The Manaiakalani Network Newsletter - November 2023

The Manaiakalani Network Newsletter - August 2023

 Kia ora koutou l Mālō e lelei

August has been a busy month in the schools across the Manaiakalani Network and it has been energising to see the breadth and depth of learning emerging as people have shared in our various forums. Many of our educators have taken advantage of opportunities to connect face to face with cross school visits and even cross cluster school visits.  The network convenors were delighted to be hosted by Kokatahi-Kowhitirangi School in Hokitika this month. A treat for many to spend a day in a small rural school. Individual teachers have been visiting each other's schools and cluster PLGs are back in schools.

We are grateful to our supply partners, PB Tech, who have stepped up to offer a ‘PB Tech Happy Hour’ on the Thursday of the Principals’ Wānanga. This will follow the first day of the Wānanga, and precede dinner at Waipuna. 

We hope you found items of interest here. We would love you to share this with your staff, Board and anyone who may be interested. 

Ngā mihi nui l Monuina e aho

Dorothy and team

Manaiakalani

The Manaiakalani Network Newsletter - July 2023

Facilitator News

This term the facilitation team farewelled Herman who has taken up a teaching post at Gisborne Boys' High School.

We wish Herman all the best in his new role a GBHS and he has a wealth of digital knowledge to share in his new school.

Amie Williams returns to the team. Recently Amie has been working in The Manaiakalani Team supporting the West Coast schools and coaching in DFI.  

Welcome to the team Amie!

The Manaiakalani Network Newsletter - June 2023

The Manaiakalani Network Newsletter - May 2023

 

CREATE Staff Hui - Term 2 2023

 This term the primary schools in our cluster combined for our Create staff hui. We came together at St Mary's School to connect with teachers in other schools, learn new skills, increase our digital capability and share our creations.

Here is some of our mahi from today.

The Manaiakalani Network Update - March 2023

Reading Practice Intensive

The Manaiakalani Programme's Reading Practice Intensive (RPI) has been launched this year. Following a pilot in 2022, the programme led by the Manaiakalani Research Team is ready for teachers. 

This is an online programme to build capability for teachers to do the 5 elements  of Reading really well with integrity and fidelity to the programme. The RPI has been informed by years of research by The Manaiakalani Network and goal setting by Principals at their annual Principal's Wānanga. 

"Designing Learning with the End in Mind" is a framework the Research Teams that has been delivered at our cluster's Research Reflections. These valued reading outcomes will be covered in the 9 weeks.

The Manaiakalani Network Update - February 2023

Orientation 2023: Connecting with Manaiakalani

 Orientation 2023 took place on 24th January 2023. The Orientation day is an opportunity for teachers new to our cluster schools to connect with the kaupapa and pedagogy of The Manaiakalani Programme.

Schools are invited to send teachers for this PLD opportunity so they can experience the Learn Create Share pedagogy as they learn about the Manaiakalani Programme. This is a collegial space where they can access support and develop a deeper understanding of The Manaiakalani Programme and what it offers them as a teacher in a school in our Tairāwhiti cluster and especially as a teacher in a 1:1 digital environment.

Details of your Orientation Day can be found on our cluster site here.

The participants created an online profile which brings together learning about being Cybersmart, learning about digital tools and then sharing their creations. 

Their online profiles are included in this presentation. 

Term 4 Staff Hui: Being Cybersmart in a Learn Create Share World

This term the theme is Being Cybersmart in a Learn Create Share World | Ko te tū atamai i te ipurangi ki te ao ako, hanga, tohatoha.

Staff are led to explore CyberSmart Week resources and linked to the recent visit to our area by Netsafe. We are emphasising teachers being cybersmart as well as learners.

Staff will explore AI sites and look at how real AI generated web material is.

Staff create using websites that use Artificial Intelligence (AI). They can choose to programme a machine or create art from a phrase or words.

View staff creations below and leave a comment.

Connected Learners Share - Term 3 Online Staff Hui

Term 3 staff hui are based around the kaupapa of Share | Hanga. The Manaiakalani Programme harnesses the affordances of digital technologies to connect teachers so they can share. This extends the idea that as educators we are also learners.

The online staff hui in term 3 are an opportunity for teachers across all clusters in Aotearoa to connect and share their Teaching as Inquiry with others teaching the same curriculum level.

Small groups are formed where teachers can share strategies and talk about academic outcomes for their students.

