Hāpara Champion Educator!

Kia ora everyone,

I am happy to announce that I have received my recognition for completing the Hāpara Champion Certification Program earlier this month! I am really looking forward to putting into practice the skills that I have learnt during this course.

Below is the link to the Hāpara Workspace that I created as part of the final assignment. I based it on the e-asTTle Writing test, as this was a need that I was facing in my school at the time. I am happy for teachers to make a copy of it and use it in their schools.

Ngā mihi  

      

Click on the screenshot above to check out the Workspace and make a copy of it for yourself

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 9 Reflection

What a week this has been! I have just this afternoon seen the confirmation that I have passed my Level 2 Certified Google Educator exam, having completed the Level 1 exam earlier in the week. Thinking back to the start of DFI, my interest peaked as soon as I heard that sitting these exams was going to be a possibility at the end of the course. All I can say is that I am so thankful for the support of Dorothy, Gerhard, Phil and the rest of the Manaiakalani facilitator team throughout the course of DFI.

It was a great experience today being asked by Gerhard and Dorothy to address the group and speak about my experiences of sitting the Level 1 exam, being able to pass on advice and provide some “hot tips” for those who were about to sit the exam. Teaching and presenting are two of my passions, and so this was a great opportunity to be able to share these passions in this context.

DFI, on the whole, has been an amazing experience for me. I came into it with a reasonable degree of digital fluency, but I have still learnt a lot from the experience and I walk away in a much better place in terms of my digital skill.

It has been great to learn about Manaiakalani over the course of the DFI, and I am very much looking forward to what the future holds!

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 8 Reflection

It’s hard to believe that today was the 2nd to last day of DFI! The world around us has changed so much since the 1st session that I was on as part of. Who would have thought that a world-wide pandemic would mean that the course would be changed altogether to allow it to be run on an online basis. As I’ve reflected previously, I think that in many ways these circumstances have given us a much more rich experience of the content at hand, compared with participating in the regular format of the intensive. This has also created a great opportunity for the facilitators to use us participants as testers for the courses which are going to be facilitated on a completely online basis next term and later in the year. Mutually beneficial to all those involved!

Once again, I loved hearing Dorothy’s heart for the Kaupapa on which Manaiakalani was established. The passion and enthusiasm which she demonstrates when speaking through those presentations is always so sincere, and I love to hear it. This week’s content on empowered was a particular highlight for me. Dorothy spoke of the journey on which that aspect of the Kaupapa had taken over the years, replacing the word “Agency” which initially held its place. She spoke about the fact that that word carried a stigma for many within our communities, and that it was often synonymous with unhappy associations and interactions for our whānau. In hearing this thought, I was reminded of a story my Mum had told me from her time working in a women’s refuge. Driving some kids to school one morning, the van stopped at traffic lights, pulling up next to a Police car. Without any hesitation, one of the little voices in the car yelled, “Hide! It’s the cops!”. The child wouldn’t have been older than 10, but even at such a young age, he had already been taught that the Police meant only bad news. That is one of many stories that have stuck with me from my Mum’s work in that sector. Stories, which remind me of those who are most vulnerable in our communities, and stories which motivate me to try harder for our kids. With all that said, I am so heartened by being part of what Manakalani is doing, in order to empower children through education.

It was great to do some work around coding today! One of my other roles in the school this year is to teach Digital Technologies on a Thursday to a tech class. This is a subject that is still quite new to me, and so today’s content was a lot of help. I enjoyed creating using Scratch, and as you’ll see at the bottom of my blog post, I was able to have some fun in the process! I’m very much looking forward to “sandpitting” my way through these sites in order to help make my teaching content more exciting and engaging for my tech class.

I’m looking forward to sitting the Certified Educator exams this week! My intention is to do Level 1 during the week and then hopefully to have a crack at Level 2 on Friday! Wish me luck!

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 7 Reflection

Another great session of DFI this week, focusing on devices and how we manage them.

It was great to hear Fiona speak about Cybersmart during her presentation. It is a fantastic programme, and one which I think far more schools would benefit from having as part of digital learning in their schools. When I think about the amount of time and effort that I spent at my previous school working on teaching kids about responsible device use and ways in which we can keep ourselves safe online, using the Cybersmart curriculum would have been so much easier. I think one of the best parts of the programme is the consistency of terminology across all year levels. The terms and phrases that children are taught in primary school are still relevant once the child reaches College. As Dorothy said, “they’ve had 8 years of brainwashing by the time they reach College!” - what a perfect way of summing it up! Haha!

