Digital Fluency Intensive Week 8

Improved your understanding for the Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

Empowerment involves students, teachers and whanau. Manaiakalani aims to empower and educate all stakeholders in our learner's lives with/through the use of digital technologies.  The aim is to not just see digital technologies as a tool, but a way to transform the way we all learn and use technology to empower our lives.  We need to think about our sites as though students are going home to discuss their learning with their parents and whanau with our sites being used to enhance these discussions and partnerships. Therefore our sites being access capable for all with no locked access in essential. 

Empowered you professionally with your teaching practice?

Computational Thinking 
Today we had the opportunity to work on computational thinking, breaking down the new digital technologies curriculum and have a play with programming some robots and making stop animations. It was great to finally have the chance to experiment with these tools with the assistance of some very knowledgable experts to help troubleshoot issues I came across. I can definitely see amazing potential to integrate these into my classroom programme. 

Below is a video of me using Dash Robots and another where Blake Masters and I created an animation using Clapmotion and Green Screen:

Given you new skills that you can use with your learners?  

I have taught a bit of computational thinking using things such as The Foos app (digital),  plastic cups and mazes (hands on non-digital). My students really enjoy it and I'd like to continue this with the use of digital technologies such as Dash Robots. My students have a good understanding about the 3 three roles they can adopt when programming being coder, debugger and robot. I feel a lot more confident with introducing robots into the classroom now that I have had some practise using them myself. 

Improved your confidence with digital fluency, capability or workflow in your personal life?

I can see a clearer pathway for how I can integrate the new digital technologies curriculum with my students and have realised we are doing a lot of it already! I can't wait to begin the Raranga Matihiko PLD next term with my learners and am keen to empower them by offering a wider context and resources to be creative and digital experts within our school.