The hui is designed to be conversational and whilst Google Meet is used to connect, the session is not recorded nor is there any presentation required. 

I had the pleasure of facilitating 2 hui. One was focused on Well Being for years 1-3 and the other on reading for years 4-6.

In both session we were able to share strategies and resources. There were many takeaways for participants as well as affirmation that their Inquiry was benefitting their students. Perhaps it is in this time where we can sit and reflect that we can take stock and see what is happening for our students. In the busy and complex school environment reflection time may be very scant.

One school had a collective inquiry into forming a common practice method for the teaching of reading. I will be following their progress as I take part in the Manaiakalani pilot Reading Practice Intensive (RPI). The RPI starts at the end of August and I will be blogging each week of the 9 week intensive.

Introducing Janine Bava - Tairāwhiti's New Facilitator

 Welcome to Janine Bava - our new facilitator for our Tairāwhiti Cluster. She started as a facilitator in term 2, 2022 bringing a wealth of knowledge, effective practice and skills with her. 

Janine has been teaching at Awapuni School here in Gisborne for 10 years. She has been part of the Manaiakalani programme in several ways. 

Janine had in-class support for a year. She and her team quickly took on the Manaiakalani kaupapa of Learn Create Share. Her team developed a learning site for their year 5 & 6 students that was visible and contained rewindable learning. 

Janine was also a Manaiakalani Innovate Teacher in 2021. Her inquiry was around inclusive practice in the classroom. Her site is here for you to explore.

We wish Janine every success in her new role and we know that she has so much to offer teachers in our cluster.

 

Learn | Ako Staff Hui Term 1 2022

In this term's staff hui we worked with school to develop the visibility and rewindability of their class sites. 

The staff learning was to explore and use tools to  level up something they had planned for their class in the coming week/s to make it rewindable.

When using 3rd party apps it is a changing landscape. This is exemplified by the paywall now on Screencastify. We have been strong and constant users of Screencastify over the years but this paywall changes things a lot. Having a 3rd party app Like Screencastify integrated into our Drive makes it so user-friendly for students - and teachers. It is a shame we have lost the functionality of this app.

Mote is another excellent 3rd party app that now has a paywall so we have gone back to suggesting the use of an online audio recorder for voice recording. There is some light at the end of the tunnel with Google developing a Screencasting app for Chromebooks. Watch this space!

Knowing this we included Loom as an option as well as Quicktime for Mac users. 

I subscribe to Richard Byrne's Free Tech for Teachers blog so I can keep up with what's the latest and greatest. Worth subscribing to for teachers.

Orientation 2022 - Connecting with Manaiakalani

Orientation 2022 took place on 25th January 2022. The Orientation day is an opportunity for teachers new to our cluster schools to connect with the kaupapa and pedagogy of The Manaiakalani Programme.

Schools are invited to send teachers for this PLD opportunity so they can experience the Learn Create Share pedagogy as they learn about the Manaiakalani Programme. This is a collegial space where they can access support and develop a deeper understanding of The Manaiakalani Programme and what it offers them as a teacher in a school in our Tairāwhiti cluster and especially as a teacher in a 1:1 digital environment.

Details of your Orientation Day can be found on our cluster site here.

The participants will create an online profile which brings together learning about being Cybersmart, learning about digital tools and then sharing their creations. 

Their online profiles are included in this presentation. 2021 profiles from participants are included as well.

Orientation - Class Sites for Visible Teaching & Learning

 Part of our Orientation day is to support teachers to build a class site that will lead learning in their classroom for 2020. 

The Manaiakalani Programme hinges on class sites that provide visible and rewindable learning. MOre about this can be read here. Class sites can be created so that teaching is visible and learning is visible and rewindable. Class sites are the enactment of the Visible, Ubiquitous, Connected and Empowered kaupapa of The Manaiakalani Programme. 

Our programme for this session can be viewed here on our cluster site.

Participants are supported during this PLD session to create a class site that they can build on and develop as the year progresses. Participants view each other's sites and provide feedback. The sheet with site details and feedback are on our cluster site here.

Game Dev

In term 3 and 4 we have been supporting interested teachers to start a Code Club at their schools. Gisborne Intermdiate, Ilminster Intermediate and St Mary's schools have all taken part in the training days and implemented their learning to lead a Code Club.

