Mini Me

In my current teaching context I ask my students to create an avatar of themselves to include in their personal profile to be uploaded to the blog in our virtual classroom. It is an option to a photograph.
Below is "mini me" made using the Buddypoke app.
I include this avatar in both the VCR and in the web conferences. Sometimes she even appears in the lesson presentation! It can be animated etc.

Students love individualising their efforts online. It is motivating because of the novelty and they feel a sense of ownership because it is representing their personality and interests.

Blog Use

I made this Voki after watching the YouTube video below.
It is a novel way to instruct students. They can also create their own to communicate in a web space.

Me and TPACK (No, it's not a rapper!)

If I apply the three main components of the TPACK Framework   I can assess and reflect upon my personal professional strengths and challenges in relation to: Content Knowledge, Pedagogy and Technology.

As I Teacher Librarian I have wide subject knowledge of the Key Learning Areas taught in Queensland primary schools. These KLAs are from the Australian Curriculum F-10 and Queensland Curriculum P-10 (for areas not yet part of the Australian Curriculum).  Nineteen years as a classroom teacher required me to teach and assess all subjects from Year 1 to Year 7. I have more expertise in the areas of Health and Physical Education because I trained as a specialist in this area and have pursued further studies outside of education.  I have expertise in the management and organisation of a library because again I completed a higher Diploma in this field.  I am skilled at cataloguing based on the Dewey Decimal system and MARC files.  I would consider myself a generalist (I know something about a lot of subject areas).  In my teaching context set subject curriculum strongly influences the content taught particularly with the recent emphasis on whole state consistency using the Curriculum to the Classroom units. There are some subject areas I no longer teach so when new knowledge has been created in these areas I have not experienced it, for example maths and science.  Of the three main components of the TPACK framework I would consider I have greater overall strength in the area of content knowledge.

Pedagogy strengths are probably the most difficult for me to reflect on. Through experience and study I have good knowledge around assessment (collection and analysis).  I have a strong understanding of how students learn and what motivates them.  Due to the recent focus on High Yield instruction (Marzano, 2009) through Explicit Instruction and IMPACT model training for Project 600 I am confident with this approach to teaching.  I develop in line with systemic requirements of the department I work for. Differentiation is the “buzz” word at present at my workplace and this is an aspect of pedagogy I need to work on. Some new programs based on CAFE Daily Reading, Words Their Way (spelling) and an Honours Program (for student extension)  that my school is implementing is presenting me with many ideas around individualisation in literacy.

Technology…what can I say. I love it-I hate it! I find it the most exciting but frustrating aspect of teaching. Besides the fact it is forever changing I enjoy the challenge of adapting and learning. My positive attitude to increasing my knowledge in this area I consider a strength, but the width and depth of my knowledge is lacking. Having said this I probably shouldn’t be too harsh on myself because when I look around me I don’t consider my abilities lagging behind the majority of my colleagues. I am quite capable with search and catalogue software.  I would like to construct more knowledge with mobile idevices and learn how to build a website.

I have included the summary of my strengths and areas most requiring growth as per my thread added to the Cacoo concept map.

Teaching - My Values and Beliefs

Every student is capable of successful learning and each student’s personal best looks different.

With this in mind, teaching to me is

• Providing a safe and nurturing leaning environment in which difference is valued and catered for through a wide variety of learning experiences.
•  Forming strong and positive relationships with students, colleagues and parents through good communication.
• Providing a curriculum that is intellectually rigorous, relevant to a student’s life and one which promotes higher order thinking.
• Encouraging interaction and collaboration between students so they can construct knowledge and problem solve in a social situation.
• Ensuring students are clear around expectations and criteria for success and this should clearly link to formative and summative assessment.
• Designing curriculum that embeds technology in a way that emphasises what is done by the learner rather than what the technology can do.
• Providing opportunity for multiliteracies to be developed in response to societies demands.
• Continuing my own learning and professional development to be able to offer students a curriculum based on sound learning theory and current best practice.

This list remains quite stable in my thoughts however, my elaborations around each of the points is where my thinking is more changeable. As I forever grow in my teaching skills and knowledge so too do my perceptions alter slightly around my values and beliefs.

When considering the question... "how good do I  think the alignment is between my pedagogical beliefs and the terms I have identified as being critical elements of 21st Century pedagogy?" .  I think the alignment is quiet strong. My beliefs do not conflict with the any critical elements and I can position each within my beliefs. I think in practice though I do not provide enough opportunities for creative and critical thinking. My practice is mildly in contrast to my belief that I should be providing such opportunities.

I identify the following as important elements of 21st century pedagogy. Curriculum and practice that has:  

student-centered, real life, problem-based learning opportunities that require collaboration, literate and media fluency, creativity and critical thinking to be utilised regularly so students can develop, reflect on and strengthen their abilities. Curriculum that allows students to access and consume global knowledge and resources and authentic tasks that requires them to produce content for an audience outside of the four walls of the classroom.

Luckily, my last belief (listed above) means I will continually improve by constructing new knowledge in my chosen field. Studying elearning for me is one way I am working towards better alignment between my beliefs, my practice and the needs of my students. 

My Pedagogical Framework - How it formed

I have mapped what I believe has lead to my current beliefs and practices in my role as an online teacher and teacher librarian. The yellow star emphasises my core belief. I think a teacher decides how and whether to use technology for instruction in the school in the hope that students will choose to use technology by choice to learn in the future.

Copyright Scenario - Images

Scenario: A Teacher Librarian wants to create an online book club, in a virtual classroom, to promote recreational reading to upper primary students at her school. The virtual classroom is only open to students from the school. The TL has copied images of the covers of three books and uploaded the digital images, to post threads created for student blogging. Is this acceptable copyright practice?

Recommendation: Is is acceptable for digital images of book covers to be used for educational purposes on a closed school network. It is not being used for profit, and is not of an unreasonable amount.

This recommendation is based on the Copyright Act, Flexible Dealing exception - s 200AB
See the Smart Copying website at http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/schools/flexible-dealing