We've finished!

Wow!  It's so hard to believe that we have arrived at the final session of DFI.  Today's session started off with a reminder about what ubiquitous learning means and exploring some of the potential this can afford teachers, learners and anyone with a passion for continuous learning.  I found this slide a helpful reference as it captures the various elements of ubiquitous learning.

It seems hard to believe that we are in the last session.  We have learned so much across the nine full-day sessions of the DFI.  I have gained a much deeper understanding of how digital fluency can be applied professionally and have been surprised to learn how much of this new knowledge can also be applied to day to day living too.  When I think back about the degree of apprehension that I started DFI with and how much my confidence has grown, it really is a step change.  Embedding videos, setting up YouTube playlists, using not only Google docs but sheets, slides, forms, classroom, groups and more!

Thank you so much to our wonderful, supportive facilitators  Maria, Stef, Amie & Herman have provided a positive, high trust learning environment that I felt comfortable to take risks and make mistakes.  Behaviours that we so often hear ourselves talking about with our children.  It is humbling to be the learner and refreshing to embrace the challenge of stepping out of my comfort zone to pursue new knowledge which will help not only me but those around me in my working and personal life.   Thanks also to Dorothy and to the other guest speakers and colleagues we interacting with over the weeks.  I'm happy to say that my confidence with Hangouts has improved greatly and I now use it as a very effective communication method.

Lastly, thanks to my colleagues who went on this journey with me and to their principals for enabling their participation on this DFI course.  The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the sense of togetherness for this group of DFI pioneers here in Tairawhiti is truly inspiring. 

As this Maori proverb so aptly states, "My strength is not that of the individual but that of the collective."

Nga mihi, Jo

Mindblown at The MindLab

Today's session at The MindLab was kickstarted with a session by Shanon who highlighted that the following skills will be most sought after in the future:

• Interdisciplinary skills
• Creative & analytical skills
• Entrepreneurial skills
• Leadership skills
• Digital & technical skills
• Global awareness & civic education.

It was the notion of technology for good that most resonated with me.  So often the media is quick to deride the impact of digital and it is important to approach the topic mindfully and with balance.  Just as a frypan can be used to sautee mushrooms or hit someone over the head, so often it is not about the device but the person's motivation, morality, and purpose!

The Digital Curriculum I Hangarau Matahiko is the government's response to the impact that technology is having across sectors and recognises that our children need to be digitally astute and responsible citizens to participate, create and thrive in the digital world.

In pairs, we worked through the various curriculum levels and identified examples of digital technologies in action.  I found this one-page infographic a useful reference tool.

The day was peppered with learning and laughter as Emily & Mac helped us to explore the roles of coder, developer, and robot in groups of three.  Clear communication, collaboration, defined roles all came into plain this activity.  Again, I feel so fortunate to be learning alongside so many passionate educators and in a high-trust environment that recognises that risk-taking and making mistakes is simply a part of the learning journey.  As we continued to 'de-bug' our code new learnings evolved.  For instance, challenging the assumption that the robot needed to be blindfolded - why couldn't we write into our code that the blindfold could be removed?  

It wasn't until after we had finished that I thought how much more effective we could have been if all the teams chose the same number and worked on writing the code and then refining it together.  This course continues to challenge our thinking and to be more aware of how we can approach tasks differently and use digital technologies to improve our communication, collaboration & time management.  

Yes, it takes courage to make your thinking and learning more visible (I was really hesitant about posting those first few blogs, after all, who would want to read it!?).  But the DFI has reinforced for me the importance of embracing a culture of change and nurturing the spirit of collaboration. 

The rest of the session was spent exploring Cospaces and how animation and coding can be applied to educational settings.  Joanne & I had a great time exploring this new programme and bringing our story to life through creating a setting, characters, movement and speech.  Although still a newby I could see so much potential for this to be an engaging way for children and adults alike to familiarise themselves with coding in a fun way.

Another excellent day of learning, although the sitting of our Level 1 exam next week is now looming....

Enabling Access

Enabling Access

Today's session included content about the importance of the 'connection' element of the Manaiakalani kaupapa.

Dorothy and Stef both highlighted the invaluable networks that have been established through Manaiakalani 's growing footprint across New Zealand.  The range of opportunities that the Digital Fluency Intensive (DFI) to share our thinking and content within our group is exciting and very motivating!

This SAMR Model is a useful framework to refer to when applying technology to learning and teaching to maximise the potential affordances of digital technologies.  While also being reassured that we don't have to be looking to modify and redefine all the time and that there can often be value in applying digital technologies to both the substitution and augmentation phases. 

My word of the day (and in fact week) is 'favicon'.  Thanks, Herman for introducing to this term.  Joanne & I both enjoyed learning how to add a favicon on to both our sites and blog.

Today's session was included critiquing several sites to identify what makes a site both appealing, engaging and effective learning and teaching medium.  It was inspiring to see sites from educators who are well down this path having been in Manaiakalani for many years and have sites which are instantly engaging and designed so professionally.  It is important to remind oneself that I am only starting and that a marathon starts with the first step over the start line.

Working on Google sites this afternoon provided a refresher on some of the seemingly small but important steps such as mapping out the site from the outset with minimizing the number of clicks needed to access key content, mindfully designing the navigation of the site, getting buttons, etc.  By the end of today, I felt a greater level of confidence in designing my Google sites and had set up several pages, created several round buttons with bespoke images and creating my very own favicon.

In looking around the room there is such a high level of energy and commitment to applying our new found skills again this week.  Yes, I'm still in the learning pit!  But with a sense of humour and knowledge that together we are making a difference for dozens of teachers and hundreds of learners is incredibly motivating.