STUDENT VOICE

I needed to get some student voice so that I knew my hunches, or perhaps found out that my hunches on how we were going as a school (in the eyes of our students) when infusion digital technologies into their learning.  

I have included a copy of the questionnaire I did (its not the original). I used some of the structure from the NZ ELPF (eLearning Planning Framework)

Student Voice

Beginning of Term 4 I went to the students and asked them a number of questions so that I could get a sense of where we were at as a school with our eLearning journey.

Me key wants were:

1. Looking to see if we were getting the technology being used get beyong the four walls of the classroom?
2. That they were using the tools?
3. That they were being empowered to use the right tool for the right job?
4. How were they using the internet, this wealth of knowledge?
5. Who was bring their own device?

               

Digital Fluency 101 - PD for Staff

My PD to Staff which I called "Digital Fluency 101" 

I wanted to talk about the most recent PD I gave at our school. I wanted to keep these points at the forefront when providing this session. Remembering all the time the term DIGITAL FLUENCY the aims of the session was:

• getting teachers to see me using different technologies in effective ways to present the session and explain why I made this choice.
• to get teachers to understand there are different needs in a class and different digital technologies suit the purpose and needs of individuals
• giving teachers the opportunity to have agency in the session with a reflective sheet that was linked to their PTC
• to be a link back to the SMAR model so that teachers understood how they could shift their practice and how they could measure this.
• to cover and cater for all levels, that all needs were meet
• for it to be a living session that can be incorporated into google+ and shared

This is a copy of the session that you are most welcome to use. Special thanks to Monika Kern, Mangonui School and Gemma Stewart CORE Education who I learnt and used some of their very generous knowledge in this PD session as well as other presentations that you can find online. We are an amazing collaborative group....thank goodness for that.

Digital Fluency 101 Session for Staff

Digital Fluency?

WHAT IS DIGITAL FLUENCY

I like this piece from a Core Ed Blog. One point that is made is that Broadly speaking, digital fluency is a combination of:

• digital, or technical, proficiency: able to understand, select and use the technologies and technological systems;
• digital literacy: cognitive or intellectual competencies, which include being able to read, create, evaluate and make judgements and apply technical skills while doing so;
• social competence, or dispositional knowledge: the ability to relate to others and communicate with them effectively.

The MOE state the following:

A digitally fluent student:

• knows where and how to find and access information quickly and accurately
• can critique the relevance and accuracy of information being accessed
• is an adept producer of digital content
• can recognise and use the most effective methods of reaching their intended audience
• understands and demonstrates how use digital technologies responsibly including – digital security (self-protection), copyright

Digital fluency: Skills necessary for learning in the digital age– An article by Dr. Gerald White examining the skills which need to be embedded in educational curricula in order to prepare for the 21st century

"The question remains about how education can change existing teaching practice to utilise TPACK and the perspectives that leaders need to embrace for teachers and students to become fluent in the use of digital technologies. Mitchel Resnick et al. (2002) argued that the pervasiveness of digital technology will be necessary for a lifetime. In moving beyond information-centric views of education, Resnick (2002) stressed the importance of being fluent in using multimedia, when he stated that: 

In the years ahead, digital fluency will become a prerequisite for obtaining jobs, participating meaningfully in society, and learning throughout a lifetime. (Resnick, 2002, p. 33) 

Resnick (2002) went on to say that students would need to be fluent online, with the web, text, audio, animation, video, remixing, design, downloading and uploading, and fluent in critical thinking, collaboration and deciding relevancy." 

He went on to suggest that throughout their schooling students should experience and learn the following:

Acceptable behaviour • Collaboration, communication, problem solving and research skills • Community involvement • Critical thinking • Design skills • Digital commons and copyright • Digital fluency • Ethics • History of the Internet • Identity and privacy • Project management • Safety • Technology terms 

Yuhyun Park, Chair, infollutionZERO Foundation wrote an article called the "8 digital skills we must teach our children" due to the fact that digital technologies and the access to the internet is forever expanding. The diagram below is a handy diagram to work from as they do very much relate to what students need to be digitally fluent.

On SociaLens Blog it shows in a very unique way the difference between Digital Literacy and Digital Fluency.

I talked before in the blog about the fact that it would be very remiss of us not to make those connections to our Key Competencies. The connections and links are easy to find and make.

A few Readings...

1. Key Competencies for the Future - Rosemary Hipkins, Rachel Bolstad Sally Boyd and Sue McDowall. When looking at Digitally Fluency and perhaps measuring or making observations on the effect of Digital technologies being used in the class I want to use our Key Competencies. Actually reading this book made me think to tie in Key Competencies. That 'Wicked Problem' that in a class you can explore using many of the Key Competencies infused with opportunities that digital tools give the teacher to create rich Authentic learning environment that empowers our students.  In Chapter 8 (and understand that there is a whole book of goodness before then) there are some real takaways when they discuss the opportunities to support the Key Competency development. The link with digitally technologies is so natural in my mind and the importance of that digital fluency so important.

• work on real problems
• finding, establishing, managing and thinking about knowledge
• work with others ideas and values
• engage with knowledge
• think critically and empower positive actions for change
• make connections
2. 'Too Big To Know' by David Weinberger was a book that I had been meaning to read since attending a presentation by Rosemary Hipkins called "Ideas about thinking that challenge traditional educational practices" where she had mentioned this book in some of her findings and thoughts. Boingboing.net explains the book well when they say "Weinberger presents us with a long, fascinating account of how knowledge itself changes in the age of the Internet -- what it means to know something when there are millions and billions of "things" at your fingertips, when everyone who might disagree with you can find and rebut your assertions, and when the ability to be heard isn't tightly bound to your credentials or public reputation for expertise". Weinberger sees classrooms as no longer the teacher up the front within four walls, instead the class itself the conduit of knowledge as a networked environment. Amazing notes compiled by Jane Sigford summarize the book perfectly. I have highlighted and made some comments myself.

Digital Fluency

A few Great sites that are worth a read when defining Digital Fluency.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/building-tech-fluency-digital-learners-beth-holland

http://www.erintegration.com/2015/09/23/teaching-technology-fluency-in-the-classroom/