Our progress made throughout the year

All students can log into their blogs. In Term 3 one of the traget students left the school and now there are only nine students in the target group.

This has remained consistent across the year. All students can log into their Google Accounts without the support from other students. In term one, students were able to pick up the skill of logging into their Google Accounts independently with confidence and speed.

All students are able to open their Google Documents. Since term 1, gains have been made. 

 

Gains have been made since term 1. 

Students have developed confidence in sharing their work with others. The greatest shift was made in term 2. This has been consistent throughout the year, as opening of a Google Document has been a daily occurrence throughout the year.

Students have had greater opportunities to use Spreadsheets later in the year. On Thursdays when I was on Facilitator release, Bronwyn my release teacher did a Current events quiz with them. Every week the students had to graph their result using Google Spreadsheets. In term 4, I got my students to do a Statistical investigation on a topic of their choice. They had to collect, collate and present data digitally. They used Google Spreadsheets to carry out their investigations.

There was greater use with Google Draw in term 2 and throughout the year. Google Draw was used in creating concept posters in Maths, making brochures for our production in term 3 and creating water cycle diagrams in term 4. The students have had opportunities to use Google Draw throughout the year.

There was greater familiarity in using Google Presentations from term 2 onwards. Google Presentations was used at the creating stage of the PBS Inquiry model, in homework presentations and was used for presenting new understandings in Maths (Maths Dictionary).

Over time, students have become confident with embedding applications onto their blogs. In term 4, all of the target students could embed applications into their blogs. One of the barriers for these students was that the embedding process varied from different applications.

 Students grasped logging into their blogs from term 2. They became very confident in meeting this need earlier on in the year, as they realized that their blogs was the area for displaying their learning onto. The more posts they made the greater the views from audiences around the world.

Term 2 the blogs became much more transparent to the students. They could see where their learning was going to and it was a viewing platform for all people involved: students, parents, teachers. They learnt earlier on in the year, that the more they posted the more hits they would get from around the world. The global audience was a great motivator for my students.

In term 2 there was an increase with the number of students who were able to create new blog posts independently. This was consistent through out the year.

 

In term 2 all students were able to upload a photograph onto their blogs. There was growth in term 2, as students had opportunities to upload individual, group and class photographs onto their blogs.

 

In term 4 three students were able to insert movies onto their blogs. This area has not been a major priority this year. If there was a unit on movie making then all students would be able to upload movies of themselves onto their blogs. Also the creating of movies has a lot more steps such as: making the actual movie, editing the clips, uploading them onto Vimeo and copying and pasting the embed code onto the blog.

 Over time students have been able to insert photographs from Picasa onto their blogs independently. This is due to that all photographs from classroom activities and outings were uploaded onto Picasa, so that the students were able to view them and choose the photographs they liked and matched their learning onto their blogs. 

Inserting movies has not been a priority this year

There has been shift with the students being able to upload a picture from the internet onto their blogs. Students use Google Images for learning and to enhance their content that they have researched. Adding an image makes the learning real for them especially if it was a historical / past event or focus.

 Term 4 students have discovered the webcam. We have not had specific lessons in using the webcam, as we have had technical issues with the webcam. The older devices have different settings and may not always work. Java, Flash and Adobe are the issues when we try and use the webcam. We have abandoned the idea in using the webcam for the time being. Also with a class of 30 students it was much easier if we did not use it, because of limited space within the school. 

In term 2 students could see the purpose in taking a screen shot of their learning. This has been consistent throughout the year. In Maths Whizz and Xtra Maths students would regularly take screen shots of their progress and write reflections on their blogs. Taking screenshots of learning was a regular occurrence in the classroom .

In term 1, some of the students were familiar in commenting to others as they did this the previous year.  At the beginning of the year all of the class were taught about what a comment is and making constructive comments. Making comments to each other, classes at Panmure Bridge School and to schools within the cluster.

