This was the final week of the DFI and the big thing on our minds was the Google Certified Education Level 1 exam!
Learn
Reflecting on what I have learned this term over the time of the course, the most important learning has been finding out about the Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy.
I was pretty tech-savvy already, having been an early adopter of a lot of the tools and technology available and attending various GAFE and ULearn conferences over the years. When our college joined Manaiakalani I was happy about the digital tools and learning to use new ones, but to be honest, I was a bit lukewarm about Learn-Create-Share and how relevant it was to me as a senior high school teacher.
It has been reassuring and really helpful to find out more about the history of how the pedagogy was developed and the strong research base for it. It is also great to see the synergies between Learn-Create-Share and the NZ Curriculum.
Now, as a curriculum leader, I want to ensure that Learn-Create-Share is fully integrated into my curriculum planning. I want everyone in my department to have the opportunity to complete the DFI so that when we begin planning our new courses and units for the revised NCEA Achievement Standards, we can incorporate the Manaiakalani kaupapa fully into the planning from the outset.
I wish I had done this course years ago - it has really changed my attitude to the whole relevance of Manaiakalani to my teaching and learning programme.
Create
Today's CREATE focus was the exam, in which we had to apply some of the skills we have learned to creating and manipulating various files and using the different Google tools. I can't tell you WHAT though, because... duh... it's an exam!
Google Exam - Success!
Share
Editing Images in Slides
I just have to tell you about something I learned last night when preparing for the exam. Did you know that you can edit images actually IN Google Slides? I did NOT! I was like: it doesn't fit, it's the wrong shape - download it, open in Preview, crop it, change it up and then upload it again. But there is an easier way!
In your Slide presentation, you can right-click on an image, and you get a handy little editing menu pop up, which enables you to do all the standard things like crop, rotate the object, adjust colours etc. And if by accident you mess it up, there is even the option to Reset Image back to the original!
Te Reo Māori Keyboard on Your Smartphone
Years ago when I set up my keyboards on my iPhone, I couldn't find one for te reo Māori. I'm not sure if it just didn't exist then or I couldn't find it, but it is now available. I often use Italian or French when chatting online with friends so it was great to have those keyboards, but I became really tired of having autocorrect try to change my Māori kupu into English. If you have this problem you can find the instructions here for adding the Māori keyboard to your iPhone or Android phone or tablet.
Looking Forward
Now that I have completed the DFI, I think one big challenge for me, moving forward, will be to continue to make time on a regular basis for exploring new online tools and learning new skills. My first goal is to pass the Google Certified Educator Level 2 exam.
In terms of my curriculum leadership role, I want to delve even further into the Manaiakalani research base and ensure that the kaupapa and pedagogy are embedded in our revised programmes and units as the NCEA changes roll out.
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