A day in the life of a quarantined teacher

2020. What a year! As we sat planning our courses and curriculums at the end of 2019, could any of us have predicted how much of it would be delivered in lockdown, from home? I started this blog as a provisionally registered teacher in 2012 and have kept it up ever since. It has been a wonderful resource to show the development of my thinking, professional practice and knowledge over the years. I thought it was only right to capture some of the this latest development in practice too, that is, teaching while in quarantine.

9:30am - 10am Live Google Meet with Learning Hub in pyjamas

Every morning I have a live session with my Learning Hub. At our school, Learning Hubs have replaced form classes and tutor groups in favour of an advisory model. In a nutshell, this means I take more of a 'life coach' role than just monitoring student attendance. 

These daily hub sessions involve having a quick conversation with each of my 17 hublings (an HPSS term that has evolved to refer to the students in our Learning Hub) to check how they are doing, pass on any messages from the school or other teachers, help them set goals for the day/week and keep them accountable. We also go over their daily planner. 

The daily planner is a key piece of the puzzle for HPSS students. This helps students to manage their learning while off-site by helping them identify the learning tasks that should be completed for the day. As the hub coach, it also helps me identify when a student is not regularly checking in with what learning needs to be done. For students who do not yet have great self-managing skills, our morning check-ins involve me helping them to complete their planners for the day to ensure that the students know what they should be doing. It is important to remember that students don't all come to us with self-managing skills - we have to teach them how!

It's also worth pointing out that we tend not to turn our cameras on for this morning meeting. It's perfectly acceptable to plan your day while in your pyjamas you see...

10am - 11:30am Get dressed, check emails, schedule jobs, have coffee in the sun

After our daily hub check-in, I tend to get dressed in my lockdown work clothes. This involves some variation on my onesie, track pants, and sometimes a slightly tidier looking shirt if I have meetings where I have to be on camera. I then make a cup of coffee and sit in the sun (or under a blanket if no sun) to check my email. Email, despite being the bane of my existence, is also a key part of what helps schools function these days, whether we are together or apart. 

This part of the day also involves tending to various leadership responsibilities. For me, this involves dealing with various NCEA queries in my role as Principal's Nominee and updating my own to-do list accordingly. I also check in with my various Across School Lead tasks for our Kāhui Ako and follow up on any aspects of this work that need my attention.

11:30am - 1pm Planning time

Next, I like to spend a bit of time checking how my students are progressing in the tasks that have been set for them. To do this I use the Google Classroom grade book function to help me do this quickly or other websites that let me track student engagement. I tend to set at least one activity each week that 'self marks' so that it is really quick and easy to see who is engaging with the activities in the Google Classroom, but also who might be struggling with the basic language, concepts or skills we are dealing with. Tools I use for this include the auto mark Google Form Quiz, Quizizz and Playposit. During this planning time, I will also notify other hub coaches if their hublings are not keeping up with classwork so that they can notify their parents. 

As well as a quiz type activity, I also set an additional set that requires students to keep working on it for a more sustained period of time. This task is usually based on a SOLO Taxonomy scaffold to ensure that all students will be able to complete at least some of the task (see example task). Instructions are communicated to students in the same format on Google Classroom that I use when we are at school. I have found that using really consistent practice when in school and out of school sets my students up to be more successful for when I am not there to support them. 

Student voice that we collected during our previous lockdown indicated the students liked having:

• Tasks set at the start of the week that they can work on for the whole week.
• Must do, Should do, Could do tasks
• Video instructions

Hence, I make sure to include the student requests in my planning too. 

1pm - 1:30pm Lunchtime

Since we can't travel the world right now, I am using my meals to reminisce about vacations past. Crepes have been a lockdown favourite as they remind me of the wonderful time I had exploring the streets of Paris this December just past. So much has changed in the world since then and I am incredibly grateful that we got to have one last holiday before the pandemic. Other travel food favourites include homemade pizza from scratch (because you have time to make the dough from scratch when you are home all day) and fancy European cheeses and bread. 

Of course, 1pm is also when we watch the 1pm Daily Update show - you can read the reviews on IMDB! The storyline on IMDB reads:

"Set in a dystopian world where autocratic and populist leaders are in charge of the USA, China, UK, Brazil and many other nations. 1pm Daily Update takes place in the imaginary island nation of New Zealand, a utopian society where science, facts, strong leadership and a genuine care for its people and environment take precedence over money and big business."

 

 

1:30pm - 3pm Teaching time

During this time of the day, I like to actively engage with my students online. This has involved everything from running Kahoots and running a 3 minute Art History Challenge. Most of the time, however, live teaching time is reserved for one of two things:

• Drop-in question and answer sessions: During the regular class time, I let my students know that I will be online if they have any questions or if they need any help. Attendance is not compulsory and essentially this is just a chance for a face to face conversation if a student needs it. 
  
