DFI Day 7 – Devices

Ubiquitous / Rangiwhāwhā – Pervasive, omnipresent, everpresent

Ubiquitous teaching and learning = Making sure everyone has access to learning.

It is becoming clearer to me the endless possibilities available to teaching and learning with increased digital knowledge and skills.  Available to us as educators and to our learners are high quality learning experiences ANY TIME, ANYWHERE, at ANY PACE, for ANYONE.

Of the many examples given in today’s session of ubiquitous learning, I enjoyed hearing about the Summer Learning Journey.  In thinking of our learners and our whānau, I realised that although marvelous, we don’t need to be signed up to the summer learning journey to have more input and support from whānau with what we are doing at kura and our tamariki.  We have untapped potential with our whānau, and with the technology we are becoming more familiar with, we can become more conncected.  Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere.

Watching the example of an OnAir Classroom lesson today showed the combination of traditional teaching with the use of devices to enhance student engagement, the learning experience for tamariki and for the kaiako.  I have found myself explaining and defending why we have become a Manaiakalani school to some people.  (Hmm, I have possibly mentioned this before on a previous post.)  I usually start by talking about how at this stage, for me, it has been about updating my own knowledge and skills in using the Google suite, and improving my own work flow.  I am not a full time classroom teacher, am not using devices with tamariki on a daily basis, am not receiving In-Class Facilitation – but I can sure explain how the baby isn’t being thrown out with the bath water here, that we are not abandoning content and ways of teaching that are our Marau ā-kura – we just have more tools in our toolbox.  (Have I said that before too?)

I sure have a long way to go in terms of my own digital capabilities.  Here is a sample of what I was able to achieve today, thanks to the great support from my rōpū and kaiako o te rā.  Ngā Mihi Natalie!  In both the Digital Dig and the Create sessions, I was reminded of ways to engage both tamariki and kaiako.  This will be my something I focus on as I carry on with preparation for Term 3.  Hoake!

 

 

 

DFI Day 6 – Enabling Access Sites

Just as our tamariki benefit from structure and consistency, so do we as kaiako and leaders in our kura. The structured approach in Manaiakalani means that we all, ākonga and kaimahi, plug in when we want and need to, as we gain understanding of the entirety of what is available to us through Manaiakalani.  This approach also connects us to a powerful network – 72 Kura Kaupapa Māori and/or bilingual classes, 30,000 learners in total!  This is a community that we would otherwise not have.  It allows us to connect with like and unlike for the benefit of our teaching and learning.  I particularly like Dorothy’s  analogy of having solar panels on the roof, taking what we need from the energy created, but feeding back into the grid.  As a newbie to Manaiakalani, I am grateful for the structure, systems and expertise that allow me to take from the grid.  I look forward to being able to feed into it.

Although we have other kura around us, the benefits for our tamariki and staff being able to link in to the diversity of schools and learning around the country is immense.  I think it is hugely important to put our heads up to look, see and feel what is happening elsewhere.

It was good to focus on the WHY of the use of Google Sites today, considering the visibility of learning and the desire for accelerated progress.  When people ask me (educators who are not involved with Manaiakalani) why we have become a Manaiakalani school, I usually start by saying that it is not just about devices, but upskilling ourselves so that we are able to use the technology to help us teach.  To hear Vicki talk about that today – visible and accessible learning, strengthened my desire to create and use a Google site for my own teaching.  As I teach Hangarau one day a week, I want to have a one stop hub that houses all the learning, for the tamariki, for their other kaiako, their whānau and for our tumuaki.  We are in the game of ‘causing shift’ – both behavioural and cognitive engagement, teaching conversations, creating cognitive challenge, increasing visibility and scaffolding learning.  Today I got started.  I need to keep working to make sure that the window dressing entices people to enter, and there is enough inside to keep them inside and satisfied enough to want to come back.

People say not to go back but to move forward from where you are.  As I am learning and practising these new skills, I want to go back, to be able to show the tamariki what we have done so far.  There will be a space for their Google Slides and Google Docs they have been creating and sending, so they can be more visible.  I want to show that we have indeed been engaged in the pedagogy of Ako Hanga Tohatoha, and that my learning is translating into changes to my practice to improve outcomes for tamariki.

