Digital Fluency Intensive

DFI Revision | Week 9

Today was our final session of DFI for our cohort, and we sat the Google Educator Level 1 Exam. I'm so thankful for each and every session during the course; not only did it prepare me for the exam, but I have genuinely become more confident, skilled, and capable when managing my workflow in both my personal and professional life.



What am I proud of?
I am so proud of my students for managing their learning while I have been away once a week during this term. I know that some of students have struggled with relationships, anxiety, and agency while I've been away, and I am so proud of my class and all their efforts to continue their learning, despite who is standing in front of them. I'm also really proud of them for their perseverance and problem-solving during this time, as I have implemented new routines and strategies throughout the course, and they have adapted very quickly, with such a positive response.

I'm also really proud of myself and my colleagues for completing the DFI course. Nine weeks is a long time to commit to professional development, and the days themselves are very demanding, so our efforts and perseverance is admirable. I have really enjoyed the collaboration and open discussions around teaching and learning that have come from the course. Not only have we started to communicate and collaborate among ourselves, but we have expanded our 'bubbles' and enjoyed collaborating with other educators across the country.

What do I regret?
I don't have many regrets during the course, however, I do wish that I had spoken up more and shared my own teaching and learning. When we work in our small bubbles, I am very capable of participating and contributing to the group discussions. Similarly, when we worked collaboratively to plan in small groups, we shared resources and ideas, and I was very confident sharing my thinking and asking questions if I was unsure. Looking ahead, I know I need to push myself out of my comfort zone and share my thinking and learning to larger groups, and not just small groups.

What will I be taking forward into the new era of schooling?
I have so many ideas for moving forward into my next few terms. I feel so much more equipped with the knowledge and skills to empower my students inside and outside of the classroom. Particular foci for me are literacy, maths, health and physical education, careers, and inquiry. My new knowledge of how to layout my class site so everything is visible, is going to be key when approaching the new term. I'm contemplating individual sites for different topics, so that they can be shared and re-used by myself and other educators, with small personalised tweaks along the way.

This is going to make the workflow of planning and teaching topics so much easier, and I will be able to reflect and adapt as I need to. One example of my thinking is teaching novels to my year 7 & 8 students - I'm thinking about creating sites for the novel study and linking it to my class site, as this will make planning more efficient for me in the long run.

I feel very grateful to have participated in the DFI programme offered by Manaiakalani, and have found the learning invaluable for me moving forward.