The power of Feedback on the Internet.

We've been looking at Youtube for a while now and dabbled with it although we mostly use it to put up PD feedback videos.  Usually we don't really care about how the videos perform.  We have a look at the view counts occasionally out of idle curiosity but that's about all.

We got bored the other day and decided to have a look at all of the "analytics" that Youtube tracks for you and started to consider what they really mean.  A lot of it we don't think we'll ever really need to know.  Was it watched on Windows, Mac or Linux?  A home computer or a mobile device?  But we did go and read up on the sorts of ways that uploaders use feedback to give their Youtube channel some direction.

One of the problems is that sometimes all you get is view numbers which is helpful but since exploring we now find ourselves looking for more.  With something like the "advertisement" video in our sidebar, views is about all you need.  All you need to know is that it's being used so it's performing it's function.  

The same can be said for most of our PD feedback videos.  Because we make them to embed in our blog, comments aren't displayed with them so we aren't too fussed there either.  While it's good to see comments and thumbs up on them?  They are serving their purpose for the most part.  While comments would allow us to point to it and say "hey, look at the fun we are providing as well as the education part", feedback isn't going to change what we do with them.

Content based video is a little different.  Of course we have only made two but when things settle down a bit we plan on going further.  These are the ones where we'd like to see the feedback and we now know that other uploaders value that feedback as much as we do.

You have probably all seen a video embedded from Youtube at some point or other and it gives you a couple of options to provide feedback to the uploader.  People who are serious about their youtube channel use feedback from the view count, comments, thumbs up/thumbs down and subscriptions to guide themselves on how they select the content they upload.  Knowing how to use these tools gives you a little bit of input so the uploader keeps showing you things you want to see.

So how do you signal your support and what sort of feedback are uploaders going to pay attention to?

When you finish watching a video (or if you hovver your mouse over the video while it's playing) a pair of toolbars will pop into frame.  One from the top and one from the bottom like the picture shows.  This picture is what you see if you are signed into your Google account.  If you don't have a Google account you won't see the thumbs up or thumbs down icons.

The share button; Add views to a video. 

This button will appear whether you have a Google account or not.  Using the Share option allows you to put a link to the video onto your Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Myspace etc page or feed.  This adds views to the video by getting your friends to watch it too.

Youtube uploaders watch their views and they can also see, through the statistics that Youtube provides,  when other people share or embed their video in social networking sites or their blog.  Sometimes you get a lot of views but the video is not that well received.  What sharing does is let the uploader see that the views mean something.  Not only have you watched it, you thought it was interesting enough to share with your friends.  If your friends share it too, they can also see that they think the same and again want to share it with their friends.

This is one of the most powerful forms of feedback you can give.  Anyone can hit a thumbs up button if they liked a video.  If you take the time to share it you obviously thought the content was well worth watching.

Like and Dislike (Thumbs up or down).

You need to be signed in to your account to use this option.

Younger youtube viewers often assume that this is a powerful form of feedback when in fact it's the weakest one on offer.  It is quick and easy and is therefore one of the favourite tools of the "troll".  A troll is a person who just jumps from video to video hitting the dislike/thumbs down button and leaving negative and rude comments, usually because they attach some sort personal achievement to it or think it's hilarious to do it.  It's got nothing to do with the video itself, it's all about them looking to be important.

Uploaders know all about Trolls.  Most regular Youtube viewers also know about trolls.  The dislike/thumbs down button means virtually nothing because of this unless there's about 50 of them and no "like" rating.  There's people out there using the dislike/thumbs down button for all the right reasons, they were bored with the video or learnt nothing of note out of it, but generally speaking that feedback is lost because of the trolls.

The thumbs up/like button generally means "yep, that was ok".  You found it worth watching but it wasn't entertaining or inspiring enough to provide feedback beyond a single mouse click.  This lets the uploader know that although you found the video useful or entertaining in some way it's not really what you are looking for.

Commenting.

You need to be signed in to your account to use this option.

