I went into my local library over the weekend and I was disappointed that they had got it wrong. They had the self service check out where you could scan your book and swipe your card, but they still had it wrong. They had a nice performance area with several levels of seats, but there was no one there. They had a wide selection of fiction works, media to take out and magazines. They had an extensive array of reference materials and even some computers, but they still had it wrong. They had staff who were experience and knowledgable. They had a long and wide service desk and this was part of the problem. I walked into the library, rummaged around, found a book and left all with out ever talking to the librarians. This was where it went wrong. The librarians with all of  their accumulated wisdom, extensive experience, passion for books and understanding of system, stayed behind there thick, wide desk. They were the end point of the process if I had to withdraw a book or item that required a charge or required some degree of intervention. Other than that I was on my own. Why is it that the experts with the passion for books are the last point of call? why are they the end of the process? Why are they only relevant if I need help or if I need to pay? Surely in the modern library, the librarians are the starting point of the journey. Wouldn’t it be great if they can out from behind their fortified issues desk and became relevant to me as I tried to find the object of my curiosity rather than as the cashier? I struggle too in the days of self check out, where you can demagnetize the book yourself, issue it at a compact workstation where you can perform the cataloging functions as to why they need a huge desk that keeps them separate from the customers? Why are libraries, even ones built in the last few years, still designed with the librarians as the end point. Where the apparent role of the librarian is to protect the book stock or to issue the book. Walk into your own library. Does a librarian come and greet you and ask how they can help? Do they share the accumulated wisdom and scholarship they have? Do they exude the passion and love they have for reading? Or do you have my experience and never encounter a librarian at all? And what will happen soon when eBooks are much much more common.    

If I had a green fields school, would I build a library? The answer is absolutely YES, but what would it look like and function like? Well, to answer that question I would look at the characteristic of the students I teach. We know that they are: Information savvy, but often struggle to validate the information they collect technology savvy, but need direction and scaffolding to use these tools for learning Media savvy, but need support to interpret and understand, but enjoy visual media impatient and often require immediate gratification connected communicators and collaborators like to customise and adapt their environment to suit them selves value transparency, fairness and openness So given these characteristic what would I include in my library. Books - absolutely, nothing can replace the touch, feel and smell of a book nor the pleasure of sitting down and reading, but I would not be providing reference books as these are out of date before they are printed and better resources are online. I would also be making available e-books to complement the book stock. Access and connectivity - ubiquitous and easy access to the internet, not via terminals but wireless so the learners can connect any suitable device quickly and easily to the network and leverage this ability to learn. Access to media in its various forms whether this is magazines, books, video, audio, or… making available via the network access to video on demand, to podcasts, audio books recording, music anything and everything Spaces that are flexible and agile, with furniture that can be easily adapted for one person working or a group collaborating. Spaces that equally easily facilitate quiet reflection or video conferencing. I would be encouraging the learners to shift manipulate and rearrange the furniture to suit their needs. I would encourage discussion and group work to suit our collaborators, while cherishing the individual learner - so I would make available spaces that facilitate discussion and quiet reflection. I would have staff who are passionate, enthusiastic skilled and motivated. Staff who take the front foot, and ask and facilitate. Staff who are digitally fluent while grounded in the practicalities of the library, staff who are comfortable in all mediums be they paper, visual, digital or audio. Staff who enjoy and thrive on working with young learners, in shaping their searches, and who ask questions. A library for me would be open and bright, vibrant and alive, pulsing with a passion to learn, discover and explore.  

Educause has just released their latest Seven things presentation. This particular release and update is "Seven things you should know about the evolution of the textbook". To keep in them this publication is available in pdf and ePub formats. They detail the changes that are now available in the electronic format compared to the traditional static format. These include 3D charts and tables, interactive maps, continual updates, and quizzes with instant feedback I have had a limited play with Apples iBook author and the interactive widget that I found included: The Gallery Widget - an interactive image gallery complete with captions for each image The Movie Widget The review widget - this allows you to put in questions and have your readers test themselves and recieve feedback The Keynote widget - embeds keynote presentations (convert ppt to key and insert) The interactive widget - zoom into areas of a images and see additional information The 3D widget - embed 3D models in the Collada file format (.dae) - this is an export option from Google Sketch-up The HTML widget - embed HTML 5 code in your ebook - this opens up HUGE potential How long till we see textbooks like - Al Gore’s Our Choice as the standard. How will libraries issue ebooks?

I hate league tables - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1081398 Every year the media collect up the data published by the Ministry of education and from this produce a league table showing who is the best and who is the worst, in their humble opinion. Their analysis lacks depth and understanding, it often fails to account for the number of school doing alternative qualification systems like Cambridge and International Baccalaureate. Further, they take the results in isolation from the school, its environment and community. Yes, I hate league tables. I question there worth, I question the outcomes  and the motivation behind them. But, there is a reality check here.  LEAGUE TABLES ARE HERE TO STAY. While the Ministry makes available the data (I am a fan of access to data and transparency), parents search for the best educational outcome for their children and the media continues to look for easy stories, league tables are going to be our constant companions. So, while I don’t like the concept, the prospect of having the ministry of education produce the tables is far more appealing than having the media do it.  Particularly if they based the tables on a range of factors not just achievement in standards whether they are achievement standards or national. I believe it is critical that parents have access to a range of data, and to have this supported by informed, accurate and unbias analysis and evaluation. Something that the media is sadly lacking in some cases.  

