DFI 7 - Media

Connected

• Being connected is another important aspect of Learn, Create, Share.
• The DFI has helped us to make connections with teachers who are on a similar learning journey.
• It was good to see how the Manaiakalani Outreach has been a platform for making a lot of these connections across schools, across areas, across the North and South Island happen.
• All the presentors have shared their expertise and connected with us through their knowledge.
• As we make more connections, it opens a whole new world and this has been an amazing experience.

Media - Google slides and Google drawings.

• Today I have learnt to make a movable Google drawing and a Google Slides.
• I haven't really had a good play with these and doing this today was a very good exercise.
• I think I am becoming more confident in using Google.
• I will have to think about how I can use these in the classroom.
• I am meeting with Sue Scott from Kaniere School and we will be looking back over the last DFI sessions and see how we can help each other in creating learning activities on our Learning Sites.

Here are the google drawings and google slides that have made

Google drawing

Movable google drawing




Google slide

DFI - Data collection and Empowerment 15 May

Using a Spreadsheet to collect data

We had a lot of practice in working with spreadsheets today and by doing this I have found different ways to collect data and use the information. The pace was quite fast, but I played around and eventually managed to understand most of the functions.Being able to generate graphs from the data is good to know.

Using My Maps was another tool that we were working on today. I will probably not use it at the moment, but have an idea of how to use it.

Empowerment

Another thing that we learnt today was about empowerment and by using digital technology it has changed peoples lives by making things easier such as, buying clothes, food, visiting the clinic etc. It is not just a tool. You can't be empowered without visibility, connectedness and being ubiquitous.

I did feel that I could follow most of this session with some help from people around me, the facillitators and Dave Winter. He had a lot of knowledge to impart and I thought it was going to be challenging to follow but I made it!

Computational Thinking

Visability - Dorothy Burt

• In the Learn, Create, Share pedagogy, Making Learning and Teaching visible is another inportant aspect that has made a change to the way education is going.
• Letting students, parents and whanau know in which direction their learning is going makes a big difference in being organised and prepared.
• There should be no surprises about what is being taught and learned.
• There is however a lot of practise needed to do this successfully.

Computational Thinking

• This was the focus of our DFI this week and our presenters were from OMGTech.
• Thinking about how far Digital Technology has come and where it is heading was informative and scary.
• Being able to do some hands on activities was very effective in showcasing some of the skills needed for Computational Thinking.
• We made some instuctions for making a paper aeroplane that we had to share.
• Scratch was another hands on activity that we got to explore and although I have known about it, I have not really pursued it. I was lucky to have someone next to me that has used it extensively and was able to help me.

• I asked her later how she had used it with students and she told me there is a Scratch Junior that would be more user friendly for my 5 year olds.
• The day was interesting and informative

Enabling access

Enabling Access

• Sharing in the "Learn, Create, Share" is an important aspect for teachers and students to include in their Learning Journey.
• It was very useful when we were give an opportunity to view our groups Learning Sites.
• The sharing of the sites showed so many different formats and looking to see what was useful and what was not as useful.
• Sites for junior students need to be simple and bright and there is a 3 button rule.

Goal for continuing to develop a Learning Site

• My goal today was to add something to my Learning Site and add something to Reading, Writing and Maths.
• I have managed to put the groups on for Reading, Writing and Maths.
• I did have to play around to get the right images for the groups and I found it very satisfying to eventually get it right.