DFI - Last Day

Ubiquitous Learning

Connecting with Manaiakalani

Ubiquitous Learning allows students to access their learning anywhere, anytime that the internet is available.
The Woolf Fisher data has shown that this ready access has lifted student achievement, especially over the summer break when traditionally students under a 'summer slide' through not reading or writing. This has been shown through analysing student data from Year 4 through to their Year 10 schooling.

At my own school, this summer slide can easily be seen through generating a 'results overtime graph' when viewing PAT results via NZCER.

We can support students over the summer by strongly encouraging their whanau to take part in the summer learning journey and through rewindable learning.

Rewindable Learning

Over the last few weeks myself I have taken part in rewindable learning while studying for the Google Exam. I can see how valuable it is be able to go back and replay/watch a small video clip to take me through the steps that I need to be taking. Giving students this same opportunity would really help those students who have the desire to learn. The big challenge for us as educators is how to hook in those students who currently do not make the most of these opportunities. This could be due to no or poor internet access at home, students who do not easily experience success. 

Getting the Class Creating -  Am I doing too much? I spend a lot of time creating and organising reading activities. How can I have my students take more ownership for this?

This is a very important piece of information for all educators to remember! 

Future Opportunities

Madeline informed us about future opportunities from here on and how we can now take our learning to the next step. We can further challenge ourselves by applying for things such as Manaikalani Class On Air. 

Devices

Devices 
In class I need to constantly ask myself - "Is what I am doing in my class programmes link back to the kaupapa of Learn, Create, Share?

Cybersmart - The purpose of this is to empower our learners as this leads to keeping them safe.
In our own kura it's important that cybersmart is a whole school focus for it be successful.

Thinking about what our learners are posting online - is it positive?
"We need to empower our students through positive digital citizenship". - Leeane Lindsay

Smart learners are those who create a positive digital footprint.

Ubiquitous - this allows students to use the available technology in a way that lifts their learning.

Visible - focus on the positive with the students with this so that they know this visibility is there so that others can see their learning and how others, their whanau, teacher and peers can help them learn.

The discussions around those recidivist students who constantly do not follow Cybersmart principles was interesting. There are certainly challenges with this. Hapara has made this easier via using directed browsing which locks students out of sites unless they are timetabled to be in them. This highlights the importance of teachers embedding cybersmart practises right from the first time a device is placed in the student's hands. Families also need education about this and be helped to create 'visibility' with where their children used the internet at home.

Hapara
I am lucky that I have used Hapara over the last four years and know that I have a good handle on the way that it works. We always learn something though and I had never actually thought of only casting the tab while I keep my teaching in front of me. I have been casting from a different computer all this time! Just never joined the dots . . . Also great to go over focussed browsing as this is a tool we have recently been using with a couple of students at school. I like the way that Fiona put a positive spin on the visibility aspect of Hapara. Let's interact with students in a positive manner . . .

Participation, Participation. Protection

Digital Dig
A few years ago I undertook the digital dig with my class but have never revisited this. After doing this myself on a chromebook I can see how invaluable it is for students in my class to identify the areas where they need to 'hone' their skills and also for others to remind themselves to use these shortcuts. I can see the potential for my students to create mini DLO/screencastify to teach others, including teachers in the school how to take advantage of shortcuts. I tend to steer away from using a chromebook but after realising I knew very few of the shortcuts today will endeavour to do so at some stage throughout each teaching day.

Screencastify - really helps to bring slides to life and makes learning even more visible as the viewers can really see that students can understand their learning tasks.

Great to have the chance to go through this app as it is one that I am very aware of and have my students do but have never really gone through the process with them as they very quickly pick it up from others. I know that I need to be doing more deliberate acts of teaching in this regard.

My First Screencastify -  I can really see the benefits of having students explain their own learning by sharing their screens as they speak. I have never really understood how this worked and am pleased that I now do. I am going to model to this to my students and have them select a DLO that they have already created but break down their learning into stages. This really will bring their learning to life and also allows their whanau to hear their child explain what they are learning to do.
I know it will also identify learning blocks that individual students may have. A valuable learning tool that I have tended to steer away from but I will also aim to use it when modelling my instructions to the class.

