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5/24/2004
Lunchtimes got better

I started going out everyday at lunchtime a few weeks ago and it has made a real difference to my day. I found a place to walk by the canal very near to school. Although it is almost in the city centre it feels quite tranquil. Mostly used by people from the local estate as a traffic free route to the city shops, it feels a really safe space.
On with the Learning list:
  • Monitoring the buddy system
    attended meeting with cluster, feedback meeting with head, wrote plan for monitoring system,designed questionnaires for the current buddies, made lists of questions for learning mentor and lunchtime supervisors, research into other school's methods of running the system, attending and writing up the yr5 training sessions. Writing a short report for feeding back to cluster.

    Year 5 Informal Learning

  • Ecologger
  • Adhd Links and research
  • dyslexia research
  • space links
  • springboard maths

    Year 3 Informal Learning

  • dyspraxia research
  • dyslexia research
  • speech and language: meetings with speech therapist

    • Posted at 10:50:43 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (2)  

    5/23/2004
    Informal Learning

    So how best to list informal learning?

    In my job as I have such a varied role it is hard to work out if I am constantly learning or hardly learning anything!

    I'm going to split it into my 3 job roles I think:

    Research Assistant

  • Magical spelling
    On line literature search, statistical analysis of the spelling mistakes made by class in optional SATs, research into learning styles, one to one training on Magical Spelling method, planning and recording sessions, investigating action research methods, reporting back to the cluster, giving feedback session and demonstration to staff, helping set up new spelling policy for school.
  • Telling into Writing
    4 meetings with literacy co-ordinator responsible for project, improving on-line search techniques (including investigating new search engines such asKartoo.com), investigating copywrite law and its implications for the visual aids required for the project, working out best gestures to use for teaching the class a narrative poem, using the experience gleaned from this to decide on the best gestures for the Hansel and Gretal story, working as a TA during the two week block whilst constantly reviewing the techniques being used with class teacher, designing evaluation questionnaires for staff and pupils, working with small groups on computers to faccilitate their production of individual stories told from the viewpoint of either Handsel or Gretal, investigating ways of putting these stories on-line, reporting back to the cluster on the project.

    That's enough for now, I'll put the stuff about Monitoring the Buddy System later.


    • Posted at 6:29:07 pm by lmhartley
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    5/22/2004
    Training this year

    This is my list of training this year for LA1.2

    Formal training attended:

  • A one day overview of ELS & FLS
  • A lecture on Collaborative Working Practices
  • A twilight on Literacy and Preferred Learning Styles
  • An INSET day on Positive Handling
  • A twilight on Behaviour Management
  • 2 hr course on behaviour strategies for use in after-school environments.
  • Devolopmental Dyspraxia (lecture)
  • Problems of short term memory transfer/processing (lecture)
  • Training on “Telling into Writing”project.
  • workshop on Children on the Autistic Spectrum.
  • Dyslexia friendly schools lecture
  • supported reading course at beacon school
  • Health and safety for swimming course
  • supported writing course at beacon school
  • 3d display in the classroom -one day course
  • Team Teach training day
  • PAL training day

    And training that I have been involved in giving:

  • a four hour training programme for other SSAs to learn to provide the Better Reading Partners scheme.
  • retraining of SSAs in the administration of the school reading scheme. This involved a two hour workshop on how to use the scheme in combination with ‘real books’ to provide a varied learning experience tailored to the individual child.
  • Healthy Schools cluster meetings to share best practice

    • Posted at 7:46:04 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (1)  

    5/21/2004
    More about play/delight

    I found this on on- line learning environmentson Vix MA site and thought it was an interesting view on how Firstclass works for on-line learning. I'm surprised that it is used by notschool as it does not seem to me to be very user-friendly. I find it a bit dull to be honest, not playfull at all.

    Some one was saying today that their ideal would be a community that offerred a variety of formats so that you could choose. People could see the messages in their home mail boxes, use wikis and blogs, web sites, all manner of ways of accessing the conversations. I am having real trouble wondering what that would be like in practice. I like the idea of it but I wonder how productive that varied sort of environment would be. Would it still feel like a community? I am not sure. How does all this relate to play and delight? Well it seems to relate more to the lack of it on FC if I'm honest. Unless of course you count the 'delight' of watching pillars of the CU posting about their prowess at playing computer games that depict the bloody and violent deaths of innocent penguins! :-)

    Ah well, I'll be on holiday this time next week and that should indeed be delightful. I can hardly wait. :-)


    Posted at 8:59:40 pm by lmhartley
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    Friday Night

    So here I am on a Friday night and the most interesting thing I can think of to do is work. I can't even go for a walk as it is pouring with rain. I have done my initial pdp but I can't say I'm very pleased with it. Never mind it is done!

