First Week back in Classes

This week was my first week back in classes across the Te Hiku cluster. Most of the class numbers are about half to three quarters some parents are waiting to level 1 before they are sending back their children to school. For tracking purposes, I am signing in and out of schools which is just like I use to. In some schools, I am signing in and out of each class, I am going into. The other major requirement is sanitizing my hands as I enter each classroom and when I leave. Students are separated from each other by a meter in the junior classes not so much. There are different levels of health and safety between the schools. Some of the students are not allowed to use the equipment as they would need to be sterilized after each use. But the students themselves are very happy to be back and have got straight back into learning. Somewhere a bit anxious to begin with, but with reassurance and clear guidelines explained they settled down very quickly. My first activity was to create a slide of pictures of lockdown and add audio to the slide telling us about their life in lockdown. It was great to gather evidence and the student's voice. We will be back to cyber smart activities next week. One of the big improvements from lockdown is the number of blog posts across the cluster was 3 times the number of normal posts. I have been encouraging and supporting teachers to keep these numbers up. Some have made Fridays a posting day which is a start but not ideal. It would be more beneficial if it is embedded into the planning and part of the Learn, create and share of all learning in the classroom and across schools. It has been a busy week I am tired, with all the traveling and being back in classes. The biggest issue I have had is a sore back from leaning over low desks and tables supporting students with their work. I am going to stop this by using the wheely chair or carry a chair around the class with me and sit beside the students. I have also been organising a principal meeting round unpacking the WFRC data and the sense-making day next Tuesday. It is all organized and communication and agenda have gone out. We still need to work on communication within and across our Norhtlnad team and with WFRC. It is frustrating when you have been delegated a job and someone else is forever checking and changing things. Especially when they have delegated it to you in the first place. It has been beneficial to discuss with the teachers a plan of action for the rest of the activities for the term, especially with areas or concerns that arose out of lockdown that need to be revisited or covered. It has also been essential that they have shared their key areas or themes they are covering this term so I can link the cyber smart activities to these. Currently today in New Zealand we have one case of COVID 19, 22 deaths, and zero cases for a week. I do not want to jinx it but I think we may have got this or as a famous Kiwi once said "Well George, we have knocked the Bastard off" Sir Edmond Hillary.

Level 2 Tomorrow

Thursday 14 May we move to Level 2 retail shops can open again, gyms, hairdressers (I am booked for next Friday lucky I am not grey yet!!!) Restaurants, and beauticians, normality in the economic sector start. Schools go back on Monday 18th May.  At the moment with the distancing of a meter still in place and staggering lunchtime and morning teas, I am not wanted back till the following week the 25 May. Schools and Teachers want to settle students back into routines and socializing but hardest of all the health and safety regulations. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!!!!!! So I carry on working from home. It is starting to send me into a mental state, I am missing company and people. Stuck in a house for nearly 9 weeks is a long time. You get very lonely and bored with your own company very easily.
There has been some good distance learning happening a lot of teachers are enjoying it. What changes will schools make or do differently when schools are back?  Some great relationships have been established with whanau and this needs to continue it is a partnership between the whanau, and school to educate children. Will our very capable self motivated students be able to drive their own learning more and not have to wait for the teacher.  Will school devices be sent home and used more to enhance the learning. these great articles have been coming out which are a good read.

Digital learning 2025
Classroom or Community

Level 3 Still Working From Home

Another week of Hangout Meets with students in the class hangouts and with teachers. We had 2 good workshops with Harley on Monday going over the basics or creating movies. With this Pandemic and the History behind it, we have suggested the Movie festival theme for 2020 be about our lives in Lockdown or surviving COVID 19. A great idea for looking back in years ahead to see how we survived. The students are excited and the poor parents will be losing their phones over the next week while students are videoing. Look out Peter Jackson!!!! I have joined some class hangouts I am not sure if I was a help or a disturbance as the students where so excited to see another familiar face. It was great to listen to them talking about their creations and learning at home. Some have really got very creative and with the support of parents and grandparents, they have become projects that keep developing. I have been commenting on student and class blogs. We had our second Junior teacher catch-up today we only had 7 teachers but they had some great conversations and shared ideas. Students are starting to lose motivation and are sharing learning less and less as the weeks go by. We also need to work with parents on commenting on blogs across the clusters. We will find out tomorrow when and if we are going to level 2 or 2.5. We had 2 days of no cases recorded and then today we had 2 cases and another death. They are going to announce what the level will look like for education. we had a great Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu hangout on blog tips, I got some great ideas and can now answer questions I often get asked about blogs.

33 Days Of Lockdown.

We have finally come to the end of lockdown 33 days later.
Officaly today  Tuesday, 28 April 2020 we went to level 3. The boys in my house went back to work, the roads are very busy and noisy. The builders are back the quiet has gone.
I am still working form home as schools are only partially open for essential workers' children and others who could not get minders as they went back to work. The numbers in local schools are very low and teachers are on a roaster to look after the children who are there. Distance learning is still the main way children are learning if they have access to a device and the internet. The students attending school are also learning by distance learning. Today across the country is an official teacher only day for schools to prepare for level 3. I hope everyone is sensible in level 3 it is not time to socialize we still need to be careful. Stay in your bubble and keep your distance from others, and wash your hands.  

Day 25

The big announcement was made yesterday we have one more week then we are on level 3. Schools will go back on the 29 April only for students of essential workers and parents that are working. They are requesting to keep you, children, at home if you can.
I will carry on working from home this just means more hangouts and supporting teachers distantly.
We have had many online toolkits this week on screencastify, for support teachers, Hapara workspaces and Junior Slide slam tomorrow.
There was a great turn out from support teachers who are doing a great job commenting on student blogs and joining in the class hangouts.
I have been exploring with audio in slides using vocaroo for the audio files. This is my first attempt so I can show junior teachers tomorrow. This has been a great time to have a chance to explore some of the new tools and updates. 

Week 3 Lockdown

Week 3 of lockdown nearly over we head into week 4. Will it be the last week or will lockdown level 4 be extended?? The daily case numbers are down but our death rates are on the increase as it has spread to a couple of elderly homes and the elderly are not strong enough to fight the virus.

With a nice break with Easter just finished it was good to watch some movies, get out in the garden and do some cooking.

But today is a day that will also go down in history as New Zealand schools start teaching from home or distance learning while the country is in lockdown. I have had emails, phone calls and texts from teachers all weekend with the common title "HELP".

• How do I embed a video?
• The sound is not working in the video?
• I can not get the video embedded in the site.
• My site links are not working.

With the panic and stress coming from teachers I, of course, made how-to videos and shared them with teachers and also sent instructions. I wanted to support and release some of the stress they were having.

I have set up myself in the backroom as our weather has turned very cold and wet my two men at home are now inside a lot more and are very noisy and distracting. 

I have had to move the desk around from under the window as I had a clear view over my shoulder of the pathway to the toilet and while in a hangout my 18year old son wandered through in his boxes.. A good lesson for teachers and students at home in Hangouts to make sure you have a wall behind you. 

This week is a short week but we have support hangouts today and tomorrow for teachers in the Te Hiku and Kaikohekohe clusters on Google hangout Meet and Hapara and DFI on Friday. I am also creating videos for teachers to add to their sites. Some are how-to videos for rewindable learning and others are just to say Hi and connect with students. I thought I might do some of me reading stories for the junior classes. I will also remind the students to be cyber smart while on their devices and online. It is frustrating when you hear on the news that we can not trust students. We should just block everything. That will not teach students to be cyber smart. I notice my email box starting to fill up so I had better go. Good luck to all teachers, students, and Whanau with online learning.