tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65479911260834391332024-03-05T19:32:27.089+13:00The BeLbirdCan you hear the Tui sing?
German born Kiwi; wife, mother, Lead Learner, certified Google for Education Trainer, Microsoft Innovative Educator.
All views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-17580648863933819552020-11-29T11:35:00.001+13:002020-11-29T12:07:37.536+13:00Some musings about 2021 ready, Leading and Innovating and Where to next<p>This week we finished our Term 4 webinar series. During the session I was thinking about how so much of the publications around integrating Digital Technology learning with your local curriculum have focused on this idea of being '2020 ready' (and we know, few if any of us were ready for what 2020 has actually brought). </p><p>Both <a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Strengthening-local-curriculum/Leading-local-curriculum-guide-series/Revised-technology-learning-area" target="_blank">Leading local curriculum design in the revised learning area technology</a> and the <a href="https://technology.tki.org.nz/content/download/38590/196830/file/DT%20implementation%20support%20tool%202020d.pdf" target="_blank">DT implementation support tool</a> describe four stages a school would go through as they are weaving digital technology learning into the school's local curriculum:</p><p><b>Not yet started</b></p><p><i>A school has chosen a leader for this change and is beginning to explore the revised curriculum content. While not explicitly stated in the above documents, I would expect the school to consult with their local community on how this new learning fits with the current local curriculum.</i></p><div>I prefer using the term <span style="font-weight: bold;">Just starting</span>, I believe this helps us all to recognise that some work is being done, but there is still more to do.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Now underway</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The school has recognised the new learning in their strategic planning; they have reviewed their local curriculum, compared to what is currently being taught and looked at the necessary changes; consulted with students and other schools, e.g. within the local kāhui ako; established teacher confidence and competence in regards to the new learning, examined current PLD practices and chosen suitable PLD to support their teachers.</i></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2020 ready</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Schools have DT learning in their strategic goals and planning, and have resource plans in place; they are mapping DT learning progress outcomes across the school's curriculum; are communicating with whānau and community on what has changed and why, and are finding real-life learning opportunities outside school to apply the new learning; teaching the revised curriculum content is trialled, student progress is measured and effectiveness of teaching and learning is measured; suitable PLD is offered to teachers and middle leaders, and the school leaders are actively participating, as well as checking on the effectiveness of putting learning into practice.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>During this week's webinar I tried substituting this with '2021 ready', but this doesn't quite feel right. I believe the authors must have tried to say "this is what needs to be in place at a school that is ready to implement the revised technology learning area" (with a deadline of 2020) - and now that 2020 is almost over, is 2020 ready still the best term to use? <b>Ready for DT learning</b> sounds a little wooden - what would be a more eloquent phrase?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Leading and Innovating</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>A school has a digital resource plan to support DT learning; their local curriculum is a meaningful collaboration between school and community, future-focused for learners thriving in a transforming digital world; technology learning is cross-curricular, and learning experiences connect ideas across the breadth of the curriculum while developing students' KCs; PLD supports teachers to innovate alongside their students, relevant information about DT learning is shared amongst all across the school (staff, students and community) and records show how everyone's participating in ongoing PLD makes a difference to teacher planning, teaching and to student learning.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>While the NZ education system operating under 'Tomorrow's Schools' leaves individual schools a lot of freedom in what and how they teach, for me this description include some of the most exciting indicators of what the Ministry of Education would like schools to operate like:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">In collaboration with the community, schools will develop a local curriculum with connecting ideas and technology learning across the curriculum, teachers will be innovating with their students, and ongoing PLD will make a difference to planning, teaching and learning. </span></div><p></p><p>I realise not everyone might share my excitement about this, in fact I personally have had conversations with teachers who very clearly see Digital Technology learning in the realm of technology teachers. It reminds me of the discussions our profession have had about the place of literacy for example; once upon a time firmly the domain of English teachers, nowadays students can gather literacy credits at NCEA levels across a number of subjects.</p><p>I am wondering about whether all NZ schools will see 'Leading and Innovating' as the stage they want to achieve, or, with our national affinity to the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome#:~:text=The%20tall%20poppy%20syndrome%20describes,as%20promoting%20modesty%20and%20egalitarianism." target="_blank">Tall Poppy Syndrome</a>, </i>will they be happy to remain on the level below?</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Where to next for schools:</u></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><u>Planning</u></p><p style="text-align: left;">Now is the time to plan what next year will look like. Start with a review of where you are at, and then select your next steps. We have created a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DYFqEiciqPqI7zHkXDLSOZ-3ObAxFl83/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">simple template you can access here</a> to help you.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><u>PLD</u></p><p style="text-align: left;">While a lot of the Digital Technology PLD is finishing at the end of 2020, the strong connection to Local Curriculum and the importance of Digital Fluency mean that schools can continue to be supported in their PLD journey by applying for <b>accredited PLD</b> - feel free to reach out if you would like the Raranga Matihiko team to help you submit an application (<a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/">https://rarangamatihiko.com/</a>). We are also available to provide PLD outside the accredited PLD scheme.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div><u>Resources</u></div><div><u><br /></u></div>There are many useful resources available online and as print copy from <a href="http://www.thechair.co.nz/j/ep?AI=818YjUH@DbVS16pE&P1=frameset.htm" target="_blank">Down the Back of the Chair</a>:<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Strengthening-local-curriculum/About" target="_blank">Strengthening Local Curriculum</a></li><li><a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Strengthening-local-curriculum/Leading-local-curriculum-guide-series" target="_blank">Leading Local Curriculum guide series</a></li><li><a href="https://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Digital-technologies-support/DT-implementation-support-tool" target="_blank">Digital Technology Implementation Support guide</a></li><li><a href="https://curriculumtool.education.govt.nz/" target="_blank">Local Curriculum Design Tool</a></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote></blockquote>Our <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/resources" target="_blank">Raranga Matihiko resource page</a> has recordings for all eight webinars under <i style="font-weight: bold;">Leadership</i> (as well as many other useful resources).<div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>The <a href="https://kiatakatu.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko</a> site contains many useful resources, as does <a href="http://nzacditt.org.nz/" target="_blank">Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa</a>, and <a href="https://www.dthm4kaiako.ac.nz/" target="_blank">DTHM for Kaiako</a>. <div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div></div>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-21686491328200676862020-10-31T13:59:00.002+13:002020-10-31T13:59:59.176+13:00Planning for 2021: Raranga Matihiko supporting school and curriculum leaders<p style="text-align: justify;">COVID-19 has proven a challenge for all educators and for PLD providers. Thanks to the foresight of our Programme Director Tara Fagan, the Raranga Matihiko team were able to move online immediately when the March lockdown was announced to continue supporting our schools and kura, and certain aspects of our work have remained online since then.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">During Term 3, Tara Fagan and I have facilitated four webinars for school and curriculum leaders from all across the motu:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Understanding the revised Technology learning area</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Integrating digital technology into your local curriculum</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Is your school ready for Digital Technology learning?</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Digital Technology learning in action</li></ol><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each of these webinars has been recorded and is available under <u>Leadership</u> on the <a href="https://www.rarangamatihiko.com/resources" target="_blank">resources section on our website</a>. Following lots of positive feedback from participants, we have decided to offer a follow-up webinar series in Term 4 to support schools as they plan for 2021:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINGFZM6zDuEwKnXImJKGbzRPmM_yahJXaoY2nWOwhYidOaR4mb9q4bJ9tANCDhlPcsOmdbFBpgnrvxmfYUt28b-o5m7ItpAaXqjT7ODYLQFUEqMP_JBS6zLi1hD4ZTow1hckuyDskVYM/s564/Screen+Shot+2020-10-31+at+1.36.16+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="564" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINGFZM6zDuEwKnXImJKGbzRPmM_yahJXaoY2nWOwhYidOaR4mb9q4bJ9tANCDhlPcsOmdbFBpgnrvxmfYUt28b-o5m7ItpAaXqjT7ODYLQFUEqMP_JBS6zLi1hD4ZTow1hckuyDskVYM/w400-h283/Screen+Shot+2020-10-31+at+1.36.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Please register at <a href="http://bit.ly/T4RM2020">http://bit.ly/T4RM2020</a>; feel free to attend one, some or all of the webinars. These webinars are free for educators from all schools and kura across Aotearoa. Please note that in addition to the Raranga Matihiko programme, we also support schools with accredited PLD, notably in local curriculum design, digital fluency and around NZ History - feel free to get in touch if you are interested to find out more.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course we haven't forgotten about classroom teachers: During Term 2 we wrote and presented 16 episodes for Papa Kāinga | Learning from Home TV, including supporting teacher resources. These are also available from our website under <a href="https://www.rarangamatihiko.com/home-learning" target="_blank">Raranga Matihiko TV</a>. In addition we ran a free online conference at the end of September, and we were absolutely blown away by the huge interest. If you missed out, or if you would like to rewind the learning, please head over to <u>Webinars</u> on the <a href="https://www.rarangamatihiko.com/resources" target="_blank">resource section on our website</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes, a challenge can lead to something positive, it can lead you to challenge what you do day-to-day, push you to come up with a new, hopefully better way. As you are planning for 2021, we trust these resources can support you. Come back to our website regularly for updates and new additions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-37131876598014119792020-08-01T12:32:00.002+12:002020-08-01T12:32:49.218+12:00Designing tasks that allow students to shine<div style="text-align: justify;">Digital Technology learning does not happen by accident. Lately I have been thinking a lot about how we can design student tasks that truly allow our students to show their progressing learning in Digital Technology. I have previously written about integrating digital technology learning across the curriculum (probably most of the more recent posts on this blog, e.g. <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2020/04/integrating-digital-technology-learning.html">Integrating DT Learning into Learning from Home</a>). As teachers we often wonder how to balance developing the students' digital fluency (DF) skills and setting them tasks that challenge the students to apply these skills in an authentic context and for their chosen audience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I have said many times, Digital Technology (DT) learning needs to be across the curriculum, every teacher needs to take responsibility for developing some basic digital fluency of their own, for developing a basic understanding of the revised content of the Learning Area Technology, and for integrating DT learning into the learning in their context. I realise this is not easy to fit into an already busy day, so please look into the PLD that is available to you and reach out in person or online to colleagues or to PLD facilitators you think are able to help you. I know that some schools have had different priorities before, during and since lockdown, and PLD for Digital Technology and for Digital Fluency have now fallen off the MoE PLD priorities. If you feel strongly that this is not meeting your needs and therefore the needs of your students, speak to your Senior Teachers / HoDs, your schools' SLT and to your local MoE Senior Advisors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I might be slightly biased, I feel looking at the 'decoded for learners' version of the DT Progress Outcomes might not just help students, it might also help teachers. With the recent update to our website, the location of our <u style="font-weight: bold;">Decoded for Learners</u> resources shifted; for now, you can access them here:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1a52f202-7fff-d5a0-c154-8eb2df99353e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vfdk9UOW5AnKdkrCgOMK2G9chy5yVOp44it8LDLGZa1_PyxwXQXjZRzdFkU1vNn_sCkLKRlKRXbMBEQVUY_zgg3ZR_jrg_XnIqdGhBMI38jGND23YcLh3-mCzMfcq6Vtma7zIRGA8eE=w200-h200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bit.ly/DecodedForLearners" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://bit.ly/DecodedForLearners</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><u><b>So how do you design tasks that allows students to show off their DT progress, and how do you allow the students to develop more digital fluency (DF) so they can work at higher progress outcomes?</b></u></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Developing digital fluency</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In our Raranga Matihiko (RM) programme at Waitangi, we always start with a tutū session, a short session where students first get a basic introduction what a tool can do, and then get time to simply try that tool out. As we get students into our programme for a very limited period of time only, we organise this in rotations of approx. 5min, swapping across several different apps and tools - you might want to introduce fewer tools over a longer period of time. Buddying up can be useful, and as the teacher, it pays to listen in to their conversations.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Choosing tools that are free to use and / or available across a range of devices helps with equity between students. If you are unsure about what tools you could introduce or how to introduce them, feel free to get inspiration from our clips from <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/home-learning">Raranga Matihiko TV</a> which were recorded for Home Learning | Papa Kainga TV - or, if appropriate, use them directly with your students. </i><i>The accompanying Teacher Support Materials are available <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/resources">here</a>.</i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following a tutū session, we have a conversation with students about the tools they have used and about what would be the best tool for a particular purpose. E.g. if I want to create whakairo (carvings) that I can print out in a 3D printer, SculptGL is a very good tool (I have written about choosing the best tool <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2019/08/choosing-best-tool-for-purpose.html">here</a>). <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18qmbwp-iBVKfnhGJEVstRU7MrdUCLusD/view?usp=sharing">Here is an unplugged activity</a> we have developed for you to use with your students to help them think about choosing the best tool.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With this approach you help students develop their DF <u>and</u> they will learn to choose the most suitable tool from a range (Progress Outcomes 2 and 3 from <i>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Task design</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Digital Technology learning sits under the Learning Area Technology. In its most simplistic form you could describe the purpose of Technology to <i>provide a solution to a problem</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All Progress Outcomes refer to <i style="text-decoration-line: underline;">authentic context</i> and to an <i style="text-decoration-line: underline;">enduser</i><i>. </i>Let me be very blunt: In all but a very few instances, creating a DT project for the teacher to mark does not meet either of these. Instead when integrating DT across the curriculum, this could be creating a movie about a pūrakau for a whānau evening, coding a project to share a story digitally with young people across Aotearoa, creating an app to guide a visitor across the school grounds etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When you truly integrate DT learning across the curriculum, you look at learning, at authentic learning, within the local curriculum of a school first. Local curriculum has become more and more important in NZ education, and MoE have made a number of resources about this available, for example <a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Strengthening-local-curriculum/Leading-local-curriculum-guide-series">here</a>.</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Local curriculum is about ensuring that what students learn about is important to them and their local community, while at the same time using this as the springboard to understanding the world beyond their local area. For me it is providing students with a solid grounding in their local community, their local history, their local tikanga, the local environment, and developing a connection and a pride in where they are from. This means that while our schools might still be a central hub for learning (though possibly no longer sole place of learning), we invite the knowledge and skills in the community to be a partner in the learning journey, and we all, students and adults, learn together (there is much more to local curriculum, but this will be the topic of another post at another time).</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Digital Technology learning can be one of the ways your students show their learning. <i>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes</i> and <i>Computational Thinking</i> are often interwoven. Depending on the age of your students and on their DF skills, design tasks that:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Require an <i>enduser</i>: Who will see their project and what are their needs (e.g. younger students might need few and simple text)? How will you facilitate sharing their projects (class or student blogs, school FB page, whānau evening etc.)?</li><li>Allow students choice about how to show their learning, e.g. within a tool (if their DF is limited to this) or across several tools. Ask students to explain <i>why</i> they are choosing particular tools.</li><li>Include application of Digital Citizenship (DC): Model good DC in the way you access online content and how you attribute the source of this content. Incorporate requirements for displaying DC in the student projects.</li><li>Encourage students to push beyond what they already know and beyond what you know. Collaborative brainstorming can be very useful, as can be collaborative projects (buddies and small groups). Embrace ako and celebrate success.</li></ul><div>My last post had some <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2020/04/integrating-digital-technology-learning.html">task ideas for Learning from Home</a> - some of these translate easily to the classroom environment. Over the coming weeks I plan to share further exemplars about tasks that allow students to shine - feel free to contact me if you would like your activities included in this.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-90241566292208656062020-04-26T16:41:00.001+12:002020-11-29T13:53:55.903+13:00Integrating Digital Technology learning into Learning from Home<div style="text-align: justify;">
First up I want to say how thankful I am to all those teachers out there who are out there doing their best to support their students learning from home. The next step, some students learning from school again, must surely be daunting to a few teachers and students. No doubt the first little while at least will be nothing like our <i>old normal</i>, and only time will tell what our <i>new normal</i> will look like.</div>
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Many people (including me) fall back to the tried and true when in a challenging situation - and I think education (like most things in our lives currently) could well count as challenging. Given the 'new and revised learning area technology' (there's a mouthful for you!) only became compulsory at the beginning of this year, it probably doesn't count as tried and true for everyone yet. To make it easier on teachers, I have come up with a few ideas for teachers to help them integrate Digital Technology learning into their students' learning from home.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">A quick reminder of the difference between </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Digital Literacy and Digital Fluency </b><span style="text-align: justify;">curtesy of my colleague Elaine from Waikato Museum:</span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Digital Technology learning </b>goes beyond Digital Literacy and Digital Fluency. In the NZC it is described through Progress Outcomes, and to make them more accessible to learners, we have now published them in our <u><i>Decoded for Learners</i> series</u>. This tool has been designed as a guide for learners to the language and concepts used in Computational Thinking and Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes. Learners can be working on multiple progress outcomes at one time. While it breaks the progress outcome into several statements, it is not a checklist to work through, nor is it a replacement of the technology curriculum progress outcomes for Computational Thinking or Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes. Please use the link or the QR code to access the Series.</div>
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Here are some examples:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="452" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2QKd5ijxgEaU1JGOJyZLY53djZcovUhMIGbPta6rYEiWGMmYg5SKqgsuU4vseAbZQxyQ6hXxNf6p3hvO67tUuCTL9fQ6iHZE3BTn5E4WAKzF1AMIEOA-Re0aqG4UlsIPNvkTB_w" style="border-radius: 0.5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Computational Thinking POs 1 & 2 decoded for learners</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="393" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JOAOs2zOpVFv3nmDH0mz0Sdc_0OM6EwcO5t06uxUFYTOT_vAl1a3uEtFBiLbbiugcaAyQKsU7-jbu6ZvDeOUDN1GlER8oDtxCOhGIRX_ZYw2cbhS4nAFWIOdrVClQvCkBKI78fI" style="border-radius: 0.5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO 1 decoded for learners</td></tr>
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When you read the Progress Outcomes (original version or supported by the decoded for learners series), you can clearly see that tasks need to be designed very deliberately to allow students to move through the progress outcomes. When designing these tasks for learning at home, there are a number of variables to keep in mind:</div>
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<li>Does the students have access to a device and the internet?</li>
<li>How confident is the student in applying their DT learning?</li>
<li>What support in regards to DT learning do you need to provide to students and their parents?</li>
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<u><b>Some ideas for Learning Activities</b></u></div>
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<i>Learning is rarely isolated to just one Learning Area. The following are learning activities I have seen or I could imagine being set while learning from home, and I have integrated Digital Technology learning into these.</i></div>
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Choose a simple meal or snack idea (e.g. peanut butter sandwich, toasties, pikelets etc.). Record all the steps to make this meal or snack (in writing, pictures, audio recording, or mixture of these). Give your instructions to member of your bubble and observe them make your snack. Take note of any mistakes in your instructions as they follow them and correct your instructions.</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO1</i></div>
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Create instructions as above, then swap them with another student so everyone gets to follow each others' instructions. Find and fix any mistakes.</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO2</i></div>
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Choose a toy or an object in your house. Create or draw a background and make up a story about XYZ featuring your toy / object. Use Stop Motion animation (e.g. <a href="https://www.cateater.com/" target="_blank">Stopmotion Studio</a>) to make the story come to life.</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO2</i></div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO1</i></div>
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Māori didn't use to write down stories, whakairo, kowhaiwhai and tukutuku were some of their ways to tell stories. Tell a story about a happy day through whakairo: Use <a href="https://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/" target="_blank">SculptGL</a> to create your carving. Take a screenshot of your finished taonga to share with the class.</div>
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<i style="text-align: right;">Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO1</i></div>
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Create your whakairo as above. In a digital painting app like Google Drawing, <a href="http://autodraw.com/" target="_blank">Autodraw</a> or Paint 3D, create a background for your carving, then import it into SculptGL. Arrange your carving in front of your background, and when you are happy with the final result, take a screenshot.</div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO2</i></div>
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Your whānau needs something to help do chores around the house. Design a gadget suitable for your home: It needs to be safe for all ages and it needs get to all areas of your house.</div>
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You need to show your finished gadget from different sides and explain what it does. Choose from <a href="http://tinkercad.com/" target="_blank">Tinkercad</a>, Google Drawing, Autodraw or Paint 3D or another app you are familiar with. Your explanation can be in writing or verbal.</div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO2</i></div>
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We all know that washing hands is important, now tell a <a href="http://scratch.mit.ed/" target="_blank">Scratch</a> sprite about washing hands.</div>
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You will need to use two sprites, you can choose any background from the library. Your code needs to include movement and speech. Make sure you debug your code so the story makes sense.</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO3</i></div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO1</i></div>
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It is autumn and mice are looking for a warm home over the winter. Help the cat sprite catch mice that have come into its home!</div>
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Create a Scratch project where mice are moving around a house, then code the cat so that it chases and catches the mice. Design your code so that the mice disappear when the cat has caught them (you might want to use the <i>If-then</i> block).</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO3/4</i></div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO1/2</i></div>
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Imagine you and your whānau bubble are on a journey to Mars. Record a vlog of a day / of several days.</div>
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You will need to create a script. You also need to create a background for your vlog e.g. the inside of your spaceship (use a 2D or 3D design tool of your choice). You can use a Greenscreen tool like <a href="https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/green-screen-by-do-ink/id730091131" target="_blank">Greenscreen by Do Ink</a> on the iPad or <a href="https://obsproject.com/" target="_blank">OBS Studio</a> on the Laptop. Think of any props from around the home which you can use to help tell your story.</div>
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<i>Computational Thinking PO2</i></div>
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<i>Designing & Developing Digital Outcomes PO3</i></div>
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I hope some of these might be helpful. If you end up using any of my ideas as inspiration, feel free to let me know in the comments what your Learning Activities and / or your students's creations looked like!</div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-89455489824083009132019-11-13T17:00:00.000+13:002019-11-13T17:00:08.213+13:00Not just Coding for the sake of Coding: Digital Storytelling in ScratchIn October I ran a workshop on using Scratch as a tool for digital storytelling at Ulearn19 in Rotorua. As part of this I introduced the participants to our kids speak version of the Progress Outcomes for <b>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes</b> as well as <b>Computational Thinking</b> (see <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2019/11/digital-technology-progress-outcomes-in.html" target="_blank">this previous blog post</a>). Here is my slide deck from the workshop:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQhvR6FtNFKczSDno2Wl9joGFyRsJQddg90h_JcUInbNYTZz3vVvSUAbHxddE3YlRE8aWqylGKeP8Xi/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="640"></iframe>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-24203500193089658332019-11-13T11:26:00.001+13:002019-11-13T11:26:58.565+13:00Digital Technology Progress Outcomes in Kids Speak<div style="text-align: justify;">
Earlier this year I starting a new professional inquiry, looking at how we could support teachers to get a better understanding of the newly added curriculum content for Digital Technology in the learning area Technology. As part of this I wondered if a <u>Kids Speak version of the Digital Technology Progress Outcomes </u>(like we have for Literacy) could support learners and teachers to gain a better understanding of what is required and for learners to be able to take more ownership. Tara Fagan and I drafted a kids speak version and we trialed it during October; this draft is available to download <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/teacher-resources-3/kids-speak-progressions/" target="_blank">here</a>. Please share your thoughts via comments or by emailing <a href="mailto:rarangamatihiko@tepapa.govt.nz">rarangamatihiko@tepapa.govt.nz</a>. </div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-22439804545922692392019-08-12T13:28:00.000+12:002019-08-12T13:28:58.387+12:00Choosing the best tool for the purposeThe Progress Outcomes for <b>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes</b> include for students to learn about choosing the best tool for solving a technological problem:<br />
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<u>Progress
Outcome 2</u><br />
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In
authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students make decisions
about creating, manipulating, storing, retrieving, sharing and testing digital
content for a specific purpose, given particular parameters, tools, and
techniques. They understand that digital devices impact on humans and society
and that both the devices and their impact change over time.
