Lead the Change, Follow the Change, Be the Change...

Can teaching ever be a 9-3 job? I don't think so.  I love connecting with other passionate educators and debating some of the issues that are at the forefront of our pedagogy.

This week the #edchatnz discussion (fortnightly at 8.30pm) was on "change":

Reporting and Interviews...subtitled "I wasn't going to tweet tonight."

...but Karla Hull reminded me that #ptchatnz was on, and the topic is one that many educators are worried about.  How do we report well to our families about our students? What do they need to know? Want to know?

#Ptchatnz is the brainchild of Ngatea School and Principal Neil Fraser led me to it. On the first chat, I think Neil, Karla and I had more or less a three way conversation for the hour.  We advertised it; I wanted to help. We talked about it at Educamps and on other chats.

This third chat was sensational.  Karla designed great questions.  The tweets streamed down the screen!

What we need though, is more parent voice.  Many of our followers are teachers.

I will enjoy mulling over the tweets in the storified collection embedded below (thanks Karla).

Last word must go to parent Martin Partridge, from Hobsonville Point Primary School.

If we use too much jargon in our tweets then I imagine that our reports and interviews are similar. Thanks for the timely reminder.

Learnings and Future Learnings...from the #edchatnz conference

This is my fourth blog post about the #edchatnz conference; from what I've seen on the Tweetdeck streams, I'm not alone in my excitement.

In @ReidHPS's meme challenge, he asks us what we would have liked to attend.  We had to make choices and those choices involved missing people and sessions which have had an obvious impact on others.  So here are links to resources, presentations and #storified tweets which gather in the goodness.

I plan to come back here to read and reflect as there is not a hope that I can do it all right now.
Thanks #edchatnz tweeps who did all the work for this collection.  Special thanks to @chasingalyx who gathered all the links in her "Superpost of Resources."

Alex's Superpost of Resources

Sonya's Listly of Reflections 

Anne Kenneally's #storify

Kimberley's #storify

Pam's #storify on SOLO

Anne Robertson's #storify

Simone's #storify on #kidsedchatnz

Karen's keynote on #storify

Alyx's #storify on the MP debate

Karen's #storify on Connected Educator Month

My #storify on Gamification

My #storify on Digital Literacy with @andrewcowie

My #storify on the inaugural f2f meeting of #Edubookchatnz


Lots of photos on the #Edchatnz community

Species Twiducatus Edchatnz (No Birds Were Harmed in the Making Of This)

Twiducatus Edchatnz

Appearance: 

Twitter birds come in all shapes and sizes and many coats, but like a combination of black and bright colours. The female is usually identified by its avatar; she normally takes selfies from above in order to minimise chin flesh.  The male usually takes selfies from below in order to maximise height and may well wear a hat to disguise early loss of feathers.

Also distinguishable by having a small coloured, backlit device appendages attached to hands and heads down; a risky business for this species, as it may walk into things.

Spectacled Twiducatus

Habitat:

Enjoys flocking in brightly coloured Modern Learning Environments, with coloured bean bags, stools and various multi-level furniture items.  If these are unavailable, is not adverse to meeting on virtual cloud spaces and can swim in fast-moving streams.

Favoured habitat of Twiducatus

Feeding Habits:

Feeds by diving in and out of streams where it follows other Twitter birds and consumes their links. Works cooperatively however, by ensuring stream is freshly supplied with new links.

Also found in cafes where eating procedure involves firstly tweeting photos of coffee froth and beautifully styled cake arrangements, in order to impress other twitter birds with success as a hunter and collector of delicious foodstuffs.

Noisy flock of Twiducatus feeding in early morning light.

Reproductive habit:

The twitter bird begins as an unhatched egg which is nurtured by more mature Twitter birds.  They help it to develop feathers and a suitable profile without which it will not survive; survival is dependent on being followed and following other Twitter birds.

Young of Twiducatus

The Twitter bird then goes through several stages before it is fully mature:

At the curious stage, the new Twitter bird is affectionately tagged as a "lurker" and is allowed to watch more mature members of the species feeding and resupplying the stream.  The most mature members of the species who are successful stream divers, are also affectionately tagged as "queen".

