Ulearn - Upcoming Taster Workshops

The heat is on!
With a week to go, the heat is on at Authentic Encounters Online Ltd. Staff are preparing teacher-parent spaces within their project sites in anticipation of Ulearn visits, while RfP's for Ministry of Education contracts dominate alongside.

The heat is on the Learn-Now project with ePals now gracing their presence from Turkey, Singapore, India, Russia, Spain and Peru. To top it all off, the team at Kidspot.co.nz have recognised Learn-Now for some high profile status, beaming out to 900,000 parents nationwide.

Presenting 'Taster' workshops at next weeks' Ulearn
conference, couldn't come at a better time.
We're delighted to step out and share the following...

Breakout 4A: CCC Meeting Room

Learn-Now: an online learning centre you

can enrol your class or individual students in.

Beaming out of the Wairarapa is an online programme, that is becoming an increasingly popular service for schools. Learn-Now, an award winning online learning centre established in 2002, is now run by a team of 8 globally minded, digitally passionate staff. Learn-Now offers programmes for students, and support for schools developing their own online learning centre. Delegates will get a taste of the tools used, partnerships adopted and Learn-Now’s point of difference in design, concept and student involvement. See how it can integrate into class programmes, be a homework service, make money for your school, take your students on international cyber-trips and more?

Breakout 4B: CCC Meeting Room

A Gifted & Talented programme online4u
– one that’s daring, different and dynamic

Meet (virtually) teams of students from Solway Primary, Masterton, for a taste of an online programme available to Gifted and Talented students at school and at home. Since 2007, Solway Primary has adopted Learn-Now, as one of its providers for extension and enrichment. Delegates will gain an insight into a progressive learning model with Lead Team and Dream Teams. Enjoy perspectives shared from the principal, parents and students. Savour a slice of student life with Peru, Uganda, Pakistan, financial literacy, and international community service and enterprise work etc. There is even their Teach English programme to students learning English as another language.

Breakout 6B: Crowne Plaza, Gallery D

Developing an online learning centre for students – what’s cool, what’s not and what’s crucial?

No matter what platform is used, Moodle, Ning, Shutterfly etc, it is the design and autonomy students have, that will make or break the success of online learning environments. What is a captivating experience? What is smart facilitation? What is typical of a groaning student or a ball and chain experience? Delegates will see how different platforms are used, as various tutors and teachers creatively present individual needs. See an example of a social studies, science, enterprise and language learning environment. See too, examples of learning pathways and how web conferencing is possible, and free, for homework or even interschool connectivity.

It's busy, but the excitement reigns high. One could say, we're achieving all dreams! Demand is tops, work comes knocking at the door, sharing what's learned enabling others to further reach their own goals is stunning. We're definitely growing in all terms possible.

UFB, RBI, Ulearn, Learn-now and more...

Dog Training Online?!
Students can now learn to train their own dog, with the expert instruction and assistance of a highly experienced dog trainer and ex-dog trialist online, with Learn-Now.

As Learn-Now continues to recruit new staff, Masterton's Tony Gibson steps up as one of its newest facilitators, leading the way forward for students to learn dog handling techniques, online.

After decades working within the rural sector and chasing dog trials from one end of New Zealand to the other, he's now developing a cutting edge dog training programme to provide personalised, student centred support. Tony will merge information based websites, with discussion forums, online meetings and movie clips. Mid-late October 2010, will see the launch of the new dog training programme. We welcome enrolments now with admittance on a first in, first served basis. This course is limited to 6 new students per month. Once enrolled, students are recommended to undertake a 6 month programme. For further discussion contact Jo...

Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB)
Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI)

As our core business expands further into Ministry of Education and rural sectors we're thoroughly enjoying a more direct ear to ground with information streams and networks. Of huge appeal is the latest, now more publicly profiled next step in NZ's UFB and RBI as alerted to today, on WikiEducator...

Ulearn - A Conference MUST for Educators!

