Friday, June 5, 2020
PLG #2 2020
Today has been a good day for reflecting on where we are at after lockdown, and where we need to get to as we move forward. Importantly, what lessons do we take from our time teaching (and learning) during lockdown and how do we carry what worked well back in to our daily classroom practice, and in to our schools?
As a school, we had already begun to collate what had worked well for us:
A few thoughts on how well we were placed to respond to the need for online teaching for an extended period of time and planning for moving forward.
Devices
students were well placed with the majority having access to their own Chromebook or Laptop
College had 4 new chromebooks awaiting purchase on site, along with a number of College owned Chromebooks that we could distribute to students who had Chromebooks in for repair, broke during Lockdown or did not have their own device
29 chromebooks were delivered to students along with one laptop and 2 desktops
A number of chargers were delivered where they had failed at home or were lost
Ministry of Education support
Whanau who needed internet were confirmed through the Ministry database
Hard copy materials were requested for a number of students who were not engaging or coping with online work. This was requested by teachers and/or whanau
Troubleshooting for whanau
Messages were sent via text,email and newsletters providing contact numbers for whanau to request help if any issues with online learning. We received quite a few requests that were solved through provision of hardware, passwords sent, contact with Spark re modem issues, technical support from Norrcom, expertise from college staff and Manaiakalani Facilitators
Troubleshooting for staff
Staff, ICT team, Facilitators and Norrcom all responded to need as it arose and helped solve problems
Preparedness
The positioning of our community and College by the TRIET initiative has put us better placed than so many schools in the country. When word came we would be going into Lockdown and Online learning we were ready, we were at a point where we needed to fine tune and adapt, we were not in a state of panic, our staff knew they had the tools and skills to meet the challenges and work through any issues. (A letter of recognition needs to be sent to TRIET)
Six years into utilising online tools to support a Learn Create Share pedagogy found the majority of our teachers confident and ready to switch to delivering the curriculum online
Ongoing PLD including DFI has been beneficial to staff skill and confidence, there are many who are now able to support colleagues in the ‘how to’ questions and the ‘have you tried this with your class for engagement’
With the knowledge that it was likely we would be in a Lockdown situation a staff meeting focussed on what teaching online from home would look like, what key components were needed across all curriculum areas to support students in accessing work, presentation methods that would support students, and professional expectations of staff when teaching online
Vicki and Makaore were critical in the days that we had to support and upskill staff who were in need, Vicki for OC made herself available and worked with individual teachers helping with sites etc
Hapara Workspace, Google Suite, subject applications familiarity prior to lockdown supported students and teachers
Connecting with Staff/Staff connecting
Most communications from SLT went through AFS to limit number of emails to staff
Emails need limitations where possible as become overwhelming quickly
Staff kept informed regularly of Ministry advisories
Google Meets
Staff meetings and Curriculum Leaders meetings held on Google Meet
Curriculum Leaders met with their teams online
Pastoral Team met online
Google meets between staff and outside organisations
Teachers met with colleagues online to discuss class programmes, ideas and support
Key staff met with Heads of school to plan and organise Assembly
We were incredibly fortunate to be in a cluster of schools where digital teaching and learning has been a focus for a number of years. It made transitioning to teaching from home far more manageable.
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Your reflections post lock-down indeed mirror some of my own experiences. Being well placed with both the necessary tools and the embedded pedagogy of Learn Create Share were also critical in my schools response to remote learning. You mention the TRIET initiative, what is this?
ReplyDeleteThroughout your post, the idea of connecting comes through at many levels, staff, SLT, pastoral team and various PLD provisions. Do you think some of these connections changed in lock-down in ways that could enhance what we do as we return to normal? I ask in that I found in lock-down I was interacting with a wider range of colleagues than those I normally do in my busy face to face school life.
TRIET - Te Reanga Ipurangi Educational Trust. Prior to us ever becoming a part of Manaikalani (Around 2013), we, as a cluster, former our own Educational Trust to try and get Chromebooks in to schools and homes. This was incredibly successful, and helped us then become a part of the Manaiakalani Cluster 3 years ago.
DeleteI think the connections made during lockdown were incredibly valuable. I also thought it was fantastic the way so many staff who at times doubt their technological capability stepped up and were able to help others problem solve, which resulted in much greater connection - and recognition that we are all in this together.
Kia ora Megan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts. I really do feel the connection with Manaiakalani put our cluster in a good space prior to the lockdown. Do you think the teachers at the college will continue to use their sites for visible teaching and learning now that we are back face to face?
Ngā mihi
Vicki
I truly hope so. It was fantastic to see staff really up skill and develop their sites during lockdown, and I know many of them have seen how beneficial they can be now that we are back at school.
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