Today we had a play on Scratch. Fun….. I found it very time consuming. Would love to have hours to play with it but alas. Lunch was very yummy.
Day 9
Over the last leg of the FDI course today
Final exam , all over life get back to some sense of normality.
Although it has been really time consuming and upsetting to my usual routine .
It has been difficult to keep up with my regular tasks but unbeleivably , I have gotten trough this and look forward to putting the the skiolls and knowledge into further practice with my job at Bay Of Islands College.
The exam was a bit hard to follow, and some of the questions were entirely focused on teachers so not being an actual teacher i found them a little hard to do. I really would like to pass but pass or fail,
no matter I still know what i know and at least I gave it my very best shot.
Local government
What is local government. Local government is the lowest tier of public administration within there state/town. Their job is to build all the local buildings, local swimming pools, Roads, schools and others. They are able to make laws and rules within there state/town. even though the local government makes the rules the city government who are just the same as the local government only differences is the city government pays people to go and check a building or fine someone for parking for too long . They also represent and involve citizens in there area.Our local government does things for us that we may not even realise, for example they always look over our roads making sure they are safe to drive on they also provide us with building that make everyone’s day easier and fun like pools, types of transportation, streets, sewers an others. On the other hand the local government does not increasing citizen engagement, taking care of the people who don’t have much. or some some people with property.
DFI day 2, work flow .
13/05/2021
DFI day 2
Another great day of learning at the DFI course at Paparore school. Full on though, with lots of new material to learn. Some totally new info and building on what I have been using to date, i.e creating and using labels, Bookmarks, Keep, Calendar, Google meets. Learnt how to pin the tabs at the top of screen. which although a fairly small thing certainly tidies up the top of the screen .
Adding the Gateway logo to the end of my e-mails is also a great look .
For the last several years Bay Of Islands Collge has iniated a shift from paper/ hard copies to the use electronic devices , primarily chromebooks .
This has had the advantage that as long as there is internet connection students can access learning material on line anytime & anywhere.This proved valuable during the lock down and if students happen to be absent from school. (In the two sessions of the DFI course I have seen mention that Google docs can be accessed while offline. I am interested in learning how to do this.)
Until this year, 2020, Gateway has always sat to the side of the school curriculum and has been regarded as an extra currcular activity, The means of delivering most learning has, as a rule been by hard copies or students attending short courses.
An integral part of Gateway is accessing Gateway packages from various Training organisations i.e Private Training Enterpriises (PTE) Industry Training Organisations (ITO), polytechnics etc, i.e Hairdressing Industry Training organisation (HITO), Building & Construction industry Training Organisation BCITO. These organisations provide the learning material both digitally and in hard copies. It is not difficult to understand the advanrages of digital learning which I am sure would be useful for completing theory and practical components of units. Google meet, short courses and units can often be completed online. Interestingly, thus far most students have chosen the hard copy option,
This is possibly due to the nature of the Gatetway programme, for the time being I feel there should still be the hard copy option for educators and students. ( Perhaps this thought will change by the end of the DFI course).
I look forward to learning more on the DFI course as I do see the potential, it will help with the processing, preparation, recording, and reporting of students Gateway placements more effectively and efficiently. Being digitally proficient has to be a distinct advantage for stakeholders.
Finally, and with some reserve, say that “already I feel just a little more comfortable and confident using google suite.” Even had a look at Google Earth, very cool I think I could use that with students to do some research on the Business they will attending for a Gateway placement.
DFI First Day : Core Busness
My first day was very eye opening. Alot of information coming at me.
DFI Workflow Day
Today Jessie and I shared a video call
How course is going
Day3 of DFI.
👧 Start of day.
👵 End of day.
Learning a lot though.
DFI Day 3 Media/Create,
Dfi course day 3 media /create
Google meet
Location : Bay Of Islands College
Another intensive day with DFI team and the awesome cohort of learners.
This was done by google meet session which was great but certainly came with its own set of challenges, but once again the manaiakilani team talked us through the processes involved with
the items on the agenda.
Started the day with another session about the manaiakilani pedagogy.
This week we heard the term sisomo, that is the use of sight sound and motion to
enthrall learners with the use of interesting and colourful graphics,sound and animation.
Also heard that there are many ways to be creative which seems highly
doable with the use of seemingly infinite images,videos and the tools that can be accessed through the internet and Google apps.
We also touched on hapara, which I have not had much to do with either.
Learnt how to set up and add to playlists on U Tube.
Adding a video to the blog
The Pale Blue Dot – A Compelling Speech by Carl Sagan
This is a favourite of mine, I watch it every now and again.