Students
identify the specific role of components in a simple input-process-output
system and how they work together, and they recognise the “control role” that
humans have in the system. <span style="background-color: yellow;">They can select from an increasing range of
applications and file types to develop outcomes for particular purposes.</span></div>
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<u>Progress
Outcome 3</u><br />
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In
authentic contexts, students follow a defined process to design, develop,
store, test and evaluate digital content to address given contexts or issues,
taking into account immediate social, ethical and end-user considerations. <span style="background-color: yellow;">They
identify the key features of selected software and choose the most appropriate
software and file types to develop and combine digital content.</span> Students
understand the role of operating systems in managing digital devices, security,
and application software and are able to apply file management conventions
using a range of storage devices. They understand that with storing data comes
responsibility for ensuring security and privacy.</div>
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For my Professional Inquiry during Term 2 I chose to focus on students choosing the best digital tool for a particular purpose, while keeping in mind that many teachers are time poor, often have limited access to digital technologies in their classrooms and some teachers lack confidence in their using Digital Technologies effectively in learning and teaching. <span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can I enable students to make such choices while showing their teachers that with some guidance you can students go beyond what the teachers know or feel confident in?</span><br />
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Here is the link to my <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ee-g7hFQnUU7ikTik0xpxy3---5xz9g8_Bp6HeEicgI/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Professional Inquiry Plan</a> for anyone who is interested to see the full process I went through. This is a summary of what I found effective in the Raranga Matihiko programme:<br />
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<li>Running a structured tutu session for the students where they can explore the different tools - encouraging the teachers & adults to have a turn also</li>
<li>Holding a conversation with them about how to choose the best tool for a particular purpose</li>
<li>Designing tasks in a way that allows students age-appropriate choices</li>
<li>Engaging the teachers in conversations about their students' choices, also how they can apply this in their own practice back in the classroom</li>
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As a teacher you might wonder what this could look like in your own classroom. <b>Here are some ideas inspired by what I found during my inquiry:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Think about your inquiry topic; what could be <b>some digital creations your students could make to show their learning</b>? <b>How can you set up the task(s) so you students have age-appropriate choices?</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Research possible digital creation tools</b>; some tools we enjoy using are <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/" target="_blank">Tinkercad</a> (3D creation tool), Paint 3D (Windows 10 only; for images, photo manipulation, 3D objects, Mixed Reality creations), <a href="https://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/" target="_blank">SculptGL</a> (3D sculpting), <a href="https://www.cateater.com/" target="_blank">Stop Motion Studio</a> for stop motion animation, <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Scratch</a> to code digital stories, <a href="http://www.doink.com/" target="_blank">Green Screen by Do Ink</a> for green screened images and movies.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Have a tutu</b> yourself :) remember you don't have to be an expert, you just have to know the basics, your students will explore beyond that.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Set up a structured tutu session for your students</b>. I suggest you select a limited number of tools, set up some different stations in a way that students physically have to get up and move from one station to another - this seems to help some of them with remembering the names of the tool and what they did with these tools.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Run your tutu session</b>: Run through all of the tools you want them to explore with the whole group first; use online tutorials or demo a few functions for each programme. Split your students into manageable groups; just keep in mind how many people you can accommodate at each station. For example, if you have 5 stations, with 30 students you end up with 6 students per group. Depending on the personalities of your students and on the class culture, working in pairs can be really useful - in this case you need to set up 3 devices at each station. Use an audible timer to help with swapping from one station to the next, 5-8 minutes per station works well for us.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">After the tutu session, <b>discuss</b> the different tools and what they would best be used for, e.g. a stop motion animation needs inanimate objects (otherwise you might as well just video the action). SculptGL is great for creating carvings, but it is much harder to make a building. Go beyond the app or programme to the tools inside, e.g. within ScultGL, 'crease' is better for creating carvings than using 'paint'.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Have a <b>conversation about 'cool' versus 'best tool</b>: In our context we usually talk about their transport to the Treaty Grounds - was this the coolest way to get here? What would be a cooler mode of transport (I think we've heard it all, from helicopters to limos to waka to unicorns to jetpacks and much more). In the end we usually agree the bus was the best, though not necessarily the coolest way.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Give your students opportunity and permission to make their choices and get creating</b>- sometimes the best learning comes from <b><i>not </i></b>making the best choice first, and then swapping to a more suitable tool.</li>
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I would love to hear from you how you enable your students to choose the best digital tool for the purpose.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-65814748577357966962019-06-23T09:42:00.002+12:002019-06-23T11:08:51.919+12:00Computational Thinking for Upper Primary / Intermediate School using Scratch<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Following on from my post from last week about <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2019/06/computational-thinking-in-junior.html" target="_blank">introducing Computational Thinking in the junior classroom</a>, here are some thoughts on<b> where to start for teachers of Upper Primary and Intermediate School.</b></div>
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Like for the juniors, I would always start with the teachers <u>understanding the revised curriculum content. </u> With that I mean not just the Progress Outcome that might appear to be aligned with the CL most of your students are working on, but Progress Outcomes 1 - 5 as their alignment against curriculum levels is subject is still tentative. My previous blog post contains suggestions where you can get help with this - or you might want to start as simple as carefully reading the PO descriptions, noting down similarities and differences between the different levels and work out unfamiliar terms (and there is lots of jargon built into these brief paragraphs...).</div>
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Again, it really important that <b>you</b><b> acquire a basic</b> <b>understanding</b> of coding, it is another form of literacy that our students need to become familiar with. As I said in my post last week, I personally like <a href="https://code.org/">https://code.org/</a>, it has given me a good starting point in block coding which in my opinion is all that you need to know about for this age group. From there, familiarise yourself with Scratch (if that is the platform you choose to use with your students).<br />
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At this age I would still start the students off with <b>unplugged activities</b> to get them thinking 'like a computer', just add a layer of complexity to it in comparison to the juniors. <a href="https://csunplugged.org/en/" target="_blank">CS Unplugged</a> is a great source of ideas.<br />
One of the activities we do in Raranga Matihiko at Waitangi is based on an idea we first saw facilitated by <a href="http://core-ed.org/about-core/our-team/professional-learning-solutions/rosalie-reiri" target="_blank">Rosalie Reiri</a> at a Kia Takatū workshop: Programming a tohu to move across a grid to a selected destination with the instruction to get there as fast as possible = using as few lines of code as possible.<br />
We use a clear plastic sheet with a grid drawn on it (greenhouse plastic from your garden centre) and students move tokens of your choice to the destination they have chosen, only using the instructions of 'move forward', 'turn left' and 'turn right'. They are encouraged to use iteration/repeat such as 'move forward x5'. For this age group we add a second priority: While you move across the grid as fast as possible, collect as much money as you can -> in case of a draw between different players in the end, the person with the most money will win. OR you can make any variation of this and other ideas you have to get their brains thinking 'like a computer'.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzp3MjY-UwD_6h156nJVTjGVj5Z7zcOTSwa8uVoRDkFNIF19fkFg5VnO6s9TkCMe-fQPunBmp_Ie3Sss0DQd6vNPRzcYi60VpwS8dbN_YMS-f27IqK-RDg2hCNH0HyoPD3KWxt2WyMVE/s1600/Image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7vlCNoOojsvgowCHhaeZXjagd4BChC0a-_AFAHQn9Yjqq9qsPeMn22DxuVJmiXAGTGckkYftro0jUezzC9VJooTeh6gFW2FnFQB1FmsUOxdgok3kY35LNa7Uf3wyFy_COJWqyhiet8s/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="503" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7vlCNoOojsvgowCHhaeZXjagd4BChC0a-_AFAHQn9Yjqq9qsPeMn22DxuVJmiXAGTGckkYftro0jUezzC9VJooTeh6gFW2FnFQB1FmsUOxdgok3kY35LNa7Uf3wyFy_COJWqyhiet8s/s200/Image.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="440" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzp3MjY-UwD_6h156nJVTjGVj5Z7zcOTSwa8uVoRDkFNIF19fkFg5VnO6s9TkCMe-fQPunBmp_Ie3Sss0DQd6vNPRzcYi60VpwS8dbN_YMS-f27IqK-RDg2hCNH0HyoPD3KWxt2WyMVE/s200/Image2.jpg" width="200" /> </div>
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While code.org have a lot of interesting pre-set courses, for this age group I would straight <b>move them to a a platform like Scratch</b>. Start with a good 'tutu', let them figure out what they can do on there. Here are some ideas for you:<br />
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<u>Suitable code blocks to start with</u> include:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpRc62T1cIw6GA0zc6RjBj92FMAKFviHfh2L9pavfIP7GfKM-AeMMohF4XgeyObh73dtQpBC3vov-yTLMkaWQTULMEkvTAd6CCJN3PW30qrxqDp4gwEpCwsQyl3hrhDE3p7n37UBUvPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.01.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkftdh-97aCMkAghHMUbw32NIgyOiSlcYKl78YDZS05Abn_3OVLVnXCA7SqUo1LSt80KbHBTTPAIDyzrMlOp-Amrr6o2FYajOPr8xsv8ABhOiolkyP6oaBPZbl_yyg20m-jHuViIdzwc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.03.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpRc62T1cIw6GA0zc6RjBj92FMAKFviHfh2L9pavfIP7GfKM-AeMMohF4XgeyObh73dtQpBC3vov-yTLMkaWQTULMEkvTAd6CCJN3PW30qrxqDp4gwEpCwsQyl3hrhDE3p7n37UBUvPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.01.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="304" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpRc62T1cIw6GA0zc6RjBj92FMAKFviHfh2L9pavfIP7GfKM-AeMMohF4XgeyObh73dtQpBC3vov-yTLMkaWQTULMEkvTAd6CCJN3PW30qrxqDp4gwEpCwsQyl3hrhDE3p7n37UBUvPA/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.01.38+PM.png" width="146" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkftdh-97aCMkAghHMUbw32NIgyOiSlcYKl78YDZS05Abn_3OVLVnXCA7SqUo1LSt80KbHBTTPAIDyzrMlOp-Amrr6o2FYajOPr8xsv8ABhOiolkyP6oaBPZbl_yyg20m-jHuViIdzwc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.03.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="292" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkftdh-97aCMkAghHMUbw32NIgyOiSlcYKl78YDZS05Abn_3OVLVnXCA7SqUo1LSt80KbHBTTPAIDyzrMlOp-Amrr6o2FYajOPr8xsv8ABhOiolkyP6oaBPZbl_yyg20m-jHuViIdzwc/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.03.07+PM.png" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_i7oZFue2Ll27BxRxOJY-9eAM5k6Vb67BucIsJ63VXehDi4YSPew2QG6nV3RQ3JwD58_6oRe23VMa9-KqQ58E1DfPiqOB3s8eRbgA2ohI0MHLGJSWygG6_VQ00eL0SRF3xhi-0Ur384/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.10.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="321" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_i7oZFue2Ll27BxRxOJY-9eAM5k6Vb67BucIsJ63VXehDi4YSPew2QG6nV3RQ3JwD58_6oRe23VMa9-KqQ58E1DfPiqOB3s8eRbgA2ohI0MHLGJSWygG6_VQ00eL0SRF3xhi-0Ur384/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.10.08+AM.png" width="121" /></a> </div>
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Remember that the code is always attached to a particular Sprite (if you delete the Sprite, your code is gone! I suggest you teach your students to take screenshots periodically so they have a copy just in case). Select the Sprite, then drag blocks from the left onto your workspace in the middle of the screen. Connect them together (just bring them close, they act like they are magnetic and attract each other). Ensure you <u>always start with an event block</u>, most commonly <i>When green flag clicked:</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4W6OLsZiJDjACZZNUvQN7TsR3gWezDPGv8qh5maaRVYdPD_2XgQ1rXX65gXPXLK7_C2y-Pdz2T_CmtN-nWZgzlWdNUgfHZJqv874MB7WRUNdS_t4n5_A8N1u-9tEC0W4R5cBeJoPXuA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.09.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4W6OLsZiJDjACZZNUvQN7TsR3gWezDPGv8qh5maaRVYdPD_2XgQ1rXX65gXPXLK7_C2y-Pdz2T_CmtN-nWZgzlWdNUgfHZJqv874MB7WRUNdS_t4n5_A8N1u-9tEC0W4R5cBeJoPXuA/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.09.58+AM.png" width="124" /></a></div>
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One of the absolute <b>must have </b>blocks is <i>go to x:___ y:____ </i>(found under the motion blocks), it should be placed at the beginning of a project right under the event block that starts it all off. This ensures that the Sprite always starts in the same place.<br />
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<u>Apply iteration</u> and reduce the number of lines in a program:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHJout064WHoijhpqH28IazcmkhLMegaoiWr9Z32LVFmvo_ZZ6AYIlvNrG49-BPS6WAyjYjVLaXXqGdAQpjb_YQ_cXB3du7Aqs0-6niez8sfoHzBEAs1MhSSxOLendWapHB-Mjw1mjLY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.28.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1362" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHJout064WHoijhpqH28IazcmkhLMegaoiWr9Z32LVFmvo_ZZ6AYIlvNrG49-BPS6WAyjYjVLaXXqGdAQpjb_YQ_cXB3du7Aqs0-6niez8sfoHzBEAs1MhSSxOLendWapHB-Mjw1mjLY/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.28.59+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both of these algorithms do exactly the same thing...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfpPRGU_4z61UJBv-oROEmvknta5gAUmVEMaPK6d3Uj7aDczkP3GA6KAqBVvhY_wY2L2G7RMA4B9zHMC7nNS8L8NiJOVhaZ1Ez-jJHabaJgYoByXfbIc1-fu5-OFdYA3XxMjAv105_aE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.29.21+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfpPRGU_4z61UJBv-oROEmvknta5gAUmVEMaPK6d3Uj7aDczkP3GA6KAqBVvhY_wY2L2G7RMA4B9zHMC7nNS8L8NiJOVhaZ1Ez-jJHabaJgYoByXfbIc1-fu5-OFdYA3XxMjAv105_aE/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.29.21+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... but this one uses fewer lines of code = less chance to make a mistake while writing the program</td></tr>
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There is a wide range of <u>Backdrops and Sprites</u> students can use for their projects, but here at Waitangi we prefer students to create their own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY6PklRb6DA-X7CIQyrO33mvZ-AWS2GCqYLdVoLBKV2J-88GdPfbR-36pWO4G5QgLpYOirKdkkrFRwhTCZj2guucpfK7Li8UIEZG8aWsZ6NlAk2R0hO8p8Mv1t2OWBn6KWvsR1yN_PMU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.13.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="676" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY6PklRb6DA-X7CIQyrO33mvZ-AWS2GCqYLdVoLBKV2J-88GdPfbR-36pWO4G5QgLpYOirKdkkrFRwhTCZj2guucpfK7Li8UIEZG8aWsZ6NlAk2R0hO8p8Mv1t2OWBn6KWvsR1yN_PMU/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.13.09+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrHnOATX5qDUZJsnz3w5PPaltYC3kKU_TMME1W2IM9kv69tr1kNJaZ5SL2YchNnCVpCHqhHLUrjcdSxqTUPskq2JwUcj3Mfk1Ca5FkvYwTJO56rG30qJNzOIc399kE-sC-mMJLeW425Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.13.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="643" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrHnOATX5qDUZJsnz3w5PPaltYC3kKU_TMME1W2IM9kv69tr1kNJaZ5SL2YchNnCVpCHqhHLUrjcdSxqTUPskq2JwUcj3Mfk1Ca5FkvYwTJO56rG30qJNzOIc399kE-sC-mMJLeW425Q/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.13.13+AM.png" width="314" /></a></div>
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While we tend to create Backdrops and Sprites in other programs such as Paint 3D, Scratch includes tools to create your own (just select the brush you see above), or to edit existing ones (including your own uploads):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs_s_Uf7oPxWAy1zyPyMiWcjOd84PV3PtRczU4nfd3SmdGi0U7VOvnwjH-9nRgqoG7LF5vR_uk5b2gjTnoXTFve6IszQaqbloEne4La1PlcOp9b9J3Zt7ClPUZ_ja3Gt3dD-skG9Kamg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.17.41+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs_s_Uf7oPxWAy1zyPyMiWcjOd84PV3PtRczU4nfd3SmdGi0U7VOvnwjH-9nRgqoG7LF5vR_uk5b2gjTnoXTFve6IszQaqbloEne4La1PlcOp9b9J3Zt7ClPUZ_ja3Gt3dD-skG9Kamg/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.17.41+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Click on the </span><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Sprite</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> you want to edit (highlighted in blue here at the right), then select the second tab </span><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Costumes</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> at the top to make changes to the way your Sprite looks or to create additional costumes for your Sprite</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsdYakC4k8fA4qvFuGvZ9jsef18yCBbzYxlx5eP4IlBtYO8Fl92CeuCIz2Pe6ijRisJ8tODVEQe3eNYeFAVJZVsB5MoLMFXBuSHP_gmkkzUANuXLwKk90ps2uanQbzW4ezvzRRcSTRM8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.17.53+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsdYakC4k8fA4qvFuGvZ9jsef18yCBbzYxlx5eP4IlBtYO8Fl92CeuCIz2Pe6ijRisJ8tODVEQe3eNYeFAVJZVsB5MoLMFXBuSHP_gmkkzUANuXLwKk90ps2uanQbzW4ezvzRRcSTRM8/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.17.53+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Click on Stage instead of a Sprite and the second tab at the top becomes <i>Backdrops.</i></div>
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<i>Handy hint: </i>Look at <i>Stage</i>, the number under <i>Backdrops</i> indicates how many different backdrops are loaded into the project. You might want to delete backdrops that are not needed or are duplicates.</div>
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<u>Costumes</u> can help animate a project. Have a look at the subtle difference between these two projects:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/318222622/?autostart=false" width="485"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/318223323/?autostart=false" width="485"></iframe></div>
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<u>Hiding and showing</u> different Sprites can have its own little challenges: Anytime you use a <i>hide</i> block in your code, you also need to include a <i>show</i> block. While this might seem counter-intuitive to you, it makes sense in computational thinking: Imagine playing hide and seek with a robot, and you tell the robot to hide. Unlike our students it won't get bored or hungry and come out anyway, it will hide forever UNLESS you tell it to show.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvE3hyphenhyphenu47Oav1JvMYAUCFzBdpn8tLXXHA_gyzP_FzNZn01aqX9keWL01AWrPKapd4aHqdDalBZHtDxsicATRJVluYJvrt6Mc0oIqhzmlRfjjhcN1shfOCt1C1SV42-88iKpLzam5BSwQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.54.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvE3hyphenhyphenu47Oav1JvMYAUCFzBdpn8tLXXHA_gyzP_FzNZn01aqX9keWL01AWrPKapd4aHqdDalBZHtDxsicATRJVluYJvrt6Mc0oIqhzmlRfjjhcN1shfOCt1C1SV42-88iKpLzam5BSwQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.54.35+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Timing can be very important; if your students are writing more complex code where something new happens after a particular event, or after a certain amount of time, look at <i><u>broadcast message</u>.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDvr6dqqCyK_AjrZIFeaLm-AK3SxFmvUSmGpUwkF_9kE5-UPU1DtZbIv6C29dEeGkYmHRVmoT7DQFh5FCqHGBB4umU3pp7wyCxJmtfzNFFRbNF2MmEPKKd-1ZxoVfF5x4kfXm85L2uaU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.09.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDvr6dqqCyK_AjrZIFeaLm-AK3SxFmvUSmGpUwkF_9kE5-UPU1DtZbIv6C29dEeGkYmHRVmoT7DQFh5FCqHGBB4umU3pp7wyCxJmtfzNFFRbNF2MmEPKKd-1ZxoVfF5x4kfXm85L2uaU/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.09.58+AM.png" width="124" /></a></div>
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Found under events, broadcast message can set in motion a new sequence of events:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGy1EOAsuJ8yRIOZ3wBY_3t0T4j_Ejz-FEpJqsXE3iAkaM17rgS93eVwPeqDV_FnILWjnZrmgF-JyIkRGMmNkRLdE5p7IBLmRQ5E8MUD5BZlvYGPEKqx1_HLJZMR40rwf_MDP7OR7CoU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.07.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGy1EOAsuJ8yRIOZ3wBY_3t0T4j_Ejz-FEpJqsXE3iAkaM17rgS93eVwPeqDV_FnILWjnZrmgF-JyIkRGMmNkRLdE5p7IBLmRQ5E8MUD5BZlvYGPEKqx1_HLJZMR40rwf_MDP7OR7CoU/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.07.06+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">As you can see, the workspace can include more than one sequence of code: On the left the command for the </span><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">mouse</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> to hide at a certain place as soon as the green flag is clicked. On the right, after receiving the message which I named </span><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Chase mouse</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> it will show itself and forever move around the screen randomly.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH03Z0pF9nZPnE4qhd23gmsPEkg8dN0V7WjPaPDnzEDHCKOVaTPgXyBKEyfJAP8YlFIzS9LIMmpSqsfL_V8_N8L6SmTzC93DTD0-6617RpgLfNIzriQ0YbdHbX7NT5oTi2AhPuo0mb-Qw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.06.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH03Z0pF9nZPnE4qhd23gmsPEkg8dN0V7WjPaPDnzEDHCKOVaTPgXyBKEyfJAP8YlFIzS9LIMmpSqsfL_V8_N8L6SmTzC93DTD0-6617RpgLfNIzriQ0YbdHbX7NT5oTi2AhPuo0mb-Qw/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.06.59+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
On the left, the original code with a <i>broadcast message</i> block added at the bottom (to create a new message, just click on the drop down arrow and name your message something that makes sense to you).</div>
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On the right I added a new sequence of code: Once the <i>cat </i>receives the message, it miaows once, then waits for one second before it glides towards the <i>mouse</i> forever.</div>
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Below that I added a third block of code, not currently connected to any event block. If I drag this into my <i>forever</i> block below <i>glide to mouse</i> my program will stop when the <i>cat</i> touches the <i>mouse </i>- and there is lots more you could add here.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/318224278/?autostart=false" width="485"></iframe><br /></div>
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<b>Managing and sharing Scratch projects</b><br />
