Richard+-+Muritai

Team Leader Year 3-4. Visit [|Room 7's Learning log]** ||
 * [[image:IMG_0414.JPG width="104" height="96" align="left"]]
 * Richard Dobson, Year 4 Teacher.
 * Richard Dobson, Year 4 Teacher.
 * ===Visit my class learning log....=== ||
 * [|**Room 7's Learning log**] ||


 * **...Goals for 2008...** ||
 * 1. Make sure the ICT we use in the classroom is soundly grounded in curriculum outcomes... not 'skills for the sake of skills'.... Skills can **//easily//** be taught alongside the learning taking place!


 * //May 2008: I can point to lots of examples from my current teaching practices where I do this....Today, for example, assisting students use 'pages' for the first time, as they learned about how to write a report using keywords/notetaking/notemaking strategies.The focus was literacy, the learning was literacy, some of the new skills being learned just happened to be ICT related.//
 * //July 2008: I have alot of evidence from the iCT work undertaken by stuidents, that they are learning specific ICT skills at the same time they are learning other curriculum skills and knowledge. For example, while using kidspiration to extend thinkingon an inquiry topic, learning of specific ICT skills occured as well, such as bolding,underlining, importing of graphics, exporting of files.// ||
 * 2. Establish a class blog to inform parents on what's happening in Room 7. In Term Three, establish a //regular// opportunity for classmembers to engage in self-reflection on the learning happening in class, through the use of the [|Room 7 publishing log.]


 * //May 2008: Well on the way! The blog has been running for a while now. Hope to have students contributing to it by the end of the term//
 * //July 2008: Students now have a 'writing blog' linked from the class blog to publish writing and other literacy work (e.g. voice thread), keeping the learning log primarily a teacher/parent portal.// **Only one piece so far- no reflection yet- will be more as the term goes on!**  //The rational for this is outlined below in the AR comment for July- keeping the focus of self reflection tightly on writing, rather than broad self-relflection. I also felt the need to keep the learning log a place for my voice ( a the class teacher) to be heard- and use this as an ongoing communiction toolbetween home and school.// ||
 * 3. Build on research I began in 2006/7 and continue exploring the link between ICT, Multimodality and student outcomes in Literacy. This is part of my personal Action Research plan in 2008. Start preparing ideas for my Ph.D thesis, (possibly beginning it 2010).


 * //May 2008: Hmmmmm... do I really want to do all that study again?//
 * //July 2008: The action research I am currently conducting has now moved into a cycle of students using a [|blog to publish their writing] and then comment on writing of their own and others. It's at the beginning stages at the moment- 1 piece of work, no comments, but as the term goes on, this will grow... I intend to evaluate this by way of student PMI at the middle and end of term and look for variation in comment type.... is this process allowing for greater metacognition of the writing process? Or is the blog simply a 'writing novelty' ?// ||

Hey Richard- The Learning log is looking great! Do youi think you have achieved your goals in 2) ? Nigel@Korokoro Hi Nigel- no, not really.... yet! I have re-evaluated the goal a little- based on what I saw at Point England- and created a publishing blog for student voice to be heard instead- going to keep the learning log a place for my voice instead. Self reflection by students on their learning is going to happen via that- and happen soon!