October 30, 2013
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Minecraft in the Classroom

Posted by | Gaming | No Comments

We recently presented the AIS ICT Integration Conference. It was a great two days and it was so exciting to be with like minded techies. One of my favourite presentations was by Michael Beilharz from Knox Grammar – you can see more about him in this article on their school blog. In the first half he talked about the Minecraft server they had set up and how many subjects had utilised this tool: English, History, Geography, Maths, and Science! Not many resources or tools for the classroom can boast of having such a broad scope of application. In the second half we were able to login to the schools Minecraft server and try to build a bridge. I can’t say I wasn’t terribly successful – using the desktop rather than the iPad will take some getting used to – but it was great moving around the space with the other participants.

I want to learn more so I have created a page of Minecraft to collate links, success stories, lessons and a few ideas if they should arise…

October 17, 2013
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AIS ICT Integration Conference #aisitic

Posted by | Wrightstuff Interactive | No Comments

It’s the day after the conference and I think I have con-lag (conference version of jetlag). Through the dazed expression though I am thinking allot about the work I saw from so many inspiring and innovative teachers. Here is a bit of a blurb about the teachers that really stood out for me…

Emma Clemens

It was so inspiring to see the cross curricular iBooks some of her upper primary students created and to be able to speak directly to the students who created them. Emma has a blog – Think Teach Learn – and is on Twitter so I encourage you to follow this innovative teacher integrate technology effectively in her classroom.

Abi Woldhuis

Abi was a great presenter even though I was only able to attend her short presentation about Social Media. “Do you feel the love?” she would ask. Really engaging and fun. During the conference I found her on twitter and then clicked the link to her blog – Journey Through Learning. Abi writes with the same warmth, passion and professionalism she spoke with at the conference. She is another great educator you should follow.

Chris Woldhuis

I am pretty sure Chris didn’t present but it was great meeting him and chatting about everything from technology to children. On the final day of the conference Chris was floating around with students from his school clad with cameras and tripods. At the conference wrap up session he and the students showed their amazing montage of the conference which they made all on the spot! Professional quality work from Chris and the Media Team of NBCS – well done! Chris is on twitter and blogs at EngagedEd.

Bruce Dixon

Bruce Dixon was the first Keynote presenter on the second day of the conference. His matter-of-fact style and clear presentation brought the facts and figures of technology integration to life. He is on Twitter and has a blog as apart of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation he founded in 1996. I also loved it that Bruce mentioned Alec and George Couros in his presentation – by knowing these two international educators it showed me that his perspective is global rather than simply focusing on Australia. He confirmed my own opinion that Australia is woefully behind in technology integration but he does, as I do, have great hope for the future.

Kristina Stoney

Ride to Learn is the exciting “adventure education” consulting business that Kristina Stoney presented on as the second Keynote speaker of day two. Kristina literally gave me tingles as she spoke about and showed beautiful pictures of her riding across the world while connecting with students back here in Australia. Kristina was also very generous when I spoke to her during a break and I am so excited about the possibilities she and her husband Nicholas Arney have made with the formation of Ride to Learn. See their website here and their twitter feeds @KristinaStoney and @NicholasArney.

But the best presenter of all was Samuel Wright (which I say with no bias at all!). He can be seen in the video conducting conference participants in an iPad orchestra 🙂
I really enjoyed attending the conference and presenting with Samuel on our favourite topic: iBooks!

I look forward mixing with such inspiring people again very soon.

For more information reflections of the conference you can look up the #aisitic hashtag and just scroll back a couple of days.

P.S. Also really enjoyed Michael Beilharz’s presentation on Minecraft in the classroom. See future post.

September 26, 2013
1

Classroom Bookshelf

Posted by | Projects, Student Created Content, Web App | No Comments

One aspect of school work I remember as a child is that it was only done so that the teacher could mark it. Mum and Dad would see my work when it was sent home at the end of the week and maybe Grandma and Pa would look at it when they visited but that was it. It was collected in a crumpled up cardboard folder for a very small audience. Read More

August 18, 2013
2

The beginning…

Posted by | Uncategorized | No Comments

It feels like we have been thinking and planning the launch of Wrightstuff Interactive for decades! In one sense this is actually true – well, a decade at least. Since starting university in the early 2000’s, Samuel and I have seen new technologies change the way we create and consume information. It wasn’t very long ago that we didn’t have touch technology like iPads yet they have now assimilated themselves into our lives. As everything is changing so quickly, what I believe we need to ask, “is how can we keep apace with change and utilise new technologies to deliver the most effective learning?” Read More

March 19, 2013
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Pasi and the Finns

Posted by | International Education | No Comments

I have had an interest, nay – an obsession about Finnish education since watching this video on TeacherTV about 5 years ago…
I have read a few articles and watched just as many lectures, news programs and documentaries, yet what I really wanted was a resource that brought all these ideas together… thats when Pasi Sahlberg’s book Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? came into my sights. I was really excited, nay – too excited. As the ebook version is not available in Australia, the audiobook is free as an introduction to Audible, and I have just started driving two hours a day doing the round trip to drop my son at school, I got the audio book. Almost 8 hours! Hard core education theory! The narrator is clear and very well spoken, so much so I get confused about his nationality sometimes (American? Not English?). I will have to buy the printed version too at some point – book depository is the best for us Aussie’s as they have free postage – because I want to see the graphs and read it more thoroughly. Having the printed version would also be good for referring to in essays. I ‘d like to include a study of international education in my masters, when it happens, and a study of Finland would be great.

There are so many things that make this book brilliant and I’m sure I could talk about it for 20 posts but I won’t – I will just recommend VERY VERY strongly that you buy the book. For me it has elevated my opinion of being a teacher. The saying goes, “be the change you want to see” and this book articulates that change. The bar is set high but are our children worth any less?

NOTE: After publishing this post I noticed that the title sounds like a 50’s band like “Jerry and the pacemakers”.

Relevant Links:

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers: Finland

February 14, 2013
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Podcasting with Year 2

Posted by | Student Created Content | No Comments

For my second last practical placement I was very blessed to work with a veteran teacher of 30 years. Totally comfortable in her own skin she gave me relative free reign over a science and technology unit on Endangered Animals.

We read books together and investigated the term ‘endangered’. Each child then chose an endangered animal and found out a bit about them. Students used this information to create a short script which they then recorded as a podcast. This being my first project integrating technology there are things I would do differently next time but the students where really happy with their work and were able to share it with their parents through the class blog I also set up.

This project is also on our Wrightstuff Interactive website.

Click here to hear a sample podcast, see the student work sheet and assessment rubric over at issue.com The assessment was for the script not the podcast.

January 06, 2013
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First-post-phobia

Posted by | Uncategorized | No Comments

The first post of a blog is similar to writing on the first page of a new notebook. As Miss Stacy said of each new day, it is “fresh with no mistakes”. That’s why I think I have developed first-post-phobia. This serious and very common condition causes sufferers to begin multiple blogs, yet never really get into the pattern of posting… usually because the first post doesn’t seem quite right… Well – in an effort to conquer this debilitating condition here is my first post.