Tonight we held another parent education session - with the aim of arming parents with the tools to stay in touch with what you children are doing online.
Here is the slide presentation from the evening. Please feel free to share with others who were unable to make it and also post any questions you may have and we will try to answer them for you.
Thursday 27 August 2015
Tuesday 9 June 2015
Chromebooks and Google 101
Last night we held our first combined Parent Education Evening. The topic was Chromebooks and Google 101.
We shared an overview of the Chromebook, Google Drive and Hapara Dashboard.
Our Googlers (google experts) from each school (Kaleb, Peter, Livi, Cameron, Cameron, Cian, Harry and Bianca) did a fantastic job of leading the parents through the basics of Google docs.
Parents were able to create documents and share them. It was fantastic to see parents showing a real interest in the way their children are learning. We have had some fabulous feedback - thank you!
Our next session is on Monday 22 June and the topic is Blogger and Home Learning. Register your interest for this course on the form that was sent home last week.
We shared an overview of the Chromebook, Google Drive and Hapara Dashboard.
Our Googlers (google experts) from each school (Kaleb, Peter, Livi, Cameron, Cameron, Cian, Harry and Bianca) did a fantastic job of leading the parents through the basics of Google docs.
Parents were able to create documents and share them. It was fantastic to see parents showing a real interest in the way their children are learning. We have had some fabulous feedback - thank you!
Our next session is on Monday 22 June and the topic is Blogger and Home Learning. Register your interest for this course on the form that was sent home last week.
Thursday 5 March 2015
And so it begins...
We are week 4 and all is going splendidly. We are delighted to report that there have been very few hitches in the rollout of chromebooks and every child has had a new chromebook in front of them to begin on this learning journey.
The teachers are working long hours meeting together planning and keeping one step ahead of the students. The level of student engagement is high and we look forward to seeing what the students will achieve with these tools in their hands.
Take a look at these photos taken over the last few days in both schools.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions and we will endeavour to answer them for you throught the blog.
The teachers are working long hours meeting together planning and keeping one step ahead of the students. The level of student engagement is high and we look forward to seeing what the students will achieve with these tools in their hands.
Take a look at these photos taken over the last few days in both schools.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions and we will endeavour to answer them for you throught the blog.
Tuesday 28 October 2014
Frequently Asked Questions # 5
I am a bit confused - are the leasing options leasing to own the chrome book? Will we own it after the completion of the lease?
Yes - there are three leasing options and they are all lease to own.
If someone breaks or damages my child's chrome book will they be made to pay the excess?
As always when any damage occurs at school we would investigate and make a recommendation. When the chrome books are introduced (hopefully at the start of Term 1) we will be discussing the rights and responsibilities of using a chrome book. A question like this would be discussed with the children.
The clip we saw where there was multiple people typing on one screen at once, is this a reality of what will be happening as I feel it would be incredibly distracting?
Can other students comment/edit your work while you are actually doing it?
Only if you invite them to.
Blogging, I wouldn't be happy with it being a public blog, however a private 'in school' blog I would be quite happy with.
How will you ensure our children are safe from cyberbullying?
Cybersafety is a big challenge that is best addressed by many strategies, including a combination of network security and student education. Our school network is secure and we will have the ability to monitor (and, if necessary, manage) student activity on the internet. Our internet connection is managed by Watchdog/N4L which are both Ministry of Education partners and have solid reputations as a solution for filtering out undesirable content. No one technology solution is ever 100% secure, however, student and parent education is also an important part of approach to providing a safe learning environment and giving students the right strategies and resilience to cope when things go wrong!
Our approach will be called Cybersmart, that is, we will be teaching the children how to be smart and effective users of technology in their connected world. More to come...
Yes - there are three leasing options and they are all lease to own.
If someone breaks or damages my child's chrome book will they be made to pay the excess?
As always when any damage occurs at school we would investigate and make a recommendation. When the chrome books are introduced (hopefully at the start of Term 1) we will be discussing the rights and responsibilities of using a chrome book. A question like this would be discussed with the children.
The clip we saw where there was multiple people typing on one screen at once, is this a reality of what will be happening as I feel it would be incredibly distracting?
This is a useful teaching option and will be used particularly for collaborative, full class writing but it will not be an everyday activity.
Can other students comment/edit your work while you are actually doing it?
Only if you invite them to.
Blogging, I wouldn't be happy with it being a public blog, however a private 'in school' blog I would be quite happy with.
We will be surveying our parents to find out what they would prefer...
Different school do different things for different reasons. The options seems to be:- a public blog with no restrictions so anyone can comment at any time. The thinking around this is that children need to have an audience for their writing. An example would be a child from a school blogged about Val Adams and guess who read it and responded to it - Val Adams - how cool and relevant would that be.
OR
- We can apply filters so that teachers, parents and other students are co authors and can comment. The world can comment but these comments are not published until they are approved by teacher or the blogger.
OR
- All comments have to be approved by the blogger or teacher before publishing.
Morning tea and lunch, are the class rooms going to be locked with no access to chrome books?
No one will be able to use chromebooks during play and lunch.
How will you ensure our children are safe from cyberbullying?
