Thinking

=Virtual Thinking Skip.=

This area is a thinking dumping ground, for the information floating around my head. It is somewhere I can offload the clutter that builds up and organise my thoughts as I gather new information and contruct new strategies.

|| Year 7 as mentors,Year 11 to college, Year 13 to University. Parents mentoring – for parents ||
 * 27.12.07 || * **Assessment, learning and technology: prospects at the periphery of control**, Dylan Wiliam's 5/9/2007 keynote. [|Slides and video of the talk, captured as an Elluminate Live! session] [~75 MB]. [|Text transcript] [75 kB PDF]. [|Slides] [400 kB PDF]. [|MP3 recording] [12 MB].
 * **Learning in an open world**, Peter Norvig's 6/9/2007 keynote. [|Slides and video of the talk, captured as an Elluminate Live! session] [~75 MB]. [|Text transcript] [75 kB PDF]. [|Slides] [13.5 MB PDF]. [|MP3 recording] [23 MB]. ||
 * 27.12.07 || 'The variability at teacher level is about four times the variability at school level. If you get one of the best teachers, you will learn in six months what an average teacher will take a year to teach you. If you get one of the worst teachers, that same learning will take you two years. There’s a four-fold difference in the speed of learning created by the most and the least effective teachers.' Dylan Wiliams ||
 * 24.12.07 || [|Mixbook] - online books. ||
 * 24.12.07 || School coffee table books / calendars. [|Snapfish]. [|Lulu] is also a focus with lots of tools, books, posters. ||
 * 15.12.07 || Add philosophy to learning charter. [|Keith Topping] and Steve Trickey. ||
 * 15.12.07 || Use of games to further learning. Civ Rome example. [|Leadertalk post]. ||
 * 08.12.07 || College Celebration evening, small postcards style comment forms. 2 very important actions I would like to introduce to the Hamble leadership team.
 * 01.12.07 || http://www.theflip.com/index_flip.shtml Hand held cameras ||
 * 01.12.07 || Show staff the creative, purposeful side of IT. Don't necessarily focus on the tech, focus on what you can accomplish with the tech. ||
 * 01.12.07 || What does an ideal graduate from Hamble school look like?
 * Passionate about learning.
 * Self-directed, motivated.
 * Curious.
 * Creative.
 * Global perspective. De-centered – focus on others.
 * Tech enabled.
 * Has their own Personal Learning Network and is actively nurturing it.
 * Understands that working on problems that haven’t been solved is what real people do, not following step by step procedures. Be problem solvers. Also problem finders.
 * Able to be given a “big picture” overview of an assignment and go for it without a lot of direction.
 * Collaborative.
 * Learn how to learn.
 * Don’t stop at the first right answer.
 * Producers, not just consumers. ||
 * 01.12.07 || What the employor wants to see from students/future employees, Leadership, Teamwork, Critical Thinking, Self-Directed, and mistakes, lots of mistakes, just make sure each one is original. ||
 * 26.11.07 || Student learning awards, mirror to staff 21st Century Literacy skills ||
 * 26.11.07 || Get photos of learning environment ||
 * 26.11.07 || BECTA application ||
 * 24.11.07 || Youth need to change, update, grow their online identities. VLE to permit that growth. [|http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/edublogs/~3/187622837/a-different-kin.html] ||
 * 22.11.07 || http://www.tvnima.com/ ||
 * 19.11.07 || Ross Gardler, service manager at OSSWatch - support links to Jisc.ac.uk/inform Podcast. ||
 * 19.11.07 || Pupils with high ICT use progress the equivalent of whole half term or half GCSE grade than those with low ICT use. NCSL. ||
 * 18.11.07 || Framing the Hamble edtech picture. What does the educational look like. Show me a picture. ||
 * 17.11.07 || Thinking [|story cubes]. ||
 * 16.11.07 || [|Spellmaster] for MFL ||
 * 16.11.07 || [|Twitter Guide] ||
 * 16.11.07 || [|http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/edublogs/~3/185057647/ewan.mcintosh] ||
 * 15.11.07 || http://wanderingink.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/how-to-prevent-another-leonardo-da-vinci/ ||
 * 15.11.07 || http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/1853941163/in/set-72057594139269787/ ||
 * 15.11.07 || http://classroom20.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=649749%3ATopic%3A48758 ||
 * 15.11.07 || Student repsonses - response given to staff about their contributions to students lives. ||
 * 14.11.07 || Read - Good to Great ||
 * 14.11.07 || Hamble Twitter / Tumblr / Soup.io accounts ||
 * 12.11.07 || http://www.smm.org/buzz/blog/keep_your_butt_on_the_ball_classrooms_are_ditching_chairs_f ||
 * 10.11.07 || Create a 'Meet Kristian' for introduction? ||
 * 07.11.07 || Branding matters - Dean Shareski ||
 * 07.11.07 || [|USB-extra] has added an assortment of **custom MP3 Players** in a variety of sizes and features. ||
 * 07.11.07 || What are the minimal IT competent skills for employment at HCC. What is the minimum CPD committment for staff each year? What the key relationships between staff, IT and pedagogy. Construct an arrival EdTech package for NEW staff. Part of their induction - ie OFAT ||
 * 07.11.07 || How to teach filtering skills - the Copy and Paste epademic. Students post information they chose not to use, but importantly why. posting questions on research. ||
 * 07.11.07 || Generation Y as opposed to Generation X for a mini students IT group. ||
 * 07.11.07 || Hamble conference. Staff present mini workshops. ||
 * 07.11.07 || IT cafe style [|classroom]. ||
 * 04.11.07 || You cant un-ring the bell? ||
 * 04.11.07 || Hamble subject staff delicious accounts? ||
 * 04.11.07 || Hamble Tweets? ||
 * 02.10.07 || VLE Host key docs. ||
 * 02.10.07 || CPD to be housed and propogated on the VLE. System that records that CPD. ||
 * 02.10.07 || Gaming club? Project club? ||
 * 02.10.07 || Test groups. Work in small test groups - is a club? ||
 * 02.10.07 || 11-16 - 76% having accessed the Internet from their bedrooms, nearly two-thirds using social networking sites ˜regularly". ||
 * 30.10.07 || Not an NQT ICT package but rather NTH (NewtoHamble) Package. Basic online course on how to use the VLE and 21st Century Skills. ||
 * 30.10.07 || Thoughts from the interview. Map the use of ICT across the school. Eg Media in English, MFL, CAD in design. ||
 * 26.10.07 || Hamble blog? A school blog propogated by the Head and Faculty leaders, governors. Read by the school communitty. Showcasing the school. Secure. ||
 * 27.10.07 || Staff IM on their desk top to contact Shaun / Martin. How will they receive it. ||
 * 26.10.07 || E-post cards - can these be made showing keys words associated with Hamble **Community** Sports School. ||
 * 01.10.07 || EdTech for Transitions KS2 – 3
 * 26.10.07 || E-post cards - can these be made showing keys words associated with Hamble **Community** Sports School. ||
 * 01.10.07 || EdTech for Transitions KS2 – 3
 * Job Interview || [|teach-ict.com]for some ideas (especially games for starter/plenary) ||

