through the year.  He wouldn't read anything but his favourite author (Dr Seuss) and he wasn't reading, he was reciting from memory.  Of course the mainstream school he came from wasn't set up to deal with such a student and this desire for Dr Seuss was endulged at every turn, just for the sake of maintaining an orderly classroom.  It took time but I was able to inspire him to motivate himself outside of that box.  One day I walked into that classroom he ran up and gave me a hug (he was a hugger), and asked excitedly what he was going to be reading today.  It hit me how far he'd come and I was close to tears.

The second, a girl, didn't really stand out in class in academic terms.  She was struggling but wasn't overly opposed to improving her reading skills.  She was somewhat reluctant to begin but warmed up as the lesson continued on.  Due to this outlook she improved quite a lot through the year.  The following year a teacher pulled me aside to have a word about her and, of course, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  When given the choice of extra curricular activities, she had narrowed her choice to dance and literacy, since she was avid about dance I was happy that Literacy made the top two.  Now I got the other shoe, she had chosen Literacy as an extra currucilar activity.  She has since gone on to win herself a couple of awards.

My inspiration does not come from my success at improving these students ability to read and write.  My inspiration does not come from the improvement in their grades, or even their awards.

My inspiration comes from the fact that I inspired these two students to go from students who groaned or outright acted out if you suggested Literacy topics in the classroom to two students eager for every new book you put in front of them and picked up a pencil without a second thought when it came to writing.  Two students who started out with the core belief that they weren't good enough, weren't smart enough, to read well and to shatter that aspect of their low self-esteem. 

Two students who, even in my absence, have continued on with that passion to improve their literacy.  Two students who let the belief in themselves gained from learning to read at levels they believed impossible to spread into other areas of their lives.

Their continuing passion and self-motivation is my passion and self-motivation.

In those two students are the personification of everything that younger, wide-eyed, nervous me hoped and dreamed I would do.  The hopes and dreams that made me overcome those nerves, to actually walk through the door of the university, sit in a university seat for the first time and begin to become a Teacher.

While I certainly hope this gives you pause and helps rekindle any lost passion, is this "just" an inspirational mesage?  I hope not.

Because of those two students, because I lived that experience, it improves me as a teacher.  Not just because I remain enthusiastic and hopeful, it's deeper than that.  I broke a few of the misconceptions that put me on that plateau after 3 years.  Looking back, even as a CRT, that 3 year mark saw a reduction in the improvements I was making.  I was comfortable with the job I was doing, schools were happy with my performance and my students were learning even if I was only there for a day.

If those two wonderful, brave and inspiring students can drop their preconceptions, especially when those preconceptions are an important and ingrained safety net generated by their disability?  Then perhaps I'm not half as good as I thought I was if I can't do the same, especially when my preconceptions are based on not much more than contentment.

When I did that I realised something amazing.  That hesitent and nervous girl who hoped and dreamed of being a wonderful teacher is still there.  A bit battered, a bit bruised, but still well and truly there.  I discovered that, given a voice for the first time in a long time, she doesn't want me on that plateau.  I don't want me on that plateau.  

I want to continue to evolve and continue to grow as a Teacher.  

Regards,

Mel.

Ok, I did it... I bought a Tablet PC.

First of all, let me say something here.  A tablet PC is insufficient for my needs as a Teacher and a CRT Network Coordinator.  I basically bought it as an educational toy for my younger children and not a classroom teaching tool.

That being said, having a Tablet PC is not a worthless exercise for teachers in general.  They CAN do a lot of what you would do with a Laptop and Interactive White Board in many ways, enabling you to tailor the activities for small groups or individuals rather than as a whole-class exercise.

They are also a bonus for those students requiring a more hands-on approach to learning.  Most children also draw parallels to their gameboy, wii, Xbox or Playstation making it automatically engaging and helping children provide their own motivation to learn.

We bought an Asus TF-101 Transformer which is an Android-based tablet (we didn't get the optional keyboard but we're thinking about it!).  It is the same sort of thing as an iPad, just a different brand.  The difference is primarly the same as the ageless "Windows Vs MacOS" debate.  A computer is a computer and they do the same sorts of things, just in different ways.  It's the same deal here and many of the apps available for your iPad are also available for Android tablets, the companies are generally supporting both platforms.

Browsing the education section of the android market brought up everything from speaking alphabet flash cards, through simple educational games like Hangman through to some quite in-depth educational experiences for students.  A friend with an iPad assures me that the experience in the App store for that tablet is equally interesting.

But I digress.

One of the main reasons I resisted tablets for so long?  Even though I understood how valuable they were as a learning tool?

All too often in schools I see tablets being used as a reward for bad behaviour.  Students that were being disruptive or outright destructive were given a tablet as a way to divert their attention, calm them and restore order to the classroom.  While I am sure this works in the short term, I have certainly run into the learned behaviour that "if I act out, I'll get the iPad!"  Mayhem ensues.

