I feel like I would be redundant if I used words like excellent, wonderful and phenomenonal. My impression is that there are two ways their blogging and all their work is truly outstanding. The students are actually being given a way to frame their learning experiences and make it applicable to real life. The whole time I was looking a the activities ( while it may not be a perfect comparison) I kept thinking these students look like they are producing MythBusters. Frame the question, test the assumptions, and produce something that will record your observations. The second way I find this to be truly outstanding is the blogging or vlogging - sharing their results and learning beyond their classroom. It reminds me of the lyric from the YouTube video I Need My Teachers to Learn 2.1 - "An audience of one - is so absurd." I think in response to anyone who shows this video and tries to generalize about teachers should be directed to the Russell Street School website.

Veatch Russel Reflection

Russel Street School in NZ is really on the cutting edge of blogging in the classrooms. I found the video productions to be very informative, and the integration of subject areas to be inspiring. I noticed that many of the student blogs were integrating math and science rather than art and literature on their blogs. This led me to wonder if the Science and Math instructors are more easily integrating the use of blogging in their classrooms, or if there are other things preventing the Language Arts from being more fully represented in their blogs.

Besides all the student driven blogs, there were classroom blogs, and most interestingly, there were a multitude of links provided to other school and classroom blogs. The internet is ripe with classroom blogging activities, which gives me pause.... Where is the internet access in my classroom? Having worked in several school districts over the course of the last ten years, I have noticed that the smaller districts are actually able to make internet access more available to their students than the larger districts. Is this because of a jaded cynicism on the part of the bigger districts? Do they just have more experience dealing with hackers, vandals and litigation than the smaller districts? Are smaller school districts able to keep better track of student usage and parental involvement, and thus able to make activities like classroom blogging more available to their students? It is an interesting conundrum, and one I would like to explore more.

Shanda Veatch

Russell Street School

I must say that I was somewhat skeptical when first exploring Russell Street School as to how much the students are learning and how effective this type of learning environment could be. But once I took the time and really began to see how this school is educating their students I quickly changed my mind. I must say that the way in which they are using blogging is very effective. It is a great example of how it can be used to further students' learning. In stead of standard testing the students can create video blogs to show their understanding of the things they are learning. I watched two videos in which the students described interviewing skills. They were great. You can really tell that the students took the time to not only learn the information but were able to present it in a very creative way. I also watched a video one students did about John Walker which I think was very well done. It clearly showed that the student not only has high technological skills by creating the video but also knew a great deal of information about John Walker. The other part I really enjoyed was the students' blogs. I spent some time and looked at different students' and found them to be very worthwhile. By having the students put in their own words the process they are following to complete an assignment or just their opinions about what they are learning, shows great reflection. The students are able to look back and describe to others what they are doing and how they were feeling when doing it. It think this school is a great example of how to use technology in an effective way so that students are learning and enjoying it!

Russell Review

The Russell Street School provides a very unique atmosphere for learning. Overall it seemed that the students were very active in the learning process. I think this works very well in a lot of settings. There is a huge technology component tied directly into the curriculum at every level. The students produce some very high level projects. I felt the "Street Talk" episodes were very original and I am very impressed that the students created these.

The use of blogs was equally impressive. One major component that I saw was reflection. With students reflecting on learning, they begin to self-evaluate. This leads to an overall higher level of learning. The blogs were not limited to student interaction. I saw several instances where teachers, parents, and the siblings of students were actively taking a role in the education process. I saw one blog entry that involved help on a math homework problem. There were parents contributing and students to assist with each step. This truly creates a community of learners, even when it is past regular school hours. Overall, I found the Russell Street School to be amazing.

Russell Street School

Wow! That's the first thing that came to mind as I browsed through all of the different pages and blogs attached to this school blog. In my opinion, Russell Street School has got it right.

I like that the main blog has kind of that overview feel of happenings going on in the school. My school actually does this as well. Our principals take control of posting and updating the big things going on in our school. Mostly it's pictures from school events or activities going on in the classroom. Our blog has basically taken the place of the monthly school newsletter that used to go to print and get mailed home. But I have to say that this school has really showed me the potential that is out there to do so much more.

I love the different uses of all of the classroom blogs. I noticed that most of them post updates about what's going on in the classroom, and that's a great way to keep parents informed. But I really love how it appears that students are actually using technology and producing the items published on the blogs. As an English teacher, I loved to see that in Room 12 (Dozen Fresh Eggs) the students are using technology to produce things like book trailers and putting it out on the Internet for a worldwide audience looking for feedback. I think that is so much more meaningful for than simply writing a book review for the teacher. I think that some kids really need that push of knowing they are writing and producing for a "real" audience.

I also just want to add that the freedom and flexibility that the teachers and students have in creating their class blogs and deciding what and how to post to those is awesome. I think that one of the main reasons something like this is so successful is that it appears that all of the teachers and administrators are on board and fully support teaching students not only the required content, but the technology they will need in life. With that in mind, my school has maybe a handful of teachers who would support something of this nature. How do you do it? How do you get teachers to almost have a new way of thinking in order to prepare students for the new world we live in?

FEEL Russell Street School by Reading their Blogs

I just checked out the Russell Street School blogs.  They are incredible!  I was especially impressed with the variety of posts found on this school site, as well as the amount of freedom given to teachers and students, especially in the area of design.

When I first entered the school's main blog, I found everything from school news to a fantastic "Street Talk" video created by students to a cartoon math problem to numerous links to more information about the school, class pages and more!  What a great way to be introduced to a school!  From just this one page, I felt like I had been teleported straight to Australia.  Without reading the scshool's purpose statement,  I could feel its caring atmosphere and emphasis on developing well-rounded students who are prepared for the 21st century.

