Jogging Digistore

I have been organising web content for upcoming PD sessions and remembered this useful web tool JOG THE WEB which I discovered last year and used to create the following tour. With JOG THE WEB you are able to group and organise web content plus include comments and feedback.

If you are new to Digistore this tour created in JOG THE WEB  is designed to highlight some of the key features and support material to get started.

Click to view Digistore Jog

Recommendations for building your PLN...where would you start?

I have had requests lately from educators looking to build their e-learning PLN and asking for recommendations on where to start. Rather than respond individually I have shared as a post.

Connected

This may be a bit of a brave new world for some so I have gone for less is more and what I hope provides a range of options (especially for those who may be starting out) to connect quickly through existing professional learning networks and communities.

Please comment if you have other recommendations that may be curriculum or subject specific.

1. Twitter: there is a very strong group of New Zealand and international educators using Twitter. #edchatNZ - NZ Educators and OZ Educators on Twitter
   
   Useful tips for getting started on Twitter:
   Twitteraholics guide to tweets, hashtags and all things twitter
   The Ultimate Twitter Guidebook
   Using Twitter to build your PLN
The Ultimate Guide to using Twitter in Education
2.  Tweeting for Teachers: A new report published jointly by Pearson and NoTosh recommends that teachers should use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to improve their classroom skills.
3. EduCampNZ Wiki: a series of e-learning un-conferences that provide a valuable opportunity to connect with like minded educators interested in e-learning and education. Explore the wiki to connect with other participating educators at each of the EduCampNZ events. 


4. EdBlogNZ  has an online directory of blogs written by teachers and other professionals in New Zealand’s education space.  Use blog comments to connect with others who share your interests. 


5. Online Groups and Communities:

• Google Educator Group GEGs are independently run communities of educators who inspire and empower each other to meet the needs of our learners through technology, both in the classroom and beyond. 
• The Virtual Learning Network (VLN):  A range of professional learning groups from early childhood through to tertiary.
• Google Apps in NZ Schools Group:New Zealand schools keep you up to date with the latest news and technology available for Google Apps for Education
• MLE Reference Group: Discuss the software and digital content that support learning in New Zealand schools. 

"Fantastic turnout for #EduCampAKL" via @lenva

Posting to organise and record some of the excellent contributions from EduCampAKL yesterday. Ka nui te mihi to everyone who participated and contributed, you continue to inspire me.

Also thanks to our hosts @ClaireAmosNZ and the IT team from Epsom Girls Grammar who worked wonders with the network when around 80 of us (with multiple devices) descended for the Smackdown at 10am.

For those of you who like to take time and explore, the EduCampAKL wiki includes a multitude of links and resources shared on the day. I have also summarised and book marked contributions in My Delicious below.

@myen - archiving my tweets on the run

Posting in response to a question from @JoBrodie: How did you set up the Twitter archive in Evernote?

Twitter is dynamic and typically I don't save tweets rather the links and resources, recommended by my PLN are saved to Delicious.  Sometimes I favourite a tweet in Twitter (although not a great solution for sharing and categorising to revisit later)

There are tools for archiving tweets  however I was looking for a way to collate specific tweets from an event so I could save quickly and share them later. I decided to try using EverNote by syncing my account with Twitter. 

At events like EduCampNZ  the Twitter #tag is an effective way for participants to share with each other as well as those who are attending virtually.

During EduCampTaiTokerau I followed #EduCampTT . Any tweets I wanted to keep were either re-tweeted (RT) with @myen included in the tweet or I sent a direct message (DM) to @myen

Each tweet was saved in a new Evernote notebook, so I did have to copy and paste them into one notebook to share. It would be ideal if the tweets could be saved to a single notebook or online document for sharing. Any suggestions, please let me know.

This worked for me as EduCampNZ events are fast and furious and I was able to respond on the spot to a tweet, saving them in one place, to review later.

Here's how from the Evernote blog:

EduCampNZ: Interface Magazine, July 2011

Click to view pdf.

Thanks to Interface Magazine for sharing EduCampNZ story in their latest issue.

Looking forward to EduCampTaiTokerau tomorrow, check the wiki for details or follow #EduCampTT

"EduCampWelly was about wanting to be there, it's self directed and personal"

@teachernz

Tāngo Whakaahua

 Tāngo Whakaahua– Creating a visual collaborative metaphor in response to our mārae noho through the medium of digital photography.

Photo: Cheryl Harvey

Facilitators from Team Solutions had the privilege of staying at Motatau Mārae in April. Motatau is located in the far north of New Zealand approximately 3 hours drive from Auckland (View Google Map). The mārae was built in the 1920s  and, as we learned, has contributed significantly to the history of the area and New Zealand.

After the powhiri, that included a waiāta from Motatau Primary, many of us were drawn to the images that line the walls of the wharenui. They hinted at what we were to hear later that evening when we gathered for a more detailed history from local whanau.

