My first reaction upon seeing the Russell Street School site was that they’re clearly dedicated to using blogs as a school-wise platform: the sheer amount of content on this site is staggering. It’s clear that they’ve been at this quite a while, which is a great indicator of how they’re committed to it.
In looking at the individual class blogs, one of the first things that stuck out to me was an assignment not for students, but for parents. This speaks to blogs as a communication tool; their implications for reflective and shared writing assignments are among the most obvious advantages to blogs as a platform for learning, but sharing doesn’t have to stop with other students who are working on the same assignment. Sharing features can also be used for publishing, if the school is forward-thinking enough to allow it. The immediacy of blog publishing can be scary for organizations that are concerned with their public-facing image, but it can also help a school to appear more open and transparent.
In that same vein, another interesting thing I noticed about the way these classes are using their blogs is that they’re pretty flexible in the types of posts they make. In some cases they’ll post a video or image with little or no added context aside from the order in which the post is made. It’s refreshing to see something a bit more akin to Tumblr than a traditional blog. That attitude makes these spaces seem a bit more friendly for students and gives them an outlet for something other than long-form writing.
Overall, what I was most excited about in checking out this site was that every class seemed to use their blog in a slightly different way, and that they seemed encouraged to do so. I hear too often about how students all need to be doing the same things on the same schedule, and that everything needs to be uniform and consistent. Online tools like blogs are designed to enable creativity; it’s antithetical to their nature to require all users to use them in the same way.
Friday, July 19, 2013
D.Grant on The Russell Street School
I took some time looking through the Russell Street School's blog, and I was really impressed. Teachers, students, and school administrators all blog regularly and on different topics. I could see from looking at the student blogs that blogging was part of their class grade as many of them were responding to the same type of reflection. I did see a grading guide for students asking how they thought they did on their blog and what they thought their level of honesty was with the first question. What a great way to get kids thinking about their own performance in an honest manner!
I was really impressed by the amount of media posted by teachers and students. As an English teacher, I like to see writing (and there were some great creative writing pieces showcased), but I was a bit shocked at the frequency of pictures and videos. It's also clear that the students are encouraged to showcase their personalities by customizing their personal blogs. I also liked to see that teachers used their own blogs to show off exemplary student work. I think it's important that students can see and comment on the work of their classmates.
One feature that I noticed wasn't used too much was the comment feature. I looked at many blogs and only saw a handful of comments. Often, they were teacher comments on the student blogs. It's clear that the school values self-reflection, as most of the student blog entries had a reflective piece. So, perhaps that is the beginning of the process and the collaboration comes later? I couldn't really get a handle on the grades I was seeing as I read through the blog, but I was thinking this was elementary school. I didn't see a designation on the about page, but page 12 of Part 1 of the school history says that school was opened as a primary school for standards 1-6. Perhaps that is grades 1-6 in America? In any case, I can see where collaboration would be something stressed more with older children after getting them engaged in blogging, showcasing, and reflecting on their work.
The school's blog has a good privacy policy to protect the kids, it encourages parent involvement, and it shows that the school is deeply involved in the lives and school work of the students. The across-the-board commitment of the teachers and administration shows that the school has good leadership and dedicated teachers. A great example for those of us in the profession!
I was really impressed by the amount of media posted by teachers and students. As an English teacher, I like to see writing (and there were some great creative writing pieces showcased), but I was a bit shocked at the frequency of pictures and videos. It's also clear that the students are encouraged to showcase their personalities by customizing their personal blogs. I also liked to see that teachers used their own blogs to show off exemplary student work. I think it's important that students can see and comment on the work of their classmates.
One feature that I noticed wasn't used too much was the comment feature. I looked at many blogs and only saw a handful of comments. Often, they were teacher comments on the student blogs. It's clear that the school values self-reflection, as most of the student blog entries had a reflective piece. So, perhaps that is the beginning of the process and the collaboration comes later? I couldn't really get a handle on the grades I was seeing as I read through the blog, but I was thinking this was elementary school. I didn't see a designation on the about page, but page 12 of Part 1 of the school history says that school was opened as a primary school for standards 1-6. Perhaps that is grades 1-6 in America? In any case, I can see where collaboration would be something stressed more with older children after getting them engaged in blogging, showcasing, and reflecting on their work.
The school's blog has a good privacy policy to protect the kids, it encourages parent involvement, and it shows that the school is deeply involved in the lives and school work of the students. The across-the-board commitment of the teachers and administration shows that the school has good leadership and dedicated teachers. A great example for those of us in the profession!
