Tēnā koutou, talofa lava, malo e lelei and welcome to the latest e-Learning pānui from across the VLN.

This week we welcome a new online team member, Nathaniel Louwrens as he joins us from Wellington. Nathaniel shares, "I'm passionate about education and e-learning and believe that when thoughtfully implemented, technology can not only engage students but increase student achievement."

Nathaniel has recently completed a MEd (E-learning) specifically looking at online student engagement, so keep an eye out for Nathaniel and maybe even drop him a line.

Check out this week's up-coming FORUM:

FORUM: New technologies and collaborative processes, 19 June – 18 July
A problem shared is a problem halved. It’s not uncommon for teachers to come together and share ideas. This often makes for a powerful exchange. What does networking and collaboration mean for us as teachers/learners and how can we harness tools such as GAFE for teaching/learning? Come join us in the Enabling e-Learning | Teaching group this thread is now live.

Also, check out the latest e-learning newsletter from Enabling e-Learning. It showcases new Minsitry initiatives, resources as well as the latest digital stories from the Media gallery.

Looking forward to seeing you online - hei konā mai,

Tessa (on behalf of the Enabling e-Learning online team)

Each fortnight, we like to say thank you by nominating a community member for active participation in the Enabling e-Learning / VLN Groups.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Steve Trotter. Steve has made a number of contributions in threads of late, including sharing how his students use KidBlog in the thread, Blogs - public vs private. Responses like this, help others with similar wonderings.

Beyond the classroom

FORUM: Engaging parents/whānau with and through technologies, 5 June – 4 July

More and more schools are using technology to engage with parents/whānau and the wider community about their children’s learning. We'd love to hear from you! Come and add your own schools stories in our live thread or in the shared Google presentation.

Check out the latest resources and stories in Beyond the Classroom on the Enabling e-Learning website.

Learning and Teaching | Digital Citizenship

Use of ICT in the maths programme: Robnz shares eAko basic facts – a resource that provides a good service through NZmaths.

Writing tools for all genres of writing: Jill Hammonds elaborates on a link that shares a variety of software and apps to use within each of the different styles of writing.

Updated eLearning and Lit progressions wiki: Mary-Anne Murphy shares an updated version of the eLearning BOP wikispace - a resource that infuses etools with the literacy progressions.

Apps for creating storyboards digitally: Jill McArthur (English teacher) is currently studying film with her year 9 trial BYOD class and is looking for a tool to create storyboard assessments online. Is this something you have discovered already?

Embedding assessment in ePortfolios: Ness wants to know how early childhood educators have implemented e-portfolios in their centres, with equitable access for all young students and a focus on student voice and ownership. How does your early childhood centre digitally archive student learning?

Check out e-Learning and Teaching >>> the Enabling e-Learning website.

Professional Learning

Comfort Zone teaching.....breaking the habit? A.Vermeulen asks, what have you found that works best when motivating teachers that are fearful of using Google apps in their classroom practice?

Enabling e-Learning video: Using Google Apps for future focused schools

Check out more e-Learning & Professional Learning >>> Enabling e-Learning website.

Leadership & strategic direction

Enabling e-Learning FORUM: Personalising learning | Shallow and deep expressions of practice, 22 May – 23 June: Rachel Bolstad (NZCER) invites us to think about perspectives around new ways of understanding diversity and inclusivity. Does this resonate with you?

MLEs: Learning spaces and resourcing | NAPP Kōrero 6: NAPP and Enabling e-Learning community members continue to share; rationale, current experiences, issues and wonderings, around what it means to successfully implement Modern Learning Environments. Please note: Registrations for Thursday 26th June LIVE webinar have now closed. All previous regsitrations are still valid and will be notified by email.

Check out Leadership and e-Learning >>> the Enabling e-Learning website.

Technologies & Infrastructure

Planning Templates: Rosemary Murphy would love to know what other schools are using as Google planning templates. Can you help Rosemary?

Best Platform For 1:1 Procurement - Trust, School Purchase? Rob Gunn wants to know how schools provide equity and flexibility in relation to procurement and supply in their 1:1 model.

Password Recovery for students: Steve Trotter wants to know how schools are managing students email account details – lost passwords etc? Any ideas or solutions welcome.

Pages: Hamish McLean offers a solution to Pages with a migration to Google docs. Hamish also touches on the purpose and collaborative potential for using Google docs to assist in student writing.

Show me: Jill Simons wants to know if you can only access ‘Show me’ on the computer if you've got a mac?

Keeping reader interest when posting long stories to a blog: Monika Kern is looking for innovative ways of publishing large chunks of text (stories), prior to sharing in a blog. Any suggestions?

Rotated photos in Blogger: Matt Hutchinson has a problem where some photos have been rotated incorrectly in Blogger. Has this happened to you? Any advice for Matt?

Mobile technologies

At a glance... can you help?

Some top tips shared:

BYOD

Learning with 1:1 digital devices: Just up on Enabling e-Learning. Find information and examples to support school leaders and teachers with introducing and developing a 1:1 digital device or BYOD programme in your school.

A simple practicality - locking devices away during breaks? Steve Trotter offers some practical tips for storing and managing devices during break times. Do you have any more to add?

Quick Collection Of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Resources: In this blog post, Derek Wenmoth shares a collection of resources to consider, in relation to BYOD.

suzig added the following new bookmarks:

Check out e-Learning and Technologies >>> the Enabling e-Learning website.

For your calendar...

Enabling e-Learning events

Check out the remaining Enabling e-Learning calendar of events for Term 2. Book these in your calendars now.

Enabling e-Learning webinars: Find the recorded sessions here from 2011 to current. These include using digital resources, digital learning spaces, BYOD, iPads in junor classes, registered teacher criteria, appraisal and e-learning, gaming and many more!

e-Learning events around NZ

The Google Discovery Day, 23 Jun 2014. An event showcasing Google Apps For Education.

Monte Vista Christian School iPad Conference NZ, 23 Jun 2014 - 30 Jun 2014. A national event showcasing effective use of iPads in education.

Future learning environments, 29-30 July, Stamford Plaza, Auckland – earlybird registration until 24 June

Connecting readers,11 August to 19 September. Creating a reading social network - 6 week online course with the National Library service.

LEARNZ field trips for New Zealand teachers and their classes. Register now for field trips in Term 2, 2014:
- Freshwater ecology, 29 July
- Geospatial, 12 August
- Waterview connection 1, 26 August

ULearn14: 8-10 October, Rotorua – earlybird registration until July 11.
- Ulearn Mobile pre-conference day, 7 October

Images courtesy of Creative Commons and Flickr.

Virtual Learning Network

e-Learning Round-Up | 18 June 2014