I was the event manager for a Google Bootcamp in October 2017, which was hosted at my school, ACS Doha International School. Marketing asked me to cover the event and I wrote this article for a magazine, Qatar Today, published November 2017.
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I have just started a new MYP Language and Literature unit called It's a Kind of Magic with my Grade 7s. To begin thinking about the concepts , they conducted some research on the genres of fantasy and magic realism using Multi-Media Text Sets that I created for them. They then taught each other about the genre they had researched and completed a Venn diagram about the similarities and differences of the two genres. Using this knowledge, they then wrote their initial thesis on our statement of inquiry: Fantastical fiction helps us to understand complex, real world ideas and issues. A few ideas about what creates scary atmospheres (Gr7, Jan 2017) Next, we moved on to exploring setting and how writers craft effective and evocative atmospheres. I began by asking learners to describe the scariest place they had ever been to their partners. I asked them to try to recreate the feeling they had using description (which we worked on in our last unit, Scraps of Me...
I have not posted for a long time! Shame on me. One of the reasons is having moved, a) job, b) house, and c) country! Aren't these some of the most stressful things you can do? Anyway, to cut a long story short, the past 12 months have been very stressful and trying, but all is ok for now and we are settled and I am ready to start writing again. Fortunately, I have just started a new module of my MEd, and part of it focuses quite strongly on Blogging - which is an excellent motivator to get me back on track! Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring and posting about Web 2.0 tools that could be suitable for use in my classroom. I will include: 1) The Name of the Web Tool and, 2) Discuss briefly why and how the tool could be will used in the classroom with reference to how it will enhance student learning. Stay tuned for more frequent postings :)
As a fairly experienced educator, I was VERY shocked at the opening statement of Wayman & Stringfield’s (2006) article that student data is an “untapped resource in helping educators diagnose student learning needs.” I find it hard to believe that teachers do not use data to plan out teaching and learning, as “data use is central to the school improvement process” (Chrispeels 1992; Earl and Katz 2002 in Wayman & Stringfield, (2006)). Thinking more closely however , I thought of a few fundamental reasons why data may not be used or may not be used effectively; namely lack of access, lack of time, and lack of training. One of the major components to why data is not used or is used but perhaps inefficiently, is due to the way it is stored and accessed. Historically, data has been collected , but storage systems effectively rendered that data “inaccessible to most practitioners” (Wayman & Stringfield, 2006) which can only “frustrate flexible analyses” (Stringfield et al. 20...
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow If ever I read a book that advocates the teaching of code to school kids, this is it! All teenagers need to read this to think about the implications of technology - about how it helps but more importantly, WHO it helps. It paints a dark portrait of a not-too-distant future in America, where our every move is tracked and analysed . BUT it also shows how those who can get beneath the surface of computers, can change the world. Computers are not new anymore - but the facade that we see masks what is really going on. Children need to be able to go behind the facade that presents our interface as beautiful and learn to control and manipulate it. The future is not about those who can use a computer because let's face it, two years olds can do that. The future is about children who can get behind the pretty and into the nitty gritty. Many educators are coming around to this notion and lots of us are introducing basic code into our classrooms ...
The end of term is always fraught, but we just received news that our new positions have fallen through. This is stressful to say the least; not having a place to live, move to, job, school for my kids - it's hard. However, I am hoping that, and believing in, the adage that everything happens for a reason. I am also hoping for some good news and something positive to come out of this incredibly difficult twelve months. As if to foreshadow this, on the same say I receive this devastating news, I am also nominated for teacher of the month . Is this the edge of a silver lining? It smacked of irony - but at the same time, did help a little.
If anyone read my article in The Guardian about paper blogging, you will know I am a fan of teaching digital skills using analogue methods. True to form, I discovered another 'blend': using story cubes to teach 21st century skills. No computer or Internet required. http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf The Partnership for 21st Century Skills identify the four big Cs of skills that are essential for today's learners. These are communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity . Generally, I address these skills through digital rather than traditional learning such as blogging or connecting with other classes. However, I believe that some simple cubes can also be used to address these important areas. My Year 10 second language learners undertake all the regular aspects that I deem important for all my learners, such as silent sustained reading and free writing, every lesson. However, some of the free writing prompts are not alw...
In today's learning environments, we teach a huge range of diverse learners with greatly differing needs. Those fortunate to be in 1:1 or BYOD environments can take advantage of the many software apps and extensions, such as personalised playlists ( Sophia.org ) that exist to act as additional support for those who need it - technological teaching assistants! One app I have recently been exploring is the Read& ; Write for Google extension. Read& ; Write for Google is a free* Google Chrome Web App that increases accessibility for struggling readers and writers, and can help offer assistance to EAL learners. Read&Write for Google Tool Bar Simply visit the Chrome Store and install, and a tab will appear - on Google Docs - on web sites - it will also work with KES, PDF and ePub files. Full features include text-to-speech, dictionary, fact finder, highlighting, word prediction, and Read Aloud with ...