To blog? Well I think the answer is yes, but now the thought is via wordpress or but a domain name? Connect with Chris Lehman / Jeff Utech CPD Sylivia Martinze presentation - generation Yes. Students as training mentors.

Making a VLE Work for you in a Busy School
Heaton Manor is a large mixed comprehensive school 'I dont not need to go online.' Daily notices on the VLE including cover (saves the school £2000) Access the registers through the VLE - register portal in accessed through the VLE with the default home page. On that home page will be cover notes / break duties. TV screen in the staff. Physical reminder which will ultimatley be unused. Employ a full time VLE administrator. The VLE must not become a virtual elephant. Middle leaders have access to a mirrored Ofsted framework. SAR / evidence network (SEF form to readdress a leadership balance.) Middle leadership team understand the strategic planning of the school and more ownership - also encouraging staff sticking together. VLE is not corporate and shared through the school leadership team. With individuals displaying information in their own styles. Adminstration - Minibus, ICT rooms, Libraries - linked to a library. (Who's who - new staff - ex numbers / responsibilities) Access to the school calender. But its ONE calender. Updated by one person? A MYSPACE area. Can it automatically import a timetable? Which week are we on? E-portfolio. What I am working on. Is there a need for email for students in KS3? CPD to be housed and propogated on the VLE. System that records that CPD In PE - use of video to show evidence of Level moderation at KS3. Is Hamble VLE an opportunity for local junior schools to piggy back?

What is an e-confident school
 * 10 key features
 * High levels of staff confidence, competence and leadership
 * Re-engineered teaching, learning and assessment, integrating effective use
 * Leading and managing distributed and concurrent learning
 * Effective application within organisational and management processes
 * Coherent personal learning development, support and access –for all leaders, teachingand non-teachingstaff
 * Secure, informed professional judgement
 * Appropriate resource allocation to ensure sustainable development
 * Availability, access and technical support
 * Pupils/students with high ICT capability
 * School as the lead community learning and information hub

McKeachie: Things teachers value. **Autonomy** and independence.
 * Challenge** seeking open-ended problems of some complexity allowing achievement.
 * Competence**, seeking increase in skills and knowledge and opportunities for learning.
 * Obligation** values being helpful, interacting and taking responsibility for others.
 * Appreciation** from colleagues and students.

Jan Chipcase presentation. 'Where is your centre of gravity? Its where you expect to find stuff.' For young people is it their phone? How do I get staff to embrace that idea? What do you own? What do you consider to take with you when you leave the house? What does a learner consider to take with them when they leave the house? What do they carry on their person? (Money / Wallet? Keys? Phone) What do they use? Per cent of Uk 11-16 with a phone? Per cent of UK 11-16 with IT access Push or pull?

[|Online-Learning Models] Seddon NCSL - model-

Classrooms as studios, different areas within the classroom. Remote access – 'The network is more powerful than the node.'

The way forward?

