Wednesday 29 November 2017

The Classroom of the Future


In a recent article published in the New Zealand Herald, the potential of digital technologies in the curriculum were outlined and discussed.  The opportunities are exciting and somewhat mind-blowing when you consider what education has previously been and where we are heading.  

At the Global Edtech Summit different tools and technologies are being discussed with relevance to the world our students will be living in and working in.  Tools such as Augmented Reality let children create and innovate in ways which bring their creations into the real world.  Thus giving them more purpose and the child more understanding of the possibilities of their innovations.  

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere and I believe that educating children to understand and realise the potential of this concept it vital.  They need to see tools such as the ones mentioned in this article as both good and bad.  If children are taught about the meaning and reasoning behind digital technologies then they are able to make better informed decision about how they use, interact and view them.  They therefore have a more informed opinion about why they would use such tools and the consequences and opportunities that they bring.  

In terms of education - it is changing at rapid speed.  You can no longer be an effective teacher who does not engage with digital technologies and digital education.  The emphasis for teachers needs to be on the why and the reasoning behind the physical technologies so that as the technologies change at what often seems like warp-speed, we can continue to help our students make informed decisions about their futures.

Saturday 4 November 2017

Kahoot - Quizzes that Motivate!


Kahoot is an online quiz generator which allows you to formatively test your class on a range of subjects.

It is easy to used and the process of making quizzes is easy and fast which is why I find this programme more user-friendly than other similar tools.  

You simply make a new quiz and add each question one at a time.  You must generate at least two possible answers but you can have up to four.  These are presented to children as multichoice.  

When making each question you can add pictures, photographs, youtube or video content which can simply be uploaded or taken from a URL.  

When your quiz is ready the teacher logs on and starts the quiz.  This generates a class code which students use to log onto their own device.  This can be a smartphone, ipod, ipad, tablet, chrome, laptop...the compatibility is pretty far and wide! 

Once students have joined the quiz the question will be displayed on a large screen or projector.  Children read the question and then choose the responding colour on their own device to submit their answer.  

There are opportunities to play this as a competitive challenge where the student earn points and complete on a leaderboard.  You can however adjust the game options to suit your group or class.

One of the best things about Kahoot is the shared resource quiz bank which contains quizzes from other teachers on a very large range of topics.  You are able to make a copy really easily and then either use as it or adapt the questions slightly to suit your own context.  You can also link with other teachers in your school to form a community of learners which allows teachers to share resources and assessment tools easily and efficiently.

Personally I think this is a highly motivational tool which lets children understand how a basic game works along with providing them a relevant test or quiz content.  I go on and make quizzes for a fun Friday activity or to consolidate learning on a particular concept.  







Sunday 15 October 2017

Maths Taster Menu's

I came up with these to help learner's self direct their follow up learning based on their individual needs.  Each of the following Google Drawings has links to both games and how to videos to support learning in a variety of Maths concepts.


The following are two examples of taster menu's which students use to fill their gaps in knowledge.  This has been a really good way to motivate students to understand their own learning.  Students access these 'Taster Menu's' from our team site and can use them as part of their individualised follow up programmes in Maths.  





Some of my more able students are now going on to make their own personalised Google Drawings of Maths Maps with links to specific tasks, games and learning tutorials that support their individual programmes.

Room 15 Reading Slides

My reading planning is again done with the students in mind.  I spend time planning on a format which will be utilised by students via our team Google Site.  

Each group accesses their slides document where each week a new slide is put up with the link to the text and any relevant follow up lessons.  This is used sometime in conjunction with the guided reading text and also is run alongside the Daily 5 which as a team we have come up with to target specific gaps we notice in our children reading.  

This is an example of the group slides for Reading.


Room 15 Writer's Circles

In Writing we are using Google Docs to provide each child with a Writer's Circle.  This is a mixed ability model where the site links each Writer's Circle Doc to the relevant group members.  They all write in a table within the document and this lets them construct their own writing while observing and sharing motivation, ideas and feedback with their group peers.  

