Doing the Happy Dance... NCEA Results

Its external results time .... so I took a deep breath and logged on to the NCEA website to take a look at the Design and Visual Communications results.

As usual, a mixed bag but on the whole I am a very happy bunny.
I am extremely happy with the results form both the Level 1 and Level 3 groups.






Level 1 - this table is the feedback that I have completed for school for the Level 1 results for 2015.
The two externals are the last two on this table. I think that although everyone passed AS91063, this can be easily improved upon this year by concentrating on different sketching skills such as cut aways, exploded views etc. This will give the students access to the merit and excellence levels. The way that the course is set up with instructions, screen casts and rewindable learning gives lots of in class opportunities and time for me to go into more in depth sketching and drawing skills with the students. My video drawing board set up will also give me options to record myself doing the drawing skills for the students so they can look at these and practice in their own time.
AS91063 - the orthographic drawing was a success this year. I have offered this to students who are willing to put in extra time in the October holidays but this has changed this year and I have planned to put it in the general course so all the Level 1 students can have a go at it.

Level 1
AS91066 Use rendering techniques to communicate the form of design ideas. NA = 0% A= 100% M = 0% E = 0%		This standard did not have the second try that was planned as we ran out of time. The achieved results were from the chair project half way through the year. The students normally would get a second chance when doing the mobile phone project and this would be where the higher results would be achieved. With the project changes to the mobile phone project this year, and the time spent on the changes, we ran out of time for a second go at rendering.
AS91067 Use the work of an influential designer to inform design ideas. NA = 0% A = 33% M = 67% E = 0%		This work was based on what they did in AS91069. A lot of research is done in that standard and was broken down into steps a lot as this is the standard that I offered as a MOOC this year. I feel that the level of depth that they went into with AS91069 has paid off with the number of merits achieved in this standard.
AS91068 Undertake development of design ideas through graphics practice. NA = 0% A = 67% M = 33% E = 0%		The overall quality of work for this standard for the whole class was an improvement on last year. We spent a long time learning how to use and using Tinkercad in order to 3D print their final pieces of design work. I think this affected our ability to develop in the detail needed at times. This will be planned better for next year.
AS91069 Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. NA = 0% A = 83% M = 17% E = 0%		Even though this standard is the one that I offered as a MOOC, so the planning for it was much more broken down into easy to follow steps, this has not come through with higher levels of achievement. It is about the same as last year. To achieve at the higher levels, students need to apply the style of the designer more to their poster layouts. This will be more of a focus next year, as the research is all there and is coming through in AS91067, but needs to be applied more here.
AS91047 Undertake development to make a prototype to address a brief. NA = 17% A = 83% M = 0% E = 0%		This was a new standard this year and is attached to the same project as AS91068. The NA showing the results is because of 1 student not completing his final model due to his attendance.
AS91063 - External Produce freehand sketches that communicate design ideas NA = 0% A = 100% M = 0% E = 0%		It is good that the whole class passed this standard. This can be improved upon in 2016 by concentrating on the details of design work so different drawing styles can be used, like cut aways and exploded views.
AS91064 - External Produce instrumental, multi-view orthographic drawings that communicate technical features of design ideas NA = 0% A = 50% M = 50% E = 0%		This standard was offered to those who wanted to come in during the October holidays. The results were good so I am building this standard into the whole course for 2016 so it is available to the whole Level 1 class.

Level 3 - this table is the feedback that I have completed for school for the Level 3 results for 2015.
The external, AS91627, has been a problem for me since the standards changed a few years ago. After talking with our Technology contact from Team Solutions about my worries about this standard, she put me in contact with a teacher from another school. I had a great meeting and came away a lot clearer about what I had to do with my Level 3 students for AS91627.
My students were not happy with me when I came back from that meeting in March and told them to bin the work that they had started and we were starting over. I explained very honestly to them what we were doing, why and who I had been talking to about it. I made it clear to them that my problem was getting students to pass that standard and what we were doing was for their benefit. I give my Level 3 group a lot of complements here as they sucked it up and got on with it with very minimal muttering and wanting to kill me.
I also used the Level 3 Google Plus community a lot more this year so there was lots of communication and sharing.
It worked! I am delighted.

