Digital Immersion: Creating Multimedia - Still Images

“Learn the rules like a pro, 

so you can break them like an artist.”  

- Picasso

Today we learnt how to take still images like a pro! We learnt about the rule of thirds, lighting and composition. With our newly acquired knowledge we set off for a little field trip. I had a look around Glenn Innes and got inspired to take photographs of street art in the community.  

Next we uploaded them to our Google Drive. I had always thought that uploading photos was a hassle as I didn't know of a quick way to transfer them my phone, to my computer and to my site. Using the Google Photos app on your phone is a super quick way to transfer photographs. We also discussed how to embed folders on Google Sites, which got me thinking about how I could use this in my class. During mathematics I take lots of photographs of the learners. I had intended to create a digital modelling book to keep a record of what we were learning, but I had completely forgotten to do this. Now I know of a fast way to get my photographs onto my computer I will add a modelling book onto my mathematics page.

Lastly we used Pic Monkey to create a collage, and YouTube to create a collage to share our photographs. Some of my photographs needed cropping, so I used iPhoto to do this. It was fun playing around with the slideshow options on YouTube. I like how you can choose from a wide range of royalty-free songs and change the transitions to suit the style of the photographs.

Creating a Site for Inquiry

A few weeks ago I created a site for LS1 and LS2's inquiry - Our Global Neighbours. It was great to use what I had learnt during the Current Events task, and apply it to a new situation. Whilst was a challenge to create the entire page with html (rather than inserting tables) it was very addictive! I enjoyed facing challenges and finding my own solutions. Here is the link our collaborative inquiry page. In the beginning I chose the font that we use for all our titles on our class site (Londrina Shadow). However we have learners with dyslexia in our class so I choose to keep the font plain and simple. This was an important decision because my site needs to be accessible to all.

Reflection: Current Events

On Tuesday this week my mentor and I taught the Current Events lesson that I had created during my MDTA Digital Immersion days.  With the Current Events page up and running I was ready to go.  After discussing my lesson, Robyn and I made some tweaks.  We also decided that I would take the lead the first part of the lesson, we would team teach the next, and Robyn would lead the last part of our lesson.  Here is a link to my multi-modal page that I created using HTML.  Attached to the page is my teaching DLO and teacher notes.

Learning intentions

• To identify the 5Ws of a current event
• To identify and explain the point of views of groups involved in a current event
• To understand there are two sides to a provocation

Connecting to the learners

Perhaps the most important part of my lesson was one of the first things I did - connecting to the learners.  In order to be fully engaged and immersed in a lesson, I believe learners need to understand why they are learning something and have some form of connection to the learning.  I had to come up with a way to connect the bus strikes to my learners lives.  I knew that every Friday LS2 hops on a bus and travels to Technology at Tamaki College.  In my lesson I asked my learners to think-pair-share what would happen if their bus driver didn't turn up to take them to tech.  The classroom erupted with discussion.  From this question, the learners understood that the Auckland bus strikes was something that could have been affected by and were interested in the current event. 

The provocation

Learning Space 2 is very passionate about what is fair and right.  I used this knowledge to form my provocation questions.

• Is it fair for bus drivers to go on strike?
• Is it fair to make bus drivers work longer hours but get less pay?

I encouraged the class to consider how they would feel if their bus driver didn't pick them up, and how would feel if their family members were made to work longer hours for less money.  This again helped connect the learners to the current event as they were able to consider how they would have felt if they were involved in the Auckland Bus strikes.

Introducing the Auckland bus strikes

Instead of making my learners read an article or listen to myself explain the current event, I chose to use a recording from a radio news bulletin.  Here is the link.  Whilst the learners were engaged and listening to the recording, I could have directed their focus and gave them a purpose when listening to the recording. Next time I would display a question on the Apple TV whilst playing the recording, as it would have given them a specific focus when listening to the news bulletin.

