"It's learn, create, share, Miss Aireen!"

"How many teachers in class this morning?"

With over 50 students in the room today there was an almost tangible hum of learning and collaboration. Students talking about their learning, problem solving, planning and negotiating. All was right with the world in Miss Aireen's Year 5 class this morning.

As a 1:1 netbook class, the students had invited Miss Swift's Year 3 class to buddy up and create presentations of their learning to share on their class blog.

I valued the opportunity to observe how the Year 5 students have grown this year in their confidence to utilise their netbooks and the web based learning environments including Google Apps for Education (GAFE).

However on reflection I suspect that what was happening in Miss Aireen's class this morning was much more complex. All students were highly motivated and drawing on many of the Key Competencies to interact with each other.  

"26 teachers in the class this morning, Miss Aireen"

"It's learn, create, share, Miss Aireen!" (Taylor, Year 5)

The Year 5 students were challenged to not only manage themselves as learners but also draw on a variety of digital and learning focused strategies to transfer their new learning and share with their Year 3 buddies. The NZC highlights the importance of students being "challenged and supported to develop in contexts that are increasingly wide-ranging and complex".  It was particularly affirming to see the students respond so confidently and harness their digital learning to enrich opportunities for learning in this face-to-face context.

Currently the Year 3 students have GAFE accounts and Miss Swift reports that support for their class blog grows daily. I am confident the increased opportunities for them to buddy with the 1:1 netbook class will continue to build on the sharing and grow interactions with community both in school and beyond. Truly the students must be recognised as the strongest advocates for the investment their families and schools continue to make in their learning.