Interactive Whiteboard Sites

Posted on February 27, 2009 by mwalker

Tonight I stumbled upon Bill Gaskins blog which lists some tremendous sites for teachers who have interactive whiteboards. I really like the edheadsites as well as the national geographic sites – they are well worth a visit – thanks Bill

Sites

Virtual Knee Surgery: http://edheads.org/activities/knee/index.htm

Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery http://edheads.org/activities/hip/index.htm

Crash Scene Investigation: http://edheads.org/activities/crash_scene/

Weather: Learn how to report and predict the weather at the underground W.H.E.D. weather caves at http://edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm

Simple Machines Activities:
Learn about simple and compound machines while you explore the House and Tool Shed! http://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.htm

The Compound Machine:
Learn how forces and simple machines can work together to create The Compound Machine! http://edheads.org/activities/odd_machine/index.htm

Virtual Knee Surgery: http://edheads.org/activities/knee/index.htm

Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery http://edheads.org/activities/hip/index.htm

Crash Scene Investigation: http://edheads.org/activities/crash_scene/

Weather: Learn how to report and predict the weather at the underground W.H.E.D. weather caves at http://edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm

Simple Machines Activities:
Learn about simple and compound machines while you explore the House and Tool Shed! http://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.htm

The Compound Machine:
Learn how forces and simple machines can work together to create The Compound Machine! http://edheads.org/activities/odd_machine/index.htm

Wildlife Film Maker: Make a custom nature film with animal clips, sounds, and more. Then share your masterpiece with friends. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/filmmaker.html

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Fires continue to burn amid questions what if that was a school day!

Posted on February 20, 2009 by mwalker

Every meeting I attend recently at some point has conversations about the ongoing – yes that right, 2 weeks later and I still say on going – bush fires. Today was no exception at the first network principals meeting where I was party to several separate conversations of how people are affected by the fires.

Just prior to the meeting starting one of my close friends returned my call from the previous night. His house was burnt down in Marysville were over 43 people were killed. Over the weekend the authorities allowed bus loads of residents, including himself to inspect the area in tour buses with instructions that no one was allowed off the bus as the whole place was still a crime scene. The sad and quiet tone in his voice on the phone told me of his continued distress and frustration. 

We start the meeting with a get to know you activity – the new network is still in the forming stage – and one of the principals tells how he saw the fire from his home sweep over the hills in the not to distant horizon. And again at the morning break another tells of the struggles of his friends as they come to grips with losing friends in the fires.

The regional director informs us how the department will want to rethink all schools emergency management processes and of how unimaginable it might have been if it had been a school day. He then fields questions from principals about the cancellation of school excursions and camps over the next 6 weeks as the fires continue to burn. Teams of our school psychologists are working with these communities now and for at least the next weeks. 

All public schools were encouraged to hold a casual clothes day last friday with donations going to the bush fire relief funds. We held a casual clothes day and as I walked past one of the large buckets held by a parent and student leader at one the entrances to the school I noted the number of $50 notes. The school raised over $4,900 which equates to approximately $120 per student which is simply amazing to see how generous and willing people are to support those affected by the fires.

Our next function is a bush dance with all proceeds going to the victims of the fires.

The death toll is now officially over 208 with more expected to be announced over the next week. The wild life and animal devastation is said to be in the 10’s of thousands.   

And tonight I was looking at some of my regular blogs and I see the Boston Globe has a series of photos about the fires.

Its times like this that you realise schools are more and more the centre of many communities – certainly the ones here in Victoria – as the government announces that schools will be the first set of buildings rebuilt in these communities.

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Shiftables: A part of the future with us now

Posted on February 17, 2009 by mwalker

 

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/457

Thanks to Mrs Durff’s blog I found this TED talk by David Merrill from MIT who has made these small interconnected computerised blocks that enable us to explore and create. Just watch!

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Breaking down silos to make sense of networks.

Posted on February 17, 2009 by mwalker

Four Silos by redcorgi.

As a principal of a school we all know about the benefits of breaking down the walls of classrooms or silos so that the teachers can learn from each other and question each other so that we build the collective professional understandings needed to improve learning outcomes for students.

So what’s the next level of work – schools as silos?

Well in Victoria we have embarked on formal networks of about 25 schools that collectively share the responsibility for each child’s learning. This is not so new as I recalled my trip to Toronto where they have structured families of schools of around the same number. We have had districts of schools before so what’s so different?

Well I currently have a leadership role within one of the new networks – where two former school districts were brought together. Within a short time frame we have to develop a strategic plan based on an analysis of data about the students and schools in our network.

