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.