Exploring the multi-modal site

The learners were set with the task of exploring the current events page and collaboratively filling out the 5Ws and H of the Auckland bus strike task.  Robyn suggested that we use an existing task that is in our reading rotations, and add in 'point of view' section.  This was effective as the learners already were familiar with the 5Ws of a current event.  The learners filled in the 5Ws and H section and left the point of view part for after our class discussion.  I did hint for the learners to look at what 'point of view' means by looking at the Current Events page.  The multi-modal site was a site which catered to all learners and their abilities.  The site consisted of audio clips, images, short sentences, extended paragraphs and video clips.  This meant that all learners could get an understanding of the current events issue.  Students who struggle with reading could listen to the audio clip, look at the images and watch the audio clip and gain an understanding of the Auckland bus strikes.  This was a crucial element of my current events lesson.  All learners were able to take part in the lesson and make meaning of the current events issue.  I also spoke about the affordances of a multi-modal site here.

Dialogic discussion

After collaboratively filling out the 5W and H sections of their task, the class came together to share their ideas.  The students led this part of the lesson as they shared their ideas with the class.  My role was to get them to explain their responses and encourage further discussion of the ideas learners shared.

Exploring Bias 

There is always two sides to every story...

Robyn and I team-taught this part of the lesson, which was an effective way to introduce the idea of bias.  We unpacked the meaning of bias and explained it in the context of the Three Little Pigs. Robyn and I modelled the different points of view in the Three Little Pigs.  I took the point of view of the three little pigs, and Robyn took the point of view of the mother. I explained that my point of view was that the wolf was the 'bad guy' because he destroyed their homes.  Robyn responded to by saying that as the wolf's mother, she believed the pigs were the bad guys because the pigs had murdered her son. 

Point of view

We got our learners had to consider the people and groups involved in the Auckland bus strike.  We unpacked the meaning of point of view and asked the class to think-pair-share the point of views of the public and the bus drivers. We recorded the responses and encouraged the learners to use full sentences and justify their ideas by saying because... Getting our learners to explain their thinking by using because made them think more critically about their ideas, as they had to draw on evidence and their own opinion to justify their ideas.

Task two

Robyn took the lead in this aspect of the lesson.  The learners had work with a partner and choose a group involved in the Auckland bus strikes.  The class decided that the main groups involved were bus drivers, the public, bus drivers' bosses and the police. Their task was to use ifaketext to have a 'polite argument' between two different groups.  Both groups had to share their point of view and make sure they explained why they held their point of view.  Robyn revised the meaning of provocation, bias and point of view.  The challenge of the task was to provide a clear explanation of the meaning of provocation, bias and point of view.

Student's work

Here are some screenshots of my learners completed tasks. If you click on the image you will be taken to their individual blog post. Sorry the quality isn't the best

 Overall I was very pleased with how the current events lesson went.  The learners were hooked into the lesson and engaged in all aspects of the task.  I will definitely be doing another current events lesson like this in the near future.

Digital Immersion: Creating a Site Using HTML

Today we consolidated our learning and understanding of Google Sites, HTML and critical thinking in current events through the creation of a current events page.  The 2016 MDTA cohort was set with the challenge of each creating a multi-modal page on Google Sites about a current event.  In previous weeks we discussed critical thinking in social studies and reading, and chose current event topics.  We then had a week to come up with the content of the lesson.  

I found creating my change challenging but very addicting!  After plenty of trials and errors, it was a great feeling to correctly fix something using HTML.  A challenge I had was that I wanted to unmerge cells that had previously been merged together.  This was tricky as when you merge cells you need to delete another.  Merging cells  shifts the one cell to take up the space of two cells,  therefore you are left with an odd cell that is to the right of your table.

Merging Cells using HTML 

Merge rows by adding the code rowspan="(number)" inside the <tb> code of the cell you want to merge

This shifts the cell to the right of the table.  You then need to delete that entire cell.