So, from the humble beginnings in the link below, I will continue to create so I have a working site for my Hangarau classes in Term 3.  Ngā mihi anō ki ngā kaiako o tēnei DFI me ngā rangatira o Manaiakalani!

Here is the beginnings of my site

DFI Day 5 – Collaboration and Google Sites

VISIBILITY was a key word for me today – for the learner, for the whānau, for the kaiako. Well, I thought, this is just about being EXPLICIT, which we know from research is vital, which we already aim to be in our teaching, but in Manaiakalani it is quite clear that TRANSPARENCY is not only accepted, but expected, and in ALL areas.  No tricks, nothing secret, everything all out in the open.  I feel like we’ve been pushing for this forever in my 30+ year teaching career, but people may feel vulnerable, exposed, judged.  So along with the expectations, there needs to be a culture of aroha, hūmārie, māia, manako, mākoha, manaaki… Hang on!  Four of those are our school values!  Adults walking the talk first – no point expecting it if we’re not doing it.  There will no doubt always be a level of ‘feel the fear but do it anyway.’

Another word of the day for me was ENGAGEMENT.  First, students engaging behaviourally, then cognitively through multiple modes of communication.  I was challenged at times here, thinking of a change in expectation and engagement of many of our tamariki.  Yes, we are preparing our tamariki for 21st century living, but I fear that for some of our tamariki the pendulum has swung far towards a world of screens, of American accents and vocabulary, of instant gratification, that we cannot leave connection to people, to physical books, and to our taiao to chance.  We have tamariki who are happier to watch a YouTube clip about the ngahere than to walk outside and look at the trees we have on site.  So I couldn’t help but think that Multimodal must include ‘unplugged’ communication and experiences.  I hear that someone included that on their Google Site today – rawe!

We had some great sharing in our rōpū about collaboration today – that collaboration doesn’t mean that one or two people share all their work, and other people help themselves, thank you very much, while not sharing themselves.  I was reminded of this when we were preparing to create our own sites later on – a member of our group was sharing quickly to the collaboration page wondering what the rest of us were doing.  Many of us were browsing first, then I was working out the logistics of how to add to the doc.  Knowing your learners, knowing your colleagues… we know our groups and feel comfortable in them.  Although good to meet others and be a part of new groups, I felt I would have achieved more today in my mirumiru.

Heoi anō, here are some thoughts, reminders and questions for myself today:

    • As a leader at our kura, I need to work in a timely and systematic way to ensure there are NO SURPRISES for our kaimahi or our tamariki.  Surprises don’t support a settled learning or working environment.
    • Sharing is caring – nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi.  Ensure there are opportunities, expectations and maybe some guidelines of collaboration.  As a leader, how does/can my practice foster a climate of collaboration?
    • Hooking in our learners with multiple modes of communication is vital. Don’t we all want to watch something, listen to something, look at something?  We may need to be lead to and through reading something, doing something.  Behavioural engagement, then cognitive.  Keep relating back to everything that is relevant in the world, and in OUR world.
    • Although I have no class of my own, I can find relevant and authentic contexts in my daily mahi to practise and further develop the skills I have been learning.

The following site may remain incomplete, as it is not something I can envisage myself using at kura.  I have created a Google Site in the past with a group, and although I was guided by those more knowledgeable, it is not something that scares me.  I am excited about what I will be able to achieve using both Google Sites and Multimodal learning opportunities.  Ki te hoe!

My site, initially in its raw state: 

Day 4 – Dealing with data

I was again inspired by Dorothy Burt’s kōrero this morning as she focused on the Tohatoha/Share part of the Manaiakalani pedagogy.  Yet again, this is not just a ‘nice to have’.  Linking how we as humans have always shared, whether by Hieroglyphics, rock/cave paintings or tukutuku and whakairo,  to how we have shared traditionally in schools, and how we are able to share now, highlights the importance of harnessing learning in community.  With all the new and evolving ways of sharing, especially since 2005 with the advent of social media, the importance and power of learning socially hit home.  Finding authentic audiences seems to be key for me as an educator – teaching tamariki the importance of authentic audiences, while understanding that knowledge is co-constructed through interaction.  Kia kaua tātau e whakamā, e matapiko rānei – does being shy to the point of not sharing, or not sharing because you don’t want others to access to your thoughts fit with who we are as educators, as kaiako, as Māori?  I understand intellectual property, I understand the need for contribution from all, and I understand the importance of what we are doing here – ko ngā tamariki te take.  Our well-being and our children’s learning can only improve from the collaboration and sharing of our thinking as kaiako.  Articulating understanding clearly for others, receiving and offering feedback needs to be modelled by me as a leader, by us as kaiako with each other, by us as kaiako to our learners.  Leaders and kaiako sharing mahi, and being able to offer and accept feedback is a critical part of our mahi.  If it doesn’t feel comfortable, we might need to practise that some more, or wānanga why that is and how we can make it fit with who we are.  This was my biggest take away today.