On the bottom bar there is a "Youtube" button with their iconic TV screen.  This button will redirect you to Youtube where you have access to the share, like/dislike like you do from the embedded interface, but you can now leave a personal comment.

Commenting is a good form of feedback because it allows you to define exactly what you liked and disliked about the video.  You aren't limited to a "good or bad" option like the other forms of feedback.  You can like most of the video but disagree with one part in particular and say so.  You can like the video but the thrash metal music they used to appeal to a younger crowd might grate on you.  You can point out 

"Hey, great video!  That music though?  It's not really appropriate for your wider audience".

This lets the uploader know that you really liked the content but sooner or later the music is going to get on your nerves and you'll stop watching.  They then have some extra knowledge to guide them.  They might have thought that their ideas would only appeal to a younger crowd which is why they picked that music, but now they know that they have a wider audience than they thought interested in what they have to say.  They can now consider picking a new piece of music more appropriate to that wider audience.

It doesn't mean they are necessarily going to do it of course, but it lets them know it's worth considering.

Subscribing.

Subscribing is a big deal.  It's telling the uploader that you are interested in a lot of what they are posting videos about and want to be notified when they upload a new one.  It lets them know that their content is striking a cord with people and keeping on posting the same sort of content is well worthwhile.

By subscribing you can also get access to the videos they like or comment on, telling them you not only like the content they are uploading but you are also interested in where they are getting their inspiration from.

Need to know.

These are basic things that every Youtube viewer needs to know.  Effective feedback is a great way to make sure that your favourite uploaders keep uploading the content you are looking for.

It strikes me as doubly important for students to understand these basic "rules" of feedback because they are cross-platform "rules" applying to most social networking sites.

These days Social Networking is one of the first avenues students have to effect the world around them.  Of course they are all taught how to recognise and avoid "cyber-bullying" and online predators from quite a young age but most Internet programs focus on personal protection and internet "manners" rather than how to be a useful and productive internet user.

If the opportunity arises?  Focus your internet-savvy students towards this goal.  Teach them that they have influence in the world and that knowing how to be a responsible internet user is necessary and there's plenty of studies out there now that show that internet usage is becoming a life-skill rather than a neiche interest.

A few years later these basic principles are going to become handy in other areas like Democracy.  Voting for a new prime minister, voting for a new club president, voting on using Blue balloons at the student fair this year.  Understanding that they have influence when offered a vote but it also depends on the majority.

It might seem like a small deal, knowing how to use Youtube feedback.  It sort of is when considered on it's own.  As a building block for the understanding of important life-skills it can be a very useful tool to teach a lot of basic social concepts that students will use for the rest of their lives.

What is it going to teach us as Teachers though?  Students have social power from a very young age these days. What are we going to do with this knowledge?  Should we understand it so we can control it in the classroom or should we promote it so we can teach them that there's power but it has it's boundaries?  That, of course,is the big question.

Regards,

Mel.

End of Financial Year report.

We have put up an End of Financial Year report page over on our PD Information Blog.

You'll be able to get some information on our Professional Development activities in the past 12 months as well as some comments on how we think the Wodonga CRT Support Network is travelling along.

http://wodongacrtsupportnetworkpd.blogspot.com.au/p/eofy-report.html

Please leave comments!  This is one of those important times where although we think we are doing OK we need to know what you think too!

Regards,

Mel.

Collegial Learning Part 4

Accessing Collegial Learning.

Most of you want to access what's already out there.

If you are in Victoria, contact your nearest VIT CRT Network Coordinator and see if they run meetings.  We each approach our Network in our own way within the constraints of the time we can devote to them.  This means that not all Networks are able to offer the periodic meetings.  If they don't offer meetings?  That doesn't mean they won't be helping you out on this front.  CRT Networks can't help but put you into contact with an awful lot of CRTs simply by gathering you together.  Even if they aren't running meetings?  PD workshops still give you access to a whole room full of CRTs!

