ISPA SuperTeacher Competition - winners and some of the projects

Last week, on 23rd August,  the Awards Ceremony of the ISPA SuperTeacher competition took place at a glamorous Gala Dinner in Cape Town. There were three categories in the competition. At the Gala Dinner, South Africa’s 'Internet Service Providers’ Association' known as ISPA, named Matema Jacobeth Malatji of Diopong Primary School as the ISPA SuperTeacher of the Year 2018. Leanne Bishop of Grantleigh College was selected as the ISPA Tech Teacher for 2018 while the ISPA Mobile Tech Teacher for 2018 title was awarded to Khatija Osman from Durban Girls' College.  You will find a summary of some of the projects below.

Leanne Bishop (left), Khatija Osman (centre) and Matema Malatji (right) 

Finalists and their projects
During the professional development part of the event there was no time to actually present our projects to one another. We were asked to submit written entries saying what our projects were about  for the Digital Institute blog which is where I have retrieved the information that follows. Only seven of the finalists actually described their projects, so I am adding the information from those seven below.

The ten finalists
The ten finalists who competed for the three titles were: Leanne Bishop of Grantleigh College, Mabore Lekalakala of Mapudithomo Primary School, Matthew Hains of Saheti School, Fiona Beal of The Rock Academy, Matema Jacobeth Malatji of Diopong Primary School, Peggy Jona of Bakuba Primary School, Dimakatso Sefora of Saron Primary School, Khatija Osman of Durban Girls’ College, Nombuso Precious Thobela of Vulamasango Primary School, and Cyril Nkosana Nkabinde of Zonkizizwe Secondary School.

Matema Jacobeth Malatji
 

Matema was the overall winner. She is a Foundation Phase educator at Diopong Primary School in Gamakanye Village in Limpopo. She taught Grade 1 learners phonics using tablets. She also taught
Grade 3 learners Maths using technology to transform the negative attitude of learners towards the love of Maths. 

Leanne Bishop

Leane is from Grantleigh College in Kwazulu-Natal. She was awarded the ISPA Tech Teacher for 2018 title. Leanne says: "My project demonstrated the creative and efficient use of ICT to enhance teaching and learning in the 21st century. My project involved a fairly ordinary section in Geography (Population), and with the help of ICT, I made the content come alive. I was not teaching. I was guiding the learners to be at the centre of their learning. I used an augmented reality application to make words on a seemingly boring, blank A4 page, come to life. From there, there was discussion, thought, the asking of questions and…great learning. All learners were actively involved and this project was an absolutely wonderful journey to embark on."

Khatija Osman

Khatiya is an intern at Durban Girls College. She was awarded the ISPA Mobile Tech Teacher for 2018 title. Her project was called Y-NOT? / PROJECT V and it was all about vlogging using Flipgrid.

Dimakatso Sefora

Dimakatso is from Saron Primary School in NW Province. Her project was about 'Teaching with Mobile Technology' with the Grade 7 E-FAL learners. She says, "Our school is situated in a rural village of Bafokeng where we don’t have resources." 

Peggy Jona

Peggy is from Bakuba Primary School in Tabankulu, in the Eastern Cape Province. Her project was about the effective use of teaching and learning strategies to improve learners performance in Mathematics so that they can reach the International benchmark (TIMSS - Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). They used smartphones and desktop computers.

Fiona Beal

Fiona is from the Rock Academy in Fish Hoek. That's me! My project is about how I have changed the way I teach! I called it: ‘Using blogs empowered by badging as digital portfolios in a 21st century classroom'. My goal was to increase the motivation of my learners, and bring fun along with excellence into all our lessons. I thought of some of the 21st Century teaching approaches that are trending at the moment such as the paperless classroom, gamification, digital writing, and e-portfolios, and I put them all into the mixing bowl and came up with my project idea. I got my Grade 6 class to do the term’s work in ICT lessons, using a variety of applications, in a gamified way. They used blogs, which we called e-portfolios, to display their work. I used gaming terminology in the lessons and awarded badges for work well done. My learners loved this new approach. My project is ongoing and will be expanding continually.

