20th+August+meeting+notes

Notes from 20th August
 * **Variation processes -** Bernard brought up a request on schools' contributions. Support for variation writing and templates can be found @ []
 * Challenges for clusters to represent all cluster school's needs when reviewing current contract goals and new contract goals
 * Use milestone reports as valuable data for informing future practice, possibly use Wordle to unpack milestone reports and analyse high frequency words
 * Introductions around the room
 * Sally McDougall from Hillcrest Normal School shared how she has migrated ready to reads, journals from listening post tapes and digitalised on the server, with little MP3 players, Kiwi kids songs, Roxio Record Now, Rainbow reading programme as well. (Resources included tape deck, amplifier, computer, jacks and MP3 players), ask for permission from Learning media, or borrow from Hillcrest Normal School. Can share resources with the rest of us.
 * Trade off possibilities to access materials
 * [|2009 ICT PD Newsletters]
 * [|2010 ICT PD Newsletters]
 * Barbara shares her role around the Waikato
 * Jacqui shares her current reality in her school, keeping the board informed.
 * Bernard talks about directing his clusters and working through what a localised curriculum looks like in each school
 * Donna shares her current thinking is being challenged listening to Ewan McIntosh - EG using Posterous for easy, quick blogging
 * Share [|Posterous] with attendees (great tips from Ewan's workshop 19t August). Eg see Donna's posterous blog from yesterday's workshop with Ewan. []
 * Jan-Marie talks about her clusters and working with them on visioning, Inquiry learning, ICT integration, useict.wikispaces.com
 * Trevor talks about his work with Tauranga cluster lead teachers visiting best practice schools, goals setting and building capacity and leadership, developing competencies in one school in particular
 * Sandy talks about her Tauranga Moana cluster and her love of David Warlick's blog post 2 cents worth []
 * Paula talks about her five schools in her cluster, just about to finish third year, shared a story about one teacher has had a lot of email addresses to respond her student's blogs
 * Digital citizenship issues and debates - very current trends to address
 * Judi shares her experiences and the tension with time dedicated to National Standards, Jill shares how she can make overt links to National Standards
 * [|Twiducate] - educational Twitter
 * Literacy progressions and ICTs http://elearningbop.wikispaces.com/Literacy+Progressions+and+ICT
 * Barbara shares working with her cluster Three rivers, huge change in Paeroa schools, thinking strategies, questioning strategies, concept plan and teacher guided, student negotiated, change to planning SOLO planning and assessment rubrics
 * Jill - encourage independence and personalise learning for teachers by working from a particular learning intention they have - brainstorm some possibilities but then do a Google search together to find other possibilities. In this way you are helping teachers to sustain their growth by giving them the means to find useful ICTs etc. The teach software learning strategies and get them and their students to explore and share to learn the software. Links here with key competencies - walking the talk.
 * Keep blogs alive, in reading activities go to another blog and leave a comment and leave a link to your own blogs. This helps to build the traffic.
 * Natural reader to read back text to the user []
 * Tessa - we're on a treadmill, we've seen this all before, we've been here before. Teacher as Inquiry. Research to show ICTs have had an impact on student learning, [|Education Counts], [|Hattie's research].
 * [|Availll] text and visual reading video support material yr7/8 3 videos per books $95
 * Today's newsletter will link to Jill's links on collaborative projects

> > Two of these teachers are part of the team coming to ULearn 2010 in October. Amy Park is teaching a Grade 3 (Year 4) class at Heritage Heights Elementary School in the Okotoks area of Calgary and as part of her inquiry approach does some fabulous work with her students on providing feedback for others, and Neil Stephenson is working on professional learning for teachers at the Calgary Science School and would be interested in a number of learning projects for teachers and their students in the Year 5-8 area of schools. > > Proposed collaborations that Jill is organising include: > From Term 4 a chance for classes to blog with other schools to generate audience and feedback for writers, readers and presenters. > Check out the intentions of this project at > http://blogalong.wikispaces.com/ > In Term 4 a chance to take part in a Physics Fun challenge using the free download Phun software to construct machines or vehicles using planes, levers, gears etc. > http://physicsfunchallenge.wikispaces.com/ > A chance to take part in a long-term study of water quality in our environment and the effects of agriculture, horticulture and industry. In this project schools in various parts of the world can contribute information about their local areas and take part in discussions around conservation. ||= > More information on this project will follow in future newsletters but a wiki has been set up for expressions of interest. > http://inquirewithus.wikispaces.com/Water+Quality > A chance to take part in a “First Nations” study with schools from other parts of the world. In this Inquiry classes would inquire into their own indigenous cultures and bring information forward to share with other classes. > Planning is only just starting for this project but expressions of interest to receive updates can be left at http://inquirewithus.wikispaces.com/First+Nations+People > > //Registering interest in any of these projects does not commit classes to participate but will start the information flows.//
 * Collaborative Project Opportunities for classes with Year 3 – 8 students **
 * Recently Jill Hammonds was privileged to travel to Calgary in Alberta, Canada to spend four days with Sharon Friesen and the team at the Galileo Education Network. Amongst some of the exciting experiences of the trip, Jill established some links with classroom teachers who would enjoy engaging in some collaborative endeavour with NZ classrooms.
 * **Year 2-6 Classes**
 * **Year 5-8 Classes**
 * **Year 5-8 Classes – Science/Maths Inquiry**
 * **Year 5-8 Classes – Social Studies Inquiry 2011**


 * National Standards and assessment workshop **


 * Rocky, Susanne and Kat Storey on National Standards and assessment
 * []
 * Talked about five year cycles of self review.
 * [|Directions for assessment in New Zealand (DANZ) report Developing students’ assessment capabilities]
 * []

media type="custom" key="6738381"