From E- Zero to E- Hero

Presented by Lyndal Lowans and Marie Highley

Integrating new technologies to empower learning and transform leadership

• Welcome to our presentation from e zero to e hero. The Botany Downs journey from practically no ICT and inquiry learning to where we are now. This is our journey for the past 3 years while we have been on the contract.

• My name is Lyndal Lowans and I teach a year 5 and 6 class

• My name is Marie Highley and I teach a Year 2 class.

Our journey

• If you had walked into Botany Downs School four years ago you would see a much different school from today. Being part of an ICT/Inquiry cluster has been a large part of this. We have not had a lot of money to do things with which is why we wanted to share how we have achieved going from e-zero to e-hero. Our journey began with an approach to see if we would be interested in joining an ICT cluster. When joining up with the other schools, we knew we had to do some things fast.

• What did we have? 4 years ago we had, 3 digital cameras, 1 video camera and 1 mimio locked in the cupboard, ( a mimio is a removable device which makes your whiteboard interactive) and one computer in each classroom and no teacher laptops.

• So our first hurdle was infrastructure, so we decided to go all out and re-cable the school to remove the daisy chaining. If you don’t know what that means, the computers would load your request to each computer down the line until it got to you. This was slow and laborious with frustration for all. Our cabling had been done by parents and board members on a volunteer day a few years before and there as a maze of cables everywhere. Our next step was when the teachers all received a Tela laptop. This meant that all teachers could make resources on the computers and do their planning rather than using the classroom computer. It also gave the teachers the freedom to do planning at home.

We have over time been able to purchase...

• two pods of 4 laptops• data projectors for each

class• a mimio for each class• a camera for each class• upgraded the server• end of lease Tela laptops • 3 Flip cameras

• Over time with the help of our PTA we have been able to now have a mimio, a camera, a data projector in each class. We now have 3 computers in each class as we purchased the first Tela laptops as they came off lease this year and put them back in the class. We have some teachers who let their students on their laptop, and others who do not. In the first year, we leased 8 laptops after Learning @ School and these have been in 2 mobile pods for students to use. Learning to plan to use the pods is still ongoing. The same classes tend to have them. We chose mimios rather than interactive whiteboard due to cost. (Waterman’s stand?)

• Along the way we have installed wireless connectivity, and last year a new server was installed.

Class Blogs

• Blogging was a starter point for integration in the classroom and has gradually become popular with staff and students. The children enjoy having their work put on their class blog page and being able to share it with their families especially their grandparent who live overseas. Many of them are beginning to comment on each others work and on work of children in other classes and schools. Keen teachers have supported others to begin blog pages for their classes. This is still a work in progress as we still have to get more parents and world wide viewers commenting.

• We also updated and improved the school website. This now carries a lot of information for parents including the weekly newsletter and photos of events happening in the school. Parents are also able to fill in enrolment forms for their children.

• Another online resource we have started in the last 3 years has been the school wiki page. This is in three levels to cater for juniors (year 0, 1, and 2) the middle area (Years 3 and 4) and the seniors (years 5 and 6). On each areas home page it has been broken down to curriculum areas. The children are able to use the wiki pages to find sites that have been found and approved by the teaching staff. You may see that the junior page has been done with pictures to click on. This enables the new or non reader to access their favourite sites.

Inquiry

TOPIC

• In the beginning, how to get started, which road to take ----------Inquiry or Topic?

To promote models of good practice framed with an inquiry approach

To increase the range of professional competence of e-Learning and inquiry

learning among our teachers.

• Why inquiry? Two of our goals for the cluster with the Ministry were: To promote models of good practice framed with an inquiry approach, and to increase the range of professional competence of e-Learning and inquiry learning among our teachers

HOOK

WONDERING

PLANNING

EXPLORIN

G

CREATING

REFLECTING AND

EVALUATING

CONNECTING

• Our inquiry journey is still a work in progress. I have not shown this in a line as we recognize that thinking through inquiry is not linear. More recently, we have added the stage of connecting. This has come from recent PD on Solo Taxonomy which we are hoping will lift our inquiry learning and then we can further develop Solo to other areas of the curriculum.

Good ICT’s for inquiry

• Good ict’s for inquiry: One of the first things we did was set up trusted search engines on our wiki for our students to go to.

MINDMEISTER

• Students enjoy joint projects, and seeing the mapping group on the screen.

