Becoming a Digital Fluent Principal

DFI 20-8-2019

Introduction

Kia ora koutou katoa,

The important issue of being a responsible citizen was one of the themes of today’s Digital Fluency Intensive (DFI) course. We want our learners to be Cybersmart with their devices. Our learners need to make good choices, about their particular use in the Digital environment.

Being Cybersmart allows our learners as digital citizens to be connected to the world. When their learning is visible and accessible, anytime, anyplace, at any pace, our young people learn to make smart and responsible decisions and understand that every time they connect, collaborate and share online, it combines to create their digital footprint.

What has worked for me since the last time we met? 

I am consolidating my knowledge of Google tools, in particular, in particular, Google: Docs, calendar, keep, and drive. I have been using the tool in my leadership role for strategic, daily operations, and Board processes. I have a better understanding of the interconnectedness of each tool and how each Google platform relates to another.

What hasn’t worked or made sense?

The delivery of DFI has been lucid and transparent. I just need time to apply the skills and context of my learning to everyday actions. I had a tutu with my Chrome settings and how you can sync multiple users into one account. I need to discuss with Fusion how the school account relates to a club or personal accounts.

What do I need help with?

I require in-depth content knowledge and practice with the Google site and draw tools to support leadership.

Today, I felt a bit cumbersome. I used an Ipad and Chromebook to support my DFI learning. I am not so suited to these devices and prefer the safety of using a laptop with an external mouse and keyboard. However, the experience of using these devices provides an understanding of how our students are coping with Ipad and Chromebook tools. I am pleased that the ManaiaKalani team review the suitability, robustness, and portability of the devices each year.

I enjoyed installing and using screencastify today. I have made my first laptop video. The video itself certainly does not reach the exciting heights of a motion picture and will not win an academy award; it is just a shot of Lucy (my DFI friend) and I having a tutu and good laugh. It is now up to us to use our imagination about how to best use this tool in the school environment.

I am amazed each DFI week about the learning that is happening, then creating as a result of new learning ready to share with the world. It has been a really cool day of DFI learning.

It is fair to say that DFI learning techniques and use of tools are starting to make real sense, e.g. embedding a link from my video straight into the HTML Blog post actually makes sense to me. Today, I shared with Lucy, the fundamentals of the golden ratio as a tool to proportionately create rectangles. This aesthetically pleasing ratio is the basis for the size of many rectangles in nature and the real world.

DFI wk 5, has been a lot of fun today. I really enjoy working with the other DFI team members in our group.

Works Cited

“Cybersmart.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/manaiakalani.org/cybersmart/home.