another school year

It's my second school year outside the classroom, so I guess I have to content myself with occasional learning/play sessions with Maica.

On June 3, I had solo run for KidSmart Early Learning Program. And for this one I really mean solo, unlike the usual learning sessions and consultation visits I had before where I run the training with a back up co-facilitator or at least a driver waiting outside; I went to and fro the training venue by myself with all the training materials and gadgets.

It was a different kind of training, the modules were modified to fit the role of the Pediatric ward nurses as "play nurses". Instead of teaching strategies and classroom management we had our discussions focused more on the importance of creative play and guided play, and on the pedagogy of using computer tools to facilitate learning. And I believe the enjoyed it, they gladly shared their usual practices as well as other Playroom session experiences and I suggested to them additional activities and recommended new approaches to make “Playroom Time” a learning experience. I also gave them supplemental activities such as worksheets and shared with them how to source these kinds or worksheets/activities to make the patients’ playroom experience more exciting and to further enhance learning.

And then I introduced to them the Young Explorer computer and the software in it; their eyes lit up like the little kids who got their Christmas wishes (just like how it goes with teacher participants). Everyone's back to childhood. Everyone's eager to see more and to play more. We spent the rest of the day exploring and playing with the software and ended it with high anticipation of the coming days using the computer with the kids.

Getting ready

School is about to start in just a few weeks and as early as now teachers are already reporting back to their schools to make the necessary preparations like lesson plans, seatworks, activites and classroom decorations. And just like them I'm also preparing for the coming school year, I'm preparing myslef for the cunduct of the I.T. Enabled Learning Management Training. It is a 5-day training for teachers that focuses on understanding how Office Productivity Tools such as MS Office, Open Office and Lotus Symphony can be integrated into Classroom Management - from enrolment database to evaluation of student performance; developing instructional materials using MS Office / Open Office / Lotus Symphony; developing assessment tools using MS Office / Open Office / Lotus Symphony; creating databases of instructional materials and student records; tracking and analyzing student performance based on data; and,understanding the role of I.T. in making immediate and informed decisions based on student data. We'll have this for 2 runs next week May 18 - 22, 2009 and the following week May 25 - 29, 2009. If you wish to be part of my class just send me a message.

gone 2.0

Whoa! It's been a great while. I almost forgot about this blog and been too busy with the social network for teachers. Which I'm actually not getting much yet because I'm not a classroom teacher for the moment. But just the same I'm keeping myself posted and preparing myself for the possibility of collaborating more with teachers and students soon. And maybe if the signs could be promising I'll spearhead that classroom 2.0 for Filipino teachers.

Catch you again soon.