Computational Thinking.
I have enjoyed today again and once more am going home to nurse a sore brain ( in a good way).
I have enjoyed all our hangouts with Dorothy over the last few weeks, however, I particularly enjoyed her presentation today on Empowerment.

I am enjoying learning the background about Manaiakalani. Dorothy explained that we used to use the work "agency" instead of "empowered" but the word came with many negative connotations for many families in low decile areas. They saw agencies as generally threatening and their experience of agencies was often not positive so the whanau didn't respond well to this word. The word got changed to "empowered"" which has had a much better reaction.

When we are talking about empowerment- we are not just talking about our children, we are also talking about our teachers. Some teachers have found the move to the digital world quite disempowering. In the past, teachers believed they had a clear vision of what effective teaching looked like without the use of devices so the change has been quite challenging for some teachers.

Manaiakalani are committed to the idea that technology is not just a "tool." If technology is to be used as just another "tool", is is far too expensive for schools and families. It needs to be transformational.

The way in which we can use technology, has the ability to change a community and the way they live and are connected to the outside world.  Dorothy talked a lot about the area in South Auckland in which she teaches and the many challenges they face because of poverty etc.  There's a real sense of disempowerment in parts of this community, and they face challenges we might not even realise- including things like getting rid of rubbish ( they cannot afford the trailer or the dump fees etc) and not being able to afford to get to doctors or not being able to buy things so they end up using rip off companies to sell them clothing and the such like.  Now that the children are connected and have access to devices, they are beginning to teach the parents so now they are beginning to shop online    (and being more wise about their purchases), and gaining a credit rating. They are even beginning to use skype to have doctors appointments if they are unable to attend the GP.  

Blogging is empowering the students as they can use their voice and have people provide comments  and feedback on their blog posts.  We disempower children's learning if it is not visible.  We cannot be empowered if the learning is not ubiquitous, connected and visible.

Technology is not just a tool- "When it transforms the way we learn, offers us, new uncharted experiences and opportunities

Dea Shareski (2011)

From here we moved on to learning about computational thinking with Viv. This was a bit like learning a new language. It was interesting to realise the use it has in the classroom. It was good to explore how algorithms can be used as fun activities in the junior and senior classroom. I was challenged with learning about the Binary Maths but I understood the place it holds with technology.