DFI Day 9: Revision

Well, what a day! Nothing like doing a 3 hour Google exam on the second to last day of the longest term of the century! Today was our opportunity, with time set aside in our DFI, to attempt the Google level 1 exam.  Now it is just the nervous wait to see if I have passed. Until a couple of days ago I was feeling reasonably confident but as this day has got closer the more doubt started to creep in. I am really pleased that I have given it a go and am even contemplating attempting Level 2 but not without a bit preparation first! If I do attempt Level 2, I will definitely be opening up the instructions on another device as I didn't have my trusty spilt screen extension due to using the incognito window.

Before beginning our exam we still covered some of the routine sessions. Todays connecting with Maniakalani focus was on ubiquitous. This simply means that by using the avoidances of digital technology our students can learn any time, anywhere, any pace and from anyone.  The following infographic created by Dorothy in 2018 shows just how powerful this ability to provide our student with ubiquitous learning actually is. The information shows the comparisons of a children who have participated in the Summer Learning Journey and have completed at least 3 quality blog posts per week and that of a simply matched children who have not participated. When I first saw this infographic I was blown away and used this as a basis for a staff meeting around the benefits of blogging 3+ times per week and even with my students in preparation for the beginning of the Summer Learning Journey. 

Another example of ubiquitous learning was our children's ability to still participate in learning over the lockdown period. I have spoken in previous posts about how grateful I was as a teacher to feel somewhat prepared for such an event and that my students had the means to continue their learning. Despite never having used Google Hangout Meet before, myself and many of my students were able to connect with each other not only as a means of sharing work but also maintaining and developing relationships.  By having access and a good understanding of Google sites my students had opportunities to continue making progress in their learning. Using Hāpara I was able to stay up-to-date with what work my students were completing and provide feedback. Although technology can never (well at least not anytime soon) replace the teacher I was still able to assist my students. Like never before I needed to make sure my tasks had rewindable content such as videos, voice memos and written or visual instructions. During the Meets I  did have children ask me questions and I was able to go directly to their work, see what the issue was and make a screencastify to assist them in completing the task. 

Unfortuanlty, not all children participated even when we bit couriered devices to families without such means. Another struggle for me personally was having a little one to look after while providing distance learning. Thank goodness for his naps otherwise this would have been almost impossible during daylight hours!