As far as I am concerned this is simply isn't a desirable outcome at all, with my thinking drifting towards calling the practice "unholy" during bouts where I have to try to break the habit.

It also drives me up the wall as a CRT to have such a valuable educational tool removed from my toolbox.  How can I be sure that teachers aren't rewarding students in this way?  I certainly don't want to reinforce the behaviour in my stay in the classroom, which I risk doing every time I think about an activity that uses them.

I would love to use interactive books during story time with the younger ones.  I would love to be able to have small groups working with interactive literacy or maths programs.  I would love to have the children embark on video projects when I'm in the classroom for longer than a day.  What better way than video to let their regular teacher see that they have enthusiastically pursued their learning curve, right?

The problem is, will I be waving an iPad in a child's face like a red rag in front of a bull?  Will I be inviting misbehaviour so they can get their hands on it?  And if it's learned behaviour, taught by a teacher of all people, how can I punish them for it and keep a clear conscience?

I am of the firm belief that, until Australian schools institute a standard framework under which Tablets can or should be used, they are pretty much going to remain out of my reach as a teaching tool.  I simply can't rely on teachers having done "the right thing" with them in the classroom, even though the vast majority do.

Click this link to see what sort of things I would love to be doing with a Tablet in the classroom!

Regards,

Mel.

Peter Klein Workshop - Report.

Peter Klein's "Creativity Knows No Boundaries" has been run successfully with 18 out of the 20 who booked in attendance.

The Feedback on the workshop, from both those in attendance and the presenter, were very positive.  Thank you to everyone involved, those of you attending included, for the wonderful atmosphere of the workshop!

Estimated Cost per Head value: $55.00 - $75.00 (based on similar commercial PDs)

Cost per head we paid: $27.33

Cost per head for CRTs? Gold Coin Donation!

Achieving this low cost would not have been possible without some help. We'd like to thank:

• Peter "Captain Pete" Klein for his brilliant workshop.
• The Wodonga South Primary School for the venue.
• The DEECD for the CRT Professional Learning Support Initiative and the funding it provides
• Henri's Bakery and my husband Paul for the catering
• and everyone who attended!

Regards,

Mel.

Inspire Magazine; April Edition

April's edition of Inspire is out.  Clicking the picture will take you to the Online edition.  Alternatively you can download the PDF version on the following link;

http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/inspire/inspireapr2012.pdf

Regards,

Mel.

The blog has been quiet lately but we haven't!

Quietness of late;

We're one of the users who have been having problems with some of their new updates on one of our blogs.  While the PD Information Blog has been working fine, this one has been having issues.  We have been unable to post (which is now fixed) but we still have issues creating new pages.  Hopefully we will be back on track soon!

You may have noticed that even though we have been unable to post, new links have still been appearing in the sidebar.

We have also been working on the content of blog posts even though we havn't been able to clear them up.  Over the next week or so we will clear some of the back log so keep an eye out!

May Meeting;

Normally we would create a page for this one but at the moment we just can't!

The Meeting for May (Wednesday 16th) will be another "Meet, swap ideas and resources" as well as some open discussion driven by those in attendance.

We are at our regular location, in the library at Wodonga South Primary School from 4 through to about 6-6.30pm.  Gold coin donation at the door.

As usual, please remember to email Mel on wodongacrt@vit.vic.edu.au so we know how many are coming and can arrange how much afternoon tea to have on offer!

Bonus May Meeting;

This month also sees the bonus meeting with Dawn Colcott from VIT.  She will be giving a presentation and answering some of your questions about your Registration and PD requirements!

As usual, this meeting will be held in the Wodonga South Primary School Library starting at 4pm going through to about 6.30pm.

You can find out more information here;

http://wodongacrtsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.au/p/bonus-may-meeting.html

April's Meeting with Captain Pete!

April's meeting was the "Creativity Knows No Boundaries" PD workshop with Peter "Captain Pete" Klein.

For those of you viewing via email notofications you can see the video here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_89NsxL5PUo&feature=plcp 

This was a DEECD funded PD costing CRT's only a $2 "at the door" donation to attend for 2.5 hours of PD verified with a Pdi number.

This was Peter's first PD workshop presentation to teachers and we thank all those in attendance for providing him with a wonderfully friendly, open and fun atmosphere!

Upcoming PD.

We have been hard at work organizing PD of late.  The 12th of this month sees the e5 PD workshop with Kate Hornsby and Melanie French.  You can find out more about this and other upcoming workshops by visiting our other blog here;

http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/

We also have more waiting in the wings (topics and dates to be announced in the coming weeks) to carry us towards term 4 so keep your eye on the PD Information Blog!

Regards,

Mel.