Exploring Learning

I recently had to write an assignment reflecting on the learning that happened during my capstone project for the PBLU teaching certification course, ' The Octopus's Garden '. I firmly believe that without reflection, there can be no real learning - and I am talking here about educators as well as the children before us. The Flat Classroom Teaching Certification course I am also currently working on, also advocates 'personal reflection and celebration [as] a vital habit of the successful 21st century person' (217). I tried to build in many opportunities for discussion and verbal reflection throughout the project though learners completed two main written reflections during the project. The first one was after the first checkpoint, which was a practise presentation completed in teams. This was to determine the progress of the next phase and how to complete, the final presentations. Learners were able to make informed decisions about the next part of the proj...

Dipping my toes... For the first three months of 2013, I took part in my first MOOC, 'Designing a New Learning Environment' offered by Stanford University via an initiative called Venture Lab . I signed up because it ties in with my Octopus's Garden Project and also because I wanted to experience this Flat Classroom-global-type of learning for myself. The course required us to watch weekly lectures and complete readings; for assessment we had to submit five individual assignments, one final team assignment and five peer assessments of other final projects. We signed up for teams of our choice and developed an area within new learning environments; developing our final project design based on our findings, readings and experience. Leading & Contributing I became team leader late on in the project as the original one, the one who set up the actual topic, went quiet and dropped off the radar. Having 40000 people taking part in a course makes it hard to communicate wi...

In my post " What is human? What is humanity? " I explored the future possibilities of technology with particular reference to education. My thinking summised that the "the future will never be without teachers" but rather our roles will change; technology will allow teaching and learning to be "more effective"and will allow educators to become "enablers and supporters" rather than "lecturers and controllers". I would argue that it already has - this change should already have happened. In twenty years, we will be, should be, way beyond this. In order for this change to truly shape education - and the world - we need to start with the people in front of us, as they are the true future of education and of technology. As outlined by the Flat Classroom book, there are five areas of awareness to use as a lens for viewing digital citizenship choices: Technical Awareness Individual Awareness Social Awareness Cultural Awareness Globa...

Statement of Accomplishment For learning-junkies - like me - Coursera allows you to search for, enrol and take part in interesting and varied courses, offered by legitimate universities - for free! I have written before about taking control of our own learning; whilst I am lucky enough to be in a school that values Professional Learning highly, that funds PL and devotes one afternoon session a week to helping staff learn, not everyone is so lucky. However, as explored in Kristen Swanson 's book, ' Professional Learning in a Digital Age ', the advent of technology and the Internet, means our learning can be 'user-generated' - we take control. Organisations such as Venture Lab and Coursera make this even easier. This year online, for free, I have taken part in the following online courses:- Designing a New Learning Environment (via Stanford University, through Venture Lab ) E-Learning and Digital Cultures (via The University of Edinburgh) I am also s...

In my post ' Evolution technology: Visual Digital Literacy ', a response to the MOOC 'Digital Cultures and E-learning' via  Coursera  and The University of Edinburgh, I explored the notion of how visual representations are considered less scholarly or rigorous than written exposition. I use, as an example, artist Ebon Heath, whose beautiful word sculptures expound my thinking that visual representation is just as valid as written explorations of thinking. His three dimensional poetry rebuts any criticism that we can only think and explain sufficiently in the written form. The final assignment of the course asked for a digital representation of an element of the course that had impacted on us, or that we wanted to explore more. I admit that I did find it difficult to express my learning of the course in a visual way, as I am, by default, a writer. However, I think that being taken out of my comfort zone actually made me think harder and really consider what it was I w...

Is not the world very odd and strange place? How while you are thinking about something, often quite random, you all of a sudden come across many other things that are all linked to the initial thing you were thinking about... an unusual word, or new acronym or concept, for example. I recently wrote a blog post called, ' A drop in the ocean.. .', an extended metaphor attempting to establish stability and hope in a sea of despair, frustration and confusion. It was inspired by my fabulous and ever-growing PLN, that has recently grown through my participation in the wonderful Flat Classroom Teacher Certification programme. The post discusses my desire and hope to find other, similar 'drops' to join together, collaborate and cultivate a cloud; to learn and strive to find the best methods and burst forth, raining down our knowledge of learning, in the hope of encompassing and inspiring more drops... and so letting the cycle begin again. From my PL came a rainbow; ...

My focus this term for my Professional Learning has been on assessment. Our school focus for Professional Learning sessions has been on the holy trinity - Technology, Pedagogy, and Curriculum/Content. Learners using Google Forms for Peer Assessment In an attempt to create sound links between these three essential areas, different members of the school team led different workshops in a rotating carousel. For the technology element, a selection of tools and methods was showcased and then teachers signed up for further workshops in the areas they wanted to focus on.  Workshop 1  or  bit.ly/aflgoogle  was my showcase. Staff using Google Forms to give Feedback (see post " Reflection & Revision " I then led a series of short workshops, every three weeks (following the TPC rotation), on using Google Forms to help with Assessment for Learning in an attempt to meld the three areas together. In the first workshop ( Workshop 2  or  bit.ly/af...