Talk to other CRTs that you attend PD with or work along side of in schools.  Build the relationships you need to be comfortable discussing your teaching issues.  Build the sorts of relationships where you are going to get a pat on the back when you have done well.  Build the sorts of relationships where sharing teaching advice is normal and welcome.

If you are outside of Victoria, or outside Australia for that matter, often you have to start thinking "outside the box" because there's no groups near you.  You have found this blog meaning you have begun your search and  I assure you there are many many more out there.  Blogs are a very good place to start.

Keep visiting these blogs!  Start commenting! Participate in online discussions!  These days a lot of similarly minded people are no more than an internet connection away.

I have links to some of my favourite teacher blogs in the sidebar but there's many more out there.  I keep my favourites there so anyone visiting can use them as launching-off points to find the blogs that they like too. Many do like I have, they have links to even more teacher blogs in their sidebar.

On long rainy weekends I've followed these chains for hours, picking up tips, tricks and invaluable information.  Learnt things I never would have thought of myself.

As far as I am concerned Teacher blogs are wonderful things!

Creating groups for local CRTs.

The one important thing you need to understand before you start?

The number one things you need to work on to provide a collegial learning environment is relationships.  Without solid relationships nothing else matters.  Unless people are comfortable enough with their peers that they are willing to put their PROBLEMS and MISTAKES on the table, they aren't going to be free to seek out the answers they need.

The following video does a few things.  First, it explains why you need to build relationships better than I can.  Secondly, it shows you that it is important enough that schools are paying the dollars to have their coaches taught this stuff.

While I recommend watching all 3 of these videos, for now just start at the 3 minute mark of this one.

The number ONE thing you need to do before all others is to understand that one of the most important things you will do is to help build realtionships between the people in your group.

I started off with 10 of us around a table, not really knowing where we were going or what we were doing.   By building relationships between these CRTs, things hotted up.  The meetings became interesting and informative as we all got more and more comfortable with sharing aspects of our professional lives.  Before long they were telling their friends of the great thing they were on and they wanted in on it too.

The Network has now grown to over 100 members who turn up for different things at different times and we are having a direct impact on the quality of education available to CRTs and students in our region.  All because they have realtionships that encourage them to be open, enthusiastic and helpful towards each other.

As a coordinator, helping build relationships is mostly what you will do.  You will schedule meetings, look at local issues and set topics etc but building those relationships is core to getting these people to share information and advice with each other.  If you build the right atmosphere almost everything else will take care of itself.  You will be sitting in a room participating at the same level as everyone else, learning just as much as everyone else.


If you are interested in starting up a network in your area?  Please feel free to email me to help get the ball rolling. Make sure you tell me a little about yourself, your area and how you would like to structure your group because I'm genuinely interested to see how others intend to carry the same torch I am.

If you are already running a similar group?  Wow!  Good on you and please tell me your story too!  What prompted you to start your group?  What do your members like to discuss and learn about?  What are the "big" topics that get everyone excited?

Also feel free to use the comments on these 4 posts on collegial learning.  I'm as eager to learn as I am to see CRTs get every benefit that full time teachers do!

Regards,

Mel.

Collegial Learning part 3

Collegial Learning from fellow CRTs vs other Teaching professionals.

CRTs get many opportunities for some form of collegial learning.  School staff meetings, advice from leading Teachers, talking to other Teachers on breaks, talking to Teachers who are friends on an evening out. I always understood that in some respects this wasn't quite enough.  While I learned a lot from these sorts of interactions it was often from the perspective of full-time teachers.  

It didn't really help me deal with CRT specific issues like being able to grab the attention of a class and lead a productive day of learning.  Full time teachers get a class for the year, can take a week learning the ins and outs of each class and then settle in for the year.  We often have to do this multiple times a week and on top of that we have to do it in about 10 minutes!