Matthew Haines

Matt is a  well-known CAT teacher in South Africa. He is from Saheti School in Johannesburg. His project was called Learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the creation of a mobile device application. He used Microsoft Teams, OneNote and Thunkable. Matt has since turned his project description into a well-presented video, so I will add here that instead of the written information.

Enter the ISPA competition in 2019
Think about entering this ISPA competition in 2019. You will start seeing adverts for it on the Internet in February/March 2019. Take a chance and enter - you might get a big, wonderful surprise like I did and be selected as a finalist! 

How to get started with Instagram

Instagram is a social-media photo sharing application, and a very popular one at that! Up till this point, and to my shame, I have not uploaded anything to Instagram! I have joined and I have 114 followers - but no photos! So today I decided to change all that. My first sober discovery was that Instagram does not work from a Windows 10 laptop if it is not a touchscreen. So, I used my Samsung phone.

Here are the steps I followed.

Step 1: Find a video that you can follow step by step
I found one called ' How to use Instagram' by Techboomers.



Step 2: Download the app to your phone
I already had the Instagram app installed but if I hadn't I would have found the app in the Google Play Store. Since Instagram was already downloaded, I opened it up and logged into my current Instagram account which has no photos as yet. I go under the username of Fiona.Beal.  I also looked for people I know so that I could follow them - but I only did this after I had posted my first Instagram photo.

Step 3: Post your own photos and videos on Instagram
So, now my  task was to create my first post!
a) From my Instagram account I tapped the + icon at the bottom of the page. I selected a photo from my phone Gallery. Then I tapped Next.
b) I typed in my caption and saved. I also added hashtags, Instagram is all about hashtags!

Step 4:  Take a look at Instagram and at your feed
Wow! Another daily activity coming up - looking through Instagram every day.

I am excited! I did it!  My next task is to see how I can use Instagram in the school context. But that is for another day!

Reflecting on our #ZAedu Twitter chat - 'IBL, CBL, PBL - What's the big DEAL?'

I have to say, I love Twitter chats! Just a reminder of what a Twitter chat is all about - it is a public Twitter conversation which takes place via a unique hashtag such as #ZAedu, in our case, once a month. This hashtag allows one to follow the discussion and participate in it. Twitter chats are usually recurring (ours is on the last Wednesday night of every month)  and on specific topics to regularly connect people with these interests i.e. education topics. By the way, #ZAedu also has a Facebook community. Click here to join: http://bit.ly/2PeKtKO

Tonight's Twitter chat topic
So, tonight we held our monthly #ZAedu Twitter chat. It took place from 8-9pm and was hosted by @BronwynWrites from St Stithians and @chezwi from Penryn Preparatory School. The topic was very interesting. 'IBL, CBL, PBL - What's the big DEAL?' As we got started with the chat I had to do a Google search. I know that PBL stands for project-based learning as I have done several PBL projects in the past, but the other two acronyms were not familiar... at first! As it turned out, the discussion was about Inquiry-based, Project-based, and Challenge-based learning - looking at how we can use these in the classroom.

Introductions

What I like about these chats is getting to know teachers from around the country. We had to introduce ourselves using a piece of stationery that typifies our teaching.

We had all sorts of different stationery items referred to. I loved @LadyWesner's...

Mine was Google Keep (oops, just noticed a spelling error!).

Question 1: What do you know about IBL, CBL and PBL?
We usually do these chats by breaking down the main topic into bite-size relevant questions.

That's the great thing about Twitter chats. I wasn't sure about these acronyms to start with. Others were polling knowledge in the chat, and in between, I was searching for answers online. Comments varied from person to person. For example":

• A1: I know that these are types of teaching that put the learning into the hands of the Ss and switch the T to more of a facilitator role. They rely on student engagement and exploration, as opposed to students just listening and writing."
• PBL is not the same as doing projects.

We had many different offerings showing what teachers understood by these terms. Several felt that PBL is the future of education.

