revision

Finally - week 9 - one more sleep until the holidays and the course has finished!!!

I sat my google exam this morning and am surprised at how I was feeling regardless of all the exams I have sat previously. It is good it remember how it feels when you are unsure of your learning - I  see this in my students every day.

I did not take the digital fluency intensive course by choice and I blame my subconscious reluctance for interfering in my learning!!! 

It has given me much to think how my learning programmes will be modified so things are clearer and easy to find for my students. Clarity for my learners is important for engagement and success.

I am proud to have participated and completed the course. I have learnt how to use the Google suite more effectively and hope to integrate what I have learnt into my students learning programmes.

I will spend time with my students ensuring that they can use the google apps to enhance their learning - there are resources we used on course that I can adapt and share with my students. I still use 'old school methods' with my students as a result of their feedback - as well as the class learning site and hapara workspace - my students have indicated a preference for bound, written texts - called books when I was at school!

I have sat the google exam - I wish I had spent a little more time revising. Regardless of whether I pass or not  - I feel confident in using google stuff to effectively support my teaching practices. So now I have 2 weeks to wait for my results - just like one of my students waiting for their marks after moderation.

Sui Breaks - don't let a exam decide your fate - we place too much emphasis and pressure on our young people to pass exams at a certain age and stage.

I love to learn - I love to share my enthusiasm for new learning with my students - I also want to share with them that passing or failing an exam is not the be all or end all in their education. Success is different for everyone - I wish our schools would recognise this quickly to ensure all our students can experience it.

Suli Breaks - Why I hate School but love education

 

computational thinking

Matariki hunga                                  Matariki has its many admirers

Matariki a hunga nui                          Matariki brings us together

So I had to find a definition for this week's focus - What is computational thinking? so.........

"Computers can be used to help us solve problems. However, before a problem can be tackled, the problem itself and the ways in which it could be solved need to be understood.

Computational thinking allows us to do this.

Computational thinking allows us to take a complex problem, understand what the problem is and develop possible solutions. We can then present these solutions in a way that a computer, a human, or both, can understand."

Reluctant learner syndrome!! I found keeping focused in this session a little difficult. 

I did find gamefroot fun and can see how I could use this with my students. I am unsure of my students coding ability so feel that this app is an ideal platform to use with my students. It requires little or no knowledge of coding. I really like the mihimaker on gamefroot. 

Looking forward to the end of the course and this term - time to get sorted for term 3 with modified learning programmes that will have some of the stuff I have learnt.

Devices

Using the different devices our akonga access through their learning journeys.

I have not enjoyed using a chromebook in the past when I have had to - this week's learning was around using the different devices so that I can help my akonga even more.

I can create and use a learning site - my students are using the class site more without prompting, especially when I am out of class. Although hapara workspace is used for student instructions and set class tasks - the class site has an overview of the course, whats coming up this week etc. My students are quick to comment if the class site is not what they want it to be or there is something they want on it. There are upcoming parent teacher interviews - I will introduce the parents who attend to the new look class site and get some feedback from whanau.

I created a workspace focused on being cybersmart to use with my senior year 11 home class around their digital footprint and will share it with the other senior mentors for their use.

whiteboard.explaineverything.com - some of my learners at secondary school level would find this fun to use because of its interactivity - it will be a different way to try to engage students if I used it to present some course materials. 

I am looking forward to the end of this course. Although I have gained immense knowledge from participating, i am looking forward to having a whole week with my students, which I haven't done since we returned from lockdown. It has taken me several weeks to appease my students who have really missed having their teacher being physically with them in their learning space. My senior classes are not making the most of their relievers help or getting much achieved or completed when I am not there. 

And also looking forward to completing the google exam.

Enabling access - web site design

Sheets is becoming less of a struggle - it is a time and practice thing and Kerry has shared some material that will support my learning.

I hope to finally produce a learning site that the students and their whanau want to use, and that information can be found easily through clear navigational links.

The learning site has to be focused and clear - I have not been at school as much as I have wanted since returning from lockdown. Many of my students have a lack of confidence in their academic abilities and a lack of focus so it is imperative that I make the learning as visible and clear to follow as I can.

I have to complete the content of my learning sites as soon as possible so we use it  - senior students are often not in class at the moment for many reasons - EOTC and employment opportunities such as Gateway, Whenua Iti, Manaaki Tapoi, SFR, university visits and truancy to name a few! I want the website to be usable out of class for any learning that has been missed in class, and for whanau use so they can support their student's learning.

I have yet to see the impact from the student input into the learning site layout and design. I hope it will lower the senior students' reluctance to use online resources for learning rather than what they currently do online.

I am learning more and more every week around the kaupapa of learn - create -share. 

I had the privilege today of someone asking if they could share my (very unfinished) website with a teacher in their department. It made me feel that the time out of class and away from my students has been well spent if I can improve the access to the learning and presentation of the learning resources.

dealing with data

This weeks learning

- I like mymaps - excellent resource that I can see being used in my classes in various ways such as to map food miles - the journey that different food products travel to get from source to NZ stores.

- arghh....... google sheets......

destinations of choice

google sheets - I was excited about the learning in today's session and how I will use it until we started to learn about google sheets - sheets on speed is right!  I just wish my brain would cooperate and let me learn it without so much struggle!! I seem to have some kind of learning obstacle around sheets - it goes in one eye and then it gets a bit lost between the brain and the hands!

So I have organised a tutor - I was going to see a colleague of mine but have a senior student who is willing to help me out after school next week as he has an hour to wait for his ride so he may as well fill in his time - his words!!!

I can see using sheets for so many different ways to help my organisation and hopefully save me some time when tracking students progress and achievement.

I am so determined to learn how to use sheets!!

Website Makeover!!

My website has had yet another makeover!

This week's learning 

- using google sites to help support the learning with resources and information through websites and 

- planning the design of the learning site with a focus on sharing information and created resources.

- all to help support clarity of learning for the student and their whanau.

It is becoming easier for me to share resources such as video playlists and shortening video clips - so students remain focused on the task on hand

This course is full of tips that make presentations more engaging for students and whanau.

I liked using google drawings to create round buttons and putting different fonts in google drawings for website visuals. 

I think I will try to have no more than 2 clicks to student learning stuff - they say 3 but my students are a bit focus-challenged at times and if there are any more than 2 clicks to their work, they will get off task.

Regardless of how much betterer I think the learning site looks - I have yet to get my students feedback. As the main users of this product - it is important for me to get their input and feedback - which is often thoughtful and raw but always very blunt and truthful!

I am looking forward to updating the presentation and resource content of my students' learning site.