What happens when you walk into a class and there's no lesson plan, you can't read the lesson plan or (even if you can read it) without knowing what comes before or after it's practically useless?  Plans left for CRTs are usually pretty straight forward but many of the teachers who you replace at the last minute due to sickness or injury?  Their notes are often written in a way they understand fully but most others simply can't wrap their heads around.  Full timers write their own plans, always know where they have been, where they are going and exactly what they want students to get out of those 5 shorthand lines of lesson plan.  Every time I ask a full timer when I hit this situation?  I get advised to just give them activity sheets for the day, keep them out of trouble and don't worry about it.

Ask a CRT?  Off the cuff activities, which are engaging and educational, come out of the woodwork.  "Why don't you try this?"  "I use these activities and the kids always have fun and learn things". Being a CRT in a room full of CRTs is a far different collegial learning experience than being in a room full of full timers.

This is one of the main reasons why I started the Wodonga CRT Support Network.  I wanted to bring CRTs together to learn from each other so everyone landed on their feet no matter what happened.  I wanted this learning experience for myself and if I wanted it I was sure that others would want the same thing.  Yes, we now organize and run Pdi approved workshops and seminars with some pretty high-class presenters but our core still revolves around the collegial learning aspects of our monthly meetings.

The simple fact is that the only group of people who deal with all of the same issues as CRTs is CRTs.  It's the only "one stop shopping" you can do where advice on every aspect of your working life is bound to be on offer.  It's becoming realized in more places than Victoria that Casual/substitute/emergency teachers not only want this sort of atmosphere, they need it.

More and more we are being recognized as a valuable asset in the education of children and we are continually drifting away from the "babysitter" role that has been expected of us in the past.  That one CRT we remember from our childhood who we always hoped to get, because they were fun and interesting, is starting to be recognized as what "should be".  The ones we hated, the ones that sat at the front of the class reading while they made sure we bahaved and spent a day doing Homework, are becoming a thing of the past.

With more and more being required of us, less and less of everything we need to have skill for is able to be given to us by full-timers.  They want to help as much as they can but the simple fact is that they aren't stepping into a different class every day.  They haven't honed their skills at taking command of a class of unruly students in 10 minutes.  They don't have to remember the names of a new batch of 25 students compared to yesterday.  They haven't honed their skills in following through on lesson plans at a moment's notice.  They get to plan, they don't have to have an arsenal of resourses and strategies that can be tailored to different grades that can be pulled out at a moment's notice.  They don't have to walk into a new classroom and have bulletproof strategies for working out which students are fine and which need help in the first 20 minutes.

While a lot of what we do is the same as a full-time teacher, a lot we do is different too.  We need collegial learning from CRTs to help bring us all of the best strategies to deal with the special needs of being in a classroom for only a day.

Here's a big one, we often don't get told what we are doing "wrong" and I'd like to take a second to explode a few myths generated recently in the Australian media.  Unlike a full-time teacher that needs help we often don't get it in schools.  If you put someone on for a year you have to deal with them.  If they are having issues you have no choice but to train them to operate in your particular school environment.  CRTs?  You just don't hire them anymore and get someone new in.  Cycle through them until you get the ones that fit in and you can completely avoid the effort and cost of training them.

It's not that they don't want to help you.  It's not that they don't care.  It's not that they just want to take the easy way out instead.  Here in Australia we hear every few weeks about how most schools are under funded and budgets need to be increased.  It's not just media hype and political mudslinging, it's true.  Many schools simply don't have the funding or resources on hand to be able to train CRTs, it's simply impossible for them to do it for more than a few core CRTs working in their schools.

Collegial learning is the first step to taking matters into your own hands.  It's cheap, it's easy to organize and it's highly effective.

The good news is that here in Victoria (Australia)? The Victorian Institute of Teaching and the DEECD are picking up the provision of CRT specific PD workshop opportunities.  Unfortunately it's not the case everywhere though.  In the final part to this topic I'm going to pass on some info about how to create a collegial learning atmosphere for local CRTs to access and learn from.  While most of you won't have the time or drive for such a venture I'm hoping that some of you out there take up the torch and head down the road I have.

Regards,

Mel.

