Sending and receiving messages

This is probably one of my more obscure wonderings, mainly for my own benefit. If you persevere with reading this, well done you!

Reflection on Reflective Practice

Our training at work has been going very well, and the team constantly amaze and impress me with the depth of their thinking and their willingness to consider new ideas - or re-consider older ideas. There is many things that I really like about my work, but the two hours we spend together every week are very special, and I really treasure this time.

Every week every participant is asked to set aside 30 minutes to reflect on what they have learnt: Reflective practice is something I believe in deeply, and yet I have struggled to put my reflections down for the last few weeks.

I look for an image that represents reflection for every week of our training

This blog used to be my reflection tool, and I used to be very open and honest about my experiences. Over the years I have felt more constraint in what I think I should say on there - will it reflect on my organisation, will it reflect on the people I work with?

I have been thinking about turning the blog private; however, one of the reasons for starting to blog was this idea that content educators engage with needs to be created in order to be consumed; if I only ever consume, what do I contribute? Who do I leave to do all the creating? Will these voices be diverse and representative of everyone?

With this, I am back to a public rather than a private blog; but actually, does a reflection need to be recorded anyway, could I just reflect in my head?

I think that for me, many thoughts and ideas float through my head all the time, and they easily can get lost. I have learnt that for me to fully understand something, I have to look at it from different perspectives, have to talk different options through. For some of my mahi, I find it really easy to talk through ideas and thoughts, especially with my team (who are all absolutely amazing btw!). When it is about this training, I know I can talk things through with them, but as participants in the training, I feel it is unfair when I burden them with the why and the how while they are also working on the what (in addition to all their other work). Right now, I have not found that critical buddy yet who I can chew these particular thoughts and ideas over with, the person who keeps me accountable.

After going around a long-winded pathway, I'm somewhat back where I started - back with reflecting on a public blog; did I just need to convince my head of what my heart (or my gut?) already knew? Anyone else have similar experiences?

Reflection on our / my understanding of our Aotearoa New Zealand's Histories

In the fourth week of our training, we focused on our collective understanding of the histories we tell at Waitangi. Like most if not all culture and heritage organisations, the stories we tell in our exhibitions has been carefully curated, and collectively our group have a thorough knowledge of the stories represented across the Grounds. 

What stood out the most

Once we started putting these stories onto a timeline, if became clear to us that we have some time periods with lots of stories to tell, and others where we collectively know much less, namely the time before documented European arrival to Aotearoa.

The question posed was does this matter, and collectively we decided that yes, it does matter: When we run workshops about Te Tiriti, we want to represent both treaty partners, so hītorī Māori is vitally important. Hand in hand with this goes the use of te reo Māori, and using kupu Māori with confidence (discussion about the difference between rangatira and ariki).

We also want to be through and have a great level of expertise, and while that does not mean that every facilitator has to know everything, collectively, across the team, thorough knowledge is very important: If a participant has a very specific question, we can assure them that we will check back with a colleague and then get back to them.

Finally, no matter where else our participants learn about Te Tiriti, if our exhibitions and interpretations miss some of the information we regard as important for workshop participants, then we want to incorporate some of these during the workshop.

In addition, what stood out to me was the discussions during and after the session, about the way we interact with our histories and why. When I put the session together, I didn't realise how deep the discussions would go, how much of an impact it might have.

Immediate impact on my practice

• Yesterday I planned a follow-up session, so we can further explore our stories.
• I noted down several changes we could already incorporate into our Te Tiriti workshops.
• In conversation about the webinars we run, I am considering what changes we might want to make, within the limited time frame.

Impact on my future practice

• I will look for help so I can learn some of the pepeha that relate to our stories at Waitangi.
• I will review how I tell our stories: Where are the gaps in my kōrero, and what is the best way to fill these?
• I hope to have more conversations with colleagues who know much more about hītorī Māori than I, opening up a dialogue where stories might be shared (when time and place are right) - maybe even the start of an oral history collection?
• I feel privileged that I have been part of interpretive conversations at Waitangi in the past, and I hope that my voice will be considered in future interpretations, too.

