Making connections is such a big part of who we are as humans. At this present time creating connections digitally has become the daily norm. When I was watching the news tonight a man said a month a go he thought Zoom was in reference to a car, now he is on Zoom on a daily basis with his staff! For many digitally connecting was just a part of a normal work day, but now it has become a part of everyone's daily routine whether its working from home, online learning, connecting and checking in with family, ordering essential items or just watching Netflix. Digital technology has become a large part of our daily lives. Dorothy's message today's around connectivity being a way of life for our students was perfectly timed but i'm sure even when she prepared her slide for our DFI course she didn't realise how relevant it would be for us all.
As we continued the exploration in Google Sites today I enjoyed having the time to learn, create and share. I got lots of great ideas from viewing others sites and it also reinforced I was on the track with my contributions within our team site. Breaking off into our regional groups was great as it allowed the time to explore each others sites, test links, and give feedback to each other.
Our team site is looking fantastic, many hours has been spent to create interactive digital content that is easily accessible for our tamariki during lock down. I am grateful to the few sessions we had with Amie our Manaiakalani facilitator before this unprecedented turn of events happened, reshaping all aspects of our daily lives. This along with our (Michelle & I ) new learning from this DFI course has helped create and support our team in site building.
I have continued to create multi module Google slides to support my reading program. Making sure for the time being that everything is digitally accessible and limits the links to support online learning at home. I am a very visual person and yes I have spent way to much time on the creative aspect of these, (as I have plenty of time at moment!) and recreating some activities (which is not necessarily working smarter) but I am very proud of the outcome and see it as an investment into my future planning as I am building a bank of rich resources.
Kerry's session on Blogger tips moved at a very fast pace today. I feel I need to rewind and refresh by going over the Google slide and then putting it into practice. It's a lot of new learning to fit into one day and I do miss the face to face discussions. I did try to do the task she set us but it did not work, practice, practice, practice is what I need.
A busy week ahead and lots to explore!
Next steps for me moving forward are to;
- continue to use Google Hangout to connect with students
- updating and building on our team Google Site
- record my message in Flip grid for students to connect to peers & teachers
- practice so I am prepared for the Google exam
Kia ora Janine,
ReplyDeleteWow your blog, like your Class Google Site, is looking amazing! You have clearly put in a lot of work, both individually as a teacher, as well as within your team during the past month. What an incredible job you've done! Lucky tamariki! When I was looking at the site last week I somehow missed your reading slides. Wow they are awesome! I love the design work you've done and the significant effort you've put into selecting great texts for your learners. Wow, they really will be reading wide and deep through this process, which we know from the Woolf Fisher research is such an important part of a great reading programme.
Your blog post reads so well, it's very engaging and paints a great picture of your journey so thank you so much for sharing that! It's awesome that you've learned so much - as a facilitator it's very rewarding for me to work with teachers like yourself that are so driven.
Well done on making progress on some of your goals - you've done a great job with your Flipgrid message already and your site work is going so well. I'm looking forward to hearing how your Google Meets are going - you'll be a pro after undertaking your DFI learning that way!
Enjoy DFI on Friday!
Ngā mihi,
Amie
Kia ora Janine,
ReplyDeleteGreat to read the steps in this digital journey. A really worthwhile journey for you as a teacher and your tamariki as Amie has reflected. It is fantastic you have taken the time to build the rich resources you are.
I agree, the learning can be fast-paced so being rewindable is vital. I can see you have added the blog list gadget to your blog to show the blogs you follow. The DFI blogs might be a place to start to add blog links. Remember to move this gadget down the list when you are in layout so your photo sits at the top.
Ngā mihi,
Maria