Overdrive - eBooks

A not so recent discovery that has been a fantastic find is the app 'Overdrive' which is a eBook reader for the NZ and worldwide libraries.  I was led to this app through the Auckland City Council and my love of books.  It's a great app for adults and even better for students with devices and it's simple and free to access and use.

I'm going to share from the perspective of Auckland City Library - as this is the library I use. However, a quick google, led me to an article saying around 40 NZ libraries had signed up to using Overdrive as one of their core apps (there are several others) to deliver eBooks through.  All you need is to be a member of the particular library in order to issue books.

To use Overdrive, you simply need to download the app which is available on apple and android, as well as a web version.  From here you need to add a library through the side bar, log in using your library card number and you are away.  The app is simple to navigate and move through.  The tool bar on the left hand side gives you access to your library, bookshelf and more.

When searching for books a small symbol on the top right hand corner tells you automatically if they are in (black book) or currently issued (grey book).

 By tapping on the book cover, it takes you to more in-depth information about the book where you can download a small sample of the book, read a blurb, see how many copies are available and how many 'holds' there may currently be on a title.

If the book is currently issued you are able to reserve a book by using the 'Borrow' function. You are able to change options easily and see how many people are ahead of you in the queue before you can get your hands on the book.  The brilliance of this 'holds' area is that you can set up an email alert to let you know when the book has become available for you.  You can set the book to automatically be added to your shelf when it is yours to read. Very handy!

A simple layout of the 'Wish List' - which are the books you would like to come back to at another time.

The account area gives you a quick glance to where you are for issues, holds and how many books are currently available from your wish list too.

I know I have enjoyed watching the range grow and develop.  Overdrive is also involved in the library Big Read - a global event which happens once a year, where 2 books for children/teens are available to read.  People are also invited to take part in the discussion through twitter and blogs.  

Just a quick overview of the Overdrive app - my students have enjoyed beginning to use it and the luxury of having free eBooks at their fingertips.  Happy reading!

Learning from Colleagues

Today I had my CRT (Classroom Release Time) in New Zealand we get 2 of these days per term.  It depends school to school how these days are used - in my school we are able to choose how we spend these days to best meet our needs.  So this means it can be anything from creating resources, viewing classrooms, testing, or one of the other million things we often have to do in our classroom lives!  This term I have been lucky enough to spend time viewing teachers from 2 other schools as well as my own on these classroom release days.  

I personally think that the more time we can spend with our colleagues and viewing other colleagues/classrooms the better.  It helps us to reflect on our own teaching and understandings to build upon these.  It helps us to view other ways to teach, to support and to learn alongside our students.  Even if you don't particularly agree with the way that person is teaching - there are things to take from those situations.  To reflect on and question how the way you support your students and if it is the right way for them.

"Everyone you will ever meet

knows something you don't"

- Bill Nye

This isn't something new or revolutionary - yet to me it speaks volumes.  In teaching I am continuously in awe of my colleagues, within school and within my PLN, on a daily basis.  There is always something new, different, exciting, thought-provoking or innovative happening to support our learners.  Conversations and reflections happening that will make changes or just reinforce that the road we are travelling, however slow, is the right one for them.

So, on Friday I spent some of my time in 2 of my colleagues rooms - different teachers at very different stages of their careers.  But each offering something to their learners that is right for them.  The time that I spent in these rooms and the time these teachers took to speak to me was hugely appreciated.  

In the first classroom I had the opportunity to see how in-depth and well thought out use of thinking tools and questioning was making a huge difference to the learners.  They were able to draw on knowledge and vocabulary to 'compare and contrast' different people of greatness.  They recognised different thinking tools and how they could be used to inform their investigations.  I enjoyed the conversations with the students and was so impressed in the way they could articulate their learning pathways using the thinking tools to support them.  There was a lot of visible thinking happening.  The conversation with the teacher supported the importance of visible thinking and thinking tools to support our learners.  It made me more aware of the choices I was making or not making in regards to thinking tools that would make my learners delve deeper and make connections between learning.  The teacher was carefully choosing thinking tools from her extended knowledge that would best cater and support the learners.  She was teaching them about why they would use the tools and helping them to extend these tools out into their everyday lives.  We were able to talk about a range of systems and ideas she has running through her classroom - what they looked like and why she had chosen them.  It was great to consider a different perspective on some things that happen daily in my classroom, and also some things that could happen more.

The visit to the next teacher was to see what she was doing as part of her writing programme.  This  year I have been investigating and re-working my writing programme, so I was interested to view another viewpoint or way of teaching.  I had heard through several teachers of the work this teacher was doing to inspire a love of writing in her students using a 'Writer's Cafe'.  So, on Friday afternoon I entered a classroom where, laid across the tables, were trays of brown sugar meringues for the students to enjoy.  The awesome thing was not the food (even though it was amazing) but what was happening around the food...  students spread out in small groups, pairs and solo writing. Writing. Yes, Friday afternoon and the room was a buzz of little authors who were penning their very own stories, chapter books, poems and more.  One group of 4 girls didn't bat an eyelid the whole time I was in the room as they were so engrossed in working through their storyline.  The thing for me wasn't the food, or even necessarily the writing.  It was the way this teacher had seen a need for her students and explored new ways of making this happening.  The food relaxed the environment - it's designed to be just like a cafe, where you pop in for a drink and a bite to eat and casually do your work... no pressure... no time constraints.  It is working for her kids.  She gives them the environment they need to be successful and she is seeing amazing results because of this.  It was a great opportunity to talk to the teacher about what teachers are doing with writing and how we support kids in their passion and love for writing.

