Day 30 - Fearless Educators

I've always thought of myself as a fearless educator, pushing the limits and doing something different with my class, as I'm not afraid to get it wrong and say I'm sorry.  I love the feeling you get when you push it that little bit further, the excitement in the class when they are doing something different.

Reflecting upon this, it has always been within the limits of the school.  So, to answer the final 30 Day Reflective Blogging Challenge topic - what would you do as an educator if you weren't afraid?

*Skype experts across the world
*Tweet more often
*Share with the world the amazing things we do
*Present at a conference
*Ask why more often

Imagine what the world would be like if we were all fearless educators!

Day 19 - The Power of Reflection

Reflection is a powerful tools we use as teachers to ensure we are doing the best job we can.  Teaching kids to reflect and see the value behind it at times can be very hard, especially when they have either done it before but ineffectively or haven't experienced it at all.

Some of the tools I use for reflection in my class is:

• Checklists and TimelineWhen undertaking a longer unit of work such as an inquiry topic, I like to use checklists paired with a timeline.  This helps teach the children to:
  - make sure they've fulfilled all the criteria
  - map out a long term project, meeting milestones
  
  I always begin with very structured to model to the children how to do this then as the year goes on they take more and more responsibility for their own checklists and timelines.
  
  At each milestone, we discuss what they should have achieved and where they should be now - usually this is just small reflection by looking at their checklist and timeline, marking off where they are.
  
• Mid and End of Term ReflectionsThis is common practice in our school.  Some teachers do it weekly where others do it at the mid and end of the term.  I prefer to do mid and end, this is in the form of questions which stay the same throughout the year for them to reflect upon their learning as a whole.  I encourage the children to re-read their last reflection to see if they achieved what they set out to or what they need to continue to work on.
  
• It feels like Punishment!  I feel Successful!Some of the children "coast" through the term, where others put their heads down and work hard.  I work with a level where they are about to be much more responsible for their learning so giving them the tools is necessary. 
  
  I believe a part of that is feeling the "punishment" or disappointment of not doing as well as they could have and the kids who did not "coast" their success is in their work - this is where I feel you get the most powerful reflection and motivation for the next.

As an educator I want the children I work with to think critically about what they're doing, why they're doing it, and how they can do more.

Day 13 - Top Tech Tools

I need to explain my approach with my class.  As we all do, we deal with a range of learners, not all tools will suit them or meet the need of how or what they want to do.  With this in mind I take the approach of they are to use the tools that fit what they want to do.  

This being my second year in a BYOD blended e-learning class the learners who I work with, a lot of them spent their first year in a BYOD class, bring their own wealth of apps and knowledge.  There are some in my class that are new to BYOD.  The learners share with each other different apps/tools to try and I also throw my ideas out there too.  Often as a class we review apps to reflect upon it's ability to meet our needs.

After much reflection upon the tools in which I use on a daily basis whether it is to help me teach or learners in my class, I came up with a rather small list:

• Evernote
  Me - record my RTCs, PLD, meeting, and class notes
  Learners - Maths notebook, Inquiry notes
• Camera (iPad, smart phone, digital camera)
  Me - capture moments that I want to record, PE, presentations
  Learners - tutorials, blogging, PE, speeches, recording learning
• Blogger
  Me - blogging whether it is for 30 Day challenge or the class blog
  Learners - achieved learning targets, "ah-ha" moments, reflections
• Google Drive
  Me - sharing files with learners, colleagues, giving feedback, workshop notes
  Learners - collaborative work, sharing files, handing in assignments/home learning
• YouTube
  Me/Learners - flipped lessons, inspiration/motivation for lessons

Unsure of the acronyms that I use, here they are:
RTCs - Registered Teacher Criteria
PLD - Professional Learning Development
BYOD - Bring You Own Device