MIT - Design Thinking: Evolution Session @ KPMG

Evolution is the gradual development of something, in this case, my Moonshot Proposal.

The goal of which has changed due to the changing environment in which we currently live.

I started with:

I would like to be able to encourage students to write interesting and detailed stories.

Which turned to:

Engaging Y5 boys with descriptive writing.

Now it is:

Engaging students with writing through Distance Learning

There have been many ideas to help inspire children during the lock down period and to help keep them entertained while unable to physically visit places. I suggested to a parent today their child might like to go to 'San Diego' and walk around the zoo. They could start with Google Earth to get a birds-eye view of San Diego and look around the city before zooming into the zoo.

Click on the Map to travel from Auckland to San Diego.

Then view this clip to see what it would be like to be on the tour through the zoo before looking at the live cams to investigate the zoo animals further.

There are 12 different live cams or videos from around the zoo and children could just focus on one or two to create a piece of writing. Then look at the animal's blog (some have videos, others pictures).

Many sites with live cam I noticed needed restrictions to be removed, which would hinder viewing from different places for students.

You could pick an animal from Auckland Zoo and check out the video and the same animal or a similar one at San Diego and compare environments/habitats and types of animals, such as the Burrowing Owl and Morepork, or the Elephants, or the two types of Baboons.

Along with these ideas, I have also been attempting to create my own Screencastify(s) helping students to make their writing more meaningful. But I keep starting over, still working out how I can edit and link different shots. However, here is the slide I intend to use to encourage the use of Onomatopoeia.

Distance Learning with Tui Whanau

Here it is, a perfect opportunity to practise distance learning.
                           Well, there has to be something positive from Covid19.

Today is our first official day for distance learning. I am excited to see who comes to Google Hangout and has a go with this different style. I can't say new as I have been using Tui's google site over the last two years to engage and help with digital learning. The new part for me is the hangouts. I have set a space in my kitchen (where the table is). I could go into the tiny office (but it is a mess) which I use for crafts, scrapbooking, painting, drawing and storing teaching stuff I have put away (actually I have multiple of these places, the office a bedroom and the attic) maybe now is a good time to sort to more and cull lots! 'But I might need it!!!'

First place to tidy will be the office, especially with everyone home. 2 teenage boys trying to study and attend hangouts and me trying to teach. One goes to his room one is in another bedroom. Hubby in lounge/kitchen cleaning oven (with no airflow, cough, cough, not Coronavirus).

Looking at myself in the Hangout I can see I still need to make some changes I love the art but the light is reflecting off it and into the camera, which I find distracting so I can imagine the students not wanting to look and pay attention too.

And seeing the light from the window and reflecting off the posters I have tidied the office some and now working in there. This has the benefit of no interruptions. Still not the tidiest of spaces but 'I need that!'

MIT - Design Thinking: Experimentation Session @ KPMG

Wow - we are in changing times. When we were going through this process and discussion we thought it was only a likely possibility that we would end up in Isolation with Distance Learning. This meant the ability to change our Moonshot Proposal to up the anti and develop it for Distance Learning.
Exciting Stuff

So we are experimenting with learning through Google Sites, Hangouts and Blogging as a way to see the end process. Click on the image below to see how we started.





My moonshot proposal is more general again - just focusing on writing with distance learning. Still very excited to be part of this.

DFI - Christchurch

DFI 2020

Christchurch

A great day thank you Christchurch beautiful and sunny. 

Everything ticked over nicely, running to time with the Facilitation of DFI Workflow. I even was reminded how to embed a video so a longer videos can be posted using embed code through the HTML page, to a post rather than having to ask students to make it shorter.

Step 1: Create your recording.

Step 2: Save recording to your drive.

Step 3: Open in the drive, click on 3 dots in the top right (on the black screen within the window playing with the movie clip.

Step 4: Click on open in a new window.

Step 5: click on the 3 dots at the top again for embed code.

Step 6: Click on embed code and prepared to copy and past it.

Step 7: Once embed code is copied, go to blog post HTML page and paste.

Hopefully, the final result ends up like this. It is so easy. Now I just have to remember it!!!!

DFI - West Coast

2020 DFI

West Coast

Always a lovely place to visit this time I had the pleasure of the flight from Christchurch to Hokitika being cancelled and the lovely 4-hour bus trip through Arthur's Pass. What a gorgeous view.

What is new in the world of Google Calendar, Gmail, Hangouts and Google Keep.

My new find is Dynamic Gmails, 

I have been using them for Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher when we did the 5 Whys for our Moonshot Proposal. It was an easy way to respond to the questions through Gmail, rather than having to open up the slides with the comments on the side which was rather small especially when trying to see the whole dialogue.

Looking forward to tomorrow and the flight in 30 minutes back to Christchurch

Tried putting my trip together in Google Earth - Voyageur here's how it simply looks. 
Click on image to view in Google Earth.

Google Earth - Toolkit

I am looking at ways to inspire boys to write.

Today we had a sports day with many of the local schools. There were three codes cricket softball and touch. After school, I was in a Google Earth Toolkit through Manaiakalani and thought if I revisit the day's events through this medium.

Link to Google Earth project about our Sports Day.

It will be interesting to see if this helps remind the students of their day and how it could stimulate writing.

MIT - Design Thinking: IDEATE Session

Crazy 8

For our proposal, we had to come up with 8 ideas for how we thought it could work. It was time to think outside the box. I like using images but we weren't allowed to just draw we had to give a brief or scenario. 

The final product had to be digital so reading to the students wasn't enough.  Finding a way children can have an experience inside the classroom was tricky and the idea for virtual trips come about. It is my shooting for the stars. I am excited because I am starting to see ways it might be able to happen.

I am aware, however, that Visual Reality cardboard box glasses only let one person view the phone. Looking at the image above, you can see my colleagues' preferences from all the dots and googly eyes. Then we talked about the most popular idea and how we could develop it. I am wishing we had a green screen a 360 go pro and many other tools to help.

MIT - Design Thinking: Connections & Resources

WHO?

Who does my Moonshot Project involve, from the base to the tip?
Who is helping me trial the ideas?
Who are my team?
Who has a voice in this project?
Who will it influence?

Just as I was running out of ideas, we were asked to use the BAR thinkers key.

What a great way to continue.

B - Bigger Think bigger

A - Add, Who else can I add (I even asked those around me to help)

R - Remove. This was not so hard as some people are just busy. I remove Manaiakalani because I felt I had doubled up, but I am thinking, there are so many facets to this maybe it should still be there. 

MIT - Design Thinking: Interpretation Session

How We Might turn this Problem into an Opportunity?

As a group, we had to move around and ask (using post-it notes) 'How might we...?' Making sure we use the word we as we are all in this together, that way we can help and pick each other's brains.

I found this process very interesting and felt relieved when I realised I wasn't alone.
It made me start to think of alternatives to engaging children, especially boys with writing.