Farewell: Looking Back on Grade 1

Today is our last day of Grade 1.  We did a lot of fun things this year and we learned a lot.  Here are our favorite things from Grade 1:

• playing the Kinect
• picking out of the birthday bag
• writing
• playing on the computers
• making PhotoStories with the Grade 10s
• math writing
• reading
• playing with lego
• going outside for recess
• free time
• free gym
• word study
• playing games
• working with Mrs. Obach
• word study games
• math games
• helping people in Africa
• helping animals
• making bunny treats
• adopting animals (7 polar bears, 1 meerkat, 1 orangutan)
• having fun
• going on a field trip to Alyssa's Ark Small Animal Rescue (and Montana's!)
• going on a playground tour and picnic field trip with our Oak Lake Kindergarten friends
• visits from the Lion's Club
• playing PAX games
• baking cookies to get money for adopting polar bears
• having a garage sale to raise money to help people and animals
• using technology
• watching a movie, swimming and playing soccer
• writing persuasive texts
• Tweeting
• getting Granny's Wacky Prizes 
• word sorting with Mrs. Obach
• writing retell texts
• learning about 3D objects
• doing math with a partner

Goodbye!  

Microsoft Virtual University: Understanding the Learning Strategies of the 21st Century Learner

Today's Microsoft Virtual University with Richard Olsen focused on what we know about good learning and teaching. 

Big Ideas:

• How has learning and teaching changed?  

• More student-directed, authentic, collaborative, interdisciplinary, differentiated learning.  Less teacher-directed.

• We now have fast access to high-quality materials and resources online, which can help teachers and students.  How does access to high quality content change what schools and teachers need to provide?

• Students need critical thinking skills to determine what information is relevant, factual, useful to their purpose

• There is less need to provide "textbooks" or other learning materials in the traditional form and more need to provide a device that allows students access to the huge amount of information online. 

• We have changed what we publish and publishing can be free.  

• We no longer share only the "finished product"

• We share our location, our thoughts, our intentions, short notes, works in progress using tools like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, blogs, websites etc. 

• This sharing provides opportunities for intervention at various stages.  Students and teachers can get suggestions and feedback all the time!

• Online publishing allows students to reach a wider audience, to collaboratively publish and to have a real impact in the world

• Online publishing helps us share student work with families. 

• Ease of collaboration provides opportunities for collective knowledge building 

Connections to our classroom:

•  We have undertaken a number of collaborative projects with students in our classroom working together and working with other classrooms near and far.  Social media, video conferencing and online publishing have allowed us to collaborate and to reach a wider audience.  Our projects have included:

• Environmental Awareness Campaign:Students encouraged people to care for the environment through their poster and video campaign.  Topics they addressed included tree planting and litter reduction. 

• Reusable Bag Reminder Campaign: After researching reusable bag use, students learned that many people were forgetting their reusable bags.  Students came up with the solution of reusable bag reminders and then designed, created and distributed their reminders.   

• Litterless Lunch Competition: students participated in an inter-classroom competition to have the most reusable containers in their lunch each day, thus reducing litter and helping the environment! 

• Animal Rescue:In partnership with Alyssa’s Ark Small Animal Rescue, students learned about rescue animals and found ways to help local animals in need.  Students collected used blankets, towels and clothing to be reused as animal bedding at the rescue.  Students in Kindergarten made homemade dog biscuits and delivered them to the Humane Society just before Christmas. Students in Grade 1 traveled to Alyssa's Ark to volunteer and to deliver some homemade animal treats! 

• Species Preservation: Polar Bear Adoption:Students decided they wanted to help animals this year.  They chose to adopt polar bears because of the threats they are facing, so they developed an action plan to fundraise and adopt bears through the World Wildlife Fund Symbolic Adoption Program.  Students successfully held a cookie sale fundraiser and adopted SEVEN polar bears!

• Recycle for Good Garage Sale: Students held a garage sale, selling unwanted toys, clothes, books and household items from many generous donors.  This student-run event raised $464 to help people and animals.

• Schools Around the World Blog - We took part in a collaborative project that sharing information about our school and school life with other schools through a collaboratively-authored wiki. 

Math Strategies: Here's What We're Thinking...

Today we discussed some strategies we can use when adding or subtracting.  We used 8+9 as an example and recorded our strategies in thought bubbles to show what we might be thinking while we figured out that problem.  Next, we labeled each strategy with a name.

Field Trip: Alyssa's Ark Small Animal Rescue

As a part of our goal to help animals this year, we took a field trip to visit and volunteer at a real rescue organization.  Alyssa at Alyssa's Ark Small Animal Rescue in Brandon, MB graciously hosted us on Friday, May 3rd.

 Before we went, we decided that we'd like to make some treats for the animals kind of like our Oak Lake Kindergarten friends made dog biscuits for homeless dogs at the humane society.  Since Alyssa had a lot of rabbits, we researched recipes for rabbit treats on the internet and then sent our ideas to Alyssa to see if the rabbits would like the ingredients.  Next, we planned a grocery list and then took a trip to the local co-op to buy groceries.  When it was time to make treats, we took turns reading, measuring, mixing and scooping the treats. 