Jaime's Thoughts on NZ School
The Russell Street School is very intriguing. There were many aspects I really liked about the school blog. Not only does the school have a constant blog building, but each teacher blogs and many of the classes also has student blogs. What a great way for a school to show what is going on within it! I love that any community member can easily go to this blog and see what is going on. I think most schools do not have a way to showcase the amazing things that takes place on a regular basis. Allowing the community to see how students are learning and the positive, interactive, 21 century learning taking place would help the community have a desire to support the school system. Too often, at least where we live, we hear about the negative things that give schools a bad name. If we would highlight our hard working students, the community would want to support the great things taking place.
Having blogging as a part of the curriculum at the school puts more emphasis into a good quality work ethic. The students know other people will be looking at their blogs. They don't want to be the weakest link! At least I wouldn't want to be. Students have the ability to have drafts, finish a blog, and if need be go back and edit it if it isn't up to par. I love that each students page is unique and shows off who each person is. Some create avatars, have pets, buddies, and other links. They've taken the time to create a spot of their own on the net. How cool is it to see the growth of each student throughout the years?!
This school has a good privacy policy on it to keep the students safe, a great interaction with parents and the community, and is supportive to its staff. I noticed what they do to help the staff interact with each other, create a team atmosphere, and in-service to help the staff improve on their skills. A supportive staff system is so important.
What a great school! I know it is a leading school throughout the world in applying technology and in teaching 21st century skills. Thanks for sharing.
Having blogging as a part of the curriculum at the school puts more emphasis into a good quality work ethic. The students know other people will be looking at their blogs. They don't want to be the weakest link! At least I wouldn't want to be. Students have the ability to have drafts, finish a blog, and if need be go back and edit it if it isn't up to par. I love that each students page is unique and shows off who each person is. Some create avatars, have pets, buddies, and other links. They've taken the time to create a spot of their own on the net. How cool is it to see the growth of each student throughout the years?!
This school has a good privacy policy on it to keep the students safe, a great interaction with parents and the community, and is supportive to its staff. I noticed what they do to help the staff interact with each other, create a team atmosphere, and in-service to help the staff improve on their skills. A supportive staff system is so important.
What a great school! I know it is a leading school throughout the world in applying technology and in teaching 21st century skills. Thanks for sharing.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Angela Rutschke- Impressions of Russell Street School Site
I was slightly overwhelmed when I visited the Russell Street School site, as there is SO much information to take in there! This school has done an impressive job of using blogging platforms in so many ways and they are a wonderful example of blogging done with great purpose.
I appreciate the wide variety of activities this school has incorporated and is obvious they are proud of their students and their accomplishments. Staff and students demonstrate a great sense of community here and it is evident through their team approach to their blog.
I checked out the eLearning page, where I discovered a number of resources for parents regarding technology. What a great way to bridge the school and home environments!
After visiting Room 9's site, I felt like I was visiting the classroom! I can see me incorporating many of the elements into my own classroom blog. I loved seeing the wide range of pictures, videos and assignments from this class. I checked out a couple of the student portfolios as well. It was very interesting to see how this format was used and I was REALLY impressed with the inclusion of video for performance assessments in P.E. There was obvious buy-in by the students, as they personalized these sites and they maintain them throughout the year. This is exactly what I am hoping will develop in my class next year!
As I ventured to Room 14's site, I felt like THIS is what I would have done! The look and feel of this site was calming and easy to navigate. The tabs for different pages made it feel like an average webpage, but it offers more interaction and a wonderful chronological order to activities and assignments.
When I checked out a couple student portfolios from this class, I loved that the Report and Assessment pages in the student portfolios required a password, as I appreciate this added security and privacy feature.
The staff and students of Russell Street School have done a magnificent job of creating connections among all stakeholders. It is clear that they have access to some wonderful resources and that fine arts is valued there as well. Their use of blogging is inspirational and very motivating!
I appreciate the wide variety of activities this school has incorporated and is obvious they are proud of their students and their accomplishments. Staff and students demonstrate a great sense of community here and it is evident through their team approach to their blog.
I checked out the eLearning page, where I discovered a number of resources for parents regarding technology. What a great way to bridge the school and home environments!
After visiting Room 9's site, I felt like I was visiting the classroom! I can see me incorporating many of the elements into my own classroom blog. I loved seeing the wide range of pictures, videos and assignments from this class. I checked out a couple of the student portfolios as well. It was very interesting to see how this format was used and I was REALLY impressed with the inclusion of video for performance assessments in P.E. There was obvious buy-in by the students, as they personalized these sites and they maintain them throughout the year. This is exactly what I am hoping will develop in my class next year!
As I ventured to Room 14's site, I felt like THIS is what I would have done! The look and feel of this site was calming and easy to navigate. The tabs for different pages made it feel like an average webpage, but it offers more interaction and a wonderful chronological order to activities and assignments.
When I checked out a couple student portfolios from this class, I loved that the Report and Assessment pages in the student portfolios required a password, as I appreciate this added security and privacy feature.