1. Time for effective training. Although schools have CPL training they forget how to use digital technology effectively if they don’t keep using it. A lot of teachers will try new technology but fall back to their usual ways if it is not working one day or if they have to design all new resources. 2. The development of new resources (this can be a time issue or resistance from staff who want to carry on teaching their way). 3. Knowledge and training on how to access and use resources. 4. Students (and some teachers); not all are able to access it from home (or in the lesson, if there are not enough computers available or there isn't remote access to schools resources and VLEs).

//“Leadership (and learning) is about taking skilful action, producing results and mobilizing others, not simply acquiring academic knowledge. We learn through our bodies, through recurrent practices, and learning means being able to take new actions. Leadership is a learnable skill."//

Extracts //The E-tivity Process from Chapter 4// > Each instructional message e-tivity should include:
 * Building e-tivities- key principles**
 * 1) Decide in advance of the participants logging on what you expect them to do and what the e-moderators will do.
 * 2) Ensure the participants are clear about your intended objectives for an e-tivity. Start with the end in mind.
 * 3) Ensure that your planned evaluation or assessment meets the purpose (s) of the e-tivity. If assessment is involved, look for alignment with tasks. Attempts to forcefully create participation through direct assessment are rarely successful.
 * 4) Build in motivation as part of the process of undertaking the e-tivity itself and not as something separate from it. Motivation occurs because of the learning activities. Avoid trying to motivate people to simply log-on, and ‘discuss’, instead provide an e-tivity that makes taking part worthwhile.
 * 5) Create an experience that is complete and worthwhile in itself. This includes setting short-term goals but ensuring there is a satisfying process and ‘flow’ of actions. In practice, e-moderators need to exercise judgement about when to go with the flow and when to guide participants towards expected outcomes.
 * 6) Be highly sensitive to timing and pacing. Divide the e-tivity up into bite sized chunks – no more than 2 or 3 weeks’ work for a complete e-tivity, less if you can.
 * 7) If you offer more than one e-tivity at a time, build them together in a coherent way to create a ‘programme’. Use the 5-stage model.
 * 8) Ensure that the e-tivities are in some way focussed on sharing, shaping, elaborating or deepening understanding.
 * 9) Ensure that participants need to work together in some way to achieve the learning outcomes. If you cannot see the way to make working together worthwhile, maybe using e-tivities is not the best approach?
 * 10) Be generous in allocating e-moderator time, especially if the e-tivity is geared towards stages 1-3.
 * 11) Be ready, be prepared, and don’t be surprised at serendipitous events.
 * 12) Aim to provide just one instructional message, which contains everything needed to take part.
 * 1) The purpose of the e-tivity (why the participants are doing it). If the e-tivities is assessed, indicate what might indicate success and how they can achieve it.
 * 2) What participants should do and how they can go about doing it.
 * 3) How long it should or could take. An idea of when the e-tivity starts and when it should finish.
 * 4) How the participants should work together.

There are many ways to reflect. Some writers argue that reflection is essentially an independent activity. Others stress the importance of collaboration with others to the reflection process. Schön distinguishes between reflection on action (reflection after practice has been completed) and reflection in action (thinking that takes place in the midst of practice). I suggest you try out both reflection in action and reflection on action in your e-tivities and programmes since both are valuable.
 * Build in Reflection**

Some e-tivity designers use the idea of encouraging learners first of all to recall a familiar experience, as a preparation for introducing them to a new one. The idea here is that experiences need to be interrogated and perhaps tested and challenged to avoid the unconscious assumptions that may reduce creativity and flexibility in attempting to understand or resolve a problem or explore a scenario. Another key aspect of learning through reflective processes is that each adult learner will have a different ways of dealing with ideas, using perhaps their well-established learning styles.

Reflection will be easier for some participants than others. Some people enjoy it very much, some prefer to “push on”. However as I think reflection is so important, I always include it as an essential activity. One point to emphasise: make it clear you are looking for participants’ views, feelings, experiences and ideas. So this is certainly one time when they can start their sentences with “I”. But encourage them to end their message with a question or challenge to others to encourage those others to reflect too.

As with all the e-tivities, I suggest you indicate why you are asking participants to reflect. In our courses, I pose a “point of learning” reflective question at key points and ask participants to look back through the course on a regular basis. They are invited to respond to our questions at the end of each session, usually once a week, and to the postings of others throughout. We also encourage them to revisit their own responses at any time. Nearly every active participant expresses surprise, even amazement, when they glance back along the path they have as the following examples show.

I have tried on three different occasions to respond to this activity, but each time I enter the conference, there is another person's reflections which makes me reflect in a way not previously thought of. I think all the contributions to this section are interesting and thoughtful - that to respond to one is just not fair! NS
 * Seeing other points of view**

Some interesting reflections posted for this e-tivity and it is heartening to know that others are feeling the same as me - being an e-learner has made me see the other side of the coin. I have learned a lot about learning on-line - a whole range of emotions from feeling very lonely at times, experiencing happiness when I achieve something and guilt when I know I am not contributing as much as I should be. CH
 * Recording emotions**