EduCampAKL 2013

EduCampAKL 2013, a set on Flickr.

Images from EduCampAKL yesterday. Thanks to an awesome PLN for sharing lots of learning. Check out the wiki for more good things.

Via Flickr:
EduCampAKL 2013, Auckland, Saturday 3rd August, 9am - 2pm
Centennial Building, Diocesan School for Girls, Clyde Street Epsom

acesnet.wikispaces.com/EduCampAKL+2013

Where will you be on August 3rd?

...I'll be at EduCamp Auckland!

The 2013 event will be our sixth Auckland unconference, now one of over 10 unconference events to be held around New Zealand this year! 

If you are looking to build your professional learning networks, meet innovative, like minded learners and share in some inspiring conversations, this is the place for you.

Check out the EduCampAKL wiki for all event details including ideas and recommendations for participating. 

Follow on Twitter  #EduCampAKL

EduCampNZ Google+ Community

Embed a YouTube Playlist in a Google Site Page

Ten Tips: Google Sites

Ten Tips: Google Sites was prepared to share at the Google Apps for Education Community Conference. View these tips in a Google Site.

Cybersmart #byod2013

Valued the opportunity to participate and contribute to BYOD 2013 hosted by Learning Network NZ yesterday at Albany Senior High. The conference was well supported with over 400 educators attending. Tweets, resources and images nicely archived by +Catriona Pene

These are also excellent opportunities to touch base with my PLN and I enjoyed the conversations. Interested to hear about Tauriko School's approach to BYOD and Digital Citizenship which has been developed to reflect the school's values...thanks +Rochelle Jensen

Plus a geeky goody via +Allanah King, leave voice comments on your Google docs.

I shared some thinking and examples of the Cybersmart Curriculum Manaiakalani Schools have been developing. My notes and resource links are below. A bonus of presenting is the opportunity to reflect on practice and share current thinking with others. Feedback always appreciated.


 Click options cog for speaker notes.

"Harnessing Your Ecosystems"

I wonder...is my use of social media purely a response to my professional exploits? If I didn't work as a teacher and facilitator would I Tweet?

I created my first wiki in September 2006 and over the following year joined Delicious and Flickr, began blogging and finally at 7:04pm on the 2nd August 2007, posted my first Tweet. There was no looking back. My purpose was to connect and share. At the time I was collaborating with an awesome cluster of five schools with over 80 teachers and email was just not going to cut it.

I quickly realised that Web2.0 was going to provide me with increasingly creative tools to communicate and collaborate and also accelerate my work flow substantially. What I hadn't predicted was the growth of a professional learning network that I rate as one of my most valued assets both professionally and personally. This is where I do some of my best learning and in this rapidly changing world learning for me is at its best when I can connect with like-minded.

I have blogged previously about growing a PLN with links and resources to get started. Investing time utilising social media to not only access resources but also contribute and change practice can be augmented by harnessing the power of a professional learning network.

Described as "the power of pull" by Hagel, Seely Brown and Davison (2010), new technologies are creating platforms that increase our visibility and can help us connect with more people, people that we don't know yet or may even be aware exist.

How are you "harnessing your ecosystems?" How are you scaling up your connectivity and attracting the people and resources you need to find your potential? (Blog Post 10/06/2012) 

If it's a question of time, this is worth the time. You are not alone out there and believe me every time I think I have a new idea or challenge I find I am not the first or the only one…thank goodness!

"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.

Tweet...Sweet

Click image to zoom

If you are serious about growing your professional learning network (PLN) you need to be serious about managing information flows on Twitter. There are lots of great Web2.0 apps available for Twitter however a good place to start is a Twitter App to manage the information flow. 

After trying a few different apps I set up Hootsuite earlier this year. Because Hootsuite is web based, organising Twitter on my Mac and having the same set up available when I logged in on my phone or iPad was a definite bonus. Also the HootSuite App Directory allows me to add other social networks and tools into my dashboard. I have found the ability to set up tabs and streams particularly valuable for monitoring:

• different themes or groups
• #tags for current events and topics
• Twitter lists I have created or follow
• conversations that I may have missed
• Tweets that mention me - it's important to respond when you are included in the conversation whether it be to answer/ask a question, add more information or reTweet for acknowledgement.

While it's not possible to read all Tweets I am following Hootsuite enables me to organise and track what's relevant for me while still enjoying the serendipidous learning that is Twitter.

Multiple Users in Chrome

Update to this post Friday 15th January 2016

Working across multiple GAFE sites and Google Accounts can be made a lot easier by using the multiple users feature in Chrome. I created this Screenr for our GoogleFest session at #uLearn12 in October demonstrating how I have set this up for 15 school GAFE and Blogger accounts.

Power Searching with Google

Certificate emailed on completion of the course.

@nickmajor81  recommended the Power Searching with Google course at one of our Netbook Teacher meetings last term. I'm  fairly confident searching online however, was interested to learn more and explore possibilities for our CyberSmart category, SmartSurfing. 

Power Searching with Google is a free online course that includes search techniques and teaches some of the advanced tools in Google search. Short video clips with demonstrations from Google Search guru, Dan Russell, are supported with activities that can be worked through at your own pace. These can be revisited along with short tests to review new learning. 

Links to online resources, search forum, blogs and lesson plans are also included.

I am going to include this as part of our orientation for new netbook teachers and suspect that many teachers would find this course useful for identifying search techniques that can be adapted to support existing programmes of learning. Depending on literacy levels students could also enroll in the course with their GAFE account and complete independently.  

How to be notified about upcoming Power Searching classes via Dan Russell