Discussion

Discussion Page. toc

December
12th Got sidetracked while writing milestones...dangerous! Have a look at this site everyone. It has all the links you'll need for educational tools. http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

Google now has a survey tool... Really easy! media type="custom" key="5014917"

**November**
Proof!

Thanks Ladies. It was all of you that made it happen so believe me, i am indebted to you and you will be in my mind all day - And carried across the stage high on my shoulders. Thanks so much for putting up with the wiki witch last year, I needed your continual enthusiasm and encouragement to get me through. media type="custom" key="4904283"

Lots of love and enjoy your 'day off' by the sound of it...But watch out when you go in the water... Heather

26th Cheers Heather, We'll all be there beside you - proud as punch! Arohanui xxxx

Hi all, I too am busy tomorrrow; I will however be in later in the afternoon. Glynis 26th Hi guys, i'm thinking there won't be many of you on Friday - if any! Unfortunately I have to go to a school due to cancelled days and no other time left to get in. have fun if some do decide to get together. Mainly I want to say WELL DONE HEATHER!! ENJOY YOUR MOMENT - YOU DESERVE IT!!! We'll be thinking of you. I have been seen facilitating a group of teachers sharing how to use 'Comic life' and the discussion around its pedagogical uses and am n ow planning a blended PLG for next year as trial for the MOE in literacy. So you have rubbed off on me Heather! Hope to catch up with everyone soon when the milestone madness eases. J 14th Hi all. Our next PLG day is the day I am graduating so you'll have a nice relaxing session without the wiki witch pressure. Just in case you thought that meant no meeting... The Software for Learning site has really come a long way this year with the two new people who are in charge. This is a MoE sponsored site and contains a lot of material about NZC. Of particular value is a link to a Software for Learning wikispace with adviser workshops around effective pedagogy that all of you would be able to use in your work with teachers. Each pedagogy from NZC is linked to a page that contains a complete workshop planner with ideas, video stories of real NZ teachers, and step by step instructions for taking teachers through the concepts. Very useful. Perhaps you could use this site and the material on it as a focus for PLG day? I haven't heard from anyone for quite a while. Surely we're not all having a meltdown about next year like me???

11th Now this one is CUTE. And for the numeracy advisers amongst us, a challenge to our thinking perhaps. I'm sure you could use this to start a workshop :)

media type="youtube" key="Gk7mkIAMc7s" height="344" width="425" 4th Now I could REALLY take that the wrong way... the 'Halloween' character is ME - I developed an avataur. I did add the spiders as a clue - wiki witch and all that, but still! So it'll be next year sometime Glynis then before you tackle the sites?

4th Interesting site you used to add the Halloween character to the Home page Heather - when I have finished my assignment, case study and the milestone I am going to try out some of the wonderful web 2.0 tools you have introduced to us. Glynis

October
27th Now who needs a calendar Heather? I am actually in the land of the living - just! have just watched the videos at last. Interesting how we all went through the supposed un-changed school system yet the world has still gone the way it has??!! I guess my thinking about using the clip is about identifying the literacy (and numeracy) involved in such a relevant context. So the context is seen as the important way to promote these skills - the proof of learning should be in the application. Kids could easily report on what skills and competencies they needed and used in the planning and implementation of these activities. Hope Paddy is okay Janine

28th Ok, where are you all? I've found a site that shows you how to spruce up your wiki pages. All sorts of helpful hints for the brave. Getting tricky with wikis but i still want you to add to the list below ...

26th Thanks Glynis, this is a really good clip which I will use. Here's a starter to a list of HOW I think it could be useful in my practice. Feel free to continue the ideas.
 * At the beginning of a workshop about action learning, i would play this and aske teachers to identify the stages of the cycle, what's the issue, plan, action, reflection? What's not there, what is? What would this look like in your school. what issues could use the same approach? (It doesn't have to be environmental, but that is a good one). Add to the list of tasks kids could do in 5 minutes.

21st Sawadee ka, I had a lovely but too short holiday in Thailand!!!media type="youtube" key="oROsbaxWH0M" height="253" width="345" Your video is very sad Heather and quite depressing... I prefer this one Glynis

thanks Susan, the video is a bit twee but it's still unfortunately a relevant message. I have heard this same story using a doctor and a teacher who were teleported 100 years from the past into today. The doctor couldn't do anything, the teacher picked up the chalk and started work. This e-version of the message was created by Matthew Needleman and is based on a dark joke that has been around educational circles for some time, imagining Rip Van Winkle waking up one hundred years later and visiting a school of today to find not much has changed. One for e-flavoured literacy progressions, who else?

Nice video although rather exaggerated. The message is clear and apt. Literacy progressions and e-learning. I'm on board for a discussion.

Good idea or us to make a video. Huge amount of work, but even the planning/discussion would make us think carefully about what we really want/need to say.

Susan 14th again Suggestion: I've been talking to a colleague in Waikato this morning and she has been working with her literacy advisers and developing the ways e-learning could support/be evident in the literacy progressions. What do you guys think about us having a discussion around this next time we meet? I realise that the early childhood people will have their own material, but the similarities would be there and i think this could be a useful way to focus our ways of working. We all work with literacy in some way, shape or form, so this should improve our ability to make the connections to what we do now. And future proof our way of thinking perhaps. I would appreciate some comments from the group about this

14th Right you lot, time to wake up and realise that if we don't sort the world out, it will sort us out! Time to wake from our slumbers and get enthusiastic about the last term of the year. Mr Winkle - see below - is a cyncial look at teaching today and this clip may be a good starter for you to challenge teachers' pedagogy. From an e-learning point of view, it would be great to start thinking about how this was made and to see if we can start doing simple videos ourselves. But that may be another chapter ... Hope you enjoy it. Heather media type="youtube" key="lm1sCsl2MQY" height="344" width="425"

September
Have a look on Youtube and search for "Three men in a toilet". If you want to introduce cooperative / collaborative behaviour to a group of teachers, this may be the ticket to getting them onside.. Choose your audience... Heather

[|Teaching approaches and strategies]

24th Those of us in the office today made an exectutive decision after receiving Barry's e-mail. We will meet @ 9.30 tomorrow for our PLG - See you then! (and I got the month right!) J9, Mon & Glynis