• I found the book "A More Beautiful Question" helpful in reflecting on how we pose questions both for young learners and adult learners. 
• A2 #IBL Encourages students to ask better questions, and then go about figuring out the answers 
• A2: I think the lines between P and IBL are quite blurry. I haven't dipped into CBL so will reserve "judgement", I like the idea though?

Question 2: What differences are there between IBL, PBL and CBL?

Here are some of the comments:

• They are very similar but also very different. The jargon and anagrams around this tend to confuse people, myself included! I think they are all looking for a way to engage the student in a meaningful and practical way. They also let teachers feel and be more creative. 
• A2: I came up with this analogy #PBL is playing in a sandpit, #IBL is playing at the beach and #CBL is being tasked with a real life challenge while playing at the beach. 
• A2: #ibl is the act of doing, #pbl is the act of exploring and play, and #cbl is completely a challenge whilst doing and engaging? 
• A2 #IBL is about #Knowledge #CBL is about Challenges and #PBL is about #Skills. 
• Here is an image showing an explanation of Inquiry-based learning created by @trev_mackenzie:

• @BIEpbl offered a great diagram summarising PBL.

• My thoughts after a while:

Question 3: Have you used PBL, CBL or IBL? Please share examples
Teachers came up with many great ideas on what they had done. @LadyWesner suggested letting her know details about these so that they could be displayed on a platform where everyone could see them and be inspired.

Question 4: Any resources to share:
Quite a number of links were shared throughout the session.

Links shared in tonight's Twitter chat: 

• Get Rocket notebooks: https://getrocketbook.co.za/ 
• What the heck is inquiry-based learning?: https://edut.to/2PjCc8l 
• Challenge-based learning: https://cbl.digitalpromise.org/ 
• Types of IBL from @trev_mackennzie: http://bit.ly/2Pg0r7y 
• Edutopia has some great resources on Project-based learning https://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning …
• Life hacks for your project assessment map: http://bit.ly/2PiNSrR
• Assessment that matters: https://amzn.to/2PcvZuI
• Hacking Project Based Learning: 10 Easy Steps to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom (Hack Learning Series) (Volume 9) https://amzn.to/2Pl8Uq3
• Four Inquiry Qualities At The Heart of Student-Centered Teaching: http://bit.ly/2on4bIY 

Question 5: Do you have any questions or anything else you'd like to share about IBL, CBL, or PBL? 
This was the closing question. I think we were all left with thoughts and ideas to ponder and introduce into our teaching.

• A5: I think that if you are thinking right now "oh, but my curriculum", you need to stop, take a breath, and realise that your Ss being in involved in real world #learning is so much more important than #tests and #curriculum
• A5: How do we persuade our colleagues that the curriculum won't suffer when using these strategies? And the parents? and the students?
• A5. For many teachers deviating from the 'norm' is scary and they do not want to go that route. Just start small. It starts with a small spark that turns into a raging fire for learning. #ZAedu Try one project. Perhaps even start with subjects that are already joined (Social Sci)
• @MeldrumKim provided an important take  away for tonight's discussion: 

• The amazing @LadyWesner who is the co-founder of the Twitter chat, made an exciting announcement for a future event - a PUBPD:

What a novel idea! See http://bit.ly/2PitJlI for details.

Conclusion
This was a great chat. I left with a much better understanding of these terms and some implementation ideas have arisen in my mind!

The good news is - @adyWesner used www.wakelet.com to summarise tonight's chat. She says: "Did you miss tonight's incredible #ZAedu chat about project-based, inquiry-based and challenge-based learning? Need some time to digest the awesome ideas and resources shared? Well, here's a summary for you to browse at your leisure: http://wke.lt/w/s/8K5WA @MsMorrisTeach" Awesome! I was wondering about which tool can be used for summarising Twitter chats now that Storify is discontinued.

The next #ZAedu.Twitter chat will take place on Wednesday 26th September 2018.  Why not join us!