WALLWISHER

• Wall wisher is another way to map ideas

Google Docs

• Last year our Year 5 and 6 had a very successful inquiry unit on Making something for our School fair. We used google docs to construct surveys. These were put on our wikispace and the results used to determine what each class made. (dream catchers, reuseable shopping bags, decorated bottles, painted pots, snow globes)

Demonstrating our Learning

Go Animate

• This year I am proud my students have become creators of content, not just consumers. Across our school, there is still more shift in this area to be done as most classes are consumers on sites like Mathletics.

• Here is an example of the creation stage that demonstrates our learning from our first inquiry topic – Where are we in space?

• Go animate?

• Here is another example using the flip recorder. We still have some learning around keeping the camera still, and finding a quiet place to record.

Recipe for Success

• Last year, one of our teachers described inquiry as this in her classroom.

• So that is our inquiry journey so far

Junior school

• In the following slides I will show you some of the work that has developed in the junior school over the last 3 years.

Cameras

• As I mentioned before - 4 years ago, we had 3 cameras to share between classes within the school. Over time the PTA have generously raise funds to enable all classes to now have a digital camera in their class. These cameras have all been fitted with lanyards and all children using a camera must have the lanyard around their necks. For some children, using a camera to record happenings in the school has been a very new experience and have needed a buddy for support. For others they have enjoyed being “in charge” of the photography of a certain happening, or event. It can be difficult to give this responsibility to the a 5 or 6 year old.

• One use of the camera which my children have particularly enjoyed has bee the making of stop/go animated movies. This has been really effective in showing the children how filming small movements of objects and then playing the photos back quickly can make a “movie” My boys thought they were very clever. You may notice that the camera tripod is a block of wood which has a small bolt through it to attach the camera to. This makes a really steady tripod which is less likely to move during the taking of photos. I have found that putting the photos onto moviemaker and making the timing fairly fast has had good results for a finished product

Using a “Flip” to record stories

• This year we purchased 3 flip mino cameras. I am lucky enough to have one of these in my classroom. Other teachers in the junior school are able to come to get it from me when they want to take a movie in their class. The children in my class have become keen users of this new equipment and will readily want to be filmed while they read their stories. I choose a “cameraman/woman” and they are able to set up, film. They also playback the movie on the camera to check it is OK. These movies are quick and easy to load onto blog pages. The young man above has his story on our class blog.

Computers

• We have three computers for use in the classroom. On occasions we are able to book a laptop pod. I usually book this when I want to do a teaching session on a particular programme. The children work 2 to a computer taking turns.

Programmes• Kidpix• Word• Mathletics• Fun4thebrain• Utube• Starfall• Crickweb• Ict games• Count me in too

• Here are some of the programmes that are used frequently in the junior classrooms

• Children get a chance to publish their work on the computer using word. These children also learn how to make a picture on Kidpix and then insert it onto their page to illustrate their work.

Kid pix

• Children get a chance to publish their work on the computer using word. These children also learn how to make a picture on Kidpix and then insert it onto their page to illustrate their work.

Mimio

• All classes now have a mimio. The mimio has been a great success in my class. I use it as a tool in all areas of the curriculum. Children respond well to working on activities either alone or as a group. We use it to be able to store brainstorms, word walls, and maths class activities. The children delight in being able to find their photo and “decorate it. I have found that when you work on kidpix with the mimio pen, the children have more success in getting the pictures they want. The Maui and the sun animation was done on Kidpix, on the mimio.

Extras

• From time to time I bring my digital microscope in the classroom. It is set up for the children to have a closer look at their “finds.” One of the other junior classes has a Dino Lite USB Digital Microscope.

• In the other picture the children are trying out a mimio pad. We have only had this for a couple of weeks so I am in the learning stages with it.

Digikids

• Little kids can be digikids too. I have around six very able 6/7 year olds who are the first port of call for children who need help on the computers. They have a badge and their names are put on the board each day

Skype

• A Year 1 class has become keen users of Skype. Each Friday morning the children skype with the local kindergarten. In the picture above you can see Mia set up with headphones and microphone

• Mia's little sister had just started Morning Kindergarten - so this picture is the first sibling conversation we have done on skype - Her sister asked lots of questions about what she was going to do at school that day!

 • This teacher has a 'check sheet' so that she can keep track of who has

shared on skype. • She says “We often read a published story, show a picture, or share a

piece of news. We also have done singing and dancing together over skype. One Friday it was the Kindy disco and so we practised the chicken dance together! Before our dance evening we performed E rere taku poi for them. We also rehearsed for our assembly with Room 14 Room 9 and the kindergarten all on skype. 

• It has been a great way for me to get to know the children before they have even stepped foot inside our grounds!”

