Monday, July 20, 2020

Cybersmart Planning

Another term lies ahead and after my first full term of facilitating I had a lot to reflect on. Here is my list of things that I tried to keep in mind while planning sessions and resources for Term 3.

  • keep it simple!
  • less talking by me - use Screencastify videos more for rewindable content
  • make sure resources are visually engaging on the site
  • offer different levels of choice for learners e.g. beginner, getting going and smart learner
  • make sure the create tasks are genuinely creative and that they allow students to demonstrate that they have learnt the 'learn section'
  • how do these activities reflect the Key Competencies?
  • more modes of text on the site, especially audio
  • plan opportunities for students to provide feedback

    • This seemed like a daunting task and the list seemed to make the very first bullet point impossible. In Term 2 I think I was guilty of trying to fit too much into a session. This meant that sessions were often left unfinished or ran over two weeks and lost some momentum.

    I've realised that I can not possibly fit everything I'd like to into each session and still deliver a clear and effective Cybersmart programme. However, I still believe that all aspects of a successful Cybersmart session are visible at some point in the term. From giving students choice over what they create, to challenging and supporting learners with different levels of scaffolding. I haven't forced these features into each lesson but they are there throughout the term.

    If you have time to look at some of the lessons I've prepared I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

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    2 comments:

    1. AnonymousJuly 28, 2020 at 8:19 PM

      Mauri ora Phil, I enjoyed reading through your reflections as you dig into your role. I understand the compulsion to keep adding to lessons; we have but one hour a week to 'cover' as much as possible. I wonder if asking our teachers to give us a one sentence summary of the day's lesson might help us to gauge where we are getting cut through with our planning. I'm trying to be mindful that in an established Manaiakalani school, students will have Cybersmart lessons every year, but our teachers only have one year of in-class support, so we need to make it count.

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      1. Phil @ Ako HikoJuly 28, 2020 at 8:40 PM

        Thanks Cam. I got some lovely feedback today from a teacher (not one I'm supporting) saying the lessons were really easy to follow and that they'd even had success leaving a Cybersmart lesson for a reliever to do! I think you're right, getting teachers to see the message and embed it in their programmes is key.

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