DFI - Day 8

Kia Ora,

Today was Day 8 of DFI 2022. Our focus for today was on Creating with Code and Computational Thinking. 

Akohia/Learn:

For the reflection I shared that my professional workflow for students has continued to improve, and there has been visible and measurable learning in literacy and numeracy for most of my ākonga. 

Next, we heard about the importance of our ākonga being empowered. The fourth 'pou of the whare', its value is of equal importance to the Manaiakalani pedagogy. Most importantly, the idea was shared that students must be empowered through the education they receive at school, and by using digital platforms this aspiration is well supported. Attending DFI has enabled me to attempt to satisfactorily meet my students' learning needs through providing effective digital techniques and tools to them. The effect of this has been that my students are able to pursue learning that is of interest to them which is empowering. 

Then, we learned how to make code in Micro:bit. Below is my example:

After that, we received an introduction into coding and computational thinking. For me these tools and programs are alternate ways to have learning experiences that provide empowerment for students. I know that for several of my students, applications such as Minecraft and Scratch will be highly engaging as learning experiences and tools.

Then, we had surprise presentation by a group of Year 6 Point England students. They introduced themselves and spoke about their empowered learning through the 'Learn, Create, Share' model. This was useful in showing me the great potential outcomes I can achieve with my younger students in Year 3. The students' presentation clearly reflected the 'pou' of empowerment in the Manaiakalani pedagogy.

Hanga/Create:

Later, we made meaning of the coding content covered earlier. This opportunity allowed us to create with code. I chose to join the Scratch group, as Scratch was covered in the content, and having knowledge of my students' interests, knowledge and skills, I knew they will likely heavily engage with Scratch-led learning. 

On reflection, I wasn't good at using Scratch at all, so I will most likely ask my student to be the experts at teaching this in class.

Here is a screenshot of my example:

Tohatoha/Share:

Lastly, we 'Shared' our learning. We focussed on embedding and rewinding the content we had created through our blogs.

And, by reflecting upon this blog, I have answered a couple of questions.

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

I have learned that using digital devices and support tools are important for empowering student learning as we saw with the Point England student presentation.

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

I have tried to learn the functions of the Scratch application and to provide this as an authentic learning experience for my students. 

Mā te wā