As part of my current MEd Unit, I had to join and review a Personal Learning Network (PLN). I chose to join and review The Educator’s PLN (Thomas Whitby, 2013), as I am already a member and dedicated user of both Edmodo and Twitter. I wanted to try new possibilities, which were The Educator’s PLN and Classroom 2.0, and, after reading the article, ‘Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning’ (Trust, 2012) I decided to try The Educator’s PLN. I wanted to learn if it would be a good place to connect and learn from educators – are they willing to answer queries and provide links for me when I am researching? Are there constant and consistent learning conversations and sharing? If we are to use PLNS to their best, which can be to provide us with transformative and powerful experiences that are teacher-driven, we need to be able to connect and contribute ( Being Connected , 2013). I believe that the point of a PLN is to grow as an educator, learn from others, and co...
As a school who launched the 1:1 programme this year, we feel it important to incorporate the teaching of digital citizenship into our work with all our learners. Common Sense Educator Badge With all the benefits the 1:1 programme brings, there comes also the need to address responsibility in the digital realm. Literacy today is more than reading and writing; as educators we need to teach netiquette, cybersafety and digital citizenship. Common Sense Media is an organisation who makes this easy. I have been using their lesson ideas for over a year, and our school is now using their work for our Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) lessons. As an English teacher, I set up Blogs with my learners to showcase their writing and provide authentic audiences. My emphasis is on the need to create a positive online persona, and the Unit leading up to the creation of our blogs, asks learners to think about how they want to pres...
I have just finished planning and building this website , which acts as a full unit of work for Year 10, second language learners. Using picture books as a starting point, we learn key terms and devices for effective story-telling . There are loads of opportunities built in for writing and reading, as well as speaking and listening to develop confidence in preparation for the assessments. The stages I have planned are as follows: The assessments and learning intentions align with the CIE English as a Second Language syllabus but could easily work for any English curriculum. I think the unit would work equally well as an introduction to literature students. The end product will be a children's story book based on a childhood memory and, to make it authentic, we will share with primary learners and donate to the school library.
For my MEd this week, we are looking at Personal Learning Networks - of which I am a huge advocate. I chose to review http://edupln.ning.com/ as I am already a member and dedicated user of both Edmodo and Twitter – both of which are excellent for creating PLN. Edmodo is great to use in the classroom as an organisational tool and learning portal; I use it for all my classes. I have posted about Twitter previsously and strongly advocate all educators create an account. As suggested in the video Being Connected , (U.S. Department of Education, Sept. 2013); your PLN will grow organically as you become familiar with the way that things work. What I liked about edupln.ning.com, is that when you sign up, you can add in your Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ details etc., which shows me this place is one that recognises the power of connection. Having accounts linked together is really helpful when managing a PLN – because, as suggested in Trust’s article , managing a PLN (particularly a...
For the past few weeks I have been working on scaffolding my IGCSE Second Language English class. These lessons arose out of the start of year assessment we conducted to determine levels and needs. This is pure assessment for learning. The writing was very weak and in reality, way below the prerequisite for success at this level. However, as I am a big believer in self-fulfilling prophecies, I told them what a great start they had made and proceeding to dig deep to form some solid foundations to allow them the success they deserve. The IGCSE exam requires learners to write two essays of between 100-200 words each, depending on the level of paper they sit. One requires formal register , and one, informal register - normally a letter. AfL dictated that a letter was at present out of reach and so, my little unit on postcards was born. Previously, I have written about the first two weeks of this plan which involved: labelling an image of a beach to provide and expand vocabulary ...
Last week, I wrote about how I broke down informal writing for my second language IGCSE class. This post outlines the second part of the learning - you can read about the first part, on my post, Scaffolding Beginner ESL . Briefly, the first part involved: using an image of a beach to label and provide vocabulary cloze sentences using the vocabulary writing their own sentences using the vocabulary scanning and skimming postcards for language patterns drafting postcards to someone in the room writing responses to these drafts This week, I included some speaking and listening using FOTOBABBLE. Fotobabble is an easy to use website that allows learners to upload a photograph or image of their choice and then record themselves talking about it. First, we found images of either places they had been, or places they have always wanted to go to. They also had the opportunity to use Facebook or Instagram to use photos of them...
My Year 8s are working on autobiographical writing in a unit I have called, 'Scraps of Me'. The final outcome is a scrapbook of five important life events. They will create a scrapbook and each page features an image and a paragraph describing the event and the impact it had on their life. A final paragraph explores how these events have contributed to their sense of self; of who they believe they are. Scaffolding up to this, we have been working on time lines that graph out positive and negative experiences with short descriptions. We have also been focusing on nouns and adjectives, as our assessment focus is to write imaginative and interesting texts. Yesterday, I tried "Running Dictation", an idea suggested to me by a colleague. Learners were in differentiated teams according to ability and given a team colour - red, blue, green and orange. Each team was given a space in the classroom, a large piece of paper, a marker and a set of (differentiated) in...