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For the Raranga Matihiko programme at Waitangi we currently work under just one account in Scratch which allows us to manage all student work. We place all projects for a class into one Studio (= folder), and we share the URL to the studio with the visiting teacher. For this we have to 'share' each project, make it publicly visible which is covered under our parent permission forms. I have turned commenting off for projects created under the WaitangiMuseum Scratch account because we don't have enough time to monitor all comments to all projects.</div>
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To embed a Scratch project into a blog as I have done here you can use the following code:<br />
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<span style="color: #3c3c3c; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" width="485" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/</span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: yellow; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">308725885</span><span style="color: #3c3c3c; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">/?autostart=false" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span> </blockquote>
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Instead of the <span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: yellow;">yellow</span></span> of the URL, add the number of the project you wish to embed.</div>
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Often students want to continue working on the projects they started with us so I encourage visiting teachers to set up their own class account or individual student Scratch accounts and use the <span style="background-color: lime;">Remix button</span>to make a copy of the project in their own account:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaPQZdg9Hu2CDyjx7OO0YAVsizEJzXbzF-opWAIYxtmCwGL4hyRzrtk8vOZJUaI3GqsNwPBStjQSXcfcAfbm-eqXL4dCcThV4PY0rOhu84tC-OonrSizX8wap5ONNAE90qTCHY92fQrM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.32.34+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="1016" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaPQZdg9Hu2CDyjx7OO0YAVsizEJzXbzF-opWAIYxtmCwGL4hyRzrtk8vOZJUaI3GqsNwPBStjQSXcfcAfbm-eqXL4dCcThV4PY0rOhu84tC-OonrSizX8wap5ONNAE90qTCHY92fQrM/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+10.32.34+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is also a good opportunity to reinforce Digital Citizenship, explore the ideas of Creative Commons as well as attributing where work comes from. Student might also be interested to explore other Scratch projects to learn from the code used there; however, I suggest you curate a selection of suitable projects (add them to a studio) so your students don't get lost in the thousands of projects available.</div>
<br />Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-54617092122301715012019-06-16T12:33:00.002+12:002019-06-16T12:33:36.294+12:00Computational Thinking in the Junior classroom<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other day on Twitter I came across Victoria Macann's post on the Learning Architects' blog about <a href="https://www.learningarchitects.com/how-to-easily-implement-computational-thinking-into-your-classroom/" target="_blank">implementing CT into the classroom</a>. I agree with many of her thoughts, there is a lot of unplugged computational thinking already happening in classrooms (<a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/11/raranga-matihiko-6-months-in.html" target="_blank">this previous post</a> contains some of my ideas). <b>Today I want to focus on where to from here.</b></div>
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I have long been thinking that the alignment of CT Progress Outcomes 1 and 2 against Curriculum Levels might be setting the bar a bit low (see also in <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/11/raranga-matihiko-6-months-in.html" target="_blank">this previous post</a>). I have seen plenty of examples now where young learners code their digital stories on Scratch though according to the curriculum document computerised contexts are only required for Progress Outcome 2 which is currently sitting at Curriculum Level 3 (many teachers would consider CL 3 as appropriate for year 5 & 6 students):</div>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA3g0ZymkxB1erLOsISybzI_WLuyisEc4l22vJpIcq-nYEjhKPUs7Xs1QUn4Sf7FynnOHm3Jm3ts_w7RZXW86mCgmP3B7sXzQBWtORCZqeQ-xvdCKEcjGlm4TWm69TIr7IbXM_wq1KpY/s640/Capture.JPG" /></div>
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Am I expecting too much too early? To be honest I am concerned we are packing too much into Curriculum Levels 3 - 5 when we could start at a younger age (the following is an <a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology/Progress-outcomes#collapsible1" target="_blank">excerpt from TKI</a>, my highlights for emphasis):<br />
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<b>Progress outcome 2</b>
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In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">give, follow and debug simple algorithms</span> in computerised and non-computerised contexts. They use these algorithms to <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">create simple programs involving outputs and sequencing</span> (putting instructions one after the other) in age-appropriate programming environments.</div>
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<b>Progress outcome 3</b><br />
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In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">decompose problems into step-by-step instructions to create algorithms for computer programs</span>. They use logical thinking to p<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">redict the behaviour of the programs</span>, and they <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">understand that there can be more than one algorithm for the same problem</span>. They <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">develop and debug simple programs that use inputs, outputs, sequence and iteration</span> (repeating part of the algorithm with a loop). They understand that digital devices <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">store data</span> using just two states represented by <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">binary</span> digits (bits).
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<b>Progress outcome 4 </b><br />
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In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">decompose problems to create simple algorithms using the three building blocks of programing: sequence, selection, and iteration</span>. They implement these algorithms by <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">creating programs that use inputs, outputs, sequence, basic selection using comparative operators, and iteration</span>. They <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">debug simple algorithms and programs</span> by identifying <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">when things go wrong with their instructions and correcting them</span>, and they are able to <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">explain why things went wrong and how they fixed them</span>.</div>
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Students understand that digital devices <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">represent data with binary digits</span> and <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">have ways of detecting errors in data storage and transmission</span>. They <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">evaluate the efficiency of algorithms, recognising that computers need to search and sort large amounts of data</span>. They also <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">evaluate user interfaces in relation to their efficiency and usability</span>.
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<b>Progress outcome 5</b><br />
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In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">independently decompose problems into algorithms</span>. They use these algorithms to <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">create programs with inputs, outputs, sequence, selection using comparative and logical operators and variables of different data types, and iteration</span>. They <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">determine when to use different types of control structures</span>.</div>
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Students <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">document their programs, using an organised approach for testing and debugging</span>. They <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">understand how computers store more complex types of data using binary digits</span>, and they <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">develop programs considering human-computer interaction (HCI) heuristics.</span></div>
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[You wouldn't believe how much debugging I went through to display this copied text in this format - Blogger didn't seem to like me today...]<br />
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In my opinion, we could start working towards Progress Outcome 2 from year 2 (6 year olds) onwards and spread out the required learning to meet Progress Outcomes 2 - 5.<br />
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<b>Where to start as a Junior teacher</b></h3>
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Firstly, <u>you need to understand what the revised curriculum content includes</u>. There are a number of helpful sites around, especially <a href="https://kiatakatu.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko</a>, I can also recommend Mindlab's <a href="https://www.digitalpassport.co.nz/" target="_blank">Digital Passport</a>. We have also collated useful information and resources on our new Raranga Matihiko website <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/">https://rarangamatihiko.com/</a>.</div>
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Talk to your colleagues in your kura or school and across your Kāhui Ako. Ministry funded PLD is available, check out the <a href="http://services.education.govt.nz/pld/dthm/" target="_blank">Ministry of Education sites</a> with information for your sector. If you are teaching at a Decile 1-3 school in Northland, Auckland, the Hawke's Bay or in Wellington, check out if our Raranga Matihiko programme is an option for you.</div>
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Next you need to get yourself <u>acquainted with coding</u> which I regard as another form of literacy. I personally really like the resources from <a href="https://code.org/">https://code.org/</a>, no cost involved, lots of useful activities, information and videos. Once you have worked yourself through the different levels of a pre-set programme, you can start branching out into more open, sand-box type environments like <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Scratch</a> (which now also supports te reo Māori).</div>
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From there move on to <u>how can you introduce coding into your classroom</u>? From my own experience as Y3 teacher, I first introduced my students to coding through <i>unplugged activities</i> - check out <a href="https://csunplugged.org/en/" target="_blank">CS Unplugged</a> for some great ideas. From there I set up my class in Code.org and that became one of our 'Can Do' activities. Once students have mastered the basics of this, show them how they can transfer these skills to a platform like <b>Scratch</b>. Don't make it too complex in the beginning, given them an opportunity to explore and then share with each other what they have come up with.</div>
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Using <i>coding as a digital story telling tool</i> makes it relevant (rather than <i>coding for the sake of coding</i>); students could use <b>Scratch</b> to retell (an aspect of) a story, make alternative endings, create new stories etc. Even with limited levels of literacy, students can learn to use suitable blocks as the most useful ones are usually at the top of a colour section:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HHyLoEGRWX-7xFJY3hNWG3X9rVsk5UaY7yAL_hs1_70IneFwowXdoLCUBsT49caxnhRgKYD2-K3EEmAPWW5I6k085tDSK2bIAtMsWaSJ26X-nLqXS0_d8zT5L_e-Io1vQBWoUyU_iLY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.01.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="304" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HHyLoEGRWX-7xFJY3hNWG3X9rVsk5UaY7yAL_hs1_70IneFwowXdoLCUBsT49caxnhRgKYD2-K3EEmAPWW5I6k085tDSK2bIAtMsWaSJ26X-nLqXS0_d8zT5L_e-Io1vQBWoUyU_iLY/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.01.38+PM.png" width="146" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjEi6jH6zLNMWByMjTjMZ-_819129AvmOC-3R4UwLkutghJxUZ7MGuM1QOr5kn0sw48EjoKkmHWgGxaVp2MELcrdveygUW_8bgWbz2pQJuywPOGTreySV6Q-K226p7jVHfJ1A22zwEPY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.03.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="292" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjEi6jH6zLNMWByMjTjMZ-_819129AvmOC-3R4UwLkutghJxUZ7MGuM1QOr5kn0sw48EjoKkmHWgGxaVp2MELcrdveygUW_8bgWbz2pQJuywPOGTreySV6Q-K226p7jVHfJ1A22zwEPY/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+12.03.07+PM.png" width="131" /></a><br />
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There are other platforms aimed at junior students which you might want to explore, such as Scratch Junior (available for Chromebooks, iOs and Android) but I feel restricted by limitations like not being able to upload my own backdrop or my own avatar which especially juniors love.<br />
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Have a look at these examples from our Raranga Matihiko programme in Waitangi where junior students shared their learning using Scratch; they created their own backdrop and uploaded it, inserted their own sprite and coded their digital story:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/311066252/?autostart=false" width="485"></iframe><br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="402" src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/embed/311072961/?autostart=false" width="485"></iframe></div>
(Looking at our collection of Scratch projects, I'm so proud of these children and their teachers, I think they did an amazing job!)<br />
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Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko will be taught in all schools from 2020, if you haven't started yet, hopefully this post can give you some ideas.<br />
<br />Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-74676656324263312352019-06-02T13:11:00.002+12:002019-06-02T13:11:52.362+12:00Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko: One year of delivering the Raranga Matihiko programme at Waitangi Treaty Grounds<div style="text-align: justify;">
We started delivering the Raranga Matihiko Weaving Digital Futures programme a year ago here at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. As to be expected, we have gone through a huge learning curve ourselves:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">What exactly does the Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko curriculum describe?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How do you put this into practice at different year levels and within the local curriculum of a school?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What does this look like in the Raranga Matihiko context?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How do we best support ākonga of all ages, teachers, students, parent helpers?</li>
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<u>DT HM curriculum content</u></div>
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I have previously blogged about the revised curriculum content (e.g. <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/06/getting-to-understand-digital.html" target="_blank">here</a>). A year into this programme, I am fairly confident with the concepts and with the Progress Outcomes up to the end of CL5 - keeping in mind I work in this area all day every day this is not really unexpected. For me DT HM is very much cross-curriculuar (see <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-cross-curricular-curriculum.html" target="_blank">previous blog post)</a>, I see it incorporate into all Learning Areas. Like with any specialisation, it takes time to become confident with it, and I am very pleased to see that our returning classes overall appear much more confident than they were a year ago. For teachers who have not had a chance to investigate DT HM, I encourage you to do so asap so you feel you are confident when this curriculum content will be fully implemented (from Jan 2020).</div>
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<u>Local curriculum and DT HM</u></div>
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There has been a lot of mention of 'local curriculum' in my world lately; where we would have used the phrase 'localised curriculum' in the past, it seems to now have been replaced by 'local curriculum'. I find this <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/168040/1241572/file/Local%20Curriculum.pdf" target="_blank">Leading Local Curriculum Guide</a> a really good resource to start thinking about it.</div>
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As a museum and historic site, we are part of the 'wider community' that can be a partner in schools' <i>learning-focused relationships</i> and help the schools provide <i>rich opportunities for learning.</i> As PLD Facilitators we should go beyond the mere understanding that we are a partner from the wider community but actively support schools as they develop the finer details of their local curriculum. While our PLD aspect is within the DT HM realm, the concept for Raranga Matihiko has been designed from the outset to link to class inquiries with bespoke programmes, therefore it is part of our role to support schools in their local curriculum development, at least as far as our scope and our availability allows.</div>
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<u>DT HM in the Raranga Matihiko context</u></div>
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Our Raranga Matihiko vision states: <u style="font-style: italic;">Empowering ākonga/kaiako to think, challenge and create using authentic, integrated experiences.</u> Authenticity and integration includes the setting of the individual partner museum and the facilitators working at that setting, so just like no two programmes are identical, the programmes across the museum sites differ also. At Waitangi, we tend to focus on <i>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes</i> in the first year, and on <i>Computational Thinking</i> (supported by DDDO) in the second year - not that you could completely separate the two strands anyway.</div>
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Our first year programmes tend to be collaborative projects now, generally Virtual Worlds, created and contributed to by all students in the class. This allows the students to use a range of different apps and programmes to create images and objects to tell their learning, and they get to combine all of these in a digital world using Tiltbrush via HTC Vive. They take snapshots and videos of the resulting world and use these to share their learning with their audience. While, and partly because, few schools would have access to their own VR setup, students get an opportunity to work in VR during the programme with us. Over time we have made it clearer to teachers how the skills learnt through Raranga Matihiko transfer even without access to the same tools (and some schools have decided to invest in tools and / or devices they found useful through their experience with us).</div>
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Our second year programmes use the DDDO skills the students have gained and incorporate them into coding projects, generally within Scratch as this platform is free, available to access from any device, provides a true sandbox approach and is available in te reo Māori. So far we have mainly been using Scratch as a tool for Digital Storytelling, but as our students get more confident, the complexity of their code has increased a lot.</div>
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As a reflection of what we have seen children being capable of, I am very confident that over time some of the CT Progress Outcomes will shift downwards in the their alignment against Curriculum Levels.</div>
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<u>Support for teachers, students, parent helpers</u></div>
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Much of our support happens face-to-face, during the time we spend with the classes. Travel time can be a real barrier, and while we try to make the most of any and all time we have with students, we know that we can get better results when we have more time together. Our online support has been more sporadic, on an as-required basis, but now that our website is up and running, this will help immensely: <a href="https://rarangamatihiko.com/">https://rarangamatihiko.com/</a></div>
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We also had some other challenges to manage, like to how to balance individual workload, resourcing requirements (classroom bookings, car availability, additional equipment, covering for absent staff etc.) and the contractual requirements. One of the intended yet still surprising benefits has been the connections we have built with the extended team across the North Island; Museum Education can be a lonely field within many smaller, regional museums, and it's been great to break down the barriers and make online and face-to-face connections.</div>
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So one year in, I think this is probably one of the most enjoyable PLD programmes I have ever been involved in, and from what our evaluation report has shown at the end of 2018 it seems to meet all expectations. If you are interesting in supporting learning at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, check out our current vacancies <a href="https://www.trademe.co.nz/jobs/listings/members/2170698807.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-3962039546746284862019-03-03T12:33:00.000+13:002019-03-03T12:33:29.806+13:00Teacher Professional Learning and Development [BES] and my Raranga Matihiko facilitation<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Golden_circle.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="794" height="198" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Golden_circle.png" width="200" /></a>I felt the need to re-read <a href="https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515/15341" target="_blank">Teacher Professional Learning and Development</a> to ensure that my understanding of effective professional learning and my practice as Raranga Matihiko facilitator are on the same page. Integrating with this my trusted Golden Circle approach, I need to start with the <i>Vision: Why are we doing this?</i>, followed by the <i>How are we doing this?</i>, and finally<i> What are we doing?</i></div>
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My personal professional vision has long been <i>to provide the learners in Northland, despite their geographical isolation, their socio-economic background and any other 'challenges', with the best learning opportunities, on par with - or even beyond - what their city peers experience.</i> 'Learners' of any age, students and teachers and school leaders and whānau etc. In the Raranga Matihiko context we are providing a PLD programme to a teacher and their class, supporting them to become <i>experts </i>and share their learning with others in their school and community. I have often thought of the impacting on one person, or a group of people, who then have an impact on others like the ripple effect on the water: You drop a pebble onto the water, and the rings spread out from there; so our Raranga Matihiko programme becomes the pebble, and their sharing of expertise is like the ripples. We want to be one of the factors that allow those ripples to travel further.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2m91_Hoz0qcz2yzr6x5DAYqjbr1nEdI3OCHzJW-WuncfCKsgkS1G523wnPz1s2Bj5_8Ql1sq35cGt4MM3npocnSg05PQr2w-BK48-1H6tGym2Vzjh8MWukKAV3PLHopRnVzjp-D_ln8/s1600/RM+Globe+element-knocked+out.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="543" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2m91_Hoz0qcz2yzr6x5DAYqjbr1nEdI3OCHzJW-WuncfCKsgkS1G523wnPz1s2Bj5_8Ql1sq35cGt4MM3npocnSg05PQr2w-BK48-1H6tGym2Vzjh8MWukKAV3PLHopRnVzjp-D_ln8/s200/RM+Globe+element-knocked+out.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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My explicit vision for Raranga Matihiko is <i>to support teachers (and school leaders) to provide effective and integrated learning opportunities to their learners which allow them to develop their competence in regards to Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko. </i>We go about this by <i>providing teachers from selected schools with information about the added DT HM content, show them how to integrate this with other learning area and model learning experiences with them & their learners, utilising the collections at Waitangi as well as the digital technology available within our Raranga Matihiko lab. </i>[Thanks to that German upbringing I can construct rather complex sentences lol].</div>
