milestone5


 * N.B 1 Staff Comments re Collaboration**

"My thoughts on last year's trip! Well where do I begin? It was one of the best PD conferences I have been on, and yes the dinners and drinks definitely had a lot to do with it!!!! The most important outcome from the eating and drinking is that I formed a good relationship with Paul at Matamata and as a consequence we are sharing new stuff that we are developing. This cuts down our workload tremendously and gives us ideas. As Paul said, he would not be so happy to hand over powerpoints etc that he has spent hours on if he did not know me or trust me (he has been burn't before, ie getting his own work back at courses!), and I feel the same. The other positive that came out of the trip is that it reinforced that we are on the right track and probably ahead of most schools in what we are doing. The conference gave me time to think about where I want the Department to be heading in terms of ICT and how we can organise it all. We are currently writing all units using the smartsoftware and everything is now electronic. Each unit contains teacher's notes, schemes, activities, hyperlinks, demos, videos etc. They are all in one on the server so that each staff can download and use as is or modify to suit their class. Staff have come on board and everyone is taking part in writing a unit of work and putting it on the server to share."
 * Rebecca Astwood - Head of Mathematics, Katikati College**

1. Continued sharing of resources with Florence; we had spare time during the ICT conference in which we searched the Net for free software as our departments don't have the budget to buy. This includes software for games and lessons that can be used in class with a projector or indiviually by students (thanks to you guys setting it up in a computer suite for us) 2. We also found online sites for games, templates for interactive games,texts, sound files and video files. Just having the time out made this possible as it's always a shortage of time that stops us trawling the Net for these. Neither of us have Net access from home. 3. As a result, I have been able to categorise my resources in to units and now incorporate ICT in to most lessons. This in turn has made the cultural aspect of my course much easier to include where in the past it has been a little dull, if not difficult. (native speakers, television, advertising, cartoons, film previews, performances and music vids etc can now be shared with the class in colour with great sound quality. This ups their interest and increases the relevance of the subject for them too) 4. I also appreciated the technology involved in preparing our excellent meals out and the show :D Thanks for asking me to come!
 * Alana Murray - Head of French, Katikati College**

I found our Auckland visit invaluable from a number of perspectives:

Firstly, simply for the opportunity to exchange ideas with like-minded people who were keen to share.

Secondly, for the opportunity to gain some new perspectives from within my curriculum area - to see what they are doing in Science at Kristen and to hear from Mike what they are doing at Matamata. In our faculty we share ideas and resources freely and frequently, but at the end of the day we are sharing our own stuff and perhaps not seeing other opportunities or looking outside the square as much as this exchange permitted.

Next, the encouragement and motivation that being included in this opportunity gave me, and the positive affirmation it gave of my good practice up til then.

Also, I got to see first hand the use of blogs, wikis, webcams, and things like hot potatoes and Youtube that I hadn't really seen before. Also how Kristen are making very extensive use of Moodle. I had been wanting to try blogging for a while but couldn't get my head around it until I saw how others were using it and why, and was shown how to start my own. I am also reluctant to produce anything unless I can be sure it is top quality, so needed to bounce my ideas off others.

Direct consequences of this exposure have been my **Science** **outside the Square** blog, which is very popular with my Year 9s and many kids from other classes. I am using it as an extension tool/motivator for the top end kids. I don't know if you have looked at it lately - although I possibly could post more often I think the frequency is right for this particular audience. The other new venture to come from this is the Science fair blog. It has worked really well, with kids emailing me in the holidays to seek guidance/feedback on their projects.

I routinely (and confidently) incorporate videos off the net into my teaching and am making a lot better use of Moodle. Previously I had used it as a repository of course notes; now I include more Exe based projects for the kids. Course notes are now loaded as Flash files rather than huge Powerpoints that the kids can't read. The next step is a blog for my Year 12 Chemistry - I surveyed them last week and with two exceptions only they are all crying out for one.

A number of students now communicate regularly with me by email when they have a homework question or are sick.

Another huge benefit of the visit was the large number of teaching resources I was given by both schools. These included worksheets, differentiated tasks, animations and Powerpoints. Material from this huge selection has been incorporated in a big way into every single junior unit we have developed or revised since them. It has saved heaps of work and given us units that are rich in learning for every ability and learning style. Mike from Matamata seemed pretty pleased with what I gave him too.

Since the visit I have had access to Matamata moodle, which could have proved a good way of continuing the sharing, but there is pretty much nothing on it for me.

Venue, meals, our big night out were all wonderful and all helped to get that sharing camaraderie going. Only comment - how could we maintain that interaction better. Would we have done this better if the trip hadn't been right before the summer holidays? Some sort of a regular bulletin like a cluster blog?

