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.