Lockdown

Kia ora koutou!


This covid19 lockdown has been a challenging time for everyone both personally and professionally.  The pressure to create and provide online learning during this period  has caused many anxious moments and some uncertainty.  Thankfully, teachers in Tairawhiti (myself included) and all over Aotearoa have had a team of Manaiakalani experts to guide us through this foggy period and they've provided outstanding professional support in order for those of us who are new to online learning to produce, develop and enhance our online learning capacity and sites for our students.

During the initial stages of covid19, I was very grateful to have collaborated  with other professionals within the first two weeks of the lockdown in online training courses provided by Manaiakalani.  I experienced a heightened sense of unity amongst my fellow professionals.  The benefits of these courses became evident as I worked on my class site using the new tools I had learnt, samples of work viewed from other professional teaching sites that gave me the opportunity to reflect upon how and what online learning would look like for my students and how I could create a site that was relevant and effective.

So my journey began, I had to get my site up and running as quickly as possible.    I faced a few challenges and frustrations along the way,  but I continued driven by the support of colleagues and the need to up skill as quickly as possible.  When thoughts of throwing my computer against the wall came and went, I perservered so that I could get my site looking awesome just like the Point England teachers in Auckland!   Like that kid who always sits behind you and keeps poking you in the back and never stops!  I kept my resolve as I knew I would be meeting my Manaiakalani support person and she would  make me complete the work before the next meeting anyway!  Covid19 has taught me one thing,  that I am resilient! and........ that I am very competitive and want my class site to be as flash as the teachers at Wainui school!!......I'm only kidding!j

This period has challenged me to think differently, to integrate digitally, to utilise and apply online & digital learning tools more effectively within the Manaiakalani framework.   In retrospect, I am very thankful for this time and the opportunity to really work on  and develop my capabilities, understanding and knowledge of digital learning in order to support my students and whanau during this period. 

I had to share my thoughts as I know many of us teachers who are new to online learning, would have had a huge learning curve just like me.  I attribute my growth to the support and collaboration of like minded professionals, my school and my Manaiakalani mentor who continues to impart their knowledge and expertise so that I can produce this type of learning for my class.  This experience has made me aware of what I know and what I need to learn in order to prepare my students for their future.  So with that in mind, I look forward to continuing to learn, grow and develop my skills through DFI and Manaiakalani with a new found sense of confidence, clarity and calm. 

I look forward to more learning, my journey is not over yet.....

DFI - Media Week 3

The Manaiakalani Pedagogy: Learn Create Share: Key Focus: CREATE

Anne Sinclair presentation focussed on the CREATE aspect of Manaiakalani pedagogy. Her informative presentation reminded us that in light of the current situation across the globe, there is an increasing need  to teach and learn using digital technology today than ever.

The CREATE aspect is about providing high quality  learning experiences that will engage learners to become better problem solvers, communicators that will enhance original ideas through exploration and discovery.   It is a highly metacognitive activity.  Alwin Richardson who is the author of "In the early world" was a pioneer of CREATE as a teacher and leader in this area.  The heart of matter

CREATE is about being active, using multiple senses that may include dancing, sports, science etc to express creativity.   From doing this the learning and engagement occurs. Manaiakalani asks "How can we enrich the learning for kids and then allow them to be apart of their learning.  It is a very powerful aspect of Manaiakalani and this is evident in the many different ways students, teachers and schools are utilising 

What did I learn in Google apps today?

Youtube Live streaming - Kent Somerville - This session brought a lot of clarity around my confusion in using Youtube channel and Youtube studio.   I learnt that I can embed a playlist of teaching video's into my class site and navigate this more effectively for my class.  Kent also showed us the tools he uses at Point England School to live stream, they include drones, live stream technology which has transformed how they engage whanau and the community in sharing what is happening in and outside of school.  This technology was used to record rugby games, school activities such as cross country races and other events for all to see.  A great tool for parents who miss out on watching their children in these events.

Google drawing and slides - Great tools for teaching and learning. Using slides to embed and add links to learning or teaching planning.  Showing evidence of children's learning and in this climate, would be a great tool to provide digital instruction for tamariki at home. 

Animation - I can't believe this can be done in Google slides. It was very engaging and all of the teachers around me including myself were very focussed on making the best animation. Actually I couldn't stop, I had to finish it!  It was so much fun and I can see how students could be engaged while using it.   The options and benefits are endless and I look forward to improving, transforming my practice to further enhance, engage 21st century learners.