Language:

In flocks will hug and shriek.  Ordinarily it communicates with shortened text forms and hashtags. It cannot utter anything with more than 140 characters to ensure that communication is quick and that all members of the flock can utter a tweet in the chorus.

Committee Chorus

How to catch a Twitter bird:

Twitter birds are attracted by uttering abbreviations and by giving them brightly coloured and shiny tools.  GAFE, UDL and MLE are current favourites as are LCD screens especially if accompanied by smart phones. 3D printers, ipads and Chromebooks are equally successful in capturing their attention.

Global Flock Numbers - Is It At Risk?

Twitter bird numbers, especially the subspecies Twiducatus, which we have highlighted here, are currently undergoing a rapid expansion in numbers.  There is a possibility that similar species such as Snapshoticus, Instagraminfinitum and Facebookaddictus might subsume the species, but there is no indication of that at present as the Twiducatus is enjoying global growth; it can feed at any time of day or night and in any geographical area or climate, as long as wifi is present in the atmosphere.

Odd birds are all accepted by the flock, ensuring that the flock maintains variety and a wide range of ideas. 

Replying to Reid...the #edchatnz Blogging Meme

If you get included in the blogging meme: copy/paste the questions and instructions into your own blog then fill out your own answers. Share on twitter tagging 5 friends.

1. How did you attend the #Edchatnz Conference? (Face 2 Face, followed online or didn’t)

It was a MUST attend for me. I'm one of the early #edchatnz crowd – and well, the “queen” it would appear – so one must make an effort! I love @MissDtheTeacher and what she has done to BITS and wouldn’t have missed it.

I told my team, leapt in the car after a meeting on Thursday afternoon, and drove the three hours to Auckland where my lovely tweep friend @CaroBush was hosting “the girls”. We went to #Educafe with @EmmaWinder25 and @andrewcowie and had the most marvellous think tank time…but I digress; that’s another post.

Next morning it was on the road to HPSS with @CaroBush, @digitallearnin and @annagerrit – and I think we were first there!



2. How many others attended from your school or organisation?

Just me.



3. How many #Edchatnz challenges did you complete?

Hmmm – certainly #selfies, #grelfies, #melfies and #twofies.

Also assisted @digitallearnin with the dance challenge in @andrewcowie’s digital literacy breakout.  She held the camera while I yelled at everyone, “Get up! Dance! It’s a challenge! DO IT!”



4. Who are 3 people that you connected with and what did you learn from them?

@boonman who is a well-known advertising face (had to ask him if he really was himself) but did his best work on our Twitter video. Funny guy! Smarter looking in real life. (He he.)
@AKeenReader who reminded me that we all have an influence on each other and it’s so important to make those connections and have that support.
@mattynicholl whose whole face lights up when he greets someone.

But I want to say EVERYONE!  I really get pleasure from meeting all the tweeps I talk to online, reconnecting with people I now regard as friends, new tweeps I didn’t already know and anyone who shares my passion for learning and sharing. So I could just add my “following” list!



5. What session are you gutted that you missed?

I would have liked to see @geomouldy in action, @nanogirl, and @rosmaceachern, who was talking about being a learning coach in this different school environment.



6. Who is one person that you would like to have taken to Edchatnz and what key thing would they have learned?

I can’t choose one. The people who should go might not be ready to go.  The teachers at school who would love to go but have small children or Saturday sport commitments and put their kids first.  The people who don’t get the whole connected, collaborative, online environment and being a global citizen.

I’d love people to see what an amazing network is forming through Twitter: my staffroom of choice, where hierarchies don’t exist, people share the same vision for learning and get each other.



6. Is there a person you didn't get to meet/chat with (F2F/online) that you wished you had? Why?

Yes – some names that constantly pop up on my feed like @DanceWellNZ, @nanogirl and the Ngatea lot who I promised @Neil_NPS I would look for.