In terms of workflow learning, Google Forms is something I have never used before but will be able to do so when I need.  This was achievable me for in the time we had today.  Google Sheets is something I have recently started to use and although it was good to have some time learning some basics today, I need a lot more time on this.  This is something I will be able to do at school with others, maybe my tumuaki, as we start to play with data.  This is a must do.  Google My Maps is something I didn’t manage to get very far with today.  This is something I know exists now, and if there is a real world reason to use this, I would go back to the slides and maybe work with others to achieve what I need.

There was a lot on offer today, as always, and to survive, I have focused more on some areas than others. I am OK with this – just because all the kai is on the table doesn’t mean I have to eat it all.  I have enjoyed being in our rōpū iti – my comfort zone, where it feels safe to ask anything.  Ngā mihi ki aku hoa mahi, ki a koe Hinewa, ki ngā kaiako katoa.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QlOAMXUI52P6vzGO4WC5V9QKMllTs2LNv_NsjeaOXRY/edit?gid=1335764011#gid=1335764011

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11VtieHeDb9h344oMvYa1DFLV7X5-e7qiTMjcF6mWpgc/edit

DFI Day 3 – Media

  • What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?
  • What did I learn that could be used with my learners?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?

More gems from Dorothy today – focusing on the Create-Hanga aspect of the Manaiakalani pedagogy.  A message that hit home for me was that offering the opportunity to ākonga to create and express themselves, is not just a fun thing for fast finishers, it is not just for specialist teachers, but is something to be built into everyday programmes to help ākonga to become better problem solvers and communicators.  This is about engagement, the hook, and accelerated academic achievement. Creativity in the classroom is only empowered by the teacher – we have to plan for it – it doesn’t happen by chance. We want our tamariki to want to be at school, to be excited every day at the idea of coming to school, and to go home at the end of the day looking forward to coming back the next.

In terms of my own capability and confidence, I have been introduced to Google Drawings today. This is something I will need to play around with some more, but definitely something I can use with learners. The session on shapes and text for Google Slides was fun. Although I felt confident with some of this, there were some great new tips and tricks. I will never have to struggle with matching up shapes and lines again! This will help me in both my professional and personal life – e.g. drawing up whakapapa sheets.

Working in Google Slides today has been very timely for what I am doing with my ākonga in Hangarau. Without dictating how they were to share their ideas and group work with me last week, they chose Google Slides, all showing their enjoyment with the activity, with some showing their more advanced skills. This is something we will definitely continue. Kia tere Whaea Maia!

 

 

DFI Day 2 – Workflow

 

What? So what? Now what? 

  • What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?
  • What did I learn that could be used with my learners?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?

This morning’s session on the Manaiakalani pedagogy was a great start for the day and for my developing understanding of what we’re doing here.  The Learn/Ako, Create/Hanga, Share/Tohatoha ‘floor boards’ and effective teaching practice being the key.  I would like to delve into this a bit more, I didn’t find there was quite enough time to read all the screens, and I would like to.  What I have heard, whether correct or not, is that we focus on effective teaching, leading to accelerated learning for ākonga (and educators)with all  feeling at home in a digital world.  To help remember this, there is the RAT acronym.  When tuning in to R for Recognise effective practice, these points resonated with me – Teachers cause learning, and, consider and wānanga the question, ‘What does our kura believe is the most effective practice for our ākonga?’  A for Amplify our practice was a good reminder to find and create opportunities to share and celebrate good practice.  T for Turbocharge effective practice with ‘rewindable learning’ – “If it’s worth teaching, it’s worth capturing.  We absolutely need to be about transforming the way we teach, offering new experiences and new opportunities.  The biggest phrase from this session for me was… EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY.