It was such a valuable day and I walked away from these classrooms inspired.  I went back to my room to scrawl many notes, new ideas, reflections, thoughts and questions.  For me, it's not about replicating ideas and teaching styles, but rather about questioning my own, so that I am constantly monitoring how I can be doing the best for the learners in my room.  These teachers were listening to their students, their needs and wants and making changes to their classroom because of this.  Both talked of their own journey and learning pathways they had undertook to make changes in their classrooms that were benefitting their students.  I walked away in awe of two very inspiring teachers.

So, my challenge to you, is this...  If you haven't been out and explored your colleagues classrooms in your own school or others this year - make it your goal for Term 4.

"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.  Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives"
- Robert John Meehan

Digital Modelling Books - Part 2

This is Part 2 of the previous blog post detailing how I create digital modelling books.

My class setup is an apple TV and TV.  When I am working with a group I link my iPad to the TV via the apple TV through airplay.  This allows whatever is on the iPad to be shown on screen.  My go to app for modelling books has been the handwriting app Penultimate, because it is part of the Evernote family and easily links back to Evernote for keeping.  Penultimate allows you to keep handwritten notebooks of information, which can then be kept in the app or shared to a number of other apps/websites e.g. Google Drive etc.

Penultimate is basic and it's one of the things that I love about it.  It does it's job and does it well without trying to be overly complicated.  It has different coloured pens, eraser, cut, paste and different options for paper types.  Everything I need with no pointless extras.  Everything has a purpose and it serves it well!  It is one of my go to apps in a lot of areas.

Throughout the teaching workshop students and myself record key ideas, information, working out etc into our notebook and at the end of the session it is shared across from Penultimate to Evernote.  Because of the way I have it set up as being a shared notebook, it means that as soon as the Penultimate notebook is synced to Evernote the students can access it via our class website straight away.  This is a huge bonus for me, as the teacher, as I don't need to go back and post content, change it etc - it's available with minimum time.

Adding Content to Shared Evernote Notebooks

Open up Penultimate and it will ask you to sign in - this is to your Evernote account.  So you can enter the same details from your Evernote account above.  If it doesn't ask for this straight away click on the cog in the top left hand corner to link Penultimate to your Evernote account.

Now you are free to start a new notebook by clicking on the plus symbol in the bottom left hand corner.  It will open a new notebook for you to work in.  You will see the main tools, such as pens, eraser, cut, undo etc, down the right hand side.  Extra tools such as adding pictures, changing the paper type, sharing options and more down the left hand side of the screen.

Once you have completed working in the Penultimate notebook click on the home button which is on the top left hand side (it looks like a house).  This will return you to the home screen.  The next step is to share this notebook to Evernote and place it in the correct Evernote maths groups notebook.

The home screen in Penultimate is where you can access all of your Penultimate notebooks. To view them all scroll across to view the different notebooks you have. 

On the home screen you will see three options directly underneath the notebook you are working on or wanting to share.  Click on the first option for 'share' which then gives you the option to 'open in...'

Scroll across to the right and you will see an option for 'Open in Evernote' - click on this.

It will process your notebook into a PDF format and then open up Evernote with the following image.  This is your new note inside Evernote.  The PDF option you see inside the note area is your Penultimate notebook that you have just created.  On this screen you need to rename your note (the first line) and then also choose the notebook you would like it placed inside (the second line).  From here you can save your note and it will be accessible once you have synced your account.

While there are several steps to get these digital notebooks up and running, once you have them set up they are quick and easy to use.  I find that we are able to have a workshop and then have modelling books available straight after a workshop.  There has been a lot of trial and error of finding a way that digital modelling books work for my students.  We have trialled Google presentations and other formats but I am finding this is the easiest option that doesn't require a huge load of work and time to make it useable for the students and myself.  Once the initial setup was complete it has been easy to continue using the modelling books.

Remember, Evernote is the equivalent of a digital book - you can create notebooks and create individual notes that go inside your notebook, just like pages of a book.  This works the same when creating a digital modelling book.  In the case of these digital modelling books Penultimate creates the pages that go inside the Evernote modelling book.

Every time I open Penultimate for a new workshop I simply start a brand new Penultimate notebook by clicking on the plus symbol on the bottom left hand corner.  We add in the notes from our session and then when the workshop is complete I repeat the steps I have outlined above in 'Adding Content to Shared Notebook'.  Always check the second line to ensure that your note is going into your correct shared Evernote notebook, as it will always default to the last Evernote notebook you added content to.  This sounds confusing - but makes sense when you are adding content to your Evernote as you will see which of your groups notebooks it is going to be placed into.

