Creating a Blogger App

Back in April  @Lenva and I represented Manaiakalani at an impactNPO Hackathon weekend, held at GridALK.  impactNPO organise these events nationwide and focus on creating working solutions for charities or non-profits.  More about the event here

Awesome Team supporting us at the impactNPO Hackathon

We were there to hopefully find a solution for our young people, specifically our Year 0-3 learners using an iPad to share their learning via Blogger. Previously we used a blogger App for iOS however it had been discontinued and the desktop version of blogger on iOS is a challenge. 

Our role was to provide as much information as possible to help the team of volunteers develop a solution for us. We were impressed at how many of the features on our wish list they were able to include in such a short space of time. By Sunday afternoon we had a solution ready to pilot with one of our teachers. 

The pilot will include identify anything that is not working or could be improved and figure out how we can add the features we did not have time to develop, during the Hackathon weekend.

Some developments I am most excited about:

• Integration with Google Drive - we wanted learners to be able to access their Drive files from the app, specifically Explain Everything projects that had been exported as video files.

• Bonus - other files can also be embedded including images and Slides directly from the Drive

• User-centered design that was all about making the complex simple. Images of our early wireframes here

• Rather than developing a specific iOS App the designers recommended the solution be web based. This also means the App can be accessed by learners on their Chromebooks. Consequently our Chromebookers now have a choice between Blogger and/or the App in response to their needs.  

Follow up posts in response to piloting the App and further developments will be posted here.

impactNPO - amplifying social impact by harnessing potential for good

@Lenva and I represented Manaiakalani at an impactNPO Hackathon weekend in April, held at  GridALK. The aim of these events is to create a working solution for charities or non-profits. The solution that participants work on over the weekend depends on the needs of the individual NPOs they choose to help.  

We were there to hopefully find a solution for our young people, specifically our Year 0-3 learners using an iPad to share their learning via Blogger.  Previously we used a blogger App for iOS however this is no longer available and the desktop version of blogger on iOS is challenging for our little people to grapple with. This was a weekend commitment by everyone participating. We were on a mission!

How the Hackathon works?

On Friday evening each of the NPOs had 5 minutes to pitch their problem followed by a speed dating session where the volunteers had an opportunity to ask questions and make connections with others, so each team had the skills they needed to solve their specific problem.

Our Manaiakalani Pitch

Saturday and Sunday were spent creating a working solution. Lenva and I attended over the weekend to answer questions and as a reference for the volunteers, to ensure they had everything needed to develop a solution by the end of the weekend. Each team also shared regular progress reports, which also helped us stay on track with our timing.

We had an awesome team of talented people on our project, including designers and programmers. Can't say enough about the hours of collaboration and problem solving they invested over the weekend to build a workable and bespoke solution for us. More about our solution in future posts...

Do check out http://www.impactnpo.org for future Hackathon weekends around the country.

GridAKL our space for the weekend's Hackathon

Being Cybersmart

Shout out to learners from Pt England School who participated in the launch of the Digital License today. Included a game show quiz with our very own celebrity host! Lots of fun and awesome to see our young people expertly exhibiting what it means to be Cybersmart!

The Digital License has the potential to enable our young people to challenge their exisiting Manaiakalani Cybersmart Learning.

Being Cybersmart in Manaiakalani is firstly aimed at empowering our learners to make smart decisions online and understand that every time they connect, collaborate and share online it combines to create their digital footprint. Cybersmart Learning is all about engaging our young people in online behaviour and thinking that elevates positive actions. To enable this learners need opportunities to engage in authentic online connections and interactions like sharing and responding to learning on their blogs.

Access to The Digital Licence is free for year 8 & 9 NZ students, and teachers can register online here.
Looking forward to seeing how The Digital Licence might be used to support Being Cybersmart in Manaiakalani!

Mind of a creator...

Creativity Empowers Learning...our professional learning focus for Term 2.
Planning for our PLGs and I have been comparing and contrasting Edward Lee's thoughts on being adventurers with opportunities to create to learn. Taking risks, trying new things, messing around and not always having a solution or answer immediately.