October 5-8, Christchurch, New Zealand... This is the best conference in my mind, for keeping abreast of just how it is in the educator sector, from the toddlers to the university age. This year, we're stepping out from behind the web, to present 3 'Taster Sessions' and high on our agenda is the design and development of online learning centres. We'll be presenting an insight into:

1) Learn-Now's online learning centre, life abroad and its offers
2) A snapshot of the Learn-Now's Gifted & Talented sector and
3) A guide into how one can create their own online learning centre.
If attending Ulearn, these are tagged as Breakouts 4A, 4B and 6B.

While AEO's got a 14 year history of eLearning, the last 10 years have been wholeheartedly involved in designing online learning centres. We've had wonderful support along the way, scoring an innovations award, becaming a MOE research project and most recently, an ICTELT Consultant for the MOE.

It's been a thrill to design the National Plan for Primary on the (MOE's) Virtual Learning Network NZ for the MOE's eLearning Department and help design and build what is perhaps becoming one of NZ's most comprehensive, specialised online learning centres - for the Ministry of Education's ESOL sector. We can't but help think we need to give a little back in return! So, hence the tasters on offer... The kids love online learning centres, they're easier to create than imagined and we'd love to see and support more of them... They are the way of effective, efficient, student centred, student-networked education.

ImageCodr.org

by aussiegall

Best find this week? The site that takes the pain out of sourcing the most user friendly images to use as we're in full flight redesigning all our web spaces! More on those spaces next time, but for now, see ImageCodr.org - a wonderful tool in association with Creative Commons.

In just 90mins per week...

It's snapshot time
It's time to record an insight into the Learn-Now 'online learning centre' as it is for just one group. In brief, it's a taste of what 90min sessions per week have encompassed. The mechanics of elearning, global connectivity, international community service work, financial literacy, responsibility for personal impact, strategic planning, design, productivity and social inquiry reign high on their agenda...

It's Thursday
...and as is the case every Thursday there's a team of 13 students who give up half their lunch hour to take a quick flight to Uganda, Peru and wherever else is on their itinerary. It's a 90min flight, more easily recognised by the students as a 90min Learn-Now session. They're classified as Gifted and Talented 9-10 year olds, and have the luxury of a computer each, to use during this flight. They require little in the way of encouragement to turn up on time, to think twice about what they could be doing, or which tool, site or technique to be using.

General Operations

The sessions are a combination of teacher and student driven components with a range of activities to deal with as per choice, mandate and routine. There can be 13 very different activities on the go at times and aside from 2-3, most can also be found chatting through all that's being learnt, considered, designed and developed. In that Learn-Now's a collaborative programme, silence rarely prevails unless we're Skyping, composing complex text or presenting for team input and due consideration.

Managing Impact
The team may only be 9-10 year olds, but they're engrossed in 'life as it is out there'. Curriculum management of Learn-Now sees the staff team source or design opportunities to match, designed to enable students to drill down into life around them and consider making an impact. What impact does 'life out there' have on their life and how best might they consider managing that impact? What impact in turn, could they have on these environments, now or in time? It's amazing how much can be covered in just one 90min session per week.

Life as it is 'out there'...
Over the past many week, these students have gone live with Learn-Now Project Architects Lucy and Cushla, in Uganda and Peru respectively. One moment, they're tuning into the NZ Heifer Project with 18 year old Lucy, and coming to terms with the plight of the abandoned babies she's also looking after. Next, they're learning Spanish, ensuring their English is a perfect model for a 10 year old in Peru, before tuning into the incas or Peruvian culture with Cushla.

There's Operation Christmas Child to fall in love with and of the greatest hype of all, is their financial literacy programme... There's a wow factor developing around what tax, interest and GST are. So too credit cards, online banking, loans and mortgages. They earn virtual Learn-Now dollars as they work and cover the ground of entrepreneurial thinking, employment and sales pitching... They're creating business websites, employing one another, selling goods and services to each other and in all, doing an amazing job of developing a community spirit (give 'n take a little competition which threatens some).

