Wowsers, what another day.

I have been working on my google site, but I had so many questions this morning, so it is not finished and I felt like I started so far behind.

We have dived deeper into google vids today with 2 opportunities to present.

We also looked into a manaiakalani lesson and created a vid explaining what we had watched.

Vid of manaiakalani lesson

We also looked into Manaiakalani Cypersmart and had to create a short vid on something we found interesting.

Vid of Cybersmart learning

We were introduced to Explain everything as an Ipad app, which I hadn’t heard of before. This app was also used in the manaiakalani lesson that I watched, so that was nice to see it in action.

We looked at chrome book also today. There are a lot of features, that I still don’t know- so lots still to learn.

I have had spent lots of time on google vids today trying to line up the length of my voiceover recording with the length that the screenshot was visible for. I tried to try several different types of recording options which can be used instead of a screenshot. I feel that heaps of time could be spent on vids. It seems to be more time consuming than a lot of other google features, because of the recording aspects.

I will continue to work on my google site. I now know how to add my play list. I will need to think about how to actually apply the use of these skills. I’m so used to creating a writing task about what we have learned, but now need to start the shift of thinking about how we can used google features to present and share that information instead.

I will continue to work on my google site. It has not been published yet.

It feels like ages since our last DFI session, so today has been frustrating trying to remember previous things we have covered. We looked at google sites in our 5th session, but today really felt like starting again. 

I sat down before this session started and went through what we’ve covered so far. I thought about what I could include in some of my days ahead, in the different classes I teach in. 

So my plan is to finish my class site and have buttons for the different class rooms that I’m in regularly. Then from then I would have some of the activities that I’d like to try for the next term and some of the things that I’d like to share with them and lead them with.

I also realised that I could spend some time showing my own child on some of the early google features. There are lots of things that would be beneficial to give exposure to. 

I’ve included some screenshots of the class site so far. Definitely not finished!

What did we cover today?

I haven’t really heard the term multi- modal before, so it has been interesting to learn about this today. I have seen google sites in action across lots of classrooms, but have never set one up before. So today has been a massive day of learning about sites and how we can create them. We were able to view lots of other class sites, so it was interesting to see ways that other schools use these sites for students and for parents. We also accessed a multi-modal database which I guess would be another way to share information with colleagues, like in a google doc.

So what have I learned?

I have had heaps of practise embedding links today, so that has been great. Plus I have created a google site with images, audio and clips attached. This has been really neat learning.

What now?

I will go back over past notes form previous sessions and again, think about the application of knowledge in my personal life and then professionally. I’m look forward to Term 2 and trying to apply any of the new learning, in any way.

https://sites.google.com/koputaroa.school.nz/anzac-site-mf/home

We have covered lots today in a small space of time. I am familiar with all the google features but as per usual there is lots of extra things to learn.

What have I learned to how me professionally?

Google forms has been a great one today. I know I will use this throughout the year. I like the option to just record responses and also to give people mutil choice, ratings or linear scale options.

What have we covered that will be beneficial for learners?

Google maps was especially intersting as you can definitely see the practical aspects for students. I plotted points on a graph, which students could do, but the idea of measuring distances and creating total distances would be useful in maths activities or even Inquiry based topics.

What could I apply in my personal life?

I have used excel spreadsheets and tables within a google doc, but I have not really used google sheets that much. I look forward to trying the quick features to set up the columns and helping it to organise data.

Lots to process from today. Plus I think I need to go over the learning from January again and really think about the application of that knowledge professionally, personally and then for the learners.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/7/edit?mid=1BLoFCZtktGwdL9vY0aUuTqPAvZBxVas&ll=12.93838390755272%2C0&z=2p=sharing

What:

Today we have had a look at Media. Again, I thought I knew about these different features, but I was surprised! We have looked at You Tube, which was really interesting. We looked at playlists which I have seen in action, but never had to create. We have looked at google drawings, google slides and also created a Pick a Path in our group sessions. 

So what:

I need to finish making some playlists with you tube pages that would be really great to use for the kids and also to support my teaching. I need to have a selection of what I think might be useful in the year ahead. I also need to see if I can add a You tube link into a slide, as I ran out of time to do that. 

What now: 

I think the key thing for me will be to write a list of things that I can use personally to help me. Then I need to write a list of features to use professionally. I teach some junior classes (only with Ipads) then some classes with chromebooks. So perhaps a list of things I could try at each level- to lead as a teacher and perhaps tasks I can set the kids to do. I know which classes that I’m predominantly going to be working in, so I could pick out some things to try with those particular groups. 

WHAT A TERRIBLE SCREEN SHOT OF THE RECORDING!! HAHA!!

Work Flow- DFI- Day 2- 23rd Jan 

What:

What a massive day. I’ve tried to be more organised with my note taking today, so it’s easier to come back to later on. There’s lots of features that I’ve used a bit before and it looks easy enough, but it’s so easy to get lost when you’re on your own. I’ve found that we’ve just touched on so many things and has just had a brief look. 

So what:

I will go back through each bit of instruction and read through. I need to spend a bit more time familiarizing myself with all the things we’ve learnt today. 

What now: 

I need to look at curriculum design which was mentioned this morning. I need to try and add shortcuts to my drive, to try and share across my different email addresses. I could possibly try and do a google meet when our school PTA meets in the year and some people can’t make it. I will look at google keep as well as google calendar. I need to work out how to use both when I’m out on my phone, which will hopefully make life easier. I have done a bit of sorting my tabs with bookmarks, but could do a little more tidying. Now I have to try and embed my recording of our google meet today. The video kept recording when we were trying to sort something else, so it’s a classic video with horrible facial expressions from me and other stuff going on!

Core Business- DFI- Day 1- 20th Jan 

What:

Today has been a full day, with lots of neat learning. I’m looking forward to spending a bit of time tonight going through and consolidating all the learning from today. 

It has been nice having the smaller break out groups, so we can talk and ask questions. Fiona has been great at assessing what help we need and then giving us the necessary steps. My media files above, are an image with the background removed and the hyperlink to where the image came from. This image has been added to a google doc with a blue background. The other image is a screenshot. 

So what:

Significant things I’ve learnt today, started with the organising of our profiles and use of tabs and bookmarks. I was confident at using google drive but I wasn’t aware of the different features to organise and sort. It was good to learn about sharing features with docs and being able to apply this for different settings. It was good to set up a DFI shared file, to save the agenda with all the neat links from today. Smart Chips was a key thing to learn about as I have never played with this feature at all before. I enjoyed having a play with inserting images and hyperlinks and removing backgrounds. I have seen these features used by kids at school, but it is cool to have been able to do it for myself. I have never used a blog before, so it was fun to learn about this.

What now: 

I will upload my blog and when I get some time tonight, I’ll go back through my notes from today. As I’m a release teacher, there might not be the chance to put some of the things learnt into practise for a while, so I need to make sure my notes are good, so I don’t forget things!! I think I’ll work on my google drive tidying and organising, to get things a bit more streamlined for the year ahead.