  
• One on one sessions: One on one slots are usually reserved for my senior students working on assessments. Students are asked to book in a one on one session for us to check in on how they are going with their assessment. This can help the student overcome any obstacles they might be encountering and help keep the student accountable. Additionally, it has the added benefit of helping me to feel confident about the authenticity of any student work done at home as I can hear students talk to their work. We use a Google Sheet for students to make their appointment times.

 

3pm to 4pm Feedback and marking

As well as the usual marking of NCEA work, I spend quite a lot of time giving feedback to my students. Before beginning an assessment, I give my students a practice task. For the practice tasks, I give them an abundance of feedback that I ask them to address before beginning the assessment. This means that rather than just resolving my comment, they actually have to 'fix' things to ensure that they really take the feedback on board. Google Classroom makes giving feedback a whole lot easier these days. I love the comment bank which lets me upload common statements that I use again and again so that it is faster and easier to get through big classes. Sometimes I will come back to marking after dinner too. Usually with a hot toddy for motivation! 

4pm onwards

From 4pm I have device free time. So much of the day is online at the moment in in reality, I'm finding this quite difficult. Hence, I make sure that when I finish the workday, I try to get off my computer for a few hours. During the many weeks of lockdown this year, non-screen time activities have included flexibility training, circus training and conditioning, drawing, reading, sewing facemasks and cooking.

What about the next day?

I'm not really a creature of routine. So while the above might be one day's schedule, it is definitely NOT every day's schedule. Our daily 9:30am hub meeting happens every day (to help our whole hub get out of bed and get to work at a reasonable time), the other things shift around in the day based on meetings, my motivation levels and when the sun is out to go for a walk. 

B is for Back to the future and C for Change is afoot

Over the past few weeks I have been spending a significant amount of time focussing on the ideologies that our education system in the past, and largely still in the present was founded on. You may have even read my post, Education's great wicked problem where I explore some of these ideas. However there is always more to the story...

Our ideologies are the things that we think with rather than about. It is how we think rather than what we think. There are examples of this everywhere. What we think about any given thing, a government proposal, gay marriage and even whether you recycle, is driven by your underlying ideologies. What we value drives our choices. Hence, if I value the earth and the future generations who will have to deal with the problems created by current generations (environmental degradation, over population, global warming etc.), I might be more inclined to actively promote and participate in ideas and actions around sustainability. Equally, if I value honesty, I will be more inclined to be honest. Although in both cases I might actively think about the fact that I value sustainability, or that I value honesty. What I am less likely to think about is what caused me to value it. What experiences shaped my world view, my perceptions to value those things? And further, what experiences has shaped others to think about the world and all that happens therein, differently? And without actively stopping and thinking how and why did I come to think in a certain way, I am likely to simply think about the what, e.g. recycling, asset sales, education reform and then find the evidence to support my argument. Most likely, and without meaning to, I would probably be employing some selection bias to bolster whatever I was thinking about.

It seems that everyone has an opinion about education, and rightly so since everyone has experience of it. Perhaps, what we spend less time on is thinking about what shaped our underlying view of what an education system might be. For example, most people would agree that education is a means of addressing inequality. However, have you stopped to think about what shaped that view? If you were going to cite some facts and figures now about how education has allowed some to break the cycles of poverty, I might remind you of my previous comment about selection bias. Again, what we think is that education should address inequality. But how we think is a whole other ball game. How have you come to believe your views? 

The above seems very philosophical, and you might wonder what it has to do with you. Remember those arguments you have with colleagues when you are taking risks, trying to be more future focussed? And it seems that they just can not get on board? Chances are, the way you think about the world is different. Although what you think about is the same, students, pastoral care, assessment, developing thinking, how you think about it is probably different. Given the breakdown of the ages of teachers in New Zealand, the types of thinking and socialisation that each generation would have encountered is likely to be different. 

Currently falling in the under 25 to 29 category, it is very likely that I think of the world as a constantly changing place. In fact, it is what I expect of the world, that it does constantly change. Perhaps some things stay the same, like human nature. Many other things are not the same. Society, the way it works, what we value, what our goals are, has changed. Once upon a time it may have been the case that you could go to university so that you get a good job, and then you can buy a house. You might have gone to work and spent time with your friends and family on the weekend or the evening. Some might even have travelled to other cities and countries for work. What are the chances that many if not most of the 59% of the teachers over the age of 40, currently in our education system still has a world view that resembles this? Many of those in their 30s and below will also have this world view. Go to university to get a good job. 

