Te Mata Takeaways

Fantastic to end our year in the Beacon ICT Cluster on such a high note. The library at Te Mata School was buzzing today with the hum of everyone sharing. 

Thanks very much to Mike Bain, Danielle Burroughs and Kate Hindmarsh for hosting us today. A very special shout out must go to Kieren Moriarty for the mammoth organisation behind our cluster this year. Our acknowledgements must also go to Mark Gifkens, Mike Bain, Rohan Pearse, Malcolm Dixon and Matt O'Dowda for being the vision behind the cluster. We are all very appreciative of the opportunity that we have been given to share and learn from our peers. Thank you!

Have pasted in my top three takeaways from ULearn '13 below. 

Attribution: Gaping Void Art

What are my top three takeaways?

1. Sharing

Allanah King mentioned in her uLearn Mobile day that we may well be doing many of the things that she does already. The important difference is: sharing. She shares everything. By doing this, she opens up her virtual vault of immense eLearning knowledge for all to learn.  We are all here for our kids. Sharing your knowledge is really the greatest thing that you can do for your profession. 

To live in a vacuum is not human. We need to pass this message on to our kids. Does an idea come to fruition without being shared? Unlikely. It may be still hazy in your imagination. Sharing is synonymous with learning.

The sharing theme was also prevalent the keynote, The Sharing Nexus: Connecting, Learning and the 21st Century Educational Environment given by Mark Pesce.

Mark spoke about the 'triumph of sharing' and added that we are now past being 'digital natives' and are now 'sharing natives.' 

View the keynote here.

2. Small steps

It's easy to feel like you're now drowning in a tsunami of information. I know. I feel it. Karen Melhuish Spencer proffered her opinion on how to positively respond to this. Simple yet profound. Her Friday workshop: Effective eLearning: Kickstart the way you integrate gave us the ideas and resources to design our own mission. Key message: Start with your students needs. Seems so obvious doesn't it. Go back to the beginning, think about your learning intentions and weave the tools into your activities and learning experiences: the WHAT and the HOW.

Attribution: Planning for effective eLearning - Karen Melhuish Spencer

3. Empower Kids

The dynamic duo of Summerland School, Amanda Signal and Jess Vidal have given me a plethora of practical ideas for my classroom. Their breakout Self Managing Learners & BYOD was exceptional. So powerful to see authentic examples of eLearning impacting on student achievement. Loved the fantastic practical routines they shared and their clear and simple ideas for embedding eLearning throughout their daily practice. 

A standout message for me from their breakout was to open everything up. Forget being precious about your planning, keeping it to yourself. It's for the kids. Write it in 'kids speak' and share it with them online. Give kids the big picture. We like to have it to know where we are going. Why don't we give it to them?

Mark Pesce wrapped up his keynote address with the following words:

Connect.

Share.

Learn.

Do.

I’ll stop learning when I’m dead.   …...Maybe.

We know how to draw on everybody’s expertise. Let’s get started.

Small steps. 

U Learn Takeaways

Umbrella: Equity of learning, for everyone. Collaboration. Using the tool to cause learning.

Mark Pesce: Craptastic World. The digital divide is temporary. Every moment of peer sharing is a moment of assessment. 
Connect, Share, Learn, Do. Culture of shared knowledge is so important - we know how to connect and share knowledge - lets get started!

1. elearning = the e is for effective. Using the technology of today to help cause learning. A thinking teacher who adapts to change is the best app.

Taupaki School Stephen Lethbridge and JJ Purton Jones

2. Digital de-cluttering. Linking your tools. Sustaining eLearning. Megan Iemma and David Kinane

3. Better writing online. Up your game. Chrissie Butler

Bonus takeaway:
The brilliant breakout, The Writing Classroom from Mary-Anne Murphy and Catriona Pene (but my colleague Tracey has dibs on sharing that). Its structure has inspired planning for our teacher only day in 2014.

Ubiquitous Learning Talk from Mark Osborne

Ten Trends 2013: Ubiquitous learning from EDtalks on Vimeo.

"CORE Education consultant Mark Osborne asks how can we take the learning opportunities available around the world and bring them into our classrooms so that our learners are not limited by our skills and our abilities, and at the same time how can we take the learning that we’re doing in class and make it accessible to our students wherever they are in the world."

Thank you Fiona Roil for alerting me to this. It is from the Core Education newsletter. Definitely worth the free subscription.

Cluster Day 4: U Learn and Beyond

We are meeting at Te Mata School on Friday at their library. Thank you so much to Mike Bain, Danielle Burroughs and Kate Hindmarsh for hosting.

Apps for a writing workshop

There are 21 confirmed. Of the 20 attending in the morning, 13 will be sharing from ULearn. We will be sitting in groups of 4, then rotating around. Everyone getting a chance to hear from everyone. It is expected that those who didn't attend ULearn share ideas or examples of eLearning from your class or school. It's all interesting and beneficial, even if it's been seen before, it is the pedagogy and the way we use tools (not the tools themselves) which are important. All of us are sure to have connections, ideas and examples to keep the professional conversations going.

At the end of the B.Tict session, we will add examples right here, on this blog.

U Learn post-conference website

Please visit the ULearn website where there are photos, links to videos, quotes from delegates, as well as prize winners, news, etc.

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