Today I started a new journey along with 30 or so educators around New Zealand. Traditionally the DFI course is run in regional clusters around New Zealand, however, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are diving straight into the digital side of things by starting the course online. Starting something new does come with a couple of speed bumps, the first being communication, as I experienced first hand. But! we have networks for a reason, after emailing a few people I was connected with the correct people who had the information I required. In this case, Dorothy was able to catch me up and point me in the right direction.
Phew, what a start!
Being my 2nd year in the Ako Hiko cluster, part of Manaiakalani, I am gaining a better understanding of how things work and the massive support network created through Manaiakalani. For me, the best way of making sense of it all was through a graphic organiser shown during my Ako Hiko induction in 2019. I see Manaiakalani as the overarching big 'umbrella' under this big umbrella there are lots of little umbrellas, Ako Hiko being one of them.
My take away from the Manaiakalani origin story was how Jenny She used her limited digital access to LCS 10 years ago. That was a real eye-opener to see how even with limitations the final product can be such a reward.
Being a 1:1 iPad class, when physically in class we used the iPad more as a resource, rather than a tool. I've realised during all our distance learning there is so much more to it. I can see myself creating and sharing more through the medium of our class site. Moving over into student agency learning.
Even though I have been using Google Drive for many years, there are so many tricks and tips that have fall through the gaps. In particular, I liked how the voice typing feature was used for the Eyes on Text: Reading Mileage. With a bit more practice I'm sure I will gain enough confidence to start rolling it out in my program as I can see it fitting in quite nicely.
Making meaning of content:
I recreated a current system I have been using for distance learning in my class. I can see this being used in a classroom setting as well, covering multiple aspects of the literacy curriculum.
Initially, these 3 steps were bullet pointed down as 1, 2 & 3. How boring was I!
Using some skills learnt in today's DFI I created an organiser which I will use as a template. Children will have this available on our class site for student agency.
I would love to hear your thoughts and any feedback you have. Thank you in advance.
