Day 15 - An Eighties Education

I am a big fan of #BFC630NZ, a fifteen minute “sparkchat” which takes place at 6.30am each weekday on Twitter. One provocation about teaching and learning is posted each day and the discussions that ensue are a great way to get inspired for the day, over morning coffee.

This week, Anneke (@askawenga) asked the following question:

This really made me think about the things I had loved most about my (very traditional) schooling. These included

Handwriting lessons 

Spelling tests

Maths worksheets straight off the banda machine (remember that smell?!)  

Finishing all the little green PM books and getting to, “The Hungry Lambs” Oh happy day!

All of these learning experiences carried the bribe of pretty gold stars for getting 100%. That was so incredibly motivating for me. I must have been my teachers’ dream student, easily bought with extrinsic motivators. To them, I probably appeared engaged but in all honesty, I was just going through the motions, the picture of compliance. I never really had to work hard to do well on these tasks. There was very little deep thinking or creativity involved. I never needed to persevere to complete anything challenging and my work looked exactly the same as that of most of my classmates, although just between you and me, I strongly believed that the title pages for my projects on Western Samoa and Japan were much prettier than everyone else’s! It was all very standardised and every single one of us followed exactly the same path, at exactly the same time. And I LOVED it! I was the perfect student and my light blue, Pacific exercise books were full of gold stars……

I know our teachers had our very best interests at heart and that this approach reflected the educational beliefs of the time. However, I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I say that I stumbled spectacularly in my final years of high school and at university due to not having developed the dispositions necessary for challenging learning. And of course, the gold stars had dried up. I had no grit and a very fixed mindset. I was completely unprepared for my future.

At this point, I’ll add a disclaimer: it has always bothered me when I hear comments suggesting that our fundamental role as educators is to prepare learners for their futures. I see my role as so much more than just paving the way for when “real life” begins. I hope that, in my care, my learners are growing to love learning NOW, that they are finding ways to make a difference in their world NOW and that they are immersed in experiences and exposed to ideas which make them compassionate, open-minded crictical thinkers….just generally good human beings.

Having said that, we all want our learners to thrive when they do eventually enter the workforce but achieving this seems to be a moving target in this fast-changing world. Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing the Singularity U movie, “The University” and was struck once again, by just how dramatically the world of work is changing, and at breakneck speed. So how do we ensure that our schools reflect the change happening in the workforce so that our learners won’t find themselves, as I did, lacking the attitudes and skills needed to thrive?  

How are our schools tackling this challenge? What practical steps is your school taking?

Why should Canterbury Educators be Connected Educators?

Here we are, October 1st, which can only mean one thing; Connected Educator Month 2015 has arrived. If you're a PD junkie like me, this is fantastic news. We have free and open access to a plethora of events designed to help us nurture and refresh our professional selves. We can dip in and out as the mood strikes us and be inspired by amazing things happening in education. Aaaah, bliss.

There's no doubt that becoming a Connected Educator is transformative. Being connected is impactful for all educators but I feel strongly that given the events of the past few years, it is even more important for Canterbury educators to seek out inspiring professional connections with others.

It used to be said that Christchurch people were adverse to change. Remember that? Now we deal with constant change on a daily basis and you know what? We're getting good at it! We might even embrace some of it. That doesn't mean it is always easy. Our schools are changing at such a rate we'd have to be superhuman to not get exhausted every now and then. We've all had changes to work through, whether it is closing or merging schools, falling or increasing rolls, earthquake repairs or rebuilds and there is always the ongoing concern we hold for the children in our care, many of whom continue to suffer. On top of that, like everyone else, we're working hard to get on board with MLP and MLEs and ILEs and all the other three-letter acronyms. So it is imperative that we turn to each other for support and inspiration.

Image from Metservice Blog http://blog.metservice.com/tag/christchurch/

The interwebs and social media have allowed us to connect in ways we couldn't have imagined ten or fifteen years ago. And it is important that we use the tools at our disposal to connect with others outside our current school or learning environment. We need to get out of our own "echo chamber" and seek a perspective beyond our school gates; fresh voices which challenge us and prompt us to reflect on our practice and see things in a new light.

Last year, Chched initiated 31 Days of Blogging, a celebration of the awesome things happening in Canterbury schools. It was a roaring success and a timely reminder that despite the unique challenges we're facing, educators here continue to strive to do the best we can for the learners in our care. And we're doing a great job!

From this article; https://goo.gl/eoou2C

ChchEd's 31 Days of Blogging is back for 2015. We want to keep celebrating the Canterbury- goodness. For the entire month of October, ChchEd will be showcasing great things happening in our awesome province. We'll be sharing posts from educators, both in and outside the classroom; subscribe to this blog so you'll never miss a post! One thing's for sure; you'll be inspired and encouraged by the posts; we know, we've read them! And if you are an educator from Canterbury who'd like to write a post, please fill in this form and a member of the team will get back to you.

