Term Reflections

I've been thinking about the past term and how far the children have come in their learning. It's exciting to see the quantity and quality of feedback on the blog in response to their writing. All of them want to keep publishing this way to widen their audience. They are far more aware of reader courtesy when working this way.

Every day, they come up with ways to use ICT in very relevant ways to show their learning.

I was disappointed that we couldn't get the portfolios up and running for the children but I will get this done over the holidays. Time is always a factor, but I know that once they are up and running they will be very easy to maintain. The children are very excited about this next step too.

The blog, in particular, has proven to be a great motivator for learning.

We are now using it just about 80% of the time for homework. We got round any issues of computer problems at home by giving children who need it, more time on the computers at school. This has been effective and not a big issue.

Interesting Things

Starting to get really interesting in Rm 8. A couple of the children, who have shown little interest in reading or writing, are busy coming to school and wanting to run a session on things they have learned on the blog / read on the blog.

One of them shared the link "We Tell Stories". He lead the class through the process, using the Activboard, and used some pretty impressive questioning and then he linked it to the production!! How cool is that.

I felt incredibly proud of him.

He also encouraged others to read from the text. Everyone was supported. If they got a word wrong or hesitated, there were no judgments, just lots of quiet encouragement. What a way to end the day! :-)

Writing and Art on the Blog

I am loving seeing all of the children's writing on the blog. Just about to add their art too.

Wallwisher has been a valuable tool for recording their thoughts about the Dunedin trip. I would like to have a question of the week now which links to their inquiry and / or the production.

Loving seeing all the comments and feedback. Another relevant way to promote this. Great to be able to share in a wider context.

Playing with your mind

(-: ˙sıɥʇ ǝʞıl ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ǝnuıʇuoɔ llıʍ ı ʞuıɥʇ ı ¿¿¿sʞɹoʍ sıɥʇ ʍoɥ ɹǝpuoʍ ı ¡ǝuoʎɹǝʌǝ ıɥ

Blog Day With Della

Really enjoyed the day. While I am still having trouble with creating separate accounts for the children with blogger.com, I have been able to set up their portfolios on Mahara, so it was fantastic to have the time to do this.

Thanks for all the encouragement Della.

My next step is to upload the reports to the individual portfolios which also have blogs attached to them. NOt sure if we can 'bling' them but that's my next step.

Looking forward to this week and being able to add the children's Dunedin learning. I want to brainstorm with them about how they can use ICT to show their learning in relevant and meaningful ways.

Have just figured out how to add their homework sheets to the blog which is great as it was one of my goals.

Use of ICT in Dunedin

We had a brilliant time in Dunedin. It was really exciting to see the ways the children

used their cameras and flip videos. They are interviewing each other about their thinking and learning and are going to post these onto the blog. They are also beginning to add to the wordwall on the blog and will make movies of their experiences that they can add to their own learning portfolios.