I love putting the faces to the names. @nanogirl has been an inspiration in science and with her handling of the media.

I have to say though, that I met a huge bunch of tweeps! Yay! Lots of #grelfies and #huggingandshrieking to prove it.



7. What is the next book you are going to read and why?

I need to finish “Boy Writers” by Ralph Fletcher, which is inspirational and down to earth. He is a father of boys and a teacher of writing; Gail Loane recommended the book to me.

Next will be the #edubookchatnz choice, “Key Competencies for the Future” by Rosemary Hipkins et al.



8. What is one thing you plan to do to continue the Education Revolution you learnt about at #EdchatNZ?

Lots of things were reinforced.  I think that not being worried about being the lone nut is the most important thing. We aren't lone nuts and I'm already spreading the good salt.  The NZ Curriculum document is a good one, and I need to keep reminding folk what it says.

I'll continue to look at gaming with Minecraft and coding.



9. Will you take a risk and hand your students a blank canvas?

I try to now. My NAPP inquiry was about boys and writing and I am fascinated by the “feminisation” of education; some say it doesn’t exist. I think it does. One thing is less teacher talk, more discovery.



Who do I tag with this meme:

@CaroBush
@digitallearnin
@annagerrit
@LaSampsonater
@Belchick1

The Inaugural #eduigniterotovegas

Personalised Learning on #edchatnz

Wow - another twitter speed dating - should that be speed writing and reading - session.  Powerful and pithy!

My worries are that teachers forget that it's not about just following passions for students.  As teachers, facilitators and activators (thanks @digitallearnin), it is our job to know our students' needs and scaffold their next steps. "Standing on the side" does not mean standing at a distance. We stand close enough to motivate, question, and assist.

#mlearn14 - "They're Technologies of the Present - Not the Future"

I've paraphrased Stephen Lethbridge and he's quite right; too many folk talk about technologies and practices that are right here right now: social networks like Twitter, 3D printers, coding, mobile computers.  They talk about them like there is a choice to adopt or not to adopt.

It's imperative that we keep up because what is current now will be superceded before we can blink.

Yes, We Can Get Our Boys to Write!

My last post was about dyslexia and why some students, who love words, did not find their school writing experiences positive. This post on being an effective teacher of writing, looks at how we can address some of the problems for writers. 

It's great when you come away from a course excited.  It's even better when you feel like that even though you should still be on holiday. And it's "fantabulous," when your colleagues feel the same way.

Like many others, we've identified that our students, as a group, are weakest in writing achievement. Our qualified hunch is that this is because our teachers could be better teachers of writing.  But how do you address this?

When I first arrived at the school three and a half years ago, the focus was writing.  Our first step was to introduce a more robust assessment tool and we chose e-asTTle.  The last three years have been about unpacking the tool and looking at how we unpack a piece of writing.  The new e-asTTle writing rubric came out, so we spent time adapting to that.  We knew moderation was important, so we hosted interschool moderation workshops and had a lot of practice and discussion within our own staff.

But we all know that testing and being better at testing, does not make a writer who is passionate about writing! I am very aware of this need.  I can see that not everyone on the staff shares my passion for crafting words into word pictures; word pictures that engage readers and take them away on a magical video in the cinema of our imaginations.

We identified and talked about this need with our change team; it was suggested that Gail Loane might be available before the school year started.  Our principal shared our needs with Gail , on the phone.  Some of us had attended her two hour seminar on Boy Writers last year. Like our students, we wanted a workshop that would be interactive.

I set myself the goal of reading "I've Got Something to Say," Gail Loane's book on writing, in collaboration with Sally Muir.  It had sat on my shelf for two years. Recommended by other colleagues, it was always superseded by the best pulp fiction I could find to take my brain on holiday over the Christmas break.

As expected, I'm embarrassed I didn't open it earlier. Gail and Sally have created a primer for effective writing practice that embraces effective pedagogy, samples of writing, how to present and unpack them and surrounds them with real experiences with students.  Interwoven is Gail's obvious passion for writing and unrelenting belief that every child can write, has a story to write and has a story he or she wants to share.

