Reviving the blogs

 Over the last couple of years, the interest in our learner blogs has dwindled. In my opinion, this is down to teachers not placing importance and therefore time on it, as well as an assumption that learners "aren't up to it". Time is placed on the things that we value. We know that this year will be next level, with all of the curriculum changes; Teaching level changes; Device changes, therefore practice. I'm heading into the new school year with a mindset of how we can accelerate learning and practice.

We have students who slowly build, like the momentum of a train as it leaves the station, picking up the pace and quality of their posts. The end of the year has seen a number of students suddenly posting for the Summer Learning Journey, encouraged by the regular comments that they receive from the Manaiakalani team, as well as their peers.

So how do we keep the momentum going?

It has to come from both angles. Output and Input. The context for this year is that there are fewer students who are in the habit of posting on a blog. The seasoned ākonga will all be in one of the 4 classes. There are many students in the other three classes who have never had a blog before. We need to up the ante with them, while building good effective practice with the other learners.

Posting

Those students who are already in the routine of posting their learning to their blog need to be encouraged to allow this to not only continue but grow.

In order to facilitate this, there are a number of things being implemented at the beginning of the term. 

• Our Kawa of Care will be given to parents at the Discussions that precede the school year, with an emphasis on learners not being on devices until this is signed and returned. This sets clear expectations for Teachers, Learners and parents alike.
• Blogs have already been set up for all learners before the term begins so that there are no hold-ups or barriers. Each Teacher has their class attached to them, with an expectation that they will be managing and monitoring these.
• Cybersmart lessons are a must. These need to actually be being taught to enforce and reinforce the key messages. Over the holidays I have spotted that some learners had posted their Mihi to their blog. This tells me that the cybersmart message of Privte v Personal is not getting through, to both the learners and the teachers.
• For students new to blogging, they can be facilitated to start blogging with the Cybersmart lessons, then transferring the learning into posting from other learning areas. 

These are the foundations.

Commenting

Without the comments, what is the purpose? This is what builds the authenticity of the posts.

• Accessing Blogs from the Learning Site. Digital Learning Objects have been set up for each class, with links to each students blog. It's easy to read as well as use. 
• I am going to recreate something that has been successful in the past. Bloggers of the week. There will be a slide Deck with one student from each class identified on a slide. Students will read and comment on theose blogs throughout the week. Fish tickets can be utilised as a positive reinforcement for completing. This is easily set up in advance, and the front slide being the current week's focus. Alongside this slide deck will be the Effective Blog Comment Rubric, for easy reference.
• Backing up the Bloggers of the Week, I will personally make sure I am commenting on other students posts. I will set aside time to do this throughout the week. I will also encourage the other teachers to be doing this too, choosing a minimum number of students from their home class to comment on.
• To emphasise authenticity, I am going to utilise our School management database and subscribe with parent emails to their child's blog. Spoon feeding ensures it's done. All they need to do is click accept in an email. 
• I will send a message out to parents to encourage family/wider whanau to subscribe to the learner's blogs too.

What will success look like?

• By the end of term one, students will be posting a minimum of three blog posts each week.
• I will monitor the statistics and identify patterns. 
• Is the teacher needing support? 
• Is the learner needing more support to help their ability to post?
• By the end of term one, all students will have at least three comments on their blog. The next Step will be to encourage Replying to those comments.

Like anything, there needs to be aspirational expectations (How can we?) in order to progress forward, rather than the negativity that spawns from excuse-making (We can't because...").

The finale

It's an odd feeling... I'm feeling slightly flat (at the thought of not getting the regular input of pedagogical excitement to add to my practice and program) as well as slightly excited at the retrospective thought of how much valuable gold has been covered. At the forefront of my mind is how to spread this gold throughout our kura and kāhui.

Sharing in Reading

The importance of learners having an opportunity to share what they are reading. We need to create a culture of sharing. Having it embedded from Year 0 will set an expectation, from the learners up, to ensure this is built into practice and thriving.

This requires effort, but the reward is well worth it. In particular, sharing reading to learn.

A student's blog gives us a record of learning. It has evidence of understanding and learning intentions. It holds a digitised record of their digital and analogue work. Having the content to be able to look back and compare. It even gives the ability to refer back and reflect on prior learning.

Blogs can be used to formally assess and give feedback.

I can reflect on my own children not having had this. My daughter has often come home and said she has shared something on Hero... alas the school doesn't have the function open for whanau to see. As my older sons have become adults, and thoughts turn to the looming 21st speech, I get increased enjoyment in the Facebook memories that pop up daily. They generally were moments I was tearing my hair out at the time, but with the passing of time, these are the memories that bring the most joy and amusement. I feel that the same could be said for our learners' blogposts.

The learners created their own challenges for the holidays. Teachers and learners collaborate to keep reading going outside of term time.

"Are you ready to share? or are you ready to be finished?"

I like this prompt that it doesn't have to be entirely complete. We can gain feedback while a work is in progress!

Teachers sharing their reading planning online. "Stalk and Steal", to find resources across the network. This should be encouraged.

