Te Manawa Pou: free online Professional Learning and Development

Te Manawa Pou is a free online Professional Learning and Development [PLD] programme for te reo Māori teachers from English medium primary schools (Year 1-8). It is designed particularly (yet not exclusively) for teachers based in rural areas, or for teachers who may be the only teacher of te reo Māori in their school and thus may benefit from making connections with others.
Every aspect of Te Manawa Pou is focused on supporting individual teachers to:

• improve their te reo Māori proficiency
• improve their confidence in teaching and using te reo Māori
• enhance their quality teaching and learning of te reo Māori practices
• explore strategies to give every encouragement and opportunity for iwi and whānau to be involved in their children’s te reo Māori learning.

Further information

Te Manawa Pou overview page
Te Manawa Pou Information Sheet [ PDF 397KB ]
Contact us about the Te Manawa Pou programme 


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Keep sharing...

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by Pinelopi Zaka (pinelopi.zaka@gmail.com, @paz11uc)

If we look into a learning organization such as a school, teachers are often encouraged to collaborate with each other to improve their practices, support one another and further develop their professional knowledge. At the next level is sharing these learning experiences that the teachers are developing within their own contexts with teachers outside their own school. The benefits are priceless, including thinking outside our little box.

As part of my M.Ed. on e-learning and digital technologies in education at the University of Canterbury, I had the opportunity to collaborate online with many teachers and other professionals that were coming from various and different contexts, sharing our ideas, experiences and reflections and of course supporting each other in our learning journey. Experiencing the value of sharing in the ‘safe’ online environment of my courses, I was further motivated and encouraged to start using other social media to extend my learning experience, connecting with even more people.

This is where I realized the important role of social media in today’s world. It’s all about sharing our knowledge, our practice, our experiences with other teachers, other professionals, in other contexts; using blogs, wikis, videos, tweets and so many other ways, depending on what better suits the individual, this is what helps us to think outside our own silos and move our thinking and practice lots of steps further.

There are countless examples of teachers and other education professionals in New Zealand and elsewhere that share their educational practices, ideas, research and other resources through blogs, wikis, twitter, podcasts etc, not concerned about keeping their materials for themselves. Acknowledging the value of sharing, they consider other professionals that can be inspired from their own practices, engage in constructive dialogue, reflect on their own contexts from different points of view, experiment with new tools and approaches.

This plays an important role in changing what it means to be a good educator. In a society where knowledge itself has lost its previous ‘glory’, as the web enables instant access to what was previously held by the experts, teachers and schools have to offer more than teaching materials; it’s not about the resources, but about inspiring others and be inspired – moving beyond knowing the facts and creating new knowledge through collaboration. Isn’t this what we want for our students? Why not for us as well then? Practicing what we preach... so keep sharing!

Resources:

• Photo by HikingArtist.com
• Margaret Riel video interview on teacher/leadership and its relation to ICT in education. EduSummIT 2009, Hague
• Blogs and podcasts by NZ teachers and educators
• New Zealand Educational “Twits” to follow (via http://traintheteacher.wordpress.com/)
• Australian Tweechers PLN (via http://traintheteacher.wordpress.com/

Final VPLD Hot Seat for the year

Christina Ward: Teaching as Inquiry

Session Overview

“Teachers are at the heart of school improvement, and with all the change in the
world and new understandings about learning it is essential that they too keep
learning. “
(Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003)

In this session we will explore teaching as inquiry by:

• discussing the process and its place in The New Zealand Curriculum,
• taking a look at the characteristics of schools and classrooms where high
• levels of teaching as inquiry are evident
• sharing examples from New Zealand schools, and other useful resources.

Bio:

Christina Ward manages New Zealand Curriculum Online. Since 2004, she has worked with the education sector to ensure schools have access to quality information to support curriculum development and implementation. She also encourages them to contribute to the online environment, share their stories and make connections with each other.