Revision Blogging, Google Hangouts and lots of practice

Other examples;

Chickenzilla.     Fantastic beasts

Core Business Week 2

Core Business Week 2 

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

Our focus today was on Learn with Guest Coach: Lenva Shearing and the key message was around LEARN. Lenva shared that effective teaching and accelerated outcomes can be achieved through a digital environment. Within the digital program - Manaiakalani, effective teaching promotion of student learning can be identified as:

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

We learnt how to navigate and improve our confidence and capability as google users within google suite. Some of the applications I have used for years but I now realise that I actually haven't been using them to their fullest capacity. I believe today was about building my skills and knowledge which will hopefully result in less time spent wondering how to do something and more time spent on effective practice. To achieve this, I need lots of practice and I will need to consistently push myself to keep trying. So, here is a list of some of the applications I learnt about today.

- Google Keep

This is a quick tool where you can store any image, text, video, email, commonly used information and then refer to it, grab it to use in and from any of the google apps.
- Google Calendar 

Cheryl Torrie showed us how to manage multiple calendars and how to organise ourselves so we never miss a meeting.
- Google Hangouts 

A video conferencing and sharing of documentation via google.   What an awesome app - this has been currently used by teachers and students in China during the chaos of the Covid19 virus.  We also used it today with other teachers to discuss and share a piece of writing. You can share whats on your screen within this app.
- Taming your tabs 

Welcome to the world of teaching!  Now with a click of a button, Google can help solve the problem of multiple tabs open on your computer.
- Google Gmails - Another very useful learning session about how to better use this tool. 

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

Recognise Effective Practice - This is not new to teachers but it is good to be reminded of what is important. High Leverage Practices results in better outcomes for our students.

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

I learnt that I can share this new knowledge  with my children and husband so that they too can be more confident, capable and digital savy like I will be.....at the end of this course.   I will need the practice!

I learnt  a very valuable lesson today that I need to check settings before making a video so that when you are recording,  the internal mic is switched on and this would greatly help your team complete the activity set out by the teachers. 

Nga mihinui

Karla Teneti-Soto

Core Business Week 1

Digital Fluency Intensive Week 1

My expectations

This morning I didn't have any expectations of DFI 1, only that I was told it was better to complete in term 2 as I am a new to Manaiakalani and I am also the lead teacher at my school.  My journey thus far has been overwhelming however, I have had so much support from the Manaiakalani team here in Turanganui-A-Kiwi and I also have a great in class support person Maria Krauss.   So the first day of the DFI began and it was surprisingly engaging and  I now have a far better understanding of it's conception and more importantly an understanding of why it is so valuable and important I upskill and teach it for 21st century learners.   A special mention must be given to my Principal, Julie McClaughlin who knew I was a reluctant learner but she encouraged me to begin the journey anyway. Nga mihi kia koe Julie.   So my journey begins,  I learnt some really handy tips to use in class, to improve my classroom page and to engage my learners using digital technology.  In the day I learnt how to type, word processing which included how to type a formal document and letter.  A really cool and effective lesson we had today was about how to format a google document and more importantly how and why to teach students to do this before we let them loose on technology.   Setting them up for success is vital and also creating a learning environment that provides clear structure certainly helps the teacher teach, rather than spending more admin time on devices after school because effective systems were not put in place.    I realised that from this lesson that my own children would not know some of these important tricks within google application. So guess what!, I'll be sharing this with my tamariki!

Today has increased my understanding of the Manaiakalana kaupapa and pedagogy.  My confidence navigating through Google applications has improved however I still have a lot to learn.  The area I need to improve on is definately in the area of  blogging.  I am not a fan even though I understand the benefits of it.  So...my next learning steps will be to use it more often, make it my friend and hope that at the end of this journey my opinion will change.

Nga mihi
Karla Teneti-Soto

Here is a sample of what I learnt today.  If I could give you one very important tip:  Use remove.bg - a fantastic site that removes the background from pictures. Hint: next blog add a table to my blog post.

My first creation

Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei taonga

Welcome to my professional learning blog.

This is a place where I can reflect on my teaching in relation to my

Teaching as Inquiry goals

and how they link to the Education Council's

Standards for the Teaching Profession