When the students click on the link from our class google site it shows up the whole notebook with all of the workshop notes inside (like in the image below).  Students can easily locate the workshop and click to see all the notes we took as part of that session - exactly as it would be for a paper modelling book.  The accessibility from a range of devices and places and for a number of people at the same time means that it far outweighs the 1 in class paper modelling book I had previously been using.

Digital Modelling Books - Part 1

I have been trialling digital modelling books for mathematics with my students and they seem to be working really well for both my students and my self.  There are a number of key elements that make up this system and in this blog post I will outline the system I am using.  If you are new to using Evernote you may want to have a look at a previous presentation I shared at a mobile learning conference.  It gives you a bit of background as to what it is, however, if in doubt please leave a comment and I will help you out!

Evernote is the equivalent of a digital notebook - you can create notebooks and create individual notes that go inside your notebook, just like pages of a book.

4 main components I use to create digital modelling books:

1. Apple TV with an iPad

2. Penultimate app

3. Evernote app and online/desktop version

4. Google Sites

Setting up Shared Evernote Notebooks:

Notebooks in Evernote are private by default - this allows for your notes to only be seen by you.  However there are options to share these notebooks and to allow others to work on notebooks as well.  The last option is a paid feature of Evernote.  All the steps I talk about below are able to be completed with a free Evernote account and free Penultimate app.

Firstly, in our class Evernote account, I set up a notebook for each of my groups, for example; maths groups.  Notebooks are able to be created on both the app and online, however, I prefer to do this part through Evernote on a browser or the desktop version.  These notebooks are set up in our class Evernote account - we have 1 shared account for my entire class that we all use.

Once a notebook has been set up for each group, I set up a shared link for each of the notebooks that I want to have public access to.  To do this hover over the notebook and choose the share icon (there are a number of ways to do this):

It gives you several options to choose from - choose the last option: Publish. 

This allows people to access your Evernote notebook if they have the link.

It will take you to a new pop up window and the final step is to copy the Public URL - this is what I use so students are able to access the notebooks from our class website.  

These notebooks are accessed by my students through our class google site - so from here I copy the link and paste it on our maths area on our google site.  This makes our maths content accessible from one place for my students from home and school.  It allows them to easily find the information and support that they need.  Also parents can access them to support students with their learning.

If you are going to send students directly to this URL you may want to use a web link shortening service like bit.ly to make the link more accessible for students as the link Evernote provides is very long.

Your final step here is to open up Penultimate and link the app to your Evernote account.  To do this click on the 'Settings' button in the top left hand corner and add your Evernote account details.  Once they are linked you will not have to do this again, unless you sign out.

You don't need to worry too much about your Evernote notebooks again until right at the end.  When you share your Penultimate notes to Evernote it will give you an option to choose the Evernote notebook you want to place the note into.

The next post will detail how to use Penultimate as your modelling books and then share these notes across to your Evernote notebooks to make them immediately accessible for your students.

PML 2014 - Tracking our Learning

PML is short for Plan My Learning, which is a phrase we use in Room 12 to explain how learners organise their daily learning tasks - the term was adopted from my amazing office buddy and team leader Kristyn a few years ago.  During class time from the beginning of the day to around lunch time students plan their learning PML style - this is where they plan in what they are learning and when they are learning it.  This means that at any one time in the classroom you could see students reading, working on maths, typing, writing, playing games, running workshops and more.  While students plan their learning, I run group and 1-1 workshops for students in specific teaching areas for them.  Sometimes these workshops are ability based and sometimes they work based on students goals and needs.

It's a huge system that takes a lot of time to establish in the classroom, but one that I am now convinced allows for a huge amount of self management and student voice.  I have watched students take more ownership in their learning and choices through running the classroom in this way.  Students are beginning to take up more opportunities to lead their learning and others' learning.  We have a year 2 classroom next door and we have worked a lot with them to support the philosophy of 'Tuakana/Teina' in our classrooms and this is one that KW and I are continuing to reflect on and challenge.  PML allows students time to run workshops and work with each other in a range of ways.

PML in 2014 had a rough start - my students were not in the same space as previous classes I have worked with, so systems that have worked before at the beginning of the year, didn't work so well.  It required a lot of reflection, deep thinking and change from me.  It was clear that the students needed and still need to develop their self management and reflective skills - which are 2 core areas we are currently continuing to work on.   Through a lot of conversations and reflections with the students we have now created a system that is working well for the students and myself.  This comes from time, reflection and conversations with the students - no other way.  In this post and the following posts (as there is so much to this post I have split it!)  I will explain and reflect on what has and is happening with PML this year.

