The end January 22, 2009
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This is the last post I will make on this blog. I have decided to create two new blogs. One purely work related (and which will also act as a site for Cantatech) and the other my own personal thoughts on learning and education (which will sometimes relate to eLearning and sometimes not). Both these sites have been built using Wordpress. Links below
Selling in Hawarden September 15, 2008
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Today I visited Hurunui College in Hawarden. For two reasons really. The first was to give some PD to two of the teachers using Moodle, and the second was to give the presentation on eLearning to the staff. The school is currently rebuilding it’s staff/admin block and it’s looking great (photo of staffroom above). They have a new VC room being developed as part of the refurbishment, so can’t wait to see it finished.
The two hours I spent with two teachers with only the most basic of ICT knowledge was interesting. We only really covered the set up of your course, using the editor and uploading files. It’s interesting, because I had a comment from a teacher using Moodle that for most teachers, it would be like climbing a ladder starting at the middle rung.
I have two responses to that. One – I don’t think Moodle is that hard to use. In fact it’s relatively easy. It’s just that it’s a totally different tool to what teachers have been using. Imagine picking up Microsoft Word for the first time again. It would take a long time to orientate yourself. That’s what teachers need – time to get familiar with the environment. Once you have that, the rest comes quite easily. Two – There is nothing wrong with learning to use something that is a bit more challenging. We seem to have this idea that we must learn the basics before we can move on, but that’s not the case. I worked with a teacher last year who really wanted to learn how to edit video so she could compile her own movies to use in class. She didn’t have many of the basic IT skills we advocate, but because she really wanted to learn this, she did. Within a couple of weeks she had made a video that consited of excerpts from three different versions of Macbeth, with questions that popped up overthe top.
I do think we tend to understimate our teachers in terms of ICT. So often we expect the least from them in terms of learning or using ICT. Now would that be acceptable with our students?
My f*#!%ing goosebump story September 4, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in Uncategorized.Tags: 21st century, curriculum, Moodle
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I recently stumbled across Tomaz’s “Human” blog. Tomaz is a passionate Moodler and teacher living and working “across the ditch” in Australia. As someone new to Moodle his blog has been another goldmine for me. But it was his most recent post that really resonated with me. It is probably the best blog post I have read this year and one where he really lays bare the environment in which he works. It is the sort of environment that I am not that familar with, but his musings on ICT and how it can act as an agent for change are close to my heart. My background is Social Science – History, Classical Studies and Social Studies my main subjects. My real passion is teaching and learning and approaches to it. I started using ICT back in 1999 (my first year of teaching) and it has grown since – but only because I see how it can change, not only pegagogy, but also the bigger picture in terms of education. It raises major questions about existing systems and strucures in secondary schools. The current rate of technological development is quickly leaving secondary education behind and if things don’t change (and lets hope the revised curriculum does facilitate this) then secondary schools could become redundant.
How do we bring about this change and how do we persuade staff who have become so institutionalised they never question the effectiveness of their teaching?
Collaboration? August 27, 2008
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I spent most of today at Amuri Area School selling Moodle to the principal Neil. Neil was the main principal to push VC meetings between teachers across the cluster before I came along. We had a discussion on collaboration and connectivity and how it should be approached. There is no doubt that there is a need for teachers to connect with others in our more isolated schools, but the problem is actually getting the teachers to do this. While they might be keen to do this the reality of actually turning up for a meeting is sometimes another thing all together.
There are two ways I see you could approach this. Make it part of appraisal and an expectation or target those that are keen in the hope that the benefits cause it to spread. Either way, it needs to become part of the culture of a school. The trouble is that teachers have meetings coming out their ears, so I can’t really blame them if they are rather reticent to attend more.
The plan was to build collaborative areas on the Moodle in conjunction with VC meetings. It is taking some time to get the Cantatech Moodle to that level and even then staff need to know how to do the basics. I have decided to try and get some keen groups together and calendar some VC meetings. Also going to trial a listerv with one group of teachers.
I don’t think you can force teachers into these things. Even if you manage to get them along to a meeting, it doesn’t mean they are actually ‘present’. The reality is they have to want to do it…a bit like our students really!
Googling August 24, 2008
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I thought it was about time I started posting regularly again as it has been a while. Busy is not the word to describe this job – hectic is perhaps more apt. I am going to try and make sure it becomes part of my regular work as it is important to spend time reflecting.
There is lots to catch up on, but what has been occupying my mind today is Google Applications. While I have played around with Google docs in the past I recently worked collaboratively on a 25 page proposal to the Ministry of Education. We used a Google doc. It was easy, and a great way of working.
This spurred me on to use this in my online Classics course. The students are working in groups to prepare a presentation on a particular house from Pompeii. The idea is to take the viewer on a visual tour of the house. I have set up each presentation using Google docs and invited the students. They take it from there.
What have I found today…well it’s filtered by schoolzone of course. Anyway I am in the process of getting it unfiltered. What a rich resource and its filtered!
I was also interested to read this article which highlights how quickly educational institutions are getting on to Google Applications. This idea has appealed to me for some time. It is the way of the future. No hassles with hard drives, softwar, hardware…just access through the internet. Easy. Probably some connection issues for schools at the moment, but I would like to start talking to Principals about the possibitlities. If you want collaboration across a cluster (which we do) what a great way of doing it.
Moodle Muddling 2 July 25, 2008
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Seems I am always blogging about Moodle at the moment, but there is no doubt it is taking quite a bit of my time.