Please may I be included again next time. It was really valuable. Cheers and thanks to both of you, Hilary
 * Hilary Johnson, Science Teacher, Katikati College**


 * N.B 2 Staff Exerts from upcoming Conferences

Changing classroom practices to maximise the benefits of ICT and eLearning- Science Conference - July 2008 Hilary Johnson** Teacher of Science, Katikati College Email: hjohnson@katikaticollege.school.nz Telephone: (07) 549 0434 This workshop will show how the presenter’s classroom practices and her students’ learning have changed over the last few years with the use of a dedicated interactive whiteboard, increasingly in conjunction with digital learning tools such as Moodle and blogging. What are some of the elements of a successfully integrating ICT and eLearning into the teaching of Science to motivate student learning and enhance student progress and achievement? How can we as teachers maximise the benefits of the student interactivity offered by such technology? The results of focus group discussions with students will be presented, as will examples of teacher and student work. Ideas on “where to next” will be explored. Audience input will be welcome.

Richard van Dijk, Kelvin Maine** A tour of how we have gone from no intranet in 2005 to an integrated system with Moodle, Wordpress (Blogging engine), Mediawiki and now PHPMotion (youTube clone) by 2008. How this has affected learning and the resources it allows us to put at teachers disposal to further engage students. How you can put this in place in your own school. - also completed for [|Time4Innovation online conference] **link to video**
 * Tools to maximise your schools intranet and facilitate 21st century learning. - Ulearn2008

Phillip Cranston/Natalie Cowie (Katikati College)** This presentation will look at the relative merits of Blogs, Wikis and other Web2.0 tools (like google doc in the classroom. We will demonstrate how they can be used as tools to enhance student engagement and partcipation. We will teach you the tricks you need to know to make a successful blog/wiki and give you some time and support to develop your own. For a sneak preview go to our classblogs: english@kkc - http://ncowie.wordpress.com CReAtive Minds - http://blog.kkc.school.nz/mrcranston
 * Effective Web 2.0 in the Secondary Classroom - WindWand Conference - June 13 2008

This presentation will explore innovative ways to implement ICT in the secondary school classroom. We will discuss the relative merits of blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 technologies. We will also demonstrate how these tools can be used to promote learning; enhance student engagement and to foster collaboration. You will learn the tricks of making a successful blog or wiki. There will be time and support given for you to develop your own Web 2.0 resources. For examples of how we are using these tools visit: english@kkc - http://ncowie.wordpress.com CReAtive Minds - http://blog.kkc.school.nz/mrcranston
 * Effective Web 2.0 in the Classroom - Ulearn 2008**
 * Phillip Cranston/Natalie Cowie (Katikati College)**

Description: This presentation will focus on the use of Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, wikis and moodle) in the secondary school classroom and their potential to transform learning and teaching. We will explore the many skills and concepts that need to be addressed to effectively help teachers learn to use blogs and wikis effectively. The presentation will also explore the ways in which ICT can be implemented faculty-wide and as a way to promote collaboration between learning areas. Presenter: Natalie Cowie Biography: Natalie Cowie is the HOF English at Katikati College and she has successfully incorporated blogging and wikis with both her senior and junior classes. She has developed moodle resources for all year levels at the College which are used extensively by staff and students. Natalie has also co-ordinated the use of ICT across the English Faculty. Philip Cranston is a Social Science specialist from Katikati College and he has had a strong interest in ICT for many years. Phillip uses blogs and wikis extensively in his classroom practice and he is an expert in podcasting. Phillip has also developed moodle resources and he is a leader in the use of interactive whiteboards in New Zealand. Natalie and Phillip are using ICT to forge cross-curricula links.
 * Workshop Title: Blogs for learning, not just looks - English Teachers Conference 2008**


 * N.B 3 Student Voice re engagement / Laptop Use**

“You can be interactive in the classroom and don’t need to be in a computer lab” - Yr13 student

"I really like the fact that writing on a computer allows me to organise my thoughts more. I can write a chunk of my essay and work on other bits and then come back and edit the whole thing.” – Yr12 student

“When you have finished set work can access all of your work online and continue working on other task …even other subjects” – Yr12 student

“Allows us to work on Moodle in class and access all information after the teacher has shown us on the smartboard” – Yr11 student

“Allows me to be better organised …I can save to the server and don’t lose all my work …like I do on paper” – Yr 11 student

“Able to ‘mobilise our learning’ and ‘increases our educational level and effort’ – Yr 11 student

“I like the laptops because they make us able to learn anywhere. They save resources as I can store my work on one folder and improve my computer skills as computers are the way of the future” - Yr 11 student

“Being able to go a get one when I want one is great because I can use one when it suits me not just when the teacher thinks I need one” – Yr 13 Student

" I can work in a way that suits me and all my work is saved and ready for me to change when I want to." – Yr12 student

"My writing has improved because I have access to tools to help me with spelling and punctuation. I really like how it lets me improve the presentation." – Yr12 student

"The computers are great for research because I can get all the material I need so quickly and I don't need to visit the library or anywhere else. It makes doing schoolwork so much easier." – Yr12 student