Connected Learning

Jarrod Lamshed

May
25

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Saturday Morning Adventures

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Apple openingGetting up at 6am is not usually my idea of the ideal start to a Saturday morning, but today it marked the beginning of ‘man time’ with my son, Matt (@mlamshed). After some relentless badgering (although I really didn’t need much of a push) we decided we would brave the opening of Adelaide’s first Apple Store. At first I wasn’t convinced that it was a fantastic idea. Early morning, crowds of people, waiting in line… not my favourite things. In the end though, I’m glad we made the effort.

We arrived to a smaller crowd than I was expecting and we quickly counted that we were around the 50th Apple geeks in the line, well within the safe zone to collect a souvenir t-shirt. We chatted in line with the truly dedicated who had camped overnight and all agreed that it was about time that Apple had arrived in SA. The crown grew quickly and after some free subway cookie advertising and a successful ‘rev up’ of the crowd the doors opened and the fun began. With a very enthusiastic greeting from Apple staff the crowd was welcomed to the store’s first day of trading.



I wandered like a kid in a toyshop while Matt got down to business and wrote a blog post from an Apple Store iMac. With self checkout apps and the friendliest staff I have ever seen, it was a great experience overall and one that I am glad I got to share with my son.

The no cost workshops and school programs will make the Apple store a very valuable addition to our city. I look forward to seeing how it can support learning in my family and classroom.

May
23

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5 Positive Things

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This week has been a tough one. I haven’t done a very good job of ‘letting go’ and some student wellbeing issues have been effecting my ‘mental health’. So as I sit here preparing for the night’s slumber, a thought from a long ago conversation entered my mind. I was speaking with a colleague and they said that they find that they reflect at the end of each week on 5 positive things that are going on for them right now. So here goes…

1. Family
My family is my happy place. I am continually amazed at what my kids can do and I am ridiculously proud of who they are becoming. They love learning and love life. My wife forces me to do the things I don’t want to do, but need to do to keep myself sane. She is an amazing support and gives me the time I need to do the stuff that comes with the job, even when it seems to take up too many hours. I appreciate everything she does. I love them and I am very lucky.

2. ‘The team’
Some exciting things are happening at Hackham East at the moment and I feel lucky to be working with a fantastic team of teachers that are committed to improving learning for kids. Although the ‘craziness’ can be overwhelming at times, it is exciting and rewarding everyday.

3. Our School Leadership
I feel lucky to be working with leadership in our school that challenge and support what we do everyday. Our single sex program and now our steps towards flexible learning spaces wouldn’t have happened without the trust of our Principal, Bob Thiele. Our new Deputy Principal, Sally Slattery, has breathed some life into our literacy program and some really exciting learning is happening around classroom libraries and reading programs. Jacinta Wade, our counsellor is a huge support and seems to be able to read every frown or confused look that crosses my face!

4. Music
I am enjoying rediscovering playing music at the moment thanks to an upcoming school band reunion. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

5. The Blogging Process
Although it sounds a bit like I’m ‘clutching at straws’, I am really enjoying the writing and reflection process at he moment. A great way to reflect and improve my practice but also to help settle the thoughts before trying to get a good night’s sleep.

Speaking of which…

May
20

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Kids Teaching Teachers

Category: 1. Know students & how they learn, 3. Plan and implement for effective teaching & learning, 4. Create and maintain supportive & safe learning environments, 5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning, 6. Engage in professional learning, 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/ carers and the community Tags: , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

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Today I had an opportunity to do one of my favourite things as a teacher. I had a chance to present to a group of fellow educators with a team of students. Watching my students teach the teachers always gives me a huge buzz. It is fantastic to watch them speak so well about how they learn and about what works for them.

Today we presented to teachers at Wirreanda High School. My presenting team consisted of Matt and Ben, two students from my class, as well of two students who were in my class last year, Jaiden and Trent. Jaiden and Trent have clearly settled into high school well and it was great to see them given this opportunity to to be heard.

The boys talked openly and honestly to the teachers about the type of learning that they are (or were) doing at Primary School. They talked through their use of mobile technologies to support creative learning and their use of student blogs as Learning Portfolios. My former students asked their current teachers for opportunities to use their blogs and to open up the learning to include some of the opportunities that they had in the past. It was fantastic to watch.

It was great to see the responsiveness of staff at Wirreanda, with discussion happening after the session. Wirreanda, like our school, has taken big steps toward making positive change. At a recent open night, I saw the introduction of flexible learning spaces and spoke to teachers that were excited about the things happening at this school. It says a lot that students felt comfortable speaking their mind to a room full of their teachers. It’s easy to come away feeling like good things are happening here, so much so that my son will be attending Wirreanda when he begins high school in 2014.

I appreciated the opportunity for us to share our learning and look forward to strengthening the relationship between our schools in the future.

Jul
22

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Lessons from Alyssa

Category: 1. Know students & how they learn, 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/ carers and the community Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

For weeks now, my daughter Alyssa has been bugging me to help her start her own blog. She has seen me blog with my class for a long time, she has seen her brother, Matt, blog for school and recently has been watching her class blog go live to the world.

Alyssa has grown up in a world where there has always been Facebook and she’s seen that just about every person she knows over thirteen has it. She also knows that she is too young to have it herself (much to her disgust). To her, blogging is her chance to have her say and connect with the world.

Finally, this week, I agreed and helped her begin her own blog. It has been a fantastic experience for us both. At first, Alyssa wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, but it didn’t take long for her to create a long list of ideas for future posts. She has written (or typed VERY slowly) about her passions (Justin Bieber) and posted videos about her learning and favourite books. She is determined to respond (again typing VVVVEEEERRRRYYYY slowly) to everyone who leaves her a comment. All of these things support and extend her literacy learning.

When reading comments, Alyssa makes notes about where people are visiting from. After she’s responded to everyone, she sits with her mum or myself and we go hunting for locations on the map. This is exciting for her. Her face lights up when she logs in. It’s also exciting for me. The amount of learning that has taken place in the last week is amazing. Her confidence to write is already improved and it’s brilliant to watch.

It has also been a huge learning experience for me. I have had my students blogging all year, each with individual blogs. I haven’t seen anywhere near the output or interest from my students that I have seen in Alyssa and I now realise why. By keeping a tight rein on what students post and making their blogs all about traditional learning, I have killed the passion. I’ve taken all the joy from the experience of connecting with the world. After all, what’s the point of connecting if you can’t tell people about what drives you?

This week, it all changes. Tomorrow morning we are holding a blogging workshop in our class where I will let go of the reins. With the exception of the obvious inappropriate stuff, the blogs will truly become theirs. I don’t know why it has taken a lesson from my seven year old daughter for me to get this, but I’m glad I’ve learned it. Thanks Alyssa!

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