Collegial Learning Part 2

We all have something to share!

My personal story about collegial learning. 

Those of you keeping an eye on our PD opportunities will have noticed that more than one member has been used as a presenter and there's more coming in the future.

We started off with Peter Klein and admittedly Peter is a talented guy!  He's a teacher, a poet, a musician and has more than one children's book published!  He also has a history of presenting to classes in schools as "Captain Pete" and he easily used all that background experience to turn it into something for teachers.

I delivered my "Literacy Games" workshop last week and I'm a little different than Pete.  Although I am the Wodonga CRT Support Network coordinator I certainly don't have a list of qualifications and talents a mile long like Pete does!  All you have to have to qualify for my position as a VIT CRT Network Coordinator is to be a VIT registered CRT and have a bit of a passion for making sure CRTs get all of the opportunities that full-timers do!  Other than that all I have is strategies and resources that I have collected due to the experiences of my 8 years as a CRT.

From the feedback between the 2 videos I'm sure you can tell that my presentation wasn't as fun as Peters but those attending still liked hearing what I had to say and found it practical and useful.

My transition from CRT to presenter wasn't an easy one.

I had the mindset that I am a CRT, that's what I do and that's what I'm good at.  While I'm good at it I'm just one among thousands, I'm not the best or the brightest or the most experienced.  My way to give to the CRT community was to run the Wodonga CRT Support Network to allow other, more experienced and qualified, CRTs to come together and teach others like myself the "tricks of the trade".  It took a long time to realize that not being the best, the brightest or the most experienced didn't really matter.

All that mattered was that I had something to say that someone else wanted to hear.  My husband broke it down to a "mathlike" equation a while back and I'll take this opportunity to share what he said:

"You as a unique individual + your unique 8 years of experience = unique solutions to problems that no-one else will have thought of".

Of course I thought he was just spouting supportive comments to help me get over my nerves though I should have known better.

It wasn't until we started resource/strategy sharing sessions at monthly meetings that I began to understand precisely what he meant.  I was busy leading up to a resource sharing meeting so I left selecting resources until the last minute.  Having put myself under the gun I brought in one of my "Literacy Games" one night to share with the group, thinking that if nothing else by bucket of pegs with stuff written on them would be a fun diversion for a couple minutes. 

What I thought would be pretty "no brainer" stuff turned out to be something special.  People were right in there playing with the pegs, all the while commenting on how simple it was saying "why didn't I ever think of this"!  Grown adults having fun with my particular take on "Look, Cover, Write, Check".

I genuinely couldn't comprehend what was going on.  Something that I thought was so basic, so natural and bound to be all over the place, which just brought in as a bit of light fun for a couple minutes...  I don't even remember most of the questions people asked I was that stunned.

What's the point here?  Apart from my passion for my network I'm not really anything special in the Teacher department.  I'm considered good at my job and have a reputation for dealing with difficult classes but I don't have a bunch of qualifications or letters to put after my name.  Yes, I have skills I have acquired in my 8 years but most of them are the same skills anyone will acquire in 8 years.  But there's a couple instances where me as an individual + my unique experiences have created something that people think is special.

YOU, no matter how ordinary you think you are, will have something just as unique and just as special that you have created.  It might be a resource, a lesson plan, a behaviour management strategy or something else entirely, but it's there!  

Even if you are fresh out of university and think you have nothing?  Think of how much Teaching has changed in the last 20 years.  The last 10 years.  Even the last 5 years.  You are able to pass on the latest teachings from your Uni course that those of us out there for years didn't learn.  We learnt other stuff based on the "current practices" when we were still in University.

Every CRT has something to share!

Back to the Bill Gates video.

So, harking back to that "It takes great teachers to make great teachers" quote?  I'm not the fanatical believer I was not so long ago.  While I still firmly believe that Great Teachers should be in there up to their elbows  passing that knowledge on to the rest of us?  You don't have to be, or consider yourself, a "Great Teacher" to have "Something Great" to share with your peers.  Something that is going to impact resoundingly with the other teachers around you.

