Ashweni'sBlog

I am using Rolfe's model of reflection. Step 1(What):   What is your understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness and what are the two of the areas mentioned above that you want to focus on for discussion? Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by Gay (2001, p.106) as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching. It is reflected in five elements including knowledge about cultural diversity, the culturally integrated content in the curriculum, the development of the learning community, the ability to communicate with culturally diverse students and culturally responsive delivery of instruction "(Gay, 2001). Milne (2017) argues that cultural identity is not a thing that needs to be celebrated on certain occasions such as cultural weeks, rather teachers and school should embrace student cultural identity at every opportunity throughout curriculum and learning activities, school policies and even...

Technology is changing Education Increasing mobile and adaptive technologies allows us to buy our groceries, pay our bills, watch movies and attend meetings without having to leave our homes. What is the problem ? Hacking, cyber-bullying and identity thefts are some examples of emerging trends (OECD,2016). As adolescents and children are most frequent users of online services and social networks ,schools and teachers are faced with the challenges of educating and guiding students through the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual world, without always having the necessary skills themselves. (OECD,2016). So what? Technology has changed the way we communicate, work and socialise. World leaders and international organisations have increasingly taken advantages of social media as a channel of diplomacy, communication and engagement (OECD,2016). Businesses have created their own websites and social media profiles as a means to communicate to their customers, advertising and se...

Social media embraces web-based and mobile-based technologies to facilitate interactive communication between organisations, communities and individuals  (Education Council, n.d). How have I used social media tools in  teaching/ professional development. This year teachers at my school have access to facebook and twitter . Our school policies do not allow students to use facebook or twitter.  We do have a school facebook page which is managed by the school leaders.Students and teachers have lots of restrictions for using online media at my school. My students are also very young to use facebook or any other kind of social media as they are at the beginning stages of developing literacy skills. I would like my class to have the ability to communicate with a class of similar age in another part of New Zealand or even elsewhere in the world as this would potentially create many authentic learning opportunities related to communicating and sharing.  The teachers in...

 The widespread use of technology in education brings challenge to the teaching profession. Although the use of internet, laptops, tablets and ipads bring many benefits for our students, they also bring challenges and risks for students and schools (Ministry of Education, 2015). The overall objective for schools is to provide safe and responsible use of digital technology. In New Zealand, the Ministry of education has issued a  guide for schools to support schools in the management of safe and responsible use of  digital technology for learning. I had difficulty thinking of a dilemma  that I was ever involved in for the following reasons: At my school when a child enrols, we get the parents to sign a digital technology consent form explaining that their child' s work, pictures or video may be used for publishing , school facebook or to share with others. My school has blocked many unsafe sites and teachers and students have limited control to websites. Sometim...

My two inquiry topics are: 1.How can I use digital technologies to motivate and engage learners? 2.How do I develop student agency in disengaged learners? How do the two chosen topics relate to issues in your professional practice? How can I use digital technologies to motivate and engage learners? Been teaching for many years I notice that I always have a big group of students in my class who are not motivated or lack engagement. This group of students have always worried and stressed me. No matter how hard I try to keep these students focused, it just doesn't work. Through Mindlab I came to know how digital technologies can motivate and engage students. "Digital Technologies present new opportunities for drawing out and leveraging students agency. One of the ways that technology accomplishes this by personalising the learning experience allowing students to work at their own pace and being responsive to individual needs, such as found in intelligent tutoring systems....

I have made lots of changes into my teaching practice after joining Mindlab. Not only I have implemented apps, edpuzzle, kahoot, imovie and  sculpt into my classroom but I have been trying to make learning personalised for my students using the 21st century skills of problem solving, collaboration, knowledge construction, ICT, skilled communication and self-regulation  (ITL Research,2012) . According to Ministry of Education (2012, p.17) personalised learning means "differentiated provision to meet differentiated needs". Schools need to change in order to support learners to actively develop skills to survive in the future. Personalised learning makes learners feel that they are "co-investors in their own learning, helping them to develop motivation and high aspirations, and creating ongoing relationships and interactions that support learners to realise their aspirations" (MOE,2012, p.19). When you walk into my classroom you will see my students working in pairs o...