My 1st day of DFI

Day one of Digital Fluency Intensive

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

I learnt more about Manaiakalani kaupapa today, for instance:

People started without the use of devices!

• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?

Making the most of google.

1: slides and forms: you can use a slide to introduce yourself, include links to your 'blog' and 'site', create stories to be shared and accessible for all students, feedback on the form at completion. 

 Save extension: when you open a new website and you would like to read it later or save it for later use, all you need to do is click the yellow star for filing this website. Create a new tag or attach to an existing tag you made earlier. For access at a later time just click on the yellow star and find your website stored safely. Initially you will need to go to google store and download for free.

There is a lot for me to learn on google and there is a check list level up.

Slides and google stories: use of slides already. A teacher can share learning on a slide to the students. Google story is a group sharing a document on any learning you would like them to complete together. For instance: student opens up a doc, names it, responds to a question or starts a story perhaps from a prompt (image, statement). When student has completed their part they sign their name to it and then email it the student on their left. Care to close down the document they just typed on. Student opens up the document just shared with them on their right. I also found the Digital Technologies in the curriculum.

Making the most of google documents: making the most out of the tool bar: File: changing the margins under page set up.

Edit:paste without formatting, this way the document remains the same and find and replace, enables you to quickly find a word you want to replace on the document that you would like to replace with another.

Insert: bookmarks and table of contents,  I would need to experiment with this some more when using google documents. I would have loved this to have been around when I wrote my dissertation and had to read much on research. Table of contents works well with the 'title' on your tool bar. In a nutshell bookmarks enables you to create a link to take you back to the 'top of the page', table of contents and titles creates a more book like feature to your google doc. I can see great use for this for college or university students. Table finally someone who knows how to make the most out of this tool. I can now colour it! drawing I can now insert my own or a website image through drawing and chart for statistics.

Tools: explore is useful, this creates a side bar for quick research, websites and images. It was useful to know there is a dictionary, a notepad, preferences for text, voice typing and a translation quick key.

Add ons: I added a few free add ons but not too many as I want to remember what they are for first and actually make use of them. I particularly like the mindmeister when you highlight an area of text it is sorted into a brainstorm layout.Word cloud generator has its uses to demonstrate how frequent certain words are repeated compared to others by generating more definite fonts in a piece of word art and thesaurus of course supports us to find alternative words.

• What did I learn that could be used with my learners?  

Slides at the beginning of the year to introduce students to each other, include their blog. Use slides for introducing prior knowledge and learning along the way. I see many uses of using slides in the classroom and beyond.

Slides and google stories:This does need careful explanation of what you are intending and monitoring to check success and offer assistance. I found my two top reading groups managed this immediately. After a few times completing this successfully I then asked the students to comment on the text that had been shared with them. Commenting on our learning goals, what they liked and what they thought would also be effective feedforward. Students are enjoying this creative way of collaborating together.

find and replace I could see as a useful spelling and vocabulary tool in the class. I can give the students a set text and ask them to use the find and replace on some words to be replaced.

dictionary needs to be reminded to the students for quick access.

Students could use the following two on their blogs,Mindmeister could be useful for brainstorming layouts.Word cloud generator for ideas and vocabulary displays. Thesaurus for important vocabulary building.

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

Wow! If you have read the above you can see I am in the first stages of becoming a digital robot with authority on the use of GOOGLE!
Now, I just need to remember these wonderful tools are just a click away. It was so rewarding to be told how to use google properly today. I am excited about what I will continue to learn, use and share with my colleagues and students.
 

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