DFI - Day 7 Connected

Wednesday, May 22nd

Connected 

Teaching and learning cannot be visible if as teachers we are not staying connected. 

Connectivity - a way of life for our students.

By strengthening our connections with Manakalani Cluster when our Hokitika schools broke away from the Greymouth cluster - Toki Pounamu, emerging as Ako Hiko. This allowed us to bring in more teachers, students and make the visibility clear in our own community. 

Learn, Create, Share - this is a shared language for us all. It is important that this shared language is being used consistently across our cluster of schools. This is a big part of Manakalani's philosophy. 

We always need to keep this philosophy in mind Ako - learn, Create - hanga, Share.

Tuhi Mai, Tui Atu 

Dorothy discussed the value of making connections across our cluster of schools through student blogging. My classes did take part in these over the past two years but I didn't sign up for these again this year. I did find in the initial days that some of the classes we were assigned to were not making regular posts and this saw my learners lose interest at times. Maybe now that all schools are so much further along it is time to think about rejoining. 

Toolkits 
I found the hangouts offered in Term 1 very useful and handy and that can be used in a rewindable way. I have been able to use what  I have learnt with my students. Very visible learning.

The Four Elements

I think it is important to remember that as illustrated in the image to the right that the kaupapa that is stressed by the Manakalani philosophy is that to ensure that true visible learning takes place without the four elements of connected, empowered, visible and ubiquitous.

Blogging and Youtube
It was valuable to hear Vicki explain to us that the best way to have learners share their learning is via their blogs by uploading work to google drive rather than Youtube. This is what I have always done but over the years I have had some of my students ask to upload to Youtube (never done it though).

Creating Playlists
I can't currently see how I would use a Youtube account within my class but like everything else we do I no doubt need to give it a go!

Google Drawing - 
Once again, this is a great tool to help students make connections with their wider community and make their learning more visible. Using drawings allows students to show their creativity and be more likely to want to share their work with their whānau.

Google Slides
Thoroughly agree with what Vicki said in regards to the overuse of Google Slides. This has almost become the default mode in my class. I have endeavoured to bring about change and constantly reinforce this. I will model some of the new newer methods we have learnt about today. This will also ensure that their blog posts have a 'fresh' look and are not so predictable. I will model some different ways to use slides as I learnt today.

Animation
It was fantastic to have the opportunity to have a 'play' creating an animation. I have done this with my students before but good to have the opportunity to give this a go myself. While I have not quite finished this what I did is enough to give me some ideas to go back into the class and reintroduce to those students who are not so skilled at using this tool. It has great potential to be incorporated in all learning areas. I can see how beneficial it is to those students who find writing challenging. Developing a storyline through first 'drawing' their scenes gives greater motivation and language opportunities.




Pick-A-Path Stories                                                                                         

 

Blog Posts

After last week's learning, I went back into my class and modelled how to use Google Sheets to create a graph. They learnt how to do this very quickly and it really was an eye-opener to them. Some students were amazed at how many more posts they have already made this year than in previous years while those students who still need constant encouragement to post can now have a goal to work towards. This being to post more learning in each calendar month of the year than they have previously done so. 

You can see Abby's Blog Post linked here. 

Posting the graphs in the way that the students did makes their blogging very visible to themselves and parents. Our next step in class is to fully analyse and make comments about their own graphs as well as comment on each others'. I am going to email my parents and ask them to make a comment about their child's blogging when this next stage is reached. We have a school Facebook page that parents freely comment on and we really need to get parents on board with blogging comments. 

Another brilliant day. I really like the way that Kent showed us how Point England is so connected with their community through live streaming sporting events and other learning. This really pulls the community together and allows opportunities for working parents and those unable to get to school to stay connected. 

DFI 6 - Dealing With Data

Empowered Learners and Teachers - 

Empowered - means the same as student agency. Dorothy stressed the importance of not only students and whanau being empowered but their teachers also being empowered.  This needs to happen for teachers to confidently make technology 'not just another tool' for learning but one that transforms learners/students' lives. 