For us some of our immediate challenges lie in developing shared values, norms and protocols that will enable us to share data about our schools, find the common strengths and areas for improvement that will lead to an inquiry about our shared practice.

Unlike some networks the schools are not under-performing although we do share some common concerns about small groups of students needing to make significant progress. We exist within a geographical area that has a dense group of independent schools that competes for student enrolments so there is a possibility of some tension about the accidental release of information about our student scores – although I note that each school has an annual report with data on their website.

Our work is a work in progress and I’m sure the collaborative inquiries into better practice as we share the responsibility for all student learning will bind us closer together. I have just read a research paper on networks which is starting to make a lot more sense of the work ahead. If there are collaborative networks some sharing of successes and obstacles would be appreciated.

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Fires burn Victoria

Posted on February 10, 2009 by mwalker

No doubt many people have heard about the horrific fires that have raged over large parts of Victoria over the weekend. With a rising death toll expected to reach over 200, 700 homes lost, whole towns destroyed it certainly is the worst bushfire incident I can remember in Victoria.

I took this photo of my cars temperature gauge on Saturday afternoon – it’s the hottest day I can ever remember. The heat here in Victoria is a dry burning heat and at 48 degrees celsius or 118 in the old scale. 

It wasn’t until late Sunday morning that I heard a close friend had lost his home in Marysville. It hadn’t been near the fires until a cooler wind change at around 6.30 pm on Saturday night changed the direction of the fire and wiped out the whole town. Here in Victoria people are allowed to stay and try and protect their homes against the fire however in this case many people were simply overwhelmed and in trying to escape in the cars perished. A google map shows the extent of the fire.

I spoke to the students this morning about the tragedy and we had 30 seconds of silence to remember those who lost their lives fighting the fires. I also spoke of the many schools destroyed in the fire. At tonights school council meeting we decided to support families who have gone through this tragedy by holding a casual dress day for students on Friday and they make a donation to the relief fund, contacting one the burnt down schools next week to see if we can help supply goods and materials to get them back on the feet during this time and finally donating the proceeds from our annual bush dance in 6 weeks time to the bush fire appeal.  

I would like to hear how other schools have supported the families and communities burnt out through bushfires.

  

 

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Wordle Art

Posted on February 2, 2009 by mwalker

I created this wordle using my blog’s main words. Its quite easy to create the picture although I had to use paint to edit the image before I could put it on my blog. Those wanting access to the site which I am sure would interest many students at school: http://www.wordle.net/

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Wordia

Posted on February 1, 2009 by mwalker

Last week I found a site that might interest teachers of older students. Its an online dictionary that has videos uploaded from people trying to explain the word. It’s interactive and  encourages people to leave comments. It uses youtube so it might be blocked on some schools. http://www.wordia.com/

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Graduate Teachers starting at Elsternwick Primary

Posted on February 1, 2009 by mwalker

The school leadership team in conjunction with teacher mentors have spent some time last week inducting 5 new graduate teachers into the profession and working here at Elsternwick Primary for 2009.

The first day was for graduates and their mentors and the following three days with the whole staff as we planned and prepared for the coming year. Four of the graduates will teach a class of students and the fifth is a music specialist teacher.

In Victoria the current graduate teacher on average lasts 5 years in the profession. In a study done on the supply and demand of teachers in Australia it found several factors which motivate teachers to stay or leave the profession:

“teachers get most satisfaction from their own professional achievement, their students. progress, the support they get from other teachers and the desirability of the present location. In addition, the report found that the most outstanding negative item for teachers in terms of job satisfaction was the status of teachers in society, where 62 per cent of teachers surveyed were not at all satisfied [p16]”.

We realise with the aging profession its critical that we retain our best [graduate] teachers for the future generations of this country. Over the first week we all spent time together affirming our teaching and learning new instructional strategies to use with students. As the study above found teachers value and stay in the profession when they continue to learn and have the support of their colleagues.

One activity which received praise from all teachers during the week was called the market place. Graduates as the stall holders had an ethical dilemma based on the VIT code of ethics and experienced teachers moved about in groups providing advice.  

The graduate induction program continues throughout the year and culminates with them presenting a portfolio of their work to a panel who approves their full registration as a teacher in the profession. I’d be interested in hearing from others teachers and schools on how they support graduates staying in the profession.

   

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Survival skills and holiday walks

Posted on February 1, 2009 by mwalker

Over the holidays I spent 3 weeks with the family at the beach, in fact two beaches Point Leo and Lorne. The slideshow in the right column has various pictures taken on the walks.

