Collaborate Sites Agenda Day 5 Northland F2F Cohort, 2021

Dfi day 5 Collaborate sites

The day started with a  Karakia, then on to to listen to the presentation from the   Manaiakilani Mama,

non-other than the The Digital Dowager herself, Dorothy.  ( I hope she has a sense of humour.

I think she does. trying to get on to her wavelength ) . 

Dorothy summed up her presentation in just a couple of sentences.

 If it can’t be seen, it can’t be done, (maybe not her exact words  but words to that effect ) 

Learning materials should be made visible to students , learning resources should have relevance,

be vibrant and impact that will spark  the learners curiosity and entice them to  further investigate

the resources on offer.      The learning should be visible and understandable,  students fail because

the system is like a maze, they get lost.   “Where do I go from here?”

Bit of irony here, as this  is how I and some of the others feel on the DFI course.I guess this is how students sometimes feel? Doesn't stop me from wanting to learn more though.

Is this the correct pathway that will best serve my needs? 

To help stop the confusion the learning journey should be laid out for learners.

Dorothy also mentioned there should be no surprises, I suppose this could add to the  learners 

anxiety and in turn hinder the learning process.

TDDD commented;  Getting to know the teacher and how they think, however you would put it,

say it as you wiould , tune into the teachers wavelength, gauge the system or the teachers mind,

connecting can have positive results, successes and eventual positive outcomes. 

This is a challenging notion though,  because possibly more on a subconscious level I have thought

that it is up to the teacher to go to the learners level rather than the other way around. I would say 

it goes both ways. My thoughts are  what Dorothy means by this is, positive interaction between learner

and teacher, understanding another's personality and traits can have bearing on what is understood by

the learner.  Thus if a piece of information is missing or not quite understood then the learner can

deduce by saying,  I know this teacher this is what they will be trying to say or this is the information

they will be asking for. Or better still I know where to find it. I think anyway, please correct me if I am wrong? 

   

Another plus for digital learning is that through techkids students can learn at their own pace.

It doesn't matter that some students learn at a different rate, the work is still there and can be accessed

anywhere anytime as long as there is wifi.  This proved highly valuable during the lockdown for teachers

and students. I also like the accessibility that digital technology can give to parents, even to the point

of them looking into a classroom online.

Thought for the day.

I think, before students have a digital device they face challenges.

I am sure no one would argue the fact that there is  a percentage of learners who, for an abundance

of reasons do not see the relevance of what they are learning, at school.  I believe  somewhat tied

into this is an attitude or perception about the material they is taught at school, that is the knowledge

on offer” will be no good to me”,  or even see it as it being for that person or those people,  whereas I say

it's not about it being his or hers or theirs or ours, surely the knowledge of the world  belongs to 

no one but  should be available to everyone. 

 This  brings me to my point, that digital pedagogy can bring this directly to the learner in an exciting

and dynamic format, remember SiSoMo. Hopefully this direct impact can hold the learner, give them a

thirst for knowledge and a hunger to achieve. I would like to see students realise their hopes and dreams,

goals and ambitions. Heck I want students to have  hopes and dreams, to have obtainable goals and

ambitions. Perhaps digital technology will help this to happen.

This morning I hadn’t thought I was going to be able to write much about DFI day 5 because from

Thursday I have been away and out of wifi range for several days  

However after reading Jessi’s blog  (thanks Jessie)  and reflecting back to my notes about the day,

and thanks to the expert  DFI team for their patience, and to Dorothy for her inspiring words of wisdom.

I have managed to express my view and come up with a paragraph or two.

I  still  have a fair way to go with the DFI course but I am  enjoying the learning and starting to see

how the adoption of creating, sharing, learning and visibility may help to  inform and empower 

the modern learner.

Google sites

The DFI class then moved onto Google sites, learning how to produce a website.

Bit of fun but requires lots of concentration. I didn;t do the paper site design plan so will try using this

method on Wednesday day 6.

I watched the tutorial yesterday and spent nearly all day playing with various ideas and themes. 

I am still having some problems but should be easily solved.

 There was mention of putting labels on posts, might need to get some more info on this one. 

Rock on DFI day 6 , At the beautiful little Aparore primary school, at Waipapakauri, love it up at that school.

Pratice web sites.

Here is a link to my site that I made today.