Grasping IT...

Awesome new "local website"

2010-03-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

Huge congratulations to Rachelle Hulbert (Tauranga Intermediate) and her work on developing/creating the website for the Tauranga Moana Reading Council.

It is an outstanding resource for teahcer and families alike - I saved this straight away and have already used links with my children.

http://taurangareading.org.nz

the latest version of "SHIFT HAPPENS"

2009-10-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Did You Know 4.0

Learning Management Systems

2009-09-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have spent this Term investigating what LMS would best suit our school needs. Priorites (summarized) we have are:

To involve families more in 'learning conversations' with their children and teachers.
To create a safe online learning environment for our students
To support and enhance our POWERFUL LEARNING pedagogy

I met with all vendors and viewed all 'approved' systems in operation at a school level.
One area that I felt none of the vendors excelled in was a userface that was engaging for a primary school students, a huge disappointment !

However, due to the current LMS research project that the MOE have initiated we have managed to save a significant amount of money for implementing our choosen LMS.

I have attached a table that I put together when considering the money aspect. This table is made by me and there may be errors in my calculations or understandings (ie all care, no responsibility for table) and I suggest you ask for quotes with each vendor in respect for your own school.

Note - this table did not copy well - email me at fhawes@tauranga.school.nz and I will send this to you.

Contacts I used:

Phil Giller - Knowledge Net phil.giller@dataview.co.nz
Viv Hall - Editure - viv.hall@editure.com
Sandy - Ultranet - Sandy Bornholdt sandy.bornholdt@edtech.co.nz

Infoblitz

2009-09-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already visited Infoblitz or linked it to your school website - it is a must do - great resource for schools made by Wendy Ballard from Greenpark School.

"Please check it out - free to use from school libraries, classrooms,
computer suites, home or any internet connection. This website
directory has been created with Kiwi children in mind and is safe,
manageable, educational, high-interest, has visual appeal and showcases
NZ. It can be used to research class & homework curriculum topics as
well as children's hobbies and interests. There is a special link for
Teachers and one for Librarians."

http://www.infoblitz.co.nz/

GLOGSTER

2009-08-29T19:21:00.002-07:00

Had a play on glogster this weekend - heaps of fun and thought I could use it on school library wiki - still haven't figured out how to put onto wiki - but was shown a wiki with glogster on it ----so there must be a way ????

Glogster

2009-08-29T19:21:00.001-07:00

Suzie Vesper - Confident and Connected

2009-08-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

I have followed Suzie via blog, slide share etc for ages. I have never met her but love what she has to say online. There is always a 'gem' in all that she publishes, and this is no exception.
Check this slideshare out:
"A keynote that looks at being part of a connected world, how classrooms are making connections (based around the key competencies in the New Zealand curriculum), and issues that need to be considered when working online in education."

Thank you Suzie, there is absolutely heaps that I can use from this.

AP/DP meeting

2009-07-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

I attended the AP/DP meeting yesterday and was introduced to JING, a very small FREE download that could be great for e portfolios, blog, learning journals etc.
Basically you can take a screen snap shot of anything and then add audio to it. So you could have a picture of a sample of writing combined with the audio of the student explaining what they learned and what their next learning steps might be.
Also saw tubeTV - awesome tool for MAC users, download from utube in one easy step. Again a free and very small download - this is a must, I went home and immediately downloaded for my personal use.

Currently I am trying to decide what LMS would be best for our school. Looking for feedback - anyone with opinions etc out there??????

VOKI - have you tried this?

2009-06-23T19:31:00.001-07:00

Get a Voki now!

BOP unconference

2009-06-19T02:21:00.001-07:00

Went to the BOP unconference today - well the first half.
A fantastic initiative Rocky - thank you!!!
While cyber space is a good place to connect, there is nothing like real people !!! I quickly realised that we all had similar stories about the frustrations of systems and administration of networks. Unfortunately no magic bullets for fixing that one. Any way after this meeting I plan too:

Have another look at the vision and strategic plan - make sure that what we are doing aligns with the vision.
Read through the ICT PD cluster (2010) info. again and still keen to be a lead school for a local cluster in Tauranga. We already have a 'cluster' of three schools - anyone else interested? We are well down the road as far as an inquiry model is concerned, really wanting to look at e-portfolios/ formative assessment, LMS models ...
Make a 'quick fix it' type screen saver or 'stickie' for our staff. it could be a few things to try your self before seeking assistance.
I also want to think about creative ways I can create time for teachers for professional learning - that doesn't cost (money or significant student learning time). mmmmm
Voice Thread and I SHOW U http://store.shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html- my next 'things' to have ago with, I think they could be great tools to use for making 'training movies' for staff and also students to use to talk about their learning - to share with parents etc.

Wikis in plain english

2009-05-31T01:04:00.001-07:00

Wiki's 101
How could this be used in your classroom?

Pattie Maes - sixth sense

2009-05-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

We watched this as part of our Teacher Only Day. WOW some great questions generated here about the ethics and what our future choices may be. Would be excellent to use with upper primary + students.