On the weekend my eldest (10 years old) son and I had a discussion about balance or more to the point about imbalance. It seemed that every time I turned around he was sitting playing on one of the many connected devices around the house. The end result of this apparent frenzy of digital activity, was a technology free afternoon and evening. The events of day reinforce for me the need for balance. It is critical that our young people are technologically fluent, able to use the huge variety of tools to access the different mediums with ease, but this is not at the expense of physical activity and play. Its critical that they play, whether that is playing electronically, physically,  competitively,  socially or individually. The news recently highlighted the challenge that we face with exercise and health.  Obesity rates are frightening with New Zealand ranking third on the global obesity ranks USA Mexico New Zealand UK Reading John Ratey’s  Book Spark- The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain reinforces even more the value and importance of exercise in learning and the benefits that a healthy body brings. If you read Dr John Medina’s brain rules these same principle are again stressed. I know that I work, play and sleep better when I exercise, its all about balance. Taking an hour out to exercise has benefits that far out way the  time invested. Its all about balance

Technology Use Audit Tool - http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Tech_audit_tool The technology audit tool is a quick snap shot of how technology is being used in the classroom. It is based on the work of Bernajean Porter.  There are three levels to consider: Literacy, Augmentative and Transformative.  Each level has a place in the learning process. You have to learn about the technology to be able to integrate it, and then apply your understanding and eventually transform the learning in the classroom. The material below is the updated material from the Edorigami wiki Level 1: Literacy use - This is often "Teaching about technology". This level of use often manifests itself as learning how to use technology etc. This is critical as there must be an aspect of this before we progress to the higher levels. eg. This could be teaching of word processing techniques, discussing use of colour in a presentation, writing formula in a spreadsheet etc Level 2: Augmentative/Integrating use - This is often "Teaching with technology". Does the use of technology reinforce, augment or substitute for a traditional teaching approach? The key question here is "Can we do this without technology?" If the answer is Yes, then this is augmentative or integrating. eg. This could be using an email system to distribute class notes or materials, having students process mathematical formula or process on a smartboards, developing a presentation etc. Each of these can be achieved using traditional teaching approaches. Level 3: Transformative use - This is "Teaching through technology". Here the activity or learning you are doing can only be completed by using the technology. The learning is focused is on learning by and developing skills in collaboration & communication, self-directed learning, higher order thinking and use of electronic information. Technology here is not the goal, rather learning is. At this level the use of technology is seemless and this level of learning could not happen without the technology. eg. Students collaboratively researching a presentation topic and assembling the research in Google documents and then each students prepares a section of the presentation synchronously using the presentation tool in the Google apps suite. A teacher who holds a regular evening homework tutorial between 7pm and 7.30pm for his students using a collaboration tool. etc. The three levels of use represent a progression from learning how to use the technology, basic implementation to eventually using it to transform the classroom. An example that you could use would be the use of blogging in a classroom. The process starts with Literacy use - the teacher and the class explore the blogging site, they learn about the user interface and what the various features of the site are. They probably post a number of test blogs posts where they use different formatting, add images, links and other enhancements. Once the students have developed a basic understanding of the tool and its use, the teacher then integrate this into the classroom practice. The initial use of the individual student blogs is a process and reflective journal, where the student reflects on their learning and progress through a project or unit of learning. This is integrating or augmentative use as the student could do the same task using a paper based journal, writing daily entries. Transformative use occurs when the teacher and the students peers use the comment feature to discuss and comment on the students post. They establish a learning conversation that could not have been done with out the use of technology. Technology State technology & use in the classroom Level 1 Literacy Use Level 2 Augmentative / integrating Use Level 3 Transformative Use Blogging - using Edublogs. Students learning about the blog site Explore basic features Understanding formatting include media Blooms: - Understanding and Applying Blogging - using Edublogs. Student writing and maintaining a process and reflective journal Student reflect on their learning. Posting regular updates on their learning. Students consider the learning outcomes and link lessons Blooms: - Analysis and Evaluation Blogging - using Edublogs. The students peers and teacher use the discussion feature to comment and reflect Students reflect and comment on their peers posts. The students moderate the posts, considering the worth of the comments and discussions and approve these accordingly. Student start a threaded discussion using the comment feature. Blooms: - Analysis and Evaluation   Reference Grappling with Accountability 2002: Mapping Tools for Organizing and Assessing Technology for Student Results, Bernajean Porter

This is a very useful site with a great list of different iPad applications sorted by subject areas and then these are broken down in to different categories. The applications are both free and paid subscription/purchase. For Example - Language Arts apps has sub categories for literacy reading practice hand writing spelling grammar graphical organisers This is a useful reference site - http://www.tcea.org/ipad It is also worthwhile reading the Educause - Seven things you should know about iPad apps for learning. This is another excellent synopsis that helps clarify the use of iPads in the classroom. For the Scientist, here are some free iPad applications that I have recently added to my laptop: Owl pellets lite - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/owl-pellet-activities-lite/id413711518?mt=8 Chemistry Formula practice lite - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chemistry-formula-practice/id422958981?mt=8 Building atoms, ions and isotopes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/building-atoms-ions-isotopes/id437001161?mt=8

  Source: http://badgemonkey.com/images/smile.jpg Badges? What are badges? I always thought badges were small circular discs that you pinned (carefully) to your shirt or jacket. But we now have digital badges as well. Educause has just released their latest update which discusses Digital badges - Seven things you should know about badges. This is the link to the PDF file for download. here is the link to the library of resources from Educause in this series. My students and I are investigating Digital media as part of the ITGS course, specifically we are examining the issues, impacts and changes that exist in IT and the home. What effect and impact does IT have on the arts, leisure, entertainment and the home. My students are in their mid teens and for many of them they have seen very few different music medias  - so I went looking for an infographic that showed the different media over time I found a very good one thats worth sharing. See the original article by David Wallace - http://www.davidwallace.com/2010/10/evolution-music-playing-formats/