In terms of workflow learning and confidence building, ahhh, WOW!  Those things have been sitting there all this time, I obviously just didn’t look!  Another reminder that if you don’t make a kaupapa a focus, you are unlikely to focus on it.  Giving time gives mana to a kaupapa.  I have some work to do, and will start with sorting emails with new tricks in GMail.  I can see how I could have a play in Google Keep and how I might introduce this to my ākonga this year.  Google Calendar is something I have used but not had a good look or play with.  I have already had a conversation with my tumuaki who is going to help me sort out a few things, so that when I add another calendar I make sure the whole staff doesn’t know what day and time my dentist appointment is.

Despite the issue of not being able to record a Google Meet just yet, and other issues such as not being able to scroll while sharing my screen, working in a pair with an attitude of giving everything a go allowed us to solve most of our own problems and get the tasks done.  A good reminder, being the learner, that if you can’t break it, have a go, discuss with a peer, empower yourself.  This is definitely an opportunity to offer our ākonga.

There were many practical tips offered today.  Some of them I am not quite ready for, but I’ve heard of new things and can return to these later.  Being in action in some areas discussed today will facilitate my mahi in all areas of my life.  Kia kaha tonu Maia!

DFI Day 1 – Core Business

He hau āwhiowhio kei te haere!

What? So what? Now what? 

  • What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?
  • What did I learn that could be used with my learners?
  • What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?

Yesterday I had to ask what DFI stood for, and the word INSTENSIVE is in there.  Although feeling nervous and ‘behind the times’, I have enjoyed having both confirmation and new learning in this first session, (MUCH new learning!) and can see the benefits for me personally and professionally for my work with both staff and learners.

I think it was about 2013 that I visited a couple of Manaiakalani schools with my then kura to see the example that was being set, with fantastic results in engagement and achievement in a community like ours.  This morning, listening to Dorothy Burt, I now have a deeper appreciation for the bravery shown and the action taken – mō te tamaiti te take, mō te hapori te take.  Equity was the keyword for me here – decile, postcode, digital, achievement, hope.  This resonated with me.  Hope… I heard a tamaiti express frustration of kaiako who come and go, and while visiting from my study leave hearing the expectation that I was just going to leave again.  That idea of ‘Don’t raise our hopes then leave.’  It can be hard work at a kura like ours, where we are constantly working on our image, on staffing, resourcing, on others’ perceptions of our tamariki and what we can achieve.  Those ‘flash schools’ are a wee way away from us, in many respects.  So being brave and taking action is what we need to be about.  We need to continue to build in sustainability.  Hoake!

I am one of those 50 something year olds who has muddled along with new technology, feeling quite confident and competent at times, or at least knowing enough to do what I need.  But let’s get real – I like to be tidy and organised and my digital world is a mess!  I need to be able to access what I need, or what someone else needs, without mucking around searching for where it is.  I have already seen and used things today, such as Building Blocks and background removal of an image that I have never seen before.  I can see that by continuing in this learning I will be in action, therefore improving my confidence and capability.  I need to be modelling this as a colleague and an educator.

My work with tamariki this year will be different to any previous experience I have had in schools – working with Year 7 and 8s, both bilingual and rumaki in Hangarau/Technology, having previously worked mainly in junior rumaki.  Some of my ākonga will be ahead of me in the digital world, many will not.  Starting with some basics and learning where everyone is at will be key to start off the year.  Today I have gathered some ideas of how I can do that.

I chose to design a Google Doc today to put some thoughts together for a hui I am about to have with my adult children who are again living at home.  Instead of them moving out, for the past two years I was the one who moved out.  Such a teacher-parent thing to do right?  They used to get practised on for new assessment tools, now I turn up with Powerpoints and Google Docs/Slides with ideas and To Dos.  As a marae trustee, however, everything that I learn here will facilitate my communication and engagement with the trustees, whānau and hapū.

So what I need to do now is digest, discuss new learning and difficulties with my colleagues and review pretty much everything from today, so I can better understand some aspects and so I can complete others.  Mōku ake, mō taku mahi, mō aku hoa mahi, mō ngā tamariki o tēnei kura te take.

Tēnei au e mihi atu nei ki a koutou o Manakalani, o tēnei rōpū DFI!

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