Secret life of Pets

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pPMSP6M9HXba4hrojGAlGj8PvCic67mqTM1NmK_qeCo/edit?usp=sharing

Back on Board

It seems it has been quite some time since my last blogging phase. I suppose my class blog has taken over my attention. www.7zc.weebly.com I have been blogging our classroom activities and my students have attached blogs where they share their personal learning as well. However, it seems the world of teaching has really caught up to the idea of blogging for personal reflection and inquiry learning. It is great to see the shift in views from when I first began thinking about this process. Much has changed in my own teaching and passions since I last blogged. My current passions are focused around creativity, innovation, technology. I have created a course within my school called Digital Technologies where we explore coding through Scratch and Photo Design using Adobe Photoshop. I am currently exploring the use of Makey Makey and Mbot to extend coding beyond the computer screen. I have begun to use 3d printing in my teaching and am looking forward to starting a Makerspace in my school soon. I rely greatly on twitter for my professional development and really enjoy connecting with the teaching community through EduIgnite, Educamps, VLN, Facebook - Primary School teachers group, The Pond, Connected Cluster. I am a huge fan of Ulearn and am so excited to be going to the preconference workshops this year. For so long I have been a watcher and a taker in my professional communities. I have learnt so much and it has become apparent that I am now at the stage where I can share what I have learnt with others. While some environments are easier for me to share than others, my goal is to keep pushing myself and to share where I can.

More Progress than I Thought

It has clearly been a long while since the burst of energy that started this blog :)

With out making excuses.. I have been growing a baby in that time which is due at the end of February.

When it adorned on me that I should be checking back with my goals, I got a nice surprise. Indeed I have actually achieved them all without even thinking about it! I gues when you are passionate about something then you do find the time to do it and accompllish little things without even realising.

I have joined uncountable groups and begun following many high achievers. This has been very beneficial as an explorative learning experience. I may not be much of an online contributer as I am a watcher, but I figure I have more to learn than share right now, so this is a good place to start. And it feels encouraging to be apart of these little communities even if they don't know I am there :)

TICK

I have picked up all there is to know about One Note and used in the classroom setting. Great tool and I have shared with others on staff, however with limitation to the collaborative side of things within our school intranet, I have let this one rest for a while. i have found internet based tools are going to be more productive to start.





TICK



Finally, I have started a blog. And although slow progress has been made. I am now updating! I have even begun forming websites and investigating edubloggin for my next year's class (even though it may only be half a year iwth bubba on his/her way)








TICK



I love progress especially when it doesn't feel like hard work getting there! Next step - new goals. I will be back after I have pondered.

My First Steps

With careful consideration, I have decided on three manageable steps to begin with:

1. Join e learning communities - twitter, facebook, intel
2. Become familiar with one new tool and consider how it could be used in the class room - Microsoft One Note
3. Create a blog to record my personal journey and provide a space for self evaluation

Clearly, I have succesfuly started my blog. I look forward to creating new steps very soon.

What brings me here?

I am a primary trained teacher with experience across ages, schools and seas. Now settled mainly into a Year 7 class in Cambridge, New Zealand. I have always been allured by technology and try to use it where I can to motivate and amaze children. Of course, as we advance further into a digital world it becomes less easy to impress the little learners, unless I stay a step ahead!

So the mission begins...

So far, I have been an ambassador within my department for Moodle and Interactive whiteboards. Next year, I will add BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to the list, as our school implements 1:1 devices in certain year groups.

So the mission expands...

I recently began my journey of improvement with a quiet stroll through the World Wide Web, touring recommended schools, and visiting e learning meetings. But, the more I learn and the more I am exposed to, the LESS I feel I know. Ironic.

So the mission explodes....

My exploration only introduced me to unending and unnerving lists of websites, programmes, experts, apps, devices, theories, research, brands, advice and warnings. I was completely overstimulated and dragged in so many directions at once. Being an impatient, excitable learner, my first impulse was to try, try, try. So quickly my first lesson came: "You can not do it all and in trying you are achieving NOTHING but confusion.

So the mission needed breaking down...

In my stroll through the web I thankfully encountered a webinar presented by Vicki Davis http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.co.nz/ about flattening the walls of classrooms. The advice I most connected to was: Pick three goals. Oh the relief. Finally, a clear way to start and feel a sense of accomplishment that may encourage me to continue, rather than tag out at the first rest stop.

We have lift off....

Taking the plunge

I have embarked upon the vast journey of e learning with a massive, overarching goal: To improve my students learning through digital immersion.