They want more?
As of this week, 90mins may well be a thing of the past for many of them. For some, it has been for a long time. Independent time at home has been instigated by some, in pursuit of further depth to a focus. Now, student-organised sessions for additional facilitation steps up the anti... I couldn't have asked for more! Did they have a little encouragement? Of course...they're still learning to speak up and see support as more than something that is put upon them. The beauty, lay in their enthusiasm and desire.

Young tycoons help beat the odds!

Back, again!
It's been a busy few months - new staff, new styles, new programmes, initiatives and potential and new focal points - galore! One team even scored themselves little media coverage...

Authentic Encounters Online
We're now a team of 6 staff - all specialist, part-timers, merging eTeacher, Tutor, Facilitator, Sub-contractor and Project Architect roles every which way. Four of us (staff-wise) are North Island based, New Zealand but two of us are as far away as Uganda and Peru.

AEO Ltd's wearing consultative and advisory hats for three Ministry of Education contracts, and consultative support to two other independent groups of schools and teachers. All revolves around virtual learning issues in NZ, from the development of a national plan for Primary schools on the VLN (Virtual Learning Network), to demonstrating models depicting learning pathways of young eLearners. The greatest of all contracts lies with the development of the Online Intervention Model for ESOL students - Foundation to Stage 1. A successful trial for the proof of concept saw the end of Term 1 out and follow-up design and development's been all go since.

Managing demand, perceptions and scoped visions is our greatest challenge though - a prayer goes out seeking miracles often! Our own Learn-Now online learning centre had been on hold to some degree, but with an amazing team on deck now, we're ready to roll again, with marketing and promotional ventures underway accordingly.

Meet the 'Sugar Squad'.
Matt Stewart, journalist for the Wairarapa Times Age, caught up with our ex'09 Solway Lead Team (Masterton), last week, as they handed over their $520 portion of chocolate production profits, to a Ronald McDonald House rep, Wellington. Our Learn-Now project was the driver... See pic above. The mission? To help 'all-sorts' of sick kids and their families when living away from home, while undergoing long-term medical care. The newspaper article tells the rest - enjoy all...read more!

Learn-Now - the opportunities just got a whole lot bigger!
There's maths tuition beaming out of Carterton via web conferencing using Adobe Acrobat Connect; student website and wiki development; Cyber Field Trips to join with (NZers) Cushla in Peru and Lucy in Uganda; CyberPal exchanges with Spain, Peru and Pakistan pending and Spanish lessons which are about to beam in from Peru...to name but a few programmes. Amongst all, is a financial literacy programme where students can collaborate together learning everything from tax issues to just how banks can afford to provide loans - but the students are creating the programme - stategising, gaming, virtually operating, designing and developing at every step of the way.

For now though, it's just great to share an update! This isn't really official 'blogging' (since we've been told that there's a very right and very wrong way of 'blogging' and duly suspect we don't cut the mustard...), instead consider this as just a news board.

We're looking forward now to diving into all that's been in set-up mode, ready now to enjoy interactive time with new enrolments, existing enrolments and those we'll be inviting in. Come and join us! Or at least, chat about options :)

Cheers!
Jo
Director, AEO Ltd
eTeacher & ICTELT Consultant

National Action in Y7-8 Languages

Learning Languages in NZ

When at a UK curriculum leaders conference, in Warwick (Shakespeare's theatrical turf), England, 1999, I found myself caught in a situation that NZ students today, should never experience. ESOL was the topic and in an auditorium of over 1200 people, I raised the only hand at this question: 'Who knows no other language, other than English?'. While I was working in Brunei at the time, learning snippets of Malay, this didn't count. All bore reference to what was learnt at school.