18th Now you KNOW i'm going to ask you all to reflect on what has happened here over the past weeks, and why; think about it and come prepared. WW

8th Hi all - I know I have been slack but where are the rest of you? Mon

August
20th Hi all. Just found an interesting blog ([|Nick's Blog]) that is worth spending some time looking through. It's a teacher reflecting on his practice, planning strategies, etc and has some good ways of using Web 2.0 tools. It's a good example of a blog for those of you still interested in using this idea. It would be really good to hear what you've been doing guys. How about chatting about some of the things you've been trying with your teachers or colleagues? It's time to ramp up the discussion and start reflecting on ourselves. Last week I talked about the Fairhaven experience. Since then, all the sites have developed their own front pages, but really interestingly they have been finding new toys and playing with these. At the moment they are just experimenting, but I can feel the buzz when i walk in there now. After a year of trying other ways to get them to really use their wiki, not just read it, the staff meeting around eportfolios seems to have worked. I personally think it was the Ian Fox video that was the catalyst, using that to make them reflect on their current portfolios was a challenge to their existing schemas. Such challenges are required to force people to truly self-reflect and this needs to happen before any real shift in practice occurs. anything else is just window dressing, surface feature stuff done to please the adviser or boss. My thoughts anyway. Heather

16th Chris shared this with me on Friday - even I was talking about moving! The passion and willingness of the teachers to think outside the square is outstanding! Mon 14th Not wishing to sidetrack you all, but Chris Lepper sent me the link to a recent Close Up programme that makes me want to move to Auckland - well think about it anyway. I suggest you have a quick look and see what you think. I have a friend teaching at this school - perhaps I should be crawling for a new job... [|Mission Heights School] Right... now what's been happening people? I haven't heard from many of you lately so how can we be building our knowledge if we aren't talking? I went to a seminar on Friday about using Learning management systems and student management systems and they (MoE) are really pushing **eportfolios** so I hope to dig into this more at our next meeting. You will have had a chance to look over some of the material that has been placed up here recently before then. The push at this seminar was towards using wikis and blogs to host the student **ep**s so i think we are on the right track. Have you had a look at the mockup I did? Could you please let me know if you can see it as it wasn't showing the pictures when i used Christine's laptop on friday.

Choc fish MAY be real next meeting if you contribute... Heather

13th Thanks Monica, that's an impressive site. David has really done some great stuff. I particularly like the reflective talk about the results of the home survey about the blog. He is analysing the outcomes and thinking out loud about the implications for his practice. wouldn't this be fantastic if we could have this happening in the majority of schools and centres we work with. I for one will be using this blog to motivate teachers so thanks for sharing it with us.

E-portfolios I recently had a few days in-depth with my wonderful Fairhaven special school and we've been talking about shifting the portfolios to a web-based environment. I asked them to preview the Ian Fox clip (see below), and we then had 4 short exerts from it that we played and discussed to ensure they knew what the key concepts were. We had already generated a mockup of a e-portfolio so after the video we asked the staff to give feedback about whether it contained the three key elements talked about by Ian Fox in his video. These elements are: assessment for learning, metacognitive thinking and parent/teacher input. I asked the teachers to have a look at the mock e-p (a spoof built around one of the teachers) and using those three key concepts, find evidence of what was there, identify what was missing and generate a list of next steps for the teacher to think about. It was a great activity and really made them think. I've included a trimmed down version of the mockup for you to look at if you're interested. Happy days everyone Heather

10th Heather your message reminded me of an E-portfolio an ex-colleague of mine has recently established. To check it out visit [] and from there you can access the E-portfolio by scrolling down (quite far) until the title Ben's Blog comes up on the right hand side. This blog is well worth checking out - a passionate early childhood educator sharing his knowledge and ideas around using ICT for sharing children's learning with families and the wider community!!! And now more and more colleagues, families and early childhood settings are getting involved - fabulous learning (in my eyes anyway). 10th Hi Team. E-portfolios are something that we should be looking at as part of our work. Have a listen to this video by Ian Fox, he talks about using e-portfolios and has just published papers on this topic. He's a NZer too so it's relevant to our schools.

media type="custom" key="4199485" cheers, Heather

1st again

Voicethread information
I've found a blog written by Chrissy Hellyer (ex Taradale Int) about [|using Voicethread for eportfolios]. It's worth spending some time looking through it I think. She also takes you through step by step (including screenshots) showing you how to make a voicethread properly, with lots of really useful tips for cheating the system. Chrissy has set up a personal eportfolio that demonstrates how a wiki could be used for this purpose. I encourage you all to have a look and think about the effectiveness of this approach with our teachers and their students. Hope we can have a chat about this next time we meet. Meantime, please think about my question below about engaging your learning community and offer some suggestions. cheers, heather

1st

Engaging your learning community
Thanks for yesterday people (and for the photos Glynis). I really was impressed with the level of thinking that went into the discussion. I feel that up to now we have been a bit lacking in direction as we played around with the new technology and tried to figure out what purpose it could possibly have and how useful it really could be in or work. You've done the reading of the infamous chapter five, so can you recognise the phases we are moving through? We needed the technical knowledge to be able to use wikis but i think we are mostly up and running now so we moved onto the next step which was socialising online. That's what the chocolate fish episode was really all about. What amazed me yesterday was that we have now launched into the pedagogical phase boots and all! this happened much more quickly than I expected especially considering the size of the group. The trick will be to keep this face to face pedagogical discussion going online! Have a think about what the real triggers were that made it successful as these are exactly the things you need to capture and make use of in your own adviser practice. If we can develop a list of these, it may help us to ensure we plan for these when working with teachers. And if you are still thinking negatively about using the technology, I think the list we will generate applies to good facilitator practice regardless of the learning environment. So... (add to the list - please - or you'll hear from the WW). Heather
 * Data - we used real data from the work we were doing. || By having relevant data, it was easy to recognise exactly what triggered actions. Knowing what these triggers are means we can plan to provide them ourselves. ||

July
31st Wow, look at this, twice in one day!! I found the video really interesting, just the whole way we think about reading and our perceptions of this. I suppose with second lang learners we focus more on developing our oral language skills and getting meaning from what we hear first as the reading and writing processes seem so much more difficult. As a 2nd lang learner I can read the other languages, but I use meaning of words & phrases and all that prior knowledge to figure it out...very difficult sometimes. I'm not sure if this all relates to the messages in the video, but makes me think about what strategies I use to figure Maori or Japanese out when I'm reading? Sharron

Hey Heather and other PLGer's thanks so much for your help today! Have finally gotten started Ka mau te wehi! Sharron 31st Our PLG and how it works!