Time went quickly as it does for most people on holidays and by the fourth week, after lots of walks, a few red wines and time on the beach I was ready to start reading the pile of unopened journals I had stacked up over the last few months.

One article in the ASCD October edition of Educational leadership caught my attention “Rigour Redefined” by Tony Wager. I first met Tony at the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University. In the article he talks about the seven skills that define a rigorous 21st century curriculum. :

” identified seven “survival skills” that 21st century students need to succeed as workers and citizens: (1) critical thinking and problem-solving; (2) collaboration and leadership; (3) ability and adaptability; (4) initiative and entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing information; and (7) curiosity and imagination. His observations in highly regarded schools led him to conclude that even honors and AP classes rarely incorporate these skills into the curriculum. He advocates a new definition of rigor, defined according to 21st century criteria.”

Systems, parents and teachers often measure the quality of a schools curriculum in terms of scores on tests but some of these skills are difficult to measure on standardised test. 

This year for the first time the Victorian Government changed the regulations on the timing of the 4 statewide pupil free curriculum days with three of the four statewide curriculum days at the start of the year. One of the challenges we are tackling over these three days is this idea of curriculum rigour not always being defined by national test results 

We have Kath Murdoch, a well known educator in the pacific area,  working with us to plan our inquiry focused curriculum which includes, again for the first time, a school wide learning to learn unit for the first four weeks.  The learning to learn unit includes several of these survival skills and sets the context for establishing the classroom norms or codes of behaviour for the year [ie: we behaviour in ways that promote learning for all].

One point previously raised by staff was the marketing of this curriculum to parents so they appreciate its rigour. A challenge for 2009.  

PS: By the time we had climbed this hill on one of walks at Lorne I was thinking about different survival skills – breathing and drinking lots of water as soon as possible.

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School Year finishes.

Posted on December 21, 2008 by mwalker

As I finish the school year, wind down for Christmas and look forward to a holiday I found this cartoon which puts a premium on dialogue. To all my readers have a Merry Christmas and I will return in the New Year.

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Using video is a cultural shift for us as teachers

Posted on December 18, 2008 by mwalker

Thanks to Judy O’Connell I found Howard Rhiengold’s short video which as Judy says summarises some pretty significant shifts taking place and makes a challenge for teachers. Again this would be a good clip to start some conversations with teachers about why they might want to adapt some of their practices.

I have a teacher who has made a short clip with prep students explaining the writing process. While we had some uploading problems the video was powerful.

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World Mapper

Posted on December 17, 2008 by mwalker
world map of land area

world map of land area

Thanks to Liz Davis I discovered maps of the world of different data sets. This make instant and visual data that students can interpretate. A really valuable resource.
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Teacher challenges in setting up creative, collaborative and competitive learning spaces in classrooms.

Posted on December 17, 2008 by mwalker

It’s near the end of the school year here in Victoria and the pressure is on to finish the school year [student reports have been distributed, class lists finalised with the transition session tomorrow morning, the roll over of our administrative, financial and student welfare / assessment and reporting systems, appointing teaching staff etc….] and this year unlike previous years we are planning the first 3 days of professional learning for 2009 as well.

The State Government and teacher unions through 4 previous industrial agreements lasting some 12 years had approved 4 student free curriculum days through the school year with first day of school year being a curriculum day. The latest agreement has set the curriculum days as the first 3 days of the school year and the 4th being an assessment and reporting day mid semester.

We at Elsternwick had already set the first day up to be with Kath Murdoch on inquiry learning with a focus on planning and modelling some more advanced instructional skills. We are now faced with planning the next 2 days. With a rough plan set I am now looking at some material to start some structured dialogue about teaching and learning.

This clip will be used as it sets some challenges for the start of the school year in setting norms.

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Start the school year with some inspiration

Posted on December 15, 2008 by mwalker

I found this video which may be of some use to teachers in classrooms looking to inspire students to greater heights. I thought some teachers might want to show it either in a transition program to get students to talk about their goals or at the start of the school year on what they might achieve.

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Google documents and the growing awareness of web 2.0 means

Posted on December 14, 2008 by mwalker

I have just stumbled upon google documents as a way of sharing in an interactive way student work that can be commented upon by peers and teachers alike and published if that’s the end product. Its easy to enrol and worth a look by senior students. It’s all part of the web 2.0 way of working that I think I am beginning to understand blogs, wikis and google documents allow us to interact and share rather than just present and absorb .

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