Matapu School, Taranaki, NZ

To the south east of Mt Taranaki, lies a school who's leading the way in its adoption of the new Y7-8 curriculum mandate, re: the learning of languages. While there may be schools dotted across the country who've ventured thus far, Matapu School has a very 21st century, inter-school, online learning, collaborative approach. As partners in action, Cambridge East school in the Waikato are also hot on the case. Spanish lessons by teacher Jarad, beam out of Matapu School to two other interested schools and Cambridge East. French lessons beam in from Cambridge East School, under the fluent facilitation of French speaker Sandra.

This team has become the latest case study for a contract AEO Ltd has with NZ's Ministry of Education's eLearning Department. In production mode, is a Virtual Learning Network (VLN) Primary/Intermediate development plan. Matapu School presents a wonderful model, with doors open to enrol more students. The development plan is a work in progress and while languages is but one focus, there's also music and Te Reo...

National Action in the field of online learning continues to thrive, but just as remarkably so...so too is the learning of languages for students in NZ - thankfully not something a student can only do at secondary level, but now also primary. The beauty of it all, a school need not have the specialist factor to teach a language. Beaming out for it, is in action! It's hugely encouraging...!

Care Packages Gone Global.

Operation Christmas Child

Several members of Solway School online G&T team delightfully set out to add a 'wow factor' to Christmas, for a group of Pacific Island students.

Enrolled in a Learn-Now International Community Service programme, one could wonder 'where were the online elements to this very hands on project'? While their virtual office housed forums to contribute to and study sites to soak up requested details, videos, skype and email created the additional authentic touch. While this team was in Masterton, they had online peers working from Canterbury, Otago, Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty join the project as well. In total, Learn-Now members contributed 34 boxes to Operation Christmas Child, with an alternative meaning to Christmas, not so far from their own reality.

Team Tapu, NZ to Team California...
Meanwhile, further north and east, Tapu School in the Coromandel and Valley Preparatory School in Redford, California, went global together. Videos fly in from California on a regular basis and the introduction to email for students at Tapu School has them buzzing with the communication potential it promises. Forums and a wiki will follow and thanks to http://www.onetruemedia.com, videos will fly back to California.

The Highlight?
The exchange of care packages! Amidst the gifts, clocks in California time sit proud on a Tapu classroom room, and as for marmite? This definitely didn't go down well in California! From a NZ angle, the programme integrated Te Reo, cultural inclusion, profile descriptions, photography and also maths with regards to timezones, parcel travel and cost comparisons. Learn-Now brokered the exchange, facilitated the online connectivity and will foster further exchange within wikis next year.

Masterton Kids explore Global Citizenship

Dedicated To Our Enrolled Kids...
This blog site's a shocker at taking forever to feature new posts and just as much a shocker for marathon ones. Core business (Learn-Now) is often overlooked and it's taken a student to pluck up the courage and ask why they're very rarely featured here. Fair call.

I have to confess that I've underestimated them again - I'd never even assumed they'd even be an audience! In light of that, marathon blogs had better become a thing of the past! Welcome, from this moment on, to Bite Size Blog Posts!

Uganda: The WOW Factor
The beauty of Learn-Now, is its freedom to (eg) enrich, motivate, and generate. With scope to seed concepts and enable students to create a focus, be entrepreneurial and go global, we find ourselves off to Uganda! At Solway School, Masterton, there's a fired-up team of G&T kids with us, aged 8-9, who are adopting the issue of global citizenship.

This young team's hooked into the life & times of 16 year old NZer, Lucy (a Learn-Now student from 2001-3). When Lucy's not rescuing abandoned babies, she's (eg) teaching local Ugandans and working alongside her Dad, Kiwi farmer John Ward from Raetihi, teaching locals the basics of farming, be that tick spraying, or washing hands before milking etc!

The intrigued young Masterton kids have decided to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit, that aims to generate funds for a little hand-up support. Funds aim to buy a milking goat (NZ$180) and supply Lucy with activities to use with the Ugandan kids around her. For more, check out 'Wards Under African Skies'. Consider too, joining us! We're launching an official Global Citizenship Programme encompassing Uganda and much more...