DFI Day 1: Term 3 2020

The value of having a wonderful team was emphasised for me today.  We had 60 teachers and 10 facilitators online and the atmosphere was just wonderful.  Manaiakalani continues to be a vehicle and a movement inspiring me.  From more than five years ago when I was first introduced by an excited colleague to the Manaiakalani modes of operating, through my time as a classroom teacher receiving in-class facilitation, to my work as an in-class support Manaiakalani Facilitator, I have felt the magic in many occasions.  Being part of this wonderful team throughout my time with Manaiakalani has been so rewarding and my own learning has grown exponentially with such strengths around me.

Participating in the online DFI has allowed me to continue to deepen my understanding of my role as a facilitator as well as my knowledge of tools, especially with the online component necessitating me recalling how to do things without necessarily being able to physically sit next to the teachers I'm working with.  With Google Docs, adding annotated footnotes and matching heading styles was a great reminder that what I don't use often, I forget about!  I will be using these tools more in the future to ensure this is less likely to occur.

Revisiting the Eyes on Text task was also a wonderful reminder that we have a number of great tools to use with learners that are engaging and motivating that are also very simple and don't require teachers to do huge hours of preparation.  Our learners should always be working harder than our teachers.  Sadly, this is often not the case.  I can see that often this means our learners feel they are able to abdicate responsibility for their learning to their teachers, even in situations that could empower them.  The more of these types of learning opportunities we can add to classroom programmes, the higher the likelihood is that they will again regain a sense of agency in their learning.

Having used the same Voice Typing feature that is used within Eyes on Text in some of my facilitation sessions, along with the Word Count feature, I have seen firsthand the power of a little self-competition.  An activity that I often find challenging in terms of motivating students, was super engaging when they had a timer running and regular checkins to see how many words they were up to for their profile designs.  One young man who usually spends a lot of time distracting others actually voice typed 750 words for his profile introduction!  Highly engaging.

I thought a lot about our new MAPIC acronym which I'm working on developing an in-depth understanding about.  This was recently introduced to us by Naomi Rosedale from Woolf Fisher Research Centre and there is so much scope for amazing pedagogical development within it once I can understand it a bit better.  Many of the lessons I run with learners now are assessment tools for me, to see how well we are employing each of the different elements in order to create engaging and purposeful learning for our tamariki.  What a fortunate position we are in with Naomi Rosedale and Woolf Fisher Research Centre to be able to have access to the wonderful research that has been undertaken that we can employ to inform our practice - both as facilitators, and also in helping our teachers to strive to do the same in the lessons they are creating for their learners.

Blogger Inquiry: Episode #1

As a team, Manaiakalani have advocated for the use of Blogger in the classroom.  It's not the sexiest platform and it certainly has room for growth.  It's often frustrating to see the enhancements made to a number of other incredible Google Suite tools, with Blogger just getting left behind.  

Here in NZ, we have more than 22,000 learners involved in programmes where blogging is an integral part of the share component of what we do.  As an avid blogger myself, I understand the potential benefits even beyond our classrooms and am passionate about helping teachers to see the power in it.  But I am also a realist.  I have been a classroom teacher, inundated and overwhelmed by the complexities of the needs of busy classes of 30 children, wifi that won't cooperate, devices that are not charged, assessments that require completion and the competing demands of other curriculum areas that appear to not 'fit' within the scope of blogging.  So this series will attempt to explore not just the why and the how of blogging, but also to answer some of the challenging questions we must explore in order to help blogging gain the kind of traction it requires to be able to take on a life of its own.

In this first post, I will explore why we blog, what the power of it is and showcase some of the many blogs I'm enjoying around our country at the moment, both educators and students.  I am conscious that 'done' is better than perfect and absent, which is often what my blog posts are when I strive for perfection. Please know that this is an inquiry - a place to explore the many facets of my topic, before endeavouring to get my research to the point that it is actually of use in its implementation in our classrooms.

Wins from the week

If you'd told me a few years ago that in 2020 I'd be working from home due to a global pandemic, supporting teachers in becoming proficient in designing engaging, visible, empowering, ubiquitous, connected learning for their kids... I would have laughed you off the face of this earth!  Yet here we are.