As part of my post-graduate diploma in literacy (and as a mother), I know the importance of language. Academic studies have shown that the number of words that children in low decile schools are far less than those words of children in higher decile schools. These means that the children in low decile schools are disempowered right from their early years. 

Oral Language conversations - these need to be 'ping pong' conversations. I also notice this in our school these days where children do not have the same vocabulary as others in my class. My lower vocab students are overwhelmingly in my lower reading groups. They are able to decode words but have not had the exposure to words to know their meaning. 

Learning needs to be visible. having the learning visible for students means that they can just get on with their learning and not be teacher dependent. Student empowerment comes from visibility.  We need to help our learners make connections with their learning. This is done through using technology as not just a tool but a learning pathway. 

Chalk and Talk Session - Google Forms

Interesting to learn that by typing forms.google.com in the Omnibox will take me straight to any forms that I have created. I have always gone through my google drive previously.

Dave took us through the setting up of

png - means portable network graphic. This is the best way to upload a photo from google drawing to a form. Nice to know what the png part means!

Google My Maps

Well - more new learning involved using google my maps for the first time.
Step 1 is above and when I get the chance will complete the one I started in regards to our school and labelling the learning areas etc.

It was beneficial to learn how to use sheets to make patterns by dragging the corners of the boxes down so that the sheet can identify the pattern - eg months of the year, number patterns.

Basic Calculations and Formulas - Time-saving to learn how to add a row of numbers by using the little sideways M I have a range of options - sum, average etc. This would be a great tool to teach the children and have them check their own 'average' within statistics surveys.

Well, using sheets is an area that has always eluded me as I do not use them at all in my daily teaching or planning. It was great to learn how to freeze columns/rows and sort data. I will have to think about how I can use this to empower my learning. I am sure that my students would enjoy playing around with sheets. Have created the chart below within sheets and embedded it which was a straight forward process.



Blog Analysis - Wow, what an extremely powerful tool for my students to see how their blogging has lifted over time. This would make learning how to analysis and graph data so much more meaningful. Can't wait to try this. So much creating and learning involved. I am going straight back to class to model this to class tomorrow using our class blog. I will also use Mele's and other students' blogs to model the purpose of what the students are doing to them.




Map My School - Learning how to use googlemymaps.com will be such a handy learning to help my students create a visual display of their school as part of their Enviro Learning.

DFI - Visible Learning and Computational Thinking

8 May 2019 - Day Five 

Visible Learning

Some children have no idea of the purpose of their learning.

Dorothy discussed the importance of visible learning. Children fail because they have no idea really what they are learning. They need to have a clear pathway so they know where they are heading and its purpose. Learners need to know what is coming - it shouldn't be a secret. Some children may cope without knowing this but many others don't. Making connections for children before learning starts really supports them. This is visible learning.

Dorothy's analogy to being 'lost in a maze' reinforced how some children feel in class and why they have no clear idea of what their teacher is expecting of them. Manakalani focus is on keeping learning visible. This includes teacher planning and student assessment. All students deserve and need to know the results of their learning assessments.

Visibility to parents - parent portal on Hapara. This is the one area on Teacher Dashboard that my school is not yet using but we are moving in this direction and are looking to make this 'live' to parents in the coming terms. It will be very interesting to see how this further supports and encourages students as well as making both myself and my students more accountable for what they are learning and doing in class. Dorothy was quite clear in her message that visible learning is the way to support students and parents. To support this is it really imperative that parents and whanau know how to access student learning. Even more importantly students need to interact with each via blogs and blogging. It is no point students sharing work on their own blog that no one interacts with or gives feedback of. This has been the biggest stumbling block to my learners so far. They get very few comments on their work. I now make it a point to comment on at least 5-6 students sharing a day and have shown parents how to sign up for alerts to their children's' blogs. I have noticed that I am now getting a handful of parents giving comments. The next step is to have students send replies back. Professor Stuart McNaughton's data shows that this is the way forward for learners.