Unmerging and Adding Cells

When you want to unmerge and add a row back in again you are left with a gap where it should have been.  After some thinking and reading of the HTML I had, I figured how to add a cell back in by writing the codes <td> and </td> below the code for the previous cell.

You can unmerge cells by changing the rowspan code to rowspan"1".  However this leaves you with a blank space where the previous cell was deleted.

Place some x's in the column next to the blank space. This shows where you want to create a new column.

Find the x's to locate where you need to add in a column.  Insert <td> and </td> underneath the previous </td> for the xxxx column

Whilst this may have been very simple problem to solve for HTML savvy people, it was quite the accomplishment for someone who had no idea about HTML two weeks ago!

My Current Events Page

Here is the page I created using HTML.  Please note that it is not entirely finished.  I would like to increase the white cell padding and change the vertical alignment within each cell to be centered.  I am still on my HTML learning journey and will fix it when I figure out how to. Click on the screenshot below to explore my page :) .

I will be using my multi-modal current events page with my learners next week. 

Digital Immersion: Field Trip to Stonefields School

Today the MDTA cohort was fortunate to attend a 'Manaiakalani principals and leaders study tour' of our neighbouring school, Stonefields School.  The purpose for our visit was to observe how Stonefields' Innovative Learning Environment's (ILE) function.  Since Robyn, Kiri and I are in our 7th week of our Innovative Learning Space journey, we were very eager to see Stonefields' take on ILE. 

A bit of background information about Stonefields School

Stonefields School is a multi-cultural Year 1-8 school  in Mt Wellington, Auckland, which firsr opened their doors in 2011.  Stonefields is a digital school and an Innovative Learning Envrionment, made up of Learning Hubs - large shared classroom spaces.  The learning hubs are hugely beneficial in a number of ways. They allow learners to work in places that best suits their needs, encourage collaboration and provide learners with access to a range of teacher strengths. In 2013 they joined the Manaiakalani cluster.

My wonderings

Going into the Manaiakalani principals and leaders study tour of Stonefields School, I was mostly interested in the logistics of how teachers and learners best utilise their ILE. How do you call your groups when they are spread out around the classroom? How do the learners know where they should be? How do you monitor your learners?   I was also interested in their 'Breakthrough' time - where they follow their own lines of interest.  How does Breakthrough work? What is the teachers role?  How do you ensure learning is occurring?

What I took from my Stonefields visit

Learning Spaces

Create learning spaces that suit specific learning activities.  

Make your own spaces - create nooks, caves, corners etc.  Cleverly use the furniture you have to transform your learning spaces.

Encourage learners to work where they learn best. 

Knowing where you are meant to be

Have a display which shows the learning spaces the teachers are at.  Move the teachers tags to where they are to avoid confusion of where learners and their teachers should be.

Shift responsibility to the learners by getting them to show where they are in the room.

Get learners to put forward a proposal for why they should move up the SOLO scale. In our classroom we use SOLO as a way of showing learners the links between their self-managing skills and their level of freedom in the classroom (there will be a blog post on this shortly).  Instead of the teachers having to decide to move learners, the learners provide 3 pieces of evidence to prove that they can move up the solo scale.

Get your groups by asking one learner to quietly get the rest of the group, or set up reminders on their Chromebooks.  For junior classes, let the learners to remain near their group so teachers can easily find groups.

Breakthrough - passion projects

Learners put forward proposals.  The proposals answer the question what learning is involved?  

Children need to outline goals they need to reach each week.  This gives learners a focus and teachers use them to ensure their learners are on task and learning.

The locus of control is on the learners.  They decide what they are doing.  They outline goals.  They take charge of their learning.  The teachers role is to guide and support them on their journey.

Digital Immersion: Create to Learn & Effective Site Layout

Create to Learn

'Create' is a vital part of Manaiakalani's learning cycle.  Creativity has a significant place in all classrooms, irrespective of the learners age and capabilities.  It allows learners to demonstrate their learning in ways that align with their strengths and interests. Gone are the days of dull, non-autonomous summative tasks!  In Manaiakalani schools, learners demonstrate and consolidate their learning by creating a Digital Learning Object (DLO). 

