Vaiaso o le gagana Samoa 2020

"Tapena sou ōso mo lau malaga" - Prepare yourself a gift for your travels. 

It is tradition for Samoan people when travelling to have organised a gift to take to families who await them.  If travelling from Samoa a boxed umu was a typical 'oso' to bring.  Other items would be material printed and designed in Samoa, Samoan Bibles, hymns books and daily devotionals. 
When travelling from New Zealand to Samoa, money, canned food, clothing and any household items are greatly appreciated by those awaiting your arrival.   Don't be surprised that when you return to NZ with only a umu box and an empty suitcase.  Samoan people are very resourceful and will make good use of practically everything you arrive with!

The gift we have today for you is that of our children singing two hymns they requested to learn and share this week.   Our guitarist John is of Tongan descent who started this whole process of learning, practising and today sharing these hymns.   What a gift to share John!

This gift will be used during the  year as our students lead karakia, mihi and himene to start each school day.

Malo lava to all students, faamalo atu foi'i iā  Mr Wright (guitar and singing coach), John lead guitarist, Kitione, John L, Valeli, Pisirina and Lepisi.  Malo lava le faasoa, malo lava le taumafai ina ia iloa e isi o le fanau ia pese tāua o le tatou atunuu.

"Tapena sou ōso mo lau malaga" - Prepare yourself a gift for your travels. 

DFI: Revision: Agenda Day 9, ONLINE Friday 8th May 2020

 Ubiquitous learning has always been a goal and dream of Manaiakalani.   This has been here all along.  The season of Covid-19 has brought about this concept more clearly for students and teachers across the world!  Teachers across the globe have had to think and deliver a lesson in the form of recorded teacher/student voices to support learning - Ubiquitous learning - all time any place!

This idea of ubiquity when we look back at our collective data over the years show when teachers are in front of students our learners show progress.  When they are away from us the learning level stops and sadly often drops back for our learners during our summer holidays.   Enter the 'Summer Learning Journey' to support ubiquitous learning.   This is where students choose to be part of the learning journey and have great support from a head teacher with helpers (often Uni students) giving daily feedback to support the learning journey.  The active student participants returned to school and showed continued progress in learning levels!  Woo hoo!

Now we prepare for the goolgle test - 3 hours whoop whoop!  I have finished and have no idea if I have passed but on with badging my blog!


Reflection I shared:
The range of backgrounds of members in our group was great to be part of.  A real life picture of what our school communities are made up of...the less experienced through to the experienced...those directly impacting whanau as coordinators/leaders through to the very young beginning teacher, mature teacher but new to the country etc.  Showing again how key this DFI course is in enabling the fundamentals of teaching and learning best way possible across schools.

DFI makes very clear how pedagogy links to the digital, the people, LCS - Manaiakalani, makes very clear the reason Manaiakalani is so important!   It enables communities of educators to get up to speed, refresh, renew and refine our practice in teaching and learning.   The whole package offered and delivered did this for me.  To be given time away from the class weekly a huge help for me...likely would not be able to do so otherwise if I had to book this time another way.   Thank you to all who enable this to happen.

Manaiakalani the journey:
Have been part of this from the beginning and to have the journey and it's details organised and presented as it has was humbling.  Humbling and so awesome to see that what was tried, kept or cast away lol - we have contributed to and is now used as a successful set of practices across NZ wow!! 
To have knowledge/practice that in the past often explained as 'The good teacher' does, NOW demystified.  This course is empowering to all who can join and the knock on will be the empowerment of the school communities they represent.  This takes away mentality of the one magic pill or one amazing teacher...DFI kits you up to be this and more! 

Thank you very much Dorothy, Gerhard and the Manaiakalani team - the Maniakalani Trust who enable this to happen!

Alo, alo, alo lou foe
Taunuu lou fa'amoemoe!
Stroke! Stroke! Stroke your paddle!
You will reach your destination!

Computational Thinking: Agenda Day 8

DFI was started to empower teachers!  We are working with highly digital children, a 9 week intensive programme for teachers.  Our journey began with our learners, Manaiakalani is passionate about empowering our whanau.  The partnership of all of us working together is most powerful!

It's NOT just a tool.   It's empowerment.  Money is empowering.  Let's be real it is.
80% of our community here in Tamaki is state owned.  Right now homes are being replaced by new housing.  This is a mixture of state owned and privately owned.

Researchers have found that where discussions are able to travel back and forth at least 5 times between individuals this will improve language for our students.  We can create this opportunity to build on discussion via their blogs.  Focusing on not only leaving a comment but to reply to them and more.  Build in that threaded conversation.

Our children at home right now are empowered because learning has been made ubiquitous.  What else is empowering our students.  Are the sites and links we providing our students supporting this empowerment?

Future of Tech

Deep dive of the big picture of future of tech with Gerhard.  The Jetsons come to mind! :). Gerhard shared a video of Boston Dynamic's Big Dog as an example of advanced technology in action.  The opportunities this opens up is impressive and exciting.  With these projects we consider the 'Why' behind these inventions.  Hanson Robotic's Sophia...it was amazing!!  A lot of her intelligence is from scrolling through  youtube videos.  Check out Sophia the robot on the tonight show with Jimmy Fallon.  This has prompted a whole lot of discussions around artificial intelligence.  How does it benefit society?  So many thoughts and discussions happening around this.  Creativity seen as such a human trait and now artificial intelligence showing this creative ability too...wow!!
Facial recognition is part of this too.  Gerhard lead us into an online activity where you had to decide which way a programmed car should travel with hazards on road.   Here are some images to give you an from the 'Moral Machine' online activity.  Some very tough choices to be made, who do you save and who do you hurt eek!


Kerry: Chalk'n Talk with Kerry
Year 1 - 10 to be involved in digitally fluent for online learning.   Today it's not an option it's a necessity for learning!  DFI is focused on this to have teachers empowered to lead and support our learners.  Giving students the opportunity to not only be consumers...but creators of content! 
Here is an example of progress outcomes as provided by ministry with a learner's version on the right.  Kerry has found these useful with learners to help us unpack packs of the digital curriculum.

Kerry is currently working on going through our Manaiakalani Cyber Smart Curriculum and seeing where the progress outcomes for New Digital Technologies Curriculum is present.   Kerry made a really good suggestion to look at whatever we are doing and where possible see if there is one thing more we can add into this...computational thinking outcome(s).    The basis of Digital Curriculum links so well with what Dorothy shared this morning about technology being so much more than a tool and also the links with future tech shared by Gerhard.  Kia Takatū has been put together by the ministry, it's another good way to update yourself around Digital Curriculum, provides little toolkits for teachers.  Thankful for this session to be reassured that we have already included some of this in our teaching phew! This was followed by our own explore time of Kia Takatū.

Exploring Coding:
We had 40 minutes of exploring coding.  I tried out mind craft for a bit. Then tried compute it, this is where you read and follow the written code. There's a trick at times to focus on the written code rather than the coloured dots!   A lot of fun...can be addictive!  To now check which curriculum strands and areas this does link to.
 

Here's my very poor attempt at scratch - I think tired brain kicked in!  Thanks Kerry for being very patient with me :).  Will need to re-visit Kerry's notes to have another go especially when our children have this working really well in the years before they get to my team.