Week 9 - Revision and the end of a 9 Week Journey

It is sad coming to the end of this nine week journey. It has been nine weeks of reflection, new learning, revisiting old learning and reminding myself of why I do what I do! Today's focus was predominately on the google Certified Educator exam. It was interesting the level of stress and nerves I felt, and that others felt too. It makes you realise how much stress our students must feel when faced with exams and assessments, even when you know the content! Passing was a great relief!

Participating in this DFI has been an opportunity for me to have time to focus on my own professional development. Since going digital at OC, I have often been one of the ones running PD and workshops for others, meaning I have often missed out on being able to participate as a learner. I have spent countless late nights teaching myself, in order to continuously up skill in areas I am interested in, so it has been fantastic to have every Thursday to focus on my own learning and recognising that I am on the right track with what I am doing in my classroom. It has also been refreshing to be in a room full of other educators who are all passionate about doing what is best for the young people in front of us!

I have also had the seed planted in terms of applying for the Innovative teacher programme. I now have to think about what I would like to focus on! So many options and thoughts...

DFI Week 8: Devices

Today has been an opportunity to work with the devices our students are using, with Chromebooks and Ipads being available to us to engage with as learners ourselves.

For myself as an avid Mac user, using a Chromebook is an incredibly frustrating experience. However, when we first went Chromebook in 2014, both myself and Marion purchased our own Chromebooks as we both realised and knew it was important that we were familiar with the devices we were expecting our students to use. This enabled us to learn alongside our students, model the learning process as well as troubleshoot any problems that arose.

Doing the Digital Dig was a reminder of some of the simple tools and shortcuts we should be making sure our students know how to use, for example the ability to screenshot.

Ipads are not a tool we have access to at College, although I can see the benefits of apps such as explain everything in a digital classroom.

This afternoon we have had the opportunity to explore further the Manaiakalani Cyber Smart lessons and resources, as well as the planning and reasoning for this. For my Screencastify, I looked at the Kawa of Care. I think it is really important that we revisit this with our students and whanau as while they all sign this at some point when signing up for Chromebooks via the trust, I sometimes wonder how fully they actually understand this. I also wonder whether we should be doing some form of Kawa of Care beyond our Internet User agreement for those who are coming in with Chromebooks from other areas or that they have purchased themselves. I think that as a cluster/school, we need to be revisiting our parent evenings as our parents need support also in terms of supporting their children in their online use. While we did this previously, as time has gone on it has dropped off but with some of the statistics and information being released in the media about the rise of cyber bullying, the sharing of nude images by children as young as 8 and the increase in numbers of young people accessing online porn in various formats, the education of our parents is vital.

DFI Week 7: Computational Thinking

This week was thought provoking, as well as fun. Viv from OMG Tech! provided us with a lot of food for thought as she introduced us to many of the up and coming technologies and changes in technological use we are facing in this world of rapid change.

We also spent time listening to Dorothy presenting to us about equity and access not just with digital technologies. This is such a huge issue. It is startling when looking through Dorothy's presentation the inequities we face within the same towns, cities and regions. People are surviving on such limited incomes and access to resourcing such as housing, food and digital tech has to be prioritised within families in order of importance, so making access as affordable and easy as possible is vital. Thinking that there are families in NZ who are trying to live off $19000 a year, just blows me away. As costs of the basics - food, power and a roof over head rise rapidly, our families are forced to make incredibly hard decisions over what has to go. As educators, we have to do all we can to ensure our students have equitable access to technology, so that they are prepared for the future and can have all of the experiences that make learning valuable in a connected and online world.

Viv introduced us to some simple but fun activities to encourage computational thinking. Looking at the Binary code and a simple way of introducing this to our students, as well as simple coding ideas using Scratch. For me, it is finding the time to play and plan in order to work out how I can incorporate these in to my classroom programme, especially as this becomes a feature of the curriculum.

For me, one of the most thought provoking parts of the day was discussing some of the future technologies, especially AI.While the potential for AI is astounding, it is also incredibly scary/worrying when considering how it can be used to make decisions based on the training or algorithms that have been used. When looking at driverless cars and the exercise of making programming decisions - who is behind this programming and decision making? This has the potential to have a real impact in society and not necessarily in a good way. When these tools are used by the makers of weapons what are the potential impacts that can occur? We must also remember the value of human contact - the empathy, ability to work with others and engage in a meaningful way.

DFI Week 6 - Dealing with Data

Today's session has been incredibly helpful! Sheets have been a tool I have been utilising but not to the full extent possible. Today's session has really opened up the possibilities, especially as someone who has to deal with data frequently as a Curriculum Leader. I know I am now able to take and use some of today's tips within spreadsheets I have created for data, and not only saving myself a ton of time with calculations I was making manually, but also with ways of making the spreadsheets more visually appealing and user friendly (If only we had this session pre ERO!). The ability to use the explore tool is incredibly valuable as it is doing some of that 'oh so important' analysis for you.

