During each of these DFI sessions, I keep a running reflection on a Google doc where I jot down things that pop into my head that I want to remember, pursue, ask about later, consider incorporating into my practice, do further research on. Today I will unpack some of this. My reflection here will be much more disjointed than usual as I felt completely flooded with new learning today--now I know how my students must feel when I introduce something new!
Empowerment instead of Student Agency--interesting to think that empowered is a more accessible term. I like thinking of empowering students as it feels like this is what they need more in their own lifetime of learning. Earlier in my career we focused on students "learning to learn" as that seemed to be what would serve them best in their future. Empowerment takes this a step farther now as my students today enter a world that they will have to learn to navigate in new ways. Gone are the days when we teach facts; truth is rapidly becoming relative. I love the concept that we and our students are creators not just users of digital technology.
The data from Tamaki College that Kerry showed today was just a slide on the screen. I would have liked to have looked more closely at this slide as the key was not visible and the graph labels were blurry. It was part of a slides presentation that we only had part of. I need to range around our resources and find some of this data that I can look at more closely. I want to see what discreet areas of improving achievement this kaupapa is resulting in. Where is this generating the strongest achievement for our students?
Although it all went too fast for me today, I loved Monika's presentation that began with "computational thinking starts unplugged." It unwrapped the technology in a whole new way for me and I appreciated the initial hands-on code writing activity. Scratch looked like a great tool but for my old brain the presentation just went too fast. I wrapped up that session by spending 30 minutes fiddling with an idea that was too ambitious and got tangled up in the commands. Noted for the future...start simple. I will do as Kerry suggested and use an already crafted presentation and modify it.
Here is the project number for my attempt--please don't judge...
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/309680104/editor/
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/309680104/editor/
Monika also had lots of other toys out to try but in the end I just decided that for today that was just a bridge too far. The green screen looked amazing and my Primary-trained sensibility went off the charts with the potential with that tool for kids. The robots were just intimidating to me for now. Sometimes you just need to know your limits...the good news is that there is plenty for me to start with next time. Today I just needed to manage my overwhelmed-ness. :)
Hi Esther
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy reading your posts, you have such a relatable way of sharing that I feel like I'm right alongside you having a conversation, I wish I could write like a little more like that. There is quite a lot of published research on achievement gains made across Manaiakalani schools, you might like to visit this page https://sites.google.com/a/manaiakalani.org/publicsitedec2013/our-story/research-evaluation. The Kaikohekohe Cluster report and your school report will have more localised data. I'll see what else I can find and send your way.