In my presentation I showed my "Memory Bottles" lesson plan and I thought I was doing well to get 2-4 hours out of a book incorporating literacy, maths, and crafts.  Then I handed out other books to those attending and gave them 15 minutes to come up with a lesson plan of their own as an exercise to help the ideas I'd delivered to stick.  Not one group of CRTs around a random book wasn't able to use my theories to come up with hours of inclusive, individualized, cross-curriculum lessons.

A group of 3 teachers discussing one book came up with 3 solid days of education out of one single book in a quarter of an hour.  Having a listen to them tell us all about what they came up with simply blew my socks off!

My ideas and experiences combined with their ideas and experiences took the whole thing further than I ever could have on my own in each and every group.  I was supposed to be providing Professional development for them and I guess it worked because they all schooled me in return.

It was one of the most satisfying moments in my Teaching career.

If you are ever in doubt about how much you can contribute in a collegial atmosphere?  Remember this story.  All it takes is one great idea and you can improve the educational options offered of 1000's of students making sure they all have a more engaging and fun atmosphere to learn in.

Also on the way;

• Part 3, Collegial Learning from CRTs Vs other teaching professionals.
• Part 4, Getting in on collegial learning.

Regards,

Mel.

Collegial Learning Part 1:

The Technical Side of Collegial Learning.

Today I thought I'd start a new string of posts about one of the current "buzz words" floating around the teaching arena, "Collegial Learning".  We've probably all heard it and many of us have been doing it for years.  Schools have team meetings and the like for a reason and this is why.  I will admit though that I never understood what massive learning potential was locked inside that phrase.

Now I've looked at this before, launching from a TED video from Bill Gates (the actual TED video this time, the Teacher part starts at about the 8 minute mark!).

Oh No!  She's harping on about THAT video again!

Particularly the quote "It takes great teachers to make great teachers".  Although I have to admit that I've recently had to re-evaluate exactly to what extent I believe that quote and I'll deal with it in a follow-up post.

At this stage of the game , I'll add in a "technical document".  It took no time at all to find, I just Googled "Collegial Learning" and looked at stuff for a few minutes until I found one that said what I needed it to.  It's not the best, it's not the most comprehensive, it was just the first one that laid the groundwork for what I needed to say.

Collegial Learning and Collective Capacities <- Click to follow the link!

Looking through that one you can also pick out the other associated "buzz word" of "Collective Capacities", "Collective Learning" and others if you wish to google further.  You can also add in all those terms that you know which mean basically the same thing like "Team Teaching" and others where researchers have given it a new name to show it's their personal spin on the basic concepts involved.

Whether your state or country calls you a Casual Relief Teacher, an Emergency Teacher, a Substitute Teacher or any of the other names out there for us?  Collegial learning from our casual/emergency/substitute teacher peers is just as important as any other collegial learning we can access.  

It gives us direct access to years of knowledge, strategies and resources that directly relate to what we are going to experience as CRTs.  To give you some idea of how much?

Out of idle curiosity I've been asking off and on how long many of our members have been teaching for, whether it be CRT teaching, Full Time teaching or occupying a leadership position in a school.  Thinking back to our last meeting, adding up just the ones I know (which was less than half), there was over 100 years of CRT experience (over 200 years of teaching experience) sitting in one room.  Everyone in attendance was eager to participate, sharing resources and strategies or helping to create new ones to solve new and unique issues for those in the room!

The Collegial Learning in that meeting was a proverbial gold mine for the education of the Teachers present.   So many years of experience and so many different viewpoints all targeting and solving the specific issues of others. 

This is precisely why the Victorian Institute of Teaching started it's CRT Network Initiative and having been in it for a couple of years now I often wonder why other education departments aren't following their lead.  In Victoria it was recently released that 12% of all teaching in classrooms is done by CRTs.  That's a pretty significant chunk and, while I can't state percentages for other states or countries, it makes it pretty important for us to be as good as we can be!