The afternoon has been spent playing with Sheets and looking at how we can analyse student blog data, or more importantly, get our students to analyse their own blog data, using the range of tools available. As our students are beginning to use their blogs over time, I can see this being a valuable way of them learning analysis and data handling skills. Now to get the World Maps working on our blogs! I also find looking at other student blogs a valuable experience as it gives me ideas of other ways in which I can utilise blogging within the classroom. After initially concentrating on getting my students posting, the focus is now more on ensuring they are quality posts and include a DLO and explanation of what they have been doing. Some of the class are beginning to do this quite well and i need to bring everyone up to the same point. I think participating in Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu has definitely helped with this as they are much more aware that they have an external audience viewing their blogs.

We also spent some time today looking at google forms. Forms are a tool I have used previously in a range of ways. From surveys to gathering data about a particular topic, I have found them to be a valuable method for gathering information. I want to further investigate the option of having different pathways depending on the response given. I could see this as being really useful to help guide next steps for students and for my own planning. I have also shown students how to use google forms when they are conducting research, so that they can get a range of responses on a topic they are researching. I think the next step with this would be to go in to greater depth with them about how they can use the data they gather.

DFI Week 5 - Enabling Access

Today has been an interesting day which has involved exploring a variety of sites (including our own) for visibility and accessibility for learners. It is interesting to consider the variety of ways in which the same forms of information can be presented and knowing which is best can be a challenging exercise.

As someone who has been using sites for a while, my usage has evolved over time and I am constantly modifying and revising the way in which I present learning to my students. For me, having a class site has given planning and sharing a genuine purpose - the days of the black planner have long gone for me. A site provides me with the ability to share my planning with students, whanau and other teachers in an easily accessible format.

Class Site

It was also valuable for me to get feedback from other members of the DFI who were looking at my site from the perspective of a viewer. This feedback helped reinforce for me that I am on the right track with my site, but there is always room for change and improvement.

In the afternoon, Marion and I were fortunate enough to spend some time talking with Anne after being inspired looking at her Paideia Site.  Paideia is a model designed to encourage argumentation and discussion amongst students. This discussion has allowed us to formulate a plan for moving forward, using Anne to support us. The hope for both Marion and I, is that we can get other staff on board with supporting this as it will help us encourage deeper thinking with our students. The aim is for us to work with Anne once seniors have finished for the year, as it removes the pressure of relief requirements.

I am really enjoying DFI. The opportunity to spend time off site, focussing on something I am passionate about is both reinforcing my teaching practice, as well as extending my thinking in a range of areas. Putting in to practice many of the things I am discovering is the key.

DFI WEEK 4 - Sites

Today has been about 'sharing' and also creating using google sites. I have been using sites for my class ever since we went to Chromebooks in 2014. I use my class site to share daily planning, learning activities, photos of activities and trips, as well as for sharing links, for example to student blogs and sites we use frequently.

Over time, my class site has evolved and changed, and I am frequently making changes to try and make it more user friendly for both my students, parents and myself. For me, my site has made planning have a purpose and it is far more useful now that it is visible and not just written in a daily plan book.

Dorothy spoke this morning about the different ways of sharing and the importance of sharing to learn, as well as sharing to finish learning. I found the discussion around 'authentic audience' was also valuable as it is so true. We often talk to and expect our students to create a piece of writing or complete an activity for an authentic audience, but it is so often just the teacher or the class who have no choice. When the sharing moves to blogging, people can choose to look at a child's or person's site and therefore it does become a more authentic audience as the viewer is making a choice.

From my own experience within the classroom, I have found that when my students are sharing to their blogs, the standard of their work increases significantly. A most recent example of this would be on my class blogs. Students who in their daily writing often never use paragraphs have posted pieces of their work with clearly defined paragraphs, each one introducing and explaining a new idea.

We have also spent time today looking at Multimodal texts and how we can use these with our students. In recent times, I have been using MMTS to introduce and hook students in to a new topic or area of learning. Providing them with a range of texts (video, audio, written, visual) has meant that all students can access information on a topic at a variety of levels. I have found these text sets have really benefitted the struggling learners in my class, as they have access to information in a video or audio format. They have been able to show deep thinking through discussion and follow up tasks that had they only been faced with written texts would have been a challenge. I also find that by using these MMTS, students are far more engaged in the learning tasks they have been set and I am having a higher level of work completion across all students in my class.

This afternoon, we were encouraged to create a new site that incorporates MMTS. I chose to create a site based on the novel I will read to my class either later this term or next term.  I created my base site and then used slides to create a MMTS on topics found within the novel, for example homeless children and Indian slums. This is not yet finished. Currently, I am sharing my MMTS with students via Hapara Workspace. I had not thought about putting them in to my site or a site, and am not sure if I will change this practice or not. I like the idea of Workspace from the perspective that it enables everything (including student work) in one space, but sites are more visible publicly. Definitely something to think about!

