Jono's Amazing Professional Blog

What's on top? Feeling a lot better now that reports are 95% done and ready to go out. Teachers around the country put in a lot of effort this time of year in particular to ensure what we are saying about our student's achievement is accurate and honest. We also try our best to point students and their families in the right direction for "what's next".  I liked the way today's session sums up the journey we've been on so far this term. We have developed a lot of skill and experience while using Google Suite applications, shortcuts, extensions, websites and other useful 'hacks'.  We'll all be back next week to sit our Level One Google Educator exam, which is also another great way to capitalise on the new information and experiences we have gained.  What is computational thinking? According to digital technologies hub, Australia, " Computational thinking describes the processes and approaches we draw on when thinking about how a computer ca...

What's on top? I made this during Dorothy's discussion of Manaiakalani ethos. I liked being able to personalise the concept. I like the idea that learning should be rewindable, so that people have a chance to pause and process new ideas before proceeding. I learned more about the word 'ubiquitous', which means inherently evident in everything.  Takeaways  Explain Everything: I used to use a Promethean Planet smartboard and miss using the software that came with it. This is the closest app I've seen which could be useful. Looks to be mostly aimed for use with younger audiences (junior to middle school).  Hapara learning : I've been wanting to use this platform for some time but had now idea how to best use it, even with all my own 'sandpit' exploration. Having time in this session to create my own taskboard was quite enjoyable as I could see how it can be used with my class. I created a taskboard for my class about one of the Cybersmart lessons. 

What's on top? A short week with Queen's Birthday, interschool volleyball tournament and DFI means I've had two days in class - really looking forward to having a full, 'normal' week in class.  Today's DFI session was a really good opportunity to get stuck into our class learning sites, and build on from the last session. One of the challenges I am finding at the moment is combining what I know to be effective teaching and planning as a classroom educator, with the power of using Google Sites to enhance my student's learning.  We shared and discussed our learning sites with our DFI peers.  I believe my site is well-presented, not too cluttered and I love the colour scheme. A couple of points really stuck out for me with our site design, and sometimes they don't hit home until you hear it said out loud. Number one, your most important items should be within one 'scroll' of your page. Consider this point especially for learners who often need assis...

What's on top? It's been a few days since our last DFI. Like many others, I was keen to welcome my long weekend - kia ora, Kuini!  I had an interesting Week 5 - three days absent, sailing on Thursday and DFI on Friday. I missed being at school and being able to teach my class. I had an awesome (well, awesome to me anyway) week planned but fell sick for the first three days. I felt a bit helpless not being able to be in front of my class but I can definitely say I wouldn't have been at my best. So, it was a timely reminder for that I need to listen to my body and rest when needed.  Sandpit Learning  2021 Jono's DFI Learning Log: Session 5 Multimodal Learning in Reading:  I learned a lot from today's session which I can see being immediately available to use in class. I'd heard of T-shaped literacy earlier this year but it was good to get an understanding of the purpose for different texts you use in multimodal learning. Multimodal means different methods of commu...