However, Is this a likely future for the students currently in our schools? Or are they more likely to work with many individuals, in many countries, possibly without ever needing to leave their home? I know that already I regularly Skype people from across the country and across the world, working alongside on a range of projects. I also know that the current success in my career can not be solely attributed to a university degree. It is only one brick in the wall, it is not the foundation. It is a ticket to a big party in town, with many many other guests. So I am nothing special having this ticket, but not having it just makes things a lot more challenging. Last night I attended the TEDx Auckland launch party. Of the range of people approximately my age that I spoke to, not a single one of them went to work, and then went home at the end of the night, only to repeat it the next day. They all collaborated on projects outside their 'main' job. They use social media, and any other resource available to make connections. They carve out niches for themselves, not ones that are predefined roles. And there are many people like this.Think Michelle Dickinson, Jade Leung, Oscar Ellison, Emma Winder, Claire Amos. These people don't just have a day job. The manage a portfolio of projects.

People often cite that old pearl "there is nothing new under the sun". But that is just not true anymore. Do you realise, that the question "where are you?" is a new question? Because before mobile phones, email, internet, you could only contact someone if you knew where they were.

The way we communicate, they way we network, the way we build relationships, the way we run companies, the way we organise events have all changed. Children working abroad don't get occasional letters from their family or friends that they left behind. They can Skype them, see them, interact with them, on a daily basis. Talking to an employee at Spark's Lightbox (TV programme streaming service), she commented on the distinctive difference between viewing habits of those above and below 30. If you ask my 14 year olds at school how they would go about learning something new, they would say Youtube and Google, usually in that order. We are never going to go back to the local library being the place for information. It is not just book publishers and journals that are publishing and creating knowledge. They key difference to note here is that although anyone might recognise that trends come and go, what everyone does not recognise is that they way the world works is fundamentally shifting. Where things might have stayed largely the same with a few trends changing around the peripheries, we are moving to and already largely living in a world where things are constantly changing and a few things are staying the same around the peripheries. 

You might recognise some other events in history that caused fundamental changes in the way the world works and how people view it. Namely, world war one and world war two. You can imagine the massive paradigm shifts that people experienced when women all of a sudden had to work. You can imagine the personal conflicts that many would have experienced, debating whether some individuals were taking too many risks, letting their daughters go to work! Can you imagine the outrage. Yet, compare that with how we view woman in the workplace today. Can you imagine the personal conflict, the emotional lashing out against those who challenged world views? 

Granted, and thankfully, we are not experiencing another world war. But we are experiencing another fundamental change in the way the world works, in how people view and create their identities in the word. We are experiencing fundamental changes in how and where people work. We are experiencing changes in the skills needed to do our jobs. An example being a conversation I have heard time and time again, "I was hired to be a teacher, not to build a website" - this is in reference to adding resources onto a student learning system for learners to access. Where one used to be hired to do a job, chances are, you are now hired in an 'evolving' role. To prove my point, use a job search website and search for the word 'evolving'...  Does evolving really just mean that we can not guarantee that your job is going to stay the same, because the world is changing? Given that there were literally hundreds of search results for this...

These screenshots were taken from Seek.co.nz today...

Change is the new normal. No wait, break neck, constant, large scale change is the new normal. In other words, the way the world functions is and has changed. Hence, when we still maintain our old paradigms about how the world works, it is likely that we will struggle to embrace change. It is likely that our organisations and companies will struggle. But also, if we do embrace change, unless we realise that the way we view the world is different, it is likely that we will encounter dissonance with our ideas. Our new New Zealand curriculum states "New Zealand needs its young people to be skilled and educated, able to contribute fully to its well-being, and able to meet the changing needs of the workplace and the economy." Has the way you view the world meant that you assumed that the world is changing and students need be prepared for this 'new world', or, has it meant that you assumed that every job that a student will do, will constantly evolve? Even check out operators at supermarkets work differently nowadays... 

BYOT for Teachers

Made with Skitch for iPad

As part of a generation who remembers dial up but already had high speed internet access before I left high school, technology is firmly part of my every day life. As a result, I didn't even think twice about  the integration of BYOT (bring your own technology). BYOT seemed a natural progression. Of course, I realised the challenges. You can see the draft department analysis I did here.

The use of BYOT in schools have been discussed at length - see here, here and here or here. Or talk to the teachers on twitter at #BYOTchat about it. In light of all the recommendations and advice for BYOT and despite the advice against it, our school has officially supported a bring your own technology policy for five weeks now.  Students are encouraged to bring their smart devices, big and small, to school. The teachers are encouraged to provide opportunities for students to use the devices in class.

I firmly believe in leading by example. As a result, before BYOT, I would never ever have brought my phone to class. With BYOT, I feel that I need to be a role model, showing students how to use their equipment to gain maximum use out of them. I also strongly feel that I need to model the social etiquette that is required when you are constantly able to transport yourself to a different world at the touch of a button. Half a term since the formal inclusion and my favourite part of BYOT is not what I expected at all.