In my work as a Manaiakalani outreach facilitator and education programme leader, we usually spend most of our time supporting teachers in learning about learning that is visible and rewindable in the context of their classroom, amplifying their great practice and implementation of their wonderful, creative local curriculums and designing Cybersmart lessons to teach in the classes we support in.  

But not right now!

We are in a privileged position, being able to witness the development of some exponential learning all and I find myself feeling very grateful, very often. We received some wonderful feedback on the Top Tips site - I'm pleased it was helpful. We were certainly grateful to be able to support so many people at such a challenging and uncertain time. I definitely think that clear and concise is the way to go. I love that the tools we chose were also the very same tools that allowed teachers to do what they do best: teach! Not load learners and whānau up with apps and passwords that 'teach them'. Our teachers have wonderful knowledge of their tamariki and rich local curriculums to engage their kids through; it would have been such a shame for that to be abdicated to a platform. 

Today, having been part of a Tairāwhiti Slam session where some teachers shared with us what has been working well for them, I was rewarded again, watching many of our teachers share and show leadership by amplifying their practice, sharing with others.  What a great waka we're on when we all paddle together.  





I just know that together next week, heading into level 2, that our nation will continue to do great things by our tamariki, and now that we have begun to address some of the inequities that occur in our communities, we will be better able to be of benefit to more learners, heading forward.

Accelerated learning - for our teachers!

April 2020 has been a month like no other in New Zealand.

The commencement of Level 4 lockdown from March 26th changed the way we exist and by necessity, changed the way we look at learning.

Within a week, many of our teachers were becoming far more competent at delivering learning online.  Something that had been long considered either impossible or unnecessary was suddenly the only option. Teachers' and Principals' inboxes were being inundated relentlessly with new shiny platforms and tools that were purported to be the saving grace of a teacher struggling to find their way into remote learning for their tamariki.

Here locally, 14 of our local schools are involved in The Manaiakalani Programme Outreach (T.M.P.O) and have been since the beginning of 2018.  Two of these schools had joined at the beginning of 2019 and so understandably, were not quite as experienced as the others, but during the transition to online or remote learning in April, were equally as committed to the necessary growth.

It became apparent very quickly that the schools that were already having support found the whole process much less of a journey and as facilitators it was so rewarding working alongside all of our incredible local educators as they geared up for this process.
As a team, we wanted to support as many teachers and schools as possible, so with the support Manaiakalani and our local Connext Trust, we set up a Top Tips page on our local Tairāwhiti Cluster site dedicated to remote learning.  Online workshop sessions were run from here using Google Meet and across the week we explored the use of highly effective tools such as Google Sites, Google Meet and the Screencastify extension app.

Click here for our Top Tips page: (scroll towards the bottom for recordings and original workshops)

One of the most exciting aspects of being able to support a number of schools was to know that we were helping our local tamariki to be able to continue their learning and in particular, the connection with their teacher and peers, which globally, we were hearing was the most valued aspect during this time of physical distancing.  

The growth in the digital fluency of our local educators from Manaiakalani schools has exploded! Exponential acceleration is the only way I can explain it.  I consider myself in an incredibly privileged position in that I am privy to the exceptional commitment to growth in our educators.  Our local tamariki are blessed to have both teachers and Principals who are dedicated to doing the very best by their education at a time when the world has literally changed as we know it.  It is an incredibly uncertain and challenging time for our teachers who are often learning to work from home, supporting their own children or spouses in their 'learning from home' (even if this is just timetabling support and sharing space and wifi!) as well as parenting and running households under lockdown.  While support in the form of hard packs for schools and educational tv etc for learners has been provided by the New Zealand government, which is outstanding, I personally feel that not as much acknowledgement has been given to our wonderful teachers who have really been 'thrown in the dee; end' and have had to simply 'get on with it'.  Although this is reflective of the kiwi can-do attitude, I feel we certainly do need to commend our teachers on their resilience and resourcefulness throughout this time. They really are amazing!

This morning, I was lucky enough to join a local school Google Meet for a staff briefing and PLD session.  I was lucky enough to be able to share some ideas for teachers around recording the Google Meets they are doing with their learners so that they can be displayed on their classroom Google Sites where they can be rewindable.  This means learners can view learning over and over again and help them to consolidate learning.