The staff and students of Russell Street School have done a magnificent job of creating connections among all stakeholders. It is clear that they have access to some wonderful resources and that fine arts is valued there as well. Their use of blogging is inspirational and very motivating!
Casey Capece's Impression
My first impression when looking at the Russell Street School website
was amazement. I don’t think I have ever come across a school website
that was informative in every which way. I think the neatest aspect of
the website is how each class contributes a blog. The blog has a cute
name and displays all sorts of projects and works of the students in
that class. What a great way for teachers to connect and keep parents
informed about what their child is doing and learning.
I was happy to see that even special areas got a shout out in Room 14. The class had a link on their blog to PE and The Arts to showcase work. However, the posts were lacking. Maybe the link was new to their site and they are working on updating it. (I hope!)
I plan on sharing this website with a few colleagues at school who help to maintain our school website. It will serve as inspiration for the future!
I was happy to see that even special areas got a shout out in Room 14. The class had a link on their blog to PE and The Arts to showcase work. However, the posts were lacking. Maybe the link was new to their site and they are working on updating it. (I hope!)
I plan on sharing this website with a few colleagues at school who help to maintain our school website. It will serve as inspiration for the future!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Russell Street School Blog: Amy Simon's Thoughts
My first impression of the Russell Street School Blog was that it wasn't really a blog - it looked like a regular school website at first glance. When I started doing a little exploring, I just felt that it was a great tool for that community. I especially like Room 12's blog. Students drew the logos for the blog site banner and a student blog was featured weekly in a Blog of the Week selected by the teacher. The student blogs were used in a similar fashion that I hope to use with my students this year. The kids posted their own work and shared a little bit about it. Other students were then free to comment on the work. This way of showcasing work not only builds an electronic portfolio, but it also allows student work to be more meaningful giving them an audience. (I'm sure parents love seeing their child's work displayed, too!) I also really like the collaboration piece that comes in when students share ideas with each other and learn from viewing their peer's work.
I love all of the athletic team blogs. This is a great way to share highlights of what the student athletes are doing. I think it's great to have all of the links for parents. I just feel this is a great way to keep parents informed of what is happening in the school. I am amazed at how much useful information is on the blog.
After seeing this, I can envision myself setting up a class blog this year in addition to allowing students to create their own blogs. I like the idea of being as transparent as possible with my families. I also think it's great to give students an audience for their work, and to get used to giving and receiving constructive feedback. I'm sure I will be referring back to this blog for ideas as my journey with blogging continues!
I love all of the athletic team blogs. This is a great way to share highlights of what the student athletes are doing. I think it's great to have all of the links for parents. I just feel this is a great way to keep parents informed of what is happening in the school. I am amazed at how much useful information is on the blog.
After seeing this, I can envision myself setting up a class blog this year in addition to allowing students to create their own blogs. I like the idea of being as transparent as possible with my families. I also think it's great to give students an audience for their work, and to get used to giving and receiving constructive feedback. I'm sure I will be referring back to this blog for ideas as my journey with blogging continues!
Christa Brediger - Impression of Russell Street School
Wow! I am amazed at what I see when reading and navigating through this blog. It is clear that RSS have figured out technology integration and have put it into high gear. When I think about my vision for the blog I had last year, I see something similar to this. Although, my blog was nowhere near the excellence of this one.
I love how they organized the blog so that initially (the home page) it caters to the public community showing what the students and staff are involved in both academic and extra curricular activities. There was also a whole section for parents that explained how to use certain devices or the expectation of the students, etc. And finally each class has an individual blog where they posted their work, updates, activities, etc. I love that the class blogs are student centered. It's obvious that the students have strong ownership of them.
One big question that kept popping into my mind was about the student privacy. My district is incredibly strict when it comes to posting pictures or videos of students on blogs. I'm wondering if they had to get parent consent first or perhaps they are more relaxed over there? That was the only part that scared me a bit. BUT other than that, wow!! I'm so impressed with how they are using blogs. Doing something like this could make a school website much more effective, in my opinion.
I love how they organized the blog so that initially (the home page) it caters to the public community showing what the students and staff are involved in both academic and extra curricular activities. There was also a whole section for parents that explained how to use certain devices or the expectation of the students, etc. And finally each class has an individual blog where they posted their work, updates, activities, etc. I love that the class blogs are student centered. It's obvious that the students have strong ownership of them.
One big question that kept popping into my mind was about the student privacy. My district is incredibly strict when it comes to posting pictures or videos of students on blogs. I'm wondering if they had to get parent consent first or perhaps they are more relaxed over there? That was the only part that scared me a bit. BUT other than that, wow!! I'm so impressed with how they are using blogs. Doing something like this could make a school website much more effective, in my opinion.
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