Digital Fluency Intensive Week 3

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

Creativity Empowers Learning: Teachers are creative when they design experiences that hook students into learning and also provide a opportunities for students to be creative in a variety of ways. The following graphic depicts the brain as being the center of thinking but most of us, and especially our students, need to use our bodies in creative ways to help our brains make sense of the world around us, ideas, concepts and new learning. Using our hands, feet, mouths, the whole body to sing, dance, create visual arts, construct, build, cook, act and speak makes us happy and empowers learning. Such activities provide opportunity for children to learn about themselves, what they like to do, where they come from and connect with the world around them. Digital technology empowers creativity but is only a small part of the whole. In fact devices may just be used to capture and share the other avenues of creativity.

What did I learn that will increase my confidence, capability or work flow as a professional?

1. I learned to make a button! A skill which I know will be used many times in the future for my class site and also in changing our School Curriculum site from Classic Sites to the New Google Sites.

2. I learned to change the settings in my You Tube account to make them private, and to stop embedded videos on class sites continuing on to suggested videos. I will now save my videos in You Tube rather than book marking them. This is a much better way to organise them.


3. I learned lots about the features of Google Slides as I created an animated story. I did actually get a bit carried away when completing it at home. Short animations could be used as motivation fro creative writing, or a fun way of explaining a strategy or concept in maths, science etc.

What did I learn that I could use with my learners?

1. I could definitely use animated Google Slides as mentioned above. 

2. Embedding rewindable videos into my class site when I have created one.

3.Creating labelled playlists in You Tube will help with collecting and organising video resources for future and repeated use in learning activities.

4. The use of buttons in Google sites and also on the iPads using 'Explain Everything' will provide access to student learning in the different curriculum areas. 

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability and workflow in my personal life?

1. Adjusting privacy settings with You Tube videos. This is especially applicable where grandchildren are concerned. 

2. I have never added a video of my family or class to You Tube and now thinking about the effects of negative comments on young people I am relieved I haven't. 

Thank you Dorothy, Kerry and Michael for all of the very helpful tips, information and hands-on, creative learning time you gave us.