Level 3
AS91629 Resolve a spatial design through Graphics practice NA = 25% A = 75% M = 0% E = 0%		The NA were 2 students whose attendance was very poor over the year. 1 of these two also had a very laid back attitude when he was in, so produced no work at all. We started the external work for AS91627 again at the start of the year in response to my visit to another school for advice. This put back our starting AS91629 but our understanding of it was a lot clearer.
AS91610 Develop a conceptual design considering fitness for purpose in the broadest sense. NA = 25% A = 75% M = 0% E = 0%		The NA were 2 students whose attendance was very poor over the year. 1 of these two also had a very laid back attitude when he was in, so produced no work at all. This was a new standard introduced this year to cover the same project work as AS91629. Next year, this needs to be incorporated into the project breakdown and instructions in a much clearer way so the students know what to do to cover the requirements.
AS91627 - External Initiate design ideas through exploration NA = 37.5% A = 37.5% M = 25% E = 0%		2 of the 3 NA results are due to non attendance and not doing any work when they were in the class. The achieved and merit results are very pleasing and makes the visit to Mangere College that I did in March, to gain a greater understanding of the standard worthwhile.
The plan at the start of the year was to do AS91628 - Develop a visual presentation that exhibits a design outcome to an audience, as well the the two listed here. We ran out of time for this standard as the work rate from the students was far too slow and I made the decision to complete what they had started rather than start something else.

Level 2 - this table is the feedback that I have completed for school for the Level 2 results for 2015.
Well these external results are the thing that has wiped the smile of my face this year, but it has made it clear what my focus is going to be this year!!
I will fill in the feedback sections for these two externals when I get the students work back from NZQA and read the feedback sheets from them. I can plan then how to get these working better.

Level 2
AS91340 Use the characteristics of a design movement or era to inform own design ideas. NA = 10% A = 60% M = 30% E = 0%		The not achieved for this standard was 1 student who produced no work all year. One of the merits is from a student who did DVC L1 last year, but the other 2 are not. They are from students who have a high ability to work independently and produce work in their own time. The achieved results are from students who are in the trades academy. They missed time in DVC over the year due to their other course requirements but still managed to do all of the work to achieve this standard.
AS91342 Develop a product design through graphics practice NA = 10% A = 70% M = 20% E = 0%		The not achieved for this standard was 1 student who produced no work all year. The achieved results are from students who are in the trades academy. They missed time in DVC over the year due to their other course requirements but still managed to do all of the work to achieve this standard. The other achieved result is from a student who did not produce enough work to achieve with merit. He had a timetable that required him to work a lot more independently from me. This is a good focus point for me to break down the tasks more and design the course to be more MOOC style like at Level 1. One of the merits is from a student who did DVC L1 last year and can work very independently and understand what has to be done to complete a project.
AS91337 - External Use visual communication techniques to generate design ideas NA = 100% A = 0% M = 0% E = 0%
AS91338 - External Produce working drawings to communicate technical details of a design NA = 100% A = 0% M = 0% E = 0%
The plan at the start of the year was to do AS91341 - Develop a spatial design through graphics practice, as well the the two listed here. We ran out of time for this standard as the work rate from the students was far too slow and I made the decision to complete what they had started rather than start something else.

so...back to the happy dance!!!

Links to images used...

Dancing frog

Kermit

uLearn15 Presentation Day

It is day 3 of uLearn15 and it is time for my fellow Manaiakalani Innovative Teachers and I to present our years' research work.

Thanks to +Fiona Grant for the picture

Here is my presentation about Online Learning and Achieving Outside of the Classroom...
Here is the link to the presentation if you want to see the speaker notes...
Here is the link to the rest of my research this year...




Here is the link to the whole presentation where you can see the work of my fellow MIT15 colleagues.  Find out more about the Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher programme here.