A favour...... if you're inspired by a post, leave the writer a comment. You'll be forming new connections and continuing the rich conversations that blogging enables so beautifully.

Just one more thing, the ChchEd committee is always looking for new members. If you are passionate about facilitating connections between Canterbury educators, please complete this form and we'll be in touch.

So roll on Connected Educator Month and welcome to ChchEd's 31 Days of Blogging.

Three Inspirations

It has been a huge month for Christchurch Connected Educators.  When planning our 31 Days of Blogging we thought it would be a tall order to get 31 different blog posts... but we did!  In fact, we even punched above our 31. Bridget Compton-Moen (one super sparky teacher!) aptly entitled our first post "Christchurch Teachers Rock" - yes they do!

To round off our month of blogging the Christchurch Connected Educators committee will finish this challenge by sharing three people/groups that have inspired them to become a connected educator. It's tough to narrow it down to only 3!

Julie Peterson

@juliepeterson05
Julie's Google+

Julie is our Deputy Principal of Teaching and Learning at St Margaret's College.  She was the one that suggested I give Twitter a go and we took the plunge together.  Julie has supported and encouraged me to give anything a go and is a leader who is walking the talk!

Karen Meluish-Spencer

@virtuallykaren
Karen's Google+  
Karen's blog - "Disrupt & Transform"

A massive thanks to Karen for heading up Connected Educator Month here in New Zealand. We all love Karen's amazing energy and passion!  She is a thought leader in education and has connected so many people in a range of exciting ways.

Jim Sill

@mistersill
+JimSill


Jim Sill is a Google Apps guru and is part of the EdTech Team.  I first heard him speak at the GAFE Summit in Christchurch earlier this year.  Jim is brilliant at providing demos (often winning the GAFE Summit demo slams) on new Google features. He has a great Youtube channel that is worth checking out.



Posted by Aimie Sibson, Digital  Learning Facilitator at St Margaret's College
@Aimiesibson, +AimieSibson

Three Inspirations

As part of Connected Educator Month, #ChchED has done 31 Days of Blogging. To round this off, the committee are giving a quick overview of three key people/groups who have inspired them to be connected educators themselves.

Matt Nicoll
St Andrew's College

• ChchED Committee
• edchatNZ Conference Steering Committee
• scichatNZ Committee
• edSMAC Co-Founder

ULearn12 was the big change for me for becoming a more connected educator. Twitter and VPLD were the first avenues I used to be more connected, then I started to take some risks with making my pedagogy and keeping an blog to share these risks and innovations. But to take these steps, I needed inspiration from others:

1. KEVIN HONEYCUTT
Website: http://kevinhoneycutt.org/
Twitter: @kevinhoneycutt

Kevin was one of the Keynote Speakers at ULearn12. Just watch the first fifteen minutes of his talk and you might get an idea why he is #1 on my list:

Collaborate, innovate and educate from EDtalks on Vimeo.

Don't wait until it is perfect to get started, just get started. I didn't wait to be any good at filming my teaching and posting it on YouTube and our class blogs. They are not perfect, but they are useful to my students and to many others. Thank you to Kevin for giving the inspiration and courage to get started!


2. DANIELLE MYBURGH
Website: http://missdtheteacher.blogspot.co.nz/
Twitter: @MissDtheTeacher

When Danielle started edchatNZ, and its respective fortnightly twitter chat via #edchatNZ, she was still a Provisionally Registered Teacher! From modest beginnings in 2012 (after ULearn12...), Danielle has been a "lone nut" leading an amazing team which brought us the first edchatNZ Conference in September 2014. I am proud to say that I am one of her most ardent followers and feel privileged to be able to call her a true friend. Every time I am in Auckland, catching up over coffee is always an inspiring highlight of my trip. Watch this space; Danielle is one to watch!

edchatNZ itself is probably the main reason that Danielle ranks so highly on this list. Via edchatNZ, I have built a really strong PLN and received great feedback for my own blog and ideas. Via edchatNZ, I have got help with units (or even just the teaching of individual concepts) that I thought were a bit "stale" or just wanted more variety with. Via edchatNZ, I have found the courage to share my ideas, and even to help build some other communities, such as edSMAC, scichatNZ and ChchED.

3. BRENT CUMMACK
Sorry, Brent is not on twitter, nor does he have a website or blog. This does not make him any less "connected" but it does mean that I will need to email him about this post, instead of letting my PLN wheels do the turning for me.

Brent is my Head of Department. He is on this list because of the faith he has shown in me, and the opportunities he has afforded me. He is also here because he is a voice of rational reason when I start getting ahead of myself with my "great ideas!"