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<b>How does the way we facilitate our programme fit with effective PLD as synthesised by Timperley, Wilson, Barrer & Fung 2007?</b> </div>
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Most of the following quotes are from <i>11.3 bringing it all together, </i>chapters for other quotes as indicated.</div>
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The authors note: "In the few studies that provided evidence of sustained, substantive students outcomes, we found that the professional development had <u>equipped teachers with a strong theoretical base</u> that served as a tool to make principled changes to practice..." (my emphasis). We encourage our teachers to attend our Teacher Planning Day (and we try to make attending easier by the programme paying for their teacher release if required). During that day we go over the new DT HM curriculum content in quite some detail, and we encourage teachers to do a similar activity with their colleagues back at school. Teachers who can't attend that day are invited to come on a different day, observe a class in the lab at Waitangi and then stay on after that class finishes to go through a condensed version of the TPD incl. collaborate programme planning. All teachers are provided with a copy of the new DT HM content via the shared Google Drive. During the work with the class I try to make a point to refer back to the curriculum content in conversation with the teacher, point out where students are demonstrating their competence regarding an aspect of a Progress Outcome and / or how the teacher might want to build on this in class.</div>
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Further on, the authors write: "The most successful interventions allowed teachers considerable <u>autonomy to develop teaching programmes within the constraints of agreed theories and possible solutions</u>" (my emphasis). We invite the teachers to fully co-construct their class' Raranga Matihiko programme with us, but the reality is that while they provide us with their inquiry project and desired learning outcomes, it is mainly us facilitators who come up with the final programme, keeping in mind not only our DT expert knowledge but also our understanding of other constraints like time, number of devices available etc. - and so far all teacher seem to have been happy with that. The programmes teachers implement in their classrooms from there are fully under the discretion of the teacher. If we had more time available, I would love to open up the planning of the RM sessions to more input from the teacher and would like to support the teachers more with the implementation in their classrooms.</div>
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I completely agree with this statement in the final conclusions: "Ongoing engagement of this kind requires a <u>purpose</u>" (my emphasis) - in fact I believe that any worthwhile learning needs some purpose, leading to some sort of outcome. Timperley et. al. <i>3.1 Determining student outcomes</i> talk about "...academic, social, personal or performance outcomes". For me, the purpose of professional learning might be to influence students' academic, social, personal or performance. Beyond that, we have anecdotally noted an very high level of student engagement in our Raranga Matihiko classes, and increased engagement often supports other desired outcomes. In my opinion, the fact that DT HM is compulsory to be taught in NZ schools from 2020 is not enough of a purpose in itself, the teachers need to see <u>how the inclusion of this new content will benefit students.</u></div>
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The biggest challenge for myself as facilitator is provided by the following statement (final paragraph of <i>11.3 Brining it all together)</i>: "A key finding of the synthesis has been that teachers need to have <u>time and opportunity to engage with key ideas and integrate those ideas into a coherent theory of practice</u>" (my emphasis). Teachers (and RM facilitators...) are notoriously time poor; however, by this PLD programme running concurrently with the teacher and the students, integrating with their regular inquiry project, I hope it is less of an add-on and therefore allows the teacher the time to engage with the ideas. By modelling in context with their students while the teacher observes and supports the RM facilitators, we try to show the integration of the new learning (integrating the new curriculum content with other learning), hoping to make it easier for teachers to implement this into practice back in the classroom.</div>
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<b>There are some areas I don't feel my practice measures up yet:</b></div>
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<u>Learning as Inquiry</u></div>
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Timperley et. al. talk about "... professional, self-regulated learning. [...] self-regulated learners can answer three questions: 'Where am I going?', 'How am I going?', and 'Where to next?'" as the conditions evidenced in studies of Professional Learning that led to sustained, substantive student outcomes. For me this sounds like <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Teaching-as-inquiry" target="_blank">Teaching as Inquiry</a>, a vital part of professional practice for many NZ educators. I particularly like this spiral interpretation of the process by Timperley, Kaser & Halbert 2014:</div>
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I don't think that I have talked with teachers enough yet how their participating in the Raranga Matihiko programme fits with their professional inquiry, or how it could be part of a professional inquiry. I need to reflect more on how I can facilitate such conversations.</div>
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<u>Where to next?</u></div>
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Directly taken from above quote, I have been worried about not providing teachers with enough guidance myself about the 'where to next'. However, in reflection I have come to the conclusion, it is not about <i>me</i> giving them with the <i>where to</i>, it is about directing them to places where they can learn about the 'where to next', such as <a href="https://kiatakatu.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko</a> etc. As per my previous post, I still somewhat mourn the loss of a commonly-used and central online platform dedicated to learning and teaching around digital technology. We are still working on providing some sort of online platform/resource that can support teachers with their journey.</div>
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<u>School Leaders</u></div>
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"Leaders had an active role to play in re-culturing their school so that they became evidence- informed"; while I have met some of the principals on the class visit to Waitangi or during our school visits, I have not had an in-depth conversation with most of them. Can I assume that they are behind and driving the integrated learning we are promoting with Raranga Matihiko? Again, more reflection on my part required...</div>
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<a name='more'></a>There is much more in this synthesis, about student learning, how to assess effectiveness etc. but for now the sunshine calls - expect another post around this in the future...<br />
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-26428823402960626772019-02-17T10:55:00.000+13:002019-02-17T10:59:12.395+13:00Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko - are we there yet, and how will we get there?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes it can be a challenge to swap different hats; there is my hat as Raranga Matihiko facilitator, funded to provide PLD under Digital Technology Equity for All; there is my hat as former / not currently active Digital Fluency Facilitator; yet another hat wanting to make sure our young people (especially the one in my local rohe, Te Tai Tokerau) receive the best possible education to be set up for a successful, fulfilled, happy life - and then there is a few others. This is post is to gather my thoughts, to put out there what I know, to ask questions of others.<br />
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PS: Having just read the post over to the end, it might show my ignorance of what is going on, my lack of time to go deeper but hopefully also the passion I have for getting this right; but <i>if I don't know and don't have enough time, how many of our local teachers do???</i><br />
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We are a couple of weeks into our second year of the Raranga Matihiko programme. I am very happy with the programme we are running, I feel we are facilitating lots of innovative learning with the enrolled class in our rōhe. We continue to run our programme for classes in their first year with us mainly within <i>Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes (DDDO)</i>, with a preference for one collaborative project across the class, combing a range of tools with the final product often housed within Tiltbrush. For schools in the second year of the programme we focus on <i>Computational Thinking (CT)</i>, and given that many of our schools currently focus on <i>Whanaungatanga</i>, over the last week we had several classes beginning to code their pepeha within Scratch: They design a suitable backdrop (using tools such as Paint 3D), they design their Sprite (e.g. within Paint 3D decorate a 3D person and save as image with transparent background), and then they code within Scratch their person moving around the backdrop and sharing their pepeha. This idea could be applied across a range of topics and using a number of suitable coding programmes (see Progress Outcome 2 "... in age-appropriate programming environments.")</div>
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I think it is time to look at the bigger picture; I absolutely believe that skills and knowledge gained from learning with in DT HM are vital for our young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. We are now less than a year off from it being compulsory for NZ schools to teach the additional DT content that's been added to the NZC [Note: I am only referring the the NZC as I am not yet confident enough in my knowledge of TMoA to comment on HM within that context]. <i>Where does it all fit in? What is it all about? And who is going to teach it...</i><br />
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Mark Grams from MoE gave a presentation at our recent Raranga Matihiko Hui; he reassured me that we are still talking about <b>e-Learning</b> (under effective Pedagogy in the NZC) as well as <b>Digital Fluency</b> as well as <b>DT HM</b>. [I just realised that I have been a Blended <u>e-Learning</u> Facilitator, then I became an accredited Facilitator for <u>Digital Fluency</u>, and now I deliver PLD for <u>DT HM</u> - I'm still pondering if that makes me feel good or simply old lol]. There are a number of initiatives out there schools and individual teachers can access to up-skill themselves - I came across this post by Arnika MacPhail on LinkedIn the other day:<br />
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I feel a bit out of touch with what is going on in the schools in my area <i>outside</i> the classes I work with - by their nature, these classes and their teachers are engaged with digital technologies (if they were not before, they certainly are while they are with us). <b>What is happening out there? Do schools understand what the curriculum addition contains? Do teachers have the confidence yet to engage with this content and incorporate it into their learning programmes?</b> Somehow I am reminded of the introduction of 'the new curriculum' in the late 1990s and the introduction of Key Competencies incl. <i>Using language, symbols and text</i>. When I think of how I had a teacher calling it 'the new curriculum' (in quite an off-handish way) less than 5 years ago, I wonder how long will it take us to fully integrate this new content into learning programmes? There have been so many changes for teachers in the last few years, many will feel there is <i>yet another thing added to their workload</i>. <b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">How can we as the education community of Aotearoa New Zealand and how can the Ministry of Education / the government ensure that our learners are getting the best learning in this as in all other areas of NZC to set them up for their successful future?</b> I want to look at a few options here and ask questions about others.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYktfwn7JOgIhdfiwJsofIYykeSZNo1IDZPWZSrdj0ZtCytLx02lFg9DQIQ3KT7Bw2P4iedzxezK6MwvwqqnhAomCKJ56e9-ZuMIzBVCHo6mVJR3sIMd90ITem8oii7WA8I5Lf0AuslWI/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1102" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYktfwn7JOgIhdfiwJsofIYykeSZNo1IDZPWZSrdj0ZtCytLx02lFg9DQIQ3KT7Bw2P4iedzxezK6MwvwqqnhAomCKJ56e9-ZuMIzBVCHo6mVJR3sIMd90ITem8oii7WA8I5Lf0AuslWI/s200/Capture.JPG" width="200" /></a><u><b>Raranga Matihiko (shameless self-advertising)</b></u><br />
The Digital Technology Equity of All fund we operate under focuses on Decile 1-3 schools and on Kura Kaupapa Māori. I absolutely love that we are able to work not just with teachers but also with their students; 31 pairs of eyes see more and 31 heads remember more, than one set of eyes and one head (one of the reasons why in my past roles as facilitator I would go into classrooms and model). Within Raranga Matihiko there is a strong drive to apply DT in an inquiry context the school has chosen, so we try to make it as relevant to the learning in the classroom as possible. The challenge is that we only work with normally one class per school who are then expected to spread their learning through the school. I am wondering if that is enough to make it sustainable, especially when we look at high rates of itinerancy amongst the students, or at larger schools, or at schools covering a wide age range. Another challenge is that so far our programme is only available in four regions of the Northland Island, though it would be relatively easy to scale it up if there was enough funding. In addition, the parameters around facilitating the programme make the workload very intense for facilitators. My dream would be that we could offer this learning to more classes within each eligible school, that we could offer it to more schools within our respective rohe, that Raranga Matihiko could also be offered in other regions and that we could review facilitator workload.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/44313045@N08/8706485644" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<u><b>Centrally funded / Nationally focussed PLD</b></u><br />
MoE funded PLD like what we used to provide under the Te Toi Tupu consortium used to be one answer; has nationally focused PLD taking this place? While I am still an accredited facilitator, I am not currently associated to a provider and I have not done any PLD work under this scheme so far. Are all schools able to access this kind of PLD if and when they request it? Are there sufficient providers available, and can they work with schools on an ongoing basis?<br />
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<u><b>Online PD</b></u><br />
I love Online PD but I know not everyone is like this. From my experience engaging with online PD around Digital Technology often, but not always relates to how ready a teacher is to integrate digital learning effectively into their practice (in a country like New Zealand with a relatively small population over a large geographical area, Online PD can be an important way to access professional learning). There are a number of different frameworks describing technology integration & readiness, such as the SAMR model by Rueben Peuntedura (find some of <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/search/label/SAMR" target="_blank">my SAMR posts here)</a>, RAT (and here are <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/search/label/RAT" target="_blank">two of my RAT posts</a>), the <a href="https://eduwells.com/2014/04/30/moving-the-un-moveable-teacher/" target="_blank">Pencil Metaphor</a> by Richard Wells, etc. I'm borrowing loosely from a framework Tara Fagan introduced me to with the following four stages:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Not knowing you don't know</li>
<li>Knowing you don't know and seeking out learning</li>
<li>Knowing you know something and applying it in your practice</li>
<li>Having gained mastery and naturally integrating into your practice</li>
</ol>
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Looking at online learning, many teachers at stages 3&4 will use Online PD if it meets their needs. Teachers at Stage 2 might also explore online learning, and they benefit from being steered in the right direction just as much as Stages 3 & 4. From my experience teachers at Stage 1 are unlikely to look at Online Learning without support, and given they often have limited digital fluency skills, they might struggle with Online PD unless they have effective guidance.<br />
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<a href="https://kiatakatu.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko</a> is a very useful site with lots of information. I have dipped in and out a few times (but not been able to dedicate a decent chunk of time in one go to explore it all), and we were lucky to have some of their facilitators host a workshop at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds a few weeks back. I have the feeling this could be useful way to engage teachers at stages 2-4 into professional learning; however, I understand that an in-school leader is very important, and I'm wondering how this fits with the ongoing struggles with workload for teachers.<br />
I have explored the <a href="https://www.digitalpassport.co.nz/login?returnUrl=%2Fprofile%3FreturnUrl%3D%252Fworkshop%252F1%252Fquiz-1" target="_blank">Digital Passport</a> by MindLab in a similar superficial way (again for lack of time), again it looks very relevant and useful. I can't remember if there was any opportunity for f2f PD with their facilitators beyond the tertiary Certificates and Master degrees they offer (these programmes are very worthwhile for teachers at stages 3&4, maybe also stage 2?).<br />
In the past I used the <a href="http://www.vln.school.nz/" target="_blank">Virtual Learning Network</a> as a place to find resources, connect with other teachers & educators, ask & answer questions around e-Learning and Digital Fluency. I miss it humming and buzzing along; yes, the platform was a bit clumsy and maybe outdated by now, but there were <b>loads</b> of teachers and facilitators supporting each other in their practice. There have been a few other platforms set up since, but none of them seem to be taking off in a similar way (see "<a href="https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/656480/n4l-education-social-network-pond-dries-up/" target="_blank">N4L's education social network Pond dries up</a>"). While the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1390088457960727/1408669829435923/" target="_blank">NZ Primary Teacher FB page</a> has more than 34,500 members, I have not felt it is meeting my needs, so I have stopped visiting it (a timeline versus organised discussion threads in sorted into topics is not helpful for me to find an answer easily to my question - and too many times I saw posts like "I have to teach [such and such] tomorrow, who can give me their unit" with too little thought/time given to personalising learning for the people in their classroom; rant over).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/44313045@N08/8706485644" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<u><b>Kahui Ako / Communities of Learning</b></u><br />
What is the status of these? I have never been part of a formal <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/further-education/communities-of-learning-kahui-ako-information-for-postsecondary-education-and-training-providers/" target="_blank">Kāhui Ako</a>. Are they the same / different from the old LCNs? How do they fit in with other groupings like Manaiakalani Clusters? Where does PD overlap between all these different groups and entities? And talking about overlap, is there a way to provide an opportunity to communicate between different providers to make sure we work within our strengths, fill any gaps and therefore <b>provide local learners and teachers with the best possible support to enhance the learning programmes in their classrooms?</b><br />
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-788710046312431392019-01-15T11:38:00.001+13:002019-01-15T11:38:42.894+13:00"Congrats on your work anniversay" - a navel gazing post...<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
"Congrats on your work anniversay" - a navel gazing post about the last two years and a look ahead at 2019</h3>
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Linkedin must have decided to announce my work anniversary because I had a few messages and likes in my Linkedin notifications this morning (not that I use Linkedin much). My two year anniversary with the Treaty Grounds is coming up next week. If you looked at my CV, you would note that there is only one job I have held for longer than 2 years. I'm a bit of a wanderer, I seem to get bored easily; the first year in a new job is all about learning, about mastering challenges, and in the second year I get comfortable, to the point of boredom, and then I seem to move on. Pretty stupid really, because going through a first year again and again sounds much more fun than it often is! So what have I achieved over the last two years?</div>
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When I started here, there was no exisiting staff member in Team Education, in fact during 2015 there had been several staff changes in the team, so no one was really able to induct. I started on the same day as a teacher who I had met before, and together we learnt to swim rather than sink. We learnt the required content with the help of colleagues, such as our guides and especially our Curatorial Manager who we share an office with. We dealt with bookings that were made before our time, often on top of each other, at times triple-booking us two. We learnt what we could cope with and what not. We learnt about the Health and Safety at Work Act, about minimising and / or eliminating hazards. For the first few weeks, every Monday morning at Staff Meeting other staff and the boss seemed relieved that Team Education had not thrown in the towel lol, and over time we seem to earn respect of visiting teachers as well as those members of the public (and even some colleagues) who weren't sure if a group of children or teenagers really ought to be here or really needed a staff member to look after them.</div>
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We had gotten through our first term, had gotten to May, felt much more confident and comfortable when we went on a trip to Wellington and Auckland to see the actual Treaty documents and how 'Museum Education' was done elsewhere - and then we threw out the rule book and started from scratch. Without a ME background, and without induction from an experienced Museum Educator, my idea of what education at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds should be is heavily influenced by <i>Future Focussed Teaching and Learning </i>and by what I know about <i>good pedagogy</i>. Thankfully my colleague just rolled with it while we worked out what it would look like, personalising every visit from a school, creating a connection between visitors and Waitangi, adding practical activities that result in a take-away, something that the visiting classes or individual students could take away with them etc. At the same time in collaboration with our H&S Manager I tidied up our RAM forms, edited our H&S plan, wrote an Education Vision, created Annual Plans, wrote Milestone Reports to the Ministry of Education etc. etc.</div>