 * [[image:DSC06312.JPG width="173" height="133" align="left" caption="The Teacher"]] || [[image:DSC06307.JPG width="166" height="146" align="center" caption="The learners"]] || [[image:DSC06313.JPG width="156" height="138" align="center" caption="The thinkers"]] || [[image:DSC06310.JPG align="right" caption="We are keen"]] ||

[|Xtranormal]
Thanks Susan for sharing this again. I really think this tool has huge potential for engaging both our teachers and their students. Let's see what the rest of you can do with it. Remember the expert is Susan for this one. Hassle her!

31st Hi guys, I'm getting lots of housework done!! No seriously it's quite good in the quiet catching up with no distractions - Sian half asleep in front of a video - we've been up since 3am! Anyway got my survey data from my lead teachers finally last night and had a good discussion with them. Realised something that should have been obvious but had to put all the other things I knew about these people together to get the full picture - this is positive for a blended community. The 2 principals that have attempted to keep the site alive are also the 2 who bring NEW readings and ideas into the face to face group. The others who use time as an excuse only bring in their thinking and developments from the ideas of others. While this is still learning, they don't yet see their role as one of an instigator of learning. The 2 who do, had the conversation about how they saw their role and time wasn't an excuse but a necessary part of their leadership planning. We didn't convince the others so I have my challenge as a facilitator!!! This is bigger than the wiki issue tho this is also about how change will sustain beyond our contract (wasn't that my first goal of the wiki??) and about leading and managing -why we need to work collegially in our job! I'm worried I'm beginning to rave now, hope you are having a more orderly meeting without me! janine 30th I have finally got around to watching the video. Prior knowledge and experiences (which will impact on vocabulary) are important considerations in teaching reading, but I also believe, as Janine has pointed out that it is important to expose children to new learning and experiences. Interestingly, when thinking of my nephews and neices who reside internationally, what comes to mind is the knowledge, experience and vocabulary that they possessed at a very young age simply because of the exposure to experiences (namely, international travel). Has that played a part in their ability to read? I beleive so I do believe there is a need to teach reading strategies. The focus might be on one strategy, but a good teacher would still be modelling how to use all through thinking aloud. How many adults are aware or can identify the strategies that they use in reading. For that matter, are all teachers aware? Good readers use all the strategies. Its about teachers identifying what these strategies are that they use (not only reading about them, but actually identifying what they use when they read). Right, I think I should stop right now before I wonder right off the waka. Paddy

30th July I have just watched the video - and while obviously I am not a literacy advisor - it made good sense to me. My own experiences link strongly with Janine's comments re vocabulary. Children need to have a broad vocabularly, but that for most children that vocabularly comes about through discussion and experiences - a nice circle really!!!! In my mind we then need to be providing opportunties and experiences to build their funds of knowledge, but that we also need to support children to develop the strategies to 'unlock' the code of print, so that they can learn to read and read to learn more. Mon 30th Janine 28th
 * Heather and I have booked in 9.30 for meeting tomorrow ** - hope that suits everyone?

Kia ora koutou, Regards the video I have a question - if you need experiences and prior knowledge to read a new text - how do children then read fiction? In early childhood education we believe that children need lots of language, experiences, skills and knowledge and most importantly a postive disposition towards reading - reading books must be fun, interesting, motivating and do-able!

As for twitter I am lost Tooo much for my wee brain to get around at this time of the evening. I had to say something though - you know the pressure of being part of the community. Good news my Blog is up and running and one other author has come onboard!!!

I have an essay to write ... !!!

see you all Friday. Glynis

28th I think I just had to find something that you guys were interested enough in to talk about - and provocative enough to stir you up. Look at who has responded - and who hasn't! Talk to you'all on friday! Now, back to Twitter... :) By the way, congratulations Susan. A 9 pounder for a first would be an eye popping experience! We'll dedicate the first part of the plg to baby photos! Heather

28th I too have just viewed the video! Trick question - does that mean we never get kids to read about new things so they can learn about them??!! I think the teacher has huge role to play in 'hooking' kids into texts and using tools such as KWL charts etc. Kids do need strategies too to help them tackle 'strange' texts, if I didn't understand strategies how would I know it was my lack of prior knowledge making this reading difficult for me? (Certainly what happened to me when reading for my anthropology paper!!). I think the big key here, on both sides of the arguement, is vocabulary! Another thought for discussion would be the fact that my daughter go distinction in NSW science because of her literacy skills - she said there were areas she had no idea about but reading the question, data, etc made it easier to 'guess'. So back to Susan's comment about how we assess reading - that appears to be my natural inclination - to self-assess and why in juniors we insist upon seen texts!! Anyway that worked Heather - a pedagogical conversation happening on-line!!!! More on Friday! Janine

27th July - Re Twitter - I agree that some of the ideas could be very useful - but is it about trying to make twitter fit with education or about making education fit with twitter? Mon Not sure of the etiquette here: do I respond on this page or the video page. The video is great. Useful to use with ESOL teachers. The key message at the end of the video got me thinking. Less time on teaching reading and more on literacy accross the curriculum, This in fact is the case in secondary schools-or it should be. Generally, reading per se is not taught, but the expectation is that reading skills are taught by all teacher, but in reality it isn't. The importance of prior knowledge is paramount and essential for teaching reading for English language learners. However, when does a reader read about something they know nothing about, I read about topics I am interested in, or for work purposes. In both instances I have prior knowledge. I wouldn't waste my time reading about something I am not interested in or know nothing about. The only time a child is likely to read without prior knowledge is (a) when the teacher has not prepared the students adequately for a reading task (b) in reading tests. Perhaps the issue is how we assess reading! Susan 26th Big day for our family today. Leah Marie entered the world at 9am at 9lb 20z. So who is Leah? My newest grandaughter, and my daughter's first child.
 * The reading video**

But I am actually responding to 25#Twitter. Is this really what we need to do to motivate kids? I know that learning should be auhentic and where possible related to real life situations, but using twitter! Actually, and reluctantly, I think some of the ideas could work, and I would need a big push to use it in learning contexts.

