Exploring Learning

One of my latest projects for my MEd, required me to design a computer lab. I had a budget of $45,000 and it had to accommodate 30 learners. My total, outlined in more detail below, came in at just under budget, at $44,171.90 - and goes against the grain of the traditional lab design. Having had the luxury of re-designing and implementing a new classroom design whilst working in Singapore (see any posts regarding  The Octopus's Garden Project , and photos in posts from 2013-2014 in particular) I already had a few ideas that meant I very much wanted to move away from a traditional layout.  For more inspiration, I asked for the dream design of educators I have worked with in different countries and different schools. What was interesting to me, was those who have worked in tehnology-rich environments, where the idea of a dedicated computer lab is outdated and technology infuses everyday learning, had many more suggestions that broke the mould of lab design and fitted w...

In the academic year 2012-2013 I took or qualified in the following Professional Learning:- Extended Essay Category 3 Training (IBO, Malaysia) Google Apps for Education Teacher Certification Presenting Read? Me?  at Hands on Literacy Conference 2012 (Singapore) Designing New Learning Spaces (Stanford University) Professional Learning in the Digital Age (Virtual book club with the author) English B IB Diploma Training (IBO, Online) Flipped Classroom Certification E-learning and Digital Cultures (Edinburgh University) PBL Certified Teacher Flat Classroom Certified Teacher Most of the learning from the above is documented in this blog.  Now, at the end of the year, not feeling the need to slow down for some reason, I have begun my Masters in Education and Instructional Technology at the University of Maryland University College .   This advanced degree program focuses on integrating technology in the preK-12 schools to strengthen and transform te...

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...

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...

This week in The Octopus's Garden Project , Grade 7 and Grade 8 have been deciding on how to proceed with their final 21st century classroom design presentations. They created a list of  guidelines  using the feedback and reflections from Phase 2 topic presentations, along with a lesson on slide design.    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 their section of the final design presentation. Rubber Ducks: 'Walls' Presentation Planning Using sticky notes, each team planned out exactly what they wanted to be seen on each slide and in what o...

In the final two weeks of the semester, The Octopus Garden Project team was given two challenges: 1) create a display to showcase the project to the community on Open Day: deadline: 5 days 2) create a presentation for assembly to showcase the project to the school: deadline: 2 lessons BEFORE My learners have come so far in this project that there is no longer the 'cannot lah' attitude evident at the start of the school year; the fact that I have pushed them and coached them into embracing deadlines and challenges sees once-lethargic learners, unable to work without cajoling, now able to pick up and run with anything and everything I throw at them. I am so proud of their progress. AFTER The first challenge was the display space - a week of every free, every break and eveery evening after school was spent creating an under-the-sea foundation suitably created to showcase the work of the learners. My need to not do things by halves can, and often does, mean exhaustion...

“There’s probably no better example of the throttling of creativity than the difference between what we observe in a kindergarten classroom and what we observe in a high school classroom.” (Levine) Wherever in the world I have been teaching, one of the most common observations of my classroom by other teachers is that it is "like a primary classroom". This is, more often that not, said in a derogatory and dismissive way, as if the colourful and expressive landscape of learning created through explorations of language and literature is a negative thing. That I cannot possibly be teaching a secondary curriculum if they seem to be creating so much..."mess" (as it has also been called). I have never paid much attention to this; I believe that my IB Diploma English Literature class learnt a great deal about the symbols, motifs, characters, language, themes and setting through the mural we painted all over the classroom. They learnt to problem solve and collaborate...

This seems to be a recurring theme. Ironically, I have been writing this post for over a week and have to keep coming back to it as I have so much else to do. The only way I can catch up with myself is because I am at home, in bed, with a dreadful cold :( The last week was hectic to say the least. I have written many Blog posts in my head - as I am running, cooking, reading, sleeping, talking to colleagues and learners - but have not had the time to sit down to actual type them up. I did manage to find the time this (now last) weekend to pass my Google Apps for Education exams though. I had 'Docs' and 'Other Tools' to go and sat them both on Sunday. It was awesome to get them over and done with - though on sharing with my DP, I was 'shoved' in the direction of applying for 'trainer' status. Which of course I will - there are, at least, no exams for this, which is something I believe more and more strongly against as time goes on. Sitting these ex...

I was amazed today at how much a simple rearrangement of the learning has rearranged the thinking space. Immediately today, my Grade 8s utilised all the different possibilites - the make-shift Chrome Books (though we have some issues there regarding speed and applications), the Macs, the floor, the paper and paint and crayons - they were painting, sculpting with paper, making collages, Prezis and Pixton cartoons; they shared work and gave feedback and collaborated more than they ever had - it was awesome and made me even more exciting to roll out the project. Look what has happened with a shift of furniture. Imagine the possibilities when we rethink and customise the whole space... :)

For Project Octopus's Garden , I have created a thinking space using Mural.ly , a cool Beta site that I discovered over the weekend at the Google Apps Summit. Some ideas I am collecting I like it as it is easy to drop in links, photos and add text to create a collection of ideas from a variety of sources. On my Mural.ly have added articles from sites, photos that have been shared with me, thoughts, images from my Pinterest board that I have also started for this project. What is also great is that it can be shared with other people so it becomes a collaborative drawing board - perfect for this project. I ran this morning and did some more thinking about how to develop this project. I aim to pitch it at my grade 7 and grade 8 classes. They will be responsible for polling the Nexus Community about their ideas to make it relevant and a shared experience. I also want to build in some research skills to prepare them for the IB later in their educational career - as I want thei...

I have had the most exciting morning that has spawned a big project for my learners and me. The Octopus's Garden, A3-4, NISS In our attempt to support all staff in going 1:1, with only one trolley of Macs for the secondary school, in the midst of an explosion of need following the awesome Google Summit at the weekend, I have been asked to host what we are dubbing, The Octopus's Garden . This involves twenty 'reconditioned' laptops that have been stripped and made into make shift 'Chrome Book' type machines being installed in my room. This is great as it means we 'get out there' - they have to be plugged in to work however, hence the 'octopus' of wires. Project Octopus's Garden: Embryonic We set up the plug-in laptops at stations around the room to minimise the 'tentacles' leaving a huge empty space in the middle. My first lesson in The Octopus's Garden  was rated 7/10, which is ok. The idea works, the machines didn...