    Now to do a list of all my learning in the workplace over the last year. The courses are easy, it's the informal stuff that is harder. The informal stuff of course far outweighs the courses I've attended. At least since October there has been my Learning Journal and I suppose I'd better trawl through my blog as well as I'm sure there is stuff in here too. Still it is just a list for LA1. LA2 though is where the certificates, evaluations, reflections etc. start to come into it.

    I'm going to try to get both more or less finished this weekend. Then I'll start looking for some literature refs and quotes from FC etc. to go into the final stitching.

    I need to get as much as I can done this week so that I can go away at half term and not work at all. Well, I suppose the Student Reps F2F meeting at Ultralab might count as work but it is only one day.


    Posted at 8:23:51 pm by lmhartley
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    5/19/2004
    Playfull learning?

    Just been reading some interesting stuff about play on Dr Ian Terrell's blog There are a whole raft of entries about various aspects of play and IT. It has occurred to me that part of the problem with Firstclass is that it is not an environment that encourages playfulness. As it was primarily designed as a business tool it has a basically utilitarian approach. JellyOS (our previous community software) on the other hand was much more obviously trying to be "delightful", despite its considerable drawbacks. I have been commited to the idea of 'learning through play' for many years and I still think that some of the most profound learning experiences can be achieved during play.
    The question remains how to define this thing "play."
    Ian Terrell's definition is here
    Do you agree with this definition?

    Posted at 8:58:28 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (1)  

    5/18/2004
    My ILP

    So here is my ILP

    Learning Activities:

    Learning Activity 1
    I will develop a PDP for the coming year, to include a short section looking at both the PDP process and the lack of support for such processes in my workplace.
    I will produce a list of workplace learning both formal and informal that I have undertaken since June 2003.
    Completion Date: 22/5/04

     Learning Activity 2
    Identify significant learning from my list of workplace learning activities. For the workplace learning identified, I will collect evidence of learning & add this to my learning portfolio. This will include evaluations, certificates, reflections from my learning journal, mind maps etc. I will identify 3- 5 of these significant events to reflect and focus on in the stitching section.
    Completion Date: 23/5/04

    Learning Activity 3
    The "Stitching Together" in the form of a report.
    Using the reflective processes developed in term 2 I will analyse and evaluate my learning. I will provide detailed reflections and evaluations of the significant learning activities detailed above. I will then analyse and report on, what I have learned, why this learning is worthwhile in my context, what I do differently now or in the future as a result of these activities. I will show what difference my learning has made.
    I will use these evaluations to make a PDP with SMART targets for the coming year.

    Phew, finally got there!
    Seen and agreed by my LF:-)


    Posted at 5:35:08 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (2)  

    5/12/2004
    Japanese kites

    I saw these fish kites as I walked home along the canal tow path today & thought what fun they are:

    Here's a link to explain the reason for the kites
    As First class is going to be down tonight and I am tired I'm going to log on to Ultrastudents chat now & see if anyone's around.

    Posted at 8:42:48 pm by lmhartley
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    5/8/2004
    Showing people how to add a photo

    I have just put some instructions in my FC homepages on how to put a photo into your blog.

    This is a picture of the sea shore in my village that I took this afternoon when I was out for a walk. It was unusually quiet and all I could hear were a few birds and the bleating of the sheep that have been put out to graze on the salt marshes.

    Posted at 8:27:18 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (1)  

    5/7/2004
    PDP still causing problems

    I AM STUCK as usual early in a module :(
    I thought I had this sorted out until I started to try and fit what I'd done into Greta's template. It's the sections in the AE tool all over again. Nothing relates to what I actually have. It all hinges on the existance of some sort of PDP prior to the start of the degree. Of course I have nothing like that so it feels like the whole module is based on a false premise. And as for doing some sort of cost/benefit analysis on the outcomes of this imaginary plan- words fail me!
    What happens if I don't use the template?
    What then? Can I just write briefly about not having a PDP? Then list the training & informal learning opportunities. Does that work? Will that meet the Learning outcomes?
    Maybe I'll feel better about it all tomorrow. I am feeling a bit low anyway as I have had a tummy bug so perhaps I need to wait till I feel more energetic.

    Posted at 8:12:14 pm by lmhartley
    Comments (2)  

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