Failure is such an uncomfortable topic in education. We are very failure adverse and consequently risk adverse. It is often seen as unacceptable for students to fail and this avoidance of failure is not mirrored in the real world beyond the safe environments of the school. I believe that we must use failure or getting stuff wrong as a tool for learning, that we must accept it as a part of the learning process, that we must use it to progress and develop. We should and must strive to succeed, but we need to allow opportunities for students to learn from their mistakes and in fact to provide opportunities for them to make mistakes. Getting stuff wrong is a natural part of learning and growing. Getting stuff wrong is how we learn. Consider the analogy of a person getting fitter and exercising. To develop more muscle tissue you must place that muscle under stress, this stress cause damage which is stimulate the grow and repair of the muscle. It is only by pushing limits that the muscle grows and develops. The same can be said for learning push the limits, apply stress to challenge and stimulate growth. The trick is of course how much stress to apply. How hard to run, how big a weight to lift or how challenging a learning task. Priest in his book on adventure theory describes  the relationship between risk and competence. The area of peak learning or peak adventure is that match between competence and risk. This is based on Vygotsky’s Zone of proximal development. Peak adventure involves getting it wrong, it involves making mistakes and failing, but more than that it involves learning from our mistakes. source: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/graphics/zpd.GIF In making mistakes and failing in an environment where you can develop and learning. Where the risks are managed so that catastrophe is avoided and learning occurs. This is part of the true art of teaching. taking our students from their current level of achievement or competence and pushing them into the zone of development. In outdoor education, this is a practice so natural and obvious as challenged based education is the norm. Part of education is preparing our students for the world beyond the classroom. A world where they will fail, they will make mistakes and they need to have the skills to be able to recover and learn. They need to be resilient, adaptable and reflective. They need to see failing or getting it wrong as part of a process to mastery. They can not go out into the world unprepared and unable to cope with what life throws at them. When you talk to and listen to the top achievers, the high flyers, the world class athletes (both physical and mental athletes) they will all say the same. Life has its ups and downs and to succeed you work (battle) through these. You push beyond your limits out of what is comfortable and  why? Well this picture sums it up….  

I have just had this article past to me by a colleague in the US - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/texas-republican-party-2012-platform-education_n_1632097.html. When I first saw it and read it I though this was a joke, but unfortunately it is not, this is the education manifesto of the Repulican party, in the Very republican state of Texas. The key points of the article, once you have moved past the headline grabbing aspects of sex education and absitance are as follows; corporal punishment is effective  the party opposes mandatory pre-school and kindergarten, saying parents are "best suited to train their children in their early development." they oppose the teaching of "higher order thinking skills" — a curriculum which strives to encourage critical thinking — arguing that it might challenge "student’s fixed beliefs" and undermine "parental authority." - Quote " We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-BasedEducation (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challengingthe student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority." encouragement of legislation that prevents "non-citizens unlawfully present in the United States" from enrolling in public schools Controversial theories - We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories.We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind Textbook reviews - Until such time as all texts are required to be approved by the SBOE (state board of education), each ISD that uses non-SBOE approved instructional materials must verify them as factually and historically correct. Also the ISD board must hold a public hearing on such materials, protect citizen’s right of petition and require compliancewith TEC and legislative intent. Local ISD boards must maintain the same standards as the SBOE. Traditional Principles in Education - We support school subjects with emphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded and which form the basis of America’s legal, political and economic systems. We support curricula that are heavily weighted on original founding documents, includingthe Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and Founders’ writings School Health Care - We urge legislators to prohibit reproductive health care services, including counseling, referrals, and distribution of condoms and contraception through public schools. We support the parents’ right to choose, without penalty, which medications are administered to their minor children. We oppose medical clinics on school property except higher education and health care for students without parental consent State Board of Education (SBOE) - We believe that the SBOE should continue to be an elected body consisting of fifteen members. Their responsibilities must include:……. and  Maintaining sole authority over all curricula content and the state adoption of all educational materials.This process must include public hearings I have to be honest, I find this very scary. As an educator what they are proposing contradicts educational theory and practice the world over. It challenges freedom of information a core element of the American constitution. We do not want our students to engage in higher order thinkings skills - analysis, evaluation and creativity - as this may challenge their "fixed beliefs". If teaching the students to think challenges "fixed beliefs" then you have to wonder what they are. If teaching them to think challenges parental authority, what is this authority based on? I struggle to with a return to corporal punishment as a method of maintaining discipline in the classroom? How does inflicting pain and humiliation to a young person help them to learn? How does it improve their learning outcomes? How does this role model acceptable and appropriate behavior by saying it is acceptable to beat people for infractions, does this mean that the same principle will be applied out side of the school? Perhaps in the home or the workplace? Is this a curriculum of indoctrination perhaps worthy of 1960′s communist systems? Blind acceptance of policy and fixed belief is the core of many of the terrorist organizations plaguing the world today, these organizations indoctrinate by suppressing questioning, focusing on drilling/reinforcement of core concepts/principles/beliefs and using physical and mental deprivation and abuse to condition their members.

