31st March DFI Blog

 DFI Day 8: Computational Thinking

These are the things I learned from today's DFI:

1. Empowered

Need to equip our next generation with the skills to both compete and succeed in a digital world. Through skills, through a safe environment: consistency and stability of the learning environment (in a child's sometimes very inconsistent life), equitable outcomes and access to technology with the goal of providing learners ownership/control of their education. 

2. DTG curriculum / computational thinking

Digital fluency is the capability to use our own digital technologies in the world we live in. Yet, the value is when we move beyond being a digital consumer to becoming a digital innovator. The DTG curriculum allows learners to develop the computational/algorithmic thinking that most computer operating systems have as their base: an ordered step-by-step set of instructions that accurately describe a process, action or event. 

3. Coding

Examples in Mathematics 

Robo-Compass

Maths Puzzle

Line fitting

Linear Lines

Parabola

Mihi

I created my mihi through gamefroot.com.

Hamish Wood's Mihi

4. A bit of fun

Created by Teachers and Students - both learners while doing this!

24th March DFI Blog

 DFI Day 7: Devices

This is what I learnt from today's session

1. Ubiquitous 

Anytime, Anywhere and at Any pace. 24/7 students have access to their learning - if they choose to. The opportunity for students to learn from the teacher of their choice. Technology removes some barriers to learning and provides solutions to problems. It connects our students to learning from many parts of the world. 

One of the learnings from online learning (Lockdowns) was that online 'face to face' is more draining than in a class. So we could do less talk and more support (guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage) throughout the online platform. 

Through lockdown, as a school, we were fortunate in that 99% of students had devices and access to the internet. This was a logistical accomplishment. We chose to teach less and allow students to have a measured approach to their learning but there was high accountability to the teacher and their caregivers. Surprisingly, our students did better than in previous years. 

2. Being Cybersmart

Like with all expectations, we teach what we should be doing rather than what we shouldn't. Our kawa of care so all can confidently and responsibly use their devices within the boundaries of respect. We share what is positive and comes from a position of both confidence and learning

3. Shortcuts

DFI Digital Dig - lots of fun and some new tricks learnt

4. Recording our screen

I have used screencastify before but not used the screen recorder on an iPad. Control centre - screen recording. But - there are so many ways to do the same thing. I am not sure whether I would use this function. 

5. Using EE - an example

17 MAR DFI Blog

 Day 6 Enabling Access. 

The big things I took from today. 

1. DFI is a continual process of choice

This (my DFI) is a work in progress. As long as I keep using, adding to and improving my digital skills, the digital experience (for myself and others) improves. 

2. Connected

Being part of a team gives a place of belonging and gives us access to share and receive from others. Being connected develops a shared and common language - therefore allowing people to become even more connected. 

3. Using sites as the center of class learning.

I need to ensure my site is easy to access the day's learning. Use less-words and more images. Less navigation required and all info readily accessible/clearly identifiable.

As a result, I have worked on creating a more comprehensive site page for my Yr 11 class topic: Number. So that if and when students are working from home, it is not a scary site to navigate.

Number topic - site, Document that has been worked on. 

10 Mar DFI Blog

DFI day 5 

Things learned from today's DFI

(1) Visible

Dorothy shared the next Manaiakalani value: Visible. Ensuring the learning is accessible to all students - not just those who can read the teacher's mind. There is the need to have an intentional use of technology to help learning become visible to the school community; so discussions around a learner's learning journey are taking place more. If visible, there are no surprises - the learning is accessible, available to all, and before it is needed. 

Dorothy suggested the class site is this community interface. Hapara becomes the interface that opens up student learning to the teacher. 

(2) Multimodal sites. 

Multimodal Sites. Our class site is the hook to empower learning. Our class site home page should engage the learner and reflect what is happening for that day/time. The heart of multimodal learning is engagement, accessibility, agency, cognitive complexity to improve outcomes and differentiation through multiple modes of communication and opportunities. 

(3) Google sites

A great opportunity to look into how to improve our existing sites to engage learners. I am still a little bit of a novice here - but now I am much more aware of creating more engaging sites. I have spent a good amount of time trying to tidy up my maths drive folders (that are linked to my site) as I have become aware that if I share my site with the world, I want it easily accessible, tidy and engaging. 

Hamish's Maths Site

3 Mar DFI Blog

 DFI Day 4

Lessons learned from day 4

(1) Learn, Create, SHARE

Dorothy shared about the importance of thinking about the 'who' we are sharing our digital information with. The platform Blogger is a safe environment for teachers and learners. Personalisable and multi-purposeful. Blogger gives a great opportunity for feedback and feedforward (whether student or teacher). Through feedback learning continues even though the moment has passed. 

Secondly, we were encouraged to share our resources with the wider world (for our growth and to support others). 

(2) Google Forms

I felt at home with this presentation as Google Forms are something that I (and our school) use a lot - for example, collecting student's option choices for each year (allowing flexibility for students who change their mind ...), as a 'mood sheet' to check in with a student's understanding of learning and/or wellbeing, as a way of collecting student learning/assessment, of collating survey results from schools or the community ... 

(3) Google Maps 

This will be good for showing points of historical interest around our Town. I also liked the idea of showing our pepeha via google maps also. 

(4) Google Sheets

This is another function that I am very familiar with. I was trained with Excel and Google Sheets has most of the functionality of Excel and its greatest strength is shareability/collaboration. 

Yet I still learned some new features:

• =sparkline( )
• alternating colours for rows. 
• I liked the functionality of the 'explore' tab. 
• for dropdown options - go to Data, Data Validation. This is useful when setting up reporting sheets. 

Play Time

(5) Analysing student blog data 

I can see the value of student's analysing their own data. Looking at Dyzon's posts from 2018 to the end of 2020, I notice that His blogs regularly increase in May (pink circles above peaks). In wonder whether there is a particular focus at Dyzon's school, Tamaki Primary, at this time of the year. 

I like the positive, thoughtful and helpful mantra of how to write comments on other's blogs.