There has been an increase since the beginning of term 2 of students being able to write reflections on their own learning. Reflecting has been a critical part to the learning programme in Room 5. On the wall their are plenary questions to assist students with self evaluating their own progress. Writing reflections is often modeled by the teacher, so that reflections are in depth and can address the next learning steps.

Students have made a great effort with clicking onto hyper linked book marked websites. This has been evident with the Inquiry / Topic work that the students do in class. The class site has bookmarked websites that the students can access under the Topic tab. This makes it easier for the students, as they can click onto a picture which is hyperlinked to a child friendly website that is at the child's level of understanding.

Throughout the year have gained knowledge and experience with using Wall wisher, Popplet and Lucid Charts. This has happened more in Inquiry Learning, where students can brainstorm information, compare and contrast information and present information. Students can choose an application that they wish to brainstorm information onto. Popplet seems to be a favourite within the target group as they can create mindmaps, insert images, colour code and upload You Tube clips onto their work.

Term 2, was the time in which students were able to access the class site independently without the support from others. The Year 6 students whom I taught as Year 5's had the greatest familiarity with the class site from the year before, so their learning was transparent and their knowledge could be passed onto the Year 5 students in term 1.   

This has been an ongoing process for the students. Those who are confident readers and writers seemed to take risks with using Google search engines. There is so much information out there that for students who struggle with reading and comprehension, it can be overwhelming and off putting.

Putting content from the internet has been an ongoing goal. It is hard for a lot of students as the information on the internet is pitched at a much higher reading level than what these students are working. We have had lessons on reading articles from a number of sources and then putting the information into our own words. It has been a challenge but valuable learning. 

There were shifts from term 1 through to term 2 on students who were able to visit the class blog independently. In term 1, the students were finding their own way around with their device. They were taught how to access their individual blog from the class blog and were shown where to view other students blogs from the class blog. Over time the class blog was viewed more by the students as they were keen to see whose work has gone onto the blog, whose up to date with their learning and who needed to spend their time wisely to get work finished.

Students can now check emails independently. Through using Picasa album invites were sent to the students via email. This gave students the incentive to check their emails regularly. Also every week I would screen shot each child's weekly Maths Whizz results to them and so this gave the students opportunity to check their emails.

Students can access You Tube clips independently within reason

Searching for images became much more frequent throughout the year. In the first term, only one student knew how to do this. Over time progress had increased with students being able to search and save Google images independently. Students tended to search for images during Inquiry / Topic lessons than in any other subject area.

Over time students have developed knowledge around being Cyber Smart Learners. This is still work in progress. Students understand the legalities of setting up accounts and the legal ages in doing this. They have gained an understanding of the term plagiarism and the importance of putting information into their own words. They have also learnt about being safe around advertising and not to believe in everything they see or read on the internet.  

A student's perpective on the class site

Check out how Yvette (a Year 6 student in my class) has used the class site to access her learning in Art. In Term 3, the class were learning about the famous German artist Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart. The class designed and painted their art works in the style of Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart. The unit of learning had a strong Maths and Language focus. This screen cast highlights the process Yvette went through in creating her art work and how she has used the class site to support her learning.

Screen Recording 7 from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

Our Blogging Movie

This is our orientation movie on Becoming a Blogger. When you are in Year 4 or above you are eligible to become a blog author. This movie highlights steps around accepting your first invite and posting work up onto your blog. It has been made by the Year 6 students in Room 5 and features the Panmure Bridge School E-Learning Monitors.

Blogging from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

MITA Project - Where I'm at now

This term I have been working on building partnerships with the Year 4 class. I have been very proactive in my approach, focusing on setting up the year 4 students for success when they enter into a 1:1 digital learning environment in 2014. The first thing I did was speak to their classroom teacher around creating blogs for each student. It has been an exciting process. Their classroom teacher gave me a list of her top students that she wanted me to work with. She believed that if I worked with the top students then their new knowledge and skills would be passed down onto the others. At the start of the term I created blogs for the entire class. From there I would work with groups to accept their blog invites and to create a new post onto their blogs. The experience has been amazing as some of these students learn the technical skills fast and apply them back in class. All of the student blogs are hyperlinked back to the class blog. Click on the links below to view the student blogs.