Tracking Learning
At the beginning of the year we were using daily planners.  These were piece of paper with a whole week timetable on them.  Students would take what they had to complete for the week and plot this in throughout the week.  Lots of students struggled with this and we soon realised it wasn't working, so after much discussion decided to try a To Do styled list.  This was more suited to the class but again students were having problems as they disliked carrying their planning notebook around with them, they would forget to tick things they had completed off and a raft of other problems.  We sat down as a class and talked about what wasn't working and why.  Some students who I have again this year suggested using the format that we had used the previous year - the students were keen.  It is a large whiteboard set up with room for each student to tick off their tasks for the week and a space for them to add any extras they had worked on.  We continued to use the language of 'Learning Priorities' - the things that were the most important to them for their learning and 'Learning Possibilities' - other learning tasks they could undertake.  The language we chose was important to the students.  The whiteboard system has been a hit again this year as students felt there was more ownership to be taken as what they were doing was out there for all to see.  I am not such a fan of the system, however, it allows me to see students who are finding tasks difficult or not getting through their tasks for the week and gives me a conversation starter to chat to them about their learning for the week.  Though I'm not a fan of it, I know that it is my students who use it on a daily basis - so it doesn't really matter what I think, as long as it is working for them!

I have 3 students who work in different ways.  2 students use magazine boxes to track their learning on a daily basis, rather than weekly basis and 1 student who dislikes the whiteboard system but the To Do list was perfect for her.  So at the start of the week, she creates her own To Do list in her notebook and she is away.  The greatest thing about that is that she is starting to learn about what she needs to manage her workload and a way she can prioritise those things.  Students with devices have begun to ask about planning on these and again this is a next step for us to find the best way that works for them.

At the beginning of the week we set up our 'Learning Priorities' on the whiteboard list - we have some consistent learning priorities then other ones that pop up as part of our weekly learning.  Our more consistent learning tasks are DEAR (Silent reading), Maths work, Reading challenge, Basic Facts Practice, Maori Practice and Writing.  Students have the opportunity to work on their specific goals or learning within each of these areas.  Once these are set up and spoken about the students break off into their chosen Learning Priority.  Over the last few weeks I have seen a real trend of students choosing to do DEAR at the beginning of the day - so we have an almost unusual silence that descends on the class during this time.

Tracking learning is more about the students being able to see what they are doing and how they are using their time during the week.  It has allowed me to have a range of learning conversations with kids that contain strong evidence of how they are going with managing themselves, time and resources to complete what is expected.  The skills that this entails are life long skills that as adults we strive to have. Managing our time, resources, skills, people and more are all small elements of PML that the students have to utilise on a daily basis.  Students sometimes don't meet the target for the week and through their personal reflections you begin to see why this may have happened.  On the whiteboard it may look like a student hasn't completed much - but then you can see that they have actually chosen to spend more time on completing a set task to a higher standard than they did previously.  The first time always takes longer.  First glance at our whiteboard doesn't always tell the whole story!

As part of being able to plan their week students need to see the big picture of what's happening in class.  So for this reason students don't just see a what's on today - but rather a whole week view of what is happening in class.  This allows the students to see what time they have for PML and when we have other events that may interfere with this.  It is also teaching them about flexibility as sometimes planning a week in advance means that things change or don't happen in the same way.  That they need to be prepared for this!  The way that the weekly whiteboard has changed over the year so far is that there is more time set aside for iNeed workshops - which are student chosen workshops based on needs (I will explain these more in another post).  The hardest thing seems to be that now that students have the ability to opt in and ask for these sessions - the more they want of them.  Which is great, but a hard balance when there are still group sessions that need to be fit in!  There are still a group of students who don't ask for iNeed workshops or haven't seen the relevance for them, which is something I am currently reflecting on as to why they might not be asking for these.

This was our whiteboard earlier in the year - same format but very different now!

In following posts I will share and reflect on the other key elements of PML such as students knowing their learning, student voice and reflection.  These all place a integral part in the way the classroom is structured.

Immersion Week

Our big theme this term is 'Dream It, Think It, Do It!' so KW and I designed a week of immersion which allowed our students to be involved in a range of ideas and topics to allow us to negotiate the learning path with our students.  In our school we work in pods - this year my pod of 4 classroom consists of 2 Year 2 classes, 1 Year 1 class and my own year 5/6 class.  KW and I planned a range of learning opportunities and also within our immersion week we held 4 sessions where each teacher from our pod took a different immersion session where we split our students up within the 4 groups.  Within this pod time we saw students take on game making, drama, modifying sports and hat creation challenges that saw them working within different aspects of creativity.

For the rest of the week KW and I planned immersion learning opportunities for our Year 2 and Year 5/6 students to be working alongside each other.  Each activity was carefully planned to allow students to work within 6 main dispositions to develop their understanding of 'Dream It, Think It, Do It!'  We identified 'flexibility, risk taking, creativity, thoughtfulness, thinking and challenge' as our key dispositions and these became our focus of conversations and reflections with the students throughout the week.

Our first challenge for the week was simple in spirit but provided a wealth of information for us, as teachers.  We collected as many boxes and bits that we could find.  Large, medium, small and more... we had them all!  From this we started with very little instructions... choose some boxes - create something!  This was to give us a range of information about our students! We were expecting some far our creations, but found we had very 'normal' creations - a house, a bus, a rocket ship.  It allowed us to see that risk-taking for our students is a key disposition.  So after a lot of discussion, we decided to set up a 'ninja cave' the next morning.  This was a huge hit for the students the next morning when they came in to find it - it ended up morphing throughout the weekend to become more and more challenging each morning.  It was through our 'ninja cave' that we were able to have an amazing conversation around risk-taking and what that entails.

