Cluster Schools video

What a long way we have all come in 2016. When I watch this video, I see children and young people happy at school, learning with each other and with their devices, showing their parents what they are learning, teachers working together and learning from each other and the origins of the Trust and its logo.
I also reflect on my learning journey over the year. Being a newcomer to Google apps, I have had a huge learning curve and I continue to find out more each day - Google apps, Google Admin, Google site-building, blog creation and blogging, Hapara Teacher Dashboard, extensions, add-ons, a You Tube channel, more web tools and apps, the Manaiakalani Cybersmart curriculum.....the list continues to grow.
All this with thinking about how to use the affordances of the digital age and the pedagogy of learn-create-share in new ways that were previously unimaginable but personalised, authentic and relevant to the students of our community.
Onwards to another year of clustering, teaching and learning in 2017.

Animating Google Slides

I'm testing the animation and transition features of google slides. I discovered that the Research Tool is now called Explore. I found the pictures fine but I'm not able to search by licence - I presume these are all images that are labelled for non-commercial reuse. It was straight forward to do this and I hope my three classes on Friday enjoy it.

Well, the three classes loved making their own animations. Although all used the honey bee and ant storyline, some embellished the story by adding other text and relevant backgrounds. One student showed me his animation with the story taking place in a field, another on a flower - what great imaginations the students have! Most students posted proudly to their individual blogs. I suggested that they might now offer to teach another class in the Outreach (through Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu) these new skills.

Trialling Animoto

I wanted to test Animoto just with pictures. It was easy and there is nice music in the background. However, 'trial version' is across both corners unless the user pays for their account.

Video with Photopeach

Video with Photopeach

Click on the link above to view a video that I made with Photopeach. This link takes the viewer into Photopeach. The programme had a way of embedding a video into a blog or site but despite using multiple computers and trying to also embed into a google site, I couldn't get the embed function to work. Therefore I took a screenshot of the first photo and added a link to enable others to view this creation. I also had trouble with some photos landing in Photopeach upside down - especially the professional ones so that is why I used some personal ones here because they appeared the right way up. Because of the difficulties I faced with this first attempt I probably won't use it with students or again by myself.

Kootuitui ki Papakura AGM September 2016

I have recently started my own Youtube channel and this was an early attempt to use Youtube video editor to create a movie from some of the photos taken at Kootuitui ki Papakura's first AGM in Sep 2016. It is quite easy to use. There is 1 track for the photos/video and 1 track for the audio. I chose an audio track from the list that Youtube offered.

Sparkshop

I went to a Sparkshop recently which was a day of some great google learning organised by the Google experts of Auckland. The day began with a slam session of the potential workshops that would be held. All potential presenters had added a slide to a slideshow and were given two mins to give their pitch. There was a google form that everyone used to rate whether they'd like to attend each potential session. After this, the organisers took 15 mins to sort through the voting results and then presented a board of the sessions that had received the most interest, separated into sessions and locations. We were able to pick three sessions and then all joined together at the end to share a slam of one min each for new ideas. I was keen to show everyone my new Google Space.  I attended sessions on sites, forms and extensions/add-ons. It was a really worthwhile day.

The Sparkshop Participants

The Workshops Most Highly Sought

My Spaces

Chromebook Launches

   A number of schools in the cluster have now launched their chromebooks. What this means is that the parents of all the classes involved in the 1:1 digital immersion programme have all committed to purchasing a device for their child/ren. This commitment is expressed in a $40 deposit and weekly on-going payments for 1, 2 or 3 years.
   When you consider that some families have multiple children in the programme, perhaps at both a primary and high school, this is a very significant commitment. These schools are all decile 1, bar one, which means that families have the lowest incomes, the most crowded homes, and the least education of everyone in the country. Just putting food on the table each day is a challenge, which some primary schools have responded to by providing a free breakfast, morning tea and lunch everyday for their students.
   The Papakura community is one of the poorest in NZ, yet, families have signed up for these chromebooks because they are intent on providing the same opportunities for their children as those in more wealthy communities have. One parent at a recent launch was seen to hold a chromebook and express the idea that now, her children will become the doctors, lawyers and teachers of the local community.
   These children indeed have their hands firmly on their own device for learning: for opening up to them the world of knowledge, of creativity, of thinking, of learning, of setting their own path into their futures. All credit to the parents and whanau for their support of their children and the schools. We are excited to be in partnership with you all.

Kootuitui logo

"Kootuitui means connecting/linking or weaving together. In this programme it is about connecting the dimensions of Digital Education, Students’ Health and Healthy Homes. The name has been chosen in consultation with manawhenua for Papakura schools participating in the Manaiakalani Outreach Programme.

The logo in the first instance is the result of collaboration between Year 7&8 students and a teacher at Edmund Hillary School. The teacher crafted the logo by combining the main themes and colours from students’ work. Edmund Hillary School’s business partners KPMG created the digital format. Then the teacher painted the logo in oils (pictured).

The logo depicts Uenuku, the Rainbow God, as the source providing clarity from heaven. The purple koru represents Education. The green koru represents Health and the lavender koru below represents Healthy Homes and Whanau. All three koru connect/link to the universe through the name Kootuitui. 

The three waves depicted in the purple koru represent kia ako (to learn), kia hanga (to create) and kia tohatoha (to share). This is the pedagogy central to the Manaiakalani Outreach programme."

na Kataraina Nock Principal Edmund Hillary School October 2015

Kootuitui 4

Tuesday was the inaugural formal meeting of the Kootuitui 4: Raina, Dave, Maria and me, although we had met the week before at a local cafe for introductions and coffee. The Tuesday morning spot is a time for us to get together to discuss administrative matters around the many facets of the Kootuitui programme. Notice, my place at the table (I'm taking the photo) is signified by a tablet, pen and paper. However, later in the week I borrowed a cromebook from Maria and now my laptop is on its way. Actually, being flexible in all aspects of the work not just the tools, is a great approach to take, because it allows those involved in project implementation to engage in open communication and be more responsive to ideas and opportunities.

Kia ora Kootuitui ki Papakura

I am so delighted to be appointed to the new role of Education Programme Leader for the Kootuitui ki Papakura schools' cluster. In my first two weeks I have visited five of the six schools and met the principals, attended three Manaiakalani and one Kootuitui professional development days, started working with Dave Winter, the Manaiakalani Outreach Delivery Manager and Maria Krausse, the cluster's Outreach Facilitator and spent time at my base school, Edmund Hillary School, with the Principal Convenor, Kataraina Nock, and her staff. What a dedicated group of professionals there are in this cluster and working with this cluster, all with their focus firmly on the children and their learning.

"He waka eke noa"

We are all in this canoe together and I am privileged to have been given a seat in this waka.

My blog is going to chronicle our journey. I will write about our plans, activities, successes, failures, and things we learn along the way, and discuss how these shape our direction. Along with the narrative, I will add my reflections and ideas, especially in relation to the quality of my paddling in the waka. 

Well hello Google! Since 2011, I have had just a few forays into the world of Google, sharing documents in Drive and forming circles in Google +. As Kootuitui ki Papakura operates in a Google world, I am busy getting to grips with this world so that I am conversant within it. I now have three 'user' profiles in Google so that I can separate Kootuitui from home and from my base school through which I blog. I have joined a number of communities in Google+ and shared into the Kootuitui site from other sites. I have started using Google calendar, had my first Hangout and have started learning the basics of a Google Site. Finally, Blogger is my first serious attempt at blogging.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.