My Colleague Lee Crockett made a comment the other day about BYOD, Bring your own device and Digital Citizenship. He said that the heart of any BYOD program is digital citizenship. And he’s right. As soon as a school starts allowing students to bring their own devices into school, they begin to surrender some of their control of the learning environment to the students. They do not have the ability to dictate and control what applications are or aren’t on the students machines. They can not control the media the student may have on the device as the computer is more than just a learning tool its also the young person social medium and often entertainment center. Schools also lack the ability to search the machine, it is not the schools machine, rather it is the private property of another individual. The boundaries between home/personal use in its varied forms - whether this is homework, social connections, entertainment, games or even inappropriate activities become blurred. What they do at home comes both unintentionally and intentionally to the school environment. While BYOD provides many obvious strengths and opportunities to the school ranging from improved care, access and use; to reduced capital, repair and licensing costs. This change in control challenges schools systems. It raises questions of duty of care and safety. So how do you manage and mitigate these risks? Since the traditional laptop program mechanisms of restricted rights, reduced access and control no longer work effectively alternative approaches are required. The onus of responsibility must shift from the school to the student. Students must live and abide by the underlying ethics of digital citizenship, and to do this we can not set down a block of rules like the tablets of the 10 commandments and say abide by these. What is required is a deep understanding and acceptance of what is appropriate and right. It is setting a moral code that guides and protects the students. It is a ethic that the students themselves must take up and follow. This is not saying the students are left to fend for themselves…. Rather it is a process of development of the guidelines that is shared and mutually agreed to. Each aspect is simple, understandable and supported by clear reasoning & justification. It is also a process that is reinforced by all teachers as a consistent approach where the teachers model and enforce all the aspects. The process also requires there to be monitoring, intervention and consequences. Digital Citizenship is not limited to an agreement between the school and student it must also include the families Core to BYOD is Digital Citizenship and Digital Citizenship is a three way partnership based on agreed goals, supported by shared understanding and reinforced by appropriate monitoring, intervention and concequences.

The last 15 days have been amazing. Yet again I have been privilaged to take a school group on our 2 yearly community service trip. This years trip was to Ladakh in Northern India. The community service involved working at the Lamdon Model School in Leh, the capital city of Ladakh - http://goo.gl/maps/Q3E8. The school is amazing as it services the surrounding districts as well as Leh itself and provides excellent education. A large number of the students are there on scholarship (it costs about $1000 per year for full board and fees). The school offers education from K to 12 and is an amazing place to visit.   The second phase of the trip was the 8 day trekking expedition which started with the walk to our first campsite at: Zinchen - http://goo.gl/maps/PbJC Rumbok - http://goo.gl/maps/yoYZ Ganda La High Camp Skyu Markha - http://goo.gl/maps/1ic0 Hangkar - http://goo.gl/maps/r6EA Nyimiling Meadow - http://goo.gl/maps/cto9 Road End The trip was a huge challenge as we walked in 8 days 116 Km and climbed or descended 6.8km. The students reached almost 18,000 ft on the last day as we climbed over Konmaru La (La means Pass and Ri Means Peak in Ladakh) Trips like this bring a huge range of experiences and challenges to students and staff alike. While the key theme was community service there was a very large adventure based component to the trip. For many of them what they had learnt in class suddenly had relevance. They saw, experienced, touched and felt what it means to live in a developing nation. They could make sense of the geographical features they had heard of in class, but now saw first hand as they explored rock pillars, Waddies, canyons etc. They saw the impact that current projects bring electricity to some of the more remote villages was going to have on a local economy based more on trade than on currency. The value of a bottle of coke changes when you realise that in this remote village with no road, it has been carried for 3 days on a pony train to get there, especially when you have just walked the last two days of that trail yourself. I believe that genuine authentic learning occurred on this trip, much of which fits within the syllabus framework, but much too is personal and reflective. I believe that trips like this bring understanding of different cultures, appreciation of our own position and circumstances, respect and understanding of how different people live, an appreciation of other peoples religions and beliefs. Seeing first hand the concepts in play that our students learn in class, understanding and evaluating the multiple layers of impacts that these events and processes have as well as the visceral challenges presented by operating here is incredibly valuable. Julley….

Well the first week back at school is completed, I am still recovering from the Ladakh expedition. Its been a very busy week and a very interesting one. One of the first things that caught my attention this week was this article published on the BBC website linking nutrition and learning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18997223 - the article is free school meals for all boost results Essentially it clearly makes the link between proper nutrition and learning. I remember talking to a nutritionist who pointed out the students (and adults) who have a "nap" in the afternoon are the ones who do not have a proper breakfast. A proper breakfast, sets you up for the day and enables you to work. Education and teaching is now much more that just know stuff (but for teachers it always has been more than content), we are nutritionalists, neuroscientists, psychologists and educators. The Second thing that caught my eye was a quote on facebook posted by a good friend of mine, Geoff.  The citation is poor, so I can not give an exact source to credit this too. John Tapene, Northland College (NZ) principal  Offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth … "Always we hear the cry from teenagers ‘What can we do, where can we go?’ … My answer is, "Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you’ve finished, read a book." "Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again." "In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you…" This is worth reading a couple of times. For me it engenders mixed responses, I agree with many sentiments and not with others. Given this is from, I believe, a Youth court judge I suspect it is tempered by the young people that he sees. I have seen many of my students doing exactly as has been suggested here, giving, servicing and participating. So it is not an encompassing statement, fair for all, but it does have some value. Thoughts. In Leh, I bought a reading from his Holiness the Dalai Lama called the Paradox of our Age. This too is worth considering and reflecting on. The Paradox Of Our Age We have bigger houses but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicines but less healthiness. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble in crossing the street to meet our new neighbour. We built more computers to hold more copies than ever, But have less real communication; We have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are times of fast foods but slow digestion; Tall men but short characters; Steep profits but shallow relationships. It’s a time when there is much in the window But nothing in the room. — the 14th Dalai Lama.