If you don’t know, Carl Sagan worked for and consulted to NASA
and was a mentor to Neil De Grasse Tyson, presenter of the fascinating
Cosmos television series. To me, well worth the watch of about 3 1/2 minutes.
The name speaks for itself. ” A Compelling Speech ……….”
Practicing my animation techniques.
DFI Day 4 Paparore School
Another busy day with the fantastic and super knowledgeable Manaiakilani team at the far north Paparore primary school.
Listening to Dorothy’s opening comments about how human beings have been sharing thoughts and knowledge with each other for thousands of years , using the technologies of the time from painting on caves , to tablets, paper scrolls and now with the use of modern digital trechnology such as Bloggs.
I know we all know this but interestingly Dorothy mentioned how students should get intio the habit of finishing their work including their blogs. By getting into the habit of completing work they will become more profficient and eventually make better employees. Working on the Gateway programme, helping students become work ready and eventually into employment is very close to my heart. Ironically just the next day after hearing this korero I went to pick up a student from the tyre shop where he is doing his Gateway placement. The student wanted to leave but the employer insisted this student finish what he was doing, using the tyre machine to fit a new tyre to the rim and then place the wheel back on the vehicle and make sure it was put on good and tight. Just the lesson Dorothy was talking about.
Next we went over some really relevant material to mewhich I think will help me in my mahi, such as forms which striaght away I could see a use for. That is putting the Mahi Mihi Oranga into a digital format which will make it much faster and hopefully more appealing to students to use. We then moved onto google maps which I thougjht was fascinating, great graphics and so many fun and exciting things can be done with these apps, not to mention saving time and energy. We then moved onto google sheets and this too was highly informative I learnt a huge time saving technique, that is that you can import multiple students information striaght from the School Management System directly onto a spreadsheet. This used to take up quite a bit of time because I used to manually input data for each individual student now it takes just minutes and with practice should take just seconds.
Even though the DFI course is full on and there is still alot to learn, it really feels as though its opening up a whole new world of ways to become more proficient in my work, learn and express ideas and thoughts in so many ways. Absolutely fantastic.
Having lunch break on the expansive and beautiful 90 mile beach with Kirsty Bryan, my DFI buddy from Bay Of Ilsands College on our first visit to Paparore school in the far north.
Practicing using google sheets and graphs
Gateway
Practicing with google maps, didn’t turn out that great but kind of got the gist of how it works.
Lots of uses and potential plus. Love the graphics.
DFI -Devices day.
Day 8
Up at Apararore school again.
Not to much to say today but the message is clear.
Dorothy used a word today that I don’t ever recall hearing until I started the DFI course 8 weeks ago.
Ubiquitous. In terms of the DFI course it means being able to facilitate learning:
Anytime,
Anywhere ,
Any pace,
Anyone.
When learning material is in digital formatt it definetly has its advantages,
This means learners can access material anytime of the day or night from anywhere there is internet.
They can do the learning at their own pace , leaving time to reasearch and plan what and when they are going to complete their work. This can also be done by young and older learners, school students and non school students can partake in online learning. The word rewindable has also been used alot, where learners can go back again and again as many times as necessary.
Their is a multitude of on line courses now so even people who work during the day can log in when they have the time. This was also made evident during the lockdown when schools were closed and Teachers and students could connect through google meets and Teachers could deliver the learning and students would have access to Hapara where they could keep there work, teachers could access it and mark and comment.
Using skills learnt on the Dfi course will help Teachers produce interesting material for learners, hopefully getting them interested in learning.and keeping them engaged in school and help them realsie that by using digital devises learning can be accessed realatively easily, well after they have left school.
We then moved onto using the devices namely i-pad and chromebooks. I didn;t realise there was so much you could do with these decvices and would like to do firther trainging as I mainly use a chroebook at home. Will have to google some training tutorials.
DFI day 6 Enabling Access Sites
Another great day on the DFI course, once again at the coolest school in the far north, Aparore primary.
Focus of the day was on class sites .
There was the customary Karakia/waiata then first up another presentation from Dorothy Burt. It seems I may have been a bit ahead of myself, almost a bit of deja vu for me as she spoke about making connections and empowerment of learners through the use of digital technology. This is something I wrote about on my ptrvious weeks blog, so it was kind of gratifying to have what I was thinking verified this week by her korero, but it doesn’t leave me a whole lot to write about because I think I said it alot about this last week.
Dorothy spoke about connecting with learners and forging relationships, she mentioned this empowerment has enabled connections to the world and that the possibilities are endless.