Susan

26th again... I've just found this interesting presentation [|25 Interesting Ways For Using Twitter in the Classroom] It's been put together by [|Tom Barrett]. Although it is American and a bit more senior that I'd like, it is thought provoking and shows that Twitter could really have some potential. I have previously written it off (see Glynis's cartoon below) as blabbing about unnecessary self focused nonsense, but I may have a rethink now. I'd be interested in seeing which ones you think may have potential. I like 3, 12, 19 and 25 as i can see links to work i already do. What do you think? Heather

26th Thanks Mon, good to see i still make people nervous. Did you or Glynis have a look at that material around 21 Publish that I put up? If so, was it useful? And if it was, please share on Friday. I have put a new video up on the video page, it's about reading but it may be something for you to think about in all sorts of fields. It's 10 mins long so grab a coffee first. Loti, we still haven't seen your name go into the competition box yet? It's time to come down from your high now and get on with the real work! Ask someone if you need help. The others aren't quite as scary as i am. But i still have your choc fish waiting for you when you're ready. cheers, heather

25th Hi All, I now have the link and have made the time to look, read and get over the barriers I am putting up to engaging - and I need to get over them as on Thurs night 'launched' a blog with an ICT cluster I am working with - am great incentive to make sure I am engaging myself! Susan, your questions re keeping the professional learning at the forefront, I really don't know, but if you find out please can you share! At the moment I am relying on professional discussion with my colleagues, but they will soon run out of paitence with my questions! See you all at PLG on Friday - and yes Heather, I will have done the reading! Mon

Refocusing the discussion...
21st


 * Heather's Questions || Newby suggestions || Oldby (isteamers 08) comments ||
 * What has been happening on this page over the past week that wasn't happening before? || FUN. COMPETITION REWARDS || We (oldies???)also discovered that socialising was an important part of the development of online communities.

This has also demonstrated the importance of the "leader" or organiser - somebody has to drive it! || The the development of a community od learners who make a commitment to contribute. Making connections together with maintaining and building relationships is a great enabler of action! || Scaffolding, coaching and having fun! ||
 * Why has it happened? - what was the catalyst? || CHOCOLATE? BULLYING? HEATHER? MEMBERS HAVING A BIT OF SPARETIME || Oh yes time is the greatest barrier!
 * Was it ALL online? Think about this one... || WELL I GOT QUITE EXPLICIT FACE TO FACE REMINDERS, SKYPE AND EMAIL...SOMETING HAD TO GET THROUGH || It is important to have both online and face to face interactions and relationships. ||
 * What was the facilitation? || HMMMM || The warm demanding!
 * What made people 'play the game'? || SEE ABOVE. REALLY I THINK IT WAS EASY, LOOKED LIKE FUN, WAS NON THREATENING AND ALSO A DESIRE NOT TO MISS OUT || A sense of responsibilty to the community ||
 * With your own online learning communities, how would this look? || COULD WORK. GOING TO GIVE IT A GO. OBVIOUSLY I WILL NEED TO WORK WITH MULTIPLE APPROACHES || Building relationships is the key. You have to make people feel a sense of belonging and responsibility to the community. There has to be buy - in by each member! ||
 * What data has this little exercise generated? || NOT SURE HOW TO ANSWER THIS ONE. MAYBE NUMBER OF LOG ONS BEFORE AND AFTER. NUMBER OF LOG ONS AND DISCUSSION, NEW PARTICIPATION. || Lots - qualitative and quantitative data. ||
 * What does that tell us? || THE BOSS IS A BULLY. ...NAH, ENGAGEMENT REQUIRES PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, RELEVANCE, FUN, CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT, APPROPRIATE SCAFFOLDING, REFLECTIVE OPPORTUNITIES || You (the organiser) has to perserver, use past experiences and the results of successful online communities research together with trialling new ways and means and posing a challenge to those who are slacking! ||

Well done Monica. I've given you a frog too, hope you like him. He's a bit grumpy looking, may remind you of the one who must be obeyed in this institution! cheers, heather

20th Kia ora kia ora kia ora, I have really enjoyed reading our whanau responses. Nothing like a great laugh. Now, who said you could take on the boss's job. I cracked up laughing when I read that you two (Papara and Glynis) had chosen your own fish. It was bad enough making an order for the fish that I wanted (bossy behaviour - really good modelling Heather), but you two take the cake. Made my day. Am I allowed to laugh publicly? Now, I love Nemo. Have a closer look, he is smiling, and for a good reason ( kei konei te whanau whanui mona, kapai Papara).

Cheers, Paddy Great Papara, well done for perservering! You weren't supposed to put your own choccy fish in, it was my way of rewarding you. But, you've done so well i'll let it go this time and seeing as I allowed it for Glynis, it would hardly be fair to growl publicly now would it :). I've found a lovely group picture of Nemo and the crew so no-one else is allowed to ask for them!!! Frogs and fish are my limit in this game. Hope you're all enjoying the first real day back and are slaving away as hard as i am. two schools in my first day! Keep thinking about the questions i posed last week. Susan has put some thought into answering them, see what else you think. cheers, heather

Hmm! Kia ora e hoa ma. Ae! I've been on holiday and then suddenly read all of my 152 emails last night and oops! sorry boss but I am still about and as you can see by my choc fish I got a bit stuck with adding the image, but persevered and succeeded! Yahoo! however would love one like nemo! ha!ha! 20th Thanks for this reference Janine, I have even found it and skimmed it! I like the idea of teachers "lurking" which is mentioned in the second paragraph. I can absolutely and utterly identify with that!! I do like to see what others are saying before I respond - but think that over time and with encouragement from "you lot" I am becoming more confident in being able to take a risk. Heather, you certainly created social presence when you INSISTED we put our name in the box in order to get a chocy fish last week. Have a great day everyone. Christine