But what really stood out for me was the digital capacity that's growing within their school.  One of their younger teachers demonstrated today how she's using Screencastify in her lessons to provide visual instructions for her learners AND to provide feedback to her learners and additional support.  She also shared that the feedback from her learners is that they have really valued receiving instructions and feedback in this video format - that it has been powerful and a wonderful support mechanism for the kids at the moment.  As a teacher, she also shared how providing feedback to learners in this way was much more time-efficient than sending a number of emails back and forth.  I mentioned to her how useful some of these screencasts would be housed in an FAQ folder on her class site, as likely other learners may have similar problems.  

Helping our teachers manage their time at the moment is vital as online meetings are incredibly taxing of energy levels and the additional support learners often need in order to learn how to function in this way means that teachers are often spending a massive number of hours a day on emails and phone calls as well as their scheduled online meetings.  Another reason why we need to be celebrating our great teachers as they model exponential learning at this time.  I for one, take my hat off to them.  

Connecting with Learners using Screencastify

During our time of working from home, it can be more important than ever to support our learners with instructions for their learning, connecting with them to their teachers and classrooms and provide targeted support and feedback on the tasks they are undertaking.

One tool I've found to be invaluable over the past year is Screencastify.  Screencastify allows you to record video just of yourself, video of your screen and now also to create audio files which can be added to your Google Slides to support instructions and feedback. With Screencastify, learning is visible, rewindable and personalised.

While I've used Screencastify for a number of years now, undertaking the Screencastify Certified Genius study uncovered for me a whole range of ways to maximise this tool, which I've not been making the most of!  

I've been using Screencastify for recording welcome videos and instructional videos for learners for a long time and more recently, I've really seen the power of these embedded in a Google Site, next to the students' learning tasks.  I've also added them as a link to my teaching tracking sheets, to support learners with a variety of tasks they must complete.  I've also used them to send video to teachers to support them in their learning as we explore more about how to use technology purposefully in effective Learn, Create, Share pedagogy in our local classrooms.   However, there are many more ways I could be utilising this great tool.

Two goals I have for using Screencastify in the future is embedding it in Google Forms that lead learners through their learning journeys.

As a bit of fun, Screencastify also award a badge that can be uploaded to share with others how much I love Screencastify.

Here's mine:

To earn yours, head to this link today.

COVID-19 Reflections from Day 2 in Lockdown as Manaiakalani Programme Outreach Facilitator

Covid-19 is bringing the country to a completely different level of normal. Level 4 has seen many aspects of life grind to a halt, but learning... we are just getting started.

The power of online learning is not to be underestimated. Over the past year, my online learning has seen me complete learning in everything from Hapara Champion Educator and Google Certified Educator Level 2, to Indian head massage and Yoga Nidra.

My favourite aspect of life is learning new things.  I have always been curious.  I am always learning.  At the moment that's ramping up, rather than slowing down.

It’s seeing me learn how to care for my family, while still working full-time and teaching our wonderful responsive teachers how to still connect with their kids during an immensely challenging and uncertain time. One of our own kids is immunocompromised with both glandular fever and bad asthma even with a normal cold. He is more fearful than I know he is letting on.

His sister and father have both returned from hugely-overcrowded spaces out in the public, filled with huge numbers of tourists flouting the rules pre-level 4. I'm having to keep them all separate from each other. It's a challenging time. I'm lucky that my work is keeping me so busy and bringing so many beautiful moments into my day.

Seeing a 2019 teacher I worked with, sharing a welcome video for her kids on her site.  This will benefit all of her learners, including one visually-impaired young man. What a beautiful, reassuring thing it was for me to see her face. I can only imagine how lovely it will be for her learners to hear her voice during this time.

Seeing teachers I worked at the coalface with before this role embrace Google Meet, connecting face to face with their kids and hanging up inspired and planning the next meeting.

A great example of a Junior teacher from our Manaiakalani clusters. (Click to check it out)

Watching the sharing of incredible resources and ideas by our amazing Manaiakalani teachers all around the country has been the most heartening. Through the Learn, Create, Share pedagogy they have been immersed in over the past 2 years, they have seen learning that is visible, empowering, ubiquitous and connected. They have seen amplified practice -  teachers openly sharing gems through Class on Air and Manaiakalani Innovative Teachers.



And now, at this time they are amplifying their own practice and sharing widely, too. Watching learning come together in this way is mind-boggling and fills my heart with gratitude for the power of digital affordances that bring us together in times of isolation... in more ways than one.