Feeding a Hungry World

Joining the 7th grade team this year, meant working with new units. As we started to plan Feeding a Hungry World, we all felt constricted by the 6 Themes of Geography approach and decided to adjust and develop the unit to incorporate a lot more …

All four classes would combine for the final negotiations so we needed to assign countries and roles across the grade. The goal was to have all students prepared for a diplomatic simulation/negotiation. The areas of focus were to involve food security issues and a focus on land use and it’s potential to make a difference, as well as potential resource reallocation.

All students were assigned their countries in Asia and then they needed to source information on demographics. The CIA and WFP sites were user friendly and for most countries provided the basic information.

Each country had clearly defined roles: diplomat, government official, environmental scientist, farmer, citizen. There was a graphic organiser for each role and then each student was expected to contribute to a full group discussion in order to inform the diplomat so she/he could take a position in the simulation. At this time a google doc was set up for each group so they could continue on the research from home to fill in any gaps of information and make their positions stronger.

Students were then spread throughout the classroom and given a packet containing their food (rice grains) land (coloured paper) and money (in line with the GDP) The goal was for each group to negotiate enough food to feed their population by 2050.

This is one of the few times that students have not only not wanted to go out break, but stayed after class to negotiate, challenge and change their countries position. They were well prepared due to the sites selected as a base, their improving research skills on line, their ability to collaborate beyond classroom doors. I had wondered if the content was beyond the majority but it was evident from the on line products and discussions that the majority did grasp the major concepts.

As it turned out actual keeping the unit flowing, as a class, was our biggest problem as we had the H1N1 virus affecting classes and more than half each of my classes was out for over a week, with the number affected for a three week period. Because we were able to use blogs and google docs, classwork was able to proceed for the rest of the groups present.

Tech peripherals

This semester the first new peripheral was the microphone for Smart Recording. Easy to use for the students though there was a problem with constantly recurring lack of sound. This required administrative password access as students accessing settings at will could potentially wreak havoc. It seems there is a solution to this underway though we faced each incident as it arose. I used the lab with the students as Khun Eed was right there and ready to help adjust. We learned very quickly to do a test before launching in to the presentation. The thrill of uploading there finsihed products on to YouTube nipped any complaining and frustration in the bud.

The Document Camera is easy to use in tandem with the Smart board and saves scanning, sending and reformatting. Easy for students and teachers to put up examples and lowers the nerve level as students get used to providing evidence instantly, using it to project a picture or data, as a prop for discussion.

The Smartboard itself can be the bane of my life. It either works brilliantly - or not. With a mac I now have to reset the display every time I plug in. We ( being me and various people from EdTech) have reset the display but dependent on whether someone else has use the Smartboard it is a process and requires me being really organised, using breaks to set up and not expecting to just plug in and go.

For novel study summary the students worked with cameras and movie cameras to summarise plot or showcase charcter development. It was a lot of work to put movies in to imovie but we used the pyramid learning and peer tutor. We've ended up with quite a few experts at pulling movies together. More with this next semester...

Relevant - How?

What is a 'good' educator? Someone who values learning, motivates students to question, connect, communicate, create ... There have been many wonderful teachers in the past who have taught without technology - that is the technology as we know it to be now. Of course one can be a great educator without digital tools but with the right tools for each task the possibilities increase exponentially.

NETs encourage educators to

• Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
• Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
• Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
  
• Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Clearly there is relevance in the standards, though as we discussed - the document would and could stand as what many good teachers ahve been doing for years - without the word technology inbedded. They could be applied ot any curriculum area. ISB has come far since being on this new campus. The one computer lab has long gone and laptops are the computer of choice. Technology is a part of learning every day. There are always newer and newer tools. I jsut don't want ot throw out the great ones as new ones appear. It does not have to be the latest - for it to be great. But I, for one, will keep looking. The NETs may indeed help along the way.

Standards

If you teach it, you better understand it - so of course it is every teachers responsibility - regardless of whatever other title they are using - specialist, principal, administrator standards need to be understood. Teachers and administrators have clearly stated expectations and standards which easily align with a wide variety of tasks within curriculum. The NETS are clear and easy to understand, adapt, and work with. Like other guidelines - Gardener's, Taylor's etc., it is impossible to address everything all of the time, but in a spiral curriculum it can be done over time.