We discussed what makes risk-taking harder and examined elements such as 'when people are watching' the risk level can go up.  Our principal arrived on the tail end of this conversation and was then invited to take the risk.  The kids were more than stoked to see their principal go through the 'Ninja cave' and supported him with a huge cheer and pakipaki at the end.

The biggest learning curve for most students was the concept of 'guerrilla knitting' or yarn bombing.  The idea being a semi-permanent form of street art that changes the street side from the drab into the colourful.  It's the concept of creativity for giving and thoughtfulness that we were working with through this learning experience.  So we headed out to our school fence with balls of wool and got to work to create our rather plain looking school fence into a work of art.  The students worked in pairs - 1 Year 5 or 6 student with 1 Year 2 student and began with small hearts.  However, students soon wanted to try different patterns and designs and got more enthusiastic as they saw the fence take shape.  We ended up with some diamonds, larger hearts, S and L shapes.  Unfortunately time and weather was a factor for us and we have both spoken about heading out with our classes to work on these again.  The concept of their own creativity for giving was one that was talked about over and over again during the week.

The coolest element of this was the reaction they saw from their peers, teachers and families.  On Friday we arrived back to class to an awesome letter.  This letter now has pride of place in both our classrooms on our door - so everyone entering can read it!

These are just a selection of the learning experiences we developed as part of our immersion week with our students.  We also designed playgrounds, made marble runs and more.  It allowed the students a wide range of experiences and allowed us to see where our students interests and passions lay for our next steps of the negotiated learning path.  I really enjoyed collaborating and planning with KW and it allowed us to each draw on our own experiences and strengths.  I learnt a lot from working more closely with her and it was great being able to sit down at the end of each day and reflect on what we saw for each of our kids.

At the end of the week we used the Kath Murdoch 'Learning Wheel' as a reflection tool for the week to help us decide where our next steps were and the guerilla knitting was a firm favourite.  From our Learning Wheel reflections and conversations my class have chosen to go down the path of investigating 'how my creativity can benefit others'.  I'm really looking forward to seeing where we go with this!

Future Wheel

Our term focus is looking at miss-takes/re-takes and the learning process.  To kick start our term we've been investigating our school values - Respect, Success, Team, Fun and Integrity.  Across our school this is often a common place where we start to have a firm values base with our classes.  It's at the core of class expectations and treaties.  A shared language we have when talking about expectations, behaviour, learning and attitudes.

We have been working through a range of different tasks to use these values and examine life with and without them.

In comes the Futures wheel otherwise known as consequence wheel.  The idea behind this thinking tool is to get students to think of the 'what next...' to something happening.  What would be the consequence of this happening - good or bad.

So, we split into groups and each group took a value.  They then talked about what would happen at our school if this value wasn't used or we didn't use it.
This lead to some great discussions in groups around this value and it's importance in our daily lives.  It gave the students a chance to also consider a range of perspectives.  How would this outcome affect parents, siblings, classmates, teachers, our deputy principals, principal? What would this mean for them?

For the first time using this thinking tool with them it was a success - some of them found it very difficult to 'put themselves in other people's shoes' and think about how the outcome might affect that person.  Others were able to articulate a range of ideas and outcomes from many different perspectives.  Some were also quite simple but others had far reaching perspectives and consequences.  Such as the the lack of success leading to people not being able to become olympic athletes because they didn't know what 'success' felt like or how to achieve it.

I can see how the level of questioning with the students will become more and more important as we use this tool further.  Getting the students to work in a range of perspectives and think from different angles and mind frames (positive/negative) will be a basis of my questioning for the next time we use this tool.

The tool would be very effective in a place where you were looking at positive and negative outcomes and getting students to think on both sides of the coin.

Below are a few examples from our first session using the Future Wheel.
You can download my template here - this is A3 size.

QR Codes

I've been talking a lot to one of our fantastic school librarians about utilising QR Codes in the school library.  We decided that my class would have a go at creating QR Code reviews for our junior students.  As each class has 2 iPad 2's in their class, we thought that they could bring them to the library and use them to listen to reviews and recommendations about books.

After a bit of research and the amazing twitterverse I came across a site called QR Voice - which allows you to create voice QR Codes from text.  The only drawback is that it only allows 100 characters! Eek! But this worked out to be quite a fun element to creating our QR Code recommendations.

The following is the step through of the session for developing these in your class.

Developing Voice QR Codes using QRVoice.net

Prior to the creating the QR Codes:

Session 1:
Spend some time together talking about QR Codes - have the students seen them before? Most of my students had seen them out and about but only 1-2 had knowledge of what they were for.  We talked about where we had seen them and then I showed the kids an example of what we were going to do.  This had them hooked in as they loved the QR Code scanning process.

Session 2:
The students self selected a text from our school library that they thought would be a great read for a Year 1/2 student.  This was done a week before the session.  This gave them time to read it in class and to a year 2/3 buddy throughout the week.  It helped them to be more familiar with the text - which is important.