Reflective Practice

We started a new professional learning programme at work, with the aim of creating a team of professional learning facilitators. Part of the programme is to develop reflective practice, using a reflective journal. While it has been a few years, I had really enjoyed using this blog as platform for reflection, therefore I will give this another try.

Some musings about 2021 ready, Leading and Innovating and Where to next

This week we finished our Term 4 webinar series. During the session I was thinking about how so much of the publications around integrating Digital Technology learning with your local curriculum have focused on this idea of being '2020 ready' (and we know, few if any of us were ready for what 2020 has actually brought). 

Both Leading local curriculum design in the revised learning area technology and the DT implementation support tool describe four stages a school would go through as they are weaving digital technology learning into the school's local curriculum:

Not yet started

A school has chosen a leader for this change and is beginning to explore the revised curriculum content. While not explicitly stated in the above documents, I would expect the school to consult with their local community on how this new learning fits with the current local curriculum.

I prefer using the term Just starting, I believe this helps us all to recognise that some work is being done, but there is still more to do.

Now underway

The school has recognised the new learning in their strategic planning; they have reviewed their local curriculum, compared to what is currently being taught and looked at the necessary changes; consulted with students and other schools, e.g. within the local kāhui ako; established teacher confidence and competence in regards to the new learning, examined current PLD practices and chosen suitable PLD to support their teachers.

2020 ready

Schools have DT learning in their strategic goals and planning, and have resource plans in place; they are mapping DT learning progress outcomes across the school's curriculum; are communicating with whānau and community on what has changed and why, and are finding real-life learning opportunities outside school to apply the new learning; teaching the revised curriculum content is trialled, student progress is measured and effectiveness of teaching and learning is measured; suitable PLD is offered to teachers and middle leaders, and the school leaders are actively participating, as well as checking on the effectiveness of putting learning into practice.

During this week's webinar I tried substituting this with '2021 ready', but this doesn't quite feel right. I believe the authors must have tried to say "this is what needs to be in place at a school that is ready to implement the revised technology learning area" (with a deadline of 2020) - and now that 2020 is almost over, is 2020 ready still the best term to use? Ready for DT learning sounds a little wooden - what would be a more eloquent phrase?

Leading and Innovating

A school has a digital resource plan to support DT learning; their local curriculum is a meaningful collaboration between school and community, future-focused for learners thriving in a transforming digital world; technology learning is cross-curricular, and learning experiences connect ideas across the breadth of the curriculum while developing students' KCs; PLD supports teachers to innovate alongside their students, relevant information about DT learning is shared amongst all across the school (staff, students and community) and records show how everyone's participating in ongoing PLD makes a difference to teacher planning, teaching and to student learning.

While the NZ education system operating under 'Tomorrow's Schools' leaves individual schools a lot of freedom in what and how they teach, for me this description include some of the most exciting indicators of what the Ministry of Education would like schools to operate like:

In collaboration with the community, schools will develop a local curriculum with connecting ideas and technology learning across the curriculum, teachers will be innovating with their students, and ongoing PLD will make a difference to planning, teaching and learning. 

I realise not everyone might share my excitement about this, in fact I personally have had conversations with teachers who very clearly see Digital Technology learning in the realm of technology teachers. It reminds me of the discussions our profession have had about the place of literacy for example; once upon a time firmly the domain of English teachers, nowadays students can gather literacy credits at NCEA levels across a number of subjects.

I am wondering about whether all NZ schools will see 'Leading and Innovating' as the stage they want to achieve, or, with our national affinity to the Tall Poppy Syndrome, will they be happy to remain on the level below?

Where to next for schools:

Planning

Now is the time to plan what next year will look like. Start with a review of where you are at, and then select your next steps. We have created a simple template you can access here to help you.

