Looking Forward to School

What is school going to be like when we all go back.? 

Can we go back to “business as usual". 

What can we learn from this disruption?

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's blog post really got me thinking about when we go "back" to school. Silvia says we should look "forward" - not in the sense of something happy to look forward to but to go forward in terms of teaching practice.

Her image of a bubble that she created in 2009. It actually looks like so many schools today.

from Langwitches blog 

The challenge for all of us going back to school is to make the most of this disruption and change. This is the best chance we have to make change.

So what would you get rid of? On my list are...

• round robin reading
• individual tasks
• worksheets
• iPads only used for games/distributed practise
• looooong drawn out teacher instructions (use your site!)
• glass ceilings on learning 

And hey - if you don't know what change is needed - ask the kids!

DFI Week 6 - Sites & Enabling Access

DFI continued online this week with the theme of enabling access with Google Sites. We explored many sites and evaluated them in terms of visual appeal and user experience. These sites were from across the clusters and provided a range of levels for us to look at.

Then we explored the sites we have made ourselves and provided feedback for each other. We used this exploration and feedback to work on our sites and develop them more. A large chunk of the day was for participants to work on their own site. Having this uninterrupted time is significant for time-poor teachers and allows for focused working time.

I loved exploring and seeing the use design elements that make a site visually appealing.  I love sites that use art from the students and photos as design elements. Here are 2 examples...
Room 8 Wesley Intermediate - home page with a photo as a header
Te Ana Ako (Waikowhai School 2018) - photos used a buttons

We worked in our regional groups connecting on Google Meet which enabled teachers to share their screen to trouble shoot. We covered a range of issues including using Incognito Window to test sites, publishing settings so everyone can view the site, changing sharing properties of Drive folders, creating buttons on one Google Drawing and downloading as a PNG...to mention a few.

The theory behind Just-in-time learning (JIT) has been played out dramatically since the lockdown was announced. Even in days like DFI with a set agenda and times, there are times where we are working in groups and this allow for some of that JIT learning to happen. The immediacy of connecting in a Google Meet means that participants can present their screen in Google Meet and we can deal with their particular issues and queries efficiently and to completion. This reduces frustration and learning is in short bursts without distraction.

I have enjoyed seeing the growth in confidence and capability of the teachers in DFI so far. The sites I viewed by our participants from Tairāwhiti today are coming together nicely. While many teachers instinctively use design elements well, they have worked really hard on making everything accessible today. This all bodes well in this lockdown and means that learners and their whānau can access sites and see everything on the site.

The Public Voices We Hear

Every day I listen to the Prime Minster's Press conference.

Each day starts with an update from Dr Ashley Bloomfield - the  Director-General of Health.  He explains things in layman's terms and is easy to understand. Apart from a break over Easter he has spoken to the nation and kept us informed. He engenders confidence and I am happy to have someone like him at the helm. He even put himself onto social media to answer questions from the public. He has become a household name.

The Prime Minster is equally easy to understand and her empathy for people comes thorough strongly. She is showing true leadership.

So where is the Education voice in all this?

Am I missing something here? Am I not looking in the right place?

We had one day with the Minister of Education last week updating what was being done in the education arena.

We always talk about parents being the biggest stakeholders in their children's education - so who is speaking to them?

I know that the Secretary of Education, Iona Holsted is communicating with Principals via email.  There is also information available here on the official MoE site. But I think a more human touch would build public confidence and ally the many fears people have.

But where was the public voice of Education today on the first day of term 2?
Where was the Secretary of Education or the Minister to talk to parents about their new role today?
Where is the message for the teachers and the extra care and attention they are taking in this uncharted territory of delivering remote learning?

In their absence I hope that Principals and BoT's are picking up the ball and working on communicating and reassuring people of the steps that are being taken to try to carry education on through this trying time.

The Minister did have a Q&A session live on Facebook tonight. But what happens if you are not a FB user? Or you do use FB but don't "like" the Minister?

I think being out in the public domain today would have been critical to making connections with the public, to be reassuring and to build confidence.

Are you ready? Remote Learning here we come!

In the two days we had before schools closing down St Mary's decided to go ahead with their scheduled staff meeting. And as some teachers had selected to work from home, a Google Meet was set up so they could join in. What a great opportunity to practise the coming reality of delivering #remotelearning when school resumes on 15th April.
With the announcement on Monday of the lockdown it made the theme of this staff meeting very relevant. Helen, the Principal, talked about the expectation in their school for how they are using sites to amplify and turbocharge learning. Most classes in this school already had sites set up. SOme had just started using them this year and some teachers have used them since joinung the cluster 2 years ago.
In the past week we had been discussing with school show they will deliver online learning using the Manaiakalani "Limit the Links" doc as the guideline. St Mary's set to last week and ensured every class had a class site and that all content was visible. Their class sites and blogs are all linked on the school site here.
During the week the year 4-6 classes practised using Google Meet to familiarise the student with this Google App. It also gave the teachers an opportunity to set up protocols with their learners for connecting online in a video conference.
So are they ready? Yes indeed. Combine this with effective practice, Digital Fluency Intensive participation, online support from facilitators of The Manaiakalani Programme and a strong collegiality, they sure are ready.

St Mary's staff meeting before lockdown 25th March

Helen, Principal of St Mary's Catholic Primary School - Gisborne

History in the Making

Do you feel like history is being written right before our eyes? I do. Everyday there is a significant development in every way. And while I am deeply ensconced in isolation and working at supporting teachers to deliver online learning, I am staying in touch with (official) sources of information.
My 3 go to's are...

• COVID-19 NZ Government site
• The Prime Minister's daily press conference 
• The Spinoff's COVID-19 page

So how is history written? I think we can write history. We don't need historians or academics to do it for us. And yes, I think they will publish books on this pandemic and the responses will be analysed ad infinitum, but I reckon we can write history just as well as them.

How? By documenting and curating our experiences and understandings we can write history.

Teachers are in a position that we have never been in before. We are having to deliver learning online - uncharted waters for everyone.

We need to write and write and write as this new reality unfolds. I entreated a group of teachers at a staff meeting last week to document what happens over the next 4 or more weeks. The group I was with all have professional learning blogs and this is the ideal platform for them to write, reflect and amplify their experience.

I have been motivated to write this blog post by another blogger - Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano aka:  Langwitches. Her blog post We are in the Midst of Making History really got me thinking about history and not leaving it to the academics to write. Her blog post has many questions that will prompt thinking. Let's get this down for posterity and chronicle our growth as educators, because I predict that out of this disruption will come change. 

So get writing...and be kind.