Creating the QR Codes:

We came together around the data projector and went over what we know about QR Codes.  The kids were buddied up in pairs, selected by the teacher for a range of abilities.  Each part was broken up to allow the students to work through each element.  As groups of kids finished I ran quick workshops sharing the next stage.  This worked really well as it allowed us a group of finishers who became experts helping out other students etc.

Step 1 - Creating the recommendation/review

To create the review we encouraged kids to come up with 2-3 keywords from the story that explains the story and would make people want to read that story.  We talked a bit about who our audience was - 5/6 year olds and what would interest them.  We discussed genres and how that would help someone decide if it was a good book for them or not.  The key here is to also remember that QRVoice.net will only allow 100 characters to be used for the QR Code it creates.

An example is the book Boy by Roald Dahl
(This was the class example I used with my year 5/6 students.  My students all used picture books aimed at year 1 and 2 students)

Keywords were:
Funny - funny stories
Tricks - Roald Dahl played a lot of tricks
Autobiography - Roald Dahl as a kid

The next step was to then use these keywords to create 2 sentences that landed under 100 characters.  They would form at least 2 sentences that used the keywords and recommended the book.

Example:

This autobiography is a great read for those that like funny stories and great tricks.

A great read for those people who like funny books, tricks, practical jokes and more in this great read.

An autobiography that shares Roald Dahls funny childhood. Tricks, practical jokes and more.  It's a must read!

From here they then used the 100 characters template to see if it would fit in 100 characters or less.

Step 2: Creating the QR Code

I created a folder on our server that contained everything the students needed for this session.  This included:

- A html link to the QRVoice.net website
(To create this just click on the website address and drag it down to the desktop - it will give you an icon you can quickly click on to link to that website.)
- The 100 hundred characters template
- 100 hundred characters example
- QR Code Template
- Folder for finished QR Codes to go into

You could easily do all of this through google docs but for this session we used Pages as the placeholder for the QR codes.  It was easier to collate them all again at the end and print them.

Students went to QR Voice and typed in their recommendation.

When they were complete they clicked on the blue button to the side and their QR Code was created.

The students then took a screen shot of the QR Code ready for the next step.

The QR Code template was then opened up in Pages.  Students deleted the example QR Code and dropped their new QR Code in it's place.  They then updated the title of the book and reviewer.  Once this was complete the students used 'File' and 'Save As' to create their own saved QR Code into the finished folder.

To help step through this process I included the instructions again on the bottom of the QR Code template - this allowed the students another place to refer to when creating their codes.

An example of the template is below:

The kids then stuck them to the front of their books.  We have been using the class iPod and student devices to access the codes using QR Reader or i-nigma.  The kids have loved sharing their learning with each other and seeing the end product.

QRVoice is a great wee tool - the voice is a bit robotic but it's a bit of fun.  Our next step is to continue using them with our fotobabble book sells and book reviews on our class blogs and websites to share more reviews with our school.  I'm really keen to keep utilising voice and video with the QR Codes to allow access for a range of students across the school.

If you have any other questions please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

You are also able to download the 100 characters template here.

Independent Planner Reflection

We have a range of learning spaces in our class which provide the students with a chance to decide where they learn. Tall tables to keep an eye on the class, bean bags to slouch in, individual tables/spaces to work solo through to group tables that allow small to larger groups to work and learn together.  It's been great to have the opportunity to watch students learn about what best works for them. Some subjects students prefer the hustle and bustle of group learning spaces and then other subjects they prefer to work on their own.  If students know they have a lot of work to complete they often move themselves to the right space for them.  It's been a great learning curve for myself and students.

Over the last term and a bit I have been working with my class of Year 5/6 students to plan their learning at the beginning of the day.  Thus giving them a chance to decide when in the day their best learning happens.

A natural progression for the learners was to move into independent timetables.  Though these are still a transition point.  Everyday we discover a new way of doing these or small changes that help make this work.  At the moment we plan on paper - day by day for the week to allow for changes each day.  We have learnt to be increasingly flexible and work with what each day throws at us!

A few students plan on their iPod touch using the calendar feature and this works well for them.  The planning at the start of the day allows the students to locate other students they would like to work with and to decide when their best learning happens and how.  For some, this means getting the task they like the most completed first while for others it allows them to plan in more time for a task they know takes them a bit longer than what I would be able to allow them in a more structured setting.

Students work on a 'Must Do' and 'Can Do' system - where Must Do tasks are listed for their group - Maths, Reading and sometimes Writing.  The 'Must Do' tasks MUST be completed by the end of the day and the 'Can Do' tasks allow for early finishers, other learning focuses or tasks that need to be completed.  This means that at one time in the class students could be working on Xtramath, Brain Box sheets, reading to self, writing, completing reading tasks, filming, working with the teacher or any other variety of learning tasks.

At the start of the day the workshops are listed on the class planner.  At the moment workshops are offered by groups moving soon in to needs as well.  Each morning the student looks at the class planner to see what is on and when during the day will be independent planning time.  They also need to check here to see when their teaching workshop is.  They then check their group 'Must Do's' and 'Can Do's' and plan in their activities from here.