Room 8 Class Blog

Inotia's Blog 
Daniel's Blog
Jasmine's Blog
Phoenix's Blog
Aminiasi's Blog

Managed Learning Environments - Google Site

During the last two years I have been using a Google Site to make teaching and learning accessible for students and senior managers. The students can view the curriculum areas they are learning about and access online material to support their learning from the Google Site. On my class site, learning intentions and success criteria are displayed, websites are hyperlinked or embedded so that students can access them, Google Applications are embedded so that the students view or make their own copy. In this movie I am going to show how I use my Google Site in Written Language. The focus area is Recount Writing. This movie shows how the site is used to support the writing process.  

Recount Writing from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

ULEARN 2013 presentation

This is my presentation I shared at the ULEARN 13 Conference. 

If you have any questions contact me: joy@panmurebridge.school.nz

MITA Presentation ULEARN from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

MITA: Orientation Movie: Becoming a Google Account Holder

This video was a recommendation by my Year 6 students on ways I could assist the new Year 5's or new students when they enter into a 1:1 digital learning environment. The Year 6 students were interviewed earlier on in the year and they felt an orientation movie would help new year 5 students or any new students in gaining an understanding on what was required when they become eligible Netbook / Chrome Book users. There will be a number of orientation movies made next term on Being a Blogger, Looking after the Chrome Book at school and at home and other requirements. This video is on Becoming a Google Account holder. We hope you enjoy it.
Orientation movie1 from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

Our progress across the three terms

This video was a recommendation by my Year 6 students on ways I could assist the new Year 5's or new students when they enter into a 1:1 digital learning environment. The Year 6 students were interviewed earlier on in the year and they felt an orientation movie would help new year 5 students or any new students in gaining an understanding on what was required when they become eligible Netbook / Chrome Book users. There will be a number of orientation movies made next term on Being a Blogger, Looking after the Chrome Book at school and at home and other requirements. This video is on Becoming a Google Account holder. We hope you enjoy it. Orientation movie1 from Joy Paton on Vimeo.

It is evident that all the children in the target can now log into their netbooks independently. At the beginning of term 1, zero students could not do this, but through plenty of practice and opportunities to use their device every day they now log into their netbooks.

 In Term 3, all students in the target group can log into their Google Accounts without the support from others

 

The skill in opening a Google Document independently was achieved in Term 2 and this has carried on in Term 3. 

The knowledge and skills of filing work under the: Reading, Writing, Maths and Inquiry folders has continued in Term 3. The students made the most progress between terms 1 and 2.

 

 In Term 3, the students made the most progress in being able to share their work with others. Early term 1, the students did not have the experience to share their work with others, but over time their skills have improved. 

 

In Term 3, eight students were able to use Google Spreadsheets independently. This might be due to my Release Teacher using Google Spreadsheets on my class once a week to gather performance data on their Current Events knowledge. 

 

All of the students within my target group are able to use Google Draw independently. This might be due to using Google Draw in Mathematics to show understandings of concepts such as Fractions and Place Value.

 

The ten students in my target group are now able to use Google Presentations independently. This might be due to the students having more exposure in using Google Presentation for Inquiry, Mathematics and Homework.

There has been gradual progress in students being able to embed these applications independently. More work needs to be done to ensure all the ten students are able to do this confidently.

All of the ten students are able to do this skill independently. Every day these students log into their blogs and post their work.

It is clearly evident that the target group of ten students are able to create new posts independently on their individual blogs. There is an expectation that they are to publish five pieces of learning up on their individual blogs every week.

All of the target group of students are able to insert photographs onto their individual blogs. The students have had plenty of opportunities to insert photographs onto their blogs through screenshots and photograph album links emailed to them.  This skill is used regularly throughout the curriculum areas.

This is pleasing progress with five students able to insert a Vimeo embed code of a movie into a blog post. However, more work needs to be done on this. 

