DFI Session 7: Devices

Today we started off by further unpacking ubiquitous learning, which in a nutshell means barriers are removed so that learning can take place anytime, anywhere, any pace by anyone (A4). This allows students the time to learn outside of the traditional school hours at either a slower pace (rewindable) or faster pace, whatever best suits them. 

                            

We participated in a couple of activities using the devices that our students use (chromebooks and ipads). The chromebook activity was a digital dig which my class had completed last week with our Manaiakalani facilitator. My students enjoyed learning a few new tricks and shortcuts on their devices and so did I. Our ipad activity was exploring the 'Explain Everything' app. It was fairly straightforward to figure out and I can see why it is a popular tool in junior classes. Our school is currently in the process of setting this app up on all of our ipads and I am looking forward to seeing how our junior teachers integrate it. Click on this link to see a video of what I created. It was awesome to explore some of the teacher created tasks as well and see different ways that teachers are utlising this app.

We spent some time looking at the Cybersmart Curriculum and one of the main things that stuck with me was to focus on using positivie cybersmart language. Subtle things like using smart instead of safe and switching the focus onto what we DO rather than what we DON'T do.

I have had limited experience with the workspace side of Hapara so I chose to use our create time today to experiment with setting one up. My workspace was based on the cybersmart aspect of 'Digital Footprints'. Click on this link to see the workspace I created or you can watch the screencastify below where I explain my workspace...

 

I enjoyed the brief presentation about screencastify. I was already familiar with this extension but it was awesome to learn about a few extra functions in the toolbar (like the torch mouse function I am using in the screencastify above).

Reflecting on my experience of Covid 19 in regards to my readiness for ubiquitous learning, I wouldn't say I was prepared, but I am proud of how we (my collaborative teaching buddy and I) managed. Looking back over my teaching career, I started off at a school (over 10 years ago) that was fairly onto it with digital learning and required every class to have a google site (I think it was actually a wikipsace back then). However as I moved to different schools the expectations weren't there and although I still continued to create a class website each year, I defintley didn't do it as well as I could of and it was more just a site for the links I wanted my students to access.  When we were all forced into distance learning due to Covid, it made me realise how I had kind of just cruised in terms of my own professional development with digital learning (since leaving a school that had certain requirments in this area). With the combination of Covid and our school joining Manaiakalani, it was definitley the wake up call I needed and has set me on the path of a whole new teaching aproach/pedagogy. I just need to keep reminding myself to take baby steps and not get overwhelmed!