Dorothy spoke about meetung people face to face and how it can sometimes be a bit awkward , I commented how I use the phrase “where are you from” which I beleive is an absolutely well proven icebreaker and method to become engaged in conversation and finding something in common. Several years ago, by saying this to someone at a gathering I was able to recently reconnect my Father with someone he hadn’t seen in 60 years. It is a question I have used quite often and can lead to a very postive rapport with students. Dorothy said she liked the idea and said she might try it the next time the opportunity arises. Intersting to see if she does and how it works out for her. (Learnt this from Maori, as this is very often a question I hear asked).
Not surprisingly by now, a continous theme for this course is that the kaupapa of create, learn, share and visibility are keystone to the ideolgy of Manaiakilani and completing, and implementing this kaupapa has led to a sense of belonging to its members, starting to feel a bit that way myself , as though I am part of a grand plan perhaps. Does that sound far fetched? It really does feel like I am coming out of the dark ages.
As previously stated the focus of the day was producing a web site and Vickys chalk n talk was on the button. No pum inrended.
There was some great tips about setting up a site, again using create, learn, share, visibilty, framework.to facilitae effective teaching practice. Slide deck will have to be revisited I think.
We were able to look at some class sites , ranging from primary to secondary schools. then we went on to have some more practice producing our own site. While I am still not that happy with some of the graphics I used. Can’t seem to find something that leaps out at me and says “yes I am the one.” I do however have more understanding how to go about setting up a site, i’e adding images, pages, subpages, carousel and buttons, though I want to go over how to customise a button which I thought was quite cool. I think this could be one of the many things that would make a site more visibly appealing. As kerry says “treat it like a shop window”, enticing the the viewer to enter and venture further.
We had a shared morning tea/lunch, Alisons seafood chowder was superbly delicous and Lee-Anne’s (my wife) corzini fritters were well appreciated. Also like to mention what a great cohort of learners from the other schools, every week we get to know one another a bit better, you are all fanastic and I like sharing the learning journey with you all. The drive home with my workmates Kirsty and Dj was great fun too with some stimulating conversation and best of all plenty of laughs.
Ahhh once again surprsed myself, it seems I did have a bit to ramble about.
Looking forward to week 7, learning, creating, sharing and visibility with everyone at The Waitangi Treaty grounds.
DFI 5 Wierdest Foods
All countries have their own style of cooking and food they use depending on what they can grow or raise. All are different depending on size or land mass. Some countries food source come manly from the sea as they have very little land mass.
Some countries have food dishes that other people from other countries would find very strange.
Some food are dangerous yet other people in other countries still eat them.
(SNA FNDC)
What does (SNA FNDC) Stand for exactly. Well it stands for
“Significant natural areas far north district council”
The (SNA FNDC) is an organisation that is out to take people’s land to stop the “Ecological” areas from native plants and habitats.
Add if you were wondering here is what “ecological” means
adjective
relating to or concerned with the relation of living organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
“pollution is posing a serious threat to the ecological balance of the oceans”
So what the (SNA) are doing they are taking maori peoples lands so they can work on this project of theirs to prevent the 43 percent of the ecological gasses being released from these native plants and habitats.. And this was mapped 30 percent from the 1999’s.
From this week, around 9000 Far North property owners with Significant Natural Areas on their land will receive a letter from the Council. A Significant Natural Area (SNA)
has high ecological value due to the native plants and habitat there. Many Far North property owners will already know they have an area like this on their land and will also know about District Plan rules designed to manage and protect these areas.
We are now working on a new District Plan and the Government requires that these areas are identified and managed more specifically. We also have a responsibility under the Resource Management Act to protect significant indigenous vegetation and habitats. To comply with this, we worked with other Northland Councils last year to map SNAs in the region. This was undertaken by ecologists, Wildland Consultants. They used a combination of existing information, new aerial photography, and site visits to identify SNAs. This work has increased the accuracy and knowledge of natural areas and we now know that approximately 42 per cent of our district contains potentially sensitive environments. Half of this is within Department of Conservation land. When last mapped in the 1990s, SNAs accounted for just under a third of the district so many property owners will be unaware that their land includes an SNA.
Locations that the (SNA FNDC) are taking map
shoes
the reason i made shoes is because I was sitting at my house and heard the waves of the ocean and I picked this type of shoe because it is one of my favourite type of shoes .
List 29 crossword
Make your own crossword List 29
This is my crossword I made out of some of the words on the list 29 spelling sheet. Do you like crosswords?
Its a small world 2!
Here is one of my reading tasks for the week. I hope you enjoy it. Have a great day!
Google Draw Practice
This is about a unicorn getting killed from an Among Us character. I drew this on Google Draw. It was hard to shape the Among Us character because it was hard to curve the side. I would use Google Draw again because its was fun to color in with whatever colours I wanted to.