MIT 2022 KPMG Meeting 3#

 Today we had our 3rd KPMG meeting. We looked at how our project was progressing. 

I am at the phase where I am getting feedback from my colleagues. I have had great feedback from my principal where she is scrutinising the content. One of her feedbacks is that one of my videos under Running Records (RR) is a benchmark video and not good practice. I had to first figure out what she meant with a benchmark video and got the info from my DP. My solution to the problem is to video one of our Reading Recovery teachers doing a RR. Then I know the video is authentic. 

The second feedback was from my colleagues Simon. Here is a copy of his email There were 2 of the things he mentioned that I took to the team for advice. The first was another word for 'unit', to soften it a bit. The team came up with the word "kete", as teachers will gain information that they can add to their kete which I thought was very appropriate. This then created the opportunity to use a kete as an image or border. I'm not very keen on images on the site as I want it to look professional. So the images that I use will have to be chosen well. The team suggested that I rather use real photos. Some advice was given on how to take a photo from the back of people to avoid having their faces in the image. So I will have to take some photos to spice my site up a little. 

We then worked on our Pecha Kucha  (this is still a work in progress) slides for Raro and the Wananga. These slides are timed and run automatically. 20 seconds per slide, 20 slides long. 

The trick is to keep your slide neat and clean with minimum words and catchy images. Prepare just enough for 20 seconds, so that you don't go over your time and/or end up not saying enough. So I will need to practice this a lot. It was suggested that we arrange to present at a staff meeting to get the feel for it before we leave for Raro.

I'm hoping to get more feedback from my colleagues before I share my site on the Teacher's FB page to get their feedback, which will be my next step. 

MIT 2022 Where am I up to now?

I am now sharing my site with my colleagues and on my FB page in order to make sure the information on it is correct. Further, I will be sharing it on the Teachers FB page in order to determine if new teachers in NZ or beginner teachers think this will be helpful. 

I am also currently preparing my draft Pecha Kucha Slide Deck in preparation for my presentation at Raro and the wananga. While creating the slide I have to reflect on my MIT journey. The initial problem, who was affected and how I can solve it. I am hoping to get positive feedback from colleagues and staff as an early indicator that it is successful. My biggest hope will be that principals will find it good enough to actually add a link to their school sites in order to offer extra support to their beginner teachers and overseas trained teachers. 

When I looked at previous MIT teacher's videos, including a dear friend of mine, I realised how many great ideas there are out there, and wondered if teachers are aware of the great work MIT is doing and that they can tap into it. I will take the time to bring this to our teacher's attention so that they can know there are trialled and tested ideas out there that they can tap into. 

My next step is to write what I want to share while looking at my timed slides. I can't talk too long and not too little. Preparing to talk in front of a big audience. Wish me luck!

Manaiakalani Shared Staff Meeting

 On Monday I had the privilege of being one of the facilitators for a nationwide shared meeting on our inquiries. 

I met with Richard, Elfrida and Ashley. Richard is a principal, Elfrida a DP and Ashley a Beginner Teacher. 

The sharing just happened naturally. Elfrida shared how they are doing an inquiry around their new school's value of sharing. What does sharing look like for their leadership team, staff, students and community?  Richard's team is relooking at their strategic plans as school life at the moment is not what they thought it would be when they planned it last year. And Ashely is looking into how she can build up a kete of different teaching strategies. I shared with them my MIT project, Survival Kit for New teachers. 

It was good to hear that other schools have the same challenges that we do. And sharing some ideas with each other was very helpful. I shared with Ashley a link to Manaiakalani Classroom on Air site, hopefully, that will be helpful to her. 

Initially, I was a bit nervous as I wasn't sure if I would be able to facilitate leaders, but they made it really easy for me, and I learned from them how they approach an inquiry in their school. 

Seesaw Certified Educator Refresher Course

My annual Certified Educator Refresher Course.  There are so many exciting new features coming. The one that I am the most excited about is creating groups within Seesaw. No longer having to select specific students' names every time you assign an activity to them. I can't wait for it to be implemented. 

Another new function is the Seesaw Educator Toolkits. This is a dashboard for upcoming events, important links and exclusive opportunities. A lot of the refresher course was spent on how to navigate the hub. I really liked the link to information on how to train teachers. Everything is easily accessible. This will be handy for when we get new teachers not familiar with Seesaw. 

They requested some feedback in surveys and showed me a new video for pioneer teachers. What I really like about Seesaw is that they strive to make the app teacher-friendly, and every year something amazing gets added.