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Education is in the Statements of Intent for the Waitangi National Trust (in fact the first of several SoI), and our CEO is very supportive of the work we do, so for FY 2017/2018 I was approved budget to get a third teacher in the team. Rob was awesome but he had other places to be, so ended up moving to an AP position - well deserved, and from his messages he is very happy there. At the beginning of 2018 we had a new teacher join the team; she slotted right in as a trained teacher and with experience from a different role at the Treaty Grounds. In the meantime we had started offering Virtual Visits to Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi, we are now working with international student groups as well as our domestic students and we offer Holiday Programmes (usually during the second week of the school holidays) which are well frequented by local families and visitors with children from further afield - work life is busy!</div>
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We have a strong connection with Te Papa Tongarewa through our CEO and through me to Tara Fagan and their Ed Team, so in 2018 we ended up joining with Te Papa, Auckland War Memorial Museum and MTG Hawkes Bay into the Raranga Matihiko Programme, a PLD programme funded by the Ministry of Education to support the implementation of the Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko Programme. This is 'right up my alley' with my previous experience in Teacher PLD and with my passion for transforming learning with the help of digital technology. For many years I had said that our rural students who are away from many things city kids take for granted deserve to have the best possible teaching and learning to make up for that - and here is my chance again to help make it happen :) After the changes to the PLD system I felt the sector was getting diluted, lots of commercial competition for PLD work with schools, facilitators pitched against facilitators, something I hadn't been used to in my previous facilitation role under the Te Toi Tupu Consortium. While I had toyed with the idea of going back into PLD work, the opportunity hadn't arisen until now. I have written about the work we do in Raranga Matihiko in <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.com/search/label/Raranga%20Matihiko" target="_blank">previous posts</a>. I <b>love</b> the work, but it is <b>hard work</b>. It is long hours, little time to do anything else - and as I continue my role as Education Manager at the same time as being a full-time facilitator for Raranga Matihiko, I feel like I'm always running to catch up. On top of my other work, I am also responsible for our Waitangi Day Speech Competition, and I oversee the administration of the Bay of Islands Education Network.</div>
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As part of the Raranga Matihiko contract we have employed a fourth teacher - she is equally amazing as the other two <3 - and to help out with the ever increasing demand we have been approved funding for a part-time Education Administrator as well as a relieving teacher - Team Education rocks! In addition to our exisiting work, we have started working with an increasing number of professionals (mainly from education and social work related professions) both face-to-face and online. We had both a LEOTC and a RM evaluation during Term 4 and both of them were very positive. </div>
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So just like in previous jobs, my first year was all about learning, about mastering challenges, and my second year was like that again when we started RM. Given the long hours I put in, the stress I felt, I had been tempted to apply for a facilitation job that was advertised before the holidays. Sometimes I lose sight of what I have achieved with the help of my team and the support of my boss; in the end I felt there was too much at stake that I had built up - and leaving a permanent job for a fixed-term one didn't sound like a good idea either. Unlike in my previous roles, it's not boredom that led me contemplate a change but stress, the feeling I can't do it all and well, the worry I might not be able to meet my own expectations and the expectations of others. I also felt there would need to be some sort of succession plan in place to ensure that not all is lost, that what I have built up continues - though some people would tell me this is stupid, it is not mine to decide what happens in a work place when I leave it.</div>
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In an ideal world I could just employ another facilitator to take my role in RM and I could do my Ed Manager job as well as relief within my team where required; however, even if my budget could afford this, there are quite likely other departments that look with envy at the growth we have gone through and they might have more pressing needs. The options at the moment seem to drop quality or even a contract - and I'm too stubborn to do either of that (I contemplated using the word strong-willed, but stubborn is probably more fitting) - or to just get on with it. However, I have realised that I won't be able to continue doing everything and do it well forever. I have taken 4 weeks annual leave over the summer, turned off my phone and my emails and it felt good! However, this week, my fourth week, that uneasy feeling is starting to creep in again, the things I ought to be doing... There are a few coding sites I want to check out for RM, and I want to renew my Google Facilitator accreditation simply for myself...</div>
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So as I am getting my head around going back to work next week, I'm trying to think of things to put in place to minimise stress:</div>
<ul>
<li>I have already been delegating tasks to my team members.</li>
<li>I have a proposal to take to management about training one of my other teachers for RM.</li>
<li>Our RM plan for schools in their second year is more streamlined than the plans for first year schools (though still personalised to their topic), cutting down on preparation time.</li>
<li>I have cancelled my gym membership as getting up a ridiculous o'clock to go to the gym was adding to my stress.</li>
<li>How can I manage my work hours differently: If work doesn't fit into 40 hours, rather than staying an hour or two every night, can I just make it one late night a week? Or could I come in earlier (my teenagers are not up early anyway)?</li>
<li>Taking a break: I plan to take the July holidays off again to recharge batteries.</li>
</ul>
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On a different note, Museums Aotearoa 2019 here I come, two of the proposals to present have been accepted, and I am looking forward to seeing what this conference has to offer. I also want to go to the Social Studies Conference in Auckland in the October holidays, and maybe to Ulearn19 in Rotorua. I think I have things to share, but I am really looking forward to learning from others, to be challenged and to grow. After all I have another 20 years or so to retirement, a long time to go still...</div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-24498775220626351302018-11-17T20:20:00.001+13:002018-11-17T21:40:38.711+13:00Raranga Matihiko 6 months in: Is there a 'too old' to start creating
with DTs?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0QqpATYXFQ7x3BvpiTSceECzV2Tqs5XdBdDOVfBAvTdjqwZVoWmL0A8hvgs8B-85ANMY3b9qdejh3O5BfJJS22b6bn7BFsPJU25HeyyEucaHqQ5qbtt6rmHZe9MnWbmrfUW1a2QJm50/s1600/Raranga+Matihiko+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0QqpATYXFQ7x3BvpiTSceECzV2Tqs5XdBdDOVfBAvTdjqwZVoWmL0A8hvgs8B-85ANMY3b9qdejh3O5BfJJS22b6bn7BFsPJU25HeyyEucaHqQ5qbtt6rmHZe9MnWbmrfUW1a2QJm50/s320/Raranga+Matihiko+Logo.jpg" width="320"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br style="text-align: justify;"></span><div style="text-align: start;"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank" style="text-align: justify;">Raranga Matihiko</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> has been running for 6 months now here at Waitangi. It's one of these things where time just flies. I look back and can't help but think 'wow, what a ride'! There are a lot of different ideas swirling around in my head at the moment; I have decided to spread them out across a few blog posts to keep clarity in my own head and hopefully for any readers.</span></span></font></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">__________________________________________________________________</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div>Further to my last post where I came to the conclusion that it's never to early to start using DTs for creating and for sharing your learning, I want to give some serious thought to an upper cutoff age. While I am an advocate for lifelong learning, does there come a time when it's too late, no longer worthwhile?</div><div><br></div><div>My own children have had differing experiences with DT use during their schooling; the eldest, first year uni in a Software Engineering degree, has taken his laptop to high school in years 11-13, mainly for his illegible handwriting (he had SAC). He experienced some more innovative use of DTs when in Y12 English all work went through OneNote, but from what I have seen, most of his experience would have been at Substitution-Augmentation level. The middle child had one year of compulsory BYOD at a high school which aimed for Modification level, years 9-11 have seen him bring a Chromebook to school and activities mainly at Augmentation level. The youngest had one year at a Manaiakalani primary school, Modification+ level (first year MK for that school), in his 3 years at high school he has chosen not to take a device to school instead he relies on the school-supplied devices (he is the only of our children who is not taking DCT beyond year 9). To me the activities appear at Augmentation level.</div><div><br></div><div>My boys go to a well-reputed local high school, I know that the school has spent a lot of time, effort and money on improving teacher confidence & competence and the school network, and while some teachers do some fantastic work incorporating DT use into learning, what I see appears to be on average at Augmentation level. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places? Yet I am from this field, so if I don't see it, who can see it then?! To date the school has not chosen to make BYOD compulsory; is this the reason for the way DTs are used in many classes? What is the point for primary schools to operate at Modification - Redefinition level, when high schools go back to Substitution - Augmentation??? [Please don't misunderstand me, my boys are getting a good education at their school, but I wish there was a chance they would use DTs more innovatively].</div><div><br></div><div>I could imagine that some primary schools might want to focus on their younger or middle learners with technology adoption. Surely that way their students will have the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge for several years, even if their future schools don't use DTs to the same level. What about the older children missing out? </div><div><br></div><div>We had a discussion in the news media over the last week about a primary school cancelling their prizegiving for what sounded like very valid reasons; some of the arguments against were that students had to get used to it in preparation for high school. This so reminds me of the arguments against computer use at upper primary / lower secondary school, "students have to learn to hand write for 3h for their NCEA exams"...</div><div>Arguments like that really get to me, it is as if high schools were these unmovable institutions that everything and everyone else would need to fit in witn and fit around. When I work with Y13 students (in my other role), I often try to get them to derstand that when they leave school, they don't just join society, they shape society with their actions and decisions. High school can and do change, too!</div><div><br></div><div>If it was up to me, students would start using DTs to create knowledge and to share their learning from ECE onwards, in age appropriate doses. I think an 'upper age limit' is set when there is a lack of innovation in our teaching and assessment practises. Lack of time, hige workloads, lack of suitable PD all contribute to this, quite likely also a fear to let students down with a yet unproven learning and /or assessment approach - and sometimes a lack of understanding <i>why</i> such a change is needed. That upper age limit can also be caused by a lack of communication, lack of knowledge, by assumptions about what happens in regards to DT use at the next school.</div><div><br></div><div>If my conclusion is that there is no cutoff, that it's never to late to get started: What do we need to make this happen?</div><div><br></div><div>* With the inclusion of Digital Technologies | Hangarau Matihiko into our national curricula, there are many high quality PLD programmes available to teachers. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Start by checking out the information on this Ministry of Education website: </span><a href="http://services.education.govt.nz/pld/dthm/digital-technologies/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://services.education.govt.nz/pld/dthm/digital-technologies/</a></div><div>* Seek out your colleagues in your school, your Kahui Ako, your subject association, online communities etc. Just like I think it's never too late for students to start using DTs for creating knowledge and sharing learning, it's never to late to learn for us as teachers.</div><div>* If you haven't done so yet, make contact with your contributing schools or the schools your students move on to after they leave you. Try to establish commonalities and differences in pedagogy and approaches to learning.</div><div>* If these connections don't lead to common approaches, even if you feel your students will not continue with DT use at their next school at the same level as they do with you, there is no reason why you shouldn't have your students work with DTs to a high level; they might well persuade and encourage their future teachers & classmates.</div><div>* <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Financially many schools struggle to afford digital technology, and some schools are not prepared to make BYOD compulsory due to the financial burden on the parents and whānau. The Manaiakalani approach of providing affordable finance solutions has a lot of merit to me. Donations and grants are another avenue. I'm not sure on the status of initiatives like Computers in Homes, but they have done some very good work at one of my past schools.</span></div>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-4562354528441044332018-11-15T20:50:00.001+13:002018-11-15T21:57:07.665+13:00Raranga Matihiko 6 months in: What is the best age to start creating
with DTs?<div class="separator" style="text-align: start; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0QqpATYXFQ7x3BvpiTSceECzV2Tqs5XdBdDOVfBAvTdjqwZVoWmL0A8hvgs8B-85ANMY3b9qdejh3O5BfJJS22b6bn7BFsPJU25HeyyEucaHqQ5qbtt6rmHZe9MnWbmrfUW1a2QJm50/s1600/Raranga+Matihiko+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0QqpATYXFQ7x3BvpiTSceECzV2Tqs5XdBdDOVfBAvTdjqwZVoWmL0A8hvgs8B-85ANMY3b9qdejh3O5BfJJS22b6bn7BFsPJU25HeyyEucaHqQ5qbtt6rmHZe9MnWbmrfUW1a2QJm50/s320/Raranga+Matihiko+Logo.jpg" width="320"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: start; clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br style="text-align: justify;"></span><div style="text-align: start;"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank" style="text-align: justify;">Raranga Matihiko</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> has been running for 6 months now here at Waitangi. It's one of these things where time just flies. I look back and can't help but think 'wow, what a ride'! There are a lot of different ideas swirling around in my head at the moment; I have decided to spread them out across a few blog posts to keep clarity in my own head and hopefully for any readers.</span></span></font></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">__________________________________________________________________</span></div><div><br></div><div><b>What age is the best age to start creating with Digital Technologies?</b></div><div><br></div><div>We have been working with students between year 1 and year 8 over the last six months. The majority of classes participating have been year 5-8, during Term 4 we have for the first time worked with students as young as 5 years old. A conversation with a lovely Teacher Aide has prompted me to think about ages more deeply. I often get asked about what age students are best suited to enrol in Raranga Matihiko. <u>So what age is the best age to start creating with Digital Technologies?</u></div><div><br></div><div>One of the ideas behind Raranga Mathiko is to create a group of experts in the schools (students and teacher). The two year programme gives more face to face contact in year 1 than in year 2. In an ideal world you would get both the same students and the same teacher for both years (or at least the one or the other). If you want to work with the same students for both years, you might avoid picking this year's seniors. To ensure your experts are able to share their learning, you might choose students of a certain maturity / age, therefore selecting year 4/5 or year 6/7 makes a lot of sense in that regard.</div><div><br></div><div>You can take a different approach and start with the teacher - someone who has a high level of digital fluency and can take the RM ideas further, someone who is good at sharing their learning with colleagues, someone who can benefit from a boost to their digital fluency - or how about someone who is simply curious, keen to try something new? All of these are perfectly valid reasons for joining the Raranga Matihiko programme, and by default, whatever the age of their students, they will become the RM class.</div><div><br></div><div>There is no answer here yet... Sometimes it's a good idea to turn a question upside down: What age is too young (or too old???) to start creating with Digital Technologies?</div><div><br></div><div>I feel the word <i>creating</i> is key here. Young children are inherently creative, they can use anything in their environment to show their creativity. Digital Technology is just another tool for this. The Progress Outcomes in the Digtal Technology | Hangarau Matihiko curriculum scaffold learners from teacher-led activities (PO 1) to increased independence. This <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">can make using DTs both harder and easier for teachers of young learners: Harder, because students quite likely require more active guidance; easier, because the teacher has more control over the tools they use. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Admittedly, young learners might be less well equipped to actively teach other students around the school, but their example shared with thr others can inspire them ("if 5y olds can do this, I can"). With ongoing guidance these young learners can challenge their future teachers (and new classmates) to lift their digital fluency, too, they learn by necessity of having to keep up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Coming back to the original question: </font><u style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So what age is the best age to start creating with Digital Technologies?</u><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I don't believe there is a <i>best age</i>, rather that <i>any age is best</i>. This is not about abandoning creativity <u>outside</u> digital technology, this is not about spending hours in front of a screen every day. It's about realising that there is benefit in utilising digital technology for creativity, as one of many tools, in a methodical, scaffolded way, in order to give our students the opportunity to create and share knowledge and learning. Our challenge as RM facilitators is to work with students of any of these levels appropriately (e.g. some weeks we jump from year 2s to year 7s and back). The key is not the age of the students, it is about <i>knowing how to integrate</i> digital technologies with the rest of their learning.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Despite the challenges for us with switching between ages</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">, I am so thankful for the wide age range, it gives me hope that we will end up with a diverse, digitally fluent student & teacher population here in Northland which benefits our Tai Tokerau communities as a whole.</span></div>Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-10470945520556692662018-11-11T18:33:00.002+13:002018-11-11T18:33:29.952+13:00Raranga Matihiko 6 months in: Working with schools<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank">Raranga Matihiko</a> has been running for 6 months now here at Waitangi. It's one of these things where time just flies. I look back and can't help but think 'wow, what a ride'! There are a lot of different ideas swirling around in my head at the moment; I have decided to spread them out across a few blog posts to keep clarity in my own head and hopefully for any readers.<br />
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I <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/06/back-to.html" target="_blank">blogged about RM</a> back in June, before our first class was due to come in. So what has changed?</div>
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My current <i>elevator pitch</i> has slightly morphed into something like: "I work with teachers and students, and together we apply computational thinking and we create digital learning objects (DLOs) so that students can share their learning with others in their whānau, their community, Aotearoa / New Zealand and the world. Through this experience students and teachers pick up and share skills that are necessary for learners to be successful in the future, no matter what field they enter after they leave school."<br />
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You might see above that my most recent elevator pitch doesn't focus on museum content, because in Raranga Matihiko we try to build on whatever the class is already learning at school. Ideally (for us) the topic fits easily with what we have on display here at the <a href="https://www.waitangi.org.nz/" target="_blank">Waitangi Treaty Grounds</a>, but we have found many connections with less obvious topics like S<i>pace, Kauri Forests, Patterns, Story Telling, Forces </i>etc.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOHj0iLWzNnNvArFlP1Z1lVW3JGMDi8L-9JbDrnrgL016dSrtwqOvt61rN0PqwhtO-isBwJFBKurFpPAOIyC_a6dU_8xUTQ639MPmNnt7nS8DPwCGnUuBzprpOB_EHZXMExF0503dRhw/s1600/IMG_20181018_115025856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOHj0iLWzNnNvArFlP1Z1lVW3JGMDi8L-9JbDrnrgL016dSrtwqOvt61rN0PqwhtO-isBwJFBKurFpPAOIyC_a6dU_8xUTQ639MPmNnt7nS8DPwCGnUuBzprpOB_EHZXMExF0503dRhw/s320/IMG_20181018_115025856.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
Some people might find it surprising that at museum which ultimately is in the business of the past and 'old things', we use all this modern technology in our work with students. There is more to it, though: Museums are in quite a unique position to enhance the learning at school with their special artefacts and displays across a wide range of contexts. Looking at the six Future Focused Themes, museums can be very valuable partners in learning. To retain relevance in 21C, museums are looking at digital technology to help them engage young (and older) visitors. And thanks to the vision of Tara Fagan and her team at Te Papa, Raranga Matihiko has brought together a team of passionate facilitators who want combine the old and the new, while supporting the implementation of Digital Technology | Hangarau Matihiko. For me personally it's ultimately bringing together many aspects of previous roles: Supporting teachers by working with them <i>and</i> their students, using digital technology to effectively share <i>their </i>learning about things that matter to <i>them</i>, supported by the taonga and exhibitions here at Waitangi.<br />