And that's how she ran the workshop.  I enjoyed recognising pieces I had discovered in the book and knowing that the ideas I wanted to revisit - and that's all of them - were all in the book.

She asked us to question whether we believed that some students' lives were not rich enough to have their own starters and bemoaned the fact that so many draft books were short on work and short on completion. We read the poem "That Was Summer" by Marci Ridlon.

We clarified meaning; not everyone comes to a piece with the same set of experiences and understandings. We used topics that students can relate to: summer, playing hide and seek, building huts and playing a sport. We unpacked and co-constructed criteria that everyone can use.

We wrote our stanza in about ten minutes. We shared and read it as a group poem. We were all writers.

(I've attached my full notes from the day on a Google doc as well as the storified tweets from teacher Kassey Downard @kasseylee11 and myself @mrs_hyde.)

Further note - I was excited when I read, at the start of the book, that Gail had attended a workshop run by Ruie Pritchard in the late 1980's. So had I. I was blown away to discover that we were on the same week-long inservice at Waikato. How marvelous that she has carried it further, so that I may again pick up the threads so many years later.

The First Post...for 2014, That Is. A Meme About Me, Me, Me!

I do feel like I've dragged my feet over this. It's a great idea, one which encourages us to reflect and share with folk who have become our confidentes over the last year or so.  It's an idea that I can see could work well with blogging in our school.  I have to say though, that it was lovely shutting down the laptop before Christmas and looking at my pile of books, videos and garden tools!

I do like writing though, and tweeting and talking...so thanks so much dear Marnel, who got me into this. Marnel - I absolutely treasure our conversations! Also Monika and Kimberley! That's what happens when everyone tags everyone else and you leave it for a few days. I'm going to start with Marnel's questions and see how I go. I may have to do meme x 3.

The blogging task includes:

Acknowledge the nominating blogger.  (Thank you for making me feel special ladies!)
Share 11 random facts about yourself. (That will be interesting to narrow it down.)
Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you. (Haven't peeked yet.)
List 11 bloggers. (Hmm - a challenge not to re-tag someone now!)
Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated.  Don't nominate a blogger who has nominated you. (I'm counting tweeting as blogging...it's also known as micro-blogging.)

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. My name is pronounced An-na-ma-ry. I was named after my German grandmother, Anna Maria, and my mother's Swiss au pair, Annemarie. I have no middle name because they knew it would be the bane of my life! It's a great name - I like a bit of history.
2. My maiden name was Tinga. I got married while I was at teachers' college; obviously thought about the nicknames...tingaling, stinker...
3. I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and lived there for all but four of my first 21 years.
4. I'm a first generation Kiwi.
5. I lived in Jamaica from the age of six until I was ten and I played on the tourist rafts in Ocho Rios.
6. I used to be shy. I realised I admired people who weren't shy, so I changed! Yes people, honestly, my school reports said, "Annemarie does not contribute to class discussions."
7. I read science fiction from the age of eight. Andre Norton was the first author. I was fascinated by the possibilities.
8. I still love science fiction movies and was addicted to Star Trek. We had no TV when I was six, but ran down the drive to watch it at an old lady's house down the road in Ocho Rios. I was fascinated by all the moles on her neck...
9. When I like an author I read all the books.
10. I started off as a high school teacher of English and Art History.
11. I've run 7 half marathons and a 32 km, and plan to walk the Rotorua Half. Never done a marathon though and not really planning to.

With my little brother in Bishopdale, Christchurch. Love this photo!

My Answers to Marnel's Questions:

What inspires you?
- My twitter PLN is my major source of inspiration.  I love reading what others are doing because I then see the possibilities. Beautiful scenery inspires me. My mother's fortitude in overcoming her disabilities when she was alive. My children. My friends. My students. My teachers.

What are you reading now?
- I've got a pile of books that I grandly put on Twitter at the start of the holidays, many about education and leadership. So far I've read a novella by Monica McInerney, "Odd One Out," Kathy Reich's latest book "Bones of the Lost" and now I'm reading "Bridget Jones, Mad About the Boy," by Helen Fielding. All marshmallow stuff.  Glorious!