The Game Dev sessions with teachers were led by Dave and Dan from Gamefroot. Teachers attended these sessions so they would be able to lead the Code Club at their school. Coding Clubs have been started in after school time at their schools. Links to some of the games that students have built are here.

This is an exciting project for these these schools and one that we are looking forward to supporting. 

Tract Newsletter

 

Passion and Project Based Learning

Passion is contagious yet personal. By osmosis, seeing others' passions brings out your own.

 

Your passion gives you a reason to keep learning -- even when things get difficult. This month, students in Lynnie, Diane and Jane’s classes from Kapakapanui School followed their passions together by completing How Artists Use Color Psychology when Creating Logos as a group. I was so impressed by the quality of the projects and the unique individuality of each creation!

 

 

 

 

View More Awesome Projects

When Kids Teach, They Learn, Grow and Get EXCITED

Aristotle once said teaching is the highest form of understanding. As students translate their passions into creating their own video lessons, they not only increase their subject matter comprehension but they also build self-confidence, creativity, technology, and communication skills. Starting this month, all students can teach their classmates on Tract and work toward earning Creator Partner status.

Students created lessons on Minecraft mods, Creating your first game on Roblox, Solving the Rubik's Cube, Sketching using scale, How to Be The Best Rugby Player, and more! One standout student -- Leytonh -- even earned Affiliate Creator status after publishing 5 learning paths with excellent school engagement and quality.

 

Congratulations to Leytonh and his teachers Barry & Kaitlyn at Gisborne Intermediate. Be on the lookout for his new lessons!

 

 

Inside The Movie Sonic The Hedgehog

Created by Leytonh

 

 

Sketching With Scale

Created by gayesham

World Teacher Day

We celebrated World Teacher Day on October 5th by giving out DOUBLE COINS for students who showed their appreciation! Anne’s classroom from Woodlands Elementary made it very clear that she is a 1 in a BILLION teacher with some heartfelt messages and creative displays of thanks!

 

 

Students Give Back

This month students gave back in a BIG way, donating 128 meals, planting 10 trees, protecting coastline, and helping kids go to school, cope with cancer, and heal from abuse.

 

Our biggest giver this month was Gisborne Intermediate -- as many of the students chose to spend their hard-earned coins from the Oh My Gourd contest on others. Leading the way was tflamwell from Olivia’s class who donated 8 meals.

 

These micro-donations add up, and allow each student to own the decision to give back, gain awareness of the UN sustainable development goals, and start thinking about these important world problems. I’ve heard countless stories of dinner table and classroom conversations that started from 1 simple action.

 

 

Gisborne Intermediate enjoyed their Spooktacular Tract-sponsored pizza party after winning this month's Oh My Gourd! Award contest

Product Updates

We released a new Class Hub and Navigation experience that makes browsing Tract and finding what you’re looking for much easier! You’ll notice all the main navigation routes are on the top bar, and a secondary navigation when you click in to find nested information.

 

The “Classroom” tile is replaced by “Teach” in the top navigation and here you can see all your classes and student work. We now support adding co-teachers and editing classroom names. Students can also now find their classmates in their avatar profile dropdown menu.

 

 

We exposed the Learning Path builder (aka course creator) to all students. Now, students can start their journey as a Creator by clicking “Create” in the top navigation. This provides an entry point for students who do not need the structured support of our #CreatorAcademy and just want to start teaching!

 

 

What's On Deck For Next Month?

If you thought October was FUN, wait until you hear about what’s cooking for next month:

1. Bigger, Better Creator Academy
2. Fun New Product Updates
3. Our Biggest Contest Yet...

Not Yet Started On Tract?

Get started in under 5 minutes by following our new Getting Started Guide!

Tract App: Peer-to-peer Education

This year the facilitators have introduced teachers to the Tract App.

Tract is a platform where learners can follow their passions and interests, learn more then create and share their understandings and knowledge. 

The vision is to empower "learners to think critically and independently and to solve the world's problems" by providing "On-demand, project-based classes and clubs designed to spark creativity and empower learners to develop the critical thinking skills they need to succeed as successful young adults."

We have some school locally using Tract with students highly engaged in creating and sharing their interests.

Gisborne Intermediate won a global challenge for October and recently were awarded a pizza party to celebrate this achievement. What a fabulous way to start our local use of Tract. 

You can read more about tract on their newsletter here.