1-1 Device Initiative Update

Today we sent home an update regarding the one to one initiative.  This outlines timeframes for the remainder of the year, as well as options for participating in the initiative.  The update can be viewed here:

1-1 Device Initiative - Update for Parents

One of the new options outlined in this update is the option to rent a Chromebook from the school on either a yearly, or a term by term basis.  We have nearly finalised a rental agreement to be used for this purpose.  Here is the link to the final draft of the rental agreement that we intend to use:

Chromebook Rental Agreement 

I encourage you to make contact with myself, Janet Evans or Eric Pampalone should you have any questions relating to the information in the update or the rental agreement.

Solar Panels

Our solar panels have now been up for almost 6 months.  We finally have the "Splash Monitoring" system properly installed so that you can see what sort of energy we are generating at any one time.  If you're interested in taking a look, you can visit our site at:

Maungaraki School Solar Panel Monitoring

I particularly like the graphic in the bottom right where it gives comparisons to the cumulative energy we have generated… At the time that I wrote this post, we had generated 5125KWh (Kilo Watt Hours) of electricity since the panels went up, this is the same as:

• boiling 215 thousand cups of tea
• making 273 thousand pieces of toast
• driving a car 6ooo Kilometers
• powering a house (for 3 people) for 25 weeks
• preventing the release of 2.7 tons of CO2 into our atmosphere

WOW!  That's a lot of electricity!  It's great to see the panels are doing their job so efficiently.  I know lots of the classes are studying energy sustainability this term - so hopefully this new monitoring system will help us all learn more about solar power.

Mr Rathbone (from the Dynamis project) made a documentary for Enviroschools about the solar panels that are going up around some Wellington Schools.  Here is a compilation of some of the Maungaraki School learners who contributed to the documentary:

1-1 Device Initiative - Consultation Workshop 3 - Device Safety

I really enjoyed the 3rd Consultation Workshop on the 15th May.   Although there was only a small group in attendance, we had some robust discussion around how we can all ensure the safety of learner devices.

Here is the link to the notes from the evening's discussions:

Consultation Workshop 3 - Device Safety and Kawa of Care

This is a 'Google Doc' meaning that you can comment on this document directly if you would like to leave us some feedback, suggestions or further questions.  There are several other ways you can comment:   Comment under this post, email Janet, Eric or I at school, or pop in and see Janet or I in the staffroom next week during 3-Way Conferences.

Tech Think Tank Meeting - 14 May

We had some great discussion at the Tech Think Tank meeting on the 14th May.   It was good to have some constructive and forward thinking suggestions.

Here is the link to the notes from the evening's discussions:

Tech Think Tank 14 May 

This is a 'Google Doc' meaning that you can comment on this document directly if you would like to leave us some feedback, suggestions or further questions.  There are several other ways you can comment:   Comment under this post, email Janet, Eric or I at school, or pop in and see Janet or I in the staffroom next week during 3-Way Conferences.

1-1 Device Initiative - Consultation Workshop 2 - Student Safety

On Tuesday night we held the 2nd of our three initial consultation Workshops. We had some great discussion about the procedures and protocols relating to digital citizenship and managing the challenges that come with working in a digital environment.

These links take you to the information that you might find useful if you were unable to make the meeting.

Minutes of meeting / Q&A etc.  (Google Doc)

Maungaraki School Digital Citizenship Procedures (Google Doc)

MOE Bullying Guidelines

Proposed Google Apps for Education Protocols (Google Doc)

Several of these are 'Google Docs' meaning that you can comment on these documents directly if you choose.  There are several other ways you can provide us with your feedback:   Comment under this post, email Janet, Eric or I at school, or pop in and see Janet or I in the staffroom next week during 3-Way Conferences.

I also thought I would share with you this article on Social Media use in Education that just arrived in schools yesterday - very interesting follow up from Tuesday's discussion!

"How Social is Your Classroom?"

1 - 1 Device Initiative, Consultation Workshop 1

Thank you to those who attended our 1-1 Device Consultation Workshop last week.   We have compiled a document that combines the speaker notes from the teacher's presentation with the minutes of Q&A that happened throughout the evening (attached to this email).  We hope that those who weren't able to attend, will find this to be a useful document.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mnImBiIjWnQvUaMLW59FRF28VGQLbUqPd7QNB8LTihI/edit?usp=sharing

If you have a Google account you will be able to leave comments on this document.  If you would like to comment on the information in the document but don't have a google account, or you have further questions around what the 1-1 Device initiative will look like in the classroom, please feel free to leave a comment below or to contact Janet, Eric or myself at school.