Ref

Scratch -ing Beneath the Surface of Digital Technologies

An additional stressor lurking in the wings of our future school landscape is the Digital Technology Curriculum. I, personally don't tend to panic. After 37 years of learning/teaching I've learnt to do my bestest to enable my learners and not panic about upcoming changes. The coding aspect of the document had me second guessing, though.
But TA-RA Kerry and Monika brought some enlightening and timely experiences which

Finally - a capitulation. Am building a site. ...and other stuff

"Think of it as a one stop shop" urged Sarnia when I shared my continuing reluctance to make a learning site for all things physical and healthy. Thus, I nudged a little closer to the tipping point of compliance.
When my some of my co-learners were invited to share their sites I furtively leaned over to Hayley for directions to our BOIC site. Two minutes later and I was re-acquainting myself with a site I created in 2017. When I pushed buttons it opened to nothingness!
Alright, don't be self absorbed. Pay attention to my fellow learners who were presenting their awesome sites. Feeling inspired and ever more convinced. Kaha au ki te tuku arotakenga ki a raatou
Tipping point was finally reached when Darren stepped up to present his site.
Vanessa to the rescue and I have started building my 2019 website

I was totally captivated by one site I visited in the Deep Dive. Photos of nga tauira.
That banner elicited an instant response in me because it made me think of those children using the various activities and resources each press of the button revealed.
This may be a strategy for attracting parents to my site. Perhaps a parent/caregiver who visits the site would spot their child and be emotionally drawn to visit that site more often. Maybe I'm just rambling.
Anyway...., of course I want to use photos on the banner of my new (and used) website.
Thanks again for your leadership/ manaaki Kerry,Vanessa and colleagues.

I am blog-abled!

Yesterday I got together with Kerry to set up a class blog site for my Year 13 PE class. Picture Kerry explaining,telling me which buttons to push and explaining some more - and me actually understanding! Today Kerry came in and took our photo and my learners posted their first responses to a couple of 'reflect on a great leader' prompts. Exciting! One giant step for Rangitehau!

My learners - To blog or not to blog?

That is the question that I have been considering recently. At present I have students regularly reflecting on how/what they have learnt verbally and in different writing (digital) forums.
I always read their written reflections and respond which often leads to a digital 'conversation' that is private and targeted at taking that learner forward and/or strengthen our relationship. So-o-o, what additional benefits would blogging bring?
I'm less interested in gaining a greater audience for my learners then gaining additional support/opportunities to prompt my learners forward.
To this end have decided to try a class blog for my Year 12 and Year 13 classes . Watch this space for impact on the learners and their learning.

OK - so now my positive post about today's learning in Create.
WOW! So many ways to create!
Live streaming - way beyond me. Won't be using this - YET but as I have the rewindable resources I can revisit when I am.
Personalised my settings in  my YouTube Channel. Who knew I had a YouTube Channel. 
Have three videos in my playlist. Great to find a place to store videos I want to keep at my fingertips.

I'm a very critical learner - always have been. My pet hate is being involved in initiatives, interventions and programmes which espouse aspirational values and pedagogies for our student learners but my experience as a learner within the PLD does not align with those espoused pedagogies.
Thus far, am continuing to enjoy my Learn-Create- Share learning journey in this cohort 2.
However, am not enjoying the learning imposed by Kaikohekohe Trust. Full of assumptions about secondary teachers and portray us all as transmission agents who force feed our barely engaged tauira. with reified knowledge.  Hence, attendance at the twice -a-term PLG is imperative.
So, picture my disgruntlement when I travel 30 minutes after school to attend a PLG to be lectured about why and how to feed back feed forward to students to accelerate their learning.
Please!
Then we are introduced to T-shaped Literacy -a re-packaged re-branding of something we already know. Encourage our learners to broaden/increase reading and deepen their cognitive engagement.
Are there really people out there who think that ever-present concern is not evident in our programmes?
Did anyone bother to explore our prior learning on these topics. Did anyone take into account that we are a Te Kotahitanga school - have been since 2004 and many of the pedagogies advocated within Learn-Create -Share, including maximising use of discursive interactions,enabling greater student power and being culturally responsive are firmly embedded within many of the staff.

Learn, Create Share  RATE -Effective Pedagogy - tech can enable us to redefine and create tasks previously inconceivable. Perhaps that is why I decided to attend despite the fact my brain feels like it's in a constant state of turmoil - all day!
I strive always to be an effective teacher and accelerate learning for our tauira maori so the potential to re-imagine, re-create teaching and learning in my class is alluring. An added goal is to stop my children and mokos laughing at me every time they see me handle/use a device.

 KEEP - Cool, easily accessible app. Will use this in meetings 'cos I'm always delegated things to do.

Google Calendar -have been using for approx a year already. Great little shortcuts I didn't know from tutu.
Kerry helped mt design a professional looking signature for GMail. Thanks Kerry.

Google hangouts have to be the greatest challenge/opportunity today. Fortunately I had Dave and Debbie to 'tuakana' me through using it.
Overall, I know I'm going to have to practise,practise,practise. 

Authentic Audiences

I'd like to say I'm sharing something fantastic my students did but no.Our Principal cum teacher cum travel agent cum super woman, Edith Painting - Davis had her Level 1 Math class create Padlets as a destination/costing activity. Here is an example China Padlet
Our ReoRua unit travels overseas for a cultural learning experience (haerenga) every two years and Edith shared those Padlets in a FB messenger group at our first meeting two weeks ago.
Last night we met again to make a decision re: the destination. I asked those attendees who had a preferred destination  to form 'teams' ie Team Japan,Team Mexico etc use the Padlets to prepare a presentation to the meeting to convince everyone that their's was the best!
Funny as.  The vote was close between Japan and China - but we're going to China.

Week 1 -Te timatanga

Something interesting for me is that Manaiakalani was a  collaborated response to low engagement and achievement of students in a Decile 1A school area. And ...surprise, surprise (yeah right) the students who were failing were predominantly Maori and Pasifika.
What wasn't surprising is that it has been a successful response as I saw that the interventions were informed by whanau,students and teachers. Learn,create,Share.  Empowerment. This story resonates with me as I continue to be a STRONG advocate of Te Kotahitanga which also passionately pursues high maori achievement and engagement.
Prior to this course I learnt by tutu,copying, practising after some after school PLD with Kerry,nagging a friend to show me - and basically,using whatever 'app' I could see would enable me to teach better and my learners to learn better. Today I learnt some cool shortcuts.