Reflection Week 9

My time with this course has come to an end and I can safely say that I have learnt some valuable lessons. From this course I have understood the importance of rewindable learning and how it is important to make that visible for not only the students but also their whānau. Making our students feel empowered when in the classroom also resinated with me because we are trying to help students understand that they can do anything they put their mind to in our every day learning programmes. I feel that Learn, Create, Share will become more effective in my students the more I use the tools we learnt about on this course in my teaching programme. If I can model how to do this effectively it will then become easier for the students to use and become easier each time they do it.

From this DFI I have completed the Level 1 Google Certified Educator which is something that I can add to my cv and will help me moving forward with the new digital curriculum. That has been a highlight and I am really pleased that I have achieved this. The next step is to complete the Level 2. My favourite part of the DFI was being able to have discussions with other people and work together to figure these new things out. I also really enjoyed having Madeline and Nicola at arms length to help or clarify if I needed it. Overall I am happy with the progress I have made and I look forward to sharing my new knowledge with my students and incorporating some of the google tools to help students create and share their new learning.

Reflection Week 8

Fiona discussed with us about being cybersmart and how are wanting ti empower our learners as connected and confident decision makers. She spoke about how Manaiakalani have committed  to use powerful, positive, proactive language so the students are being safe online and restricting the negative behaviour so they are not falling into the trap of being a 'bully'.

​Fiona also discussed with us about becoming adept and fluent at using our positive Cybersmart language.  If we do not model this to our students, if we do not teach them about being cybersmart then we are setting them up to fail so to speak. Students can be oblivious to the harm that can be created online and it is up to us to teach them about the digital footprint and what information you can release online and what you should never release. Being Cybersmart empowers our learners as connected citizens. When their learning is visible and accessible, anytime, any place, at any pace, our young people learn to make smart decisions and understand that every time they connect, collaborate and share online it combines to create their digital footprint.

We were given a chance to have a play on our chromebooks learning all the shortcuts. Some of them were really useful and interesting and others I already knew. I think that I am a bit behind my students when it comes to shortcuts as they are really quick with their knowledge around their chromebooks even though they have only had them for a term and a bit. We also discussed some Ipads which was good for the reasons that I can keep up to date with how they can be useful in a class who has them but I also found myself getting a little bored with it because my classroom have not got Ipads so I didn't see the use in it. 

Reflection Week 7

Todays session was about being connected digitally. Dorothy discussed how it is a way of empowering the learners and we can do it because the learning is shared and visible. It extends from the individual potentially to the world. This is an inclusive model and again, taps into the human instinct to SHARE and to be connected with other human beings.

Although the Manaiakalani schools are geographically close, everyone is way too busy to connect as often as we would like and the digital has enabled us to keep, in touch, abreast of what our colleagues are doing, teaching, thinking, and staying connected. I also feel it gives opportunities for our students to be connected with their extended whānau as well, as half of my class have asked me to add the email addresses of their uncle, aunts, cousins and older siblings so they can share with them what they are learning.

Dorothy discussed with us about how we have a shared language which is the pedagogy and kaupapa language. We are able to do this because we have made it visible which brings us back to what we discussed last week. Dorothy said "​If you are all paddling in the same direction, you have greater power, you are more efficient. There is an impact on the nature of teaching and learning because if the teacher and student each know what it is you’re meant to be focusing on you are more likely to reach your goals." I resinate with this because for the little amount of time that I have been teaching I have seen a huge improvement in the work ethic and students taking charge of their own learning when expectations are set and you agree on what they are.

When using videos ect, the obvious choice would be to upload it to youtube to share our learning and make it visible, however we have little to no control of monitoring comments on this so an easier way is to get students to upload their videos to their drive and then share it via that to their blog. This gives us more control of the commenting and the people who are seeing it.

After exploring slides with Vicki I am going to teach my students how to make animations and incorporate that into my reading rotation. My students are already really good at using google drawings an slides but I feel that animation will improve those skills and then extend their knowledge and provide a lot of opportunities for creating new content to share.

We were given the chance to create animations or pick a paths. I have created an animation previously so decided to create a pick a path to show my students as an exemplar for them to then create their own. It was really fun, however I picked up on a few things such as each time you add an option into the story that is an extra slide to add on.  Check it out below, however it us unfinished.

Reflection Week 6

We had a discussion around what it means to be empowered. Dorothy mention that if technology was just a tool then it would be rather expensive for our families to use. It is not just a tool as it is helping our students and their families learn new strategies and tools to help them in their day to day challenges. It also gives them new experiences and opportunities when in the classroom to help extend their learning capabilities. Dorothy discussion really made me see that no matter if the student feels disempowered at home due to their circumstances, they can feel empowered in our classrooms because all the students are given the same chances when using this digital tools.