MMTS Site

DFI Week 3 - Media

This week has been all about how we use media such as Youtube, as well as using google tools such as draw and slides to create.


Dorothy spoke this morning about the importance of giving students and teachers the opportunity to be creative. Creativity is so important! Giving our students the opportunity to simply 'create' and use their imaginations is so vital. In an era when we can 'google' the answer to everything, it sometimes seems like our students are losing the ability to use their imaginations and create, so we must provide them with opportunities to do this within a classroom and school environment in a variety of ways.


Thinking about my own classroom practice, I am trying to give students more opportunities to create and show their learning in a variety of ways. I am also trying to ensure that i am giving them the opportunity to just 'play' with new tools I am wanting to utilise, for example google slides for animations and google drawings for some design tasks within our literacy programme. I am also using tools such as sketch noting on an increasing basis, as it gives students the opportunity to identify important or key information from listening, viewing and reading activities. I think sketch noting really highlights how creative students can be, as if I look at my class of 27, every single student is making notes in a different way, yet all of them are being more . involved in class discussions and demonstrating deep thinking as they have made notes in a way that works for them.


Having a chance to play with slide animation myself this afternoon was a lot of fun, as my students make it look so easy, yet in reality, it is actually quite complex, if you want to do it right. It is really interesting to put yourself in the shoes of one of your learners and experience it for yourself, which is something we quite often do not get to do. It was also fantastic to be reminded of all of the ways in which we can use google draw for such a wide variety of purposes, many of which I knew but had shelved in the back of my brain and forgotten about.



Below is my initial attempt at creating an animation. While it is far from finished, or perfect, it was a fun exercise.

DFI Week Two - Workflow

Week Two has been a great way to think about ways of how to streamline google apps and tools I use on a daily basis, such as gmail, Keep and calendar. I found this incredibly helpful as they are all aspects of these tools that can help make our lives easier and save time in the long run, as well as making things run more efficiently. I also really like the way that google keep can be used.


It was also an opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the ways in which can use google hangouts/meet in order to connect with others on a specific topic, or to assist in making learning rewindable by recording the session using a tool such as Quicktime on Mac, or Screencastify which can then be used on blogs, sites and other tools.

Dorothy presented to us about the 'Learn' aspect of Learn, Create, Share and the importance of effective practice.

I connected with the acronym of RATE and the importance of recognising effective teaching practice, amplifying and then turbocharging that effective practice through the process of sharing with other teaching practitioners and encouraging the spread of effective teaching and learning. I also valued the aspect that in a digital world, we are enabling our students to develop in to life long learners and that we need to value this technology as more than just a tool, as it opens up a world of possibilities for both us and our students.

Our final part of the day was the 'Create' session, where in small groups we recorded a google meet using Quicktime. This was a great opportunity to practice using hangouts as a way of connecting and sharing learning.

DFI Session One - Core Session

Today has been a stimulating and engaging day. Just having the time to think about and process information, away from school has been valuable. I found Dorothy's introduction to Manaiakalani and the why 'Learn, Create, Share' was introduced valuable. Too often we hear that Manaiakalani is all about the Chromebooks, when in actual fact, the Chromebooks are just one of the many tools associated with Learn, Create, Share and the pedagogical knowledge that sits behind everything we do. Learn, Create, Share comes in many forms. One thing I think we do need to work on, is convincing parents that when students are working on Chromebooks to do daily writing activities, or using voice to text tools, they are still 'writing'. I am still frequently dealing with parents who feel that because their children are not writing by hand, they are not 'writing'. Explaining to parents that writing is about more than just the letters on a page and how tidy their child's handwriting is, it is actually about the child's ideas and how they share these.

I have found it really valuable to be reminded of some of the amazing add ons, extensions and shortcuts that are available for us with google and google docs. While I have used some of these add ons before, I had forgotten about them which is so easy to do as we get on with daily teaching. One of my takeaways from today is to ensure I get some of the add ons pushed out to my students and that we begin to use them on a regular basis, up skilling them as well.

One I am very keen to go away and try is the Talk and Comment Doc add on, that will allow me to use voice notes to give students feedback. I have used Kaizena in the past, but found it became very hard to manage, so I am keen to give something new a go. I am also keen to use Driveslides as a new way of sharing images on my class site and class blog.

I had never really thought about using google docs as a design tool, so having a play with different aspects was fun and made me think about how we could use this in the classroom as well, when students are presenting information or in order to make tasks for students more interesting. I had a go at creating a doc for a gratitude journal template as this is something we do everyday in my Homeroom class, but have a paper version and if students had a digital version, they could also do it at home (we currently keep paper ones in the classroom so that they are there every day). While this was just a play, I would need to keep in mind how I could make it appealing to all class members, and to give them options for personalisation.