Learn, Create, Share

So I have a confession.  I've always been pretty good at the learning part and the sharing part, but I really struggle with the bit in the middle.

Historically, "Creation" has always been the aspect of whatever I do that is a bit 'messy' and haphazard, out of everything.  In fact, I didn't really call it creation, but maybe lumped it all together in 'learning'.  But that has changed.  Recently, with the idea of Learn, Create, Share while part of the Manaiakalani Pilot Teacher programme, I've been looking at my goals in slightly different ways, and have found that 2018's goals can all be tied together quite well.

1.  Enhance my knowledge of the NZ Curriculum
2.  Create visible, rewindable, digitally accessed tools to support learning and our tracking and planning templates (OTJ sheets, Learning Pathways etc.)
3.  Utilise the access to facilitators to maximize my Manaiakalani journey

From all this, hatched a plan to tie all my learning together, so that I was using the Manaiakalani  "Learn, Create, Share" model, to explore my goals and present back my findings.  In order to do all this, I knew it was going to be vital to use some planning tools that could support me in actually getting into action with my inquiry, every day.  Currently, I'm in the process of creating a plan to help me create action daily around my goals.  This gives me a very clear direction for my inquiry but also enables me to check out the big picture before I get there and look into potential upcoming problems before they arise.

My goal is to create lesson content for our learners that is visible (available on our Hub Landing Page), rewindable and maximizes teacher's time by tailoring learning around the NZ Curriculum and our OTJ planning sheets.  It will also enable learners to have a greater degree of agency over their learning and the ability for them to more clearly see the progress they are making around their own goals.

Watch this space.

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.