Here is how I have set up my Writer's Circle Docs.  They all link back to the site and students can also access them directly from their own Drive folders.  





Tuesday 10 October 2017

Student Motivation and Learning through Google Sites

This year my team and I have utilised Google Sites to give our students the opportunity to view and be more actively involved in our planning.  

Up until recent years Teacher planning was exactly that... a plan that the teacher primarily used to guide their daily lessons.  It is slowly changing and becoming more relevant to share that documentation with students so that they have increased ownership in what they are learning and also gain understanding into what goes into planning and assessment of the content they are being delivered.

Enter Google Sites... The Mighty Kauri Team

At May Road School we have a team site which has an interface which shows 'buttons' which lead to other curriculum pages.  These buttons were simply made in Google Draw and connected to the relevant hyperlink.  


From this page students can go to the curriculum area they are working on and access their class pages.  These are designed to suit each class and will link to their group docs and planning for the week.  


Maths, Reading and Writing pages all link to classes and then onto groups within classes.  As teachers we are tailoring our pages to suit our students.  This might include specific websites, follow up tasks, reading logs, student voice forms, homework links etc.  

Our planning is kept very simple and I spend time making the docs that the students will utilise rather than working on a single doc that it just to inform me.  Teachers are intelligent people and it often baffles me how much work we are expected to put in to writing down what we will teach.  

Planning smarter for and with students is the way to go.  It gives them ownership and understanding of what they are learning.  It also builds their digital capabilities using tools such as sites and it becomes a working document that is integrates curriculum for enhanced digital learning.



Student voice is possibly the best way to see if what we implemented made any difference.  Through administering my class a Google Form survey there were able to share their reflections about Google Sites and sharing their learning. (excuse some of the spelling)









Sunday 10 September 2017

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie!

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie! 

Recently I have been using this tool so much in class to grab student voice quickly and also encourage collaboration between my students.  

This is also a tool I used frequently when presenting at conferences or running staff meetings as it lets people collaborate and share ideas in real time.  It is easy and accessible and generally adults love this way of brainstorming or contributing to a professional discussion or planning session.  

Below is an awesome example of how I recently incorporated this tool into my classroom programme! The answers are cute and well worth a read! 

COPIED FROM Room 15's 2017 Class Blog


Room 15 have been looking at what makes a good ROLE MODEL.  We think that people who do the following make good role models...

- Inspire us to try new things

- Be the best we can
- Do the right thing at the right time
- Follow their dreams
- Do good things for other people and not just for their own interests

We talked about how role models can come in different forms.  They can be people who are close to you such as family and friends.  They can also be people that you admire but have not personally met, like celebrities.  Role models can also show up in many different areas of your life from school, to home, to other activities such as church, sports, after school activities...


This padlet shows some of our thoughts! It is an amazing read and I loved seeing who was named as being a role model within our class and school! 




Made with Padlet

Friday 18 August 2017

The Wonderful World of DMiC Maths

Maths has always been about stages and Numeracy Project for me.  A new approach which I have had to learn this year is DMiC Maths which teaches maths through real-life contexts and problem solving.

I found the following explanation a good starting point to my DMiC teaching... https://nzmaths.co.nz/mathematics-inquiry-communities)

Through working with Generosa Leach I have learnt so much about the way I deliver my Maths programme.  Firstly the class is split in half into two mixed ability groups.  The problems that are written are constructed around a 'big idea'.  I need to know the students and which strategies I want them to work on but when writing a problem I plan for other strategies to be used.

Problems need to have multiple entry and exit points.  The students should all be able to relate to the context of the maths problem which gives then an understanding of why we are learning about it.  It also promotes language and discussion which is based on the story of the problems.

Lessons start with the whole group breaking down the problem and understanding the story.  Once we have a common understanding we then look at the numbers involved and start to break down with the question might be asking us.  Children then break into small groups to work on solving the problem in a collaborative way.

