Another kaupapa of Manaiakalani is the concept of being connected. Technological advances have given us the ability to be able to connect, not only with our schools or our communities, but nationally and even globally. This means we can draw from an increasing accessibility to information from more and more sources, as well as to share our understanding and learning to a wider audience. During lockdown it has been beneficial having the connectivity we do have to continue learning while being confined to our homes.
A couple of things to consider when connecting with students via a class site:
- Visual appeal (theme, layout, font)
- Functionality and access to learning tasks (limit the clicks)
We spent some time looking at class sites from a variety of levels at different schools throughout the country. It's always refreshing to see what else is out there (much like visiting and observing in other classrooms). We looked at the visual appeal and functionality of some of these sites and noted what worked and what didn't (influenced by our own preferences and biases of course). It was good to then reflect on my own site and consider these aspects also.
In scrutinising my class site (along with feedback from my group) I set some goals for improvements. Something I added to learning tasks in maths during the first lockdown was using screencastify clips to demonstrate the strategies being used so students have something to help them as needed. I usually add a button with a link to the video clip for them to use if they get stuck or if they want to see how to do something in particular. The buttons look like this:
...so students know where to go for help.
I continued to do this once we returned to school. Now I see the benefits of doing this in maths, I see that I could do something similar for reading and writing. This can be especially helpful when students have been absent or out of class for any reason.
I spent some times adding clips to some current (and also some generic) activities for both of these curriculum areas. I think it's important to keep the button consistent so students are familiar with its purpose.
Below is a linked image of my class site. Feel free to have a browse...
And here is a linked image of one of the examples of a learning task with the screencastify clip...
TIP/Reminder: The process for making buttons for a site - design it on a Google Drawing; change the canvas to fit the size of the button; download as a png; upload it to your site. Dabuttonfactory(clickminded) is also an option for creating buttons.
Tino pai Paul. I've always liked the visual appeal of your site and think it would be easy to navigate if I were a student. It would be great to get some feedback from your class about how they found using the site during distance learning. Maybe they will have some suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. Had some great tips from Gerard about making it visually appealing and simple to navigate (3 click maximum to access learning tasks). I know how frustrating it can be to find you way around a confusing site. We have just completed an online survey this week about distance learning so I'll be keen to see if there were any problems or ideas for improvements.
DeleteKia ora Paul,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, these additional supports for our learners are so powerful - especially in the world we are currently in. I saw a friend who is teaching in West Auckland with only 7 students who have returned today. I'm sure rewindable learning will be so useful for those who are still at home! With your tip/reminder, it's a good idea to start with your canvas the size you'd like your button - it helps to keep your button image quality high, so it doesn't get too pixilated. Great idea to put that on your post too as a reminder for yourself and others.
Vicki
Thanks Vicki. Rewindable learning is not only useful for distance learning - it benefits some students who might need that ongoing support to complete tasks (without having to keep asking "what do I do?")
ReplyDelete