DFI- DEVICES- WEEK 7

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

UBIQUITOUS: A4- Anytime, Anywhere, Any pace, Anyone. This was put into perspective when lockdown started last year and students were encouraged to learn from their homes. As a teacher I truly believe in this kaupapa as learning should always be available and there should always be opportunities for students to learn or access their learning from wherever and at anytime.

I love the idea of Rewindable learning as I have heard a lot of students say how they did not have the time to do work at home because they are involved with other activities so this kaupapa encourages opportunities for our students to learn and complete tasks without any barriers. It was interesting to see the data of student learning dropping throughout the summer and then to see the comparison of those who had done the summer learning journey. This is a classic example of Ubiquitous and providing opportunities for students to access learning anytime, anywhere, at any pace and from anyone👍🏾 I loved when Vicki shared about technology not being just a tool. It's a good reminder that student chromebooks should always be utilised in a Ubiquitous way and not just a tool to keep them busy especially on days when I am not in the classroom.

We were asked to reflect on how things have been with this lockdown and for me I am quite proud that if I was to look at my teaching practice throughout this year and I can say that I have implemented Ubiquitous in some way . With access to devices being an issue, I have had students unable to attend our class google meets but with recording our sessions, they are still able to be apart of the learning and will not feel like they missed out. This rewindable learning empowers them to still complete their learning tasks even though they were not present at that very time. I feel that if students were to access their learning from home they would still be able to complete it without me there because I have managed to explain instructions on slides through voice recording. 

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?

Journey: Phil shared a bit about the Manaiakalani journey with devices and he said something around teachers being familiar with devices in order to understand what the students go through and I totally agree. I had actually done the Digital Dig with my class last Term with our Topic being around Digital Technology and I thought this would help their knowledge by being able to create more. However, after going over it again today it was a good reminder that I do need to keep going over these so that when issues occur with the chromebooks I will know exactly what to do. Having these shortcuts displayed in the class and as well as our class site will not only support my learners but myself as a teacher.

Explain Everything: I love this app and although we do not use ipads, I feel this will be a very useful resource for our Junior teachers. So I will definitely be sharing this with my Junior colleagues. Below is an example of what I had created. I have taken a screen shot as well as adding the link for you to go into 😊Excuse the scary photo the camera had no filters to hide my flaws lol!

EE experience task

What did I learn that could be used with my learners?  

Being Cybersmart: I always thought that cybersmart was something you cover at the beginning of the year before using devices. After listening to what Fiona had shared, I was reminded that cybersmart is about teaching students to be empowered, positive and successful online learners. This is a work in progress which needs to be implemented and encouraged throughout the year. It is something that also needs to be done throughout the school/ team and not just my class alone. I will definitely look into how this can be done as a team for our learners and especially with the overview that was shared by Fiona throughout the year. Fiona mentioned that we should not focus on the negative because it will always be there. However, focus on what to expect. This is something I agree with. We can not control what is put online but we can control how our learners react to it. If we empower our learners through questioning and role playing different scenario's this will prepare them for when it is to happen to them when the teacher is not around. 

After doing the Digital Dig today, I will like to go back and check in with my students and see how much they still remember. I will like to also go over the sites that Phil shared around Chromebook First Steps. I wish I had learnt about this in Term 1 however, better late than never!!! I really wish my students had their devices to work and learn with from home during this lockdown. I know these would have been great tasks to do while they are at home not only useful for themselves but for their whanau in order for them to support their learning as well.

Screencastify: This is something that I will definitely like to do with my learners. I have always used screencast but what a good reminder that this is another way that our students are taking ownership of their own learning and being empowered to create and share their learning through this app. Below is an example of how I have used screencastify. I actually felt that the Explain Everything was something awesome to share with my colleagues so I was a bit sneaky and screen-recorded Phil as he was explaining a few things on the Explain Everything app. So instead of me explaining it to them I will share this link that has automatically saved into my drive with them😊

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?

Another good Hapara Tip today around utilising Workspace and seeing what there is that may be of use to what I am doing. Creating assessments through Hapara. I really enjoyed this session with Maria as Hapara is new learning for me. I really want to try and use Hapara more and so I feel through creating my own workspace is a good place to start my growth of learning. Below is what I managed to create with the timeframe we were given. It wasn't much but it definitely is something I will get better at within time as I create more. 

HAPARA- Creating my own Workspace