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Over time we as RM facilitators have also developed our own understanding and skills further (see my previous post on <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/11/raranga-matihiko-6-months-in.html" target="_blank">Computational Thinking</a>). Sometimes trying to figure out how to make the children's ideas work is half the fun :) We work across platforms and OSs, and over the last six months here at Waitangi we have regularly used the following apps and programs with our RM classes:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="https://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/" target="_blank">SculptGL </a>(a digital sculpting web app): Allows you to sculpt, carve and paint 3D objects and add backgrounds to these objects. We often export objects as .obj to import them into Tiltbrush (VR) - though be warned, the mesh file does not transfer, so all SculptGL objects arrive in Tiltbrush in white. Note: We prefer to use the downloadable standalone version (available <a href="https://stephaneginier.com/archive/standalone/" target="_blank">here</a>) as it works best with the Surface Pro pens; when children experience success with this technology they are more likely to persevere even on a device where they need to use the mouse or a track pad for the sculpting.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/paint-3d/9nblggh5fv99?activetab=pivot:overviewtab" target="_blank">Paint 3D</a>: Many of us have used Windows Paint in days gone past, Paint 3D is taking this a completely new level. A Windows 10 application, it combines the good old painting functionality with 2D and 3D objects, stickers, textures a library of existing 3D models etc. The use of the Surface pens makes painting really easy for the children, but the coolest part in my eyes is the integration of Mixed Reality MR! Now if they could only add an 'export as .obj' option, that would make integration into Tiltbrush possible...</li>
<li><a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/" target="_blank">Tinkercad</a>: Creating 'regular' 3D objects is quite easy with Tinkercad. While it is officially a 13+ programme, we monitor use very carefully, and the only reason for the age restriction I can imagine is the option allowing you to send your file to a 3D printing company and / or the option to share a screenshot of your creation to Facebook. Again we export .obj files from here to Tiltbrush. I have a couple of wishes on my list for Tinkercad, I would like to be able to add a background image to a 3D creation, and while you can create projects (folders) within your account, I would like the creations to be only visible within these projects (we currently have more than 200 creations in our account, and trying to find anything in there is a nightmare).</li>
<li><a href="https://www.makewonder.com/dash/" target="_blank">Dash robots</a>: Most children love them, they look very cute and programming them is very easy via the <a href="https://www.makewonder.com/apps/blockly/" target="_blank">Blocky app</a>. We looked at some of the other compatible apps, but this one seems the most versatile for our purposes. While the app works on smartphones, the screen is rather small so you might struggle with a long algorithm. Every now and then I have run into issues with the program disappearing when another window opens on top, maybe someone can explain to me how to save a project in a way that you can return to it later to continue it?</li>
<li>My favourite app for Green Screening was and still is <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/green-screen-by-do-ink/id730091131?mt=8" target="_blank">Green Screen by Do Ink</a>, the best investment ever of NZD4.99. Even young children find it very easy to use this app. None of the other program we have experimented with come close regarding ease of use. I have gone away from videoing children within the app, sometimes I get better video quality just using the native camera app on the iPad (or another device), and then we just use the Do Ink app to put it all together.</li>
<li>Stopmotion animation: We started out with <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clapmotion/kbjecgaklokmkijdkgeepcnjmcdoajao?hl=en" target="_blank">Clapmotion</a>, a Chrome app, which I still like but you have to watch for it freezing. Also, the resulting stop motion clip saves as .ogv and then needs to be converted to .mp4 - doable when you are confident with technology, but a hassle if you are more reluctant / less confident. We have lately started using <a href="https://www.cateater.com/" target="_blank">Stop Motion Studio</a> which is available across several platforms and it looks promising.</li>
<li>Tiltbrush (VR): Most children love 'the VR', and Tiltbrush has become an important finishing tool in our kete. Depending on the topic and the paramenters given by the teacher, we can use it to combine objects and images created in different other programs into a finished product.</li>
<li>Occasionally we have also used Google Drawings, esp. when a school has Chromebooks for students, and sometimes we use <a href="http://partners.disney.com/hour-of-code" target="_blank">Moana from Hour of Code</a> in addition to Blockly and the Dash Robots.</li>
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While a lot of time is spent on Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes, every child gets to explore some form of coding during our Exploration (Tutu) Session; while they create their DLOs, they also apply a lot of Computational Thinking CT (see my <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/11/raranga-matihiko-6-months-in.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>). However, for the second year of the RM programme we plan to make CT the main focus.</div>
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I just had a quick look through our Google Drive for some of may favourite projects, and it's so cool to be reminded of the hard work the children put in there. Please remember that we have been working with 5 - 12 year olds, the older they are the more freedom they were given to complete the projects how they wanted to do them. Here are some examples, all of them videos sitting in our Google Drive, so please follow the links:</div>
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Stop Motion Animations:</div>
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<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KZpgel1pLadtd1QIfHqT1mGWDDYGICks/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">War</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g_YO43td9CyqUcBv2qdt56PdDJM4dBSF/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Bleeding Kauri Gum</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1--5Z73Wbbykdo_IjmlQ6S8iuoh60-iRn/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Whariki of values</a> (a teacher led activity involving all students of the class) </li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f1L1krL4UdKnUpuUUMwscFLrE4Rt_A5-/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Leaving your mark (tohu)</a> (a teacher led activity involving all students of the school)</li>
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Telling stories:</div>
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<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1acdVIAsFYNhYGYeOiIR_0L3cctXfA-JA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">In the Beginning</a> (combining Green Screen with student created backgrounds)</li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1crFM2JTI3Iqj1r2-shw8U7Meady8iONi/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">How Maui slowed the sun </a>(Mixed Reality video)</li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15R87JmOjykWEIfxmeY2egLBFzmaXHDta/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Kupe and the giant wheke</a> (combining robots and green screening)</li>
<li>Wooden Arms: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/10H3TVKfXcQ6f282WAmM01IwBOd3jTwEs/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Beginning</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/10rEmyNmHGjdluOirvpymW3_4gzYULXqQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Middle</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sb3C7TBkAhwgpXf6g9ZWPaUZiWy_2mIN/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">End</a> </li>
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Whole class projects:</div>
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<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KS3qI1XBDcoTll-p8DGb1bxRjj7ry7pq/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Patterns</a> (whakairo=carvings, kowhaiwhai paintings, tukutuku panels and waiata performance combined in VR)</li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SMSWbaUXoQAdnVB-LJP73E_bV5LMmrb7/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The legend of Moehuri</a> (Tinkercad creations, Paint 3D images, Tiltbrush drawing, SculptGL carvings, Google Drawings)</li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KjGYOaDw1blpwUAtzE9T-I-k1jSy3oJG/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Te Whare o Paparore</a> </li>
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There are plenty more examples, apologies to all our awesome creators whose work is not on the list above! </div>
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<u>So what's the point of all this?</u></div>
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<li>Students get away from Waitangi with a deeper level of learning, closely linked to what they have been learning at school.</li>
<li>They get opportunity to explore = tutu with new digital tools which they might not normally have access to.</li>
<li>They get to make decisions about how they will share their learning with their audience (which might be their school community, their whānau / family, the wider community, Aotearoa / New Zealand or the whole world), including using <i>the best tool for the purpose.</i></li>
<li>Teachers and students gain more confidence integrating digital tools in 'everyday learning'.</li>
<li>They become experts for the rest of the school to support the other students and teachers with integrating Digital Technology | Hangarau Matihiko into their learning.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphcsqxUWPrnAFb2NInWvX3LIQCXjsOsXE7_HIf55rT-d7PN0lt3sVoYhKv16fKrxGZuHBzZY_d9BfGOE7KbX5GouoNYFHEJNM1UU5yv6CUvroyZIJIjF0P7BaSFqlUe4HB4GPvh7RuR8/s1600/IMG_20181101_105850073_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphcsqxUWPrnAFb2NInWvX3LIQCXjsOsXE7_HIf55rT-d7PN0lt3sVoYhKv16fKrxGZuHBzZY_d9BfGOE7KbX5GouoNYFHEJNM1UU5yv6CUvroyZIJIjF0P7BaSFqlUe4HB4GPvh7RuR8/s320/IMG_20181101_105850073_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think I have the coolest job :) and we are making a difference - what more could anyone want?</div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-67215023176132768192018-11-11T13:40:00.000+13:002018-11-11T13:44:37.413+13:00Raranga Matihiko 6 months in: Computational Thinking<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank">Raranga Matihiko</a> has been running for 6 months now here at Waitangi. It's one of these things where time just flies. I look back and can't help but think 'wow, what a ride'! There are a lot of different ideas swirling around in my head at the moment; I have decided to spread them out across a few blog posts to keep clarity in my own head and hopefully for any readers.</div>
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I feel I now have a better understanding of Digital Technology | Hangarau Matihiko in the NZC. During Term 3 I had the opportunity to run a PLD session on <b>Computational Thinking (CT) </b>with local Manaiakalani Teachers, and in preparation for this I had a good look at the many examples <u>where aspects of <b>CT </b>are already applied in current classroom programmes (especially Progress Outcomes 1-3):</u></div>
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<li>For example in <u>Numeracy</u>, when we start teaching "double 2 is 4" and especially when we move to multiplication, <i>iteration</i> is applied (Progress Outcome 3).</li>
<li>In <u>Literacy</u>, when we look at word families such as "-ake" and we end up with words like "make, rake, lake, cake", or when we learn rules like adding a suffix to a word such as "hope -> hop<strike>e</strike>ing" and "hop -> hop<b>p</b>ing". Also in music where we expect that the chord progression I IV V will lead us back to the tonic I - or as simple as the prompts we give our children, e.g. to the teacher's chant "eyes on me" the students will respond "eyes on you". In all these cases we are using <i>prediction </i>(Progress Outcome 3).</li>
<li>Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey's Oral Language book (which I have sadly misplaced, it seems permanently...) has lots of examples of giving and receiving (non-computerised) instructions (Progress Outcomes 1 and 2).</li>
<li>We put steps into logical orders in many contexts, from sorting pictures or text into a logical sequence from ECE onwards to creating an art work to completing a science experiment (Progress Outcome 2). Depending on age, task or medium, different pathways to solutions are acceptable and appropriate (Progress Outcome 3).</li>
<li>Debugging can also happen in many contexts : A Kapa Haka routine (tītītorea, waiata-a-ringa, haka), tying shoe laces, mixing colours etc.</li>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">You might wonder, if we are already doing all this, is there anything missing at all? Why did we need </span><b style="text-align: justify;">CT</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> added to the NZC? IMHO, I think that for many teachers the connection between existing activities that use aspects of computational thinking and the application of </span><b style="text-align: justify;">CT</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> in the world on computer science, programming, software engineering etc. is not clear yet, and if it is, there is still a gap between what we might do at primary school and what professionals do in the work force. And somewhere between primary school and university we are still loosing our girls and our Māori and Pasifika students.</span><br />
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Occasionally I speak with students about who makes our Dash robots and computers in general work. usually we end up with the same old stereotype of nerdy geeky young Pākeha men (I have one living in my house, perfect example). We can only changes this perception is if we continue to give our students of any gender and all cultural backgrounds opportunities to explore and apply <b>CT</b> throughout their schooling. I love our little <a href="https://www.makewonder.com/dash/" target="_blank">Dash robots</a>, they appeal to learners of all ages, and such robots are a really good way to visualise coding. But in isolation, without understanding how all the little bits like unplugged activities, block coding, text based coding, AI etc. fit together, we are not going to get far. Cut through the 'fluff' of the Progress Outcomes (see <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/06/getting-to-understand-digital.html" target="_blank">this previous post</a>) and sit down as a staff to map out how your students will learn about Computational Thinking at your school.<br />
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On a side note, I don't believe the lower Progress Outcomes for <b>CT</b> are placed quite right yet, but it was always said that the placement of these against the Curriculum Levels was subject to change. Just this week I worked with a y1 class, that is 6 year olds, and once they were introduced to the idea of using a repeat block to move Dash, they saw no need to return to using individual blocks. <i>Iteration </i>is first mentioned in Progress Outcome 3 which sits at Curriculum Level 4, and while this is a good example of a Progress Outcome offering the teacher a 'pick'n'mix' of aspects (rather than a Achievement Objects which always has felt more final, everything had to be achieved before one could move on), I think many students are very capable of applying <i>iteration</i> much earlier than CL 4.<br />
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While I am glad that Digital Technology incl. Computational Thinking is now explicitly mentioned in the NZC, I am still worried about that fact that this sits inside Technology. If I was still a high school music teacher (and had not gone through the amazing journey I have been privy to over the last 15 odd years), I doubt I would pay much attention to what it said in a different subject area's part of the curriculum. We have to change this!</div>
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(Shameless plug :D) If you teach y7 - 10 (any subject) and you are interested in finding out more about how this can fit into your learning areas, join us for a <b>free DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENT at Waitangi Treaty Grounds on Tuesday 27 November, 9:30 - 2:30pm</b>. Register at <a href="http://bit.ly/W27Nov">http://bit.ly/W27Nov</a></div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-53099280288746970112018-07-18T18:28:00.000+12:002018-07-18T18:28:36.968+12:00A cross-curricular curriculum<div style="text-align: justify;">
The school holidays have been busy as I was invited to present at two events on consecutive Saturdays: The Google Sparkshop organised by the lovely <a href="https://plus.google.com/+BethLambnewzealand" target="_blank">Beth Lamb</a> in Whangarei, and the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Hui (#NZMIEEhui18) in Auckland. The new Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko Curriculum was at hot topic at both events. I wish I knew more about the Hangarau Matihiko version, but sadly my reo Māori is not good enough to understand the document , so I am hoping that my colleague Kerry will be able to explain it to me when I get back to work.</div>
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There seem to be mixed emotions around implementation of the DT HM curriculum; some teachers are ready to embrace it, to use it as a validation and extension of what they have already been doing, others are reluctant, unsure where to start, maybe even overwhelmed, and apparently other teachers are not going there yet at all. With an implementation deadline of January 2020, <b>now is the time</b> to get your head around it, because 2020 will come around very soon...</div>
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At the #NZMIEEhui18 in Auckland, <a href="https://twitter.com/iaincb" target="_blank">Iain Cook-Bonney</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/onemouse" target="_blank">Chris Dillon</a> gave a keynote on the new DT HM Curriculum. Chris used the expression <i>"cross-curricular curriculum"</i> which has been milling around my head since last Saturday now. What is a cross-curricular curriculum, how do you apply it - and why would we have that in the first place?</div>
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<u><b>What</b> is a cross-curricular curriculum?</u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVSdd9Jwa6-QzEPNhNLDzy27JaiHxkUq7-bA1zhUCqbPl1iWEOh4uT_OYw8Vsd9m3t6rFj4xZgd6B1wJma9C6DN-0pWb9uE3PIEdA-sTkg5qTdiuvxje9cjRdE7uU4_XcjBhxtKVDp3Q/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="1221" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVSdd9Jwa6-QzEPNhNLDzy27JaiHxkUq7-bA1zhUCqbPl1iWEOh4uT_OYw8Vsd9m3t6rFj4xZgd6B1wJma9C6DN-0pWb9uE3PIEdA-sTkg5qTdiuvxje9cjRdE7uU4_XcjBhxtKVDp3Q/s400/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=definition+curriculum&rlz=1C1CHZL_enNZ731NZ731&oq=definition+curriculum&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3449j1j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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Generally I understand Curriculum as the document outlining what student need to learn at different stages in their schooling. It is usually split up into subjects / learning areas. To use a curriculum in a cross-curricular way, I see the learners going through the various learning steps, reaching the Achievement Outcomes or Progress Outcomes while being engaged in one or more other learning areas or subjects. Our Raranga Matihiko Programme is such a cross-curricular way of working towards Progress Outcomes in DT HM while being engaged in a Social Sciences, Art or other context. I can see more cross-curricular approaches in primary and intermediate schools than in secondary schools, and I assume it must be much easier to develop an understanding across the curriculum at the lower levels than at the higher ones.</div>
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When I want to teach in a cross-curricular approach, ideally I work in collaboration with a colleague. I might not understand the ins and outs of the specialist knowledge in learning areas outside my own; however, I need to have a base understanding what these areas are about, how they approach learning, and I need to know who I can ask when I - or my students - need to know more. I realise I am in quite an unusual position, I started out as secondary teacher and subsequently taught in intermediate and primary age environments, so over time I had to develop a greater understanding myself far beyond what I expected back when I was a high school music teacher. </div>
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In fact it was a comment by <a href="https://twitter.com/gmacmanus?lang=en" target="_blank">Gerard MacManus</a> in my Raranga Matihiko session last Saturday that highlighted this to me: I asked the participants to familiarise themselves with the Progress Outcomes of DT HM by 'cutting out the fluff' and 'focusing what the essential points are'. There were some comments about how there is jargon, how it isn't easy to understand to many teachers, and Gerard rightly said something along the lines of "but isn't this the case in all subjects". I'm not sure that I told you anything you didn't know yet in my sessions, but I can't tell you how thankful I am that you came to my session and that you made this comment! Gerard is absolutely right, every subject / learning area has jargon, 'fluff', in the NZC, and unless you are familiar with the matter, it can seem quite hard to understand. That is the reason why there are a number of documents to put teacherese into kids' speak (see for example <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/matata.school.nz/literacy-progressions/home" target="_blank">this site</a> for Literacy Progression in kids' speak). One of the Whangarei teachers at the Sparkshop talked about developing a kids's speak version of the DT HM curriculum which would be helpful not just for students.</div>
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<u><b>Why</b> a cross-curricular curriculum?</u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivory_Tower_Library_of_Primitives_2C.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="By Peli [CC BY-SA 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
)], from Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Ivory Tower Library of Primitives 2C" height="106" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Ivory_Tower_Library_of_Primitives_2C.jpg/512px-Ivory_Tower_Library_of_Primitives_2C.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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I completely agree with Chris that DT should be seen <b>not</b> as a stand-alone subjects that gets addressed twice a week for 45min at a time in the computer lab (this was one of my concerns which I voiced during the consultation process). <u>None of our Learning Areas should really be stand-alone</u> any more, the good old ivory towers of years gone by need to be pulled down and opened up. You may ask why? Life is not organised in different subjects, life is messy (I once saw a really cool image with tidy paint pots, representing school curriculum, and the a really messy mix of paints, representing life but can't find that anymore; if anyone knows where it is, please send me the link!). Future-focused learning is all about giving students the necessary skills, tools and knowledge to be successful in their future, and as far as I can see that will involve applying across contexts and in areas we don't even know about yet.</div>
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In the NZC (implemented 2008/2009), rather than as a separate learning area, e-learning features under <i>Effective Pedagogy</i> (on p.36 of the <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/1108/11989/file/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum.pdf" target="_blank">curriculum document</a>). Even though it has now been included into the learning area Technology, the value of e-learning across the curriculum remains.</div>
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Chris made another very interesting point when he explained his expression "cross-curricular curriculum": There are simply not enough DT teachers around the county, so DT needs to be taught across other subjects.</div>
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<u><b>How</b> do I go about this?</u></div>
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First things first: No matter what subject you normally teach, have a look at the <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/167461/1235900/file/Technology%20in%20the%20New%20Zealand%20Curriculum%202017.pdf" target="_blank">Digital Technology</a> curriculum document. I have literally gone through the Progress Outcomes with a highlighter to 'cut through the fluff' and get a better understanding of what steps students need to progress through during their schooling (I have blogged about this <a href="https://thebelbird.blogspot.com/2018/06/getting-to-understand-digital.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Please note the placement of the POs is likely to change over time.</div>
