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....