Ken Robinson - Education that enriches talent

"Every day, everywhere, children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly" - Ken Robinson.

Mac or PC - the fight gets bigger

My 11yr old nephew shared this youtube video with me last night. I asked him and our niece which they preferred. It is true - the advertising machine of the Mac is a good one and worked once again with these children. And that's great with me.

Needless to say - I'm a Mac girl. I first used a Mac in 1982. A small cube at the back of our classroom. It was the first computer the school had bought for students. Students from other classes came to our classroom to use it. I'm not sure what they learnt. We were taught programming skills using 'turtle'. But it was during our lunch breaks that we learnt the most. We were allowed to 'just play' - and we did. Mostly we played PacMan and fought for position of top score. However, we also played with the programming capabilities and learnt to explore, push buttons, test our skills and knowledge and we were even allowed to take it home for weekends. There were about 5 of us who took up the opportunity to take the Mac home. We each spent most of the weekend trying to extablish the highest score in PacMan. Our families also had the opportunity to learn the Mac operating system from us - a huge boost to our confidence and learning.

I will always be a Mac girl. Since those days in the 80s, Macs have led the way in creating a visual interface that is ideal for children in the early years. The drag and drop of large pictorial icons, the dock, the integration of iphoto in all its applications, provides an easy platform for children to create their own pages of information and manipulate images. All with very little supervision from adults. Today the children of Manaia Kindergarten enjoy playing with KidPix, creating learning stories with ComicLife, and exploring photography with Photobooth and iPhoto. New teachers to the kindergarten are also learning the Mac skills and are excited about the possibilities.

What do the children in your centre use and how?
What is your preference - Mac or PC - and why?

Comic Life - Software Review

Fiona Grant from the MOEs Software for Learning encouraged me to write a few reviews about software we use in early childhood education. There was little doubt in my mind about which piece of software to begin my reviews.



Comic Life has been an exciting addition to the curriculum at Manaia Kindergarten. This is a software package that appeals to teachers, children and parents alike. In addition it is equally usable on both Mac and PC (though marginally faster on a Mac!).

Although Comic Life is set up to provide tools for the creation of comic strips and pages, it is quite versatile for a variety of uses.

The teachers of Manaia Kindergarten use Comic Life to write children's Learning Stories. Stories about children's learning experiences had previously be written in MS Word. We found Comic Life provided a platform to easily mix pictures and text in creative formats.

• Text boxes can be placed anywhere on the page. Text headings come in all shapes and sizes. You can choose from pre-determined styles or manipulate the shape, colour, or outline of headings. When using a Mac - Comic Life provides some text formatting options.

• Picture boxes can easily sit next to text. Neither moves unless you click and drag them to the desired position. A small image library window remains open with your image thumbnails. It is easy to click and drag your images from the window into your picture box. They automatically resize to fit the window. It is also easy to crop images by clicking and dragging the boundaries of the picture or the box. Picture boxes come in a range of style shapes which can be manipulated individually along with the frame, if desired.

• Speech bubbles are the cornerstone of Comic Life. At Manaia Kindergarten, we use speech bubbles to type children's words and correspond them with particular images. You can see an example of Speech Bubbles in use in a recent story about our trip to the Fire Station.

• Blog your learning stories easily from Comic Life. Each page can be saved as an image (jpg) and uploaded onto a website or blog.

• Bling - pages can be beautifully coloured with preset backgrounds or manipulate easily to create your own. Check out some on Manaia Kindergarten blog

• Children - the Comic Life interface makes it easy for children to create their own pages and make their own choices about images, colour, heading styles etc. Children at Manaia Kindergarten see Comic Life as an opportunity to take charge of the mouse, click to make their choices, and have direct input into writing their own learning stories. Check out Sari's story about Poi meeting her friends at home.

Purchase Comic Life - its not expensive
Comic Life is a creation of Plasq. They have a variety of Comic Life options. We use the regular Comic Life option at Manaia Kindergarten. You may also be able to purchase a bulk license to cover a number of computers and computer platforms in your Early Childhood centre. Comic Life Download Link.

PS: I am not paid by the manufacturers of Comic Life for this review - though I probably should be lol!