Dave had a discussion with us around dealing with data and some different application that we can use such as google forms, mind maps, and google sheets. Google forms would be an awesome tool for getting students feedback on an activity or trip we do in our class, it would also be a neat skill to teach my student how to create a form for statistics purposes so they can send data to others not just people in our class so they have more data to play with.

We explored mymaps which is a chrome app. It was interesting being able to have a play and import data from a spreadsheet to the google maps and how it pin points the key things you want it to. We also learnt about google sheets which I have had previous experience with but I did learn how to add sums and averages from your data and how to organise the data as well. Google sheets would be a good thing to use in my class when we are also working with statistics and creating graphs. I have figured out that the three apps we have learnt about today are all linked together and once you have done the form you can take that data put it into a spreadsheet, from there you can create a map but also a chart.

Reflection Week 5

Discussed making learning visible.Questions we discussed were can we see it? Is it invisible or visible? Can anyone see it? In Manaiakalani schools we are considering: Visible to the learner, Visible to the whānau, Visible to the teacher, Visible to colleagues. Dorothy made the point that a significant contributor to our young people struggling to succeed has been because we have kept so much of the learning journey hidden from them- and their parents. This has made me think about making sure parents emails are connected to their blogs so they can see what their child is learning and creating in class. Also having our class site visible for the parents, and whānau so they can also see what is coming up and be informed with what their children are learning next. I also need to make sure my students know how to use the website and where to go to find different areas of work. I am going to let my students have a time next week where they can explore the site and I will ask them to find me something and I want to see if they know the steps to get there.

The intentional use of technology to make teaching and learning Visible has been a game changer.
When we talk about Visible Learning, we are talking about the whole learning journey being Visible. We expect the learner, the young person to be at the centre of the learning and for every part of the learning process to be genuinely visible to them: This includes teacher planning and outlines, the process the child goes through - including the LOs /WALTs/ AOs and other progress markers- outcomes and reflections and the assessment process.

No surprises is at the heart of most effective teaching practise because their is no surprises and teachers can lay out what is to expected from them, things such as learning progressions, this is where you are and this is where you need to be. You can do this by:
Accessible - online, shared visibly to anyone with the link, removing password barriers
Available - everything the learner needs is present - no scrambling to share material, activities etc at the last minute
Advance - BEFORE it is needed, before the deadlines.

From the learner perspective, visible learning should encompass everything that John Hattie has brought to our attention from micro teaching to effective feedback and more. This should be supported by the immediacy of access to the goals and planning for learning, the process of learning and the outcomes of learning.

We learnt about Trialblazers they suggested that 'Technology is changing how we live, work and play. Entertainment, jobs, healthcare, transportations, energy… And the technology is going to change.
Our vision is not focussed on what technology features,  but how. How do our people adapt and take advantage of all that these changes bring us. Create the change, not just become consumers of it.' I agree with this statement as I have seen the huge change in technology from when I was in primary school to where I am now teaching in a primary school and how far the jump has become in technology. So learning more tools to help with technology will further develop my teaching practise more effectively.

We need to use effective pedagogy alongside Tools, techniques, and applications of technology to support integrated, inquiry-based learning to “engage children in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world.”

The difference between "using Technology" and "creating technology" is like the difference between using a game and being able to create a game. It is the difference between using an Instagram filter and being able to create your own photo filters. Learning how to create involves having an appreciation and understanding of how the technology and applications we use work. It's the "science" of technology. They can be nicely broken into 4 areas which we think is a great framework integration and understanding how content fits in a wider context.
Inquiry; Construction; Communication; Expression

Reflection Week 4

In the digital age audience is unlimited - anytime, anywhere, anyone. We talked about the difference of being a compulsory audience and being an authentic audience and how that is important to inform the students so they understand that when students are reading the work they post on their blog they are doing it because they are enjoying what they are reading.

We need a context for teaching young people appropriate ways to behave in this freedom. Sharing the process is important NOT just the finished product. It is our job to encourage learners to share along the way when they are undertaking learning over time and take on board feedback they may receive during this process.

We have chosen blogger as a forum for our students to use to share their learning with the world as it provides opportunities for the students to connect with other learners in the country and see that what they are learning about is common in other schools and not just their own. It it easy for new students to technology to use allowing it to be used as a tool for all students. 

​Positives of allowing students to share their work using blogger is giving students a purpose and a incentive to finish their work and post it because others are interested in seeing what they have accomplished.