My latest assignment for the PBLU course is a reflection on formative assessments or 'checkpoints' in my capstone project, The Octopus's Garden . Along with a short Professional Learning course I led at school on AfL using Google Forms , my focus lately has been very much on assessment and on ensuring I build in enough opportunities for essential revision and reflection before summative pieces are submitted. As a result of this thinking, I wrote a post on my ' Golden Rules ' for AfL, which I am sure I will edit and develop as I continue to explore this vital component of teaching and learning. Can we rethink the classroom? PBL Guidance states that learners should be allowed two formative assessments for each summative assessment. The final product for The Octopus's Garden Project is a presentation to the Principal of the school with design ideas for a 21st century classroom that will enhance teaching and learning in the school (post on this coming soon)...

What is a 21st century classroom? The time has come! For the past few months, Grade 7 and Grade 8 have eaten, slept and dreamt about this moment - the final presentation for the Senior Leadership Team happens ON FRIDAY! Our soundboard I have been really impressed with the engagement and dedication of the learners who have been working during their breaks to get together and rehearse and edit their presentation, ready for the deadline. In preparation and to ensure the presentation can be the best possible showcase for all their hard work, learners presented their final ideas to five volunteers made up of teachers, parents and the head of primary, who kindly gave up their free time to support and help us. This afternoon, our 'soundboard' came along to watch the final presentation and give some critical feedback via a  Google Form  developed from our  co-constructed rubric . All Octopus's Garden Project presenters were really nervous as they have worked really...

Assessment for Learning: My Golden Rules Evaluation and assessment are not the same. My husband worked with a colleague who 'assessed' final exam art-work based on the standard of the class. He was gobsmacked when, during his first 'standardisation' meeting for IGCSE art, she laid out all the pieces across the room. She had decided, subjectively and without consultation of the criteria, that 'Sue' had produced the 'best' work, therefore she got an 'A', whilst 'Peter' was the 'worst', so he got the 'U' grade. She then divided up the grades equally among the remaining learners ranged between 'Sue' and 'Peter'. She seemed horrified when my husband challenged her evaluation and argued against her normative approach. She seemed mystified when he suggested that they should be doing criterion-based grading based on - wait for it - the IGCSE assessment criteria... This was only 3 years ago and even then, I was s...

A Quadblog assignment for Flat Classroom Teacher Certification. Composed collaboratively by Holly, Dottie, Kerry, and Penny. --------------- Five areas of awareness - use these five areas of awareness as a lens for viewing digital citizenship choices: Technical Awareness Individual Awareness Social Awareness Cultural Awareness Global Awareness  The focus of this Quad-Blog will be on Individual Awareness Individual awareness is a person’s understanding of online behavior and how he/she chooses to behave online. Some factors that play into individual awareness are healthy lifestyle choices, balance, and a person’s individual goals. Major Topics: Safety, Privacy, Copyright, Fair Use, and Legal Compliance Etiquette and Respect Habits of Learning: Reliable, Responsible, Management of Online Activity Understanding Literacy and Fluency ------------------------ Safety, Privacy, Copyright, Fair Use, and Legal Compliance What is it? In basic terms Safety, Privacy, Copyri...

Collaborative Planning in PBL In Phase 3 of The Octopus's Garden Project, Grade 7 and Grade 8 have been working on the importance of visuals in getting their message across clearly and effectively to their audience. They recently collaborated to decide how to proceed with their final design presentations. Using the feedback and reflections from their Phase 2 presentations, along with some lesson on slide design and visual story-telling, they created a list of  guidelines  to guide their final designs.    Introduction to Slide Design: 7 Rules for Creating Effective Slides from Alex Rister Lots of critical thinking happened as learners made important decisions about how teams would be formed, how the presentation would work, what would be included and the order each section would occur in. Learners took part in a poll to decide on team formation for this Phase and then, using the guidelines and learning from the slides above, worked on planning out...

One of the essential elements of Project-Based Learning is the Exciting Entry Event - the launch of the project that incites and inspires the learners. This is a reflection on the design and implementation of my first full PBL unit. The launch of The Octopus's Garden Project took the guise of a class visit by the deputy principal to request the help of the classes in launching our school into the 21st century and helping establish our position in Singapore. The driving question became, ‘What is a 21st century classroom?’ and essentially, ‘Can Nexus learners re-think the classroom?’; learners were also shown this page with a basic project overview and a video to inspire them about what classrooms can look like with thought and imagination. PROJECT DESIGN Upon being asked to run with the idea of classroom re-design (see my post, 'Birth of the Octopus' for more background on this); I was briefed about the parameters the design could take, e.g. no structural change...