The Educated Kiwi
Posts tagged School
Exam Room Cricket
Sep 12th
And so we come to the time of the year where we have to supervise exams. You can’t do marking, you can’t surf the internet on your phone, what’s left? Well being stuck in the hall again I have decided on cricket. The international rules are as follows:
Happy Examining
The business end of the year
Sep 1st
So we come to the time of the year where assessments are due and option choices must be made for the future. It is about now that my Seniors are getting bored with me talking exam techniques or getting them to hand in work on time. But I will continue to do so until November when it will be up to them.
It is also now that I find the students use Moodle and elearning more than any other time in the year. You see despite the fact that the notes have been on Moodle all year many have just given these resources a cursory glance, whereas now it takes on true meaning. I like this as I guess my students can access the information when they would like to rather than when I allow them.
So I will be adding a number of new quiz/revision activities as well as linking them to a selection of sites that can help them.
I am trying to make the class Moodle page for the Year 11 History class very much a hub for their study while the year 12/13 ICT are more for putting up ideas and techniques to help them with their individual projects. I have also started using google docs extensively as it allows me to collect in volumes of work and then give feedback on it quickly.
So one week till the practice exams and then the a few short months till the end of the year.
Getting work handed in the easy way.
Aug 18th
As I come to using Google apps more and more I find it very easy for my marking work flow. I set the task in Moodle.
So in this case it was a quick lesson on one of the types of modern slavery. They were given these sites as a reference:
Then had to make sure these things were in it as a minimum.
And finally they had to share the presentation with me which since we are all in google apps they just start typing my name and it is there for them to click on.
So the screenshot below shows the work arriving at the end of the day now all I need to do is look at it and I can give feedback and even edit it in place. The final step is for them to present this back to their classmates.
Oh and I guess I should mention that the top message is from my History class with someone handing in their work late after school has finished for the day.
Wiimotes and Plasma Screens
Aug 10th
It may not be pretty but this is the modified TEK irpen that we have used for making a plasma screen interactive. The reasoning behind this came from having to put a wiimote in a year one classroom and the projector giving an image that kids would be too short for. So with a slight modification of the pen (we found that the glass on the plasma screen was too reflective in this case for an accurate reading) we were away. As you can see from the photo below the boys found it easy to use and were happily using the big computer monitor to write on ( they are playing echalk).
I guess I will have to add an update to this after a few field trials but we like the idea and with the price of Plasma screen so low at the moment it is a real option for class and hey there are no shadows. Just the thing to complement those Dell Latitude 2100 netbooks $1,046 NZD for a touch screen. Or $1500 for a Samsung 42 inch plus $400 for a wiimote kit hmmm I guess it’s lucky I already have a laptop.
How much work do we do versus how much time we have.
Jul 30th
So at present my class are working on Achievement Standard 1.1, History Research. For this they have two weeks, Four class periods for research in which I have booked the library and laptops and then a week by themselves. As always I feel that this graph accurately shows how busy they are given the fact that two weeks must seem like an eternity to a teenager. The graph was created with Crappy Graphs which I find very funny, especially given that I am known for drawing crappy maps in class.
So now I await my students finished projects and I’m again left wondering. If I gave them two days to complete this how different would the result be? Just how many hours make up a good task?
Will it Stick?
Jan 21st
One of the things we all like to do here at TEK is throw stuff at the wall and see if it sticks and I have to say that most times in education you have to run up to the wall and push it on extra hard to make it stay. This can get exhausting as between us we only have a limited number of arms and every now and then something new and shiny distracts us and we forget to hold up the old stuff. As we have probably mentioned before the key is getting buy in from the staff and/or students so that it stays stuck by itself.
I have set myself two ‘ICT’ related goals to achieve before I head back to work next week. The first is to create a blogging site for Mt. Maunganui College, the second is to create a wiki for Technology Teachers to submit relief work so that none of us have to come up with relief lessons on the morning when we feel the worst.
Both these things are reasonably straightforward to setup but they require a reasonable investment of my own time, not only installing the systems but also generating awareness and then supporting users (all without financial reward).
The second goal is the easier of the two. Go to Teach Tech and you will find a basic mediawiki install where teachers can share content. Contacting those likely to contribute will be done through the BOP GTTA (Graphics and Technology Teachers Association). After that it is just a case of waiting for the emails to come flooding in, I hope.