There has been excellent progress between terms 2 and 3 with inserting a photograph from Picasa onto their blogs. Further teacher modelling needs to be done to ensure all students in the target can insert a photo from Picasa onto their blogs.

There has been some progress made with students being able to save a photograph from the internet and upload it onto their blogs. There has been an increase because in term 2 students had to make presentations and flipping eBooks on Past, Present and Future Education. This term they have had the opportunity to create special effect pictures using land form pictures, so there were lots of opportunities to put this skill into practice.

Using a webcam hasn't been a priority during these last three terms. It is difficult with 32 students in the class to use it. I think if we had more space where students could work quietly it maybe used more often in the classroom.

This skill was achieved in Term 2 and has carried through into Term 3. Students take screen shots in the curriculum areas. One of the areas  students take screen shots is Maths. They regularly take screen shots of their progress in Maths Whizz and Xtra Maths. They also write reflections on their learning underneath.

There has been a decrease in term 3 from ten students being able to make comments independently to only nine students being able to make comments independently.

There has been excellent progress made with students being able to write their own reflections on their own learning. Students have had opportunities to write reflection more throughout the year, as they have had Math Whizz weekly results emailed to them, they also take screen shots of their Xtra Maths progress and when we complete any form of art, the students always write a reflections on how well they did. Throughout the year, the students have had plenty of opportunities to reflect on their own learning.

There has been some progress made on students being able to click on bookmarked hyper linked websites. They students can access this book marked sites through the class site. I think the terminology of the word hyperlinked hasn't been explained to the students or class which has resulted in eight out of ten students being able to do this. They naturally do it, when they are on the class site especially when they click on the Topic tab.

There has been an increase of students being able to use these Web 2.0 applications independently in term 3. There has been a shift between terms 2 & 3. Towards the end of  term 2, the students were taught how to use Lucid Charts to make Venn Diagrams. Throughout the year, the students have continually used Popplet. Wall wisher has been used occasionally, but Popplet has been a favourite application to use, as students can embed You Tube clips, images, colour code ideas.

Only nine out of ten students can access the class site. The one student who could not access the class site has a poor level of attendance and his ability is very low. More work in term 4 will be done to ensure he can access the class site independently.

Only five out of ten students can use Google search engines independently. This is due to the teacher having book marked sites for students to visit on the class site. Students have not had opportunities to use Google search engines because a lot of the content on the web is very advanced that when I go on the internet and book mark sites I find websites that the content is at the students level.

There has been some progress made across the terms in being able to put content from the web into their own words. More work needs to be done on this. In term 3, there were a number of lessons where I read about what geysers were from a number of sites. As a whole class the students had to summarise what a geyser was.

There has been steady progress made with students being able to access the class blog independently. There still needs to be more work done in meeting this skill as nine out of ten students were able to do this independently in term 3. The one student who could not access the class blog independently is the same student who has had a lot of time off school.

There has been a shift in students being able to watch You Tube video's independently. During term 3, students have done inquiry research on a landform on their choice. You Tube has been encouraged as there is advanced scientific texts on landforms that students would find difficult to understand. Through using You Tube, land forms are explained to the students in a visual format with maybe some animation which would assist them to write reports on their chosen landforms.

There has been great progress with students being able to search for Google images and save them correctly. Throughout the year students have been able to search for images and save them correctly. This has happened more with inquiry topics. In Terms 2 & 3 students have made presentations on Education - Past, Present and Future and Landforms. They have had to search for real images to enhance their presentation.

This is pleasing progress. There have been planned lessons on Smart media, Building smart relationships and Smart Surfing. The remote control on the teacher dashboard has enabled the teacher to view tabs and sites that are open so that students remain safe. Lessons on summarizing content into own words has been taught so that students are not plagiarizing somebody else's work. Cyber Safety is still an ongoing area that needs to be developed further.  

This is very pleasing. The target group know how to care for their Netbook / Chrome book. Over half the target group have had their parents come in and do a training workshop with Courtney and they have been eligible to take their devices home. So far we have had no breakages from these students, which is pleasing.