The day has arrived! IspaSuperTeacher update

The Day has arrived! The 10 ISPA finalists are being brought to Cape Town today from around the country and we'll spend three days together at a hotel on the Waterfront. The Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday night. So.o.o.o exciting! http://deinstitute.weebly.com/ispafinalists2018.htm.
There is also an article in ITweb about the finalists https://it-online.co.za/2018/08/17/10-finalists-for-superteacher-award/

How to embed a Screencastify video into a blog

My Grade 6s have loved working with Screencastify to add narration to the stories they wrote using Google Slides. The problem came when we wanted to embed the narrated stories into our blogs.  However,...Screencastify to the rescue. It is all very possible.

This information comes from the Screencastify website.

Embed a recording into a website
https://help.screencastify.com/article/203-embed-a-recording-into-a-website 

If a recording is saved to your Google Drive or published to YouTube, it is possible to embed it into a website or blog post. If a recording is only saved locally, it's not possible to embed it anywhere, as the recording is not hosted anywhere online.

How to embed a recording from Google Drive:
1. Go to your Google Drive
2. Navigate to your "Screencastify" folder, or wherever the video you want to embed is located
3. Right click on the file and click Share
4. Click Get shareable link and choose your privacy settings
5. Click Done
6. Double click the file to open it
7. Click the icon in the top right hand corner of the screen
8. Click Open in a ne  window
9. When the new window loads, click the icon again
10. Click Embed item
11. A window will pop up with the HTML code that you can copy and paste into your website or blog

Here is an example:

We have done this a few times in class, but I think it is a good idea to keep a record of the process. 

The EdTechTeam's Cape Town Summit featuring Google in Education is taking place tomorrow.... Yay!

The #edtechteam Cape Town Summit featuring Google in Education is happening at SACS High School on the 9th & 10th of August (tomorrow and Friday) The incredible schedule features local international speakers with sessions on a number of pertinent topics. This is their first ever trilingual South African summit with sessions presented in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. This will be a fun, hands-on PD opportunity! Visit www.edtech.team/capetown2018 to register.

I am so excited about this - these Summits are always amazing! There are always so many exciting workshops to choose from.  I am presenting on Digital Storytelling in the Primary School. This is the great sketchnote the team sent out to presenters '8 tips for a great presentation'.

Digital writing - Is the Internet changing the way we write?

This is a duplicate of the post I wrote for the PUKU website

What comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘digital writing’? Is digital writing something we need to take note of or explore in the classroom? The answer is a resounding yes! There is no doubt that in our current digital age, the Internet is transforming the meaning of what it means to write. No longer is writing private and personal, or confined to a learner’s workbook, as it once was – it is now loudly and widely proclaimed and shared and remixed with others by means of the tools available on the Internet. The interesting things is that as a result of the opportunities that digital writing affords, more people than ever before are writing…digitally!

What exactly is digital writing?
A very simple definition is that digital writing is writing that doesn’t require a pen and paper. It is writing that goes beyond text as a result of using technology. Digital writing can become a multimedia experience that include images, sound and video due to the vast availability of web resources. Digital writing can take many formats. It can be anything from a text message, an email, a book review, a comment on a news article or blog post, a tweet, a Facebook update to a blog post or self-published novel. It often contains hyperlinks which link it to other writing. There is even some blur starting to emerge between the written and the spoken word with the advent of voice typing.

Digital writing and traditional schooling
Digital technologies have made it easy to "write" in all sorts of new ways which are different to traditional writing at school. The truth is that young people are writing more than they ever did and school mostly doesn’t take into account the digital reality that our learners live in daily. Educators are being faced with the challenge of changing and adapting their traditional teaching practices to something more relevant.

Ten ideas to get you started with digital writing
The following ideas relate to both you personally and your learners if you are a teacher. We encourage you to try some of them.

1. Note-taking or reflection apps
How do you currently take notes on your phone or tablet? How do you write a quick reflection on an event using a digital device? How can your learners take online digital notes in your classroom? It’s all about apps and digital writing! Digital notes offer multiple dimensions—text, images, drawing, handwriting, audio, and even video—that paper notes do not. There are many options one could recommend, but why not try Microsoft’s OneNote online for an interactive note-taking experience? Another popular free tool, Google Docs allows voice typing – this way of typing takes place at a much faster rate than normal typing. When it comes to reflection apps, a favourite off-line reflection app on an Android device is Memoires which allows one to add text, images and audio. 