The first goal is a little harder as it has been requested from senior management after seeing what happens in other schools with blogging. Having set up a blog server at Katikati College I am aware that only a couple of keen teachers have really used it so far although it is growing in popularity. The thing I am most scared of is that I put this thing in place and then have to tell the whole staff that they have to use it, or I am only given half an hour in staff meeting to sell it. In short I will have to do it well to avoid a backlash.
I have decided to go with WordPress mu again but this time using the Buddypress plugins. This makes WPMU look and feel like Facebook or Bebo which enables users to add friends, create groups, post their status etc. The idea is to get users to use the platform to generate content without it feeling like work and once they are used to the interface then the transition to blogging will be smoother. One of my problems is that in my head the target audience are the most cynical teachers (you know the ones I mean), if I can sell it to them then I should get everyone else. I am probably being too hard on myself, I will be happy if a handful of people use it, blogging isn’t for everyone but we shall see if it sticks.
Makoura College Reunion
Dec 12th
So we made it down to Masterton for the Makoura College Reunion. I am at present looking after Rylee while Nat and her parents attend the opening night. Got some great photos on the way down and always interesting to visit a place that was once a huge part of someones life.
We have found of course that you don’t really miss the place rather the people so it has been neat catching up.
The reason for the trip was because initially the school was going to close due to lack of numbers and other reasons. (the first case of this in nz for a while) so we thought we better make a last visit and hey the rumours that the flight of the conchords might show up helped. (Jermaine went to school here you see.)
But all this gets me thinking what are the options in Masterton after all this town has four colleges when two would probably do. But then I like the opportunities given by a small school, so could elearning help, could that whole idea of out innovating the other schools save their falling roll or is it to be a case of the have nots being further disadvantaged.
KKC Laptop Programme
Nov 27th
Recently had an email which asked some good questions thought I might reply here as well for everyones benefit.
To answer your Questions
What are you using as the laptops? – full size, or netbooks? How many do you have, and what size school?
We are using a fifty/fifty mix of mac/pc all fullsize we have 120 at the moment and growing to 200 by next year. They are all full size right through to some 17inch machines. We also have 5 computer suites plus a further 7 in each year 7/8 room for 945 students. The machines are second hand, Two year old from Equico which we budget on $700 per unit with a new battery but to be honest with the price of laptops this has come down to a stage where we can almost buy new.
I presume you have sufficient wireless coverage in the school to allow them to be used anywhere?
We have full wireless coverage using Cisco access points. These are not centrally managed due to cost but are $900 per unit and we have 14 of them which gives us pretty good coverage. 70+ machines can run comfortably off each.
What sort of damage rate is there? – do you have to limit which students can borrow them? What process is in place for keeping them running.
The only damage in the past year and a half was when the technician dropped one. We get nervous on rainy days when students use them as umbrellas. Any student can borrow them seniors at anytime of day juniors require a teacher booking. The pc’s authenticate with active directory so are reasonably locked down to basic apps (word,firefox etc) the macs are a very open user which allows saving to local machine etc to enable multimedia usage without any hassles. We simply re-image these machines when we have a problem, which has been once this year for three machines. We really have a high trust model here and the students understand the value of the equipment, to be honest we get more damage in the rooms where the students are not responsible for the machines. Basically the process is: students come to Library after teacher has booked laptops on KAMAR and then student ID card and laptop are scanned and they take them away to class returning at the end of the period.
Any other fishhooks?
Someone to hand them out, you get a very sore arm lifting 200+ laptops an hour. Ongoing cost of maintaining them (which we have the same person doing).
Please if you wish to find out more contact us, we are only to happy to share how we have done things.
New stuff, always with the new stuff.
Nov 11th
Ok so it’s now a recession, even the morning radio station said so but still the IT world seems to rumble on, new products are launched. Even Windows experts are thinking that we will see Windows 7 by August next year. In fact in the review on the windows super site the comparison between Windows 7 and Vista is likened to Winxp and Win2000 so hopefully improvements all around. This really brings me around to the challenge for us as educators and me for IT support how can we continue to add new stuff when we haven’t really got people on board with the old stuff. Do we just stick with Windows xp or do we cut the cord and say the change is coming get used to it?
I guess we should be used to innovation as the quote below demonstrates but I have to say my Delicious links are getting somewhat out of hand (thanks to achurches for keeping them coming though) but I do look forward to the challenges that the next few months will bring.