Christina is also closely involved in a number of online environments, including Key Competencies Online, Middle Schooling, Secondary Middle Leaders, Community Engagement, Software For Learning, and Te Manawa Pou.

Christina was a classroom teacher before launching into curriculum resource development and publishing, then Social Studies Online and the exemplar project.

Follow up notes, summary and material available. 


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Virtual Professional Learning Development programme

Expressions of interest for the VPLD 2012 intake close this coming Monday 12 pm 31st October:

The Virtual Professional Learning Development programme (VPLD) team is very keen to hear from NZ teachers, Principals, APs and DPs, who are interested in participating in the next VPLD intake (programme beginning in February 2012).

The VPLD programme offers flexibility of choice, time and approach, and is designed to fit in with what you are already doing as teachers and/or leaders.  Each participant is partnered with a mentor, with whom they meet online using Adobe Connect (a Web conferencing tool that enables interactive synchronous communication), or Skype, once a month for between forty-five to ninety minutes. The programme also provides professional learning through engagement in the VPLD professional online Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP offers a safe environment where you can discuss and challenge alternative points of view about pedagogy and practice, across disciplines and sectors.

The literature suggests that the duration and frequency of effective PLD are important - little and often over an extended period of time being the most effective. Participation in the VPLD programme is therefore over the course of three years. In the final year, you will be encouraged to develop your own mentoring skills, and are scaffolded to work with someone of your choosing in a mentor role.

The overall aims of the programme are to raise the professional knowledge and skills of participants, while also accelerating students' achievement of learning outcomes.

If accepted onto this programme you will develop your own learning goals around projects that interest you, framed within an inquiry process.

Find out more about the VPLD programme:

• An overview of the VPLD programme.
• Selection criteria, protocols of participation, values statement.
• Recommended computer specifications for participation in the VPLD
• The VPLD online community of practice
• Hot Seat webinars

Please use this form to submit your expression of interest.

To discuss participation, for yourself or a colleague, contact Hazel Owen hazel.owen@core-ed.org, Rachel Roberts rachel.roberts@core-ed.org, or Clarrie Yates clarence.yates@core-ed.org.

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The Foundation Awards are now open

CORE Education Foundation

Financial support is being offered to teachers to assist you in your professional learning.
There are two main categories:

• “The CORE Education Travel Scholarship”
• “The CORE Education Awards for Professional Learning and Reflective Practice”

Applications close Monday 29th August 2011.
Gina blog offers full details of the award and contact details.



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Spotlight on E-Learning 2011

Many books on a shelf

Kimberley Rivett is in the process of writing a series entitled “How to get the most out of…” in her E-Learning 2011 blog.
If you are the sort to subscribe to blogs then this is well worth following. I am sure the series is far from over and her thoughts and reflections and ideas resonate with me and other teachers. Below is the topics covered so far.

List of episodes from the e-Learning 2011 blog

• How to get the most out of your colleagues (part6) 
• How to get the most out of your colleagues (part5)
• How to get the most out of your class trip (part4)
• How to get the most out of your planning (part3)
• How to get the most out of your PLN (part2)
• How to get the most out of your conference (part1)

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eLearning Capability Framework - July 12

"eLearning Capability Framework" 

Ross Alexander

Core Education 

Tuesday 12 July 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

This session will provide you with:

• An overview of the frameworks
• The opportunity to be part of the consultation process
• How you can use them in your schools and clusters to identify areas of focus to build e-learning capability
• Information about the Enabling e-Learning website and links to resources and services to support you on your journey.

This promises to be a very informative & practical session.

You can read more about Ross's session here and register your attendance here. Tweet

Literacy to You

CORE Education in conjunction with South Pacific Press have developed a new online professional learning programme which begins shortly. The Literacy to You programme focuses on increasing teacher knowledge of how to effectively teach reading comprehension strategies to students in the middle years (ages 8-13).

