Technology truly is amazing! As Dr. Seuss once said, “You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” This quote came to mind, as I work on creating better technological learning opportunities for my students, and today was another step towards that goal.

I explored a variety of tools and platforms that can support my teaching programmes and enhance classroom experiences:

Diffit: This tool was fantastic for creating collaborative resources tailored to different year levels. Its ability to support differentiated learning makes it a valuable asset for catering to diverse student needs.

Brisk: I’m excited to explore this tool further. It offers great potential for creating engaging slide decks and integrating planning insights from ChatGPT into my teaching practice.

Unfortunately, I had no access to NotebookLM as it was restricted. I will speak to our New Era technicians to get this rectified.

These platforms are stepping stones toward innovative and effective education, and I’m eager to see how they transform learning in my classroom!

Kerry shared some thought provoking cues on what the future could possibly look like for students of today and tomorrow. I look forward to revisiting her slides and checking out some of the videos.

Fellow class mate Joel, highlighted further capabilities within chatGpt if prompted well, and then Amie took that further to explain how this information, could then be used within Google forms to create self marking tests and then even further to this is the utilisation of Brisk. Thank you to you both for your sharing.

Today was another day of extensive learning, and I found this activity particularly challenging. Initially, I was unable to use Explain Everything on an iPad due to restricted access. I then switched to my laptop, but encountered further challenges—the version available to me wasn’t compatible with the activities we were attempting.

These technological hurdles gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties our students often face when navigating digital tools. A huge thank you to Amie for her reassuring support through these unexpected issues!

While I didn’t manage to complete my recording within this platform, I was able to achieve everything else, largely through self-teaching. This experience reaffirmed that if I can figure it out, anyone can. That said, I don’t see this app being particularly useful in my secondary classrooms, more suited to the junior levels.

DFI Learning: A Day of Invaluable Continued Growth

As always, DFI is a jam-packed day filled with invaluable digital learning opportunities for me. Dorothy’s session kickstarted my thinking on how I can better support my learners to become more CONNECTED. Her statement, “Connected Learners Share,” resonated deeply, and I’m keen to explore the possibilities of the Manaiakalani sharing space, particularly the option to filter blogging content.

The highlight of today’s learning was tackling the challenge of creating my own class site. It was a time-intensive process, and I know I still have a long way to go to achieve the outcome I envision. However, I’m proud of a few significant accomplishments:

I designed a more captivating button for my Year 10 English class.
I updated the banner image to reflect the authenticity and locality of my school.
I reorganised the menu to display on the side.
These changes were big wins for me, and the experience gave me a deeper understanding of what my students face when navigating new learning challenges. It reinforced the importance of creating a safe space where they feel comfortable asking questions, no matter how big or small.

A huge thanks to Amie for fostering such a supportive learning environment, where diverse questions are welcomed and valued—it truly made all the difference!

#DFILearning #ConnectedLearners #SafeLearningSpaces

Pre-shot of my site                                                                                 End of the day shot – doesn’t look like                                                                                                                            much has changed physically, but the                                                                                                                            driver of this site, has made big shifts.

Today’s session again had some valuable learning, unfortunately for me though, I had to deal with a street power outage and a lowly charged laptop. Any who, I got it sorted by relocating to a family member’s homestead, 10 minutes down the road.

My GEMS from today were numerous – I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Google Sheets, data here I come, I can’t wait to share my new skills with my Middle Management Team. My slide below is just a small insight of what I am now able to do, watch this space people. 🙂

Due to the power outage issues I was having to deal with, I was only able to briefly delve into My Google Maps , I think I managed to map my fellow DFI colleagues favourite holiday destinations. Please check to see if I have amazingly managed to map your holiday spot team. To ensure you can view the entire map please click on view the bigger map.

Okay, another full on day of DFI learning. What reasonated with me from Dorothy’s sharing was her quote “Learners learn differently and deeper through Creativity”. She then posed the question which I felt was directed at the secondary level, “Is creativity worked out of our teaching as we move up in Years?” Personally, moving from the Primary sector into Secondary, I feel that I have negatively shifted in this direction. I am encouraged now from todays learnings to ensure I re-create my Secondary teaching style to incorporate CREATIVITY. Recently I have been reflecting on my teaching pedagogy and how can I engage my students, from feedback from some my students that have shared that more fun activities and getting outside of the classroom would make a difference. I will definitely be exploring the shared slideshows from today, to help make my teaching spaces more ENGAGING and INSPIRING for my future students.