Our classrooms are not limited to the four walls of the physical building we teach in but can encompass the entire of the planet. Technology, and much of it is free, has enabled us to push back the classroom walls and stretch our virtual arms across the globe to shake hands with classrooms and students almost anywhere. WHY? Source: http://www.soil-net.com/album/Places_Objects/slides/Globe%20Planet%20Earth%20NASA.jpg Some may well ask why would we do this and this is a valid question. We live in a world where the physical borders between countries fade  as we move from the concrete real world to the virtual/online one. Icons of today like facebook continue to reduce the distance between countries and people as more and more people join these sites (there are over 900 million members now) and as more and more devices support access (over 200 million people access facebook via mobile devices). Our students are residents of these virtual worlds. So for us as educators, in our ongoing task of preparing them for life, we must help to shape them into being global digital citizens who are respectful and protective of themselves, others and of intellectual property (See http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/The+Digital+Citizen). But its more than just being respectful of the different people and different cultures we may encounter, its also accessing the wide range of experiences, places, teachers and students that are available often at the click of a button. To visit and talk to people in places we may never have had the opportunity to visit, to experience the differing environments that young people learn in. Our students respond to this, they are engaged and motivated, often challenged and sometimes confronted, but this is of value too. HOW? Some of the most successful projects I have seen require nothing more than access to a shared space online. A great example is the wiki comparing hemispheres http://comparinghemispheres.wikispaces.com/ which is a collaborative space set up for primary students at two primary school one  in Nelson, New Zealand and New York. The Wiki compares one day in time in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The staff worked together collaboratively to plan the day, and the students in the two classroom collaborate to answer the guiding questions about where they live in one hemisphere and what is different in the other. Another example based around a wiki is the casestudy wikis set up annually for the International Baccalaureate ITGS (information technology in a global society) course. The case study that the students will be examined on is made available to the students undertaking the ITGS course at least one year prior to their examination. The students are presented with a scenario and then required to develop a depth of understanding of the technologies, issues, impacts and importance of the topic.  The wiki is scaffolded and students in he participating schools around the world are assigned a page or pages that they initially develop. Once they develop the page their peers critique the pages using a strictly enforced set of guidelines and processes. Having had feedback and an opportunity to refine their pages, the pages are opened up to the other members of the group to contribute to. http://itgs-casestudy-2010.wikispaces.com/ http://casestudy-itgs-2011.wikispaces.com/ http://casestudy-itgs-2012.wikispaces.com/ source: http://www.flatclassroomproject.net/uploads/2/9/3/9/2939181/6542080.jpg On a larger scale are the stunning projects developed by the flatclassroom project http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/ These global projects link classrooms across the planet as they investigate common goals and objectives. These projects are more complex expanding beyond the use of wikis, into invitation only social networks like ning as well (http://www.ning.com). Flatclassroom offers a range of projects including: NetGenEd - http://www.netgened.org/ based on the annual horizon project, this wiki looks at technology, education and the networked generation Eracism http://www.eracismproject.org/a global student debate that joins diverse cultures and includes authentic debate for global competence and international mindedness. Flatclassroom - http://www.flatclassroomproject.net/ Digiteen - http://www.digiteen.org/apply.html "A week in the life…" http://www.flatclassroomproject.net/a-week-in-the-life-project.htm WHAT? What can I do a global project on? The flatclassroom projects have a defined set of goals and objectives that match well with many subject areas. They require the teachers to work along side the students and offer a certification course for flatclassroom teachers. If you want to organise your own project there is really not limitation to what you can use global projects for. They can be simple, like answering a single guiding question or complex and on-going. Some of the projects may be collaborative projects between members of the same class, or within the school or potentially across the world. source: http://www.public-domain-image.com/nature-landscape/hot-spring/slides/yellowstone-thermal-spring-in-morning.jpg Skype is a very well known tool used by many, it also has huge potential in the classroom. Skype has an education program that connects classes, teachers and students to experts around the world. For example skyping with the park rangers at Yellowstone National park in the USA. This is a great opportunity for science classes. http://education.skype.com/projects/2237-yellowstone-national-park-rangers-can-skype-with-classrooms The tools and technology used like the project itself can be simple or more complex. Here are some useful tools Wikispaces - ad free wikis for education http://www.wikispaces.com/content/teacher/ Wetpaint wikis - http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/ Skype - Simple video conferencing - http://education.skype.com/ ning http://www.ning.com Social networking (this service has a cost) Facebook Groups - this is potentially a useful feature, but may have issues with school policies Considerations Global projects are very beneficial, I have found them to be engaging, motivating, challenging and as I noted before sometimes confronting. The learning opportunities are diverse and provide huge opportunity to interact with not only students in different cultures but also with renown experts and leading teachers. But like everything there are some considerations: Does your schools/districts network policies allow access to the different mediums like wikis, Skype, social networks like ning etc What are your schools policies in regard to students online, privacy, sharing images & names etc Do you have suitable and compatible software/hardware/infrastructure to enable connection and sharing? All of these projects should be deliberate and considered, they are hugely beneficial but do require careful identification of goals, proper planning, establishing acceptable norms and expectations of behavior and suitable reflection. I love this adage failing to plan is planning to fail.  