15th Sorry about the emails, I've been demonstrating! heather 14th Thanks Susan, you've given us some good stuff to think about. And it looks like you've seen through what has been happening quite well. Yes, it was a bit more than a game, it had an underlying purpose and it seems to have worked. Most of us have engaged at some level, and with the questions i posed i was hoping that you would give it some serious thought too. Re the facilitation: If you have a chance to look at the summary of the dreaded tome, you'll be able to see some of the strategies that were used over the past week. It would be really good if you do have a look and see what i've done and where there is evidence of it having an effect - or not. when did i have to intervene again to redirect you, where did i have to remotivate you, how did i make you think about what was happening, what was the tone of voice, etc. We'll have a talk about this on PLG day, but it would help you a lot to try to make sense of it before then so we can really engage on the day. Re the data, have a look at the "manage wiki" link on the left of this page, then go to 'wiki stats'. That's where the data is. See if you can match up the peaks in activity to the stuff that was said and done on those days. This helps you understand what worked and what didn't. cheers, and well done Heather

14th Good questions Heather. 14th Kia ora ano, Ooh, wow!!! I do love my fish. I know he has a chocolate centre (even though you can't see that) and he really looks like what I requested. I'm GRATEFUL for the trimmings. Ask and you shall receive. Thank you. Cheers, Paddy 14th Some of us are a little more difficult to please...and some of us are just grateful for what we get given... But as you asked soooo nicely... Heather 13th Kia e hoa ma, My apologies boss. I have completed the task. Bows would be nice!!!! Well done Glynis, you'll be teachers pet. Glynis, what kind of fish did you catch? Unusual looking thing! We had a great weekend working on the korowai. It's looking really good. We took off the rows of feathers and started over again, of course, that's with Dawns advice. Dawn and I gathered more flax to make more muka and dye them, so you know, it was back to where we started in Mahia (i.e. preparation). However, we did a lot of work and it was really pleasing. The preparatory stuff has been done. All we need to do now is weave the feathers in. There's a lot of work involved in that of course (separating and sorting the various colours of the feathers, stripping off the lower end of each feather). Papara was a great host. Cheers, Paddy 13th again Glynis has raised an issue regarding the use of blogs as a community tool. Here's a link to a blog provider [|(21 classes)] who have set their service up specifically to overcome this problem.
 * What has been happening on this page over the past week that wasn't happening before? FUN. COMPETITION REWARDS
 * Why has it happened? - what was the catalyst? CHOCOLATE? BULLYING? HEATHER? MEMBERS HAVING A BIT OF SPARETIME
 * Was it ALL online? Think about this one... WELL I GOT QUITE EXPLICIT FACE TO FACE REMINDERS, SKYPE AND EMAIL...SOMETING HAD TO GET THROUGH
 * What was the facilitation? HMMMM
 * What made people 'play the game'? SEE ABOVE. REALLY I THINK IT WAS EASY, LOOKED LIKE FUN, WAS NON THREATENING AND ALSO A DESIRE NOT TO MISS OUT
 * With your own online learning communities, how would this look? COULD WORK. GOING TO GIVE IT A GO. OBVIOUSLY I WILL NEED TO WORK WITH MULTIPLE APPROACHES
 * What data has this little exercise generated? NOT SURE HOW TO ANSWER THIS ONE. MAYBE NUMBER OF LOG ONS BEFORE AND AFTER. NUMBER OF LOG ONS AND DISCUSSION, NEW PARTICIPATION.
 * What does that tell us? THE BOSS IS A BULLY. ...NAH, ENGAGEMENT REQUIRES PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, RELEVANCE, FUN, CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT, APPROPRIATE SCAFFOLDING, REFLECTIVE OPPORTUNITIES

21 Publish
//21Publish is an innovative and unique service for organizations and groups who would like to discover and exploit the potential of blogs. 21Publish enables you to start your own branded blog community for your group of users without any installation or programming knowledge.// //Most other services mainly offer blogs for individuals not for groups. With 21Publish you can become a blog host yourself in minutes. 21Publish is specifically designed to be used as a community publishing network. The administration panel allows central control over the whole network.// Cheers, heather
 * //What is 21Publish?//**
 * //What differentiates 21Publish from other blogs services?//**

13th Thanks Glynis, it's great to hear from you again. And you found your own chocolate fish too! I wonder how Glynis's attitudes would 'look' if applied to the way we engage our teachers online? Think about them in relation to what I have been doing to get you all to contribute. Have all of these happened recently? How? You gotta love me! (that's an order).
 * Play
 * Choose your attitude
 * Be there
 * Make their day.

Now if anyone runs into the remaining people using avoidance strategies, you have my permission to give them the message too. Cheers, Heather

13th Hi all wiki-ites, Talking about FISH - here's the FISH PHILOSOPHY A grand philosophy to live by? I have not managed to contribute during the last week, but I have been watching via the email! But I have managed to set up a Blog for my ABC Directors - this has been a major challenge especially as I wanted it to be set up for multiple authors - and guess what after much exploration I have managed to figure it out! Regards Glynis

13th Thanks Susan, you've finally come out of the closet. Well done. Spelling? I am delighted that you are letting go enough to have typos here, it shows that you are really engaging in the activity rather than the writing itself. However when it comes to misspelling our precious esteemed name, i draw the line. That one I had to change! Being a Clayton member is absolutely fine and indeed it's an expected way to participate in the beginning. Once you start 'talking' you'll find it easier and easier to think of things to say online though. For the rest of you, here's a few questions to make you think... Cheers, Heather (She who likes to think she's the BOSS).
 * What has been happening on this page over the past week that wasn't happening before?
 * Why has it happened? - what was the catalyst?
 * Was it ALL online? Think about this one...
 * What was the facilitation?
 * What made people 'play the game'?
 * With your own online learning communities, how would this look?
 * What data has this little exercise generated?
 * What does that tell us?

12th For a long time I have been a Clayton member of ISTEAM and the excuses have slipped off my tongue. I haven't been procrastinating; there just didn't seem to be time. However, this evening, I have spent a couple of hours exploring the site and am really excited by the rich resources, and archives, and readings. I know I am doing this now because there is a bit of down time (holidays) and the pressure has come off a little (and I'm afreaid of the BOSS). Equally, I am very much aware that an effective adviser is one who keeps up the inquiry and professional reading, and yet too easily the demands of face to face work and admin gets in the way. Does this sound like the familiar excuse of our teaching colleagues? I'd like to hear your ideas about how you keep professional learning to the forefront, without being subsumed by the seemingly more urgent aspects of your work. For me, this is an important issue to address if I am to be an active and contributing member of ISTEAM.