For some the planning of their learning came easily - it worked well for them.  For other students they have required lots of checking in, reflection and conversations to help guide them on their way.  It has required a lot of time and discussion as a class about what behaviours and attitudes we need to show and have to make it work in a respectful way for each other.  It's a huge ask - but they are doing it and on asking my students what they would prefer.... hands down, independent planners are their choice.

One of the hardest things with the planners were students perception of time and time it would take to complete a task.  Many would plan in unrealistic time frames - either too small or too big to complete tasks.  This has been one of the hardest elements to develop in planning.  We are moving towards more of a 'To Do List' type planning.  Where the students list what they need to do and then add it to their planner when they have completed it.  Knowing what they need to do and their timeframe could be a better way to plan the day for them.  As adults this is generally the way we would go around planning our own learning - so it could be a more natural way of working through this.  Especially for those students that find the time management harder to keep?

This has required a lot of big picture thinking combined with a lot of finer detail thinking and planning. The students enjoy it and it's great seeing learning conversations happen in the morning where students plan to meet up and complete tasks together - knowing that they work well in pairs or groups. There is still a long way to go but the changes and ideas that have formed from this have been great. I've been exceptionally lucky to share an office and a learning space with a very passionate teacher who is on a similar journey of independent learning with her students.  We have had some amazing conversations about the challenges and the successes of this style of classroom.  Without these conversations and a great thinker to learn alongside the process would have been more challenging. So, I'm very thankful for that opportunity.

Below I have attached links to free downloads for our planners that the students use.  These have been refined and developed as we have gone along.  They refinement and changes have come from the students.  Some like the space to plan while other find knowing 20 minute blocks more manageable to plan within.

20 Minute Planner

Open Spaces Planner

Ten minutes before lunch we get together and reflect on our learning - plan in for the next day any learning that we haven't completed.  The students can also plan with other students if they know they need some help or to work on something together.

We have a long way to go - but I'm proud of how far the students have come.  I'm really happy with the journey we've made

Reading Interview

This year I am teaching a Year 5/6 class which I am extremely excited about!  We have had 4 days together so far and I am amazed at the conversations, ideas and thoughts that have come out of our lessons.  We definitely hit the ground running.

One of the things I asked them to do for me last week was to complete a Reading Interview form.  This was so I could begin to piece together my readers as individuals but also as a class.   The idea came through via another post on my pinterest board and unfortunately I can't find the link back to it, but I shall update this once I find it!

I asked the kids to complete it while I read out each question and explained a bit more - if kids felt confident with the task they were to continue on with the questions by themselves.  This was a great way to structure it as my more confident students continued onwards without having to wait for others.

On reading the completed interviews I have learnt so many valuable things about my students as readers already:

• I have a large chunk of boys who love car books!
• The majority of my class are in to comedy books
• A lot of them do not like to read poetry
• The like to read outside in the shade or inside where it is quiet
• I have quite a few that don't read in their spare time
• Most are worried about reading aloud due to what they think people will say/do or think about their reading

This is just the start of a wealth of interesting and informative information that allows me to build up a picture of my readers.

I can use this information to inform how I approach their independent choices as part of reading time.  I'm going to need to do a lot of work in a range of genres this year to expand my students knowledge outside of their favourite genre.

I think I also really need to take on the outside world during silent reading and head out onto the field or under the trees or in our pod area for a few sessions during the week!

Here is a link to the Reading Interview and you are welcome to use it!

Educating Boys

Around 6 months ago a friend recommended a book called 'Educating Boys' by Michael Irwin to me.  I started it and then, like most books in term time, it got put to the side. Even thought I've been desperate to read it!  These holidays have meant that I have picked it up again and continued to read it.  It's a worthwhile read for anyone who are working with boys in education or who have boys at home.

Not a lot of the ideas and concepts are all that new to me e.g. boys need more movement, action learning and hands on approaches. But so far it has reinforced a lot of key teaching and learning concepts and approaches as well as ones that I have changed or don't use as much as I have previously.

A concept I linked into with learning is the idea of 'Play' as a basis for learning.  A place to hook old learning into new learning and to make discoveries.  Last year as part of our Daily5 reading work the students did 'Work with Words' which is basically spelling/grammar work.  As part of this I gave my year 4 students purple sand to draw words into and wikki stix to make letters with, amongst other tasks.  Initially I thought perhaps they wouldn't use them as they might deem them as 'babyish'.  Interestingly enough these were the items that were first taken by the students working in this area over and over again.  There was also a student developed system for letting people know you wanted to use them next.  Both of these were play items and I will use them with my Year 5/6 students this year again!  I also really liked the idea of having 'explorer' areas where there are things for the students (not just the boys!) to create or dismantle.  But also it's made me think about how I can create more areas for play in curriculum areas to diversify the teaching and learning process.

Exercise and Physical Education as a catalyst for more focussed work.  I know this and do a lot of this already as I see a huge difference in the students when there is more activity in the day.  But it's made me interested to look at starting each day or the breaking the middle block with a burst of focussed physical activity.  I've done this previously with 'Brain Breaks' and it's made a huge difference but it was something this year that I didn't use.
Also how I'm teaching Physical Education and the importance of making time for it.  Our school is well set up with our syndicates taking part in syndicate wide sports each term for at least 1 hour and also whole school Jump Jam each week.  This is a great base for our students and I know that my boys are always the first ones to be asking what sports they will be undertaking during this time and the first to complain if the weather is bad on sports afternoons!

