DFI Reflections

August, Week Four, Term Three...

So many ways to learn create share now.  Seamless and easy to update and engage students.

I have changed the way I teach assessments at Y13.  "One Site to Rule Them All!"

(looks for you tube clip, finds awesome clip - add to site - students reflect and add to research base)

My Y13 students are researching Climate Change - Patterns, Processes and Impacts/Significance.  

Woolfe Fisher observers were in school last week and today I opened a shared doc to add curriculum content (Geography) used by students in my class to create digital outcomes.  As I engaged in both these professional activities I reflected on how far I and my students have come over the last 5 years.  First we all learn something from discussion with digital device support; next we create - our Learning Team Leader of Digital Information Technologies was seeking feedback on how students are doing this, however us teachers are doing this all. the. time.  I feel like we do these things extremely well, my students know how to find information at the drop of a question..

"H'mmmmm, I wonder what's under the ice in Antarctica?" - "Google it!"

So, to share, which we are working on.  Drawing is awesome and accessible and great for maps...

Lets find a map and annotate it!  - Ka mau te wehi!

Cybersmart Curriculum and Teacher/Learner uses for Screencastify

CYBERSMART - SMART TEACHERS, SMART LEARNERS

USING SCREENCASTIFY TO INFORM....

USING SCREENCASTIFY - Such a great tool for completing assessments.  Students who are not writers could use this to present assessment work.  I have already put on my Google site, and am encouraging students to use it.  Below is the link to the site.

https://sites.google.com/mairehau.school.nz/l3geographymhs/home

"Dipping my toes into Computational Thinking"

11 June 2019

The day  began with a lesson in EMPOWERMENT.  For this to be experienced by our students, the three cornerstones of  Maniakalani - LCS (ubiquitous, visible, connected) must be present.  Dorothy's assessment of the Tamaki community brought the lack of empowerment home with her descriptions of poverty of income, medical support, housing insecurity, words and interactions (students coming to school with a 32 million word deficit was quite shocking). 
I was privileged to have taught at Aranui High School for 27 years and in that time I saw/experienced the consequences of all of these forms of poverty - lack of empowerment was a daily reality for many of our students.  
Another poverty I would like to add is the poverty of experience.  Aranui students were bereft of experiences outside their suburb simply because it cost too much money to travel anywhere.  Across town, across the region, across the island there was no way they could they afford to get across the strait let alone Colombo Street!  On field trips, our Geography students grew in confidence as they experienced new lives, the need to problem solve, fit in/celebrate or just reflect ("MISS!  Look what happens when I push this button!"). Seoul, South Korea was a highlight, but over the years we ventured  into a variety of locations each with their own experiences... Wellington (Parliament), Aoraki/Mt Cook (120kmh winds), the University of Canterbury/Lincoln (law lectures and milking sheds) and Ngā Hau e Wha (whakapapa and kawa) on Pages Road.  

So, to the suburb of Mairehau. According to the latest census, we all have access to phones/fax and internet. I would comment though, that it is security of access that is the issue for our students.  

Mairehau Stats...

The stats indicate that everyone in the suburb has access to the internet... so there is an opportunity to educate not only students but whānau as well!

Today was a day of thinking about Computational Thinking possibilities.  
The sorting exercise to illustrate algorithms was amazing - Viv was a great teacher!
Binary/hexadecimal language is awesome!!!! I got to manipulate colours on a screen and play around with pixel sizing - woop woop!
Then the hard core stuff  - MINECRAFT AND SCRATCH!  
Lots of fun and lots of learning still to do.  I know that our ICT teacher teaches Scratch so will have some fun conversations with her about what she does.  
Thank you for sending us Viv - about those Geography applications, we started talking about orienteering and grid refs; just enough to get me interested! I will contact her to talk more.  So much fun today - thanks Viv!

Supporting Learning Support Students in Mainstream classes

Social Stories

Audrie, our onto it RTLB, found this cool site "Social Stories."  I'm looking forward to sharing it with our staff...

Students who need explicit instructions (written down is best so students can refer to them when needed during a lesson in a mainstream class), can use these templates to tautoko them through the steps for...

Connecting and Creating

4 June 2019

Today the class was all about connecting and how students connect through creating.
I'm looking forward to learning more about connections that students can make across the cluster schools.  Live streaming You Tube videos is a great way of connecting whānau to what is going on in school.

Sites for students, sites for staff...

TUESDAY 28 MAY

• What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?The visibility of learning is making the whole LCS come alive. Visibility is the driver of learn create and share. Sharing information with staff, students and whānau and making this the platform for learning is engaging! Would this work for Mairehau? I love the idea of linking sites with Hapara work space so you can see student work and share it.
  
  
  
• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional
• Google sites
• Looking at other sites has been awesome.
• What did I learn that could be used with my learners?
• Voice to text - so useful!  
• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?
• As above!

Google Sites

Today -  a revelation - New Google Sites should be renamed Simple WEBSites!
So easy to use.  None of the drama of Classic Sites!
I am keen to trial one with my awesome Y13 Geography class... and the Wellbeing committee, and my residents' association!

In the mean time - I have been working on a practice site - it started as "Garden with Science" - however due to lateral thinking (that 2pm rush) I have wandered off into the kaupapa of harakeke... science, location, planting, harvesting, teaching, weaving, medicine, rope?  Could this be THE sustainable resource of our motu!

The next step is making a site for a plan on one landing page...

Next Steps
Create a Site for Samoan Language Week
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Lots of potential!  watch this space.

14 May DFI - next session

A brief history of today at St Francis

• What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy? Looking at the blogs and blog posting. How can I ensure that I do comment on student blogs?
• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional? Google spreadsheets! Nice to learn about this!
• What did I learn that could be used with my learners?   Google forms - great to use with students and staff learners. My Maps - Yes! great for geography!
• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life? I have used google forms before but it was great to rethink their use.

GEOGRAPHERS LOVE MY MAPS!

Tried Google My Maps today - Where would DFI CHCH Cohort like to visit?

May 7 Manaiakalani Digital Fluency Intensive

Mā whero mā pango ka oti te mahi
With red and black the work will be completed

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

The question in the centre of the diagram above is one which our school has been thinking about.  What DOES learn look like?  We have a number of best practices at our school, but how do we know the practice is effective for our learners?  How do we recognise this?  How do we reflect on this?  Does effective practice look the same across the school; should it?  Once effective practice is identified, how is this shared throughout the school?  I decided to ask the staff - and this is what it looked like when I did!

Great discussion.  Next steps? Ask students what learning looks like for them... or ask staff/students what they want learning to look like at our school...

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

First time I've seen ONE TAB, so this is cool!  I asked my colleagues who said they were aware of it but got out of the habit of using - so a reminder is needed for some...

Other shortcuts/helpful hints have potential for simplifying my day.  GMAIL settings (labels, tabs, stars, important) will definitely be used to managed what is often an overwhelming task.  Will share with staff...  Also Google Calendar!  Loving the hints and helpfulness of everything!

  

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

- KEEP! KEEP!  KEEP!  This is such a great tool for senior students who need to keep on track with internal assessments.  I'll be using it with my Y13 Geography class!

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

I got rid of Twitter off my phone - Doing this has helped me to keep Twitter for school.  I don't need or want Twitter in my personal life, so see ya on my laptop Twitter...

Kaikōura!

2/4/2019
My awesome Year 13 Geography (Mātai Matawhenua) class at Kaikōura on a great day!  Field trips rock.