Today was a day to put ourselves in our learners' seats using the devices the students use most - Chromebooks and ipads. Before we continue down that path, we return to unpacking the "why" or the Manaiakalani Kaupapa (pedagogy) further.
Today's Manaiakalani Kaupapa:
Today we focus on devices being "more than just a TOOL" enabling and empowering learning to be UBIQUITOUS (great word says the English teacher in me!). Clicking the image should give you access to the slides that accompanied today's Manaiakalani kaupapa chat:
Today's image really speaks to the nature of what teaching and learning has become more and more in the last few years as we were forces through crises problem solving living and teaching through a global pandemic, to try and ensure learning continued. This shifts the 2022 hybrid model of teaching and learning to moving far beyond the initial pre - 2020 "flipped classroom" models. Flipped classrooms tried to engage students to do the readings or film viewing at home and use class time for the important collaborative and communication rich learning experiences. Focus in class could focus on the skills, the lessons and the practice whilst the things students could do without as much support, like reading and watching (secondary level) could be completed at home. Whether you agree or like this model at all, it did propose different ways to approach learning beyond "homework" tasks being completed at home without help.
Is it working?
The current model A4 (can't figure out the superscript yet) = Anywhere, Anytime, Anyone, and Any Pace is absolutely where educators and the our new Covid prompted "hybrid" learning should be. In an ideal world - embracing ubiquitous A4 learning with our lessons and learning visible, rewindable, accessible anywhere, any time and at any pace, should enable and empower students and families to not only achieve their academic goals, but perhaps surpass our outdated class-only based learning. As a school supported by Manaiakalani with all the infrastructure and devices, this could be happening.
How do we engage our learners, their whanau (family), and our educational communities to work better together for our akonga (students)?
However, surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising, I have so far found this model to be a struggle for students and families to "buy in" fully. In class teachers continuously struggle to maintain student attention or focus on ask / learning, partly due to the device access/use, and perhaps also due to the nature of learning being a social experience for most. Perhaps our youths struggled during past lockdowns so much with the lack of connection with peers, so it has become an even greater challenge to regain their focus in school when peer relationships and fun are more appealing. Out of school, despite our efforts to make the learning ubiquitous (A4) family commitments, home life, and living conditions may prevent the "buy-in," or perhaps there is a complete difference of opinion on what ubiquitous hybrid learning means. My observations are not intended to lay blame, but perhaps push myself and others to work more with our communities to figure out (perhaps gain more data) where the "disconnect" is occurring for A4 learning to be valued by all. My feeling is we need to have more open korero together. How do we connect and engage our communities further with this conversation?
Possible solutions for some of our students:
- Did you know there was a summer program using our blogs as a base for some summer creative learning?
- Did you know if you are travelling or out in the "wop wops" (aka Canadian translation - boondocks, woods, middle of no where) you can now get the "internet in a box" -about the size of a suitcase!
Moving on to being a learner on student devices:
Hmmm.. so this is where, of course I consider myself fairly educated and would have /should have known, learning on a Chromebook is very different from my PC or MacBook. But from hotkeys to navigating Hapara and other sites, I have learned it can be a lot different. So, like anything, I will need practice and may consider using them more often to be better able to help students.
Ipads - It had been ages since I have used an iPad so I did not get enough time to explore that tool. However, I was ok with that as we don't have them at my school as far as I know.
My favourite activity - was the simple but very necessary "Digital Dig" - I do plan to use this and I think it could be great to set up a page or site for parent help or "Chromebook Hot Tips" like the "Hapara Hot Tips" we have enjoyed here. Perhaps some of the community "buy-in" I discussed above, is partly due to a lack of confidence on devices themselves.
I think the Chromebook simulator could also help. Thanks for sharing that too!
I loved the shift in language from digital awareness, digital safety and digital citizenship - to me they are all varying levels of becoming digitally literate - smart online consumers and creators. I am looking forward to exploring and including some of the Cybersmart lessons to my classes. I also liked the idea of shifting the language to more positive terms like being smart learners, building smart relationships, understanding what it is to create a smart footprint. Words do shift thinking when we use the same language.
Cybersmart lessons are here to stay and we can't forget that as digitally fluent our students appear to be, they need to be taught to be cybersmart. Some need to gain confidence as a cybersmart student to feel confident and able to engage online. My only concern I have had has been around -where does this fit in the curriculum? So far as I can tell, it is meant to be embedded, or ubiquitous, in all curricular areas. But if everyone assumes students are being taught x,y, and z elsewhere, chances are it is not and students will be missing pieces. Sometimes it is assumed to be the responsibility of either digital /computer technologies or part of the "home" - parental responsibilities. In an ideal world, this would be great - but we also know that some of our families are not comfortable online. I think it is important for schools to decide how to share the load so as not to repeat too often, but also to reinforce and support each other in making being cybersmart as important as being literate. I am not sure where this conversation needs to start. Suggestions welcome.
How do I know this is just as important as other curriculum? I learned with my students, modeled with them too.
When I first began blogging years ago in Canada, we learned together with a few devices at a time in class. We spent a fair bit of time learning to be digitally fluent by trial and error, exploring (hmmmm... part of the Manaiakalani DFI day structure), discussing and problem solving together with my students. Sometimes this meant revisiting our "why" and purpose behind our blogging to remind each other that the blogs were for our specific learning goals. (to start - as I was cautiously timid too - we set 1 focus at a time. Eg. writing responses, mystery skype, building our class collaboration and community).
When students tried to challenge that the blogging was the problem - we listed all the issues they said were the fault of the technology, wifi, devices or blogging platform,.... and discovered, most of their "problems" were more learner based (work habits) not device, online or blogger based. This was a big AHA moment for that year 10 class who tried to lay blame elsewhere.
Then... full buy-in and their writing and engagement really improved. Growing pains with devices as well as learning to be cybersmart after being told how many scammers, cyberbullies and other "bad" people were online. Students were more open to keeping our focus, learning to respond if there was an inappropriate comment, using settings, and connecting globally.
I apologise for not sharing a "create" task today - I was as guilty as my students. I blame the Manaiakalani crew for luring me into my own "rabbit hole" exploring the "Wonderland" of the Cybersmart resources.
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