Day 9: Revision. Google Exam!! and a reflection of the journey

There you go, day 9 of DFi course complete. Exam done. I am so proud of myself for keeping up.
I didn’t feel lost and when I did, I sought guidance from my facilitator Kerry who has been so supportive through this whole process. 

I regret not using more of what I learnt in the classroom with my students. As a beginner teacher I am

not trained to notice the tasks that can be translated to a digital forum just yet. But that is something

I will definitely work on and Term 3 will be using a lot more of what I have learnt. The ‘new’ era of
teaching, well now that I have a better understanding of how things can be, I can build by students’
confidence in the online world as well. If we were back to distance learning again they will know what
to do and how to navigate their learning. Todays Manaiakalani kaupapa focus is on
ubiquitous; learning anytime, anywhere, any place and by anyone.

Rewindable learning is something that resonates with me as I often miss a detail and wish I had taken
a note of that, but as a teacher I need to make sure my instructions, the learning is something the
students can revisit when they need to. Technology has removed the barriers, created new solutions
and new opportunities for learning. I wasn’t in class during this course but I knew the students had
access to the learning and the support they needed both in the class and online. How awesome is that 

I would recommend this course a thousand times, its fast paced, covers a range of topics but the
feeling of accomplishment from trying something new is so satisfying. Plus you realise the areas you
want to
focus
your next learning on and that Mount Everest doesn’t seem quite as high.

Day 8 Computational thiking. Beep beep boo bop

It is inspirational that the adults that conceived the Manaiakalani concept. They saw the need in the community and did not step aside to how things are but rather worked towards how things could be. Empowering students and teachers “...take back control of their lives.” Information technology shouldn’t just be a took to do their learning but rather creating new ways of learning, and that is definitely something I have learned in class. It is a privilege to be part of this kaupapa and have a hand in empowering the students. The activities today opened me to world of coding, the computational thinking behind the buttons and actions we see on screen and definitely take for granted. I attempted using Scratch and Minecraft and its so simple to use and so simple to understand, why was I avoiding this? I am definitely going to include this in my programme for the students to have a clear, logical process of doing things. Plus they get to create something digitally just like their computer games. We had an opportunity to look at the Technology curriculum as well, which truth be told I haven’t included much of in my planning but now that I have a better understanding of it I am way more confident. Transferable skills is something I love. Applying learned skills to other situations and contexts and seeing as by the time our students are ready for work the jobs they will be doing have not yet been created. Mind blown!! So as teachers we are trying our hardest to anticipate it, which by the way is impossible. But equipping the students with transferable skills, which they can adapt to their circumstances is a gift that will keep on giving. Look a teacher selfie, hard at work. Haha

Day 7: Devices. A student's view

Today we looked at being cybersmart, ensuring our learners are connected and making good choices.
Using positive Cybersmart language is the shift in the digital teaching tide, and that is across the
curriculum, its no longer mistakes, its learning opportunities, no longer don’t do that rather do this in
terms of behaviour. So using positive cybersmart language sounds like a good idea. 

We looked at Hapara today, a fantastic piece of software that enables the teachers to see what the
students are doing in their digital spaces at school, this is important i think in seeing where more
attention is needed for their learning and where their documents are which believe me can be
frustrating.

I can also see if the students are actually reading my emails, which is great feedback if it is perhaps
not the best way to communicate. Part of the Manaiakalani journey was very much recognising Te
tiriti O Waitangi article showing partnership in the schools by creating a programme for those students
disempowered by their socio-economic status to have the opportunity to have a 1:1 device through
their school. It is a equity focussed process not BYOD. A programme that has taken the safety
procedures to have safe products and teaching the students to be smart online. 

We also looked at Explain Everything, which is so straightforward and I can see how effective it is
with the younger students. So I created a little slide and used screencastify to record it.

Lots of learning happening in this space, and I am finding the opportunity to use more in my teaching
program.