Sabbatical

It was really strange to wake up on day one of Term 2 and have no class to teach.  I decided I needed to ensure that my time was not wasted so designed a schedule to follow.  As I have only 5 weeks to collect data and analyse it I knew I had to make each day count and not spend them sitting in the sun drinking coffee. 
Week One I started each day with a 3/4 hour walk- weather was gorgeous. Back home to do some readings around blogging/wikis etc  What a wealth of information. Really had to think of my methodology because I could start going off on a tangent and the information read may be of little help to my investigation.   Searched many New Zealand sites-excellent on line discussions and videos and many were very positive about the benefits of using e portfolios in the classroom. A few, however,were quite controversial and not all in support of 'living your life in a shoe box' Some very brisk discussion was had on line. After reading about an e learning inquiry undertaken by a New Zealand school I decided to use the Effective Literacy Practice framework  to guide my questions about effective I.C.T practice. The framework is clear and covers all aspects required to ensure that effective teaching and learning is happening in the classroom. I also read lots on the different types of portfolios and which ones are most effective at different stages of a child's learning.  This should be helpful when developing our implementation plan for I.C.T
Week One I contacted schools I wished to visit to make a time to view their schools I.C.T.journey  and talk to their teachers and students. Every school was very willing to open their classes to me and I am very grateful to them. Visiting two schools in Week 2 another in week 3 and my final one in Week 4. Still would like to visit Port England school if I have time.