PLD

While a lot of the Digital Technology PLD is finishing at the end of 2020, the strong connection to Local Curriculum and the importance of Digital Fluency mean that schools can continue to be supported in their PLD journey by applying for accredited PLD - feel free to reach out if you would like the Raranga Matihiko team to help you submit an application (https://rarangamatihiko.com/). We are also available to provide PLD outside the accredited PLD scheme.

Resources

There are many useful resources available online and as print copy from Down the Back of the Chair:

• Strengthening Local Curriculum
• Leading Local Curriculum guide series
• Digital Technology Implementation Support guide
• Local Curriculum Design Tool

Our Raranga Matihiko resource page has recordings for all eight webinars under Leadership (as well as many other useful resources).

The Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko site contains many useful resources, as does Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa, and DTHM for Kaiako. 

Planning for 2021: Raranga Matihiko supporting school and curriculum leaders

COVID-19 has proven a challenge for all educators and for PLD providers. Thanks to the foresight of our Programme Director Tara Fagan, the Raranga Matihiko team were able to move online immediately when the March lockdown was announced to continue supporting our schools and kura, and certain aspects of our work have remained online since then.

During Term 3, Tara Fagan and I have facilitated four webinars for school and curriculum leaders from all across the motu:

1. Understanding the revised Technology learning area
2. Integrating digital technology into your local curriculum
3. Is your school ready for Digital Technology learning?
4. Digital Technology learning in action

Each of these webinars has been recorded and is available under Leadership on the resources section on our website.  Following lots of positive feedback from participants, we have decided to offer a follow-up webinar series in Term 4 to support schools as they plan for 2021:

Please register at http://bit.ly/T4RM2020; feel free to attend one, some or all of the webinars. These webinars are free for educators from all schools and kura across Aotearoa. Please note that in addition to the Raranga Matihiko programme, we also support schools with accredited PLD, notably in local curriculum design, digital fluency and around NZ History - feel free to get in touch if you are interested to find out more.

Of course we haven't forgotten about classroom teachers: During Term 2 we wrote and presented 16 episodes for Papa Kāinga | Learning from Home TV, including supporting teacher resources. These are also available from our website under Raranga Matihiko TV. In addition we ran a free online conference at the end of September, and we were absolutely blown away by the huge interest. If you missed out, or if you would like to rewind the learning, please head over to Webinars on the resource section on our website.

Sometimes, a challenge can lead to something positive, it can lead you to challenge what you do day-to-day, push you to come up with a new, hopefully better way. As you are planning for 2021, we trust these resources can support you. Come back to our website regularly for updates and new additions.

Designing tasks that allow students to shine

Digital Technology learning does not happen by accident. Lately I have been thinking a lot about how we can design student tasks that truly allow our students to show their progressing learning in Digital Technology. I have previously written about integrating digital technology learning across the curriculum (probably most of the more recent posts on this blog, e.g. Integrating DT Learning into Learning from Home). As teachers we often wonder how to balance developing the students' digital fluency (DF) skills and setting them tasks that challenge the students to apply these skills in an authentic context and for their chosen audience.

As I have said many times, Digital Technology (DT) learning needs to be across the curriculum, every teacher needs to take responsibility for developing some basic digital fluency of their own, for developing a basic understanding of the revised content of the Learning Area Technology, and for integrating DT learning into the learning in their context. I realise this is not easy to fit into an already busy day, so please look into the PLD that is available to you and reach out in person or online to colleagues or to PLD facilitators you think are able to help you. I know that some schools have had different priorities before, during and since lockdown, and PLD for Digital Technology and for Digital Fluency have now fallen off the MoE PLD priorities. If you feel strongly that this is not meeting your needs and therefore the needs of your students, speak to your Senior Teachers / HoDs, your schools' SLT and to your local MoE Senior Advisors.