The Election and National Standards

In November 2008 I posted a subtle cartoon warning readers about the pitfalls of National Standards. I followed through with a post election rant, a skeptical article about the newly elected National Party of New Zealand, their promise to maintain Free ECE and the idea that "what will determine our (individual) success is the unity of purpose".

This month the true colours of our National led government have been glimpsed. Hints about the upcoming budget, spell a demise for nation wide Free ECE for 3-5yr olds. And at the start of 2010 National Standards were implemented in all schools. It is unbelievable to me that anyone can see a logic in a set standard of education outcomes for all children, especially in the primary years. These are the years to be exploring one's potential, interests, curiousities - not trying to fit into a standard mold set by pompous politicians who all dress the same way.

Ken Robinson once again excells as he explains National Standards. In his quiet, confident tone, Robinson points out the pitfalls that National Standards presents.



Be warned - National Standards will be the demise of children's self esteem and a culture of creativity and innovation. See also Do Schools Kill Creativity - Ken Robinson

Thank you to Tania for sharing this great clip with me during our latest Conference and presentation on 21Century Thinking and Learning.

Trust children - and discover what you can learn.

After some inspiring PD over the holidays, I looked for more inspiration as I ready myself for work tomorrow. Again I found such inspiration on TED! The following video is presented by Adora Svitak (author of Flying Fingers) - A "Child prodigy" who says "the world needs 'childish' thinking.... Kids' big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups' willingness to learn from children as much as to teach."

At Manaia Kindergarten we truely believe that children are the best teachers and learners. The community at Manaia learns alongside eachother and children are seen teaching adults new ways of thinking and doing. Check them out on their Kindergarten Blog.
Trust children - and discover what you can learn.

Adaptable technologies & Global issues

I really want an iphone!

In fact I am in competition with colleagues and friends to be the first to purchase an iphone. Currently I have the oldest phone which my colleagues have dubbed - 'a modern day brick'. I have found this image of it, in a 2007 online article entitled - "How to recycle your old phone"

Ok - you can stop laughing now!! BUT when this phone dies I WILL get an iphone!!

Unfortunately my friends and I have done everything we can to KILL this phone. It has been dropped, thrown across a Greek resturant, and held above a candle flame until the back of it has been badly burnt. It still works! :-( And for a leader in technology in education this may be a very sad sight indeed.

I want an iphone.

Yes technology is doing wonders in creating collaborative learning environments, providing children with an authentic voice, building confidence and leadership. The newest technologies increasingly support these educational opportunities. In 2008 - "An Apple iPhone or iPod touch (became) a central part of Abilene Christian University's innovative learning experience when all freshmen are provided one of these converged media devices". I commend them and argue that in Early Childhood teachers should also be provided with these ever so portable learning technologies.

I want an iphone.
But at what cost?

Maybe there should be two sides to the education of technology in early childhood. Along with the introduction of technologies into our early childhood centres should be an education of fairness, environmental issues, adaptable technologies, trends and marketing ploys. We should be encouraging our communities and society to develop technologies that grow - not replace technologies yearly with the latest and greatest, but adapting what we have to do more. As an education sector we should lead the way in ensuring that our technologies are created with fairness in mind - that children and families will not be accepting technologies made with the sweat and deaths of third world citizens.

Click on the image below and identify the messages our children and families are receiving. Read the words then step back and look at the whole image.



Apple currently has some explaining to do - and so do we. Steve Job needs to act - and so do we. In our quest to use technologies to increase learning opportunities for children we need to ensure we are not also teaching excess luxury consumption and perpetuating our 'throw away' lifestyle.

Unfortunately I am unable to add the capabilities of an iphone to my modern day brick . So
I'm sticking with it until it dies (which is no time soon at this rate). But I challenge you and myself to consider improving the holistic nature of technology in education, and perhaps encourage our sector to continue to consider global issues (perhaps to the detriment of some 21C learning opportunities) and to also stand up for adaptable technologies.

The Child Discipline Act and The Referendum

Last week I received information in my letter box about the upcoming referendum to take place in New Zealand. The infamous “Anti-Smacking Debate” has reared its ugly head again.

As a teacher of young children, I thought it my duty to respond to this debate – which will no longer be labeled the “Anti-Smacking Debate” on my blog.

