Today was the first day of the DFI course. DFI stands for Digital Fluency Intensive. I was asked if I would like to complete the DFI course online due to Covid-19. I was a little apprehensive as it was going to be totally online. One thing I had more confidence in due to distance learning at home was navigating my way around Google Meets, this was very helpful as DFI uses Google Meets.
I learnt about the Manaiakalani Kaupapa and pedagogy. Little did I know that MK actually started many years ago beginning with 13 schools all with close proximity to each other. Manaiakalani has been designed to motivate learners to engage with the curriculum and become 21 C Learners.
A few things that stood out for me today:
Voice typing in Google docs - this is a life changer not only for myself but also my learners who have trouble typing things quickly. It will allow them to focus on their writing and ideas rather than the typing side.
Another top tip was (Shift Z) this makes a copy of the document but also moves it into your drive. This is a great way to get documents without making a copy as the document will still continue to be updated with any changes.
The website remove.bg is also a life changer in making documents look more professional as it removes the white background from an image.
Inserting a table in Google docs - In the past I have spent ages arranging images on the page and getting them to stay there. Using tables allows you to do this so quickly and nothing moves, bonus! Check out my learn, create, share that I made on docs! I usually make them in Google drawings. Bring on DFI week 2.
Kia ora Katie,
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you had a lot of life changing moments in the DFI yesterday which is very good to hear.
Voice typing is really cool, in your setting with the iPads anytime you have the keyboard on the screen it should have the microphone icon for students to record their speech as text. It is the same on your iPhone if you want to have a play. I have been writing my comments using notes on my phone with the microphone and then pasting into the blog.
You can have heaps of fun with Remove.bg and we use it for teaching kids to understand fakes.
Have a great week and remember to try some of the new things in your practice or teacher someone else.
Nga mihi,
Mark
Kia ora Katie,
ReplyDeleteA big part of the Digital Fluency Intensive is seeing and hearing the background of Manaiakalani. There is so much background and knowledge that has been developed over the last 14 years.
Hopefully by connecting with Manaiakalani each week you will start to understand some of the why behind Outreach.
I really enjoy the voice typing and in fact are writing this comment with it. It is a game changer for reluctant writers and empowering for students to understand how punctuation works especially when connected to text to speech so writers can hear what they have written.
I look forward to reading more about your journey in the coming weeks.
Nga mihi,
Mark