We are learning about our community and as part of this, I wanted to try a mapping activity where students could point out where they lived and create a short blurb about their household.
I tried to figure out if we could insert an interactive map into MIRO that could be zoomed in and out but I couldn’t figure it out.So I took multiple screen shots of our local area around school, and put them together in a MIRO like a jigsaw.I then locked it in so it couldn’t be moved.Although it took awhile to put together, I enjoyed the challenge.
While we were on the MIRO, I encouraged the students to try and use the video chat but they didn’t appear to want which was fine.I found zooming in and out of the MIRO awesome because zooming in allowed the students to find their street, even their house and zooming out let us see how far kids lived away from school and how near and far they were away from each other. I enjoyed seeing the kids working in MIRO in real time as their names were the cursor so I could direct them to go to the school grounds etc which was cool. I will definitely be sharing this activity with my department and my other classes (below is a short video of me showing them what to do in the MIRO).
This morning I had my first online lesson with my year 9KMe class and I had 10 students join me. I was worried that not many kids would connect and I was pleasantly surprised when they did.
I did not want to create any new learning for my kids as I know from the first lockdown, many kids weren't able to get online. Our main focus was to connect, check-in and tidy up any work we started last week. We agreed that we only needed to catch-up for the first half of a double period.
We started with a karakia and for our do now, we moved into a fun socrative quiz where I played the 'Eye of the Tiger' to hype up the kids and expose them to some classic old school music (check out the short clip below). Then we went into our lesson (I have purposefully recorded the lesson this way for those who didn't make it to class).
After the socrative, I sent out a check-in survey to my kids inviting to share their thoughts about the lockdown. Here are the results.
From the results, there are a answers that I'd expected and others which surprised me. In our next class, we may discuss the answers further.
Over the last two terms, the year 9 Akomanga Kaihanga class had been working on their projects in a hope to raise awareness and social exposure to an issue they have been researching. They were led through their projects by their mentor Karl Bailey who used design-based methods to engage the class in their learning alongside their subject teachers who worked collaboratively to support the students.The projects came to fruition on Thursday 23rd July with our first ever Lab Showcase for whanau and stakeholders that was held in our school auditorium.
Planning and preparation:
It took us 4 full days of planning for the class to prepare to present which enabled the teams and the projects to finally come together.Each group would have an area assigned to them and needed to have the following things ready:
A poster:This was to be put onto an A2 size poster, made in digital copy drawing.It needed to show of the groups projects, from the progression from the idea, to actions, to reflections.This was to be the focal point of each groups presentations.
A takeaway pamphlet:This may be a short blurb about their projects or a smaller version of their posters.
A video:This would be a short 2 minute documentary type video to support their presentations.
A presentation table:This could include props, the pamphlets and any other items that would suit the theme of their projects.
During their preparations, their subject teachers would join them for extra subject during their timetabled classes.I was fortunate enough to have Jannie and Karl as our go to people whilst students were busy getting ready.
Showcase day:
After our karakia, the afternoon started with Nicky and Kirsty from the Ministry sharing their thoughts and our DP Russell Dunn explaining the purpose of our showcase.Parents were then invited to have some food before moving around to listen to the groups presentations.For 40 minutes, our students led their whanau through their projects, facilitating discussions and inviting feedback.At the end of the time, we gathered once more to thank everyone for coming, before heading home for the evening.
I enjoyed meeting many of the parents and hearing from them about what they saw.Observing the kids presenting to their whanau was really rewarding and I had wished we had thought to do this sooner.We had some awesome feedback from parents and whanau, all of which we will collate and put forward to the planning team of the Akomanga Kaihanga class. Check out the highlights video below!
Below are some blogposts from students about their presentations.