If you weren't a teacher, what would you do?
- Probably journalism. Though I just spent a lovely evening with friends solving Rotorua's economic problems and came up with a great tourism idea.

If you could change something about the education system, what would it be?
- Lots more money invested so that we weren't always fundraising for computers and other things. I do believe literacy and numeracy standards for entry to teaching should be higher. I wouldn't mind if it was a masters degree, because we need something to give us more kudos! It's tricky because I do realise that great teachers aren't always the most academically qualified.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
- When I got out of my last jury duty. I try to do one big Christmas letter a year, but it's become electronic now. I realised that the only thing I was handwriting was the shopping list.  But I've now got an app for that...

Android or iPad tablets? Why?
- I have an ipad. It is compatible with my iphone. I still believe there are more educational apps available on Apple. I've got used to these and now don't like my friends' Android phones. Habit?

What do you find hardest to teach your students?
- Attitudes and values. They come from different and sometimes conflicting backgrounds.  The role-modelling they experience at home is often the overwhelming influence.

What will you be doing differently this year?
- That's an interesting one. I think that I'm on a continuum of trying to improve my leadership practice, so I'm always reflecting and adjusting.

If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be and why did you choose this language?
- I grew up in the sixties and seventies, when parents from other cultures believed it was most important to be assimilated as New Zealanders.  So I don't speak Dutch, my father's first language.  His mother was German, so that language also appeals.

What is your favourite way to waste time?
- Make a coffee, sit in the sun on the deck with a book, chores forgotten (or done).
- Twitter away on Twitter.

What is your life motto?
- Currently: "Life gives you who you need, not who you want, to make you into the person you need to be."

I enjoyed that...so now it's your turn!  I tag you eleven:
My Taupaki friends:@stephen_tpk, @JJPurtonJones, @diana_prince_ww; my facilitator buddies: @AnneSturgess2, @barbs1, @leighhynes, @marykjam; and those Twismas Tweeters not already tagged to my knowledge: @AnnaGerrit, @ChambersJohanna, @MeganCroll1 and @MissDSciTeacher (should have been there).

My Eleven Questions for You:

1. What is your main personal goal for 2014?
2. Where was your most memorable holiday?
3. Which time in history would you like to be teleported to?
4. What is a tip you can share for relieving stress?
5. Who would rate as the most inspirational speaker you've listened to?
6. What are three things you believe you've got right in your teaching practice?
7. What was the best advice you were ever given?
8. What advice would you have given your younger self?
9. Did you always want to be a teacher?
10. What is the best book you read in 2013?
11. If you could describe yourself as a vegetable, which one would you be and why?

Make that coffee, open that laptop and get going!

#Edchatnz - Speed Dating With Twiducators

Every second Thursday I grab my phone, ipad or laptop and get ready for the speed date otherwise known as #edchatnz.

I don't miss this date if I can help it, as the topic is always one on top of a lot of educator's lists of what's hot right now. It is so good to get the feelings and experiences of educators across the sectors. It's definitely "turbo tweeting"; trying to keep up with the different conversations is nigh impossible and it's a necessity to find the time to go back and read what else has been going on.

The last #edchatnz was on BYOD. It was a rip-roarer and I got so much out of the conversation stream I was on. made me feel that it was definitely different strokes for different folks. We also looked at how best to bring our less confident teachers on board. A great sharing of ideas!

Thanks to Anne Robertson who talked about the power of this chat in her blog post :
 "The overwhelming theme that came through for me was the emphasis and focus on LEARNING.  We are all starting to get the message that PEDAGOGY has to drive the tools we use and not the other way round."

Anne used tagsexplorer to map the way the conversations moved; I had to laugh! I really get into it!

http://hawksey.info/tagsexplorer/?key=0AjEo0tIl0W-MdHoxRzhZbTBUaUtRUWMtQXU0clMwV3c&sheet=oaw

Thanks too to @MissDSciTeacher - Danielle Myburgh - who started this chat time going. It's become a feature of the NZ PLN.  

