Itchy? GET SCRATCHING!

 Programming for super beginners!

Programming is the nemesis of many, today we explored different programs/software online to support all sorts of educational goals from languages to engineering. The application of computational thinking in our worlds.

I understand we do everything in code in real life, and I don't mean speaking in Klingon, what I mean is the set of rules and protocols we follow to do everything in our lives.   

The challenge is to break it into smaller more digestible chunks and if necessary repeat those steps, understanding that sometimes something can go wrong and we might have to revisit that pattern (code) and reprogram it (debug). 

language is something like that, repetition is important and when supported by images becomes easier as a mnemonic tool to remember faster  

CLICK THE LETTER AND THEN THE ROBOT TO HEAR THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION IN SPANISH

Here's a little example of a piece of code exploring and making things more interesting in the pronunciation of the letter R in Spanish.

One window to rule them all!

 HAPARA 

The one to rule them all, the full potential of HAPARA can only be unleashed by using it and practicing. During today's lesson we experienced what is like to be a student and got to use a Chromebook. Between small screens and no mouse I came to appreciate the challenges my students have to deal with when working on any assessment from their CB's.

One of the takeaways for me today will be to be more empathetic with students when they do work for me in their little, tiny screens with limited buttons and software capabilities. Chromebooks are great still but again, this is the opinion of a guy using a regular size screen with a cordless mouse.

The almighty powers of HAPARA expands from class engagement management to work control all under one ample umbrella.

Other software we explored today was "Explain Everything" used the iPad for it and experienced a new way to interact and create new content for students. The downside of it is the price per students.

There is always a use for new software in our schools but this is just a new one for me, I know that there are many but this one is already being used by primary teachers. Good  experience and great flow.

Collaborative Teaching and Learning

Staying on top of publishing, publishing, publishing, publishing... We are all about publishing our resources, courses and more.

Working along with colleagues we learn faster and better tricks on how to constantly improve quickly our sites to illustrate and generate better sites for our learners.

One of the many advantages of having a well set up site for our lessons is the possibility to share with our students all the content and planning ahead for the year and every piece of content can be updated and maintained from our data base (Google Drive)

SPEEDY SHEETS!

Super overload day!

Usually I am quite confident in technology but today (this week) I found it to be beyond challenging zoning out at times. I work better alone and research stays with me when I do things differently.

Blogger used to be "that guy" but now Sheets has managed to make it to the podium in first place. well done Sir, well played.

3, 2, 1 ..... ACTION!!

Another day packed with tons of knowledge and awesome shorcuts, gadgets, demos etc!

Creation and sharing was the theme for day, visiting different tools to create and share with others what we had in mind. Google Drawings and all of the different aspects of it that could be exploited to enhance either our lessons or student's work. 

One big thing I am taking away with me is the creation short animations in google slides, where by combining frame by frame and predetermined animations helped me to come up with something that still in progress as the task was a little too much to complete in one session.

 

Blog away

Blugger away! Today we had a day packed with even more learning activities. What I am taking away today is the new knowledge in calendar management and embed videos on my blog, this gives me new tools to share with my students and share with them my own learning experiences and as Kerry said, "It never ends"

The video we recorded was based on a blog that somebody else created and shared with us. In my personal case I just choose one randomly and it happened to be about a boy that got creative during lockdown.

 

Different labels, filters (not from insta) for everything makes life easier. categorizing emails and selecting what is more important in the IN tray. In a nutshell, there are many different tools that can make life easier for a professional being but can also seamlessly move to a normal non background as Venessa explained with her example from Goggle KEEP.

HERE WE GO!

Today started like any other day, I woke up, kissed my wife and children good morning, got ready for the day and jumped in my car. That was just the beginning Of my nine weeks journey that I embarked on with 3 of my colleagues. Intros done and dusted, protocols ticked one by one. Powhiri by TE TOKA WHAKAKOTAHI Marae in the Bay of Islands College. Back to the classroom, little nerves as I haven't been in a classroom as a student in over 20 years, great start and great support from the Manaiakalani team. A good attitude and openness to my questions created a relaxed environment for me to learn.

This journey will take me all over Te tai tokerau up and down we go!

The day was packed with activities and new knowledge as well a couple of laughs and some serious moments. Great start all over!

One of the many things we learnt during this session was “How to erase backgrounds from pictures to be used across google platform, brilliant little (huge) gadget to have handy at all times. Working collaboratively as well across docs and assigning tasks in google docs was very helpful. 

Utilizing the Explore tool from docs is a fantastic tool, also using the quotes tools will be of huge benefit for senior students

I think that it will be difficult to narrow it down to one thing, this is the beginning of my journey and this is just the intro to more aspects of the Google life. 

Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei taonga

Welcome to your very own blog for learning. We look forward to seeing you share your learning with your teachers, your school, your family and friends anywhere.