In 2013, Brent and I both went to the International Conference on Thinking (ICOT 2013) in Wellington. We were both inspired by what we were exposed to and driven to make changes in our own department. Brent then organised for us both to visit some great schools in Melbourne, Australia.

Brent is a wonderful leader of our department. He has made me feel valued, while also offering much-needed advice and critique. He is open-minded to ideas, so long as they are based upon sound pedagogy and match the goals of the department. He has encouraged me (and others in our department) and never been an obstacle in the way of innovation. He is not an advocate for "we've always done it that way", so he belongs squarely at #3 for me.


Bridget Compton-Moen 

Selwyn House

It was very hard for me to narrow down to just three people who inspire me as I get amazing ideas from every member of my PLN. So I've decided to share three blogs I consider must- reads. I've also chosen to share international blogs as many of the educators who inspire me are kiwis and I suspect you'll know them well!

In no particular order-

1. Langwitches- This is a truly amazing site with lots of amazing information for connected educators. There are so many treasures here I'm not sure which to highlight but this is a must if you have or are considering setting up a class blog. Silvia Tolisano is truly inspiring.

2.  WhatEdSaid- Edna Sackson is an amazing inquiry teacher who teaches in a PYP school like myself. Her posts are always thought-provoking and challenge me to ensure that there is an inquiry disposition in my class. She is awesome! Two other amazing inquiry teachers are Kath Murdoch of JustWondering and Maggie Hos-McGrane of TechTransformation. Maggie teaches in the most incredible school in Mumbai so her blog combines two of my great loves; inquiry and India!

3. NerdyBookClub- This is a must read for anyone who teaches literacy or loves reading! It was started by the incredible Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer) but the posts are crowd-sourced. If you are anything like me, you'll spend a lot of your time finding the perfect book for your students and this is where I find reading material to check out for my learners. Add it to your feedly!

Ok, so I snuck two extras in there........ all five of these blogs are fantastic. Enjoy!

#Kidsbookchat- a twitter chat for connected kids!

For me one of the highlights of being a connected educator is participating in Twitterchats. These “virtual staff meetings” enable like-minded educators to “meet” and have discussions about a huge range of educational topics. I will never forget the thrill of my first ever twitterchat. (Yes, my husband does tell me I need to get out more!) 

My first chat was the inspiring #titletalk which is run by the Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller. I couldn’t believe that I was actually chatting with one of my "eduheroes"- I learned so much in that one hour and subsequently spent a fortune at my local Children’s Bookshop! I was hooked.

Soon after my first #titletalk, the #edchatnz community was born thanks to the amazing Danielle Myburgh. This community has gone from strength to strength and in August I was lucky enough to attend the first ever #edchatnz conference in Auckland. The friends I have made and the learning I have received from this free, teacher-led professional development has been invaluable; my students are the ones who have benefitted most from my involvement in this professional learning.   

I was excited when I first heard about educators using twitterchats with their students. It seemed a natural progression; surely this type of learning from our peers would be just as powerful for students as it is for their teachers. The #kidsedchatnz community is hugely successful thanks to seven amazing New Zealand teachers. Sadly, my class can’t take part in this due to timetabling but I have often looked over the chats later and been inspired by the depth of the children’s reflections and the supportive nature of their conversations. This chat is attracting worldwide attention; you can read more about it here.

My class have had a twitter account for a long time and we haven’t always taken advantage of the access to an authentic audience that this tool enables. So when one of my students suggested we turn to twitter to ask for book recommendations for our 40 Book Challenge, #kidsbookchat was born. Initially this started out as a slowchat, meaning we’d post a question and people could respond at any stage but the girls were keen to host a half hour twitter chat where classes or reading groups met synchronously to discuss books and share recommendations.

Our first chat was a general chat about reading habits, favourite books and favourite authors. It was a huge success and was the first time that our class twitter account had ever hit its limit for tweets sent in one day! The result was lots of new classes from Dunedin to Auckland for us to connect with and lots of new books to add to our “To Be Read” lists. The second chat was focused on dystopia, a genre that is enormously popular with many of my learners. This chat was optional in 8C as there are some students in my class that aren’t fans of this genre, however the vast majority chose to participate and many were swept along by the enthusiasm of other students and chose to give dystopian literature a second chance. We hold the chats in our library and there is always a flurry of book borrowing activity at the end of the session as the learners borrow titles that have been recommended.    

Tomorrow is our third #kidsbookchat. We will be meeting at the #kidsbookchat hashtag at 11am to discuss Realistic Fiction. We hope that your class or a reading group can join us. Here is the link to the questions we will be asking.

http://8cshs.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/kidsbookchat-this-thursday-come-and.html

We hope to "meet" you there!

Bridget Compton-Moen
Selwyn House