DFI Session 8

• What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

Today I was able to see the future of technology, it amazes me the capability that technology has for all areas in life. We completed a moral machine activity which is a platform for gathering a human perspective on moral decisions made in life. This made me stop and think about how everyone has a different view or choice and the power that this can make. The world of technology is ever-growing and I am thankful to be a part of DFI to be able to see the opportunities it offers.

• What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?

Along with what I mentioned above, today when we looked in computational thinking I was able to see how technology along with our own knowledge as humans can work together. I look at technology in a learning environment as a tool and it is there to guide and help me as well as my learners.

• What did I learn that could be used with my learners?  

A point that stuck with me today was to focus on the learners being creators and designers and not just users and consumers. I have found that with my learners when introducing them to something new on a device, they learn best when they have a go at creating and designing. I have noticed the communication and thought process that goes on while they are doing so is remarkable, they are learning to identify problems and find solutions for them through trial and error. I think that this will set them up well as life long learners to find solutions in their everyday lives.

Another aspect that I enjoyed and know that my learners will also be using coding. When I was able to give the resources a go myself I had to use a higher-order thinking process to build what I wanted to achieve. The progress and end results were rewarding, I especially enjoyed the compute.it game, code.org and the Minecraft based activities. As I was giving these a go I could see the enjoyment my learners would get with this, I look forward to implementing these into our learning.

Pictured below was a scratch I had a play around with, I need to give this more of a practice as found it challenging but a great learning experience. I think my learners would be able to teach me a thing or two.