Manaiakalani Cluster: Create session

DFI: Week 7 Reflection

Today I really enjoyed using "Google Hangouts" at the beginning of our session as we teamed up with another Manaiakalani cluster from Gisborne. I met a lovely teacher called Sheryl and we had a professional and personal discussion about our teaching and learning experiences over the past week. We also found out that we have a family/friend/colleague contact who we both know well. This just proves that it is such a small world and you can bump into people you know online from all around this beautiful country! The Manaiakalani pedagogy continues with a focus on teaching students to be Cybersmart and use the technology to be "at home in a digital world". Digital devices have been used since 2011 within Manaiakalani. 1:1 learning with iPads for Years 1-3 and then Chromebooks for Years 4-8 in a primary school. This means that by the time a student starts college they have had 8 years of being digital natives using technology in all areas of their learning. Values based learning continues in the digital world. A students' digital citizenship skills begin with learning "Kawa of Care" with their device in regards to Smart Footprints, Relationships, Accessing Class sites. All these skills and more are learnt through the implementation of a robust program which is lead by the classroom teacher. Within a school year the following areas are covered; Term 1 (Learn), Term 2 (Create), Term 3 (Share) and in Term 4 a culmination of a student's learning is brought together. By the end of the year teachers are able to identify progress achieved in student confidence levels and their ability to use the tools effectively. Children also learn that learning is global and by no means limited to the classroom. Whanau involvement is also an integral part of their child's education and it is important to help family feel empowered about their child's learning. Giving and receiving positive feedback from a range of family members encourages student's learning through participation and also motivates them. So keeping this in mind I aim to focus on the "Create" part of this kaupapa during this term and encourage my Year 2 students to be able to complete Explain Everything activities on their iPads. Then after they have put them into the correct folders into their Drive, they can upload their mahi (work) onto their blogs. Teachers can then access this on Hapara Teacher Dashboard which shows their whole classes learning within curriculum areas; Reading, Writing, Maths and Inquiry.

DFI: Week 6 Reflection

• There is a strong focus on being Connected through the Manaiakalani pedagogy.
• History of being visible (founders included a few primary schools in Tamaki, Auckland) who formed a connected network. Geographically close location and diverse groups of learning. For e.g. special school, Kura, colleges, intermediate combined with primary. Teachers are able to connect with colleagues in regards to doing, teaching and thinking.

Outreach clusters began in 2015 within Manaiakalani network (there are now 11).

Bi-lingual communities with Te Reo immersion have an advantage of Tikanga practice in their
own environment - for example Otaki 50% of townspeople speak Te Reo Maori.

Implementation of Manaiakalani pedagogy throughout the school year. Term 1: Learn, Term 2: Create, Term 3: Share,
Term 4: Bring all of them together (Innovate & Accelerate).

Students able to use the technology and relate to each other using blog posts/comments.

Some teachers create a Twitter feed for adults to access their child’s learning.
Harness the power of this technology to make connections about student learning.

Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu - communicate with other primary schools connect via class/individual blogs using safe
connections.

The four elements of the kaupapa/pedagogy have to be used together in order for them to be effective: connected,
ubiquitous,
empowered, visible. This is part of the evolving cycle that exists within the Manaiakalani philopsophy.

• Exploring examples of class sites:

Usable sites: 3 clicks or less. How are students going to get there and use it efficiently?

Think about the visual appeal, what is working or not working? Refer to teacher
feedback/critique on Google sites used for student learning in schools. Finally I also participated
in a Google survey on analysing Class sites and giving feedback to my cohort colleagues.

My feed forward is that I will be more mindful in the future about linking my class sites to make
them clearly visible and user friendly for my students. This is usually done during the school holidays in preparation for the following school term.

DFI: Week 5 Reflection

Today's session was all about the Manaiakalani Kaupapa of making learning Visible within your environment. It is really important for this whanau community to be involved in their children's learning journey at school from Primary, through to Intermediate and Secondary.
The default is: Planning, Process, Outcomes, Assessment keeping in mind that it is available to anyone with the link on the world wide web.
Hapara Teacher Dashboard is an excellent tool for teachers to use to monitor and review students participation, engagement and achievement in learning in all areas of the curriculum.
Whanau are able to view their own child online. You are also able to track other expert teachers Class OnAir experiences and leave feedback for them to reflect on their practice. This is something which I plan to do during the school holidays when I have time to leave positive, thoughtful comments.
Multi Modal is the ways that we communicate with others...to share with other learners.
When students are excited about what they're doing they are more likely to be learning cognitively.
Children are exposed to so much visibility in their environment it's up to teachers to continue 'hooking them in' so that they are engaged and ready for learning!
So it's up to teachers to motivate students to engage with the curriculum. This is in alignment with the NZ Curriculum that advocates for students to be "lifelong learners".
The Woolf Fisher research that is being carried out in Manaiakalani schools which reviews how expert teachers engage learners in a variety of ways such as multi media and communication.
Chrissie Butler from Core Education identifies that learners will perceive information in different ways. We need to recognise that what may engage one learner may not interest another?
Finally we looked at creating Multi Modal platforms using Google Sites and accessing the internet to add further information and making it accessible and visually appealing to learners.
When I began this process it reminded me of how much starting a plan is imperative to the process and that using a collaborative approach is a worthwhile exercise to do with a small group of colleagues. Having like minded teachers teaching at a similar level encourages a plethora of ideas that can be included in the planning process of mind maps and using digital media supports the final steps of putting it altogether.

DFI: My Map

This map shows a family road trip we took in 2006 from Auckland to Wellington.

Inquiry focus (Part 2) T1

DFI: Week 4 Reflection

Today's session was focused on the "Share" part of the Manaiakalani pedagogy.
Share (Tohatoha) - focus on sharing content via a digital media in a safe environment.
Remember to share for a purpose and be mindful of your audience. Teachers/Students can share with one another, other classes, schools and be on the world wide web. A reminder not to share your personal details online such as phone number and home address. Use Blogger as a way to monitor personal blogs and professional blogs.
Ref: Prof. John Hattie (meta-cognition/ feedback/ reciprocal teaching/teaching problem solving). "Visible Teaching and Learning occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and help them become their own teachers".

I learnt how to use Google Forms for my class to ascertain their learning outcomes in core curriculum areas such as; Reading, Writing and Maths. I plan to create a Number knowledge survey for my students to use on their Maths site.

I also learnt how to use Google - My Maps to search for a location and find out how to get there whether it be in Auckland, New Zealand or overseas?

When Google sheets were introduced I was able to further my knowledge of creating these independently using the tools provided to efficiently create a spreadsheet with so much more information and formatting abilities than I already knew. I will use these in future long term plans for Reading, Writing and Maths.

Finally, I reviewed a student's blog and created a data analysis/collection of her blogposts.

If I aim to apply these new skills learnt, this will overall become a timesaver and help me to be able to spend more time on the weekends with my family. I also feel that is will make planning easier and more effective in the future.