Diving straight into the deep end!

Thoughts and Reflections from Week 1 Digital Fluency Intensive

I've never been one for swimming. Water and I have never been friends outside of the obvious. When I was forced to learn to swim (at the tender age of 22 for an upcoming triathlon) I starting by dipping my toes in very tentatively, then sat on the edge for quite some time amping myself up for full entry. Painfully slow. If swimming could be used as an analogy for todays DFI session, I could say I dived straight into the deep end of an Olympic sized pool at 7.45am, and swam (Michael Whelps style) until 3pm, where-by my brain was completely fried and my brow-line hurt from being furrowed for 8 hours straight. 

I loved it!

One of the Manaiakalani philosophies that we've heard many times over, was shared again early on in the morning. We, as teachers, are harnessing the tools that put tamariki at the very centre of their learning. I thought about the first part of that statement and what it actually means. To 'harness' is to control and use the power of something in order to achieve something. Harnessing the tools... to me that means more than just 'using' the tools (digital devices). If I'm harnessing these digital tools, I need to be competent and confident in using them with my tamariki. I need to be educated in latest developments to help raise the academic achievement of my tamariki.  

I thought too about the second part of this statement and what it means to put tamariki at the centre of their learning. To me that means they are surrounded by the learning. Creating, directing, making sense of, innovating, and sharing the learning. It's all fluid. They're not just a cup waiting patiently to be filled. I think this aligns well with our school whakataukī (proverb), 'Ko te piko o te mahuri, tērā te tipu o te rākau'. This means the way in which a young sapling (child) is nurtured determines how the tree (child) will grow. This statement really resonates with me; I can empower a tamaiti to stand confidently as co-constructor of their learning,  I can guide them down a positive pathway towards adolescence and adulthood. Powerful stuff.

At the beginning of our small group session we were asked what our strengths and weaknesses are coming into this intensive. My strength would be being surrounded by some very competent, very tech-savvy professionals at Hornby Primary.  Although we all bring different strengths to the table, we're all prepared to sink in the time and the drive to make it work. We're all 'on the bus' as our Principal, Gary would say. It's easier to be excited and motivated to up-skill when those around you feel the same. If you're not feeling it, GET OFF THE BUS! My weakness can be summed up by that saying, "You don't know what you don't know" - and boy, did I realise today how much I don't (yet) know! 

Through out the day we had about 8 mini intensive sessions jam packed with tips and tricks. I learnt some brilliant Google Doc tricks using the Explore tool and for editing (I actually yelled with excitement when Dorothy Burt showed us how to colour code sub-headings at the touch of one button), and some tips to tidy up tabs and bookmarks. We Marie Kondo-ed our Drive folders, and played round using Docs to create a poster (my example below). There was so much new learning and great reminders that at this point it's still a bit of a jumbled up mess in my head. I needed a couple of hours at the end of the session to get some semblance of order in my head. However 3pm on a Friday is probably not the best time to expect that to happen! 

I'm really looking forward to getting back to kura and using some of the things we learned in Google Docs with my more confident learners, particularly around multi-modal reading activities.  It was encouraging to hear Dorothy say that 7 year olds could most certainly be using a lot of these skills in the classroom. 

Day 1 has certainly extended my own capabilities and I am really looking forward to seeing what Week 2 has to offer. 

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.