I really enjoyed the brief insight into Google Drawing and again further learning about Google Slides. When the hands are involved the head really gets going! 

Exciting Learning Ahead!

Wow, today was packed with so much new information—Brain Overload, but in the best way possible! I can’t wait to dive deeper into the fantastic digital tools we explored.

Dorothy’s presentation on the Manaiakalani pedagogy, particularly the “Learn, Create, Share” model, truly inspired me. Today, we focused on the “LEARN/AKO” aspect, which emphasises that both teachers and learners should develop similar skills. This alignment is crucial so that teachers can effectively guide their students, and learners can confidently explore and engage with the vast digital world around them.

I loved the metaphor Dorothy used to illustrate the learning journey with Manaiakalani: imagine two railway tracks. One track represents our understanding of effective teaching practices, while the other represents the digital tools and infrastructure that can accelerate learning. Surrounding these tracks is the “digital ocean,” which enhances the entire learning experience. As Dorothy wisely noted, “Expecting accelerated results without effective teaching practice is a disappointment waiting to happen.” This highlights the importance of strong teaching as the foundation for successful learning.

Alongside the Learn pedagogy, we also discussed the RAT acronym: Recognition of effective practice, Amplifying, and Turbo-charging learning opportunities through digital tools.

Homework Assignment: Reflect on what effective practice looks like within BOIC.

Remember, learning is all about weaving together those railway tracks and their surroundings. I’m excited to implement the RAT framework in my own learning spaces!

Google Meets

I really enjoyed the hands-on activity with Google Meets, especially working alongside a colleague. Collaborating with Kate, who I see as more of a digital native, made the process smoother. She helped me navigate between tabs while sharing a presentation, which increased my understanding of setting up Google Meets through Google Calendar. Thank you, Kate!

Google Keep

I’ve just downloaded Google Keep on my phone, and I’m eager to explore it further. This tool looks incredibly promising for streamlining workflow and boosting productivity. I can’t wait to see how it can make my tasks more manageable!

Gmail

I thought I had a good grasp of Gmail, but I’ve realised there’s so much more to learn! I’m excited to dive into the slide shows and put new techniques into practice.

Two weeks down, and there’s still a lot to learn on my journey toward digital fluency. Bring it on!

Dorothy Burt – The Development of our Pedagogy and Kaupapa
Manaiakalani – The hook from heaven
Manaiakalani began in Tamaki in November 2006

Striving for equity for all
Why???? – Equity, Achievement (measured), Hope (came from whanau, community, long-term journey), 21st Century Skills

Goals
Motivate our learners to engage with the curriculum
Learn (Ako), Create (Hanga), Share (Tohatoha)

Chalk & Talk – Amie Williams

• Terminology – Omnibox refers to the url bar
• Profiles and bookmarking
• Organise your Drive – Filing Documents: Name, Permissions, Order (There is ‘no right’ way to do this)
• Add a shortcut to access other people’s work rather than move
  Useful tips

Deep Dive – Vicki Archer

Google Groups – access through the waffle/matrix (I will look at utilising this for House Leader communications and any other future groups I will be involved with)
Digest – a means of grouping numerous emails into one email per day
Abridge – to be able to view part thereof of the emails

Create groups, name of the group, group description, choose the privacy setting

Explore | Tūhura
Google Docs | Tuhinga Kūkara
Eyes on Text Template: Teaching and Learning, Admin and Agendas
Eyes on Text – in Te Reo Māori
Scavenger Hunt
Whāia te Ara Hamuhamu – Scavenger Hunt in te Reo
Add-ons
Collaborative Email
Explore Board Template – Make a copy     (I will definitely look at incorporating all of these shared resources with my students and within my own personal life with my grandchildren)

Google Docs to CREATE – Aime Williams

PLAN DOCUMENT TABLE SHARE

Cybersmart – Vicki Archer