Digital Technologies - OMG Tech!

We spent time learning about the artificial intelligence that exists in the world today and how the biggest difference with these from early robots is that they can programme themselves and make their own decisions. This is not the world that our students are heading into but this is the 'future' now. 

Who knows in the future what this will mean for teachers - will we be replaced by a 'Sophia'??

Digital Technologies Curriculum 

Scratch - I have used this before but it is a site that I do not use enough in class. I know that the boys, in particular, enjoy coding using Scratch and some of them have advanced skills in this area. I need to create time in the class to incorporate this within the class.

It was good to learn about a range of online sites that I can use to help teach about digital technologies. These being code.org and studiocode.org. This can also be used as a lead-in to Scratch. Zoe suggested I use the Minecraft to hook the kids in. I know that many of my students will be able to whizz through the first stages of this but then it quickly begins to extend their digital thinking.

A real fast packed day today due to the NZEI meeting but lots more information to absorb. Going to go into class tomorrow and model the code.org and also work with a group of kids on the binary system for computers that Viv showed us.

DFI - Day Four Enabling Access

May 1st 2019 Enabling Access

Today we listened to the other teachers' experiences of how they felt about what we had been learning so far. We are certainly learning a lot of information. I think it is important that each teacher focuses on getting a couple of aspects fully developed that are relevant to their stage of learning without comparing themselves to the progress of others. Just like our own students we are really in the learning seat at the moment. Working out the 'tricky bits' is fantastic and a great feeling of success.

Dorothy reinforced in her hangout that it is human nature to want to share with others and that this needs to happen in a variety of ways. However, learning and sharing must be seen to be purposeful and that the children know that their learning is valued. Audiences that students share their learning with must be realistic, purposeful and make them feel their learning is valued.

Learning Sites
Looking at the range of learning sites today helped me to really understand that it is not the pretty whistles and bells that make a difference to student learning. Using multi-modal sites ensures that the learning is accessible to all learners and that it hooks them in. My students have been using Chromebooks now for four years and the novelty of doing so has long worn off. I know I need to stay fresh with new ideas to continue hooking students in and making it fresh for them.
The sharing of our own learning sites possibly felt threatening to some teachers who are not far along their digital journey but we are here as a learning group together and feedback from our peers is valuable.

It was great for me to have the opportunity to have a 'play' with my site to sort out a few little issues such as placing term 1,2,3, and 4 across the top of my home pages. It was great to have Danni on hand to show me a few simple tips that will make organising my site easier. For example - I never knew there was a preview button! I am pleased with the way my own learning sites have evolved over the last four years and I can see real progress in my own learning. I constantly ask myself - 'how will this make learning more interesting, meaningful and hook-in my learners'. I think it is important to view the sites through the kids and whanau eyes. If too much explanation is required the site needs to be tweaked.

Another inspiring day. Thanks!

DFI - Day Three Collaborate and Share

3 April 2019

Create

It was really interesting to hear Dorothy speak to us this morning about the 'creativity' part of 'create'. I think that I have been too hung up on having my students create digitally. This has resulted in less hands-on type of learning than what I would have done in the past. This has made me re-think other ways that I can reintroduce this in my class.  For example, it could result in my students creating a model of a scene in their reading book and then creating a DLO to further share what they have learnt rather than creating in the same old reliable ways they tend to fall back on such as slides. I will re-visit this with my students to ask their thoughts.

As a very uncreative person myself, I will make it a point to watch the TED talk with Sir Ken Robinson to help me support my learners. I will also share this with our staff to gauge their thoughts.

Multi-Modal

I was really excited when Clarelle said we were going to be creating our own multi-modal learning site. I can not believe that I hadn't made the connection that doing so is the same way that I made my class learning site! I have now begun to develop a site called 'Gardening with Science' to be used in term two.  I look forward to completing this site over the holidays and seeing how it hooks my students in. It will be great to see what others have developed today.

It doesn't look pretty yet but that can come later! Happy to have started developing my first multi-modal site today.