This feed is massively underutilised. We could be getting learners to be checking these out and commenting on a regular basis.

A "soft launch" before the actual launch at Wananga. $75 voucher for contributing to the lesson bytes site. Definitely something to be encouraging our teachers to contribute to!

Essential components of "participating in a community" on readers.

We're here because we want to make an accelerated shift. We want to maximise the shift we have in writing, to make a shift in reading.

We are designing wider reading for enjoyment.

"pulling coherence across the programme"... "smooshing them together"

Our Short video clips hit this aspect

The above 4 aspects could be used as targets to hit when planning for the last pillar.

We need to be timetabling a time for sharing that will be motivating for students.

Links on the mahi tracker can incentivize students.

Adding a discussion instruction adds the element of collaboration.

Links from Day 2. Utilising Sharing as a way of formatively assessing.

Visible Reading & Learning

Planning strategically for that.

What do we choose to be visible?

Back in 2014 McGurk found this:

In our own Manaiakalani context, we know:

This is why we promote blogging. Because generally, blogging contains elements of both writing and reading.

By using the checklists/rubrics, they are more likely to be reflective.

I need to be more explicit about what I expect learners to blog.

ensure the disclaimer of work not necessarily complete.

Quality check might be teacher/peer.

There needs to be a routine that students know what the expectation is.

Michael Absolams "Clarity in the classroom".

We need to be thinking about what they need to learn, where they're at with their learning and what their next steps are.

Clark suggests three types of descriptive feedback.

Get the learners to change the colour to let us know it's ready for useful and timely feedback

How are we recording oral discussions? How can we work smarter? (Typing and talking, recording for the learner, using mote.)

Collaboration and Connection

Remembering that the effect size has more impact the closer it gets to 1.

Anything over 0.4 is making a positive impact.

To provide opportunities for collaboration, we need to ensure that our learning environment enables collaboration.

If we are not getting enough blog responses, then we need to design the experience to cater to it. Be more deliberate in what we require from the learners.

Remembering that we want these quality blog comments components:

How often could we be doing this? It might be good to discuss this with the wider school in terms of provoking "reading for enjoyment". Particularly in Yr4 and above.

Sharing with Whānau

How can we include whanau in these activities?

It'd be great to do this a couple of times each term.

Kete of skills:

By creating a slow release of learning over to the children, creating a kete for them to access the templates for themselves. 

It would be great to have these collated in the Resource folder for wider use.

Bringing it all Together Across the Days

Planning in future can be utilising the Long-term Plan alongside the RPI resources

Planned Deliberate Questions.

How are the learners reflect on their own practice.

Next Steps...

• Mahi tracker -I feel like I've said this before, but it's felt like a big step, particularly when I'm only in class Monday -Wednesday. I really want to start using the Mahi tracker to start getting learners more accountable for completing their learning.
• There could be some drop down sentence starter prompts, or common comments in the mahi tracker.
• LTP: Making more intentional and deliberate use of the LTP, particularly in terms of recording reading etc.
  
• Feedback: How can I create a documented record of verbal feedback? - Turn on google read/write on their doc, then say what you'd say anyway.
• Student Voice: Ask the learners how they would like to collaborate more? (I'd really like to put it to the learners in our space and ask them how they would like to collaborate more. The design of our learning space is a barrier to collaboration and I think hearing the students' voice in identifying ways that it could be changed to combat that would be really valuable to be heard.)
• Spread: Collating the kete of resources on the kahui site, for teachers to utilise.

Evaluation of the Reading Practice Intensive:

I cannot recommend the RPI highly enough!
 Teachers are supported to acquire the content and practice knowledge to influence quality reading outcomes by actually putting it into action. By having a mentor, it validates the drive to make changes and reinforces that it is driven by research and best practices.

Attending the RPI has reaffirmed my understanding of pedagogy and practice, but enabled me to embed it into practice more. It has given 'weight' to pushing for shift in some of the old-school mentality that has prevailed, by having a colleague now beginning their RPI journey. Having Senior Leadership, as well as the literacy curriculum lead, in mentor roles has increased understanding of the kaupapa and pedagogy in our kura.

I NEVER tick all 5's on a survey, however, in this instance, it's warranted. Each day has brought change in practice (or a hunger to implement things that are being metaphorically blocked). No day has been remotely tedious... all highly worthy! 

Having the teacher workbook to underpin the planning! Beginning with analysing the data to inform planning and grouping, then heading to learning intentions, based on the curriculum... It has just created cohesion which I feel is often lacking. Being able to use the LTP to look at themes to be covered, assessment etc is like a roadmap. I find teachers often start with the learning activity and then find where it fits within the curriculum. The method we have been using starts with the curriculum, and works down, as it should. It has cohesion and creates deliberate acts of teaching. 

The coaching and mentor sessions have been great to be able to bounce ideas off, particularly having someone in the Senior Leadership Team, as well as knowing that they are being exposed to the pedagogy and practice. I often feel as though I'm banging my head against a wall, or out on my own with any changes to practice. This has given me a licence to enact things.