Omokoroa No. 1 School Ride on Mower Day
Nov 2nd
Well the sun came out at last and what a successful event the mower day was this year. Huge crowds and some awesome racing. Now I can look forward to seeing the footage as we put together the video of the event. I have to say the mowers were faster this year than ever before with top speeds of around 50kmph down the home straight and some serious drifting on the corners.
Omokoroa No. 1 School Ride on mower action
I really felt the community got together at the event and we even had a number of the local candidates for the upcoming eloection racing in the “celebrity race” and then to top it all off Nat and I won our bid on the silent auction for a great piece of artwork. What a way to donate money to the school, fantastic.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Sep 22nd
Thanks to Derek for this one.
As I sat in a class this morning watching students labour over a task that only a few seemed genuinely engaged in, the teacher and I discussed what their motivation was for the task. Essentially the only reason they were doing anything in this lesson was to get the grade. Now I can’t say we can avoid this all the time and my other reason for being interested in this in the first place is because Rylee has just hit two and boy can she throw a tantrum at toothbrushing time. So what is needed how can we as teachers/parents avoid the trap of rewards? The site references Alfie Kohn who seems to have quite the library of texts on the subject I will try and find one in the library and see what I can learn.
ClassTools.net: Games for Education
Aug 21st
This from the cool cat teacher blog Have a look at the selection
| 1. |
Random Name / Word Picker |
Cut and Paste a class list into this template, then click a button and watch a name get selected at random to answer a question. Or, put in a list of keywords, which students have to then provide definitions for to earn points. [Samples] |
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| 2. |
Countdown Timer |
Type in a time, choose a theme tune, then press the button to start the countdown! |  |
Categorisation Tools |
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| 3. |
Post It |
Label different parts of your picture in different colours and with different explanations…you can also create one of these educational resources with just one hyperlink! [Samples] |
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| 4. |
Dustbin Game |
Create a key word list, then create your own “race against the clock” school game… [Samples] |
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| 5. |
Target |
Get students to explore an idea in increasing levels of detail… [Samples] |
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Essay Skills |
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| 6. |
Fishbone |
This Ishikawa Diagram template helps school students to break down a key question… [Samples] |
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| 7. |
Hamburger Diagram |
An essay planning online resource for the classroom… [Samples] |
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Chronological Awareness Tools |
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| 8. |
Time Line |
Students type two dates at either end of the screen, and classtools calculates all the dates inbetween. Key events can then by typed onto the screen and dragged into the appropriate place… [Samples] |
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| 9. |
Living Graph |
Compare and contrast events over time… [Samples] |
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Linkage Tools |
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| 10. |
Venn Diagram |
Investigate overlapping relationship between three central factors… [Samples] |
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| 11. |
Learning Puzzle |
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Olympics 2008
Aug 18th
This from Kaimai School
Last week Room 3 set about looking at New Zealand’s Olympic history. They had to pick an Olympic moment and re-enact it to the best of their abilities. The best photo was going through to the Bring It Home website. This is a national competition that asks for New Zealanders to vote for their favourite photo or video that have been posted by other kiwis. After some voting it has become clear that the Room 3 photo to go through to the Bring It Home website is the photo by Dillion, Ben and Callum.
We are asking for you to vote for Ben, Callum and Dillion. We need as many votes as possible so as we can win the top prize of $5000 worth of Samsung products. Click on the photo and it will send you through to the Bring It Home website where you can cast your vote by registering with the website then rate the photo. Pass this on to people that you know and ask for them to vote too so that we can ‘bring it home’ to Kaimai School.
Australia Streaking Ahead?
Jun 24th
On reading that NSW is going to abandon Microsoft Office in favor of Open Office I was impressed. The path of least resistance was to simply keep on with Office but no, in typical Aussie fashion they are going to thumb their noses and go with change. What does this mean for us? I guess we won’t be far behind especially after Douglas Harre’s statements at the recent edtech meetings. I do find myself agreeing that in 2001 the Microsoft agreement was a good idea as word processing etc was different just like I feel sorry for those clusters that came before us when there was so much less opportunity with ICT. I would like to make the transition sooner rather than later especially as staff are switching to Office 2007 anyway and have been giving OO.org out to staff to use at home or on family members computers. Many of course struggle to believe how can something be good if it is free.
Also in the article was the governments laptop for every student, well it would seem they meant computer access for every student but I digress I enjoyed reading the comments on many of the blogs surrounding this governmental decision and the overwhelming negativity within them. I worry that people don’t get the point.
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