 

Digital learning centres

• Many of the junior classrooms have set up digital learning centres for both reading and maths activities. The pictures are hyperlinked to web pages where activities have been chosen for that groups. These can be on the classroom computer for one or two children to work on, or on the mimio for a group. These work well as you are able to target learning needs of a certain group.

Integrating ICT in Years 4-6

• As an ICT lead teacher in the school, I have found that my learning is often in advance of the rest of the staff. By no means, do I call myself an expert and my personal journey with ICT and integration is still continuing. There are things I do well, and things I do not do well. As part of my role, I have had release time to go into classrooms. Last year I went in and would run one off sessions, often on kidpix or getting classes started with blogging. Within my own classroom I would trial programs and this year, I have had the goal of integrating with the students and using my mimio better as my modelling book. With having to share computers across the school, when we have the laptops we have to make the best use of time.

Mimio – making my whiteboard interactive

• Using the Mimio. Mostly I use it for whole class teaching as my modelling book. This is an example of a brainstorm for writing and working with students to improve their writing As my handwriting is not the best, I have begun using the laptop and typing rather than the pen.

• Here we are working on describing characters. I find that being able to highlight with different colours helps the students. They have a copy of the text we are using as an exemplar and highlight and write too.

• The timer is set to the amount of writing time. This puts a bit of impetus in to be thinking quickly and to complete.

• Sometimes I use the mimio to model maths. The program itself has more useful things for juniors at this point in time. I now have to work on using the mimio to model for small group work. Because our ICT equipment is still seen as a treat at times within the class, I tend to use the good old fashioned group book on the mat to avoid distractions. Also I may have a couple of children using my laptop so the mimio is not available. The mimio is a huge programme and I only use a small portion of it.

Reading:

• For Reading I go to the website Cool Tools for Schools which is where I found Go animate. We are currently attempting to learn how to use zooburst(pop up books) and we have used kidpix and moviemaker for retelling stories. When finished we load to the class blog. They also have times where their task for the day is to publish some written work, or blog about some happening in the school. My philosophy for a class blog for my year level is that the blog needs to be student driven rather than teacher driven. Sometimes we can do blogs as a class. This example is a co-operative task for a whole groups rather than an individual. I have found that individuals never get it completed with only a few computers.

Writing

• This year I have been trying to lift my reluctant writers writing by giving them turns on the computers to write. This is an example from the beginning of the year. You can see reluctance from poor motor skills and lack of information.

In The Basement“Hi I am Tom I am 13 years old. I have black hair, blue eyes and I am very tall.”  “I am going Skydiving with my friend Jack because it is my birthday.” Today it is very cold .Jack is 10 years old he has brown hair, green eyes and he isn’t very smart. We are flying over the forest and we jump and we are having a great time until the wind picks up. We were struggling to hold on and we crash land in a clearing of a forest.

We walk around looking for something. We spot a house in the distance so we decided to check it out. We walk up to the house and knocked on the door ...

• The mapping has been done in publisher as the text boxes are more movable than when in word. This particular student actually went home and did his mapping and emailed it to school.

• Now you can see writing skills more of a level 3 student

Tried and True

• Tried and true programs. My students have a love of the Microsoft Publisher program and will use instead of word. Publishing a report, their poetry into a card for Father’s day, and class treaty

• Good infrastructure to start with• Don’t fret• Little steps and going slow is ok• Do one thing well, then build on that skill• Support each other with in-house PD• Share ideas• Let your students become independent with ICT• Use co-operative tasks• Use the equipment you have well• Be proud of the progress you do make.

Key Ideas

• So that is continuing journey with ICT. The key ideas we would like you to take away are:

• Infrastructure – you have to spend some money, wireless came off (good backbone)

• Equipment: you can have all the equipment and can sit unused or not used well.

• I have found that using your students knowledge is a great way to learn things yourself. Many children come to school with a good knowledge of some programmes and of using the internet to find information. Children become very enthusiastic about their learning when they are able to use the ICT tools that you do have. Thank you for coming to our presentation. Are there any questions about what we have spoken about.

Websites • http://www.botanydowns.school.nz• http://botanydowns.wikispaces.com/• www.fun4thebrain.com/addition.html• http://www.starfall.com/• http://www.ictgames.com/resources.html• http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1literacy.html• http://www.mathletics.co.nz/• http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/countmein/children.html• http://goanimate.com/• http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/• http://www.zooburst.com/• http://eastnet.wikispaces.com/• http://www.mindmeister.com/• http://www.wallwisher.com/• http://room2bds2010.blogspot.com/• http://room21bds2010.blogspot.com/

Acknowledgements:

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