It was interesting to read about the students who are coming into schools and the importance of teaching them to read and write from the first day and as early as 5.  Irwin talks about the fact that a lot of the teaching and learning for literacy has moved away from play based, making and creating into more 'talk and write' examples.  He stresses the importance of linking back to the play concepts and developmental play in the early years.  There has been a lot of talk about the Finish education system lately and how they excel with teaching and learning in worldwide comparisons.  Irwin interestingly points out the fact that students don't start school in Finland until they are 7 giving students more time to be involved in play.  Such a focus on literacy which in turn pushes out areas such as The Arts, Physical Education and Science out of the daily curriculum.  All areas that boys tend to excel in but don't get the opportunity to be as involved in.

So, I will continue to read, reflect and make links to my teaching practice and challenge ideas I have or have had and why I may not do them anymore.  I think it is a worthwhile read and while the focus is on educating boys, I do believe many of the concepts and ideas can equally be forwarded to girls and their learning needs.

Adding a Google Calendar to your blog

At uLearn I spoke about how I use a Google Calendar embedded into my class blog to help support communication to students and parents.  I've been contacted by a delegate from the conference to find out a bit more about how to make this happen.  So here is a quick and (hopefully) not to painful way to embed a Google calendar into your blog or wiki!

Log into your gmail account - you may need to create one if you don't already have one.

From here click on the 'Calendar' icon at the top of the page (alternatively log straight into your calendar using your Google account details).

Once you're into your calendar it's pretty simple to add appointments into your calendar by double clicking on the calendar and adding in the relevant details.

You can also add in stock standard calendars such as the NZ holidays calendar.  This is as simple as searching within the Google library of calendars down the left hand side of your calendar - click on 'Browse Interesting Calendars'.

When you are ready to share it you need to go to the cog on the top right hand corner of the screen which holds all of the setting options.  Here you need to click on 'Calendar Settings'.

Next is to click on the tab underneath the google logo that says 'Calendars'

All of your calendars will show up underneath the 'Calendars' tab -  you can have multiple calendars and set different audiences.

The first thing you need to do is click on 'Shared: Edit settings' and to then click on the tick box to make your calendar public.  This will allow people to be able to view your calendar without logging in.

Go back to your calendar settings, into the tab 'Calendar' and then click on your calendar.

You will then get another screen which has all your sharing settings.  This is where you have 2 options to either take the web address of your calendar or to take an embed code to embed into a blog page/wiki page etc

 To embed: copy and paste the code from the box on the right into your blog.

I use the calendar address link as I prefer using the standalone page format for the calendar.  So, where is says 'Calendar Address' click on the blue HTML button and copy the page url that it gives you in blue.

You have finished with your calendar for now - it's always a good idea to leave your calendar open in a tab to come back to.  Just incase you want to go back and make changes to your calendar.

The next step is to take a screenshot or find an image that you want the kids to use to get to the calendar.  I used a basic Google calendar text image for the kids.

Now head back to your blog - this tutorial is using blogger so you will have to adjust it slightly if you are using a different blogging format.

In blogger click on your blog title e.g. Electric Eight and then down the left hand side select 'Layout'.

When the layout page comes up - click on the button that says 'Add a Gadget'

From the selection choose 'Picture'

You could also use a range of different gadgets here e.g. the html or text gadgets but I prefer to use an image that the kids can link to the calendar from so I use the 'Picture' gadget.

The Configure Image box will pop up.  This is where you need to paste the link you copied earlier from your calendar into the 'Link' box.  In the 'Title' box give your calendar a name e.g. What's on? Our Calendar! etc  You then need to click on 'Upload an image' and upload your image from earlier.  Once this is loaded it will show up next to the work 'image' in the box.  Lastly, click on 'save'.

You'll see in the layout window that your gadget for your calendar will be at the top.  You can click and move this gadget around within the list so that it's in the place you would like it to be.  It doesn't have to stay at the top of your sidebar!

Last step! Click on 'Save arrangement' to save your new gadget.

Then click on 'View Blog' and down the left hand side of your blog you should see the gadget you have just added!

Click on your image in the sidebar to make sure that your calendar is showing up!

You now have a class calendar!

Extra goodies for people that like pretty things!

Just a little bit of an extra step here if you are interested in tweaking your calendar or changing the way it looks.  Go back to your calendar settings, into the tab 'Calendar' and then click on your calendar.

You will then get another screen which has all your sharing settings.

Where you would take the embed code there is a small piece of writing in blue that says

'Customize the color, size and other options' click on this to customise your blog.

It will give you a screen where you can change the look and format of your calendar.

One bonus here is that if you click on 'Agenda' under 'Default view' it will give you a list format of the calendar that can easily be embedded straight into your side bar using the embed code and a html gadget.

Example of what an Agenda view is:

Hope this helps you get started with adding a Google calendar to your class blog.  If you have any questions or would like anything clarified or if you have a great tip to make this process even simpler leave a comment!