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Lockdown Learning – List of Resources
Last week I posted that I would make a list of resources, apps, software, and programs that would assist you in providing remote learning. I regret mentioning it. Because I have decided that this is counter-productive for two reasons. Firstly,…
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Lockdown Learning – How much is too much?
It seems that not a day goes by without some company out there offering free access to their product until July. Don’t get me wrong, I know that for the most part they’re doing this in all good faith. But…
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Teaching Portfolios: How to set up a OneNote portfolio
I’ve been using OneNote to build my teacher portfolio for a while now. Back in 2016 I wrote a quick how-to about building your teacher portfolio in OneNote. Back then, of course, there were 12 criteria, and so the template is…
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Happy New Year: 2020 Vision
At the end of last year (2019), the most searched term that lead to this website was ‘teaching portfolios” followed by “examples of teaching portfolios”. It prompted me to think about and reflect on how this website is being used,…
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Daily 5 – Reading or Writing Student Conference
I have just made this resource to assist my Teacher Aide(s) in meeting with regular students during Daily 5. It outlines various questions and learning based conversations to have as to what the student has chosen to meet with them…
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Valuing Teachers: Teacher Salaries Compared
A pay deal offered to teachers would put some among the country’s top earners. Teachers are stuck in a stand-off with the Government over its latest pay offer. What’s been offered – and rejected – looks something like this. Primary teachers with…
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The Foundation: Relationships Matter
The reality of it is, building without a foundation is somewhat pointless. If you start with the finished product without laying the groundwork, you will ultimately fail. The same can happen with teaching. You can have all the best learning…
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All Better
In relation to: Government pours $95 million over four years into teaching resources
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Teacher Back to School Bingo – 2019 Edition
Hi all! It’s that time of year where you put down your book, find the school keys, dust off your TELA laptop and cruise back to school. No one finds it fun. Unless they have the latest edition of Teacher’s…
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BYOD: It’s not as compulsory as you think
As a bit of a tech guru, it saddens me to see parents trapped in the psyche that they need to not only “Keep up with the Joneses”, but need to provide their child with a $300+ device to use…
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No Money
In relation to: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/368554/how-to-win-an-argument-on-the-government-s-surplus https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12106997
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PTC Portfolio – Example Template
So part of my job is providing PD for our staff on a variety of things, usually anything to do with ICT. I have been asked to run a workshop on online PTC portfolios, and so as part of that,…
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Teacher Back to School Bingo – 2018 Edition
Last year’s Bingo was such a success that it seemed only right that a new edition for 2018 comes out. Of course, these are largely generic, and last year’s sheet is still playable. Remember, this is nothing more but to…
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Russell Howard: Hardest Job in the world is a teacher
View Video on YouTube Thanks Russell for standing up for Teachers everywhere.
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How Canada became an education superpower | BBC
I found this article and was amazed by it, given the fact that Canada actually approached New Zealand and borrowed aspects of our Curriculum for their use. They developed a selection of ideas from it, but largely, their education curriculum…
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Backbench MP’s vs. Teacher Salaries
Backbench MPs are about to earn $163,961 a year. The top of the pay scale for teachers is $78,000. If we turn the pay clock back to 1979, Backbenchers and experienced teachers earned roughly the same amount ($18,000 a year)…
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Chrome Apps for Students with Learning Difficulties
There are a number of students who are displaying signs of having learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, in schools across the country. While there are some troubles in getting a diagnosis for these students, there is no reason why we should…
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Teacher Back to School Bingo
The new year begins tomorrow for most teacher’s, and I felt that what better time to have a bit of fun to make those first days back at work a little more bearable. So here it is, the inaugural Teacher’s…
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Ken Robinson – Creative Schools – Chapter 1
Last year I purchased Ken Robinson’s ‘Creative Schools’ book after viewing his highly popular TED talk video in which he made quite a lot of sense. To be honest, I’m not much of a reader. I tend to stick to…
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The Impact of Daily 5 Continues
