DFI SESSION 8

Today spoke about computational thinking. We discussed the difference between digital fluency and digital technology.

The importance of learners being digital fluent students.

We spoke about  Empowerment for both teachers and learners. I find it important to empower learners and

some of my greatest joys comes from seeing my learners grow and develop in confidence and ability to show empathy for others. 

Exploring scratchpad

This was a fun task and I can see older learners really enjoying exploring scratch pad.

This is a sample of Scratch pad we explored how to use the different tool buttons in scratchpad.

 

DFI SESSION 7

Today we spoke about  being Cyber smart for learners. This can be linked to our PBL as learners focus on the importance of showing respect to each as well as for their devices. 

My classroom in 2020 and 2021 has a class site with Reading, Writing, Math, Inquiry and learners blog. Learners have access to weekly learning outcomes, songs and activities.

During the DFI sessions in which I have a relief teacher my learners have access to there I pads.  Learners are able to access their learning on the class site, where they can revisit the week's learning. It is also helpful for the reliever as she can easily view our topic and learning with the learning intentions.

An example of the Writing slide for 

We use the rewindable learning/ ako ano where learners can revisit learning outcomes with examples related to the outcome. This means that learners that need extra practice in a specific learning outcome have access to this on their Ipads. Each group will have access to their ako ano on their slide. The ako ano is recorded during the lesson and then uploaded for learners to access on their Ipads.

DFI SESSION 6

 Today we continued exploring  our class sites and discussing the importance of making it visible. The visual appeal is very important especially for the learner, who needs to be drawn in and motivated to explore and revisit learning. Furthermore we discussed the functionality and accessibility of our sites. We need to think about how learners are accessing the site. It should always be no more than 3 clicks to arrive at their learning. The simpler to access the information the better and easier for the learner. 

We discussed google site buttons and how to organise this. I noted and explored Pixabay which has stunning free images that can be used when designing ones site.

I find the Colourpick Eyedropper it be very cool. Once you have installed chrome extension 

then the colour will adjust colour values for text.

Google sites empower learning in our digital learning environments.

The purpose of the Learning Site is as follows.

We spoke about eliminating Spam on blogs. Never click on any suspicious links !!!

Never just delete a spam comment. First mark as spam and then delete it!

Eliminating Spam on Blogs 

All blogs in Manaiakalani schools  have the default setting that allows Anyone to comment.

Blog administrator settings include the teacher being sent an email notification when a student posts and when a comment is left on their blog.

The easiest way to quickly see what is happening on your students’ blogs is through Hapara Teacher Dashboard. A regular (ie daily) check here is necessary to identify spam early.

First thing in the morning is best practice as the spambots seem to operate on Northern Hemisphere time zones.

It is important to learn what to do and how to do it - if you get spam on one of your blogs.

We recommend you talk to your facilitator or  education programme leader if you are unsure and want help. We are available to support you and our schools.

STEPS TO ILLUMINATING SPAM:

If this is urgent and offensive, we suggest you take these steps- or ask our facilitator to do it for you:

1. Mark the offensive comment as spam BEFORE deleting it - to alert Google to investigate.  

2. Activate comment moderation on posts older than 14 days

3. Remove the Recent Comments gadget from the sidebar, reducing the potential for the spam to be seen by the child or whānau before it is stomped on.

4. Revert the post that attracted the spam to Draft, breaking the link with the spambot.  

Hapara Teacher Dashboard should be checked daily - that is why you have it!

Before school.  Spambots appear to be based in Northern Hemisphere time zones, so spam will generally arrive overnight.

I enjoyed sharing my class room site and seeing other colleagues sites too. I noted that I do need to focus on font and sizing with my slides, as this will have a greater visual appeal to the viewer.

DFI Session 5

 Today we have been  talking about visible teaching and learning. We call our kaupapa words the joists of the flooring. Learn, create, share does not work smoothly if the joists are not strong.

Today we have been speaking about making the learning visible to the learner, whanau, colleagues and the community who play an important part at your school.

As educators we are  always talking about the Who, we are referring to the learner

4 aspects of the learning journey

Planning/Process/Outcomes/Assessment

By using Google slides we make teaching visible to the learner. Hapara allows us to see what the young learners are doing and what they learning. 

With Class on air these teachers have a web cam in their classroom and there is a site and other  teachers are able to view  their teaching and learning in a range of contexts. You can see their planning and what learners are doing. This makes learning and teaching visible to other teachers.  Teachers have the option to share their enquiry journey. In doing so we join in a wider community making learning and sharing visible.

Creating my own multi modal site

I really enjoyed working with other junior teachers collaboratively and planning and creating an innovative theme which we can use with our learners. By considering a common theme between various texts. We then created our individual multi modal site. I look forward to sharing this site with my learners and having them complete the tasks in the plan. It relates to PBL and them being good friends to others.

DFI SESSION 4

 

This is a graph taken from a spreadsheet from a learners blog post. I then did a brief analysis of it.

This learner averaged 

2,7 blogs per month for the year 2017

18,4 blogs per month for the year 2018

28,8 blogs per month for the year 2019

15,3 blogs per month for the year 2020 

Since starting blogging this learners blogs have increased and for the years 2018 to 2019. However in 2020 her posts decreased. This could be due to covid, absenteeism. 

Share

 Session 4 

This week we have been focusing  on Share (Dorothy) and the importance of this. Share and connect go hand in together As humans we connect and share! As the hook from heaven our goals being to raise student achievement. Sharing has been hook since 2010. Ways in which we share in a school system include some of the following. At school assemblies, news letters, school production, sharing learners stories and learners with principal and others, giving learners sticker, displaying learners work  on the wall. 

Sharing in the digital age. We chose blogger as the main online space for  our young people to share their learning. Share to finish learning. Learning the importance of sharing and taking time to share is crucial part of learners learning journey. This is a lifeskill that needs to be learnt.  Share to learn. Share to finish learning. You may start  sharing as a place to learn.  We are using  blogger as platform for  our  DFI course. This can be great use for sharing for appraisal.

Creating a form 

Forms and sheets work really well together. Blank form Write in the title of the form it will automatically sync up and show. I found this fun. However If I used these I will  need to use images for my year one learners, as they do need the visual to help understand the text.

     This is an example of  the Form that I created.

Today we explored using My Maps 

I decided to show places that I have visited.

DFI SESSION 3

Google Draw

Today I explored google draw and learnt about its many uses.

                                         
                           I then created an about me button in google draw.

Google Slides

We also explored google slides and its purposes. Google slides are used to enable learners to access their learning. At a year 1 level it is crucial that the slides created for learners have mainly pictures with few words. These visual images are vital for our young learners.