Here's my Storify - I still need to go back and mull over the ideas.

Attwicted to Learning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/126238642/

I had a laugh tonight going through a list of Twitter slang. I think I'm "attwicted"; but it's because I'm addicted to learning. And I like learning with others.

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/Twitter_Dictionary_Guide.asp

Twitter has become my short read. Instead of the paper or the Listener on a Saturday morning, I'll lie in bed and go through the tweets. Usually the main news is highlighted by the media news accounts and interesting issues are retweeted and commented on by some of the people I follow. Another dimension is added: discussion with other tweeps. Most of the folk I follow are fellow educators, so a lot of articles and links to resources become subjects for conversations too.

I've also found that it's possible to become a source of news or even an editor. I've tweeted @melissa_stokes in the ad break of a news broadcast about an error and had her reply that she'd get it fixed!

Twitter has become my main source of learning and keeping up with what's going on in the world and especially the world of education. I curate what I find with Evernote - and I even occasionally go back to check out my cache. 

I take notes on Twitter. Yes, I could use a Google doc, but I love sharing the learning and waiting to see if an idea will be challenged or added to. Take the writing workshop I attended two weeks ago. An eminent and respected guru of writing, she stated that research proved boys' and girls' brains were wired differently. "Really?" I thought, "I wonder what that research is?" And I asked that question of the Twitterverse as I sat there and got an instant reaction:

I collate the notes I tweet using Storify, which has a great embed option to show the tweets as a slideshow. Useful if you want to flick quickly to a point. And that's another point: each idea must be encapsulated in a neat 140 character block. There's something satisfying about succeeding in turning an idea into a pithy epithet.

The associated link is like unwrapping a gift - the tweet gives a taster of the goodies you are going to find. And it is a gift. Twitter is free and Twiducators share their wares unselfishly. Just for the cost of your data.

Collaboration is a huge benefit of Twitter. I've learned to do #timelapse photography by sharing ideas with tweeps like @dakinane, which have then led to school collaborations across the country, like #nzschooltimelapse . Around the globe, educators are conversing at set times on a range of topics. Every second Thursday at 8.30pm, educators get together to talk on #edchatnz. Students can now connect on #kidsedchatnz on a Wednesday too.

I've had a lot of fun with Twitter. There was the day I decided to use it as a #lazyweb and asked for advice on processing feijoas. A #feijoafrenzy began, recipes, ideas, photos all shared amongst a great deal of bonhomie. My freezer was packed with feijoas and the day filled with a lot of shared laughter, even if it was by hashtag!  Seems I wasn't alone in enjoying the fruit.

Meeting tweeps face to face is amazing. You can go from a conversation online to meeting them f2f for the first time and continuing that conversation as if you'd been in the room together and old buddies. Funnily enough, we have a connection that goes further than a smartphone. The highlight of Ulearn13 for me was meeting up with so many of these "old buddies". I can now sit in a waiting room or even alone at a cafe and not feel friendless! (And sometimes the tweep gets to sit in the cafe too, rather than just at the end of the phone.)

I found out at Ulearn13 that it's not just connection, communication and collaboration...there's also a little bit of competitive tweeting possible, all in good fun.  Nothing like getting a hashtag trending...http://events.core-ed.org/ulearn/blog/techie-number-crunch

Hmmm - enough said about that!

Why is this all so important? Well for me it mean I'm already entering the future we are building with our children. The New Zealand Curriculum document, which has now been out since 2007, states:

NZ Curriculum, page 36

The last paragraph intrigues me as much as Captain Kirk's lines, "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man (one) has gone before." Now, six years after the document came out, I can see some of the new and different ways of learning.

I challenge you "to boldly go", to explore and find out for yourself.

Tweeting perhaps?
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSn6PcSs4tEXgPI7HkQ8hG_GnpeQna-a3P2yo54FrfNfpDFn_Zk