NETs address creativity, information gathering and communication. What we need from all learners - an ability to know and understand - - take the thinking to a higher level and of course the ability to communicate their creation - through a variety of programs and media.

Having said that - people's confidence and capabilities vary, so minimum standards being set make sense. At ISB minimum skills for use of Panthernet have been stated in order to facilitate long distance learning when necessary. Incoming educators are often overwhelmed so a succinct document with expectations is valuable.

Leadership comes not only from administrators, but from colleagues and students. NETS outline and reflect possibilites. Learning is always the focus and technology a tool.

Screencasting for Learning

In the two streams of teaching I am responsible for screencasting is accessed, or used by all students. In the IT class it is modelled and taught through Smart Recorder, iMovie, with the end products differing.

With Smart Recorder students develop a screencast that will teach other skills within programs such as Excel, or Word. It takes a sound knowledge of the subject to show, while at the same time confidently tell, how to import images, or make and label a bar graph. For many students it took a number of attempts to be satisfied that it was an effective teaching tool. These screencasts are saved in a file that is able to be accessed by each incoming class.

iMovie was a more open ended project and allowed creativity in combining images to tell about one of their passions. Because it was not content driven the students had a lot of fun, and freedom to choose images and music that appealed to them.

In the Humanities classes, screencasting is used by teachers and students. The teacher generated screencasts from Notebook software or SmartRecording can all be used as an all class teaching tool, as a reference for those who need review, and for students who are absent. In a co- teaching and EAP situation that I work in - it is perfect to view in small segments.


Students all have used Smart Recording for novel review, and geography terms. These have been uploaded to YouTube and onto blogs for sharing. Some students have worked with iMovie to bring to life novels, and have motivated others to experiment. There continue to be many other ways and programs to introduce and use screencasts and those are next on my list.

There's about 200 milliion websites today and there will be more tomorrow.

Five Mind-Blowing Web Stats You Should Know

How to...

Learning, inside and outside the classroom has continued to be impacted by the exponential growth of on line information in many forms - video notwithstanding. If you want to learn how to upload something, there is a video; want to learn how to build a glider, carry out an experiment, there is a video, define a geographical term - it's there.

I can search for appropriate videos to support outcomes. Students can search for videos on their own to enchance their understanding, or students can create their own videos. YouTube provides an excellent host service to upload videos that can easily be accessed by students, their families or indeed anyone who accesses YouTube. Students then can download their videos into their own blogs.

All this is well and good but what are needed are the skills to analyse, assess (accuracy and content), reflect, apply... These have not changed whether it is digital information, or not. If anything, there is more of a challenge when wading through a plethora of information and videos to find the best fit for the subject and ascertain its accuracy.

I'm lucky to work on a team where we work collegially and are always looking for improved ways to support learning. This IT course continues to remind me of the options 'out there'. For someone like me who likes to follow the most obscure lead, finishing blogs have been the lowest priority. It's about the journey for me, and I have expanded my 'bag of tricks' from understanding of programs, to new tools, questioned my use of technology, changed tools - and best of all I know I will continue to do so. Thanks Jeff and Kim

Digitally Exploring

Mixing It Up

As a summative project for a novel studied, students could choose from podcasts, powerpoints, iMovie clips, movie making, Smart Recorder - to name but a few.The intent of whatever mode of story telling they chose was to clearly show the themes within the novel, and to entice others to read and understand the novel.

Logistically I wondered if it might become a nightmare due to computer bookings, cameras and the diverse groupings the students selected. The only real issue, as it turned out, was that the students who chose to make a movie did not realise how long it would take them to pull it all together. None of them saw it as work and once given extensions spent much of their weekend editing and re-filming. There were issues such as group dynamics to deal with but many told me how much they loved the experience and how hugely proud they were of their final product. They clearly showed understanding of issues in the novel and key concepts.

When we played the completed projects it was a celebration of group work portraying clearly showing understanding with more than a twist of creativity.

From their reflections I know that there is enthusiasm to try something new, different, challenging. There is a pride in their newly acquired skills. Raising the bar...

From basic powerpoint such as