DFI - Day 1

Kia Ora,

Today was the first day of our Digital Fluency Intensive (DFI) course 2022. The day was structured according to the Manaiakalani Pedagogy: Learn, Create, Share, and the arrangement of my weekly posts will follow the same format.

Akohia/Learn:

First, it was important to me to gain an understanding of 'Why?'. This course is designed for teachers to prime ourselves with new digital skills in order to have the capabilities to connect our learners digitally to their learning. 

What stood out for me in the 'Learn' period was the story told by the Manaiakalani leader, Dorothy Burt. Dorothy spoke incisively about the genesis of the Manaiakalani story and the ongoing development of the Learn, Create, Share pedagogy, and its positive and empowering impact on low socio-economic communities.

This allowed me to see the importance of connecting my students to the digital world, seeing devices as a learning tool that amplifies effective teacher practice and student learning, and how teaching digitally helps alleviate any disparities of equity within our current education system.

Something that I found useful for my own teaching was being introduced to the 'Explore' function in Google Docs. I have learned how to add a drop down function that I can use for student learning activities. This has stood out for me as transferable learning into the classroom.

Hanga/Create: 

This part of the day was structured for us to 'Create' a document with Google Docs. I decided to make a poster of instructions for using a dictionary to find words.

Alternatively, my students can use the 'Explore' function in Google Docs or use Kiddle to look up and find the meanings of words. 

Tohatoha/Share: 

The final section of the day was for sharing our work via Blogging. This provided me with the opportunity to embed and rewind my learning, as well as a chance to reflect with my colleagues. 

So upon reflection for this blog, I have pondered two questions:

What have I learned that has helped increase my understanding of the Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

I have understood how Manaiakalani aims to help its teachers be more at home in a digital world that is increasingly at the forefront of our ākonga/learners' needs and experiences.

What have I learned that can be used with my learners?

I have learned more about the features, functions, and capabilities of Google Docs which I had not previously realised the potential of, and that are directly transferable into my classroom. 

Some of the features, such as the 'Explore' and 'Building Blocks' buttons can be used in student learning to complete their Learn, and Create tasks in reading, writing, and maths.

Mā te wā.