Experiencing Digital Citizenship

Let's Use Skype in Class!
(Blog Entry: 6th August 2015)
I thought I would share with you the first video I have made in response to our class collaboration, where we wanted to find a way to open up the physical boundaries of our classroom using Skype... 


For those teachers who have an HP laptop and would like to have a go at using some of the screen styles I have used in my video above, you can Download and install Cyberlink YouCam Software (sp65795) from HP's support web site. Click here for more information or troubleshooting if it's already installed on your teacher laptop, but not working. 

 Once created, the video clips were then opened in Windows Live Movie Maker, which I found allowed me to very quickly view and edit to give a smile worthy outcome, and then the movie maker project was saved as a wmv file to allow online sharing.

 Please note that this was a completely unscripted, some might suggest impromptu, series of ideas made in response to both digital and collaborative learning activities in class and my having fun trying out software I hadn't used before. (Since the rubrics we were provided with suggest that whilst this is a lovely narrative of the process we followed, it may only be helpful as a prequel in regards to my DCL Assignment 1)

First, some background - I've only been on Twitter about a month, and thought it worthwhile to share with you how it's been an enriching experience thus far, as we've all been encouraged to actively use this social media platform at ULearn 2015...


Networking in the Twittersphere
(Blog Entry: 7th October 2015@ ULearn'15 Conference )
I started off the day getting caught on camera and my apparent geekiness being shared on Twitter as I was typing up my notes straight into the Blogosphere...
Had a lovely chat with Anne from CORE (the people organising the event, and my friendly paparazzo)...
Anne encouraged me to respond to this Tweet using Padlet...
Which meant I had nearly quadrupled my scant number of 'followers' by the end of the day...
Who knew being text-stalked could be so exhilarating!
So, it was lovely to get some feedback that suggested I'm not alone in enjoying the warm fuzzy vibe at ULearn'15 thus far... 

Windows Movie Maker: Examples of Image Transitions
(Blog Entry: 30th October 2015)

 
For these kinds of sequenced still images, the effective use of blending transitions in Windows Movie Maker show how these can be used to give a smoother visual effect and sense of continuity...


Professional Networking Conversations Online
(Blog Entry: 4th January 2016)


Networking on Facebook
(Blog Entry: 11th January 2016) 
link to website
Upcoming 'Adult' Colouring In Book (To Be Published in 2016)
Posted by Marla Jane - Visual Artist on Saturday, 26 December 2015


Professional Book Review: 
"NZ Curriculum Poetry" by Lee-Ann Holmes (RIC Publications 2015)
(Blog Entry: 5th March 2016)
Through the power social media networking, I have had the great privelage of being able to access some wonderful up-to-date literacy, numeracy and topic learning texts offered by RIC Publications (oh, and they also offer some great teaching and learning ideas via their Facebook page)!

After some very convivial Emails with their Australian contact person, the New Zealand warehouse sent me through a selection of a few of their texts that might suit the Year 5-8 area of the school that I teach in. 

I was really pleased with the quality of the RIC texts overall - as were my colleagues when I brought them to school for our staff call back day at the end of January. So much so, that my fellow senior primary teachers were keen to use them this term to see how they worked 'in practise' with our students.

As a result, here's our first review of a text that our Deputy Principal has been using the past few weeks when teaching literacy with her Year 7-8 students in an ILE setting! 

New Zealand Curriculum Poetry

Teaching and assessing English through poetry.

- See more at: http://ricpublications.co.nz/product/new-zealand-curriculum-poetry/#sthash.iiZz0XSx.dpuf

New Zealand Curriculum Poetry - Teaching and assessing English through poetry.


My DP has summarised her experience with the RIC Poetry text so well, that I'm sharing her words with you here: 

"[My co-teacher] and I have both used the resource to support our students in the understanding of poetry. Although we teach Year 7 and 8 we found the Level 3 Year 6 material particularly supportive in regard to making links across the English Curriculum.

The material provided clear guidelines/structures as each lesson was shaped. Students were engaged in the process.

The support sheets were clear and assisted in the delivery of each lesson.

The language "rules" were particularly useful and also assisted us as teachers - reminded us/supported us when we were trying to explain the body of language, i.e.: apostrophes and possession."

Looking online, it's clear that our Year 7-8 students were able to use what they learned from their very capable teachers (with additional literacy content support from the RIC Poetry Text) to create some wonderful poetry, and then publish these using their chromebooks for sharing online. 

The initial response from my colleagues indicates that this particular RIC text was both very accessible and immediately applicable to the literacy learning review activities planned for our intermediate aged students at the start of the 2016 school year...

My Year 4-6 teaching colleagues and I are currently using RIC's "Primary Writing (Book E)"... We're looking forward to creating future reviews for this and other titles, with some links to our class blog to share the learning that our students have been so actively engaged in!

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