I am soooo tired, and soooo pleased. I am here in New Zealand travelling with a group of exceptional educators. The conversations we are having are ‘worth bottling’! We talk about what we are seeing, what we are doing, and what we are dreaming.
The clever three are on this tour. Watch out world…here comes Jo McLeay (left), Sue Tapp (right) and Al Upton !!
Our visits today included Papatoetoe High School (an amazingly large school with the most multicultural mix I have ever seen) to see how they are managing ICT within the exponential growth of the school; Next Space to learn about 3D graphical communications technology, and Buckland Beach Intermediate School.
I was particularly thrilled to have the chance to see Lenva Shearing at her own school, and to be able to meet her staff and see the creativity, energy and robust pedagogy that these students (Years 7-8) are involved in every minute of their day. I wonder just how a Principal like this has time to blog. Thank goodness Lenva does blog, because she shares her knowledge, her wonderful Web 2.0 finds, and models to us exactly what she would have her students learn.
Web 2.0 is completely embedded into the curriculum. Their learning management system Knowldege.net is just a jumping board to a plethora of Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, voicethreads, and more. Each student has an electronic portfolio that is interactive and so enriched by metacognitive thinking, and reflective practices that our heads were spinning trying to absorb the extent of the ‘revolution’ taking place at the school. Each student’s electronic portfolio is accessed via a self-tailored entry page following the school template which students are now doing in Glogster. The kids run their own radio station; have a sound studio (they interviewed Tony Brandenburg our tour leader with the aplomb of seasoned reporters) and all take part in audio visual learning opportunities as part of the daily work.
Each student’s portfolio has the following key elements:
- My Goals
- My Competencies
- My Learning
- My Achievements
- My Videos
- Parent Feedback
- Blogs and Wikis
- More About Me
- Archive
Here is Al talking with Year 7 students, engrossed in creating their Voicethreads.
judyoconnell.com 
I discovered Glogster earlier this year and my students made glogs as part of their film studies which they really enjoyed – you can see them here – http://katikaticollegecreations.wikispaces.com/
The Aussies have invaded!
It is great to meet people F2F. I met Lenva last week in Tauranga- she is never home!!!
Great photo, Judy – y’all have a wonderful time!
Are you coming down as far as Dunedin? If so, let me know & I’ll shout you a coffee.
We were at Lenva’s school over a week ago and really enjoyed our visit as well (all 23 of us from schools in Wellington). I have also gone away and had a play with Glogster. I have just blogged about it at http://sharetheaddiction.edublogs.org I’m not quite sure why you are here in NZ when your final goal is the NECC conference but what a great experience heading away with so many talented educators. Enjoy the rest of your travels!
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time and seeing great practice first hand. Wish I was there too to be part of the discussions and dreams.
Helen
Wish I was there. Even without the visiting, hanging out with the bunch of you would be inspirational. Have a fantastic time.