Presenting at the Manaiakalani Hui

The annual Manakalani Hui was held at the Panmure Boat Club this year and my fellow MIT teachers and I presented our research to date.

Here is my presentation about online courses and achieving credits outside of the classroom.


Here is the link to my presentation if you want to see the speaker notes.

To Nag or Not to Nag... That is the Question...

The thing with an online course is this.....
You create it, send out the link to students to get them to sign up then you get to wait...
Will they sign up?
Will they do the work?
Will they be able to follow all the work you have put together?
Will they get stuck part way through?
Is there enough support built in?




I decided today to contact all the students who had originally signed up for the course, whether they have started something or not.
I did this by email so they didn't feel pressured of me being in their face about it.

"Hello Lovely  People who signed up for the online course...

This is just a little email to ask if you need any help or support with anything.

Don't be shy if you are stuck or have any questions

:D

Miss Ferguson"

How much contact is Ok?
When does it turn into nagging?

This online course idea is going to be good for students, with more opportunities, but i'm not sure it is good for my worrying!!

Organising Work in the Holidays...

It is the two weeks holiday at the moment and I received an email from one of my Year 10 students who have signed up to do the online course this year. This email was inviting me to view a folder of work on Google Drive.
He has started collecting his information about his chosen architect, and it is interesting to see how a student's mind works away from the "influence" of a teacher.
He has copied the instructions from the Google Site for this particular task onto his doc and made them into a checklist for himself that he is working through and ticking off as he goes. This doc was originally made and shared by me as place to put the information found about the architect so the students can read through it and assess what parts they need to use. It has a place to put links to their sources and the main area to paste their found information. I like the way this student has up cycled this doc to make more use out of it.
Maybe I need to add more "lists" into the planning of a task for students to use?

Using Google Plus Communities with Year 10's

I have been using Google Plus Communities with my Year 10 class for the first time on this Technology rotation.
We have used them so that :-

• Everyone can see everyone else's work so we can all benefit from the support and direction of the whole group
• The work can be organised into categories down the left hand side and easily found
• I can share examples with the students as they need them, so they are immediate to their needs and not having to be found on a static site.
• I can record skills sessions and share them so the students have access to rewindable learning whenever they want / need it

I decided for this group, to change the whole Year 10 course and give them access to a Level 1 DVC project. I hope that this gives them a better understanding of what they would be expected to do if they choose DVC as one of their Level 1 options. As this is a Level 1 standard project, I felt that the added support that a Google Plus Community can give to a class would be a good step.
Here is a link to the community - it is set so that it can be viewed by anyone.
If you want some Google Plus help, check out the How To's here...

Here is a screen cast showing how we use it.

Making a Drawing Projector

I have seen drawing projectors in a couple of other schools and I really rather wanted one but didn't like the price of them.
I liked the way the whole class could see what was being explained / demo'd / shown by the teacher as it was projected onto the board via the class projector. I also thought I could use one to record drawing skills to add to the online "mooc" style that I have been using to set up my class website.

I decided to recycle one of the class drawing boards and with the help of part of a wooden handle and a small piece of scrap wood, I managed to spend less than $20. This was spent on a webcam to transfer the video across to a computer.

This worked really well using Quicktime. I chose "Mew Movie Recording", then this works for both uses. It shows on the computer screen what the webcam is seeing, so this can be projected onto the board via the class projector. There is also a record button so you can record what you do with the students or prepare one earlier to put on the class website.

Here are some very quick experiments I made today to test it out.

Test 1 - normal quality with no extra lighting.

Test 2 - normal quality with extra lighting from a clip on lamp.

Test 3 - high quality with extra light.


Test 4 - high quality with no extra light and drawn in pen

The file size is noticeably larger on the high quality recording. This was evident when saving the file and most evident when uploading the file to the web. Is the difference in quality worth a 3 hour upload time? This as only a test so it was very short. The real ones will be a lot longer.
This "creation" has definite possibilities and I am looking foreword to giving it a go in class next week. I will also be testing if it works with Screencastify, as this is on all the student's chrome browsers. If it does, then they can make some too on their chromebooks. !!