Introduction Previously I wrote about the impact of Daily 5 in a Year 3 and 4 class. In this article I focus in on some of those students, as well as others, who have made progress under Daily 5. For…
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The Impact of Daily 5
Introduction I have seen first hand the benefits of Daily 5, as have the initiators of the programme when they first started it. In this article I focus in on one particular student in my class this year. For privacy,…
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Practising Teacher Criteria and Microsoft OneNote
As we move further into tighter and tighter regulations around registering as a teacher, the need to keep track of and collate evidence of our ability as teachers to teach becomes more and more important. The Practising Teacher Criteria requires…
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Using Google Docs for Teacher Planning
Earlier this year I wrote about the benefits of using Microsoft OneNote as a planning tool (Part 1, Part 2) for teachers to use with their class, week in and week out. I liked how the OneNote folder system could…
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Getting started with Genius Hour
So this week I was intrigued by the concept of “Genius Hour” or “Passion Projects”. It just so happened that there seems to be a spare hour on Friday where students have finished their handwriting and spelling, and have got…
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Microsoft OneNote – Teacher Planning – Part II
Part 2 – How do I set OneNote up as my Planning Folder As mentioned in Part I of Microsoft OneNote – Teacher Planning, every teacher, every school, plans differently. The method that follows is just one way in which teachers…
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Microsoft OneNote – Teacher Planning – Part I
There are numerous ways in which Microsoft OneNote can be utilised in education. There are plenty of posts about the versatility of this software, and how it can be used. This is a little different. Obviously, one of those ways…
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Google Drive vs. OneDrive
Sorry. Did I say versus? I meant AND. About four years ago, our school made a shift to using Gmail as our email client. We’ve never looked back. This year, we began delving into Google Drive, and Google Docs as a…
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Victory Over Death 2 – Colin McCahon
Blogging Legend: Week 1 3. Write a blog post about your favourite movie/song/piece of art including how it relates to your life as an educator. As an artist, musician, and movie lover, this challenge is a hard one. Having studied…
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Teacher Wellbeing – Got a Workplace Wellbeing Programme?
Wellbeing programmes are commonplace in the corporate world, and even some schools, but not all. YOU can be the one who gets the wellbeing ball rolling at your place. Wellbeing is a relatively new concept, and schools don’t exactly have…
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Teacher Wellbeing – Tidy Up Your Workspace
It feels good doing a good clear out; getting into all those shelves and cupboards and creating space. Have a chat to your principal, and see if they can help organise a team tidy up. We did this not so…
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Teacher Wellbeing – Mindful Walking
This is a simple but powerful tool that helps draw your attention back to the present moment you’re experiencing right now. Cultivating contentment. A great combination of words. Very hard to do though. But being aware that there are things…
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Teacher Wellbeing – The Importance of Sleep
How much sleep do you get? Is it quality sleep? Sleep nourishes your body, and is pretty essential to integrate all the days’ stimuli. Here are a few tips that might help you get a restful night, full of some…
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Teacher Wellbeing – Date Night!
Date Night! It’s time to unwind with the significant people in your life. Do something fun, relax, park work at the door. Whatever you do – enjoy! They say that behind every great man is an even greater woman in…
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BYOD – Bring Your Own Distraction
BYOD – standing for Bring Your Own Device, has been around for a while now; ever since schools opened up their networks and went wireless, students and teachers alike have been able to access the wealth of information that is…
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Enrage or Engage
Background Reading These articles are what sparked this post. Check them out before reading my ramblings. The Science of Everything In 2020, a shift was beginning to happen in NZ schools. Schools were continuing to see the same story in…
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Learning Starts with Showing Up
Learning starts with showing up. That is until you understand how completely disheartening and wrong it is as a teacher and/or school admin to notify parents that their child has been away from school for ‘x’ number of days… and…
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Saying No to A.I.
“I’m here to tell you the mission of your generation is to destroy A-I. Kill it. To accomplish this, you’ll have to capture and reprogram an A-I to be on the side of humanity, then commandeer its own time-traveling technology,…
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Uncertainty
Teachers and Schools are facing an uphill battle; one that is seemingly never ending in the current climate. We have a government hell-bent on reforming every aspect of education. Thankfully for them, they inherited the beginnings of a curriculum change…
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