Inspirational resources

My tipper in Taipa has come through again, thanks James. Taipa for those who have never come across it on your travels is a community north of Kerikeri, north of Cooper beach within Doubtless bay region of the far north. To access the township you need to traverse a one lane bridge and the school is situated just behind the dunes of a beautiful pristene beach.

In his spare time James likes to inspire his students, one of his places to gain inspiration is through an italian architecture website. Here is his report:

http://www.domusweb.it/en/news/2014/11/06/all_i_own_house.html
"the photo essay is good  with graphic plans and elevations but the video feed is great because it is very personal to the client and right up our alley of student blogging their progress in a personal fashion. you need to be quick to get all the info that is popping up!"

 (if you are not familiar with domusweb.it - each article on new new design or architecture or art has a a number of photos and then the last one will have a bunch more photos under it. Domus is just the best and I view it every two days or so for global updates in cutting edge design. essays too) 

http://www.domusweb.it/it/notizie/2015/03/12/modular_artificial_reef_structure_mars.html

is about an artificial reef structure. great design sketching in one of the images.

http://www.domusweb.it/it/notizie/2014/11/28/spark_home_farm.html

great conceptual design for urban sustainable food growing with mint flow diagrams.

James advises that this website changes every few days with new and exciting resources http://www.domusweb.it/it/home.html

Running an Effective Ship - Middle Leadership

This blog is dedicated to those who have felt that sinking feeling as they grapple to understand their role as a middle leader. 

I often get asked "Is there a check list of things that we should be doing as a middle leader?" and ultimatlythere is no right way of doing things as each school hold their own expectations over a middle leader role and what responsibilities go with that position. Unfortunatly there is very little in terms of resources supporting those moving into their first middle leader position without a mentor to guide them. So no, there is no magic checklist!

However, recently I met up with my colleague (Neville Meyers) who is based in Christchurch. He also felt this was a question/request he came across within many of the schools he visited. While Neville undertook research into this area he uncovered a framework which he felt was a valuable tool. Having viewed the piece, I feel it is a very good starting point as far a a concise set of descriptors go, although please note it is just an example and should be tweaked for your individual contexts.

What I like about it is the link to the NAG's which ultimatly is one of our guiding matricies of overarching responsibilities within a school. Have a read and please feel free to comment within the VLN space as to what you think......

 

 

There is also a ministry of education website dedicated to provide Information for middle and senior leaders and is worth a view. http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Middle-and-senior-leaders  

On this website there is a link to a resource published in the same vein "Leading from the middle: educational leadership for middle and senior leaders" that offers a guide to responsibilities, follow the link below. Leading from the middle: educational leadership for middle and senior leaders

 http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Key-leadership-documents/Leading-from-the-middle 

I have also remember reading an article last year that discussed the importance of strong middle leadership. The education gazzette published a detailed case study that unpacks middle leadership in a large urban school. "Building leadership from the middle"

Lastly, I am leaving you to digest all this information with a little bit of inspiration. "are business leadership skills transferable in an educational setting?" and if so what tips can we take on board from successful case studies Simon Sinek share the secrets of Inspirational leaders such as Martin Luther King to the Apple corporation. 

 

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-good-leaders-make-you-feel-safe-simon-sinek

If you have any resources that you would like me to add to this blog for other middle leaders to enjoy please email me.

History vs Technological advancement (a collision of modern thinking and product of an old world)

Ok I know this is probably out of left field, but to me it represents everything that is important about technological thinking and the skills we are trying to impart to our young minds. James Harris from Taipa Area school, up in the far North of the North Island, New Zealand, sent me a link to a spectacular resource that he had come across.

Vatican City, Sistene Chapel

Within it depicts a modern problem 'how to add lighting to the Sistene chapel' given that electricity and lighting could destroy the classical works of art that are painted all over the structural interior of the building by Michealangalo.

The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art.

A real problem/opportunity that required technological design and critical thinking skills to develop an outcome to meet the very specific set of specifications.
If you are looking for a case study to inspire then I would go no further than this.

I found this youtube clip to be inspiring and thought provoking, I hope that you enjoy the piece as much.

Optimising the safety context of the classroom workshop

I have dedicated this issue of the blog to

On the premise that it is something that technology teachers both consider in our practice and yet constantly struggle to create a successful, sustainable approach.

There is a shift in responsibility for health and safety as the New Zealand legislation is being reviewed and an added component is around the expectation that the PCBU (Person conducting business) in the role of the school this would be the principal would:

But the relative context of the classroom throws out the norms of what is considered good practice from industry, as our clientele are often not reasoning adults, there are no mandated controls (only guidelines)  and there is often overcrowding within the working space. http://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Safety-in-Technology-Education

In the interest of using inovative technological approaches to learning. I have shared a link to a basic youtube video demonstrating safety requirements in a workshop.

A big thank you to Steve Clark from Kerikeri high school who has shared his workshop safety checks and unit planning risk assessment sheets for others to peer review on the northern technology cluster VLN site. 

The purpose of the safety review at Kerikeri high school was in Steve's words to "Simulate a real life workshop experience for students, to prepare them for the workplace." while these documents are being trialled and reviewed to streamline the operation I am sure he would welcome some constructive feedback from colleagues. http://www.vln.school.nz/resources/view/918581/steves-safety-resources

In order to view these resources you will need to join the VLN and then the group if you havent already.

In response to first publishing this blog I have been sent some further resources focusing on textiles/materials technology from Natasha Bagley at Selwyn college, which I have also shared via the VLN. www.vln.school.nz/resources/view/918616/natasha-bagley-selwyn-college-soft-materials-safety-resources

It is a really positive sign that so many are willing to share through this space. If anyone has some examples of Health and safety protocols in a food or biotech room I would appreciate having a complete set.

 To finish off, I thought I would share a bit of humour. while visiting a school this week and passing through a year 12 BCT (Building & Carpentry trade class) I asked one of the four females present why she had choosen the class, her answer put me in my place by challanging my preconcieved assumptions! 

"I choose this class to surround myself with boys and male ego's so that when I join the Army next year as a rifleman (woman) I will be able to cope with all the crap they give me, as I dont have any brothers at home!"

The Theory of Everything - Technological existence

What is an idea without follow through?

At the begining of 2015 I reflected on the work that I had undertaken in 2014 in the area of technology curriculum PLD to teachers within Auckland/North area. I quickly made a evidenced based assumption that geographical location was a barrier to teachers getting together as a learning community. 

As part of my learning for the year I am going to undertake an Inquiry using Timperley,  Kaser & Halbert's spiral of Inquiry framework to build a sustainable online collaboration space for technology teachers.

Stage 1 = The scanning phase. To do this I thought I would ask teachers their opinions directly through a google form, compile the information to challange my assumptions and then trial some ideas.

I will share my Inquiry with you as I go through the steps, for two reasons. 1 - modeling an Inquiry in practice, 2 - To create sustainable and effective change in this area.

So please if you think I am harrassing you, be mindful that it is for a greater good and hopefully will end up being of value.

 Collaborative Share Space

Another point of Interest is the hope that through my blog I will share stories of technology teachers and the work/inquiries that they are undertaking within their schools that will inspire and connect teachers. So if you have something you would like to share please send me an email at n.price@auckland.ac.nz