Collegial Learning is one of the foundational tools that will help us get there as quickly and as easily as possible.

Also on the way;

• Part 2, my personal story.
• Part 3, Collegial Learning from CRTs Vso ther teaching professionals.
• Part 4, Getting in on collegial learning.

Regards,

Mel.

The "Literacy Games" workshop was successfully run on Thursday 21 June 2012.

The feedback on the workshop from those in attendance were very positive and spirits were high for the duration.  Thank you to everyone involved, those of you attending included, for the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the workshop!  We hope you had a wonderful time!

Estimated Cost per Head value: $85.00 - $125.00 (based on similar commercial PDs)

Cost per head we paid: $10.31

Cost per head for CRTs?   Gold coin Donation!


Offering this PD would not have been possible without some help. We'd like to thank:

• The Wodonga South Primary School for the venue.
• The DEECD for the CRT Professional Learning Support Initiative and the funding it provides
• VIT for starting and helping to maintain 24 CRT Networks across Victoria.
• and everyone who attended!

Regards,

Mel.

Dreading drama.

I was booked to teach an early primary class and I was sort of dreading it.  It was on a day when they usually have drama and some of them really look forward to it but my drama resources were getting a little thin...  I was dreading having to skip it or repeat some of my old lessons with a new spin.

I was elbow deep in the dinner dishes when my 3 year old daughter walked up and tried to hand me a pair of scissors and something she printed out from the NickJr website.  It was from one of those flash games that keep her entertained while we are all busy doing adult things.

It was an Olivia cutout (from the children's show of the same name) with a ball gown and tiara to cut out and dress her up with.  I sent her to my husband who dutifully cut it out and assembled it for her and she was happy.  5 minutes later she turned up with it again and I thought "Oh no, she's going to keep printing out the same thing, make us cut them out and stick the dress on until she's got an army of Olivias.  I'm going to have to wake up tomorrow and go out and get a new printer cartridge." 

"Daddy will cut it out for you".

Again my husband dutifully cut it out for her, assembled it and stuck on the dress and tiara.  The third time she just went straight to my husband who again picked up the scissors.  Then something unexpected happened.  He said "Oh wow bubby!  Pirate Olivia!  AAAAArrrrrggghhhh me maties!"

Wait... What?

I dripped dishwater and soapsuds over into the lounge room and sure enough, there was Olivia in a ballgown, Olivia in a tutu and now Olivia in a pirate outfit.  Over the next hour she also got Olivia in a geisha outfit, a space suit complete with bubble helmet, a painters outfit complete with beret and an Egyptian pharoah costume.

What I didn't realise is that it also prints out backdrops like a stage, a desert, the beach with a sailing ship and others as well as other fun things to go along with it like a dog, a camel, a treasure chest, a piano and many others..

Costumes?  Props?  Stages? That sounds an awful lot like there's a drama lesson in there somewhere!

http://www.nickjr.com/kids-games/oliv-dressup-with-olivia.html

Wow, classroom resources can appear when you least expect it!  What a marvellous idea!

I printed out an Olivia with costume, covered Olivia with a blank piece of paper, scanned it and had my husband add in a "person" outline in Olivia's place so the students could draw in their own actors.

I printed out all of the stages, and most of the props until...  well..  I wasn't wrong about going to buy a new printer cartridge in the morning!

Most surprisingly the kids picked up a lot more about drama than I had expected them to.  I got asked all sorts of questions I should have prepared myself for!

"What's the person called who looks after all the costumes?"
"Who moves all the things on the stage when it changes?"

and the like.  I also got some great comments like

"Wow, real people must have to change clothes really fast!"
"Actors need to know a lot of stuff besides the words."

as examples.

If you do this I do recommend taking in a few of the Olivias.  It helped them make some great leaps between what happens on TV or the stage and Drama giving them that direct example.

Regards,

Mel.

Network Update.

Hello everyone,

Things are ticking along nicely!