Tracking the Online Course...

It has been 4 days since I let the MOOC side of my Level 1 course go live. I emailed it to the whole of Year 10 on Friday and left it to see what happened.
So far, 4 days in, I have got 12 Year 10 students who have signed up for the online project which will give them 4 early Level 1 credits. More have expressed interest to me but haven't clicked the button yet.
When the students enrol, they do it by filling a a very quick Google form embedded on the site.  This then feeds the names into a spreadsheet. I decided to use this spreadsheet as the tracking sheet for the course, as it will keep everything nicely in one place.

When they enrol, I make an assessment sheet for them with the standard information on. This is linked on the "A/S" column. When they make their Google site and send me the URL, that is linked next ( there is one there up to now ). They choose which architect to research, and their choice is in the next column so I can remember what I am looking at when I look at their work. The G+ column is changed to orange when I make sure they have access to Google Plus on the admin dashboard, then green when they have joined the Level 1 community and introduced themselves. The images column, next, is when thy have started to collect pictures of their architects' work and have embedded it onto their Google site.

What I am liking here is the "add note" on the cells in a spreadsheet as I can write myself up to date notes as to what I have seen and any communication between me and the student.

Keeping on top of this is gong to be so much more important as I don't have the luxury of having these students in front of me in the class at all.

Great Weekend Email Conversations

I sent out the link to my Level 1 online mooc module to all of the Year 10 students on Friday. I chose this standard to offer in this way at Level 1 as it is the easiest to do without having access to the Graphics room or specialist equipment.

Some of them have been signing up already and I have been having some great email conversations with them over the weekend as they get their heads around what they are doing. They have to do this totally in their own time with no class time.


They fill in a Google form to sign up, and then I send out their own copy of the achievement standard / assessment sheet so they can embed it on their site that they have to make as part of the process.

I have been able to see it through their eyes this weekend and make some key changes to some parts to make it clearer.
There is nothing like student voice to keep you on your toes!!

Student "L"

miss wat is this??
for??

did you sign up to do the level 1 dvc project?

No, i didn't!??

don't worry if you don't want to but your name came up on the enrolment sheet. Did you fill the form in?

No, i didn't fill it in sorry. but is it hard?? 

have a read through all the tasks and see what you think... no pressure..

https://sites.google.com/a/tamaki.ac.nz/dvc-online-courses/level-1/home

I think it sounds fun, who will our audience be?? and do we choose an architect or do you give it to us?

if you look at the task bar to where it says architects, there is a choice there. If you dont like any of those, you can give me a suggestion :D

Ok, where's the task bar??

jokes never mind miss i found it,, =)

thanks miss, can i email you again if i need help.....

any time you like :D

Student "S"

Hi Miss. I'm kinda stuck and confused. I have made my Level 1 DCV site which I've done with the help of your first video. But there's two other video's at the bottom of that one, do I ignore those two videos and move onto the 'Making your Site Public' ?

Yup. That's right. I put those there for the level 2 students so I could have all my vids in one place. Don't be shy if you are stuck. Just let me know. You are doing well. 

I have creating my site and the pages. It says to share the URL link to my teacher, do I share it to my tutor teacher? 

No. Me!!! Lol. I shall change the instructions on that one to make it clearer. Thanks. :)

https://sites.google.com/a/tamaki.ac.nz/suzie-level-1-dcv/

great job!!

Hi miss me again. I have clicked on the 9 app squares and there isn't a G+ icon, I tried finding but no luck. So do I make a new google plus myself? or.. 

Type Google plus into a Google search. Still do it with your school log,in though.

....thanks for letting me know all these things as it means I can make my instructions clearer on the site :D

Student "I"

Y10 Assignment thing

it will take to long to make a new google + account 4 skwel so can I just my not school account!

Yeah ok.