Susan PS I deliberately left a couple of typos. Did you spot them.

11th

Competition
For those of you who haven't kept up with the competition, there is a table below that you need to put your name in. I will 'reward' you with a chocolate fish when you do that - it's supoosed to show that you've been listening!!! - ** Scroll to the first entry of this month (Heather's Slap ) to read what the real task was - please. ** Paddy, you'll have to put your name in the right place too. But because you asked so nicely, I've given you Nemo (well as close as i could find) but not the bows. Achieved, but not with excellence! I think Loti is part of this group too so someone needs to get her involved. You guys are much nicer at that sort of thing than i am, so get to her soon or i'll have to bully her my way. Heather || || 10th I'm not missing and would really love a NEMO chocolate fish. Please may I have the trimmings with my fish (you know, bows etc.). I see we have three very GOOOOOOOD girls. Come in Papara and Glynis, I'm on the list. You need to join us. Guess who's been on my case? You could end up with another fish or frog if your guess is correct. Paddy
 * Janine || Christine || Susan || Paddy || **Glynis ** ||
 * [[image:choc_fish_2.jpeg]] || [[image:choc_fish_3.jpeg]] || [[image:choc_frog_1.jpeg]] || [[image:bw_bow.jpeg width="32" height="28" align="center"]]
 * Papara || Papara || Monica || Loti ||  ||
 * [[image:choc_fish4.jpg width="135" height="117"]] || [[image:choc_nemo.jpg width="136" height="110"]] || [[image:choc_frog_3.jpeg]] || [[image:choc_fish_7.jpeg caption="well done at last!"]] ||  ||

I've got my reward for being a good girl-and very nice too. But where are Glynis, Paddy, Parara et al? Susan Who's a clever lady then! Heather

Is this OK, boss. Susan

Thanks Heather, my choc fish looks LOVELY!! This chance to "chat" with each other is great. Christine

Morning Susan. Good try, but when you put your name in the box, I'll think about it. Heather

Susan here. I'm so scared of the slap that here I am. I want a fish too-actually I'm into chochie frogs.

Well, where's the box then. Oh it's Ok I've got it, thought that was just for Janine. I certainly don't want a kick or a slap!!!

Who needs friends in this game! OK the rest of you, where're your names??? I'll make it easier and give you a box to tick Heather

Another way to start a conversation.... a little less painful than a slap - except for Heather. Guess who the IT expert is who was about to go to the cellphone shop as she thought her phone was broken... and then woke up to the fact that actually the battery was flat!!!????? You too can win a prize! Janine

And the winner is...Janine I'm sooooo scared I'm signing in!!! Actually I learnt something new today about how to get to the e-mailed page quickly so you can edit it! Maybe I'm the only thick one but if you are also in this boat just ask me and I'll show you! Morning girls... It's gone really quiet so I am assuming you are all millstoning hard out. If that isn't your excuse, start thinking of another one. We need to ramp up the challenge i think, so let us begin!!!
 * Janine**

Could you have a quick look at the chapter I gave you all at our last meeting before you come along to our next gathering please? In case you have forgotten, it is the final chapter that sums up the findings from our research last year. I would like to start using the material with reference to the work we are doing in schools so please also bring along anything you have been doing for a shared discussion.

I understand we were looking at our blogs so remember to have a look at the usage stats for these or your wikis please. If you need help, ask an old timer. If you can catch us that is :)

Heather's Slap
Just to see who's listening, can you all sign your names at the top of this page when you have read it so i can slap the missing bodies? (and secretly make you all accountable at the next meeting). cheers, heather

**June**
29th I just found the cartoon via google images! I was wondering what Web 2.0 tools were and I found this interesting site yesterday. [|Web 2.0 tools] Have a great week. Glynis

28th btw, love the cartoon. where did it come from? H

24th Research??? Research i hear you say??? Are you mad!!! (Anyone planning a masters soon?) I personally think that Blogging is sharing work - great stuff we are doing such as the travel blog i wrote. Schools can use these to share kids work with parents or other schools. I don't believe they are great places for LEARNING, but the jury is still out for me as i have not really explored their potential thoroughly yet. I am hoping we will do this together this year. So... keep fiddling with your blog and bring us some data next time we meet, this will be a really great thing to talk about when we are together. Meantime, if any of you are blogging, please try to gather some stats about how it is used, by whom, how often, etc so we can build up our understanding. I have a blog by the way where i blather on about such things. If you're interested, it's something else to look at and see what you think. I would really welcome you making comments on that blog - it will make me feel that at least someone is reading it :) [|Heather's blog] cheers, heather

Wednesday 24 Welcome back Heather - great to have you motivating us to shake a leg. I have set up a Blog with the hope of sharing it with ABC Directors and with a vision that they could contribute like a community of learners - posting photos, links etc. But after setting one up and experiencing it's limitations I think now that maybe a wiki is a more suitable web environment for a community of learners. Have I got this right? II would appreciate your expertise here. Is there any research comparing online environments ie which fits what purpose?



Cheers Glynis

Hi all, I'm back!!! I hope you all enjoyed reading the blog and are now thinking about how this could be used by teachers and students. How about sharing your ideas here. I wait with baited breath...

Here's an interesting article that may be useful to support your thinking about wikis and students. This paper is on a site called First Monday- [] Wikidenties: Young people collaborating on virtual identities in social network sites. K Mallan, N Giardina // Wikis and social networking sites (SNS) are arguably two of the most popular tools used by young people as part of their everyday social interactions. We propose that the concept of the wiki may be useful for understanding the kinds of virtual identities that are constructed, visually presented, and narrated in online contexts, such as MySpace. The term wikidentities is used in this paper to encapsulate the kinds of identity work which may occur through SNS........ // Interesting aspects-notion of identity and membership, development of collaboration outside intended scope of the technology, and the development of KC's - the strategies, awareness, and consciousness of managing self, participating, relating to others, and using language, symbols texts etc and the wider social impact of web 2.0 (beyond the technology itself. A great article to share with secondary teachers. Happy reading... Heather

May
29th Thanks for today everyone. We may have appeared to drift a wee bit at times, but I think we achieved quite a lot.