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Get yourself ready: The MoE is providing a range of PLD options for schools, kura a kahui ako, check out this <a href="http://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Digital-technologies-curriculum-support" target="_blank">page </a>for more information. If you want to straight go to some intiaities you can get involved in for free, try <a href="https://kiatakatu.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko</a> and Mindlab's <a href="http://themindlab.com/digital-passport/" target="_blank">Digital Passport</a> - I think the Digital Passport has a deadline for enrolments, so better get started soon.</div>
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I realise I might be somewhat biased, but this curriculum is not just here to stay, it is vital for our students - and that's who it is all about after all :)<br />
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-234341031445654802018-06-09T13:47:00.000+12:002018-06-09T13:47:59.840+12:00Getting to understand the Digital Technologies | Hangarau Matihiko Curriculum<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Raranga Matihiko programme weaves the learning about taonga and artefacts in museums with the new Digital Technologies | Hangarau Matihiko Curriculum. According to the Ministry of Education</div>
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Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko is about teaching our tamariki and children how technology works, and how they can use that knowledge to solve problems.<br />
Once this new curriculum is introduced, our kids won’t just be using devices like computers and smart phones. The changed curriculum will mean that schools will be teaching our young people the computer science principles that all digital technologies are built on. Students will find out about how computers work – understanding what makes ‘algorithms’ and ‘binary code’.<br />
Our young people will benefit from having these future thinking skills.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/taranz1?lang=en" target="_blank">Tara Fagan</a> brought up a very valid point in our recent PD session at Te Papa: With Digital Technology in virtually all areas of our daily life, how can we ensure that it is designed to meet the needs of the diverse society we have in Aotearoa New Zealand and in the whole world? We can probably all imagine the stereotype of a programmer / software developer (there is one in my family...): Usually male, European or Asian, young, possibly socially challenged. To my understanding, the stereotype is not that far from the reality (find one of many articles related to this topic <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-08-16/the-jobs-most-segregated-by-gender-and-race" target="_blank">here</a>) though apparently this is beginning to change. Does the stereotypical software developer have the necessary understanding to design Digital Technology that is responsive to cultural and gender specific requirements, and if not, how can we make sure they do? I believe that you grow such understanding by adding diversity to the workforce.</div>
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The Raranga Matihiko programmes is targeted at students in years 1 - 10 from low-decile schools which commonly have a higher percentage of Māori and Pasifika students than their higher decile counterparts, and as a side effect I hope it will encourage more young people from diversity backgrounds to enter the IT field. Two main points of this programme excite me the most: Cross-curricular integration of Digital Technologies, and working with students and their teachers, empower ing them to teach their peers.</div>
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Since the DT | HM Curriculum was first published in draft, I have been concerned about it becoming a 'stand-alone subject'; I can easily see how e-learning, effective use of devices to support learning etc. would return to a "this is what you do in the Computer Suite 3h every week" - and I said so in my feedback to the Consultation Workshops (amongst other things). During the Te Toi Tupu BeL and LwDT programmes, we worked very hard to change this, due to the way many secondary schools are organised, high school teachers sometimes found that harder than their primary school colleagues. I am glad that through Raranga Matihiko we can model what it can look like when you integrate DT | HM with other Learning Areas.<br />
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The updated version of the <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology" target="_blank">Technology Curriculum</a> gives Digital Technology two of the now five technological areas:<br />
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<li>Computational thinking for digital technologies (CT), and </li>
<li>Designing and developing digital outcomes (DDDO).</li>
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While the three strands <i>Technological Practice</i>, <i>Technological Knowledge</i> and <i>Nature of Technology</i> still underpin them, they are fully integrated into these areas (while in the other three technological areas the curriculum document states them separately). Instead of Achievement Objectives, CT and DDDO are described through Progress Outcomes:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both images retrieved from <a href="http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology">http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology</a></td></tr>
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For Raranga Matihiko, I have had a close look at POs 1-5 for CT, and POs 1-3 for DDDO. Each Progress Outcome refers to <i>in an authentic context and with the end-user in mind</i> and (obviously) builds on the previous one(s). This is <u>my</u> understanding of their main points, using colour to illustrate ideas/concepts that I believe belong together in each technological area:<br />
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<u>Progress Outcomes for Computational Thinking</u></div>
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<li>Break down simple non-computerised tasks into precise, unambiguous, step-by-step instructions; give these instructions, identify any errors and correct them.</li>
<li>Give, follow and debug simple algorithms; create simple programs involving outputs and sequencing.</li>
<li>Decompose problems into step-by-step instructions to create algorithms for computer programs, predict the behaviour of the programs, understand that there can be more than one algorithm for the same problem. Develop and debug simple programs that use inputs, outputs, sequence and iteration.<span style="color: blue;">Understand that digital devices store data using just two states.</span></li>
<li>Decompose problems to create simple algorithms using sequence, selection, and iteration by creating programs that use inputs, outputs, sequence, basic selection using comparative operators, and iteration. Debug simple algorithms and program, explain why things went wrong and how they fixed them. <span style="color: blue;">Digital devices represent data with binary digits, have ways of detecting errors in data storage and transmission.</span> <span style="color: #274e13;">Evaluate user interfaces.</span></li>
<li>Independently decompose problems into algorithms; use these algorithms to create programs with inputs, outputs, sequence, selection using comparative and logical operators and variables of different data types, and iteration; determine when to use different types of control structures. Document their programs, using an organised approach for testing and debugging. <span style="color: blue;">Understand how computers store more complex types of data using binary digits. </span><span style="color: #274e13;">Develop programs considering human-computer interaction (HCI) heuristics.</span></li>
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<u>Progress Outcomes for Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes:</u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA3g0ZymkxB1erLOsISybzI_WLuyisEc4l22vJpIcq-nYEjhKPUs7Xs1QUn4Sf7FynnOHm3Jm3ts_w7RZXW86mCgmP3B7sXzQBWtORCZqeQ-xvdCKEcjGlm4TWm69TIr7IbXM_wq1KpY/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="1377" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA3g0ZymkxB1erLOsISybzI_WLuyisEc4l22vJpIcq-nYEjhKPUs7Xs1QUn4Sf7FynnOHm3Jm3ts_w7RZXW86mCgmP3B7sXzQBWtORCZqeQ-xvdCKEcjGlm4TWm69TIr7IbXM_wq1KpY/s640/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li>Participate in teacher-led activities to develop, manipulate, store, retrieve and share digital content in order to meet technological challenges. <span style="color: blue;">Identify digital devices and their purposes and understand that humans make them.</span> <span style="color: #274e13;">Know how to use some applications; can identify the inputs and outputs of a system; understand that digital devices store content, which can be retrieved later.</span></li>
<li>Make decisions about creating, manipulating, storing, retrieving, sharing and testing digital content for a specific purpose, given particular parameters, tools, and techniques. <span style="color: blue;">Understand that digital devices impact on humans and society and that both the devices and their impact change over time.</span> <span style="color: #274e13;">Identify the specific role of components in a simple input-process-output system and how they work together; recognise the “control role” that humans have.</span> <span style="color: purple;">Can select from an increasing range of applications and file types to develop outcomes for particular purposes.</span></li>
<li>Follow a defined process to design, develop, store, test and evaluate digital content to address given contexts or issues, <span style="color: blue;">taking into account immediate social, ethical and end-user considerations.</span> <span style="color: purple;">Identify the key features of selected software, choose the most appropriate software and file types to develop and combine digital content. </span><span style="color: #274e13;">Understand the role of operating systems in managing digital devices, security, and application software; are able to apply file management conventions using a range of storage devices. Understand that with storing data comes responsibility for ensuring security and privacy.</span></li>
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I think it was an interesting and helpful exercise when we asked our visiting teachers to look at where they place <i>themselves</i> and where they place <i>their students</i> on the continuum. I suggest you ask yourself, too: Where do I sit on here, and what do I need to do to progress further? The aim of our Raranga Matihiko programme is not just to give the students a one-off (albeit repeated in year 2) experience, it is to equip them and their teachers to become experts and to teach their peers across the school (students and teachers). Therefore it is vital that the teachers have an understanding of the curriculum so they can support their students as well as their colleagues (and themselves) to progress on this continuum.<br />
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I think no matter what age students we teach, or in what Learning Area we specialise, at least a basic understanding of the Digital Technologies | Hangarau Matihiko Curriculum is a must. There is <a href="http://services.education.govt.nz/pld/dthm/digital-technologies/dt-and-hm-professional-supports/" target="_blank">Professional Support</a> available through MoE, through your Kāhui Ako and various Online Communities (<a href="http://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Digital-technologies-curriculum-support" target="_blank">Digital Technologies on TKI</a>, Core's <a href="http://edspace.org.nz/" target="_blank">Edspace</a>, <a href="https://vln.school.nz/" target="_blank">VLN</a>, discussion groups on G+, FB and Twitter). If you are interested in the Raranga Matihiko programme, please visit <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank">this page</a>.<br />
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-41514141399128395812018-06-03T16:14:00.000+12:002018-06-03T16:14:59.567+12:00Back to ???<div style="text-align: justify;">
Term 1 at work was as busy as I had expected it to be, with a few extra challenges thrown in, namely getting ready to deliver a new programme, the <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/raranga-matihiko-weaving-digital-futures" target="_blank">Raranga Matihiko | Weaving Digital Futures Programme</a>, from Term 2. This programme is about integrating learning in the new Digital Curriculum Hangarau Matihiko with the rest of the school curricula, supported by the taonga and artefacts at the various museums. I'm really excited about working in partnership with Te Papa as well as Auckland War Memorial Museum and MTG Hawkes Bay, this project is ticking so many boxes for me:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Working with students and teachers on a more ongoing basis, and having more opportunity to really apply future-focused pedagogy</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Concentrating on local (and low-decile) schools, something that's always been very important to me</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Using digital technology for students to tell stories that are important to them</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Putting my Digital Fluency hat back on and getting knee-deep back into working cross- platform and across devices in order to support student learning</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Working in collaboration across sites and museums, therefore modelling collaboration between Museum Educators, and learning with and from each other</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A new challenge to get my teeth into:)</li>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ic_signal_wifi_statusbar_connected_no_internet_2_26x24px.svg#/media/File:Ic_signal_wifi_statusbar_connected_no_internet_2_26x24px.svg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ic signal wifi statusbar connected no internet 2 26x24px.svg" height="184" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Ic_signal_wifi_statusbar_connected_no_internet_2_26x24px.svg/1200px-Ic_signal_wifi_statusbar_connected_no_internet_2_26x24px.svg.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Google Inc., <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;" title="Creative Commons Attribution 4.0">CC BY 4.0</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;">, </span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36336243" style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Link</a></td></tr>
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There's probably many more pluses than I can think of right now (and they far outweigh the minuses of updating devices, dropped wifi connections or apps not wanting to play nicely); like the appointment of our fourth teachers to the team who is team teaching with me (she is absolutely wonderful, and she just <i>gets it</i>). I'm a little sad to let my active LEOTC involvement, the work with the visiting schools and the time spent with my lovely colleagues. It's a bit like handing your baby over to their N.E. teachers when they turn 5: I know the programme is in very safe hands, our two teachers are doing a marvelous job, and I am learning to not stick my nose into things I don't need to worry about.</div>
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So how does the Raranga Matihiko programme work? Normally schools come and visit us for up to three hours to learn from us about something that supports what they are studying at school (LEOTC visits). it's not unusual for this to be the only visit the student ever has to the Treaty Grounds, so many teachers are keen to pack as much into the three hours as they can (Museum visit, waka, Treaty House, Cultural Performance, film etc.). Our Education Vision is</div>
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For learners of all ages and from all backgrounds to critically engage with Waitangi, the place, with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi, and with Aotearoa New Zealand as a nation.</blockquote>
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There are many different learning models around, Thinking Hats, Bloom's Taxonomy etc. but we just narrowed it down to three verbs; we want to give students the opportunity to <i style="font-weight: bold;">Collect</i> (information), to <i style="font-weight: bold;">Connect </i>(that information with prior knowledge and with themselves), and to <i style="font-weight: bold;">Reflect</i> (meaning for past, present, future, for myself etc.) - this is where critical reflection happens. We are starting to get better to gather evidence of that critical reflection, some of this gets published on our <a href="http://www.waitangi.org.nz/education/blog" target="_blank">Education Blog</a>. With limited connectivity, limited access to devices (not all teachers are happy to take devices on outings), and especially <u>limited time</u>, our regular LEOTC visits are still very much a combination of paper with hands-on activities.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3Hbfrn0Pcp0cg0zPbwBqOluMb6VMLGSl3WAu8FuIwU_E5NreiOAaVzm7QS1nDrHdj_H5RyyHlSqiT7oIDdtHrs4GcBs_lnguicLpouzxFPFSg0OtUCWZitiOrAddh-H8Lu2_xwvPBtk/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3Hbfrn0Pcp0cg0zPbwBqOluMb6VMLGSl3WAu8FuIwU_E5NreiOAaVzm7QS1nDrHdj_H5RyyHlSqiT7oIDdtHrs4GcBs_lnguicLpouzxFPFSg0OtUCWZitiOrAddh-H8Lu2_xwvPBtk/s400/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Our vision remains the same, but the Raranga Matihiko programme runs quite differently: In collaboration with the teacher(s) we plan a personalised programme for the students, then focus on an aspect that we can support here at the Treaty Grounds. As an example, one of our Term 2 classes studies 'awa' (water), and we will support that unit by work around waka (namely Ngātokimatawhaorua), navigation etc. At the same time we will introduce the children to certain digital tools they can use to share their learning about their topic with others. In turn they and their teachers become the experts within their school and teach others.</div>
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We start off with a Teacher Planning Day on site, looking closely at the Digital Technology Hangarau Matihiko Curriculum, and using this to underpin the planning of their Waitangi visits. Different to a LEOTC visit, they will have two consecutive days on site, and they will spend the majority of that time inside our Raranga Matihiko lab. Following these two days (one day in the second year), we will come and visit each of the classes, bringing the digital equipment with us, so they can continue on their projects. As it is currently funded, this programme will run over two years, with each classes being involved for a 10 week period in both years. </div>
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I've been thinking of my <i>elevator pitch</i>: Maybe... "I work with students and teachers at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, and I support them to tell stories that are important to them and their local community by integrating digital technology into their learning". Will that put people to sleep???</div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/TB54dZkzZOY" target="_blank">Soul II Soul's <i>Back to life</i></a> has been swirling around in the back of my head today; I'm not sure if I'm trying to look for meaning in something completely unconnected, but I feel very much <i>alive and in my element </i>coming up with suggestions, trying to find solutions to ideas the students come up with, tutuing with different tools, writing up one pagers etc. My family might feel differently, maybe it's more like <i>Groundhog Day</i> for them? However, the teenagers are rather impressed about 3D scanning and VR; maybe mum's mahi is even cooler than they thought...</div>
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-9206027554922700592018-01-21T21:20:00.003+13:002018-01-21T21:20:49.943+13:00Let it go or Changed Priorities<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes we need to let things go. Blogging and Twitter have been two things I pretty much have let go more and more since I left Cognition at the end of 2015. It is not that I don't see the value in it, other things have just taken up my time or become more important.</div>
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There is so much I have learnt from tweets and from other people's blogs, and I still do at times, and I realise that I consume much more today than I contribute. While I still find it hard to accept, I think it is a phase to go through - a bit like how parents move on from having nappy bags and toddler toys in the car as their children grow up. I always used to tell teachers different tools for different purposes and at different times, it's probably time that I stop beating myself up about not being everywhere all the time anymore.</div>
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I have also decided this weekend that I would let go of my Google Trainer certification though I had been so proud when I first gained it. But realistically I have held barely any training sessions, and I don't know that this will change any time soon, so why spend all weekend trying to pass all exams and create a resource to share? Instead I enjoyed the company of my family, even more important when the first is about to fly the coop.</div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Busby's_residence_Treaty_House%2C_Waitangi%2C_East.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Busby's_residence_Treaty_House%2C_Waitangi%2C_East.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I absolutely love my job at Waitangi, I am so grateful that I am allowed to follow my passions and shape the mahi we do here into what my team and I think it should look like. We have worked with more than 6500 students in 2017, and we hope that 2018 will bring us in contact with at least the same, if not more students. While I haven't been making much use of digital technology in my work with students over the last year, I hope this will change in the near future. </div>
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For part of last year I had been wondering about where exactly Museum Education fits in the wider New Zealand education system; I am now convinced that it fulfills more than one function. On the one hand, Museums are partners to schools that provide specialist knowledge to supplement learning at school. If facilitated well, Museum Education in itself can follow the future focused themes (personalising learning, rethinking learners' and teachers' roles, life-long learning, equity and diversity, develop learning capacity). In addition, Museums can also facilitated professional development for educators including but not limited to content related to their collections, I tried to share this at Ulearn 17 with my presentation, if you are interested, you can <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzr1I_znWVHqc0VpS1FkUURJZkE/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">view it here</a>.</div>
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There were representatives of several museums at Ulearn this year, a few of us were asked to give an EDtalk. I spoke on <i><a href="https://vimeo.com/242833245" target="_blank">The place of museums in 21C learning and teaching</a>.</i></div>
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Great learning for students means teachers need to have access to great learning themselves, too. We have hosted teacher PLD sessions here at Waitangi in 2017, have held some sessions for teachers ourselves, and on 31 January we will hold a collaborative webinar with CORE Education around planning a successful Treaty of Waitangi unit. This is a free webinar, please register at <a href="http://bit.ly/core-waitangi">bit.ly/core-waitangi</a>. We will also hold a webinar serious in collaboration with Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand in February - watch this space!</div>
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So while my priorities have changed a little, they may have changed less than I thought? After all I'm still trying to transform learning and teaching...</div>
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Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-66052515150819052732017-09-01T10:51:00.001+12:002017-09-01T10:51:54.752+12:00Meet Sophia, a humanoid AI robot, developed by Hanson Robotics<br />