Our field trip went very well.  We got to meet the animals, ask questions about them and learn a bit about their rescue stories.  Our class split into two groups and both groups got turns to make toys for the animals, feed the animals and even pet some of the animals!  We were really lucky to have a partnership with Alyssa and we learned a lot from our visit to her rescue!

Recycle for Good Garage Sale: Animal Adoption

As I explained in a previous post, the grade 1s held their Recycle for Good Garage Sale on April 18th & 19th.  Their goal was to raise funds to help people in Africa (through World Vision) and to help animals (through the World Wildlife Fund Symbolic Adoption Program).  The idea came from Lilly, a student who was watching television one night and saw a commercial that showed some people in Africa need help getting clean water and fresh food.  Our class had discussed the idea of a garage sale earlier this school year, when we were brainstorming ways of fundraising for symbolically adopting animals.  We decided that our garage sale could benefit both people and animals!  When the Grade 1s decide to do something, they do it right....they raised $464 to help others! 

 Earlier this week, students suggested animals we may want to help from the WWF's symbolic adoption website.  Then students voted for the animals they would most like to adopt. Today, we were on a Skype video call with our partner class, Mrs. Caldwell's Kindergarten at Oak Lake Community School.  Students were sharing how well the garage sale went and one of the Grade 1s asked the Kindergartens if they would like to vote to help us choose the animals to adopt.  Here's our voting:

After we finished our call with the Kindergartens, we officially adopted 1 meerkat and 1 orangutan.  We can't wait for our adoption kit to arrive!

Microsoft Virtual University: Building Educator Capacity for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

Tonight's Virtual University with Tracy Immel (Imagine Education) focused on effective professional development for educators. 


Key Points

• The most effective teacher PD includes active learning such as action research, working with a coach/mentor & actually practicing skills
• Educators are expected to adapt/customize learning for students.  Similarly, teachers need customized professional development opportunities that address their needs!
• "Informal" PD is important too.   I find some of my best ideas, growth and development come from informal conversations with colleagues, my social media networks & other informal channels
• Some schools are are offering competency based courses.  Students select from a wide variety of learning resources, set their own pace and take (and retake) assessments when they are ready.  Effective PD for teachers follows this model: set competency standards for teachers and let them choose resources and pace that helps them improve!
• Microsoft Certified Educator designation will be coming soon: a competency-based assessment for educators

Resources:
Microsoft Digital Literacy Course
Microsoft Teaching with Technology Curriculum
Partners in Learning Network

Microsoft Professional Development: Teaching with Technology

As a part of the Microsoft Expert Educator program, we are encouraged to try out the free Teaching with Technology professional development modules available at the Partners in Learning network. (Educators can join the PiL network to access professional development, learning activities and the hot topics blog).  In this post, I am sharing key points and reflections from the course Selecting ICT resources to support curriculum outcomes

About the training

• Personalized Learning: As I explained in my previous post, I like how the Microsoft PD model "practices what it preaches".  We know that different students need to learn different things and that each student may need a different learning path to meet their goals, but often when it comes to teacher education we don't apply that principle.  Microsoft has made personalized learning available and effective with this training.  Start with a pre-assessment to identify areas of strength and gaps in your knowledge about teaching with technology.  The pre-assessment will award you completion for the courses in which you already have proficiency and suggest modules that focus on your areas for improvement.  Why relearn what you already know?  

 Big Ideas

• The need for risk taking & adaptability: It is impossible to avoid technical issues...something will inevitably crop up when teaching with technology.   Lessons will not always go perfectly (they often don't even when we're not using technology).  Teachers need to be willing to take risks, have a backup plan and to adapt as the learning activity unfolds.  Most of the time, I don't even worry about what might go wrong when I'm teaching/working with technology, I just know that being flexible is part of my job as a teacher, facilitator and learner.
• Finding the best tool/technique for the job: A recurring theme of this training module was the need to find the best method/lesson/activity/technology to support learning.  It might be "traditional instruction" for some learning goals or a new, exciting, tech-infused lesson for other goals.  

Resources

• OnGuard Online - internet safety information & resources
• Snipping Tool - to capture information/screen shots
• Edutopia - solutions and resources for improving education
• Selecting Software for Students with Disabilities
• TES - teacher sharing website
• Software for Learning - browse potential learning tools
• Microsoft Lesson Plans
• QuizStar - online quiz generator
• Explaining Copyright & Fair Use video
• Mouse Mischief  - allows for multiple responses from multiple mice

Favorite Quotes

•  "If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail."  - Abraham Maslow

I liked this reminder to use tools that best support the learning/solve the problem, rather than starting with a tool.  I think it is really important for students and teachers to explore a variety of tools and then develop the competencies to be able to choose the best one(s) to address an issue, complete a task, solve a problem.