Cybersafety is a big challenge that is best addressed by many strategies, including a combination of network security and student education. Our school network is secure and we will have the ability to monitor (and, if necessary, manage) student activity on the internet. Our internet connection is managed by Watchdog/N4L which are both Ministry of Education partners and have solid reputations as a solution for filtering out undesirable content. No one technology solution is ever 100% secure, however, student and parent education is also an important part of approach to providing a safe learning environment and giving students the right strategies and resilience to cope when things go wrong!
Our approach will be called Cybersmart, that is, we will be teaching the children how to be smart and effective users of technology in their connected world. More to come...
Community Meeting held 21 October 2014
Thank you so much for coming along to the information meeting for 1:1 device meeting held last Tuesday. We were delighted with the turn out and from the feedback we have received it seems that it was of value. For those that could not make it here is a short summary. Please note the new tabs at the top of this page where you can find additional information at the click of a button.
The evening was divided into 3 parts. Derek Wenmoth spoke about the need to go digital. He outlined the changes that have happened over the years in a witty and engaging way. He talked us through the benefits and the risks of technology. Derek's presentation covered many of those questions that were asking why can't things stay the same?
Jo and Lee presented a view of how the classrooms might look in 2015. They talked about why 1:1 and not BYOD and why chrome books.There was clip on the google chrome books and also the hapara dashboard which is how the work is organised. They outlined what work that had taken place so far in readiness for going 1:1.
Mike Hilliard from the trust discussed the google chromebooks, the lease to own option and the buy outright option. He discussed insurances and answered many questions from the floor.
At the end of the evening (which did finish on time!) there were questions from the floor as well as an opportunity for parents to come froward and ask questions at the end in a less public setting. Parents also had a question sheet that they could fill in.
The next step is to survey our parents and find out how many would be interested in leasing to own or purchasing a google chromebook. This information will help us with our planning for next year.
Wednesday 22 October 2014
Frequently Asked Questions # 4
What is the impact of going from a school that is 1-1 device in Yr 8 to a school that is still text and exercise books in Yr 9?
We are unsure however, what we do know is that secondary schools who have not implemented a digital environment will need to, to meet the MOE expectations. NCEA in some subjects is going digital in 2016 and there is a trial in one subject this year. It’s coming whether we like it or not.
Catholic Cathedral College (promoting chromebooks)
St Thomas’ (moving to chromebooks)
Villa Maria (working towards BYOD)
St Bedes (laptops with certain specifications, can accommodate chromebooks)
Christchurch South Intermediate (promoting Chromebooks / BYOD)
Hillmorton High School (IPads but can accommodate Chromebooks)
Cashmere High School BYOD
Lincoln High School BYOD
Please note: any school promoting BYOD can accommodate a chrome book.
How will we manage the social networking issues and gaming?
Using a chromebook at school is not about gaming and we will be ensuring that certain games are blocked – they will not be able to get apps like snap chat, instagram, minecraft and facebook while at school. There may be other games that make this list also.
The focus at school is on learning and whilst it can be argued that some of these apps can be educational – at this stage we would see them as a distraction. We are about teaching the children to become cyber smart – and therefore we need to teach them how to manage the social media in an appropriate way.
Monday 20 October 2014
Frequently Asked Questions #3
Can We Bring Our Own Device?
No. Other schools’ experience suggests that having multiple devices is problematic. Having one device means that teachers and students are working from one platform. This is our preference, however for those in their last year at school there is flexibility. Some of you may have already purchased a laptop or ipad for your child to have at intermediate or secondary school and we will work with this.
A point to note: There will be considerations – insurance, breakdowns, incompatibility. Our staff will endeavour to accommodate the different device however, should there be issues with the different device this will need to be sorted from home. The bonus with the chromebook is that we will have technicians available to ensure they are in working order.
Will the Chromebook be kept at school or can it be taken home?
What will happen if my child does not have a chrome book?
The leasing of a chromebook is a cost effective way for your child to have up to date technology that they can use at home and at school and is transferrable amongst our contributing schools. The school will have a limited pool of devices as we do currently, which will only be able to be used in class time.
No. Other schools’ experience suggests that having multiple devices is problematic. Having one device means that teachers and students are working from one platform. This is our preference, however for those in their last year at school there is flexibility. Some of you may have already purchased a laptop or ipad for your child to have at intermediate or secondary school and we will work with this.
A point to note: There will be considerations – insurance, breakdowns, incompatibility. Our staff will endeavour to accommodate the different device however, should there be issues with the different device this will need to be sorted from home. The bonus with the chromebook is that we will have technicians available to ensure they are in working order.
Will the Chromebook be kept at school or can it be taken home?
If you lease or buy the chromebook then it will be able to go home. We want the children to be able to continue their school work at home should they wish. The children may need to access their class sites for homework – but we don’t envisage that they will be spending all their time at home on the chromebook. You will have your own rules around screen time at home and this is no different.
The leasing of a chromebook is a cost effective way for your child to have up to date technology that they can use at home and at school and is transferrable amongst our contributing schools. The school will have a limited pool of devices as we do currently, which will only be able to be used in class time.
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