Class sites were just as exciting to visit, as were those of individual students.  For example, the student sites of Room 9 ("Cloud 9") included photos of class activities and student artwork, videos, quizzes created on Quiz Revolution, reflections, answers to teacher prompts and more.  Although students seemed to be required to follow the same format, each child was given the opportunity to design his own blog site and add a personal touch to his blog.  The opportunity to share beyond the realm of their class or school and potentially obtain feedback from others around the world was fantastic!  I was so excited to see this that I left feedback myself for one of the students...

It is obvious that Russell Street School definitely spends time doing much more than technology.  The students spend time learning basic subjects (i.e. math, a space unit),  participating in sports, participating in fine and performing arts, and more.  I am curious to find out more about when they fit the technology component into the school day.  Are cameras always around to document every move they make?  Is there a special elective class that produces Street Talk videos or is it rotated amongst all students in the school to do on their own "free" time?  How and when are students taught basic technology skills?  Does the staff feel that they are lacking time to teach other subjects due to the school's strong emphasis on technology skills?

Finally, why did Russell Street decide to use the blogging format?  Why not a wiki or a school LMS?  How did they manage to get parental permission to post all that they have up in a public place?

Even with all my questions, I cannot help but applaud Russell Street School for what it is doing and where it is going.  WOW!  What an awesome place.

Russell Street School=AWESOME

WOW…I am blown away by the Russell Street School in Palmerson North, New Zealand. The standout feature of this school is the system wide adoption, buy-in, and implementation of blogging as a learning tool. It isn’t one or two teachers focusing on using the tool, but rather the entire system consistently using it in an impressive manner.

One of the awesome things about their implementation is that the teachers definitely have a higher level of technical capabilities as a whole than what I regularly see in the United States. This must come from one of their belief system’s stating, “We believe in providing intensive, well funded whole school professional development (or professional learning) programs." They also host Apple Bus Tours that introduce their entire school community to a variety of technologies.

I also like the variety of ways teachers integrate blogs in their classrooms. This shows me there is a certain level of freedom for teachers to use blogs in a way they see as beneficial. Enough freedom in fact that teachers are allowed to choose the blogging platform they are most comfortable with. This is important because it allows the teachers to buy into the use of the tool, and be able to be creative in the integration with their students.

Blog uses I noticed while visiting the site:

· Reflection

· Creative writing

· Discussion

· Home work postings

· Reporting on local and world wide current events

· Multimedia production

· Postings on best practices in education

· Communication tool with parents

· Student showcase

Wrapping up the post, the Street Talk Blog is amazing! Street Talk is a, “Show made by R9 which is a Year 6 class at Russell Street School in Palmerston North. The show is produced every 2 weeks and is based around what is happening at Russell Street School.” The production qualities of the episodes rival anything I have ever seen from students of this age. Their storyboarding, script writing, presentations, editing, music selection, and basically anything that goes into these posts is very well done. This is an impressive reflection on all stakeholders with this school. I look forward to following Russell Street's posts in the future, and use it as an example of what our students are capable of.

Tina's Impression of Russell Street School

I looked at Russell Street School's website to see how their teachers and students are using blogs. I should be ashamed to admit that I was jealous, but that's the first reaction I had. I absolutely love how they are using blogs in their classrooms. It's something that my co-worker and I have tried to get teachers to do in their classrooms with little success. I would like to know what the conditions were/are to get teachers to use blogs and to let their students blog. Our teachers seem to feel that they don't have time to blog with all of the standards that they need to meet. It's as if blogging is a permissible activity if there is the luxury of time...time to have teachers become familiar enough with how to blog themselves as well as teach students and give them classroom time to get it done. My daughter's English teacher had them do some blogging and assigned it as homework, but posting was rather random.

I like the way that the student blogging is structured. Room 14 has students writing weekly goals, and then they reflect on their goals and other things that they have learned in the term. I really like that. Room 9 does a lot of reflection, and I like the way that is set up: What, So What, and Now What. It gives the students a concrete, structured way to know how to reflect, and how to set goals for Now What. I think these types of activities keep students plugged in to what they have learned and what they want to learn. The student blogs in Room 9 are also portfolios of what they have done and accomplished over the year. I think that is a valuable tool for students to have, to be able to go back and review their progress over the year. Powerful!

My biggest delight was watching the Street Talk episodes! I watched the first episode, then Episode 5, and then the latest episode, Episode 14. My, how the students have progressed in their abilities! Episode 14 was much smoother, and the students are learning how to communicate very well. The Street Talk blog had a post that listed the rules and guidelines for the vodcast, which I thought were very specific and easy for the students to follow. The kids are fun to watch and their video is well thought out and put together. I am so impressed!

I wish that we could get a few of our teachers in the district to bite on this concept and implement it in their classrooms. I think that if they were not so afraid of not meeting standards and would be creative in how they could use this to actually meet standards (and have great documentation in the process) it would be a win-win for students and teachers alike. I guess I dare to dream. In the meantime...keep up the good work, Russell Street School!

Impressions of the Russell Street School

If you haven't taken the opportunity already, visit the website for the Russell Street School in Palmerson North, New Zealand. Spend some time looking at the blogging activities of the students. Watch two or three episodes of the student created Street Talk show. Go to the sites for Room 9 or Room 14, scroll down and click on some of the Student Blogs and see what the students have been up to.

In looking through how this school - from teachers to students - use blogging as a part of their educational experience, what are your impressions of what you have seen?

You should post your response to this prompt as a unique entry on this blog. Please accept the invitation that you received to join this blog and then post your response.