Maths norms and talk moves guide students to drive the strategising and problem solving in their own way.  Students need to contribute to the answer and success is determined by each person in the group understanding and being able to share back in their own way.




I have also looked at refining my planning to really think about the students in my group and their strengths and weaknesses.  This is known as 'Mathematical Status'.  All students have status but they are not necessarily the 'best' at maths or the 'smartest'.

DMiC Maths - Room 15 Tangram Question


 My journey with DMiC Maths has just begun but I feel confident in this way of teaching and I will always incorporate aspects of this problem solving model into my teaching from now on.


Thursday 18 May 2017

A Change of Pace

Term Two of 2017 brought a huge change for me in my teaching career.  The opportunity presented itself to take on a role in a completely different school to those that I was used to working at.  

Having worked for 10 years in two of Auckland's biggest and highly regarded schools has taught be so much.  I have had the privilege of learning from the best, being spoilt with my professional development options, learnt to communicate with parents and students and also have a really solid grounding for my teaching career.  

Both Meadowbank School (Decile 10) and Newmarket School (Decile 9) taught be different things but it was time for me to reflect on my practise and acknowledge the 'gaps' that I had in my teaching experience.  I am ambitious and one day would like to be in more senior management roles therefore I knew I needed to gain experience in a lower decile school and also increase my experience and teaching knowledge of Maori and Pasifika students.  

Fast forward to Term Two 2017 - I am now the Senior Teacher of a Digital Syndicate at May Road School in Mt Roskill.  

The following is a reflection of three differences and challenges I have faced but also the experience I have gained working at such a different school.  


  • 95% of my new class are Maori or Pasifika which is a huge contrast from the cultural composition of Newmarket School.  However, there are some similarities which fall under the ELLP and ESOL blanket.  I have found my teaching experience of children with English as a second language has assisted me greatly in the transition to May Road.
  • Parent Involvement and Contact.  This is very different because my last two school have been quite 'full on' in terms of parental involvement and participation.  I have learnt that this is not so true at May Road however the lack of face to face contact is not due to disinterest...some of my new parents do not know how to approach school conversations and it is more about finding ways to connect with them and teach them ways to become more involved with their child's learning.
  • National Standards - this is a tricky one in my new school.  I am engrained to look at NS and report on them with such precision however this is not a priority at May Road.  Although they are still discussed and formally reported on, it is refreshing to not agonise over these.  During conferences they are merely a passing comment and do not take over the main discussion.  Children at May Road are doing relatively well in regards to National Standards but it is only now that I have been able to see how detrimental they can be to certain students.
The rest of the year is unknown but I am excited to learn more about Maori and Pasifika education.  I also look forward to gaining experiences from working in a lower socio-economic area and accepting all the challenges it brings.  




Thursday 13 April 2017

Coding - Next Generation

It isn't a new thing at all, and lots of schools are starting to pick up on the trend that is CODING. 

The idea is simple...everything that you do online and digitally required some kind of coding sitting in the background driving the programme you are using, making the website function, giving the user prompts as to what to do next...the list goes on.

This video is an easy explanation of Coding and it's importance.



I have had teachers ask me recently what it the point of coding and teaching children about something that only a small proportion of them would do as a job.  This got me thinking... is there a job that our students are going to be doing when their older that wont have any elements of coding and computer programming involved in it? 

The importance of learning how to code is not so that we have a million game designers working in the same field of expertise in 15-20 years time.  It is so that children grow up understanding systems and basic computer science. 

Newton's Third Law - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  How does this relate to coding or computer science?  Well for every action that a person keys into a computer there is code sitting in a start of inertia waiting to be activated.  It then reacts to what message it is being sent or what it is being asked!

Children need to know that what they do on computers happens for a reason and that by understanding why things happen and a little about the how that sits behind computer science, they have the potential to create and innovate beyond the basics!


For teachers who are new to Coding, I suggest signing your class up to the Hour of Code.  It have lots of different integrated modules which get children understanding computer science through game play and design.