Motatau Mārae was built in the 1920s  to honour 
Northern Maori Member of Parliament Tau Henarae 

Much of the history of Motatau Mārae is also recorded through significant carvings inside the wharenui. It was fascinating to learn about the connection Motatau has with the meeting house, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Built in the grounds of the Treaty House at Waitangi, the meeting house commemorates the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.



The wood used for carvings for Te Tiriti o Waitangi was sourced from the forests around Motatau and were also initially carved at Motatau Mārae before being transported to Waitangi.
Digistore Learning Path: Te Tiriti o Waitangi

On the second day of our mārae noho facilitators were able to choose from a range of sessions, Te Ara Hikoitanga, opportunities to explore "Maori Achieving Education Success as Maori". 
  
Cheryl Harvey and I were invited to collaborate on a session and with our mutual interest in things digital we developed Tāngo Whakaahua. 

Our planning for the session has been shared on this Google doc. The link to the Google doc was shared with participants a few days before the Marae noho. This provided the group with an opportunity to think about their participation and responses before the actual workshop on the second day of our visit.

Anō te ataahua (a time to view creations and experiences from Te Ara Hikoitanga sessions) provided us with an opportunity to share our visual collaboration and also individual slide shows from each of the Tāngo Whakaahua participants.  I have uploaded our collaborative response below. Ka nui te mihi to facilitators who contributed and to tamariki from Motatau Primary School for the waiata.



Digistore Learning Path - Marae noho
I have also shared this learning path created to support further thinking and learning opportunities in response to the mārae noho. The learning path includes:

• digital resources from Digistore and other digital collections
• primary source analysis tools for students
• online resources and support for Mārae noho
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi - primary sources and links to further digital collections and historic articles and information.

Motatau Mārae taken using 360 Panorama app for iPhone (click to enlarge)

"Where good ideas come from?"

The e-Learning Lead Team at Mt Roskill Grammar represent a number of learning areas and departments across the school.  Face-to-face time is one opportunity to connect and learn.

Today's agenda included many opportunities for conversations specifically targeted at sharing the impact of the team's teacher e-learning inquiries.

We kicked today off with this short clip by Steven Johnson, and shared some of the ideas that resonated with us on this collaborative Google doc.

"...we have so many new ways to connect, so many new ways to reach out and find other people...that's the real lesson of where good ideas come from, the chance favours the connected mind" 

(Steven Johnson)

Exploring the "Raw Materials of History"

Exploring primary sources or the "raw materials of history" provides students with an opportunity to examine the past free from the interpretations of others.  

(Library of Congress)

The following Google presentation has been created to explore strategies and resources for teaching and learning with primary sources. It also includes:

• strategies to support students to analyse primary sources 
• support for using analysis tools and Google docs for collaboration
• links to Google research and search tools for locating and organising data and information 
• support for creating and integrating Learning Paths in Digistore

The intention is to revisit and add to this resource in response to feedback and the evolution of further resources and web tools.



Click the 'open in a new window' icon above to view a full screen version

"Because context matters...inquiry is important"

 I have been fortunate in the past couple of months to have had opportunities to collaborate with teachers and colleagues focusing on a variety of educational contexts including: curriculum, pedagogy, e-learning, leadership and assessment.  Our conversations and thinking often include reference to Teaching as Inquiry (NZC and TMoA).

As we have explored examples of Teaching as Inquiry I have been reminded of a statement from Claire Sinnema that I referenced in an earlier post on this blog "Inquire with a Travelling Mindset" ...

"because context matters... 

inquiry is important"

 The New Zealand Curriculum Online describes the Teaching as Inquiry cycle as "an organising framework that teachers can use to help them learn from their practice and build greater knowledge."

While the framework provides us with a common understanding and language for inquiry into our pracitice, the context is what brings life to the inquiry and to the learning.

Context matters 

GTASYD11

GTA Team Swan - just received our GCT Certificates

View Doc

...to the power of three...now four!

For the past three years our professional learning networks have supported an e-learning un-conference in Auckland. Tagged EduCampNZ the success of our day of learning, links and laughs is truly down to the participation and energy of the educators who contribute before, during and after the actual event.

Update...to the power of three  four!

This year, thanks to enthusiastic participants in other regions, EduCampNZ will also be hosted in Wellington, Whangarei and Tauranga!

EduCampWelly: Wellington College, Saturday 21st May

EduCampTaiTokerau: Whangarei St. Francis Xavier Catholic School, 2nd July

EduCampAKL: Epsom Girls Grammar, Saturday 6th August
EduCampBOP: Tauranga School Support Services, Saturday 13 August 
 ...and then there were five!

 EduCampDunners: St Clair School, Dunedin, Saturday 27th August

Participants are also using social media to share and collaborate. 

Details of how you can participate and what to expect can be explored on the wiki including:

• images and video from previous years
• Twitter #tags for each venue
• opportunities to connect with participants & share your interests  

The focus is on e-learning and education, sharing ideas we've discovered and learning from each other. Everyone is invited to participate. The purpose of EduCampNZ is to both learn and contribute.

"Go with the flow, follow your passion, take responsibility for your own learning" (unconfernece.net)