Learning about the importance of 'Create to Learn' got me thinking about my current teaching practice.  Am I creating to learn or learning to create? Are my 'create' tasks helping to consolidate my learners learning? Or is the focus more on the tools they are using? These are important questions to reflect on, so I can be certain that my lessons allow my learners to embrace their creativity and express their understandings in a way which best suits their needs, interests and strengths.

Effective Site Layout

After learning about 'Create to Learn' we moved examined the principles of effective site layout.  After discussing the ten principles, we examined 10 class sites from around New Zealand.  We had to think critically about whether or not the sites were effectively designed by rating them against the 10 principles and justifying our reasoning for our ratings. 

Click on this screenshot to explore Learning Space 2's site.

Critiquing the exemplar class sites got me thinking about how Learning Space 2's class site compares to the 10 principles of effective site layout.  Robyn, Kiri and I worked hard to collaboratively create a class site which meets each of the criteria for effective web design. 

Here are a few things that I believe demonstrates that LS2's site meets the principles of effective site layout:

• Each page is uniform and simplistic, creating a sense of cohesion amongst the teachers and their groups.  At a glance, you will notice that all teacher pages look the same which is our intention.  We did this because  a. we wanted the three of us to be seen as one, and b. we didn't want our learners to feel as though one teacher was doing something that was better/easier/harder etc. 
• Our use 'wee mee' avatars is a great visual prompt that focuses our learners attention.  Our learners know that clicking on their teachers face will take them directly to their tasks. 
• Get to where you need to be within 3 clicks.  This has proven to be extremely effective for our learners, as they can find their work easily without getting lost or confused.  
• Our class site is 'accessible to all'.  All our tumbles, tasks and resources need to be visible to anybody with the link.  It is beneficial for learners as it ensures their learning is 'rewindable', as they can go back to the learning at any time.  Moreover, it is beneficial for whanau as they can see what their child is learning.

In term 2 I will be in charge of creating a site for our inquiry unit.  I look forward to applying what I have learnt about effective site layout to create a site which fits the 10 principles.

Digital Immersion: Critical Thinking, Sites 101 & Multi-Modal Learning

Critical Thinking with Caleb Allison

Today during Digital Immersion we were fortunate to have a visit from MDTA Alumni and Tamaki College teacher Caleb Allison.  He spoke about building critical thinking in our learners within the context of Current Events.  It has been noted that teachers are not making the most of their teaching time to challenge students to think more critically.  Critical thinking involves challenging students to think beyond themselves.  Caleb uses SOLO Taxonomy in his Current Events lessons to encourage critical thinking.  Caleb's Current Events programme got me thinking about how I could implement something similar into my reading programme.  I am looking forward to giving it a go.

Here is an infographic I created which shows the progression from surface to critical thinking about Current Events, using SOLO Taxonomy.

Sites 101

The digital component of the day was about learning the basics of creating and designing a Google Site.  We each created a 'sandpit' site, where we created different pages, played with the layout and adjusted the settings for our site.  It was a great opportunity to develop our understandings of Google Sites.

Multi-Modal Learning

In the afternoon we had to create a multi-modal learning site, which would help learners to explore and develop their understandings of a fairy-tale. Multi-modal learning is related to Gardener's theory of 'Multiple Intelligences'.  I chose Three Little Pigs and set out to find resources which would cater to all student's needs and learning preferences. I found a YouTube clip, a story that had a 'read aloud' function, a YouTube clip featuring a student's summary, a text version and a short summary of Three Little Pigs.  Here is a screenshot of my site:

Here is a screenshot of my multi-modal site for the fairytale Three Little Pigs.

 I am looking forward to implementing what I have learnt today into my classroom.