Many schools are considering a BYOD program for a wide range of reasons. For schools this represents a huge shift from the various models they have employed before to see appropriate ICT’s in the hands of their students for learning. Whether the program has been a lab based approach, a laptop program or some blend of everything, BYOD brings its own challenges as well as advantages. While there are the obvious issues of inappropriate use and the shift of control from the school to the student, there are more subtle issues that are as important. School based networks often provide back up solutions for students who store materials on the network, this feature may or may not be available on a BYOD program. Even if it is available the onus of responsibility shifts to the student to action the back up, to keep safe their work. Students now also have to consider the underlying concepts of file management as well. (protect yourself) In a similar vein, students need to protect themselves and their peers by taking responsibility for the antivirus protection required on their device, something that most school owned/leased programs take care of. (protect yourself and protect others) The freedom of having your own device and control of it carries with it the responcibility of self management. It is unrealistic to expect that the students BYOD devices is only for use at school. BYOD is blurring the boundaries between the social device and the educational tool. It challenges students to be focused on learning and resistant to the distractions presented by the applications and connections that they have on their own device. Applications and connections that in the structured format of a school program are limited and restricted. source; http://www.freefoto.com/images/04/20/04_20_50—Laptop-Computer_web.jpg Within reason schools are able to control the connections which utilise their network, filter applications and sites. However the convergence between mobile technologies/cellular phones and devices like ipads/tablets etc means that students are able to connect independently of the school and thus can bypass the controls the school may put in place. Inappropriate must now cover more than just unacceptable images etc. (respect and protect yourself and others) The students and their parents, who are paying the bill, have a vested interest in the care and maintenance of the device that extends beyond the standards expected of a school provide tool in many cases. They need support on how to care for their device, be that carrying it around, regular maintenance and care, repairs etc. This too is an aspect of digital citizenship where the student takes responsibility for their learning. (respect and protect yourself). With students having a greater degree of control over the devices, and with it probably the ability to install software comes the issue of ethical and moral use of software. Because you can download and install software doesn’t mean you should. Because you can install a cracked version does not mean you should. In the school provided model it was possible to prevent this, but the BYOD model now requires this to be a conscious and considered decision, something that 14 year old students living in the now struggle with. At the core of a BYOD program must be digital citizenship, and digital citizenship that encompasses all aspects of the use of technology within and beyond the school environment. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Digital+Citizen+AUA      

When I am preparing a presentation I often like to take a snap shot of whats happening in the world at the moment to frame the amazing rate of change we are seeing. So here are some of my favourites: 1. CIA Factbook - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html Say what you like about the CIA this is an interesting site filled with huge amount of information and statistics. 2. Worldometers - http://www.worldometers.info/ This site is actually a little bit scary. With updating totals that tick over a a very fast rate this page will tell you about world population governments and economics society & media environment food water energy and so much more. Enjoy the visit, but the numbers are stunning 3. Gap Minder - http://www.gapminder.org/ The website of stats genius Hans Rosling. This is a must visit site and like worldometers, is a little frightening. But watch the videos and dive into the statistics presented in interesting and understandable ways. Just brilliant. 4. World Internet Stats - http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm This site will give you a continent by continent breakdown of connections and more. Again a useful site particularly for those who need a global perspective. 5. Royal Pingdom - http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/01/17/internet-2011-in-numbers/ - this is a great snap shot of 2011, and it examine more than just connection to the internet. have a look at these comments about email 3.146 billion - Number of email accounts worldwide. 27.6% - Microsoft Outlook was the most popular email client. 19% - Percentage of spam emails delivered to corporate email inboxes despite spam filters. 112 - Number of emails sent and received per day by the average corporate user. 71% - Percentage of worldwide email traffic that was spam (November 2011). 360 million - Total number of Hotmail users (largest email service in the world). $44.25 - The estimated return on $1 invested in email marketing in 2011. 40 - Years since the first email was sent, in 1971. 0.39% - Percentage of email that was malicious (November 2011). 6. Youtube statistics - http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics/ Youtube like facebook is an icon of our age. Its not surprizing that its changing how we view our media and how media producers are publishing media. Have a look at the traffic they have Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month Over 3 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US YouTube is localized in 43 countries and across 60 languages In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views or around 140 views for every person on Earth 7. Facebook newsroom http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22 The social network with 900+ million subscribers 955 million monthly active users at the end of June 2012. Approximately 81% of our monthly active users are outside the U.S. and Canada. 552 million daily active users on average in June 2012. 543 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products in June 2012. 8. Netcraft webserver survey - http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2012/08/02/august-2012-web-server-survey.html This site does a monthly survey and presents data on the number of webservers in the world each month. The growth over time is impressive, but last month saw the number of websites decrease by 30 million.

source: http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/2790/as-images.apple.com/is/image/AppleInc/ipad2012-step0-ipad-gallery-01-normal?wid=520&hei=410&fmt=png-alpha&qlt=95 The iPad and other gesture based tablets have capture the minds and fingers of many in education. Whether its in pre-K or senior classes these intuitive devices are making changes to how teaching and learning occurs in the classroom. The combination of ease of use, cost effective applications, simple navigation and user friendlyness plus a generally lower entry price compare to a full laptop (rather than a netbook) make these the tools of choice for many schools. Its worth noting that for many people there is also a convenience and aesthetic factor as well. As schools grasp with these devices its great to see people sharing their teaching practice. Here are some sites that I have recently stumbled across that are useful. 1. TCEA - http://www.tcea.org/ipad A useful list of applications broken down into curriculum areas 2. Apps in education  - http://appsineducation.blogspot.co.nz/ This site is broken down again into learning areas and has detailed lists of suitable applications. 3. ipad curriculum - http://www.ipadcurriculum.com/ this is a regularly updated blog on the use of ipads featuring a single app per post 4. ipad schools http://ipadschools.wikispaces.com/home this is a wiki on the use of ipads again detailing apps by learning areas 5. ipad multimedia tools - https://sites.google.com/site/ipadmultimediatools/home this google site is focused on the multimedia aspects of ipad use. It looks at the ipads apps by use rather than by learning area. 6. iPad as… http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as this is an excellent post examining the use of the tool rather than the curriculum area. 7. Bridging the gap - http://bridgingapps.org/ This is a site bridging the gap between applications and disabilities - they have reviewed a number of apps for suitability for special needs students, a very useful site. Harry Dickens & I wrote the apps for learning book with scenarios from different subject areas to examine how the tools could be used from a variety of perspectives.  