The Literacy to You programme offers each participant:

• 10 modules on in-depth literacy learning
• Individual support and feedback from expert facilitators
• Access to a wide range of digital texts for classroom use
• Strategies to increase student engagement
• Instruction to meet the needs of diverse classroom settings
• Increased knowledge on interaction and reflection during literacy
• Practical classroom approaches grounded in the latest research

Find out and Register here

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Breakfast in Christchurch

with Cathy Wylie

Chief Researcher - NZCER

"Building learning identities: what we've learnt from the Competent Learners' longitudinal project"

Breakfast Seminar
Friday, 21 June at 7.45am

Cathy Wylie is a Chief Researcher at NZCER, and is currently the J.D. Stout fellow at Victoria University. She has led the Competent Learners' project as it has followed a sample of students from the wider Wellington region from their final early childhood education days through to age 20. She is currently co-editing an international handbook on student engagement. She also researches the impact of educational policy on schools and learning opportunities, including the ways in which schools can engage students.

The Competent Learners' project provides a rare opportunity to follow the development of individual students through primary and secondary schooling. In the age-20 phase of the project, we see out how earlier experiences and performance levels on both cognitive and attitudinal measures related to some of the Key Competencies, influence secondary school engagement, achievement, and what happens post-school. We also see the kinds of learning opportunities and support, in and out of school, that can make a positive difference.

This session will discuss key findings from the age-20 phase of the Competent Learners' phase. To find out more information about the Competent Learners' project click here.

This CORE breakfast session will :

• Discuss the factors that allowed students with low levels of performance at age 8 to achieve well at NCEA
• Show the importance of Key Competencies in gaining NCEA Level 2
• Discuss the importance of the period from age 10 to age 14 in terms of forming or maintaining positive learning identities
• Question the reality of 'second chance education' for those with low engagement in secondary school or low qualification success

This session will be particularly useful for school leaders, classroom practitioners, and policy advisors.

Breakfast will be served at 7.45am, with Cathy beginning the discussion at 8am. She will wrap things up around 9am but you are invited to stay and chat with Cathy, CORE staff and one another after the seminar.
Click here to register online.


VENUE
Russley Golf Club
428 Memorial Avenue
CHRISTCHURCH
COST
$30 including GST

REGISTRATION DUE
Today! (17 June)
TO REGISTER
Register online
CANCELLATIONS
Click here to view our cancellation policy

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Adobe Connect training for NZ Teachers

Adobe Connect for Beginners

Wednesday 1st June 3.30 pm

• Learn the basics of using Adobe Connect for online learning.
• In this workshop you will learn how to:
• Set up a meeting room,
• Manage communication,
• Add and manipulate resources.

This workshop is for teachers interested in using Adobe Connect for their online classes and for eteachers who are just starting out with Adobe.


Adobe Connect for eTeachers

Wednesday 29th June 3.30 pm

Strategies and tips for making the most of your Adobe Connect room for interactive learning. This workshop is for teachers who have some prior experience in Adobe. We will share examples of activities and Adobe features that will make your online lessons more interactive for your students. This is also a ‘show & tell’ for teachers to share their teaching & learning strategies with one another. Please bring specific questions and/or examples.

Workshops are hosted & supported by Adobe Connect Development, VLN Primary and VPLD groups.

Facilitators:

• Kymm McPhaill (Adobe Connect Development) 
• Rachel Roberts (VLN Primary, VPLD)

Read more and Register here...

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VPLD - Pae Pae sessions

"Hot Seating"

3.30 to 4.30 pm

Online Professional Development

hosted in either Adobe Connect or Elluminate

Date	Presenter	Topic
Wednesday 22 June	Karen Melhuish - eLearning Consultant, Core Education	Practical eLearning Strategies & Ideas
Tuesday 12 July	Ross Alexander  - Core Education	ICT PD/ eLearning Capability Framework
Wednesday 24 August	Rochelle Jensen - Digi-Advisor, Waikato University	Digistore - Learning Pathways
Wednesday 21 September	Jill Hammonds - ICTPD National Facilitator, Core Education	Learning as Inquiry
Wednesday 26 October	Fiona White - Mediation Matters	Open talking: Open communication
Wednesday 23 November	Christina Ward - Manager Online Communities, Core Education	Teaching as Inquiry

Please join the VPLD group for more information and to register your attendance.