We discussed the importance of feedback and how it encourages, stimulates, provokes, and excites students when they receive some feedback or comments from people outside of their 'bubble'.  

Students can access the work from anywhere if they have an internet connections. Whanau can access this as well and be keep informed in what their children are working on at the moment and comment as well. Other teachers can also access this work to share ideas and see how they are making their learning engaging and interesting for their students. 

When creating a class site is really important to think about what the purpose for the site is and how you can facilitate that. Having a generally idea of what you want the site to look like makes it easier for you in the long run. 

Reflection Day 3 - Collaborate Sites

I agree with the the discussion we have had today around creativity and the positive effects it has on the students learning. This quote "Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results." - John Dewey, is a quote to me that falls into one of my goals I have for teaching which is to make my teaching as practical as I can and as engaging as I can because when students are able to create in the learning they have a higher chance at succeeding as they are able to talk about what they are learning and grow in their student agency.

Allowing students the opportunities to create and share the learning they have worked so hard to obtain is really important because it gives the something to be proud of, and have a sense of accomplishment. It is setting them up for future learning because they are realising their own capabilities and give them a chance to rewind on that learning later on.

The purpose is delivering a communication directly to another person.This can be done using multiple modes, these can be things such as smoke signals, letter, email, text, snapchat, facebook are just a few that come to mind. All of these work however depending on the person/children who are using them depends on the one that will be more successful. Some are more efficient, some get the message across in more depth, and some get the message across more quickly. The recipient may have preferred modes for example your grandparents might prefer a letter or facetime, and refuse Snapchat, where as students these days would prefer a text or snapchat.

If we want learners to be creative then we have to model that as well. With out the behavioural engagement then it is rather difficult to get that cognitive engagement. So we need to be thinking about how to get them engaged first so they want to take a deep dive and further learn about the topic. Need to present learning in a variety of ways such as videos, text, pictures, digital so you can accompany all learners.

Discussed colour picker eyedropper which is a google extension that you can add to your chrome then when working with images you can use this to get the unique code for each colour to then copy and past into the text/fill image colour button on google docs/drawings etc.

 We were taking through the process of how to create a site but I have already got the knowledge around this as I created my site at the start of the term for my class site. So it was a time where I could practise the skills I had already learnt and helped others make theirs. I did however use the time to create a cyber smart activity page to add to my already made class site.

Reflection DFI Week 2

We started of the session by sharing what we have begun to implement in the class from what we learnt last week. I had set myself what I thought were small goals to achieve but hearing what others have done, we are all on the same page.

It was reiterated today about technology not being about getting rid of effective teaching practise it is about working alongside those practises to get the best outcome for both teachers, students and their whānau. If there is a silver bullet it is an effective teacher implemented and effective teaching and learning using the technology as a tool to do this.

I have learnt that teachers being on a face to face level with students in digital learning environments. learn create share has enabled the accelerated rate of progress. I feel that I have made great gains when working with students on their chromebooks, I also feel though some of my students prefer to work individually so its just finding the balance between allow them to work and then providing guidance and checking in.

I remember seeing the SamR Model but it got clarified for me today and I saw the possibilities it provided when working in a digital 1:1 classroom. The SAMR model are internationally recognised frameworks that describe key elements of digital technologies amplifying and turbocharging effective teaching and accelerated learning in 1:1 classes.

I learnt a knew word today which is 'rewindable' learning. This can meet the needs of  individual learners by changing the pace in which they learn for each students. "If its worth learning its worth capturing" is a quote that has resinated with me today and sums up the approach to teaching in a developing digital classroom. Bloom’s taxonomy has been redesigned for the digital world, and this diagram shows the alignment with SAMR

Google Keep open my eyes today I learnt how to link with devices and speak through your phone and it will show up to the google keep. You can take photos off your phone and then it will pop up once published. Colour code, and labelling makes it easily accessible and I can share the notes with others. Would be quite a cool thing to use in the classroom when collaborating brainstorms etc, students can use their chromebooks to then add to the google keep. Could have a seperate one just for the class. If you add the location to the keep note once you become close to or past that location it will ping you with a notification to remind you off the note you have set. Digital signature can be written using goggle keep and drag and drop to a google doc or other form if needed. Capturing text, if you take photos of the words then upload it to google keep you can capture the text and it will write it out underneath. 

Learnt how to make a google mail label and then drag and drop emails into those labels so it makes it easier to access and find when needed. I learnt some new tricks when archiving emails and choosing whether to have my emails on a default view or change them to create a importance, starred and then everything else. 

Learnt how to organise a google hangout and how to screen cast also used the handy tool of how to record the video/hangout so we can revisit them. 

Reflection Week 1 DFI