Mapping My Web Presence

I started out creating a using Mind42 mind-maps to track my schools web presence, as my e-learning teachers were getting confused between our wikis. 


Being a visual person myself it was fantastic to see this structure clearly laid out with links.

School Web Presence (mosts wikis have been created by myself)

Having been active online educator for a number of years now, I have created and collaborated on a few websites. I decided to do the same with my own web presence.

MrWoodnz's Web Presence

Sharing e-learning with my team

Reflection on a day of working with syndicate teachers to and model e-learning and empower their students.

In Technology I was assisting and modeling and the plan was to use a worksheet to answer questions about Physical & Functional Attributes of potato peelers. I put the questions on her wiki, and added a Wallwisher for the students to collaboratively brainstorm. Slow wireless connection in that area really hindered the process, I wonder if we can use the Ethernet plugs in the Tech room, or better an extra modem like in room 13? I had prepared a Google Drawing Venn diagram as an alternative the writing out questions, but it would not load. So we used Mind42 a mind-mapping tool to do the same thing.


In the middle block I took Room 16 class in the ICT suite. The aim was to start developing their wiki e-portfolios, while empowering and equipping his students to use their wiki themselves, and become peer tutors. This will allow the teacher to focus on ways to use these tools in his teaching, he mentioned in his reflection that he was thrilled with the engagement.

• They learnt about signing into wiki’s and websites safely and protecting their identity.
• While adding Bling name tags, the students learnt to copy html code and use a widget to embed it into their wiki page.
• They learnt to add a new wiki page for themselves, using their first names and to manage their own pages.
• They learnt to create text hyperlinks.
• They learnt how to make a Weeworld Avatar, and why. I suggested they could do some character description writing on their wiki pages based on their avatars.
• They also learnt to screencapture on a mac and insert an image from file.

Two more girls from his class asked to join the wiki wizards on Friday’s Electives.
I ran a similar session with Room 12 in the ICT suite in the afternoon. As a past class of mine they are more experience so we worked on developing their wikis as future e-portfolios. Then we explored using Mind42 first as a class Word Wall on their wiki, then students created individual mind maps to help them structure and brainstorm their next narrative.




I believe the students are more empowered and likely to take ownership of their class wikis. A big focus was on protecting our online identity; this message needs to be part of an ongoing digital citizenship programme. I hope the teachers have seen new ways they can use the tools, and student expertise they already have to engage their students in e-learning and integrate it across the curriculum areas. It is also fantastic to see teachers becoming more reflective on our e-learning professional development wiki.

Spontaneous Collaboration

Although I am leading e-learning PD in my syndicate, and teaching staff about Google Apps for Education, the potential pedagogies of e-learning with Google Apps, have not yet been realised. A common mindset and misconception is that we are adding the ICT into current teaching, giving it a obligatory slot in the subject tumble. Sometimes however it is the first step for some teachers; getting familiar with new tools. As we know from maths, knowledge frees the mind for critical thinking.

Yesterday marked a breakthrough in staff collaboration for my team. After a long team meeting we realised that we had not done out term newsletter. I promptly copied one from term 1 and shared it with the team, who all (without any glitches thank goodness) started working together on the same document. 

It was only after about five minutes when one teacher exclaimed that "this was fun the way we were all working on the same document", that they realised were were collaborating. I added the image below with the revision history tab open to show that they were all taking part. They all liked that they could see where the others were working in the document, and one teacher who didn't like her assigned colour figured out how to change it. I was very proud of them, now I am waiting for the penny to drop, "hey we could get our students to do the same thing!"

Vegetables and Monsters and Algebra

After a recent staff professional development (PD), I came to realize that my students really need to be doing more problem solving. It is so easy to give text book practice and teach 'step by step' from the Numeracy Project books. Yet our students seem to lack the ability to solve problems that require critical thinking.


This TED video of Dan Meyer also really made me challenge and reflect on the way I have been teaching maths. He says we are teaching "paint-by-numbers" and depriving students of not just solving problems but formulating them. Follow Dan on Twitter here. 



Lucky algebra is our term focus and is an ideal vehicle for this. One of the problems we were given in our staff PD was solving a vegetable garden problem. I like to use my interactive whiteboard as a group activity and so created an e-version that my students could use and contribute their own problems to. I am also a Google Apps for Education freak, and on my way to becoming Google Apps Certified (2/6 tests passed so far) so I used Google Drawing to create the one below. 


Originally I planned on using problem solving to extend my higher Year 8 students but the activities, games and my problem solving teaching approach have transformed my class. Even my most reluctant students were engaged and talking mathematics enthusiastically, which made me enjoy teaching maths more than I have ever before, a double win. Below is an open copy of my Google Drawing, please feel free to test it and copy or change it for your own use.





I also found a fantastic and free game called "Lure of the Labyrinth" which is a mixture of comic strip story (which I used for shared reading) and monster video game. It is a challenging digital game for middle-school pre-algebra students with fascinating puzzles intertwined into an exciting narrative with it's own mythology (my class are exploring myths this term too) that is a perfect accompaniment for literacy. They support educators well with a wealth of resources and teaching material around the game puzzles. It is also encourages collaboration amongst the students and sharing of strategies.

Do you have any great algebra problems to share, I am always looking for more ideas?