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First Emerging Leaders' Ignite Evening

Albany Senior High School
Auckland 
6th July
6:30pm
Drinks and nibbles provided

What is ignite? Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes. It's fast; it's furious; it's fun.


Three things for you to do:

• Register here to secure your place.
• Tweet, Share or Email this post.
• Visit Ignite to learn more about the talks.

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Classroom 2.0 Live event tomorrow

Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. You can signup  but due to spammers each application needs to be approved. Sign up today to get access to the Live event on Saturday.

 “Power of Projects”

 featuring Jen Wagner

Saturday, May 21st

12pm Eastern (GMT-5)

Jen will share ways teachers can have their students participate in collaborate projects and why this is an essential learning activity for student success.



If you're new to the Classroom 2.0 LIVE!  show you might want to spend a few minutes viewing the screencast on the homepage to learn how we use Elluminate and navigate the site.
Each show begins at 12pm Eastern (GMT-5) and may be accessed in Elluminate directly using the following Classroom 2.0 LIVE! link.

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Staff PD is now cost effective

CORE Education are responding to a need schools have for accessible professional learning and development (PLD).
Far too often the shrinking time and budget puts pay to professional development but CORE Achieve seeks to address this problem with their innovative, flexible courses.

The internet provides a range of delivery methods, both synchronously and synchronously, which CORE have tapped into.

The courses are modulor and can be delivered to individuals or a whole staff via the online environment.

“Achieve allows individual teachers to study their choice of topic at a time and place suitable to them, with the focus being on participation, collaboration and interaction rather than just delivery.”

Don't forget to register.

Things to do:
Discover CORE’s approach to PLD
Find out more about cost effective PLD
Register with CORE Achieve.
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Ten Trends by Derek Wenmoth (2 of 10)

Derek Wenmoth continues his series of discussions on the 'Ten Tends'

Ubiquitous computing - Connecting wherever, whenever.

• Wireless - It is the way in which we can fullfil that expectation of connecting to the internet 'anytime, anywhere'.
• Mobile Devices - The range of options is growing quickly. Laptops, netbooks, iphones, mobile phones, mp3 players, andoids, even PSP allows wireless connection to the internet beyond mere gameplay.
• Personal Clouds - Allowing us to consider using the cloud to personalise the learning for students.

Useful Link:
Ten trends on the CORE blog

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Cyber-Safety: What can you and your school do?

Brett Lee is fast becoming a leading expert on Cyber-safety and what young people need to be aware of while navigating social media sites.
His unique experience in the cyber-crime unit enables him to share with teachers and parents some of the dangers facing students today and some of the simple precautions they can take.

Back in February he was the keynote speaker at Learning@Schools conference in Rotorua. View his keynote address below.



Things to do:
Use Brett's keynote to provoke staff meeting discussion this term. 
Book Brett to visit your staff and parents
Subscribe to Edtalks
Subscribe to Brett’s newsletter
Join the Software for Learning discussion about Facebook
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Teacher PD provision

There are a wealth of information and resources on the Net for supporting students in the classroom but what about supporting teachers’ professional development?

Below are a series of channels worth ‘subscribing’ to:

• RSAorg
• EdTalks
• TEDTalks
• TEDTalks Youtube

Then just for fun…


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CORE Achieve- Training available for NZ schools

CORE Achieve - online professional learning courses begin in Term 2

Are you looking for online professional learning that is:
Affordable, flexible, accessible, engaging and future-focused?


Check out what CORE is offering and register online.

