Hot in the news- MLE/ ILE what's up witha that?

In the holidays while catching up with friends from around the country I had an interesting discussion.  A friend who's boy goes to a public yet prestigious and traditional school was disgusted that the Ministry would only fund spaces like that school Hobsonville Point...  She was mortified when I said I would love my children to go there if we lived there.

The perception of this school is so mixed.  Something new really rattles some.  What mainly frightened me is that the many many valuable lifelong skills that are taught at HPPS are not measureable by our standardised tests and so not scored, reported on and not valued in the way traditional education has been.  Will this school really show how extensive it is when the cynics that judge it only revert back to 20th Century testing??

These posts prompted my thinking and I have shared with those at school that I have been having conversations with around this topic.

It's hot in the news at the moment - MLE/  ILE/ ministry funding etc,  I expect our parents will see or possibly ask our opinions??

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/73042309/top-schools-give-multimillion-dollar-classrooms-a-fail-grade

however it's good to read from a different perspective. Infact many perspectives. The label is causing issues I think as could be perceived to look the same if its labelled ILE/ MLE

https://sallyhart72.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/everything-is-nothing-with-a-twist-i-am-not-a-non-existent-teacher-who-just-lets-students-go/

and a response from the Principal of HPPS

Another look at Learner agency with a BYOD lens.

So Learner Agency is ... to quote Claire Amos in her recent post about tech not improving results 

Learner Agency 
See my earlier post here. Learner Agency is the idea that the learner has a sense of ownership and control over their own learning. The word 'agency' is defined as "action or intervention producing a particular effect", so I guess if we apply this to the learner, it means they engage in a particular action or trial an intervention which then produces a particular effect. In the context of a school this might involve students taking action, whether it be through reading, researching, discussing, debating, experimenting, making or tinkering and as a result, gain (through their own efforts) new understanding and new learning. This being a shift from the notion of teachers, teaching at the student and fundamentally providing all of the knowledge and content which they then transfer to the the empty vessel. And as I stated in my earlier post, genuine learner agency can really only be achieved where tech is accessible.

How does that sit with us as we venture back down the road of personalised timetable and voice expressing choice as our space enables us after living in a little box for 8 weeks. 

We don't have the hardware to allow this at the moment.  Students are restricted to using technology when it is scheduled rather than when it is required to enhance their learning at the time. 

Is it chicken or egg?? We need to convince the learners ( however they are super keen), the parents and the BOT that more technology is required for students to use it authentically.  How do we best show this when we don't have enough for students to use it in such a way.....

What have other schools done?

1. Bitten the bullet- had teachers with skills to implement and BOT supporting.  Then implemented BYOD in a variety of forms allowing students to take ownership of their machines and have flexibility in how they use it ( obviously within frameworks and policies)

2. Supplied more equipment- costing a lot of money

3.  Stayed with the status quo- possibly fueling the fire that technology is just an add on and used like a glorified text book. 

Where are we going????

Learner Agency

Everywhere I turn I'm seeing Learner Agency!  I think I know what it is but Claire Amos does give clarity to how Hobsonville Point Secondary School see it.

A must read and watch
http://www.teachingandelearning.com/2015/09/learner-agency-more-than-just-buzzword.html

a quote from the blog post

So what does Learner Agency actually mean. The way I define it is the idea that the learner has a sense of ownership and control over their own learning. The word 'agency' is defined as "action or intervention producing a particular effect", so I guess if we apply this to the learner, it means they engage in a particular action or trial an intervention which then produces a particular effect. In the context of a school this might involve students taking action, whether it be through reading, researching, discussing, debating, experimenting, making or tinkering and as a result, gain (through their own efforts) new understanding and new learnings. This being a shift from the notion of teachers, teaching at the student and fundamentally providing all of the knowledge and content which they then transfer to the the empty vessel.

So for me now it's about.... what will this look like a t a yr5/6 level to introduce our students to "Learning to Learn" 

Communicating with Parents

This year I have focused on ensuring parents know what is going on in and around the classroom daily action in a variety of ways.

I have a blog and that is a must- http://2getherin2015.blogspot.co.nz/

I email parents every sunday with an update of the week- this is linked to the portal as a go to

I have also introduced this year- seesaw-http://web.seesaw.me/

teacher view

a post to all

selecting specific chn and adding a clip of learning

After getting all used to these different forms of communication I asked the parents to fill in a survey- both digital and paper which I added.

Interested results- I guess a little disappointed with the uptake- but...

It informs me of what those that feedback like and has helped me tweak my actions to further enhance the communication.

Twitter #edchatnz talk tonight

Sore throat, dead on my feet but twitter chat on collaboration calls me in.  Thanks #edchatnz

Topic of the night

So many succinct ideas that make you really think.  I want to bottle the ideas and drag my colleagues into these kicking and screaming.  Could twitter be something I introduce to staff?

hmmmm - Did it at my last school before we headed off to Ulearn ( whole staff there which was amazing) They used it sparingly while we were there to collaborate on shared docs and the occasional where are you and since then none have continued ) Never mind.

I guess the next reasonable step is to somehow engage them in discussions from what I hear gong on and let them go there if they want to.  Opening doors and giving possibilities.  I see some that are keen to open the door and see what's out there in the collaborative sphere.

But I LOVED the challenge and how @missDtheteacher challenges statements and makes us dig deeper ( in such a positive way)

and then

ahhhh

Fabulous night gaining insight into why I'm thinking like I'm thinking.  

Next day was the move into our newly renovated spaces and the next step in collaboration with teachers to enable a more collaborative learning environment for all.  

#wellyEd conversation MLP

It was great on Tuesday to gather with other educators in the area to discuss MLP.  Modern Learning Practice, or other acronyms you want to throw at it.  We discussed it all.

Really pleased to get 2 colleagues to attend and discuss what this could look like at Hutt Central.

At no other gathering do you feel the enthusiasm as much as one that has a strong Twitter side. Either the person there is on the welly ed team or knows someone or now knows about it because of Twitter. Thank you social media tool for making collaboration easier.

Anyway... lots of discussion.  Informal and non-judgement about where people are at.

A brief "what's on top" from HC staff to cap off what we have seen and what we are now thinking.

Thanks to Jackie and Hazel from Maungaraki for sharing so freely their practice. It was great to hear from several teachers at Newlands Intermediate about how they were approaching the MLP.  Seesaw is growing in popularity- and it's great to hear how others are using it.

Resonating this week with me is the leadership within a collaborative teaching space.  Next year I will be one of the teachers in a collaborative space, I will also be the DP.  I'm inquiring into how a distributive leadership model will work in this.  I was so relieved to speak to Leanne @fivefoot3 around this and her reflection was on the button. - breaking down the structures.

Great to be having this conversation within my management team and seeing great examples from above ( oops beside me)

Continually impressed- twitterific!

I have to confess, when things get busy and I feel overloaded with the everyday tasks of a mother, wife, classroom teacher and Deputy Principal, Twitter falls off.

I feel like I don't miss it yet when I get back I realise how much I love it.  I love the variety, the enthusiasm and the constant stream of links that allow me to venture into things I didn't know I needed.

So thanks Twitter ( and those who know who they are from the favourites and replies).. you have to be my first post of this blog that has been looming for sometimes and I have been resisting the job. There are so many posts to come as my brain is bulging with ideas that I need to see be more than ideas. I am constantly inspired by the stunning bloggers surrounding us.

so... I plan to document my findings when I shift the lens and explore past what's most pressing to do to get through the next day to what's most pressing in the bigger picture.