The One Area of my Learning and Teaching I Want to Develop This Year

Day 4 of the Reflect and Renew Blog Challenge from Reflective Teacher @TeachThought 

It's always hard to focus on just one thing!  I'm in the middle of preparing to go back into a classroom and a leadership position and I have a list.  Not really a surprise as 'everyone' says that a To Do list is a must for getting organised.  That's all well and good and I know that, logically, it's a great idea.  What if you're one of 'those' individuals who gets easily distracted or, even worse, procrastinates?  What if you're both??!!  (I'm even getting distracted as I write this).  

As I started to think about the one area to develop, I came up with about 30.  (Next time I write blog prompts I'll remember that I have to use them too.  They do force me to confront my shortcomings though, which is always a good thing.

I've finally settled on the one main area I want to continue to develop and extend this year - using all things Google in my teaching and learning.  I've been a fan for a long time but have yet to incorporate Google Classroom into what we do.  This is one of the reasons I need to be back in the classroom - so that I can implement all the ideas I've explored over the last year but not been able to fully utilise.

The biggest part of that goal is to apply to participate in the Google Certified Teacher Programme.  I'm keeping an eye out for when applications open and will do everything I can to achieve that goal this year.  I know through my research the benefits of using Google in the classroom using Google Apps for Education (GAFE), and I'd started to use the tools on a daily basis prior to leaving the classroom at the end of 2013.  Time to get back into it!  Have a look at the presentation below to get an idea about what it's all about and the advantages.

Tech Tools I'm Grateful For...

Day 15 of the Attitude of Gratitude Reflective Teacher @TeachThought Blog Challenge...

Anyone who knows me knows I have a passion for technology in education and the possibilities it offers both us and our students.  I've been guilty over the years of getting incredibly excited about anything new that I can grab hold of and experiment with.  I still have this excitement but it's tempered by this question:

What impact will this tool have on learning and teaching - what is the 'why' of using this particular tool?

If I, or my students, cannot clearly articulate the answer to this then I am cautious about using a tool or persisting in it's use if we can't quickly answer the question through initial use / experimentation.

I'm excited about the possibilities of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and Google Classroom and can't wait to experiment more with these as I believe they hold the key to flattening the classroom walls and flipping learning and teaching to allow for anywhere, anytime learning.  I'm still a huge fan of using Blogger as my classroom blogging platform as it's easy to set up and use.  All things Google seem to be my main area of excitement at the moment as it provides a way of connecting learners, teachers, parents and communities, both locally and globally.

Storybird is one of my favourite digital storytelling tools.  It can be used in so many ways to inspire writers - even our more reluctant ones will become excited about it.  I've used this for many years with all levels from Year 2 through to Year 8.  It's been a consistent tool that I can use to motivate and engage learners in reading and writing and also visual language.  Great all-rounder.

ePals is another tool I've used for many years.  Like our old pen-pals, (seems such a long time ago now!!).  I think I first used ePals way back in about 2005 as a way of connecting my students globally and locally.  There are a range of options for authentic inquiries and projects and we added in Skype to the mix a few years back.  We also have Skype In The Classroom now, so that's another tool that can provide authentic learning contexts and connect students locally and globally.  There is huge potential for tapping into experts in their field using this tool.  Have a look at it and see what you think.

YouTube is also one of my 'go-to's' that I'm very grateful for.  Again, you can access expertise through this medium or watch inspirational people share their knowledge.  Creating your own classroom channel also offers another way of connecting with your communities.

ScoopIt is my favourite digital curation tool and I use this as part of my professional learning for resources.

There are so many tools I use for so many different purposes but I'm grateful for what they give me and my students - the chance to connect and provide authentic learning which we can share in real-time with others and receive relevant feedback. 

What learning trend captures your attention the most and why?

Day 24 of the +TeachThought Reflective Teacher Blog Challenge

There are so many trends in education these days and over the years I've seen many come and go - and come back again!  Sometimes it feels as though we are on a pendulum and we swing from one extreme to the other instead of valuing the 'good parts' of what we do and using them to support and extend new ideas.

I think, for me, one of the most powerful 'trends' at the moment is the pathway we're on to involving our students more in their learning and flipping the classroom.  Learning is a partnership and is created through discussion and collaboration.  The motto below, created by my 8-10 year-old students sums it up for me:

"We are all teachers and we are all learners in our learning environment."

The students were adamant that they didn't want the word 'classroom' in there, they wanted 'learning environment.  Their reasoning was that learning doesn't just happen in the classroom; there has to be the connection to the local and global world.  These were students who were locally and globally connected. They connected to people with expertise for our Inquiries, worked with students globally through ePals and shared their learning from outside of school with all of us through their blogs.  The result of this was that not only were they incredibly connected to the world around them but they were also highly motivated to succeed in their learning.  For some, this had not always been the case.  They were also strong on owning their environment and learning.  I was very proud of them for this.  It was 'OUR' environment.

For the past few years my students have been 'anytime, anywhere' learners who blog at any time - not just at school, who are giving and receiving feedback to their peers, and also to me, and they are communicating and collaborating through Google.  The sense of pride I get when I see discussions about learning happening at all hours and at all times, including weekends and holidays is the biggest reward a teacher can have in my opinion.

I'm just beginning to explore Google Classroom and Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and really want to spend a lot of time seeing how this can take my students to the next level... Stay tuned!

#reflectiveteacher