We made it! - DFI Session 9

9 weeks of DFI have now come to an end. This truely has been an amazing learning opportunity. Connecting with others, learning online via google Meet and sharing a lot of laughs along the way.


Our final session with Dorothy about the Manaiakalani journey highlighted ubiquitous learning - anytime, anywhere, any pace and from anyone - such an important aspect of the Manaiakalani kaupapa! Ubiquitous learning significantly amplifies the opportunities for learning. 

Over the last 4 weeks ubiquitous learning has been possible for our all our learners, and many of them have engaged with their learning through their class sites and attending google Meets. I've made more screencastify videos in the last few weeks than I did in the whole of last year, providing opportunities for my students to learn on their own (or their family's) schedule.

Lockdown has challenged me to consider how I deliver content to my learners. How are the students in my class choosing to learn? It will be worth asking my students how they think the lockdown has impacted on their learning. I've seen a child who often struggles to focus for long periods really engage in our google Meet sessions. Another who has become far more confident with sharing his ideas and what he has created with his peers in an online space. I've even seen my learners grow with their patience and tolerance when things don't always go to plan.

Rewindable learning allows for the school day to be flexible and extended - so important to have this option for our families as our students attempt to learn at home. I know that there are some families who have tried to maintain routine with learning at home from 9 til 3 with breaks, while others attend our google Meets in the morning, spend time with their families in the afternoon, then jump back online to engage with their learning after dinner. Some students are even working on tasks in their weekends!

Having devices in homes has allowed for so many barriers to be removed. The digital divide across the nation has been significantly highlighted during our time in lockdown. Fortunately for our learners, our school communities were in a space that we could not only provide distance learning, but also have the digital capabilities to maintain relationships with our learners online.

When I reflect back on the teaching and learning space that we've been currently working in some of things that I'm most proud of are:
- the fact that I am part of a Manaiakalani Outreach School and that we were in such a good space to deliver distance learning
- the resilience and determination that teachers and staff have displayed when dealing with this pandemic, putting wellbeing first but also ensuring that learning could still happen
- that I chose to continue DFI. It has been such great learning opportunity doing it online, but it also means that once we move back to alert level 2 that I will have Fridays face to face with my class.

I regret not getting my Year 4 learners up to speed with how to use their chromebooks and gsuite. Many of them have struggled to do online tasks because they need more practise at navigating the class site, creating a new doc, filing it or making a copy. It has made sharing their learning on their blogs even more of a challenge! (I have given all my learners the option to do tasks with pen and paper then upload photos/ videos).

Moving forward into the ‘new era' of schooling I will definitely be making more rewindable learning opportunities, ensuring that my instructions are clear, and collecting more student voice on how students learnt best at home during the lockdown.


A large chunk of our session today also involved completing the Google Certified Educator Level 1 Exam. I'm pleased to say I passed (after some last minute dramas with registering!) Having used google drive daily for a number of years I found the practical tasks relatively easy (tip: if you don't use google classroom, have a quick explore prior to the exam!) The multi-choice questions were a bit tricker - like everyone said, it really is a reading comprehension test!

Thanks to all the Manaiakalani Facilitators, particularly the Auckland ones - Gerhard and Dorothy, and the latest addition - Phil! Your enthusiasm and support made the course even more engaging. I'm leaving this course feeling empowered and connected, and of course I've already revisited content that we've covered over the last 9 weeks (ubiquitous learning in action!)


Regardless of where you are at on your digital fluency journey, the Digital Fluency Intensive caters for all!