Web 2.0 Toys
We also looked at a few new toys that will be really useful to our practice with teachers - hope you manage to explore these some time soon. [|xtranormal] (talk to Susan about this one - it's got huge potential) [|Voicethread] (talk to Heather about this one if you need to know a bit more) [|survey monkey] (password required - see an old isteamer for this) Can all the Isteamers please remember to promote their survey with their teachers so we can get some real data? Thanks.

2009 Goal:
After much discussion we agreed that this year we would focus the group on developing our own adviser practice through the use of a blended learning community. In effect we will grow the group we had last year and use the wiki to discuss and reflect on the learning that is happening. To do this, we all agreed to create or continue to grow an online environment with the purpose of supporting teachers we already work with. Some of us want to try out blogs, others will use wikis, it doesn't really matter, although the purpose of these is to support a learning community so you will need to think about the tool and how appropriate it is for this purpose. The Isteamers are all available to help you out with any technical issues you may have in establishing these environments, don't be afraid to ask us. Hope you all have a great weekend cheers, Heather

25th again Can i remind you all to chase up your surveys? If they haven't been done that's ok, but if you could follow these up the data would be really useful for friday. thanks ladies. it looks like we are getting a consensus on the agenda - blogs and a couple of other new toys as well as an action plan seem to be coming through. any other ideas please put them on the plg agenda page 25th of course if i actually looked at the pages already on the wiki i'd realise that a list of ideas is already here and that i should stop reinventing the wheel! I've taken my ideas and put them on the plg agenda page. Confused yet? talk to you all on friday girls. p.s. did you all see the late email today? the plot thickens... cheers, heather

24th Well that was fun, thanks Glynis. Hasn't he got an interesting voice? Doesn't seem to suit him somehow. It does make me rethink my Twittering days though... I had been resisting Twitter for a few years and have only recently started using it, but i still can't honestly say what for. Barry and I have been struggling with ideas about whether Twitter could be useful in our work and i can't honestly say it would be.

There've been some corridor conversations lately and it seems that a few of us are thinking about using blogs in the classrooms. Can you let me know what is happening with these? I believe Glynis has a centre wanting to use one, that will be really interesting to look at. I have one primary school that is using them to display student work but while there have been some comments posted from outside, it seems to be one directional at the moment. This is not what I see as being a learning community approach, but it may be a stepping stone to develop confidence as the teachers can maintain ultimate control of the material.

At our next PLG day on Friday (this week) let's look at blogging and also look at what our wikis are doing this year. It is time to reevaluate these I think. I would also like some guidance around what you all want the strategies page to look like before we make it available to other advisers. trademarking ideas :) What other ideas would you like?

5/05 For all you twitterers... (or yet to be twits) media type="custom" key="3752571" Glynis

1st Morning girls. Loti has asked to become part of our plg so we are really growing now. I will invite her into the wiki so don't be surprised if you see yet another newbie online. I have had to change the name of the thesis and get rid of the 'tuakana-teina' reference as i didn't have any literature about the term that i could include in the lit review. Sad but sensible. If anyone did a google on the term and came up with the thesis, they could justifiably expect to find out about how it impacted on the results. So...it's now called 'Facilitating a blended learning community: A collaborative approach to prof learning' rather than a tuakana-teina approach. Boring but I have to accept the reasons behind it. Hope to talk to some of you today about where we are heading now that the drive has gone. We need something to keep us focussed and sane, given the current unrest amongst the troops. For the newbies, have a think about what you want to achieve through membership and write your thoughts down here. I've set up a new page for this called Directions for 2009. Isteamers can add their thoughts there too...please. cheers, Heather

27th Kia koutou I'm getting on board and checking out what you gals are up to. I can't be missing out. Yep! hey you gals have you read the paper on 'Tikanga' because it will be great to get every-one's feedback. Hey gals the more feedback the better consultation ah! Not just a Papara korero whakaaro (not just my speak and thoughts). You know what I mean. Hmmm... Paddy encouraged me to get on and type.

23rd Yeah Susan, well done, you're a star!!! I plan to "play" at navigating my way around this wiki a bit (quite a bit actually) before the next PLG day so in a little while will have a better idea of any specific needs, I suspect that I'll still have some questions around the technical stuff. One of the first things I guess I should learn how to do is to merge my **two** wikispace registrations into one!! Chris

23rd Hey, I'm on to it. Yay! Thanks for the wake up call. I'm embarrassed to say that I have done nothing on my own wiki since I set it up, nor looked at this one, but that changes from today. Heather was right (is she ever not) -it only grows when you feed it, bit like my bod in recent times. Watch out, you may not be able to shut me up now. Susan

22nd Kia ora koutou, welcome on board Chris. Yep!! Heather is ON TO IT alright. I'd be interested in having a titter with Twitter and Etherpad on the next PLG Day. Well, I tapped Susan on the shoulder about using 'notify me', so tomorrow Susan promises me that she will look at the this with me. Paddy

April 21 Well goodness gracious...Christine! Just joking! Great to see the chat is beginning to happen again. Someone needs to tap Susan on the shoulder and get her to use 'notify me' so she can see what she's missing out on :) Barry has just begun a wee crusade to look at Twitter for use in our practice. It's something we should talk about at the next PLG day. Can we come up with an agenda for that day please? What is it you guys want to focus on? I get the feeling that unless we have a wee project, it's not actually going to fire up this year. I've set up a PLG agenda page so you can fire your ideas on there.