I ran my own Moodle Muddle yesterday as we looked to formally kick of the PD for the new Cantatech online envrionment.
We had representatives from almost every school in Cantatech. This group is going to trial Moodle for most of this term, before we look at spreading the use to other staff. The idea is slow infiltration, rather than trying to sell it to everyone.
I wanted the workshop to be learner centred rather than me talking at the front a lot. It ended up that I had to do that in the afternoon as the internet went down for an hour (as it would of course!). The reception was generally good, with some real enthusiasts. I think a few also found it a bit overwhelming. Moodle can look a bit daunting at first, but once you become familar with the interface it is reasonably easy. I do wish the editor was a bit less clunky, but I’m sure that will improve over time.
From here I will support the elearning team as they develop their courses. Some of this support will include using the Moodle itself, (discussion forums, exemplars, resources,), meetings through VC and face to face.
I will also be meeting with leadership in each school to map out the way forward. The schools in Cantatech are quite diverse. In some we could quite confidently release to all staff. Others we are going to have to take it slowly. How effective this will be – time will tell.
Moodle Muddle July 17, 2008
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In the last week of term a number of the ePrincipals got together to have what we termed a “Moodle Muddle”. It turned out that far more people came along than was anticipated so Anton (Welcom) had to take a bit more of an instructional approach – so it wasn’t really that muddly.
All very worth while though. Learnt quite a bit, espcially about roles. i didn’t realise you could assign roles 
to any activity you create for a course. This is fantastic news, because I really want my students creating themselves, rather than me leading them all the time. So rather than me creating quizzes – they can create them. Rather than me creating a web page – they can. I can see how Moodle could become a very teacher led thing, which doesn’t fit the constructionist philosophy that is the foundation for its design.
We spent one afternoon discussing the pedagogical approach that should be taken with Moodle. This is the sort of thing that fascinates me. In the end though, it is extremely important. If technology is to make a difference it needs to be used in a way that reflect 21st century learning – students must use it. Too many times I see teachers using technology (especially dataprojectors and interactive whiteboards), where students are still passive receptors. This needs to change…and soon!
Where are we at? June 23, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in Uncategorized, strategic.2 comments
So with the end of the term fast approaching, where are we at in terms of progress?
It has been a frustrating term for me I must admit. We have an amitious plan for the two years and I knew challenges would come our way. It’s amazing how trivial these can be, but also how much impact they can have on my job. One of the biggest challenges has just been getting prompt email replies from principals (or any reply at all). I don’t think they realise how much this sort of thing slows me down (and it has) and is something to be discussed in our meeting on early next term. I am finding ways around this and as I become familiar with who does what in each schooll, I have been able to bypass the principals to some extent.
So, what has been achieved this term and what is on the agenda?
- Our first goal is all about the Distance Learning Progamme and we are making good progress there. The eTeachers are starting to feel more like a group. We have had a couple of meetings which have gone well and there is a generally a lot of enthusiasm. They all seem willing to develop professionally and we are currently putting together an appraisal system. I have set up some draft eTeacher guidlines which I am getting them feedback on through a forum and wiki on our Moodle. The feedback has been slow coming, but we are getting there. I am not going to rush this through. It is important that we get buy in from the teachers, otherwise it will be meaningless. They are very keen to learn about Moodle and most will be involved in the PD day next term
- In terms of elearning, we have a team of teachers representing every school in the cluster, who will learn how to use the new Cantatech Moodle site. Some have already gone on and had a play around. A couple haven even got their students on which is great. The actual PD day kept getting pushed back, because of, either, the birth of my son, or it clashed with other events. Eventually we decided to set it for the 24th of July – Week One, Term Three. This week I am going around a couple of schools (Oxford today) to give some enthusiastic teachers an hour long intro to Moodle – so at least they know how to go on and do the basics. Look forward to more of this next term. We will release it to all staff around week six perhaps.
- The collaborative side of things has taken a back seat to the elearning, but is something I have been focussing on over the last week or so. I am talking to Rachel Bolstad at the NZCER about the possibilty of doing a presentation on the curriculum to all schools through VC. This will kick off a series of sessions on the same topic run by the UC advisers for the learning areas (and other groups). At the moment I am establishing what the focus will be. Hopefully I will get plenty of feedback from Principals and staff about this. We will be getting a Scholarship Programme up and running next term, when everyone is sure who is doing what. Also looking at some Gifted and Talented collabaoration – maybe get some sessions runing for students.
- The last goal is a work in progress!!
The Professionals? June 5, 2008
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We had our monthly eprincipal meeting today and another interesting one it was too. There were a number of things on the agenda, but the focus was on a paper put together by two of us. This proposed that we as a group, investigate the idea of forming our own professional association. It was no great surprise to me as Trevor had mentioned it to me some time ago. It has certainly brought some strong responses from a couple of the eprincipals who are worried about isolating ourself and moving too fast. It has been the first time that any real disagreement has arisen amongst us as a group and I was interested in how we would resolve it. Very productively I must say. A forum has been created on the VLN where everyone has been asked to put their views on the matter and from there we can move forward.
Personally I think the idea is a step in the right direction. We as a group need to take ownership of what we are doing, rather than relying on the Ministry to direct us. That doesn’t mean we will completely break from them, but it would change the nature of the relationship. I think in a very positive way, but there is no doubt it needs thorough investigation and discussion