I started using Edmodo with my students a few months ago. I can set an Edmodo quiz or assignment for homework. When I see them next I can log on to the free Edmodo application whilst in class to see who has done their homework and how well did the students do. I can immediately give help to the students who I know is struggling without having to mark their homework first. The feedback is instant.

I also love Splice. This free video editor allows me to splice together videos that we make in class, edit them quickly, and upload them to YouTube. Not even once going near a computer. This is all done on my phone within minutes.

Each of my classes also have their own class blog. This is where we post notes, photos, diagrams, practice questions, homework or anything else relevant. I use blogger for this. When we have drawn particularly good diagrams on the board or we have done an exciting experiment, I can take a photo and upload it straight to each class' blog in a matter of minutes.

The standard iPhone voice recorder lets me record conversations with students during individual feedback on their tests. The voice recorder also lets me record the class discussions so that we can keep them, play them back to analyse our learning or even post it on the class blog for the students to listen to when they are trying to study.

Since New Zealand teachers are now required to have a portfolio of evidence that demonstrates their teaching practice, I am able to record video, audio and photographs with my phone, I can save these to Evernote  which is also free - using my phone! This means that my evidence is safe and sound in the Evernote cloud, searchable by tag, title or notebook until I am ready to file it into My Portfolio as required by our school. I know I am not the only one who records my activities at school since recently whilst on duty I watched as the principal and another staff member stood around a lunch time school concert, recording the student response through photos and videos on their phones. They blended right in between all the teenagers who already had their phones out, recording the experience for personal use or Facebook.

There is also Skitch for iPad which lets me make drawings, export them or email them straight to students when they want an explanation of something. It means I can annotate photos of science experiments or show maths problems based on photos. It means I can make notes with one student and then email/share them with the whole class or save them to Evernote.

Being completely hooked on my iPhone, an upgrade was due. My two week old iPad has already proved its worth with Numbers allowing me direct data entry onto an electronic grade book. This means that when it is time for reports, I am able to generate averages for my students - who did their homework (Edmodo exports to Excel files), who completed their starter activities without being asked, who had their equipment, who had a good attitude or any other notes, all documented in one place. This of course can also be linked straight into my electronic portfolio.

Half a term into the formal incorporation of BYOT with more and more schools going down a similar path. Can you imagine what the future could hold for teachers? I expected great things for students with BYOT. Instead I found great things for teachers.

Parents, Progress and Technology

There are a huge range of articles floating around about the use of twitter in the classroom. See here, here and here for some of my favourites. Teachers are using You Tube in the classroom. We are using Google apps, and we are using blogs like this, this and this (see my class' blogs here, here and here). Some classses are even involved in quad blogging. We are using mobile phones and other smart devices in the classroom like this. My kids are also using sites like Edmodo and Socrative.

I have watched my students collaboratively write scripts for their science documentaries using google documents or completing SWOT analyses about cyber safety and M-learning. Students then filmed their documentaries using their smart devices. Students look up answers on their smart devices instead of using textbooks and they generate answers from interactive on line simulations like this one about transpiration. My students also email me homework and study questions. They listen to their music whilst doing maths and then listen to explanatory videos when they get stuck. We can also record our class discussions and post them to the web.

For many of my students who already have Facebook accounts and literally thousands of followers on Twitter and Tumblr, the above is nothing new. For other students, I have had to send emails to their parents to explain why their child would like to bring their ipod touch to school. For others, I have had to explain why we are using smart devices in maths (hello, chicken coop fractions!). As an avid tweeter myself, I wanted to get my maths class tweeting support/help/homework/tips/reminders to each other as well as tweet their progress on a school wide maths treasure hunt (think school blue print with measurement problems as the clues). However I encountered some serious resistance to this idea from parents because they did not see the need for social networking in maths. (Granted, this is an outside of the box idea). Most of us might be able to do maths out of textbooks but after 10 years of this without success, is it time to try a new approach for some students? One of support and communication where they are reflecting and thinking (read tweeting) about maths outside the classroom?

The tools and resources that are available to education is enormous. But are parents ready for the progress that education is making? Are they aware of the technological demands that are placed on people in the work place today? Our school has introduced My Portfolio and had many teachers panicked and stressed because they do not have the skills to use it effectively. Graphic designers, photographers even those in marketing and leadership require e-portfolios and even twitter accounts to show their work or influence. Yet some of the older students in my classes are not allowed to use their computers at home for anything other than research. Web 2.0 has infiltrated on so many levels of education, but are parents aware of the progress? The importance? Or the effectiveness? By no stretch do I believe we should use technology for everything we do. Only where it enhances or improves the end product. Technology is however enhancing the possibilities and the range of students that teachers can reach and engage.

Lots of teachers, governments and definitely students might be ready to embrace the benefits of technology in education, but are parents ready?