Courses include:

• Using wikis effectively with your students
• Blogging for teachers
• Collaborative curriculum design
• e-portfolios
• Digital and cyber citizenship
• Enhancing learning using digital technologies
• Communicating with social media
• Principles and practices of online teaching
• Raising student achievement in literacy through e-learning

Our courses provide quality professional development and support using a blended online learning approach. They are designed to:

Develop innovative teaching and learning programmes, based on effective practice and evidence

• Support teacher inquiry into classroom practice
• Promote school/centre-based curriculum and assessment design and implementation
• Build a professional learning culture of sustained learning
• Supported by webinars, forums and social networking software

Choose to learn individually, as part of a group, or as a whole staff or cluster with our range of course options. Tweet

Breakfast in Wellington with Cathy Wylie

 

Breakfast in Wellington 

with Cathy Wylie

Chief Researcher - NZCER

"Building learning identities: what we've learnt from the Competent Learners' longitudinal project"

Breakfast Seminar
Friday, 20 May at 7.45am

Cathy Wylie is a Chief Researcher at NZCER, and is currently the J.D. Stout fellow at Victoria University. She has led the Competent Learners' project as it has followed a sample of students from the wider Wellington region from their final early childhood education days through to age 20. She is currently co-editing an international handbook on student engagement. She also researches the impact of educational policy on schools and learning opportunities, including the ways in which schools can engage students.

The Competent Learners' project provides a rare opportunity to follow the development of individual students through primary and secondary schooling. In the age-20 phase of the project, we see out how earlier experiences and performance levels on both cognitive and attitudinal measures related to some of the Key Competencies, influence secondary school engagement, achievement, and what happens post-school. We also see the kinds of learning opportunities and support, in and out of school, that can make a positive difference.

This session will discuss key findings from the age-20 phase of the Competent Learners' phase. To find out more information about the Competent Learners' project click here.

This CORE breakfast session will :

• Discuss the factors that allowed students with low levels of performance at age 8 to achieve well at NCEA
• Show the importance of Key Competencies in gaining NCEA Level 2
• Discuss the importance of the period from age 10 to age 14 in terms of forming or maintaining positive learning identities
• Question the reality of 'second chance education' for those with low engagement in secondary school or low qualification success

This session will be particularly useful for school leaders, classroom practitioners, and policy advisors.

Breakfast will be served at 7.45am, with Cathy beginning the discussion at 8am. She will wrap things up around 9am but you are invited to stay and chat with Cathy, CORE staff and one another after the seminar.

Wellington breakfast seminars will be held at Connelly Hall in Guildford Terrace while our usual breakfast venue is undergoing renovations.

Click here to register online.


VENUE
Connelly Hall
Guildford Terrace
Thorndon
Wellington

Click here for more details on the venue

* Please note the change of venue due to renovations at our usual breakfast venue *

COST
$30 including GST

REGISTRATION DUE
By Monday, 16 May
TO REGISTER
Register online
CANCELLATIONS
Click here to view our cancellation policy

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The Reading list you'll want to read

There are a myriad of books and plans and work to be read by the average teacher. The New Zeland Curriculum, Effective Pedagogy, What Literacy/ Numeracy looks like.
These are not the materials I am talking about today. The list of books below is a mere smattering of material that will not only assist you in the way you teach but broaden your understanding of the material presented. What’s more they are an interesting read.
Background and history, insight, personal perspective and personal motivation are the things that enrich the students lives and make teaching and learning much more engaging and fun. The books below are those that have packed out my teaching with fun facts, clever insight and enabled me to inject humour and perspective into my teaching.

• Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson. It compiles the history and origins of the English language and the language's various quirks.
• History of New Zealand – Michael King. It catalogues the history of New Zealand from the various theories of initial settlement right through to the previous government.
• How to talk so kids can learn – AdeleFaber & Elaine Mazlish. With practical ways to help kids to cooperate, self-discipline, commit, and show creativity, this deserves to be on every teacher's bookshelf.
• One Minute Manager - Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson. It is an easily read story which quickly shows you three very practical management techniques. As the story unfolds, you will discover several studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences which help you to understand why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people; kids and adults alike.
• Freakonomics  / Superfreakonomics  – Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? 

What would you add? 

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