2. Annotate PDFs digitally
Have you ever tried annotating on a PDF on your phone or on a tablet? Instead of printing out the file, filling in answers in pen and then scanning and re-uploading the document as a PDF, all you need for annotation is the free application Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and display the PDF. You can add your comments. You don’t have to even save – it does it for you. You can get the web-based Adobe Acrobat Reader from https://goo.gl/Uv6Ge2 / . The Android and iPad app versions are available from their respective web stores free of charge.

3) Mind mapping
Mind mapping and brainstorming often go hand in hand. There are a number of great free tools one can use. Brainstorming is a great way to get all those ideas down whilst thinking out of the box. Use a mind mapping app to display your brainstorm as a mindmap. Four favourite, free mind mapping tools are Bubbl.us, Simplemind Free, Connected Mind, and Spiderscribe.

                                                

4) Virtual Collaborative Board
There are a number of free, virtual ‘bulletin’ boards, where learners and others can collaborate, reflect, and share links and pictures in a secure location. One such board which is popular in classrooms is Padlet. For example you might ask your learners to write a quick book review of a favourite book. You could ask them to reflect on the lesson they have just completed. You can share out the Padlet link with your learners - they don’t need to login or register. All they do is double-click the board and add their ideas and their name.

                                           

5. Create visual text
Canva is a free graphic-design website. It has an easy to use drag-and-drop interface and provides access to over a million photographs, graphics, and fonts. Canva is a favourite in the classroom and with professionals as it has so many great design and text possibilities. Many of them are free to use. 

6) Virtual White Boards

A virtual whiteboard is great way to make one’s thinking visible. A person can write, draw or sketch their thoughts in an uncluttered way. Some virtual whiteboards allow you to add colour. Some can be shared with others. Take a look at AWWAPP which is a simple, free, easy-to-use virtual whiteboard.

7) Twitter
Twitter (and 'tweeting') is a way of broadcasting short messages to one’s followers on Twitter in 140 characters. A picture can be included. Some high school teachers use a class Twitter account for getting their learners to improve their writing skills. A popular trend with teachers is for their learners to write a novel using Twitter. Take a look at same examples from well-known authors. These Twitter novels would include the plot, pacing, character development, theme and an obvious story arc.

8) Collaborative writing
There are several online digital programs that allow users to write on the same canvas at the same time from different devices. This is great for collaborative story writing in the classroom. Primary Pad is such a program and it is free. Each learner’s writing shows up in a different colour so that you can identify who wrote what. You could give groups of three some writing prompts to choose from and they could discuss this as a group and create a story from it. They then decide who will write the beginning, the middle and the end of the story and they do so individually on the shared primary pad program on their own devices at the same time. From there the draft can be edited and transferred to a PowerPoint for example to display.

9) Story writing programs and e-book creators
This aspect of digital writing is normally referred to as digital storytelling because of the story element involved. Do you like writing stories? There are a number of lovely, free story-writing programs available on the Internet. A great favourite is Storybird which provides a beautiful selection of art to go with the e-book story. Book Creator is another very popular digital e-book creator that can be used for making all kinds of books, including children's picture books, comic books, photobooks, journals, textbooks and more. Students can not only record audio narration onto the pages of their books, but also include video. It can be sued across subjects and students love using it. 

10) Blogging

Have you ever thought of creating a blog for yourself or for your class if you are a teacher? Best is if your learners can each create their own blogs and use them as digital portfolios. Blogs are a space to share and reflect, and others can comment on the posts. Learners can write for a real world audience depending on how private you wish to make their blogs. The most popular free platforms for are Blogger, WordPress and Edublogs.

There’s so much to explore with digital writing – the list of useful tools is endless. Think about trying out some of these ideas, or introducing them to your learners if you haven’t already done so. Digital writing will take us all to greater heights – much further than pen and paper ever could.