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet <a href="http://www.hansonrobotics.com/robot/sophia/" target="_blank">Sophia</a>, a humanoid AI robot, developed by Hanson Robotics. Here are some of the photos and videos I took, apologies for the quality of the videos from the back of the room:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q&A session with Dr. Ben Goertzel and students from Kerikeri High School and from Lynfield College prior to the keynote</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During keynote</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the keynote the audience was invited to come up close and personal and to interact with Sophia</td></tr>
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There are lots of implications, positive and negative, out of development of AI and AGI. I will write a separate post once I have got my thoughts a bit better organised.</div>
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-36724575230661327162017-08-23T17:00:00.000+12:002017-08-23T17:00:20.477+12:00The end of digital collaboration - or is it? ACEL e-Teaching 25<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Wiki_new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Wiki_new.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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Earlier this year I was approached to write an article for <a href="http://www.acel.org.au/ACEL/" target="_blank">ACEL</a>'s e-Publications. I have focused it on the shift from a highly collaborative working environment to an environment where access to collaborative digital tools is more limited. The question I asked myself was, <i>how do you deal with loosing the access to tools like collaborative Google docs, do you have to go 'old school' and move back into a little box?</i></div>
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I don't think so, and if you are interested in reading my suggestions about keeping up your digital collaboration and even inspiring others to follow suit, you can find the article <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzr1I_znWVHqXy1WajdrMWhwQm8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-37494568848652839212017-08-13T12:26:00.000+12:002017-08-13T12:26:34.528+12:00Old meets Modern<div style="text-align: justify;">
A good six months into my new role as Education Manager at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds is a good point for me to take some stock. We have come far, but every time I reach the peak of a mountain, I can see the next mountain range I want to climb:) Looking back over the last six months, there has been lots of learning</div>
<ol>
<li>of the necessary historic content (and there is always more to learn)</li>
<li>how to run experiences outside the classroom for different ages, topics, learning needs etc.</li>
<li>how to operate within one of the major historic & cultural attractions of the north</li>
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and much, much more. It has also left me with many questions:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What is the role of Museum Education within the wider NZ education system, and what do visiting teachers know about our role?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Do Museum Educators connect and learn with and from each other across sites?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How do you personalise learning for students when you are not the 'main' teacher for a class?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How do we best incorporate UDL into our programmes?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Pre- and post-visit learning: What exactly is our role, and how do we best fulfill this role?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How do we know we have made a difference to students' learning?</li>
</ul>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Looking back, it's interesting how easy you can fall back into a 'safe' zone of teacher directed learning on set topics, and I think that's probably what I have been doing when I first started here. We have since developed our programmes to offer more personalised programmes for individual classes, and while there are certain things many visits have in common, we have had lots of fun running visits around "Polynesian migration", "European migration", "Matariki", "Northern wars", "significant events after the signing of Te Tiriti" and even "setting up an imaginary museum". I rewrote our </span><a href="http://www.waitangi.org.nz/dl/WTG-Teacher-Booklet.pdf" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Teacher Handbook</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> to give teachers some ideas and important information before they arrange their visits.</span><br />
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The way I see it, the Museum Educator needs to not just understand points 1-3 from the top, they need to understand <a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/21774/214653/file/NZC_Update_26_ONLINE.pdf" target="_blank">future focused teaching and learning</a>: <i>Personalising learning; New views of equity and diversity; Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles; A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders; A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity; </i>and <i>New kinds of partnerships and relationships.</i> <b>What does this look like in our context?</b><br />
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<u>Personalising Learning</u><br />
In my own classroom, personalising learning would apply to each individual student, using my knowledge of every student; that's where we run into a bit of trouble as we don't usually know much if anything about our visiting students. However, we try to personalise the visit in a different way; to get away from providing just one programme for a particular year level, we try to work closely with the visiting teachers to tailor the programme to their needs.<br />
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<u>Equity and diversity</u><br />
As mentioned above, our knowledge of students is very limited and usually comes via the visiting teacher. However, when they arrive, we now make a real effort to get to know something about the students, and we try to hook into this where we can (e.g. an exchange student from NSW gave us the opportunity to talk more about connections with Australia during the early contact period, or we encourage avid waka ama sports people to take the lead when we visit Ngātoki). We are still working on suitable strategies to support students with special education needs better.<br />
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<u>Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles</u><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Ako… in a reciprocal learning relationship teachers are not expected to know everything. In particular, ako suggests that each member of the classroom or learning setting brings knowledge with them from which all are able to learn. (<a href="http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines/Teaching-and-learning-te-reo-Maori/Aspects-of-planning/The-concept-of-ako" target="_blank">The concept of Ako</a>)</blockquote>
I'm quite confident that we attempt to do this in every visit and generally do it quite well; however, not all students will be confident to share their knowledge with relative strangers during the visit. Establishing relationships during visits is one of our major goals, and with these relationships comes a greater chance that students will feel safe enough to share their knwledge with us.<br />
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<u>Continuous learning for educators</u><br />
This is one of the key elements for us in our work; while you could be forgiven for thinking that history is set in stone as it has happened, our understanding of historic events, their causes and consequences morphs and changes over time. It is not just a matter of reading lots of books, it's the korero with visitors, with local kuia and kaumatua, the visiting of other historic sites and museums and the making of connections between what we already know. As the saying goes, "history is written by the victors" (often misattributed to Winston Churchill but apparently its origins are unknown), but we are trying very hard to give a more balanced view of New Zealand history. </div>
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My learning has concentrated a lot on content lately, but I want to stay up-to-date with pedagogy, with new approaches to learning and teaching, with future-focused pedagogy, with effective use of technology to transform learning. Our small team of currently two, soon three teachers, sits a bit isolated, not just geographically, and I am keen to link in more again with the wider education community.</div>
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<u>Use of knowledge to develop learner capacity</u><br />
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It would be easy to see a visit to a museum or a historic places just as an opportunity to gather facts and information. We have said to our visitors all along that if they just leave us with information they could have gathered via Google, we have failed. Depending on age and maturity of our students, we try to encourage them to think deeper, think about the why and how, about the implications events have had in the past, have in the present and will have in the future. To this extent we have developed the progression of <i style="font-weight: bold;">Collect, Connect and Reflect</i>: <i>Collect </i>facts and information, <i>Connect</i> with prior knowledge and with yourself, <i>Reflect</i> on causes and consequences on New Zealand and on yourself.</div>
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Ultimately I want students to inquire into a question that is dear to them, but I am still trying to work out where exactly Museum Education fits into the wider education landscape. Are we running 'the show' or are we supporting the teachers with their learning (and how do we do that)? If we are 'running the show', how do we set up the inquiry, work through the stages and have the students share their learning if all we see them for is the three hour visit? Kath Murdoch, whose work I admire, has written an interesting post about <a href="http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/blog/2014/02/21/how-do-inquiry-teachers-teach" target="_blank">"How inquiry teachers... teach"</a> which is a good starting point for me to think about this more.</div>
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<u>New partnerships and relationships</u></div>
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To a certain degree, we are one of these partners in learning, we support and hopefully extend the learning that happens in the classroom. We have learnt heaps from other people in the field, and we are trying to integrate this into our work with schools.</div>
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When schools visit us, I am sometimes not sure what role the visiting teachers expect us to play. I want us to be more than just the transmitters of information, but it is the class teacher after all who brings them here, who facilitates the learning at school, sets up units of work, inquiry projects etc. We are making a point of only appointing teachers into our team because I want us to connect the <i>Old </i>with the <i>Modern</i>, to help students inquire into our history using a future focused lens. I want our programmes to closely link with the learning in classrooms and with the NZC. Our Museum Educators need to be future focused teachers, and they need to be able to build relationships as well as manage behaviour when necessary. </div>
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<b>Where to next?</b></div>
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The lovely Tara Fagan at Te Papa and I have been bouncing ideas off each other about how to bring future focused learning to Museum Education - hence the post title <i>Old meets Modern</i>. I have to admit I have found time constraints are a major distraction to work on any issue or project consistently and to the depth I would like to. Thankfully with another teacher starting with us early September I will spend less time out on the grounds with classes and will be able to focus more time on answering my questions above. Each of these questions are as important as the next, and there are another few little ideas I have on the back of my mind - actually in a OneNote notebook so I won't forget (old brain...). A lot of these depend on improving our connectivity.</div>
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In regards to the actual visits, I am trying to give students more choice (e.g. they select the speech of one Māori chief and find supporting or contradicting evidence while we move around the grounds, and at the end of the visit they can state if they agree or disagree with the chief, backed up by the information they have collected), but overall I don't think we are fare well enough yet on UDL approaches. Once our connectivity has improved, I see lots of room for children's choice on how to present back their learning; wouldn't it be cool if a student chose chose to make a ChatterPix video of a carved figure answering a particular question, or maybe a stop-motion animation filmed down at Hobson's Beach showing a waka drill?</div>
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I would also like to connect more with the local educators, we have an advisory group which we could look at expanding further, but I would also like to be part of teacher PLD in the area (Educamps etc.). A step further would be actually running such PLD here on site - with beautiful views and a yummy cafe on site, the learning can only benefit...</div>
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547991126083439133.post-87555549040415334782017-06-04T12:26:00.002+12:002017-06-04T12:28:44.507+12:00Museums - that's for old people<div style="text-align: justify;">
It feels like yesterday that I started at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds - here we are, 4 months later, having met close to 3500 children, their teachers and whānau... It's been an incredible journey of learning for both my colleague and I who started in this together.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Pinnoctopus_cordiformis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="132" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Pinnoctopus_cordiformis.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Pinnoctopus_cordiformis.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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Not only did we need to learn the obvious like details about Te Tiriti and the way our nation Aotearoa / New Zealand began, there is a lot of complexity running successful education programmes at historic sites (not saying that we have been successful in all instances, but we are certainly trying very hard). My colleague has described aptly feeling like a wheke, an octopus, stretching out tentacles to build relationships with students, teachers, whānau, the other staff, the other visitors, delivering an effective learning programme all while keeping the children safe and looking after herself - and within 3 hours (note how, like for most teachers, the <i>looking after self</i> comes last?). One of our biggest challenges is that we just have the one opportunity to get it right.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg/1280px-Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg/1280px-Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg/1280px-Waitangi-Meeting-House-interior.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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For those that don't know, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds come under the Waitangi National Trust, established from the very generous donation by Lord and Lady Bledisloe (here you can read more about the <a href="https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1q-mJ46LUAhXFoZQKHQ1XBAkQFggiMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.waitangi.org.nz%2Fwaitangi-national-trust%2Fabout-the-trust%2F&usg=AFQjCNETMwWl30xO-1h2cDBxM7VdmEHk0A&sig2=SyIJjfqs3uT-gVcLQI7ZwQ" target="_blank">trust</a>). There is a lot of emphasis on education in our organisation, and I had a hand in formulating our education vision:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>To provide learners of all ages and from all backgrounds with world class opportunities to critically engage with Waitangi, the place, with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi and with the history of Aotearoa / New Zealand as a nation.</i></blockquote>
Sounds good, but what does this actually look like? While we had no immediate predecessor on hand to induct us into the world of 'museum education', we had lots of help from staff that had been here before us, so we started out with resources on hand and modified these to make them less 'transfer of knowledge from us to students' and more 'students reflect on what they see and on the relevance to them'.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGFdFjmJHUmLqRzmsY5lvp17jipGR06OywiGR46rNr3HBmOYQDP7gYoLFOJVyk67urBu8_qLdMFSLsZV1-9R2kaU-d9ybC6BRM5ibFyHE3W1WFkF4TyD7nL6KxsStpz3zRoe2MMrDFFE/s1600/road-sign-1076229_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGFdFjmJHUmLqRzmsY5lvp17jipGR06OywiGR46rNr3HBmOYQDP7gYoLFOJVyk67urBu8_qLdMFSLsZV1-9R2kaU-d9ybC6BRM5ibFyHE3W1WFkF4TyD7nL6KxsStpz3zRoe2MMrDFFE/s200/road-sign-1076229_1920.png" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
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Our school visits last for 3 hours, and we often have a visit in the morning and one in the afternoon. At the beginning of the year we had little time to connect with teachers before their visit, so our programmes were less personalised than we liked. However, after meeting with about 3000 students, we had fallen into a comfortable routine - and if you know me, comfortable usually is a sign for me that things need to change...<br />
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Little nudges came from different sides, discussions with our Advisory Group (a group of local teachers and principals), with visiting teachers & principals, with other staff members here at the Treaty Grounds, with the designers of our upcoming exhibition in the Treaty House, meetings with other education providers around Northland, from our own experiences in the classroom etc. We had already visited some of the other local historic sites, and two weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit Te Papa's Hīnātore Learning Lab, the He Tohu Exhibition at the National Library and museum educators from Auckland's War Memorial Museum.<br />
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Some of my realisations and questions (in no particular order):<br />
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<ul>
<li>Most young people see museums as places for old people. Why would you choose to go to a museum when you can search completely digitised collections on Google?</li>
<li>Some teachers see museums as places where you (only) gather information and facts.</li>
<li>Bringing the learning to the students applies as much for historical places and museums as for classrooms - and they spend a lot of time online...</li>
<li>Personalising learning is vital to make a visit successful - who wants to pay a lot of money to travel here and then not take away what they came for? Even better, take away more than they expected...</li>
<li>Integrating multi-media and digital technology in an exhibition does not guarantee that it caters for different learning needs (see my posts on <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/UDL" target="_blank">UDL</a>).</li>
<li>Our grounds are starting to offer more than we could possibly cover in a 3 hour education programme, especially when you include kai breaks, a run around, maybe a cultural performance etc. However, is it actually appropriate to cover everything in one visit? Why would anyone ever want to come back if they feel they have 'seen it all' before?</li>
<li>What about our visitors from further afield, who will likely only come once; how can we ensure they 'see it all' and thoroughly in the time available?</li>
<li>There does not seem to be a 'child friendly' online resource about Te Tiriti etc.</li>
<li>How do we design our programmes in a poutama approach that offer more complex learning the older the students get?</li>
</ul>
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For now our first step is to truly personalise visits, and we already had some very positive feedback on this. We are also going away from the 'traditional' worksheets and are offering students choices about what they are focusing on during the visit, while linking it to the NZC and to the way they get assessed for NCEA. Without reliable and fast internet for visitors in place, using digital technology during the visit is still fairly limited at the moment.</div>
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It was great to meet other museum educators on our recent trip and have a glance at what they are doing. I was most fascinated by their use of digital technology within their programmes:</div>
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The Hīnātore Lab (read more about that <a href="https://medium.com/@WeAreMuseums/why-this-museum-lab-generation-is-critical-to-learning-8c015fa78424" target="_blank">here</a>) obviously was 'right up my alley', using various digital technologies to help students engage with the museum exhibitions: How about designing and 3D printing your own mouth piece for a pūtātara, or your own waka hourua? I have plenty of ideas of what we could do, even without wifi, starting from photo collages to stop motion animation to movie clips etc. There remain plenty of questions, though, like are schools prepared to bring their own devices, are they set up for what we need to do, can we trouble shoot problems on the spot, and, very important, do we have enough time???</div>
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In Auckland we got to meet with the educator in charge of the Gallipoli Minecraft project, you can imagine that I would love to try something like this in our context... I don't think I have to remind anyone that I am NOT thinking of using digital technology for the sake of technology, but to transform learning (see my posts on <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/RAT" target="_blank">RAT </a>and <a href="http://thebelbird.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/SAMR" target="_blank">SAMR</a>). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Shift_key.svg/2000px-Shift_key.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="800" height="68" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Shift_key.svg/2000px-Shift_key.svg.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Shift_key.svg/2000px-Shift_key.svg.png" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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However, there are existing expectations and perceptions that might need shifting: What do teachers think is the purpose of a school visit to the Treaty Grounds? As we discussed with our Auckland colleagues, schools don't necessarily know what else beyond gathering facts and knowledge could be offered at a museum. How can we change existing perceptions?</div>
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We have encountered some existing perceptions of a different kind which we are slowly shifting. Some of our schools have been surprised that they now need to pre-book their visits and that there are limits on how many students we can cater for per visit, also that they need to be accompanied by member of our team. We have had to turn away a few groups which always saddens me, but usually we are able to come to an arrangement (different day) that works for everyone. The reason for this is that our grounds are very busy, especially over the summer. The new Health & Safety at Work act requires us to look more closely at how we are looking after the safety of all our visitors. We are catering for a large number and wide variety of visitors on any given day, and we rely on the admission charges to fund what we are doing. We are starting to see schools take note of this and book further in advance which is really helpful.</div>
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Probably the most important perception to shift lies with the <b>students</b>: <b>Museums are no just for old people, they are places for personalised and active learning for everyone.</b></div>
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Watch this space...</div>
Monikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862262798999148347noreply@blogger.com0