Classroom+5





March 2012 This year has started quite differently to last. Mostly because my children haven't really caught on to the basic computer skills as quickly as last years. By this time in 2011 all the children could get themselves onto the wiki and were navigating around it easily. They were beginning to make slideshows and experimenting alot more on their own. These children (2012) are taking longer to learn to do anything on the computer. They have very low literacy skills and this is probably part of the reason. However, we can only get better....... surely! They do however, LOVE doing anything on the computer and would quite happily play the games on the wiki all day if I let them. We have started to make our own little avatar creatures on "Make my Wild Self" and put them on their wiki page which they are loving. I introduced a couple of groups to Study ladder and they seem quite keen, so a bit more practise and they may be able to teach the others. We have started our blog and I am enjoying posting things once a week with them. We are doing a language experience lesson weekly and then blogging about it with the photos to illustrate it. So far we have made toast, and planted a seed. My next step is to get the children commenting as part of their writing programme. I am hoping that with a real reason for writing it will add to the importance of being able to write and make it more enjoyable. I would love for parents also to be commenting on our posts. Haven't used the mimio yet but want to set up an activity where children have to match their first name to their last as they currently either don't know what their last name is (go figure!!) or don't know how to write it.

2011 has started with a bang! As well as all the usual beginning of the year craziness Cheryl, Maureen and I are working hard to integrate ICT as much as possible. We are loving the way we have set-up our 3 classrooms and collaborative learning area. Rooms 20, 21 and 22 are joined and have a large open 'space' joining all 3 rooms. We are using that space as a shared learning / discovery area. There is a technology space with building equipment (yes... including hammers, nails, a saw and screwdrivers) a science area with lots of fun science equipment and activities, and an arts area with puppets, costumes, musical instruments and visual art materials. The children (and teachers) have been loving exploring these areas. My children were particularly excited about taking apart old tape recorders and telephones and taking temperatures with the thermometers.

In Room 21 itself I have tried to set up a writing space with motivational ideas, dictionaries, alphabet cards etc, a handwriting area, spelling area, reading area and of course a maths space. The children can sit wherever they like, at tables, on the floor, at the teachers desk (is no longer a teachers desk and only used by the children) at low kneeler tables, or out in the shared learning area. The children are very happy with this but some of the parents seem a bit uneasy with this and look at the children strangely when they say they have no set seat. I'm sure they will get used to it soon.

I am really looking forward to experimenting with e-learning and meeting a huge range of needs of my students with Jacqui's help and the support of my buddies Cheryl and Maureen.

__Week 6 __ This week my class has had access to 2 iPads (shhh don't tell the rest of the school) and it has been really interesting to see how much the children already knew and how easily they were able to pick them up and just run with it. Right now they don't have many apps on them but Doodle Buddy is a favourite. I have been using this especially for a couple of my children who have poor handwriting skills. We did our writing this week on the laptops. The children worked in pairs to write an introduction for our trip to the Miami Childrens Museum (virtual tour of course) and it was hugely succesful. It worked particularly well I think because I paired lower ability writers with higher ability so they had support. On the whole it was more successful because they a) achieved more, b) it was better quality writing and c) they were focussed and enthusiastic. So now I am looking for donations of 12 laptops that I can permanently have set up for writing time (I don't want to share anymore!!!!!) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __Term 2__

<span style="color: #ff009f; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Have started this term with a real focus on developing the<range type="comment" id="177368"> independence of my students. The hardest thing has been for me to let go and just leave them to it. I have begun with reading and giving the children lots more opportunities for choosing what they do and how they do it. Next will be writing and then maths. Have also been putting alot more ICT into the writing programme and letting the children draft on pages etc. They are really enjoying it but we are still a bit limited by the lack of computers. They are also experimenting with publishing in different ways. At the moment we are all publishing together so that they develop the skills to use the equipment properly, but soon I hope that they will select from a list of different ways of publishing.

We have also been using the PC's that were donated as part of the Maths programme. The children have discovered the Pinball game which is also fun. Keyboard skills are improving through making keyboard practise part of the reading and handwriting programmes.