Assignment 1 Planning and process

This is the process that Fran and I undertook when reflecting, considering what to do prior to planning our first Mindlab assignment. We consulted with Herbert our Lecturer and felt relieved that we were on the right track and he clarified some of our questions about the presentation and the amount of research we had to integrate into the video.

Week 3

LDC - Implementing Technology Innovation in the class

Adaptive Competence

Models - SAMR and TPACK

Practical Activity this week was to collaboratively design a learning activity using either  Google Earth or Google maps. 

Mindlab Family Adventures - here we come...

And explore another groups activity and rate it using a SAMR rubric.


DLC - Virtual and Augmented Reality and Innovations
Augmented Reality


Virtual Reality

Innovations
Aurasma
4D Anatomy

Reflection:
My career path means that I am constantly needing to reflect on what I do and why? adapt and change to meet the needs of who I am teaching or working with; and be open minded to change and challenge myself to try new things, apps etc for learning.

Week 2 Reflection 21st Century Skills / KC in leading / Reflective Practice and Key competencies in Leadership

The focus this week was on: 
21st Century Skills / KC in leading
What skills do our 21st century learners need to thriveand how does leadership create the conditions to develop these

• Collaboration

• Knowledge construction

• Self-regulation

• The Use of ICT for learning

• Skilled Communication

• Real-world problem-solving and innovation 

We compared the current key competencies with the 21st century skills. The article Microsoft Partners in Learning ITL research was very helpful with the six rubrics of 21st century learning. We then participated in a practical activity to make a video using the 21st century skills and the Three act structure to develop our story into a narrative. We chose to rewrite a Shakespeare play for a teenage audience to video. We used Romeo and Juliet to get a message across to our teenage audience that all is not lost, there is always someone there to help and suicide is not always the option in difficult times.  Our video is below:

Reflective Practice and Key competencies in Leadership

Towards Reconceptualising Leadership - The Implication of the Revised NZC for School Leaders - Wayne Freeth U of C

I found this an interesting article as it helped to reinforce the shift of 'Knowledge as a noun' to 'Knowledge as a verb' Key phrases kept reinforcing for me that teacher agency and shared decision making, teamwork and community building are very important for us as professionals to keep to the forefront in our work. This article gave me a perspective that there are times that school leaders feel vulnerable at leading. It is often difficult to 'walk the talk' and there is a need for collective ownership, shared visions with school processes. This often requires a shift of power relations and leadership styles.

What 60 Schools can tell us about teaching in 21st century - Grant LichtmanPreparing our students for their future, not our past.

I liked Dewey's quote: "If we teach today as we taught yesterday we rob children of tomorrow."

I've taken out of this week that we as teachers and leaders not only need to walk the talk to students but to other colleagues and lead by example as we move towards intrinsically incorporating 21st century skills into our daily lives to encouraging those we teach and work with to do the same.

Week One Reflection in retrospect

Reflection in retrospect after my second class and setting up my learning journey blog.
The first week was exciting and at times over whelming with the realisation that I was about to launch myself back into study mode. At the same time challenging myself to move out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed the hands on video making and putting myself in a situation of working with others I didn't know. We had fun making this video and with the shared support of each other we enjoyed success. Upon reflection as a teacher we are always asking children to work with others who they may not choose to work with, so it just reminded me of those initial unsure feelings that children often feel.

All in all I came away feeling inspired and ready to challenge myself both personally and professionally. One of the course aims is to consistently use more reflective practice, I know already now that this is definitely going to change the way I teach.

Applying video making in class:
I used a 30 minute time limit that we had in class on a group of Year 7 students to plan a one minute video. They had 30 minutes to brainstorm, storyboard ideas for their video. The criteria was to make an 1 minute video with an inspirational message. They chose who they worked with. They mainly were in groups of 2 or 3, with one group of 4. I didn't allow technology until storyboarding had been done, this allowed for creativity of their own ideas without always going to youtube and copying others. I was really amazed at how well they planned out their ideas into a storyboard. Within the 30 minutes, one group got to the stage of taking photos, another had drawn cartoon figures for their movie. Session two will play out this week where I will give them an afternoon session to complete. What surprised me about this activity already was the engagement of group of year 7 boys instantly. They were awesome and I am looking forward to next week when we complete session two.

With regards to research material, I need to get myself organised and make time to read, absorb and reflect on the material, particularly with this busy term.