One of the reasons why iPads and android tablets have flourished is the ease of access to applications. Whether you go to the App store or the App marketplace (https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/?pli=1) you have access to a huge range of applications at a reasonable cost. One of the advantages that I see with Apple’s model, is the "vetting" or approval process that occurs before an application becomes available on the App store. The app you install is tested and approved by apple. The speed of this process, the cost of set up & return on investment may be seen equally as disadvantages as well. If you read the posts and features about Microsoft Windows 8, which has extensive support for tablets you would note that this is a ubiquitous operating system - the same OS operating on tablet, using touch or PC.  Great! But here is my question, one of the selling points of the ipad and android tablets is low cost and to be fair often lower spec applications. This makes them accessible and useful. But the consistency of applications from PC to tablet raises the possibility of having to pay "full application" price for much of the software. There is after all a considerable difference between what you can do with a fully featured PC, with keyboard, mouse and large monitor. Will we see a change in the pricing policy for developers and software providers? Since Windows 8 supports both tablets and PC’s will we see reduced feature set apps being run on both platforms? This, I think, will be interesting to watch.

All the way through my teaching career I have been privileged to have great teaching colleagues.They have been great because they are and were stunning practitioners, student centered, passionate and demanding the best from their students. But they were also great because of something else too. With all of them, Nick, Steve, Alan and Doug, I have been able to walk into their classrooms with out feeling like I was intruding, to remain working at the front of the room as the classes switch and they came in a started their lessons and not feel out of place and often to remain there for a large part of the class. This is and was often reciprocated. One of the best learning experiences that I have had was a colleague from another spending a day with me observing. No appraising, observing. It was a great experience and the conversations that we had were stunning. Seeing my peers in action and sharing my own practice has been a huge help in shaping my teaching practice. Every time I observe a lesson or someone observes mine I learn from the experience. Fundamental to this experience and practice are some important key or core considerations: This is about the students, which is who we as teachers are here for. How can I make the learning of my students better by observing some one else teaching or by being observed. There is trust. There is trust to let down the facade of the structured prefect lesson and teach as I normally would. To openly allow others to observe you or be observed so that you and they may learn from the experience. That praise, reflection, critique and feedback are how we grow and develop. It is ironic that most of us will focus on the critique and ignore the praise. I have been lucky that with my colleagues all of these core considerations were and are the norm. One of the advantages that can be seen in the learning commons model which is increasingly becoming a feature of new schools is the inherent openness of teaching and learning. It no longer can occur behind closed doors, in a silo.

Last night I was a guest at the National Library for the round table discussions on the services to schools provided. It was a fascinating session and one I really enjoyed. The session was looking at the future of the national Library service through the lens of a SWOT analysis the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  What I saw coming thorough was the huge service the Library service performance and the opportunity that presents itself for them being leaders in the digital environment. The digital environment is also the biggest threat to the service as well. The changing nature of the digital medium and publishing,  Google’s desire to control every thing all challenge the existence of the service. OER is also making considerable changes to the landscape of learning. Almost everyone present stressed the digital citizenship aspects and the key validating skills that the staff at the national library had. This led in turn to the digital leadership opportunities that may present themselves for this service. source: http://www.public-domain-image.com/cache/objects-public-domain-images-pictures/books-public-domain-images-pictures/books-writing-ms-dos-device-drivers-assembly-language_w725_h544.jpg What was clearly understood by all was that the national Libraries service to schools and the wider national library service itself must change and adapt. There were a couple of points that came as a surprise to me though I think many of the others in the room already knew them. 1. There is no legal requirement for a school to have a library or to provision one with stock or staff. 2. The average primary school in New Zealand has 160-180 students and the average secondary school has approximately 4-500 students. Half of the  schools in NZ are under this size (this information came from a MinEd staff member) half the secondary schools have under 500 students. How could these small schools provision a library space with out the assistance of the national library service? source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QEWhOURarSU/R7derL_lo5I/AAAAAAAABKA/Z0xrgAV3tDU/s320/ebook1.jpg I am not a fan of reference books like encyclopaedia etc, most are out of date before they are published, occupy space and are seldom used. There are better resources that can be accessed via subscription or in the case of EPIC for free for schools - these are often timely and up to date. Wouldn’t it be better to have a small fleet of ebook readers which link to subscriptions like EPIC as the reference material for the school - I would pick that the cost of the readers would be the same or less than the cost of the equivalent books. http://www.natlib.govt.nz/services/national-collaborative-services/epic http://epic.org.nz/ Much to ponder. Much to ponder…..

