My favourite thing from the day was hearing about the things that people are doing in their classes. I learnt about a awesome photography site called Big Picture through one of the lead teachers who was using it as a website of the week. Great for the visual language and photography work that I am interested in. Also spoke to a teacher who had created some work in google sketch up with her kids as part of a maths unit. Google sketch up is something i've been wanting to try since hearing about one of mrw00dy's students using it in his class.
We then moved on to looking at 2 of Suzie Vesper's sites and one of Lenva Shearings sites that are developed around web 2.0 tools. We investigated a range of tools and shared 1 tool for Literacy and Numeracy and then a random web2.0 tool that we liked. It was cool to see the different ideas people had of how these tools can be used in the classroom. Though I think it is important to remember the definition of what makes web2.0, web2.0 also!
Developing a Professional Learning Community was an important element of the day. Looking at what this means, how and why it's important, what we are doing already and what we could develop for this. This is such a key element for me, as through twitter I have developed a strong Personal Learning Network (PLN) and see so many benefits from professional dialogue and discussion with my own learning as well as my teaching. It was interesting to see what elements of a PLC people are interested in. Many prefered the face to face arena rather than forums such as online discussions, wiki forums or online meetings e.g. flashmeeting.
We looked at what makes a good facilitator. These are the words which our lead teachers felt make a good facilitator.
I enjoyed looking at the ideas on facilitation, as this is an area I would like to develop more within. I had a great session with Belinda earlier in the week, where we looked at good strategies, tip and ideas in the art of facilitation. I say the art because there is alot to develop when being a thoughtful and excellent facilitator! From your sessions to your language, I have alot to develop! :)
Today was a great well rounded day with lots of different things throughout the day. Thanks to Belinda for organising such a fabulous day!
2 comments:
Awesome to read about what you found useful and/or interesting at yesterday's workshop. And very kind of you to thank me! I came away with several new sites to try and out and a couple of keyboard shortcuts I didn't know about! Something that was reinforced for me was the importance of "play time" and the value of getting to know each other better. Those parts are a common positive thread in most of the lead teacher reflections.
Hi Amanda. Sounds like a great lead teacher day you all had! I've just been checking out the Big Picture - looks to be a good site for news time! I have also wanted to have a go with Google Sketchup for a long time - the pitfalls of not having a class anymore! See you at the conference day.
Post a Comment