It was great to spend some time looking at Hapara today. I remember being introduced to it in my first year as a teacher and thinking how great a programme it was. Learning that it was created especially for Manaiakalani schools to use was very cool! Dorothy made a point of voicing her displeasure around the ‘Highlights’ function being added to the system for the benefit of overseas schooling cultures, and I tend to agree with her opinion of teachers being able to kick students off tabs being a negative thing and one which we shouldn’t be encouraging. Interestingly, we never had access to the Highlights function of Hapara at my previous school for whatever reason, so perhaps this is a setting that can be changed to stop this from being used? Regardless, I liked Dorothy’s principle of “get off your a$%e!” rather than “whacking students with a stick”.

A really helpful tip which I picked up today was learning how to embed content using HTML. This is something which I haven’t been able to do up until this point, and so it was great to see this during Kerry’s session on Blogger in the afternoon. With any luck, you should be able to see the Screencastify video I did around Cybersmart ‘Smart Money’!

Speaking of Screencastify, it was great to get this set up on my device today for the first time. I have seen it used a number of times by colleagues in the past, but have never looked at it for myself. After a few technical glitches as a result of the adblocker I was running my device, and with Gerhard’s help, I managed to get it sorted. I already have a lot of ideas of ways in which I can use this programme as part of my personal life. I quite often help older friends and family members with their devices and help them to increase their own digital confidence and understanding, and so Screencastify would be great for the purpose of making some ‘How to’ video tutorials. I have managed to teach myself a lot of new skills around using formulas and script editing on Sheets by watching YouTube tutorials during this lockdown period. I am definitely someone who learns best by watching others do, and I know that there are a lot of others who learn this way too. Screencastify is a great tool, and one which I look forward to using in the future.

We have only a couple of sessions left to go with DFI, and although that’s a bit sad, I am looking forward to sitting the Google educator exam along with putting the skills I have learnt into further use as part of my everyday teaching practice.

 

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 6 Reflection

Another great session this week, and I definitely come away feeling empowered to improve the quality of my class learning site.

Dorothy’s session on the ‘Connected’ aspect of the Manaiakalani kaupapa was really beneficial in terms of bettering my understanding of the principles which the organisation was established upon. The idea that our learners are able to not only connect with others in different parts of the city, but also the country and even other parts of the world is amazing. It makes every task that much more purposeful and incentivised. Having said that, the key to 'Connected' is ensuring that our children are able to share their work. As Dorothy said, without sharing it is impossible for someone to be connected.

I was looking forward to this session as soon as I found out that it was going to be focusing on working on our class learning sites. My site has been getting increasingly better in quality week on week since the start of the year, largely due to the learning I have been engaging with during DFI. If I think back to last year and the first Google Site that I ever created, I can definitely say that I have come a long way. The school I was teaching at wasn’t as immersed in online learning as those within Manaiakalani, and there was no mandate to have a class learning site. My site consisted of a text box with headings and url links to the learning sites and apps that we used at the time. I did this for the convenience of my Yr 3&4 kids whose level of digital literacy wasn’t very high. If I compare that to where I am now, I can say confidently that I have come a long way, and will continue to progress.

I was quite encouraged by those who were willing to share their learning sites with the group. It’s quite a daunting experience, opening yourself up for critique from peers and colleagues, and it’s not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’. I know, for me, I found it a little confronting reading some of the feedback that had been left by people in my group who looked at my site. Some of the feedback was quite harsh, but I suppose that’s what can happen when people are afforded anonymity when leaving feedback. That aside, the process of having Gerhard open my site on his device was helpful for the purpose of checking to see if my content is visible to all. As it happened, there were a few files which had the wrong permissions and needed updating. So for that process I am grateful.

Looking forward to the next session. 

Link to my class site: https://sites.google.com/wesleyintermediate.school.nz/room-8s-learning-site/home 

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 5 Reflection

I have to say that I think the participants of this cohort of DFI are probably receiving the most authentic experience of the course that we could have hoped for! Sure, we miss out on the person-to-person interaction that comes from being in a room with the other participants, but we are learning a whole new set of skills on the side as we go. Also, we are able to ‘iron out the kinks’ that come from an online learning experience in preparation for our own classes once the term recommences. It’s crazy to think that this was all very unfamiliar to us a few weeks ago! Such a lot of ground covered in such a short space of time.

Making learning visible is so important for the process of empowering and encouraging our children to be one of the stakeholders in the learning, not just being or seeing themselves as empty vessels to be filled by the teacher’s knowledge. With this approach, they know where they are and where they’re going with their learning. By doing this, we are encouraging whānau to be part of the learning, particularly for our Māori and Pasifika communities. Using Google Sites also allows all learning content to be put in one place, completely visible and open to anyone and everyone with the link.

