DFI Session Nine- Revision

A deep sigh of relief as I am writing this now that I have finished the Google Educator Exam. 

The Manaiakalani kaupapa word we covered this week was ubiquitous. Ubiquitous ensures that barriers are 'removed so therefore the learning takes places outside of the traditional school/classroom in the digital era. There are many benefits to this. Providing the time students are able to access learning at anytime of the day or night- this therefore achieves the goal of empowering learners also. You are providing a diverse audience, your work that you post is available anywhere in world and is no longer restricted to your book that sits in the book box. 

I suddenly had a flashback of sitting in Campion College sitting down to sit Level 3 exams and I can't say that it was a great feeling. It's funny to think that I had forgotten the feeling but in the moment that I was starting to log in it came all flooding back. Once the exam started the feeling subsided to a feeling of panic as that timer begun to count down. Some of the multi choice I struggled with- thanks goodness for the 'review" button! A part of gmail I hadn't covered was the 'tasks' bar which meant a quick google search was needed! Once discovering where it was and answered the questions I thought it would be quite a handy tool to be using. I finished the exam with about 30 minutes to spare and took a sigh of relief once I was done. 


As I sum up this last blog post I have to express the gratitude I feel for being able to come along to these fantastic DFI. Thanks to Josie I discovered the google album from our last 9 weeks if you are wanting to have a nosey check them out here. Many laughs and a great way to spend our Fridays. Thanks to everyone in the Gisborne DFI Cohort 2, I had a blast! Thanks to Cheryl and Maria along with our visitors throughout the DFI, for the wealth of knowledge you have shared with us. 

DFI Session Eight - Adjusting to Animation

Today was another day of firsts! Hearing about the Tamaki community and how the demolition of State housing is having a massive effect on their area and schools. Also had my first ever go at making a digital image of myself- don't be fooled, that cartoon looking thing down below is in fact me! Also had my first go at making an animation using Google Presentation.

The Manaiakalani kauapapa word for this week was empowerment. "Empowerment is about advancing of Rangatiratanga; taking back control of their lives" Pat Snedden. The story behind why empowerment is so important was very powerful, students and whānau are both given opportunities through Manaiakalani. These opportunities are plentiful whether it is the devices or the wifi available from schools to the community, there are many benefits to be seen. 

Below is my animation- my creative juices seemed to be a bit blocked so thought I couldn't really go wrong with a boat made of shapes and waves made out clouds. To make a basic animation like this it took 93 slides- credit to whoever makes a whole story line out of a Google Presentation. Whenever we do tasks like these I find myself feeling rather enthusiastic as to how I could incorporate this into my classroom. I think there are some children in my class that this task would really appeal too. 

My first go at a characterised drawing of myself using Google Drawings. I found this task super challenging and quite frustrating to get my head around. This task really allowed me to explore the "lines" section of Google Drawings, I used the Curved lines, Poly lines, straight lines to create this image.I also used shapes for the eyes and facial outline. What a mission. 

DFI Session Seven- Dealing with Data

The focus of Dorothy's presentation was about connectedness. Dorothy believes connectedness is powerful when...

• teaching and learning is visible,
• learners (and teachers) have are empowered (have agency), and
• ubiquity is supported

​When learning about the Manaiakalani kaupapa I was amazed to see the number of learners involved in Manaiakalani and the outreach. 22,000 LEARNERS in total.

• 64 english medium primary
• 10 Catholic special character ( 1 secondary)
• 3+ Kura Kaupapa Maori and
• 14 secondary schools
• 1 special school
• Smallest school - 25 Te Hapua
• 1 area school.

Today was a day of firsts, first time using MyMaps and the first time using Google Forms. Below is my first attempt at using MyMaps to plot points from data collected from Google Forms. With my chosen destination being Fiji! 

We were given the opportunity to explore forms. This was a part of the G-suite that I had not navigated yet so I was excited to be making my first Google Form. I can see a lot of potential for using this in the classroom, collecting student voice and whānau voice in a way that was safe for those who were sharing, for example it can be anonymous so their name is not attached to the form.

A handy hint to work smarter not harder... text wrapping in Google sheets. I took the time to practice a Screencastify too which shows you simple it is with just two clicks!