Hi guys, now don't have a fit because I have actually come out of the woodwork!!! I have been reading your updates (Heather I don't know how you are so "on to it") but have made TIME today to have a better look at this site. I've been in to the Strategies page and was very pleased to see that Time was mentioned as a reason for people not engaging. However now that I've taken the plunge I will continue. I've even looked at the Etherpad clip, it looks very cool to me and I can see that I could use it to enhance the value of a Skype call. Just think how easy it could make Milestone writing!! Yeah Right! Thank you all for your support so far, don't give up on me. Chris

April
20th Gee Whizzy Janine has come in from the future - spooky!!! Thanks "hubert" for the voice thread link. That was a interesting wee test for me whether to open it or not as I have been getting soooo much junk mail lately. I opened it anyway! I will give it a go soon, off to a centre now! Glynis 21st I must watch too much tv because I've liked this clip for a long time!! Try 'sheep pong' and 'train station doh ray me' on you tube as well for feel good adds! Don't know what this has got to do with our research tho!!!??? J 17th Well now.............we might get the opportunity to look at etherpad when Glynis has finished on skype. I've been wait.................ing. Love the clip. This was one of my favourite adds on TV. Cute as. Haven't seen it lately. 17th Great girls. I hope you find it useful. Here's a cute we clip that the early childhood people would really love, you've just got to look at it. Out of the mouths of babes... media type="youtube" key="nqRVqXMyzhM" height="340" width="560"

Friday 17 Kia ora koutou, had a look at the etherpad website. That's really great. If we get time today, Glynis and I are going to have a play. Paddy

Wednesday April 15 Hi all - I really do exist!! My apologies for not letting you know that I would be in Wellington with the MOE on our last PLG day. This looks good Heather our Literacy team is in need of a more effective tool for sharing together while at different sites so we will probably try this and get back to you all! I've forgotten all about my journal page so am about to go and blog about my latest developments have a look! Janine

Hi Ladies. I've recently been shown a programme called [|etherpad] which is a virtual whiteboard you can write on and your online members can see the changes instantly - Googledocs takes a while to show changes and you have to go through the palava of inviting them - and they really need to have a google email account for that to work. With this, you just send them the url and they can click and see it. So easy. If you are having a skype or teleconference or using VC with teachers and want to take notes or develop brainstroms, i suggest you give this a go. Free of course .

Cheers, Heather

March
31st

Thank you for adding to the 'how to stuff, you darlings. This will be useful for Susan, Papara and Christine and actually I think I might find them really useful myself. Thanks Heather, I will endeavour to read through the strategies and report back. Gosh! it's good to be back on the discussion page, adding my two cents worth, for what it's worth. I don't know when I was last here. Thanks guys Paddy 28th Thanks Glynis. This is really useful. Paddy can get off our backs now that someone else has done the 'how to' stuff. I have played with the strategies pages so that we can print them off for other adivsers. Could you all please have a look at them and give me some feedback? They are a file on the strategies page. ** Susan, Papara, and Christine ** would you all have a look at these and make a list of any questions they generate for you please? Bring these with you next meeting. At the meeting yesterday we thought it would be good for us to have two groups running for a while so we can continue our critical thinking from last year, but provide the knowledge support for the new ones to get them up to speed. Can you all think about the best way for this to happen? Let's have some suggestions here so we can discuss this online. **Don't forget the survey...** See Glynis if you are confused. By the time she'd done it twice she was really good at it! :) Thanks guys. Heather

27th Janine, Paddy, Glynis the survey is ready to go out to **all** of the members of your wiki spaces online communities. At our PLG today we decided that we would contact members re the survey by:
 * 1) putting a link on our wikis
 * 2) sending them an email with the link via wikispaces
 * 3) sending them an email (only if you can identify who they are and have their email)
 * 4) see them face to face and hook up the survey online for them to do then and there
 * 5) Give them a hardcopy and we enter online.

Be inventive we need to get as many participants as we can to respond to the survey. This is the link to the [|Survey] and the foolowing is the link to how to [|send the survey to participants] If you cannot remember how to put the link on your wiki see HOW TO page on this wiki (You wouldn't believe how long this little episode has take me!!!! Cheers Glynis 23rd Hi guys. Can we make it hte afternoon please 'cause i'm going to a graduation in hte morning. 1:30? I realise Susan and Janine can't make it, but we'll "put it on the wiki" so you won't really miss out :) cheers, Heather

23rd Bother this is the 2nd time I have done - this last time it wouldn't save and soooohere I go again. I have been tinkering with our survey on Survey Monkey, have a [|look] and hopefully we can get it out to everyone after Friday! Regarding Friday what time suits for a meeting; early morning or after lunch - I'm easy!!! Glynis 20th Here's the Lee LeFever Google docs for idiots video. Perhaps we should look at making better use of this tool this year, stretch the boundaries a wee bit. It's quite well done as all of his are, so have a quick look and we'll talk about it at the next plg day. cheers, heather media type="youtube" key="eRqUE6IHTEA" height="344" width="425"

February
17th Paddy and Glynis, you guys are amazing! I hear you had lots of laughs trying to remember all that techno stuff we covered such a long time ago when we were such troglodytes (put that word in a dinner conversation). Well done. Just a thought, your first question really contains the overview of the questionnaire. How about writing that bit in the place for the section heading? I alos think that a place for the school/centre name could be useful for us later on if we need to see movement. What do the rest of you think? Cheers, Heather

17th I was sent the following from Ed Talks website (CORE) - it [|Ed Talks]might be of interest to you. Glynis media type="custom" key="3162758"

16th Paddy and I have just put this survey together on Survey Monkey - comments please. (one suggestion is that you all put the name of your wiki in Question one)... wikispaces. Our goal is for you to all send it to the members of your wikis to collect some intial data for 2009 PLG. media type="custom" key="3158242" Glynis and Paddy

2nd me again... I found this page today and some of the [|wiki patterns] could be quite good to think about. A lot of the material aligns with our findings, but there is some other stuff that could also be helpful to us when thinking about our wikis. cheers H

Welcome to 2009!!!
2nd Jan I guess you'll have already seen the new party page, amazing what I will do to get out of writing. But, you'll all be **//terribly excited//** to know that I have sent the Findings chapter (9000 words!) away to give the supervisers some nice holiday reading, and i'm about to send away the Literature Review (about 5000) chapter. So it is coming together. Not that i'm expecting them to respond any time soon, it just feels better to have it in their hands at last. Summary and Intro to go, and hopefully they should be relatively easy - well in comparison to these last two anyway.

Hope you're all having a great relaxing break and NOT thinking of work like some sad people you might know. Cheers, Heather