Using Digital Tools to Support Writing

It's one thing to enjoy digital tools and understand all the wealth of enjoyment they potentially offer.  It's another thing entirely to actually find time to organize digital resources into meaningful, purposeful learning. This week, I attempt to use the great options out there to help drive our learning.

POBBLE 365
What is this, you ask?
Well, according to Google, this is what Pobble365 is about:

I'm aiming to be using some motivating writing tools for our learners in order to encourage our reluctant writers to write more and feel more engaged in the writing process.  Engagement is a challenging thing to measure, so for the purpose of this, it will be measured by how often they are commenting and how often they choose to write during silent reading time, rather than reading.

This video was interesting in terms of using Google Docs in the writing programme.  I'm wondering if I might be able to use Google Docs to feed more language into their writing by using Google Docs, too.



  Raising student writing levels using Google docs from CORE Ministry Video on Vimeo.

While I've used Google Docs with reluctant writers in the past, this time I'm aiming to scaffold the boys more before and during the writing time, so that they are better able to make use of the tools.

My next thoughts around the inquiry for this are:
How can I keep the design simple so the kids can read and understand their task?
How can I use peer editing to support students in the writing process for realtime feedback?
What tools will be the most interesting for the kids in order to motivate them to write?

Literacy Shed and Pobble 365 seem like two simple tools that could be used, so I will try them first.

Mindfulness?

Tonight I'm writing about some learning more aligned with the mindfulness curriculum than the NZ Curriculum, but perhaps it should be part of what we do.  Maslow states that all humans have innate needs for things such as safety before belonging, and belonging before self-esteem etc.  It's an interesting concept that we have so little time to teach, so we start with goals, when some of our kids don't actually feel personal security in our learning spaces.  So what can we do about it?

(Source: Retrieved from the World Wide Web 26th July 2018 at 9.00pm from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html)

In a bid to support some of our students who struggle to settle into learning, I've considered bringing some of the mindfulness I encounter at yoga into our classroom.

Many learners arrive at school having had sugary breakfasts (including fizzy drinks and energy drinks) and struggle to settle.  along with the physiological needs of water and food, I would also argue that they need correct nourishment to be settled enough for learning.

However, seeing as I don't always have control over this aspect of their day, I see my role as encouraging the settling process. 

In the mornings, most days, we begin the day with our karakia, roll and "thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs sideways" - this is a quick check-in so I can see how each of our kids are feeling.  It helps us all to be mindful of how their mood might impact their decision-making for the day and even helps them get in touch of where they're at.  In addition to this, it's a wonderful way for me to connect with them and offer some kind words or mutual excitement around an upcoming opportunity they might be looking forward to.

Following this, most days we begin with maths in our Hub of 90.  Our learners move into their groups and don't often remain with their base group teacher, so they are quickly relocated to a new space and must settle in and get down to the business of math learning.  Many learners have experienced a trauma around maths that means they have developed a belief that they are not good mathematicians.  Changing their mindset around this is not always easy, but is vital to the ability to ensure they are willing to engage in math learning, to the best of their ability. 

In addition to this, many learners come to school with emotional concerns or mental health problems.  Many of these are at this age, yet undiagnosed.  Yet they are struggling with who they are and how to navigate this. 

With all the above in mind, I decided this would be the best place to begin my mindfulness curriculum.

We began with something so simple.  The kids find a space in the room, lie down on their backs, place their hands on their belly or alongside their body, close their eyes, and breathe.  Yes there are a few giggles as they settle in... they're outside of their comfort zone, doing something very different and there is huge vulnerabilty in that.  But they engage.  Taking a few minutes to coach them through noticing their breath, setting an intention for their math learning for the day and settling their busy brains only takes a few minutes and when they come back to a seated position, there is a noticeable calm in the room.  We have more to go through in this curriculum, but given the calm it brings, I think it's worth pursuing.  A few minutes at the beginning of maths means a much more settled maths session.  And that's worth being mindful about.

My next action includes learning about Mindfulness programmes on offer for children.  Sparkles have one.  They are a mindfulness curriculum that has been developed in Christchurch, New Zealand.
See Sparklers here: https://allright.org.nz/tools/sparklers/

Reconciling Digital Learning and Traditional Tried and True Practice

2018 - what an exciting year!

This year is giving me the opportunity to mash my traditional teaching and learning with progressive technology as a Manaiakalani Pilot teacher.  We are lucky enough to have two facilitators come into our classroom once a week, to work with us on the Manaiakalani programme.  This began with Cybersafety and has now progressed into Blogging  - a cool space where kids can share their learning.  I've run blogging with kids before but didn't have the knowledge of how to break the process down so that it was manageable for the kids and myself (being the only teacher in the room at the time!). Now that I've seen some great ways of using templates to support the kids, along with our class landing page, I'm better able to cater for the blogging.  It's fun!

Google Docs
Now that I've seen the way some of the templates can be used to scaffold the kids, I'm excited about what this could mean for my inquiry.  My focus this year is on blending our Manaiakalani learning with our school learning around understanding the NZ Curriculum and meshing that with our learner pathways and OTJ indicators to create focused learning for the kids with organization that's manageable for me, the classroom teacher.  I've seen the way Google Docs have been used by our Manaiakalani facilitators to support our learners in the process and have seen how it helps our less able writers.  I'm interested in how I can use Google Docs to support them in their general writing programme, particularly with blogging as the impetus to motivate them.

Writing
Providing kids with a good model and some language to help them with their writing is a big part of why I think Google Docs will help.  Reading Learning in the Fast Lane today, I came across the idea of a concept map.  I'm not sure how much it will help, but I'm unpacking the idea of it now as I go, along with the work I'm doing around learner pathways and the NZ Curriculum.  We've used the curriculum for a long time, but maybe don't unpack it enough, so this has been an interesting part of the process.

NZ Curriculum and OTJ's and Learning Pathways
The schoolwide goal that I'm working on is unpacking the NZ Curriculum, but I wanted to do this in a way that was meaningful for me.  Teaching is a profession with so much paperwork and for me, being able to digitize things so I'm a bit more ahead of the game is vital.  I want to enjoy my teaching, not put hours into "perfect" planning.  I also see how motivating online work can be for our kids and how it has the ability to personalize and accelerate the learning of students that already possess self-directed skills.  Meshing the OTJ sheets we use (created from the NZ Curriculum) with the full NZ Curriculum and our Learning Pathways has helped me to see the progressions a bit better.  What I noticed though, was that we aren't achieving the same degree of success that our PR1ME maths is.... and then it hit me.... we're not breaking it down enough.

So although I'd started digitizing our pathways with great resources to support, I came across something in 'Learning in the Fast Lane' that explains about concept maps.  So enter the next aspect of my learning.  Check them out below.



There's still a way to go before they're ready... but one thing the teacher shared in Learning in the Fast Lane, was that the kids know where they're going next - what they're learning today.... based on what's next on the concept map on the wall.  Mine aren't created quite the same way as hers, but it will evolve, and in the meantime, it's really helping me see the links between all the documentation we are attempting to incorporate in what we're doing.

Update to follow!