Did you know that as of June 2007, the law does not prohibit parents from smacking their children. There are 5 clauses in the Crimes Act that justifies the use of force for good parenting. (I can’t believe I’m admitting that – but it is a fact). The 2007 change in the Crimes Act prohibits parents from smacking their children for the purposes of ‘correcting’ behaviour. You can read the wording of section 59 Parent Control, No 43 of the Crimes Act

I believe that the tragedy of the current debate is the wording of the up-coming referendum question.

Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offense in New Zealand?

This is irresponsibly misleading. New Zealanders are paying $9mil on this referendum and the question has been written poorly and with bias. That alone is criminal!! I do believe it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the wording of a referendum is unbiased, well worded, and fairly executed.

It is important to understand that:

• The law is not about an incidental light ‘smack’.
  And therefore the referendum question is immediately flawed.
• The law is not about ‘good parental’ practices.
  And therefore the referendum question is flawed.

The law is aimed at parents who hit their children hard enough to end up in court*. It is to prevent those parents from using the purposes of ‘correction’ as a defense.

Rewording the Referendum - my thoughts:
Should parents be legally permitted to use force for the purposes of correcting behaviour?
The term ‘correcting’ and the word 'force' should be defined.

How do you think it should be worded?

How would you define ‘correcting’?


Debating the Bill leads to debating discipline.
What I do love about the bill and the referendum, is that discipline is up for debate again. It means we get the chance to talk about the ‘discipline’ of children, and we get to advocate for a better way.

As teachers, we are not permitted to hit children.

What would happen if a teacher were to ‘smack’ a child?

• They would be disciplined (not smacked!)
• They would probably loose their job.
• Parents would be irate.
• The teacher would loose the respect of families and colleagues.

Why?

• Because there is a better way to teach children, and as professionals we should know better.

How much more then, should families learn a better way to help their children make good decisions. Smacking is lazy. Smacking is more about the adults coping mechanism than teaching children. And would it be fair to say, that left unchecked smacking can be abusive?

The definition of Discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules”.

As teachers we are taught to respect children - (crazy to have to write that). Children naturally deserve respect. Children are capable of thinking, of problem solving, and of empathy. They are competent learners, especially young children who learn so much in the first few years of their lives. It is not so amazing to discover, that when you look for a new way to support your children’s learning, your relationships with your children grow.

Anke Richter (a German Journalist) wrote an article To Smock is to Love (2007) - an outsiders look at the ‘Child Discipline Bill’. It’s a great read, along with the discussion that follows at the end of the article. Essentially she suggests that by legislating against hitting our children, we begin to implement social change – smacking becomes ‘un-cool’. I believe that when smacking becomes un-cool (and it is so un-cool for many wonderful parents with whom I am associated), parents build richer relationships with their children. ‘Disciplining’ without smacking takes time, patience, and heaps of reflection. And time, patience and reflective thinking is the kind of modeling we need to be sharing with our children.

The citizen initiated referendum takes place in the month of August 2009. It is flawed before it even begins – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t vote. Educate yourself about No 43 Crimes Act, about the referendum, and about the debate.

* Parental Control Crimes Act explained - pdf download
• NZ Referendum on Child Discipline 2009 - the yes vote

Mr Winkle Wakes - Education 100 years on

Ok - I have a number of ideas to share with you. Its hard to decide which should go first. So check back soon....

I am hoping that this first post is out of date and that there are no schools or ECEs who function like this - or at least none that think they should. Here's hoping we are all on the same road to revolutionising education for learners in the 21C. But just in case you need any convincing - this is for you?



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A new role, a challenging future.

Wow - its been a while! I logged on to my blog account and found 9 comments waiting. Apologies to those whose comments I only just published.

It was an honour to be appointed head teacher at Manaia Kindergarten. The time now, however, to blog, has greatly been diminished as I seem to fill my days with other thoughts - mostly around the survival of admin. I have also found that to start with I am giving of much energy into the job, and not having a great deal of time to be replenished. So it was great to have some worth while professional development over the Easter holidays. We also have a new team of teachers at Manaia Kindergarten and I look forward to working together as a great team, sharing our learning, challenging our thinking and ways of doing things, and growing together with the children and community of Manaia.