Network Purchases.

As you probably know, we charge a booking fee for PD Workshops.  We use this money to add to the DEECD funding to get PD workshops that are a little out of the price range offered by the DEECD and to purchase items the Network needs or would make the overall experience better.

We have recently used these funds to purchase a capsule coffee machine and milk frothers to provide a better grade of coffee at Meetings and PD workshops.  The caffiene addicts out there seem well pleased with this move and the Hot Chocolate drinkers don't seem to mind either!

June Meeting

 A reminder that this month's meeting will be replaced by my "Literacy Games" PD workshop.

PD Workshops.

As you may have noticed on our PD Information blog we have most of our our PD for term 3 applied for, approved and booked.

Many of you have been asking for Holiday PD instead of Saturdays and we are now supplying one.  Karen Starkiss's Dyslexia PD in Week 2 of the Term 2 holidays.  Please be aware that this is a "trial run" and attendances need to be acceptable to continue offering Holiday PD.

We are also putting the finishing touches on the application for a full-day PD in Term 4 and have a full-day PD for Term 1 next year in the works.

Non-Wodonga PD workshops.

We are looking at running PD workshops outside of Wodonga for those who have a hard time attending because of the dustances and travel time involved.

If you are a VIT registered CRT in the upper Hume region we would love to hear your feedback on whether you would attend more PD if we could reduce the travel times for you!

Please email wodongacrt@vit.vic.edu.au and let us know what you think OR leave feedback here on the blog!

Regards,

Mel.

Technology - Disconnecting the classroom?

Here's an interesting fact for you;  Did you know that there is more computing power in the average pocket calculator than was used to put the first humans on the moon?

It seems like each passing minute results in something in the techology world being invented, made better or made smaller. Mobile phones are now a computer in your pocket, the internet gets quicker and hands-on learning applications have taken the world by storm. Every classroom I walk into either has an interactive whiteboard, COWs (Computers On Wheels), one-to-one computers, OR a combination of all three. Ipads and other Tablet PCs are also slowly appearing.

The 21st Century classroom is here and students are taking every opportunity to engage, learn and explore every aspect of this technology they they can. (I would too if I was a student!) But is all this technology a good thing in every aspect of students' lives? The below video by TED opened my eyes to how technology is affecting students and the social aspects of growing up.

I attended a CyberSMART PD back in 2009 and certain figures astonshed me.  Children as young as year 3 and 4 had a mobile phone in working order.  Sorry I should point out that this figure didn't amaze me, but the fact that some of these children had more than one working mobile phone did.

Figures like most year 5 and 6 students have more than one email account.  The figures on the use of programs like Facebook and Skype are high enough that they have become "normal".

As an adult and a Teacher I admit that I use technology on a daily basis.  When I sat back and thought about it though, I still don't consider it "normal".  I consider things like the computers, Tablet PCs, interactive whiteboards, the internet and mobile phone networks as tools that make my life more managable.

Students today view these things in exactly the same way as we used to think about riding a bicycle when we were their age.  Did you ever consider a bicycle a handy tool for transport?  I certainly didn't, it was just "my bike".  Riding a bike was just something that everyone I know did as a normal part of life.  That students today are placing their bike and the internet on roughly the same level of "normal"?  That is kind of mind-blowing...

I do wonder sometimes whether traditional pen and paper exercises are becoming more engaging in older classes simply because of the novelty value. 

Did You Know? - An interesting video on some technological facts

As Teachers it's getting more and more important to keep up with these technological wonders.  If not?  We run a genuine risk of becoming disconnected from the students we teach.  If they relate to technology like we related to our bike?  How can we hope to understand what's going on in their heads and plan based on the teaching strategies that will engage and educate them?

And don't look to me for answers, I have some problems with this one myself.  If you have any handy hints and tips?  I'd love for you to leave them in the comments!

Regards,

Mel.

Inspire Magazine; June 2012 Edition

Here is the June 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/inspirejun2012.pdf

Happy reading,

Mel