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

In this edition, we’d like to acknowledge Cassandra Heilbrunn for her rich and varied contributions and queries around collaborative learning and teacher inquiry goals. If you have similar wonderings or interests to Cassandra, why not drop her a line?

  Beyond the classroom 

Connecting with people: Nathaniel Louwrens quotes an article and asks, are parent behaviours with their use of technology having an impact on their child’s development? As a parent and an educator what do you think? Is technology impacting on the way we’re interacting with people and special events?

Connecting With the Whole Community: Viv Hall shares some resources on ways schools are communicating with their community and asks, do you have a successful example about positive engagement of your community via social media to share?


Using Periscope to connect our community with school events: Carol Kendall shares her experience with using Periscope, a tool for broadcasting events to parents and the wider community. Can you see the potential for this tool?

Check out Beyond the Classroom >>>  Enabling e-Learning website.

 Learning and Teaching

Gamification of Self Management: Tara Fagan shares some thinking behind the development and use of digital badges to promote motivation and incentivising self management online. Any ideas and examples of your own to share?

School Phone System: Hamish McLean and other community members share some experiences with cloud-based school phone systems.

Workshops and ILP (Innovative Learning Practice) or MLP (Modern Learning Practice: terrywithers has asked about workshops in a modern learning paradigm and is specifically asking for details on how these can be structured and delivered in innovative learning practice.

Collaborative Practice - mixing up the way we do things: Cassandra Heilbrunn shares how her syndicate is planning on collaborating learning at all levels in learning spaces that are single cell with connecting doors. Cassandra would love your feedback on how this might work.

Collaborative Learning research: Cassandra Heilbrunn is looking for some research on the pros/cons/benefits of collaborative learning within Australasia. Can you help?

Developing a collaborative learning environment in partnership with students

Inclusive practices

Distinguishing sounds - Māori medium: Lynne Silcock asks if anyone knows of web resources, apps or software to help students to develop listening skills and the ability to distinguishing sounds in a Māori Medium setting. Can you help?

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

 Professional Learning 

I missed out on PLD these last holidays...Connected Educator Month, EdBlogNZ challenge, on-going Twitter events and more. Do we really miss out on learning if we haven’t attended planned events?

Teaching as Inquiry goals: Cassandra Heilbrunn is thinking about inquiry goals for 2016 and asks, how does your school come up with inquiry goals? Do you look at achievement data and decide on improving practice as an individual, syndicate or school-wide? 

Teaching as Inquiry and Teacher Bias: Mark Maddren shares some thinking around reflection and ponders; when we go through the process of teaching as inquiry, how do we ensure we are learning from these experiences and not just taking aspects from them to confirm our existing thinking? What do you think? Does personal bias matter in an inquiry cycle?

Hereoa: Clarifying goals and plans using Spirals of Inquiry

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

 Leadership & strategic direction  

 BLOG SERIES: Part 2 What did they do?

In part one of this 3 part blog series, we shared how Ngatea Primary School saw a need to meet the vision for their learners by creating personalised, authentic and responsive professional learning opportunities for staff. The first installment introduced the future-focused ideas and clarified the school’s needs. In this post we unpack inquiry intentions and interventions while the final post will touch on outcomes for teachers (and learners) at Ngatea Primary School.

Threads, Resourcing how and why of e-Learning | NAPP Kōrero 6 2015 and Sustainable strategies: Integrating e-Learning, leadership inquiry and classroom practice | Kōrero 14 2015 continue to grow as leaders share how they are trialing and implementing technologies, while also debating the complexities, successes and further considerations when leading e-learning across a school.

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

  Technologies & Infrastructure  

 DISCUSSION FORUM: Mobile digital devices, what's working, what's not? (November 5 - December 5) Community members share some thinking around what works best for learning on mobile devices, laptops or desktop computers. What do your students use and what is the rationale for the choices made?

Making the Right Choice: Procuring Digital Technology for Learning: Viv Hall summarises the Connected Learning Advisory’s webinar with Trevor Storr and Tim Harper, where they explored the challenges schools face in procuring digital technologies for learning. Some key ideas and wonderings here in relation to procuring digital technologies.

How can i set things up so that I have access to my students shared google sites, without using Hapara? Johan Schnetler shares how he’d like to access his students' ePortfolios created in Google sites using a dashboard type option to gain quick access. Any ideas for Johan?

Google Sites help needed: PetraWaiouru has created a google site with basic links, so that 6 year olds can easily access their blog and google classroom and wants to make this a home page on each of their devices. Any quick, handy tips for Petra?

Strategic Leadership - Leading Digital Technologies for Learning Professional Development Day: Viv Hall asks, as a school community can we clearly articulate how our effective pedagogy can be enhanced by digital technology to better meet our students' current and future needs?

SMS: Hamish McLean is looking for an alternative to the 'Pupil Enrollment Form' and is wondering if eTap can provide an easy, filtered solution for collecting the data? Has anyone started, or completed a digital enrollment form or similar?

Bookmarks

Allanah King added a new bookmark: AED Locations on the App Store: If someone needs a defibrillator, time is critical. This app shows were the nearest ones are.

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

For your calendar...

 Enabling e-Learning events

• Check out the Enabling e-Learning calendar of events for Term 4 and the printable flyer for staffrooms.

• Enabling e-Learning webinars: In this new look webinar page, you'll find the recorded sessions here from 2011 to current. These include using digital resources, digital learning spaces, BYOD, iPads in junior classes, registered teacher criteria, appraisal and e-learning, getting to know our learners, MLEs, gaming and many more! 

e-Learning events around NZ

• Google Education Roadshow: Google Education Roadshows are happening around the country over the next month. Check out an event near you.

 Twitter Chats 

Follow the hashtags or users to find out details of each Twitter chat.

• Primedchat NZ: #primedchatnz
• Edchat NZ: #edchatnz / @edchatnz
• English: #engchatnz
• Mathematics: #mathschatnz
• Social Sciences: #socscichatnz
• Science: #scichatnz
• Kids Edchat: @kidsedchatnz
• Parent teacher chat: #ptchatnz
• Beginning teacher chat: #btchatnz

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