Today I attended day one of the digital Fluency Intensive (DFI) run by Dorothy Burt and other members of the Manaiakalani team. Initially, these sessions were delivered face to face by region but as with many things, Covid-19 has prevented this from going ahead. We now have to opportunity to have larger group sessions via Google Hangout Meet with teachers and facilitators across New Zealand.
Today's session, titled 'Core Business', began with the original story of Manaiakalani. Each time I hear this story I have a new understanding and appreciation for the work that has lead to this point in the Manaiakalani journey.
We then spent time delving into Chrome, Google Groups, Google Drive, and Google Docs. Apart from Google Groups, I would say I was reasonably confident although well aware I wouldn't be using them to their full potential. Below are my takeaways from today...
- I have a range of extensions to explore - themes, one tab, color pix eye drop, great suspender...
- Would using a Google Group be a good option for the PLG I run?
- * can be used to bring important and current folders to the top of your Google Drive making them easier to locate
- Reexamine my beginning of the year set ups practices and what I need to revisit when school returns this term. Regardless of the age of the children, we can't assume they have been taught all the appropriate workflow skills no matter how efficient they may appear.
- Teaching children to avoid using CTRL + V, and instead use CTRL + Shift + V to paste without formatting.
- Underlining in the 21st Century is for hyperlinks not titles
- Updating headings using the style tab will allow all headings to have the same formate
- Insert - table of contents will hyperlink these formatted headings for quick access. Great for using with large documents or as a whole term writing doc for the children.
- The benefits of using 'Voice Typing' to grow confidence with reluctant typers/writers
- Features of the 'explore' tool beyond simply a way to quickly locate information
- Google Docs can be used to create presentations such as posters. See my example below
- Remove.bg is a site that will format pictures into PNGs by removing the background.
- The importance of allowing time for our learners to share. This is very much a 'do as I say, not as I do' approach for me I am ashamed to admit. I remind my colleagues of this often and go as far as telling them to timetable blogging (as one example) into their weekly programme. I acknowledge I need to do this better!
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Kia ora Kate,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you posting again! I enjoy reading your point of view.
I like the way you have shared your key takeaways - these are similar to the things I took away from my first DFI! I laughed when I read your point about underlining - something Dorothy taught me too! I was tied to it from my old 'underline in red' school days!
Google Groups would be a great way for the PLG's. This is something I wanted to push for at the start of the year but felt that there needed to be a bit more understanding around how to use it. Something we could move towards in the future for sure.
I look forward to seeing how the DFI impacts on your class!
Have a great week,
-Kelsey
Thanks for reading my post Kelsey. I'll hold off on the Google Group till we can look at doing it together as a team which makes sense. I've already got a few ideas about how I can implement some of new learnings when we return to school.
DeleteLooking forward to catching up with you soon.
Kia ora Kate
ReplyDeleteI really like your Google Doc message, that was a handy hint and one to pass on to our learners. I also like the way you have bulletpointed your "takeaways" as this is an easy way to read the highlights of your blog, and I hope you don't mind if I copy this idea? Ka kite, apopo.
Kia ora Pip, thanks for taking time to read and comment on my post. You are more than welcome to 'copy' my way of bullet pointing take aways. I have to admit that sometimes I will waffle if I don't keep it short and sweet! Looking forward to 'seeing' you tomorrow.
DeleteKia ora anō Kate,
ReplyDeleteI was great to meet you (digitally) during our first DFI session. You have shared some valuable 'takeaways' in this post. When I first learnt the paste without formatting, it was a game changer as it saves you so much time. The underlined font one always brings a smile to my face as I have watched learners click on underlined titles and look confused when a new tab didn't open.
I look forward to catching up during our second session.
Ngā mihi
Nā Makaore
Kia ora Makaore
DeleteThank you for taking the time to read and comment on my post. It was great to meet you too and I look forward to working with you over the next few weeks. Interestingly this week I noticed a webpage which had a title underlined and I was a bit disappointed when I found it wasn't a link! I am really looking forward to sharing what I have learnt with my students.