Waitangi SST Trip

Yesterday I took my 9M SST class to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Education Centre. We have been booked into a two day Raranga Matihiko - Weaving Digital Futures program with them. We were met by Monika and Kerry the educational tutors and taken into the Centre. The students were split into two groups, boys and girls then while Monika took the boys on a walk to the museum, treaty grounds, flag staff and the big house. Kerry stayed back with the girls allowing them to have a tutu with the digital tools and devices. Then the groups switched over. Our students will be creating their own stories using 3D vertual technologies and I am really looking forward to seeing what they will produce. Here is a photo of our boys posing in the rain before we had to quickly run back to the centre. It was a great day out.

Back to School

This is my 9M Social Studies class who have just taken a couple of minutes out of class to get a photo. We are currently working on Migration this term and are fortunate that Reyhan one of our students is from Fiji, so he has talked to the class about what it was like for him and his family when they decided to migrate to NZ.

Day 9 Northland DFI - Revision

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?
Today has bought together all that I have studied in DFI over the past 9 weeks, with the culmination of the test which although I did not pass it, that can not take away all that I have learnt.
What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?
My confidence in using digital teaching and learning has grown as the weeks have passed and I am very grateful to Manaiakalani for this opportunity.
What did I learn that could be used with my learners?
Everyweek I have endeavoured to incorporate what I have learnt into my classroom teaching practices and the students have responded with enthusiasim.
What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?
Absolutly my personal life has benefited from the digital learning that has occured throughout this DFI journey. Kamlesh and I have agreed that we will set aside a regular weekly learning time to go over everything that we have learnt from day 1 which will reenforce what we know, and help learn again what we missed or have forgotten.
Very grateful thanks to Kerry, Vanessa and all the guest speakers and trainers that have come to share their knowledge and expertise with us.

Day 8 Northland DFI - Computational thinking

How have I become more empowered by what I have learnt in DFI today?

Today I have learnt about creating a short animated clip using Scratch. The short film is rather simplistic but is is only because it is the first time I have created one. It was pretty exciting with a lot of coded instructions to make it come to life.This is being shared with you below, and I hope you enjoy it.  

How can my students benefit from creating Scratches?

Computational thinking to help students create short stories using animated characters is another tool that I would like to use with my students. Understanding and using codes and instructions to make the characters move and speak is a skill that they will learn . 

How have I benefited personally?

Everything that I learn benefits me personally as it is the professional development that helps me grow as a teacher and keep abreast of digital technologies and computational thinking.
Thank you Kerry, Vanessa and Monica Kern. 

Day 7 - Northland DFI - Dealing with data

Today in DFI we looked at dealing with data as well as learning to create google sheets, drawings and worked with google maps. An activivity we also worked on was to study a student (Robyn was mine) and the amount of Blog posts she had published over a long period of time. Her goal this year was to create a Blog post analysis report using a google sheet. I have taken her data and created a graph above for quick analysis however if you would like to connect directly with Robyn you can do so by clicking her  Robyn's Blog  and it will take you directly to her site. .
Being connected to the Manaiakalani network of schools and other learners is an amazing concept and it was great to look at the wider picture of what we are all involved in, because at this early stage of my personal journey it is wonderful to see that we are now part of a huge local, national and global network of school working towards the betterment of our students.

Day 6 Northland DFI - Leading learning with class sites

So today we spent some time working on our website's which is what I really wanted to do.

We then shared our sites with the class and got immediate feedback from some of them.

I am very excited about what they thought of my site and am now able to use this information as part of my enquiry cycle and appraisal evidence of learning, creating and sharing.

Day 5 Northland DFI - Devices

So, today is day 5 of my DFI journey and yet again a full day of learning, creating and now sharing with you something that I have made. We worked on Chrome Books which helped me understand what my students have to use, then working on iPads with Khismira from the Point England school in Auckland, I learnt how to create a story using animation and was amazed to know that her Year 1 students do this all the time. Using screen castify and creating an assessment for my students has been very fruitful because I can use the assessment immedately with my students this week.