For our Create time today, we spent time creating a multi-modal site. Here is a link below to the Site that I created;

I am excited about this prospect of creating and finding ways to improve my class site. I freely acknowledge that my site is very much on the basic side, especially compared to some of the exemplars I have seen today! Having said that, I have now the time, knowledge and motivation to work on it and make it better. The idea of ‘limiting the links’ is definitely an important one to have in mind when thinking about designing a site, though. I found that short clip we saw about the design of a shop front to be really helpful and insightful. We can and should be looking at our sites through a similar lens. Are our sites appealing visually? Is there too much going on? If so, this may well be a stumbling block for our learners. Lots to think about!

Once again, can’t wait for next week!

Jeremy

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 4 Reflection

Today was a very cool experience, to say the least! Meeting with 32 other people from all across the country, all from the comfort (or in this case, confines) of my own home! It just shows the wonders of modern technology and what we can achieve, even in the midst of a national and global crisis.

I was reminded today, during Dorothy’s opening presentation this morning was the fact that we have been sharing for centuries. From drawings which lined the walls of caves, to ancient scrolls, this isn’t anything new to us. Sharing is such an empowering experience for our kids. Whether it be sending a wee 5 year old down to the principal’s office when their story is finished, or an intermediate school student with a goal of 1500 blog posts in a calendar year. If we teach our students the importance and significance of sharing their learning, we instill in them a sense of significance and achievement which will set them up for success in life.

The session on Google Forms was really beneficial to me. Our school uses Forms a lot for the purpose of student surveys, and I have learnt some handy tips which will help to make the surveys more efficient and exciting for the kids who fill them out.

Before today I had never heard of MyMaps. How cool is it though?! I had a lot of fun plotting out all the places which were significant to my life and loved that this was possible by these means. I am looking forward to teaching measurement this year, as I can already think of cool ways in which this product can be used to teach children about this aspect of maths. Taking a deeper look into Sheets with Gerhard was also a great experience. I am quite comfortable with the basics of Sheets, mostly thanks to YouTube tutorials in the past (lol) having been my teacher. Having said that, there was a lot that I was able to take away from the extension session. The use of macros and conditional formatting in my class’ learning log will be really helpful in ensuring that my students only ever edit their own row and don’t accidentally (or otherwise) edit someone else’s link to their work. What a handy tip to know?

Learning some new formulas and ways to manage data with Sheets was a really helpful experience. I do some volunteer work at a kids camp during the holidays from time to time, and as part of the camp there is a canteen which the kids and other volunteers can purchase food and drinks from over the course of the camp. In the past there have been issues and struggles with keeping track of money which comes in, along with totalling and deducting the set amounts of money that the campers start with at the beginning of the week. I was able today to have a fiddle around with some formulas on a Sheet, and am confident that I have come up with a way in which we can manage the money coming in and out without the need for manual totalling at the end of the day, like has happened in the past and to date!

Again, today was a great experience, and one which filled me with a lot of pride, having been part of. The fact that we are still able to meet and do professional development by this means is a fantastic achievement, and a great demonstration of the good ol’ Kiwi ‘can-do’ attitude in action. Looking forward to the rest of the sessions of DFI!

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 3 Reflection

Another great session today, filled with the usual ‘bits of gold’ that I’ve come to expect over the last 3 weeks. There was a bit of a different feel to the course today with half of the group joining in via Google Meet. I suppose this is an example of the wonders of modern technology on display, and great practice for us for if and when Covid-19 has affects our ability to meet as a group.

A particular area which I’ve been reflecting on over the course of this week, both during today’s session and also in a staff meeting which Gerhard facilitated at our school on Tuesday afternoon is the Create aspect of Learn - Create - Share. I think it is natural for us to focus our attention towards the Learn aspect of this pedagogy, whereas I have come to understand the importance of allowing students to put into practice the learning that they have been taught over the course of a session. A particular part of today's session which piqued my interest was the use of Google Drawings and Slides for the purpose of creating. Teaching Digital technologies, I can already imagine ways in which I could get my learners to put the theoretical skills they’re learning into practice in simple ways using the Google products.

I really enjoyed Dorothy’s presentation around the use of Slides for the purpose of presentations. Her process of using post-it notes for the purpose of planning each slide is a brilliant idea and it’s definitely something that I’m interested in doing with my own presentations in the future. Also, the idea that a person’s take away from your presentation being able to fit in a tweet is brilliant. I get my students to make slides presentations for different parts of their learning in class, and I think it’d be great to use some of the ideas from that presentation in order to help them improve the visual appeal and overall quality of their work.