While I might be slightly biased, I feel looking at the 'decoded for learners' version of the DT Progress Outcomes might not just help students, it might also help teachers. With the recent update to our website, the location of our Decoded for Learners resources shifted; for now, you can access them here:

 

https://bit.ly/DecodedForLearners

So how do you design tasks that allows students to show off their DT progress, and how do you allow the students to develop more digital fluency (DF) so they can work at higher progress outcomes?

Developing digital fluency

In our Raranga Matihiko (RM) programme at Waitangi, we always start with a tutū session, a short session where students first get a basic introduction what a tool can do, and then get time to simply try that tool out. As we get students into our programme for a very limited period of time only, we organise this in rotations of approx. 5min, swapping across several different apps and tools - you might want to introduce fewer tools over a longer period of time. Buddying up can be useful, and as the teacher, it pays to listen in to their conversations.

Choosing tools that are free to use and / or available across a range of devices helps with equity between students. If you are unsure about what tools you could introduce or how to introduce them, feel free to get inspiration from our clips from Raranga Matihiko TV which were recorded for Home Learning | Papa Kainga TV - or, if appropriate, use them directly with your students. The accompanying Teacher Support Materials are available here.

Following a tutū session, we have a conversation with students about the tools they have used and about what would be the best tool for a particular purpose. E.g. if I want to create whakairo (carvings) that I can print out in a 3D printer, SculptGL is a very good tool (I have written about choosing the best tool here). Here is an unplugged activity we have developed for you to use with your students to help them think about choosing the best tool.

With this approach you help students develop their DF and they will learn to choose the most suitable tool from a  range (Progress Outcomes 2 and 3 from Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes).

Task design

Digital Technology learning sits under the Learning Area Technology. In its most simplistic form you could describe the purpose of Technology to provide a solution to a problem. 

All Progress Outcomes refer to authentic context and to an enduser. Let me be very blunt: In all but a very few instances, creating a DT project for the teacher to mark does not meet either of these. Instead when integrating DT across the curriculum, this could be creating a movie about a pūrakau for a whānau evening, coding a project to share a story digitally with young people across Aotearoa, creating an app to guide a visitor across the school grounds etc.

When you truly integrate DT learning across the curriculum, you look at learning, at authentic learning, within the local curriculum of a school first. Local curriculum has become more and more important in NZ education, and MoE have made a number of resources about this available, for example here.

Local curriculum is about ensuring that what students learn about is important to them and their local community, while at the same time using this as the springboard to understanding the world beyond their local area. For me it is providing students with a solid grounding in their local community, their local history, their local tikanga, the local environment, and developing a connection and a pride in where they are from. This means that while our schools might still be a central hub for learning (though possibly no longer sole place of learning), we invite the knowledge and skills in the community to be a partner in the learning journey, and we all, students and adults, learn together (there is much more to local curriculum, but this will be the topic of another post at another time).

Digital Technology learning can be one of the ways your students show their learning. Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes and Computational Thinking are often interwoven. Depending on the age of your students and on their DF skills, design tasks that:

• Require an enduser: Who will see their project and what are their needs (e.g. younger students might need few and simple text)? How will you facilitate sharing their projects (class or student blogs, school FB page, whānau evening etc.)?
• Allow students choice about how to show their learning, e.g. within a tool (if their DF is limited to this) or across several tools. Ask students to explain why they are choosing particular tools.
• Include application of  Digital Citizenship (DC): Model good DC in the way you access online content and how you attribute the source of this content. Incorporate requirements for displaying DC in the student projects.
• Encourage students to push beyond what they already know and beyond what you know. Collaborative brainstorming can be very useful, as can be collaborative projects (buddies and small groups). Embrace ako and celebrate success.

My last post had some task ideas for Learning from Home - some of these translate easily to the classroom environment. Over the coming weeks I plan to share further exemplars about tasks that allow students to shine - feel free to contact me if you would like your activities included in this.