Exploring Learning

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...

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...

For one of my Flat Classroom challenges, I must demonstrate ways I give learners a choice in outcomes or topics in projects. As part of my PBL teaching course , I wrote a couple of blog posts about choice, as this important element is one shared across the two courses but also, one that my school fosters as part of the learning culture. See Choice and Voice  and Myths of Learner-Centred Teaching and Learning . Here are some examples of the way I have incorporated choice this year. SNAPSHOTS A unit that introduced concepts of digital citizenship and the online personas, asking learners to think about how they want to present themselves to the world. Part of this, was writing a 'Me' poem expressing who they think they are in exploring autobiographical writing. Learners were given a choice of HOW to present their final products from the following, or one of their own choosing. - PowerPoint/Key Note ( 450 slide presentation-animation ) - Prezi - Animation ( Making Cla...

By Klevsand (Own work) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons The Project Based Learning Certification course offered by PBLu through bie.org is a rigorous programme comprised of two phases. The first phase is concerned with learning the essentials of PBL; it requires reading, watching lectures, collaborating with other participants and the completion of relevant documentation that outlines the learning that happens in a PBL unit, along with the creation of sample project elements. In order to complete the teaching certification, the second phase has also to be taken, which involves the actual design and implementation of a PBL Unit, along with six assessed written assignments that outline, reflect on, and document the learning that happened in the Unit. In all, the course has taken me eight months to complete. It has been a great learning opportunity for both me and the learners who have been through the project. I feel pleased with the reflections I ...

Collaboration & Critical Thinking For the penultimate assignment of my PBLU Project-Based Learning Teaching Certification capstone project, The Octopus's Garden (see my Project Based Learning Journal for all posts relating to this course), I had to reflect on the collaboration and critical thinking that I had fostered and measured in the project. COLLABORATION In the first phase of the project, we spent a lot of time reworking the bie.org collaboration rubric so that it became our own as team work was identified in the Need to Know as something important that the learners wanted to work on.  Learners were given blown-up copies of the rubric and sent off in groups to rework it by adding or amending as they felt appropriate, with the intention of bringing all the suggestions together to create a new personalised and co-constructed rubric. Learners showed excellent critical thinking skills by indepently researching behaviours on the Internet for specific skills. For ex...

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...

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...