As teachers we know that we need to have unit plans. This is a standard expectation of teachers, in many circumstances we are also expected to have lesson plans as well. We often hear adages as justification of the need for planners like "Failure to plan is planning to fail" "Proper planning prevents poor performance" While these are very applicable and true, I think there are five underlying reasons for structured unit planning. These are the five C’s - Consistency, Continuity, Coverage, Considered & Creativity Consistency - Consistency allows us to have consistent delivery of the curriculum between classes and across the course. We know that what is covered in one class is covered in the others, thus the preparations for assessment is fair and equitable. Consistency does not mean that each class is delivered in the same manner, rather that the core content is covered. Continuity - Continuity is planning for the unthinkable. Should a member of staff be unable to teach, their is suitable structure in place to allow the replacement teacher to quickly and easily pick up the thread of teaching and learning and provide continuity of education to our students. Coverage - Coverage is ensuring that all aspects of the syllabus or curriculum are addressed, that they are covered in sufficient depth and rigor to meet the requirements for assessment. It allows us to apply curriculum mapping to examine the syllabus as a whole and to make the links between the different disciplines, building the cross curricula links that are synergistic to learning. Cross curricula learning is the core element of Daggett’s application Model (see Activity mapping - http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2010/02/13/activity-mapping/) Creativity - Unit planning allows you to look at the bigger picture. Once you have laid out the wealth of content, concepts, attitudes and processes you need to share with your students, you can start to consider the different approaches, methods and strategies you can use to engage and motivate the students. You can link the higher order thinking skills (See Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy - http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy), Sensory learning (See ICT & Learning styles - http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/ICT+and+LEARNING+STYLES) Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences ( See ICT & Multiple intelligences - http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Gardners+Multiple+Intelligences+and+ICT) and consider how you can integrate traditional and digital approaches to teaching and learning - (See Traditional practice and Digital Approaches - http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Traditional+and+Digital+Practice) Considered - Structure and planning allows all of these and it faciltiates reflection. We can look back and consider what we did and how we can improve. It allows our teaching to be deliberate. This does not mean we can not seize the teachable moment, I would never ever want to see regimented teaching.  

The recent events surrounding Charlotte Dawson are worth reflecting on and drawing some lessons from. Source: https://twitter.com/images/resources/twitter-bird-blue-on-white.png Charlotte is a celebrity who uses social media like twitter to maintain and potentially increase her profile. She, like many celebrities, is a polarising person with some people loving her and some people loving to hate her. The majority of people are not drawn to either extreme. It is the unfortunate reality of being a public space, like twitter, that anyone will draw some unwanted attention. The chance of this happening are increased if you have a higher profile or are more provocative in your posts and interactions. There are some sad people in cyberspace as in life who take sick delight from being unkind. Charlotte encountered some of these people - they were malicious, malignant, spiteful and unpleasant, but alas not unexpected. Where Charlotte went wrong was she did not ignore them  - She forgot the rule "Don’t feed the trolls" - http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/7587950/Trolling-Charlotte-Dawson Whether it is twitter, texting or any other medium - do not respond to the trolls, this encourages them. Don’t feed them, don’t respond. But this does not mean don’t take any action - Inappropriate action should, no MUST, be reported - often social media will have a report abuse link that can be used.  Vodafone has a blacklist, that enable the subscriber to block calls and texts from a specific number, telecom and 2 degrees have a reporting system to deal with text bullying. the fundamental rules remain the same DO NOT RESPOND Document evidence Report to site, provider, police, school counsellor/teacher or parents etc This is where Charlotte when wrong. How would our students respond if they were subjected to similar attacks? resources: The Orb - Netsafes site for reporting cyber crime - http://www.theorb.org.nz/ Netsafe NZ - http://www.netsafe.org.nz Netsafe dealing with text bullying - http://www.netsafe.org.nz/how-can-i-prevent-textbullying/ Vodafone - dealing with text bullying - http://www.vodafone.co.nz/about/responsible-mobile-use/stop-txt-bullying.jsp Telecom - Mobile Bullying NZ Police - No Bully - http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/index.html 2 Degrees  - bullying -http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/bullying Twitter - report a violation - https://support.twitter.com/forms/abusiveuser Twitter tips for teachers Twitter tips for Teens  

FINALLY…. …. Apple announced that volume licences will be available in a number of new countries including New Zealand. The list is: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand - http://www.apple.com/nz/education/volume-purchase-program/ Spain, UK, US This is great news for the large number of schools that are adopting the iPads as their preferred learning device for their students. The lack of volume licences has made the imaging or softwaring of the iPads difficult. It limits the effectiveness of the Apple configurator tool which uses the volume liciencing codes to distribute the licienced software. Until now schools have had to purchase individual licences and were unable to access the reduce costs. For example pages costs $13.99 for a single licence but using volume purchasing if you buy 20+ you can pay $6.99 each. This makes a substantial saving for schools as well as allowing uniform distribution of software, quickly and effectively to a fleet of iPads. This is very very good. Check out the T&C’s http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/volume/nz/terms.html Worth noting "Gift Certificates, Allowances and iTunes Cards, and unused portions of Gift Certificates, Allowances and iTunes Cards, expire on the later of, two years from the date of issuance, and two years from the date of last activity if applied to an iTunes Store Account. "

Education Alberta (Canada) has published a Development guide for Digital Citizenship Policy. This is an extensive document which includes some of my work and that of my esteemed colleague Dr Jason Ohler. This is a great resource and well worth downloading and working through. It is about 80+ pages so you do need to put aside a little time to do this. http://education.alberta.ca/media/6735100/digital%20citizenship%20policy%20development%20guide.pdf Check out their internet safety page - http://education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/standards/internetsafety.aspx Wordle of the tenets of Digital citizenship