Success Criteira

After observation of my students this year. I am well aware that they are unable to create and use success criteria to devlop their next steps for learning. I need to gather data to support my findings. I have developed a survey using survey monkey, an excellent data gathering site, and had all students answer it. 53% of students said that they could create some success criteria when given a learning intention, and 34% only being able to identify one step.

I then gave them a task as follows:
Write the success criteria for an agument to encourage the Government to make Cellphone usage free.

Here is an example of the success criteria I was given:

Success Criteria for free internet:
• Write a good argument to why the government should let the internet to be free.
• How would it affect other people worldwide?
• How would the people who had internet and was paying it feel if the internet was now free would they ask for their money back.
• Give a variety of question’s why it should be free.

It confirms my need to develop success criteria with students so that they have a recpie for success.

I have identified my target group as year 8 boys.

After discussions with Lyn Ross, I came up with a task sheet to explictly teach success criteria. Where students would create an animation powerpoint. We explored how we would make it successful and what aspects we would need to include.

Sam Animation

Sam animation is free downloadable software to create animation that is quick and easy to use. As always the learning needs to be at the forefront so how can this e-learning tool enhance students learning? Well the opportunities are endless for example in literacy using this to retell a story, creating a story from infering a meaning from a text etc. In maths students could use this animation to solve problems and show their thinking. These are just a few examples.

Publishing Goals

After looking around other schools blogs with my class this week, the students decided that they wanted to publish their goals to their blogs. They also insisted that I posted my goal as well. After discussing teacher inquiry at our most recent staff meeting I thought why not. I am wanting my Inquiry to focus on students using co-construction success criteria to measure their own success and create their own next steps. I am trailing using the Habits of Mind to help students to identify goals that will help them to develp skills to be life long learners. In order for this to be successful I needed to make my students aware that I am a learner as well and we are all on learning journeys. So here is my goal:

Here are some examples from my students

Prezi.com

What an excellent start to the year. This week we have been mind mapping using www.prezi.com. Prezi offers educators and students special free accounts with larger storage space. You are able to embed your mindmap into your blogs for others to see. It is a easy user friendly programme. When you sign up there is a series of short movies that you can watch that teach you how to use it. However, if you are like me the best way that you learn is by having a play. Although I teach Year 7 and 8, I believe that this programme could be used at any year level as it does offer you the opportunity to insert pictures and group ideas together.

What is it to be digitally Safe? on Prezi

NetGuide - Youngsters gripped by technology

NetGuide - Youngsters gripped by technology

This is a must read for parents and educators. It confirms the importance of digital education to keep our students switched on when they walk into the classroom. Share with me your thoughts.

Inspired Impact Conference Day 1

Conferences are always inspiring, hundreds of educators get together discuss their views and share ideas. This is what I love the most about attending conferences "Networking". Lots of trade stalls all handing out things for free, have myself another years supply of pens, a large amount of chocolate and even a rugby ball. However there is more to an educational conference than free trade stalls and have lunch with your co-workers. To me it is about listening, engaging and implimenting the main message. After several workshops during the day sometimes these messages get lost however today I have come away with some key points to ponder and look towards implementing them in my classroom this year.

Dr Anne Davies alerted me to the fact of co-construction of success criteria and making sure that the students expectations are the same as the teacher.

Dorothy Burt from Point England School in Auckland, was the most inspiring speaker of the day. I attended her workshop on 'Literacy in the Digital Age'. She discussed the literacy cycle, and the need for quality teaching, creating the digital object, then publishing it online to recieve feedback. By publishing it online not only do students recieved feedback but they also reinforce learning by watching it over and over again.

Dorothy raised two very important questions that I believe every educator should ask themselves and then think about their response.

• What do our students do when they are at home?
• Have our kids failed at school or have we failed them?

Dorothy was also the keynote speaker after lunch, her address was "Heating up the 21st Century".

Main Points

• Plan, Process, Produce, Publish
• We need to be aware of digital citizenship
• Teach digital literacy

Well that is a lot for one day and I am well ready and excited for tomorrow.

i-Pod Touch

After following what Nick Rate has been saying regarding the i-pod touch I thought it was time to purchase one myself and add my thoughts.

After only a week I have been blown away with the opportunities that it has for the classroom. The instant access to the Internet allows you to access information instantly along with sharing your own ideas.

I am amazed with the free applications, at present I have been using the skype application, TVNZ and many more. Unfortunately blogger does not match with word press, that I can work out, so it makes updating our blogs difficult. However the ease to upload photos and share on web is efficient.

I found it easy to set up email and now have instant access to work email. It has made me excited to see how the i-phone could be used in the classroom. With the camera and videoing functions, the constant access to call people, anytime access to the internet, to me it seems like the logical next step in the classroom. It raises this question in my mind, will we see the days of computers leave the classroom and hand held devices, such as i-phones and i-pod touches, revolutionise the classroom learning?

I am keen to use my i-pod touch in the classroom and see how the students repond to it. At the moment I am so hooked that I imagine that they will be to.