DFI Day One - Kathleen

It was great to be at the first session of DFI today. The day started with a presentation by Dorothy Burt about the history and pedagogy of Manaiakalani. It was really interesting to see how far technology has come in a relatively short time. 

The day passed in a blur with a mixture of listening, talking, and creating. There was a lot of information to take in and think about. Some of the information or 'tricks' seemed so simple but game-changers. 

Google Groups

This was an eye-opener in how simple it can be to set up a group and keep all the emails etc filed in one place. Also, there is no need for BCC because all contacts are hidden.

Google Drive

We looked at how to keep our files tidy and tidied up our drives. It's a bit like housework - better to keep on top of it!

Google Docs

Dorothy showed us how to be creative and make a poster on a doc. I discovered a really good website that takes the background out of a photo and we had a play with this - removebg

What I'm taking from today...

I did feel guilty when voice typing was discussed and Dorothy made the remark that some teachers try it for 5 minutes and give up...I'm one of those. This week I will work again with the student I tried using voice typing with a couple of times before I gave up. Another way to recycle is to use disposable coffee cups with the bottoms removed to help students talk directly into their device - it lessens the chance of the device picking up surrounding noise. 

When I learned to touch type in the 3rd form I was taught to underline heaps...now I know not to ever underline - students will think it's a link. 

So much to take away from day one!