Today I did a 25 minute taster presentation on using Seesaw portfolios for assessment. This was a quick introduction on using skills, activities and fluency checks alongside or integrated into your assessment. 

This week I am sharing my teacher tech videos page - the new addition to my website. This is a place where educators, teachers, individuals and even students can go to for quick help tips around digital devices. 

The videos are sectioned into three sections currently: google related videos, seesaw related videos and then anything else technology based. The videos are filmed using screencastify or quicktime player screen recorder and are short videos talking through simple steps or ideas. The youtube links are also there if you would rather view them on Youtube. 

Click on the link here to check it out!

I thought of a few digital ideas we were developing as a staff and created activity ideas linked to those. I then also added other digital ideas that could be great to develop, work on and strive for under the digital technologies umbrella. This is a template I designed, but you are able to use mine in your school, or edit the template to add your own ideas.

Wow. Where to begin! In this website post I will begin to share my journey from last week that highlights the incredible time I had in Sydney at the Google Innovators Academy. It was beyond amazing - words literally can not describe how fantastic it was!
​I will share all that I can - what I remember, what we did, how to get in...it all!

The application:
​So to even get in you first need to submit your application with ideas around what a need or problem you see in your learning context. Mine was all around 'How can we create a programme to help teach key ICT and google skills to junior students. Of course going into the application, this is such a broad problem to have and they really make you unpack it once you're there. 
The application also consists of recommendations from current google innovators and also a serious amount of questions you need to answer to consider if you are the right fit. Check out my innovator application video below.

Now before you even get there, you have work to do. Online meetings, discussions, goal setting and more! This sets the scene and helps you really unpack your problem and root cause. This was the best part, as it heightened your desire to want to be there and helped focus your mind on the task. 

What happened?:
Arriving on the first day was so surreal! All you could see was keen and excited educators ready to get started on this journey together. Everyone was introducing themselves to each other, trying to remember everyones name and getting to meet people you had been talking to online in person. We scored some free Google swag which was amazing also - I used my Google backpack on my first day back at school today. 

Once we started, we had group challenges, group work and individual activities to complete in our time there. It was all targeted around our goal, technology or our journey that we were about to undergo. We were fortunate to listen to some amazing speakers that shared their expertise, knowledge and great feedback with us all. 

Our projects:
We spent most of the time eating and drinking coffee. Which was definitely a highlight!! The unlimited food everywhere, and countless amazing places that Google actually had inside their buildings. 
Apart from the eating and drinking, we spent the other time working on our projects. This stemmed from our initial question or problem that we worked into our goal, project and end point that we wanted to create. 

​My initial question ended up changing to:
How might we remove teacher input totally and leave technology teaching up to students?

This allowed me to explore what could really come from this project and open up new opportunities for me in this problem. I want to create something that all junior students would find beneficial and felt that this 'how might we' question would not be too broad or too specific. This helps it not be easily answered either along my project journey.

My project has now been led down a new path - creating a series of technology themed picture books that target key ICT skills for students and teachers in a junior classroom. Definitely not what I thought I would create! Fingers crossed for the journey ahead!

Other thoughts:
Overall, 150% recommend applying if you are looking to meet some amazing educators from across the world that will make you think about and question everything you have done and will do in the future. I really can't summarise enough how though provoking it was; how much I have learnt about myself, my teaching, and my future; and what an amazing place Google is itself. The atmosphere they create while you are there is just such an incredible vibe - you really want to visit or go and work there. 

This amazing quote from Stuart Kelly really highlights what you should do and think about in the future. 

If you are interested in watching the livestream recording of our graduation, watch the Youtube video below! It will show you everyones project pitches including some quick snippet interviews with innovators at the event. 
I am specifically 25 minutes into the video if you are looking for my project pitch! 

If you are interested in applying then get onto it! You need to apply before the due date and to a cohort that is close to your area! I was fortunate that #SYD19 was was this year and close to my home - New Zealand. 

Check out this Google site with all the information about the other innovators accepted and our application videos also. 

Have a question about my time there, the application or anything Google? Send me an email below. 

I have had lots of interest in my Daily 5 products over the last few days so thought I would give a quick blog post on my experience with Daily 5. 
It has been a huge part of my literacy programme for the last two years. This year will be my third year using it, this time with Year 3's. Previously I have done in with Year 1s and then Year 1/2 composite. I first came across Daily 5 online and purchased this book 'The Daily 5'. It unpacks it very clearly and highlights how you should implement it in your classroom. If you're looking to get it going in your classroom then start with this. 

​Hapara is a fantastic tool for teachers to manage sharing documents with their students. It allows you to create classes that you assign your students too, showing you insight into their google drive, documents, emails and shared documents. You can even see what your students are working on their screen!
If you have not yet heard of Hapara check out their website here for information: Hapara.com

Hapara is great for differentiated instruction. It makes learning visible and can increase learner agency of their work. Hapara workspace is the Google Classroom equivalent - allowing your students to work in a space, sharing their work, rubrics and evidence in one place.
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I recently ran a quick PLD session at my school introducing some of the features to my teachers. As we use both Google Classroom and Hapara, the teachers at my school need to make sure they have sufficient knowledge using both to be able to make an informed decision for what works best for them. Check out the link here to my PLD slides to have a look yourself >> Using Hapara in your classroom PLD