As I said, I think the use of Google Drawings and Slides for the purpose of animations is definitely something I’m going to look at during my tech classes. We don’t have access to fancy animation software, but I think this is a great alternative to teach the basics of animation and for the kids to have a go at creating for themselves. On the topic of creating, I enjoyed the chance to have a go at creating my Digital Pepeha.

  

I think Google Drawing has definitely been a feature which has excited me over the course of the last 3 weeks. My artistic skills definitely leave a lot to be desired, and so i have never really felt very confident when it comes to creating or drawing. However, Drawing has taught me that there are plenty of ways to create, even for those like me who aren’t particularly skilled in the area. I am looking forward to continuing to play around with Drawing and see what I can create!

Looking forward to next week’s session, whether we are able to meet in person or if we’re all forced to meet via Google Meet. Excited, nonetheless!

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 2 Reflection

This week has been another great session, filled with a number of tricks and tips to make not only my teaching but also my day-to-day life easier with the help of clever technology.

I have been reflecting on the Learn - Create - Share pedagogy this week and trying to think of ways in which I can change my practice to match up with it’s principles. An example of this is taking the step into sharing planning and files on my class site. I have come from a teaching background where class files and planning was stored on Drive, with only specific people given access to see and contribute. There are pros and cons to this approach, but I do believe that having it readily accessible to those with a link is the best way to go. Not only is it easier, logistically, but it also builds accountability and encourages me to ensure that I am preparing quality planning for the sake of quality teaching and learning.

Tricks and tips when it comes to Gmail and Calendar will definitely make things easier for my day-to-day life. There have been times in recent weeks where I’ve needed to be at home looking after my family where I have missed meetings or been unable to catch up with my students. Hangouts/Meet has solved this issue for me, and I am excited about being able to use this in the future to solve this issue.

I think the biggest take away for me, in light of current events around us, is the way in which we can use Hangouts/Meet in order to allow teaching and learning to happen, even if we end up not being able to be at school together. A lot of what I do in the classroom already would be able to still continue with the help of these features. I think, too that this is great for when in the event that students are unable to be at school for whatever reason. I had a student in my class this week who emailed me asking for work to do at home and saying she wasn’t able to make it to school in the morning due to a doctor’s appointment in the middle of the day. Hangouts/Meet would have meant that she was able to participate in class anyway. I will definitely look to make this part of my practice wherever I can.

I’m very much looking forward to being able to use Keep for the purpose of grocery shopping! Often, my wife sends me a long list of items to buy via text, which often makes the process stressful! The process of having to copy and paste the list from the text message to a new note on my phone is an arduous task, and one which is no longer needed with the help of a shared shopping list on Keep. I have set up the location function with my local Countdown too, which I’m sure will help me to stop “Dad brain” letting me forget to get the shopping!

For our Create session this afternoon, we had to get into groups of 2-3 on a Google Meet and record ourselves speaking about a student's blog post which we chose. We had planned on using the 'record Meet' function on Google Meet, but this wasn't working. So as a work around, we used Quick Time player to record ourselves instead. Sadly, we also forgot to enable to the microphone on the device before hitting record! Oh well, you still get an idea of the task from the recording here;

Already looking forward to what next week will cover!

Jeremy

Digital Fluency Intensive - Week 1 Reflection

 I had a great first day at the DFI course today. 

I can recall hearing about Manaiakalani briefly in the past during my time studying at Laidlaw College. At the time, there were lecturers and staff who were involved with the programme, and so I came to know a bit about what was going on. I also knew friends who did placements in schools part of the programme who had such positive things to say about it. I remember hearing about the community WiFi initiative and can recall finding myself amazed that such a concept could work in reality. The organisation is doing great things for children and whānau in our country, and I am excited to be a part of it in a small way. 

I have always considered myself to be reasonably proficient when it comes to digital fluency, but it has been great to learn little tricks and ‘timesavers’ here and there, which I know will help me in my day-to-day use of devices in my class. Tools such as the Add ons and extensions which we were shown in the breakout session are great and will definitely be looked further at, with the goal of incorporating them into my classroom practice.

Functions such as the explore capability in Docs, and the feature which allows the assigning of comments look really handy, and I am already beginning to think of ways in which I could have them a part of my student’s learning experiences. Also, I had never thought of the possibility of using Docs for the purpose of Graphic design. Using tables to lock text and images into cells is a fantastic idea, and one which opens up new creative possibilities to students who don’t consider themselves particularly creative. 

Here is my Create task from today's session. I decided to make a poster to do with our school's PB4L system.

Having grown up with Microsoft products at school, I am definitely more accustomed to using these products as my ‘default’. Having said that, today has taught me that Google products, along with extensions and add-ons can be just as, if not more effective.

I’m very much looking forward to what the rest of the course has to offer. 

Jeremy