DFI 4 Cybersmart, Hapara, chromebooks, ipads, screencastify, hangout.

DFI four - nearly halfway through. The further along this digital fluency journey we get, the more and more the big picture starts to reveal itself. It's like doing a big puzzle, and the further along you get the more you start to make out the individual parts of the puzzle and how they relate to each other - which in turn accelerates how quickly you can see the entire picture.

This week I was chatting to Herman and a few other teachers about the whole digital technology/project based learning trend and whether or not it is just the latest fad that will wash over us like chatter rings, fidget spinners and any of the innumerable other fads that have come and gone over the years at school. This is a really pertinent question to ask because we are investing considerable resources into this fad, both in terms of individuals, schools and the country as a whole.

At the beginning of this year I was thrown into the new digital technologies curriculum with pretty much no PD, no support and no idea what I was doing (like 1000's of other teachers around the country) - I really didn't expect to enjoy teaching coding. My mis/preconception was that it is all about math and a very logical subject. Something akin to teaching algebra, calculus and statistics - boy was I wrong. I love teaching this stuff, turns out it is mostly about design and process and for the coding there are hundreds of amazing resources online that the students can use and even if I knew how to code, it is much better that they do it themselves.

I can be a pretty obsessive person and I have to admit I got pretty obsessed about the whole digital tech thing and started reading and researching everything I could find on the subject, so here's my take on it, for what it is worth. As cynical as I can be about new initiatives at schools I think this one is different. We really are living in a world that has, and is, changing fast, and the education system is stuck in a paradigm that was created for another time and place - this quote resonated with me in terms of where we are at.

“The industrial revolution has bequeathed us the production-line theory of education. In the middle of town there is a large concrete building divided into many identical rooms, each room equipped with rows of desks and chairs. At the sound of a bell, you go to one of these rooms together with 30 other kids who were all born in the same year as you. Every hour some grown-up walks in, and starts talking. They are all paid to do so by the government. One of them tells you about the shape of the Earth another tells you about the human past, and a third tells you about the human body. It is easy to laugh at this model, and almost everybody agrees that no matter it's past achievements, it is now bankrupt. But so far we haven't created a viable alternative.” Yuval Noah Harrari - 2018

So how does all this fit together with a random digital fluency intensive blog post - in one of the most far flung corners of the planet. Well, I think we may have reached a tipping point, or critical mass in the education system, a place and time when the digital fluency of educators and learners meets the world class and visionary NZ curriculum. A place and time where we have all the the tools we need to reinvent the education of our young people so that they can go out into this crazy brave new world, as prepared as we can possibly help them to be.

I know I'm supposed to be reflecting on shortcut keys, screencastify, hapara and being cybersmart and these tools and concepts are awesome, but I see them as just part of a bigger picture - a fad that I don't think will go away anytime soon.

And just so you know I was doing the mahi, here is my screencastify effort, with added drawing in the video - and a bonus picture of my partners in crime. Enjoy