 "There's a lot of visual literature, there's a lot of written literature, about pretty much any topic in the world. So as a culture and a society we've stopped being adventurers and we've started to be scholars and by not doing that we lose a lot..."  Edward Lee, Mind of a Chef

You are part of a rebel alliance...

I valued the opportunity to connect with educators from across Asia Pacific at the Google Educator Groups Summit last week. GEGNZ is unique. As New Zealand's only Google Educator Group its strength is an awesome nationwide community supporting both our GEGNZ events and GEGNZ Study Groups.

Most APAC countries have locally based GEGs with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines including upwards of 30-40 groups in each country. I especially admired the determination of the GEG leaders in these countries who are championing professional learning in their communities. 

Many face challenges of geography, access and bureaucracy however,  this has not been a barrier to them connecting, learning and importantly challenging the status quo. 

The force has definitely been awakened by educators like +Steven Sutantro and +Gusman Adi. Check out their blog post ... inspiring stuff!

Keynote and GEG program founder, +Carolyn Wendell advocating professional learning choices based on what you want versus what you should do.

My GEG APAC Summit presentation also includes links to additional resources in the speaker notes. 

Shout out to +Philip Tanpoco #GEGAPAC and all the GEG Leaders who contributed to the success of the summit. He aha te mea nui o te ao? What is the most important thing in the world?

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata...It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

We are the FORCE !! @Nyssa76Jones @FionaGrant #GEGAPAC pic.twitter.com/jk2Jwp4b8z

— Steven Sutantro (@Steven_Sutantro) June 8, 2016

a.k.a. anything not Google

This term I am contributing to the Manaiakalani Digital Teacher Academy (MDTA) Digital Immersion PLG every Friday. Our focus for this term is 'create' via a different digital medium each week. I am enjoying supporting our Beginning Teachers plus appreciating the opportunity to learn and create via media I don't use everyday... a.k.a. anything not Google ;-)

Last week's challenge... create a short film to share learning during the past week, edited in iMovie. Each day we filmed short snippets to provide us with the raw video to edit on Friday.

I have used many iterations of iMovie over the past 10 years and valued this time to edit and explore some of the features I was not familiar with. Bonus... learnt lots from my MDTA colleagues in the process e.g. split screen thanks  +Georgia Dougherty 

Check out the MDTA blogs - linked from this photo.
Thanks also to the learners in the schools I spend my week with Stonefields, Ruapotaka, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Puau Te Moananui A Kiwa, Sommerville Special School. Bring on this year's Manaiakalani Film Festival.

Our shared doc of iMove Tips

If anyone can tell me how to stop my playhead skipping back to the beginning of my timeline when editing, I'd appreciate a comment below. Thanks

Learn. Share. Inspire. Empower.

Great to connect with the #GEGNZ  community today at #gafesummit Auckland with +Justine Driver and +Rob Clarke

Lots of korero around Google Certification and Study Groups, plus sharing ideas about how educators can support events locally.

We're excited about the #SparkshopAKL event at Ormiston Primary School on Saturday 28th and the possibilities for similar events in other locations. Thanks to participants who shared their learning in the GEGNZ G+ Community today.

#GEGNZ  will also be at the Wellington and Christchurch events too!  Check out the slide deck for event information and recources.

#gafesummit Auckland 2016: So you're planning to create 100 student blogs...

Any questions or feedback please use comments or contact me.

"Are they learning or playing?" *

Shout out to everyone who participated and contributed to #educamprotovegas and #educampwelly today. 

Travelled from Auckland this morning with +Justine Driver  and +Karen Ferguson - bonus car korero extending the learning (and we did not travel the furthest!) 

Inspiring stories from passionate educators at Rotorua Girls' High (+Steve Katene ) punctuated by connected conversations and tempting tweets flooding a trending stream via #educampwelly.    

Great to connect with +Shona Poppe who also fixed the date for #educampBOP on the wiki calendar! 

Huge thanks to our hosts +Annemarie Hyde +Marnel van der Spuy +Alex Le Long + the awesome +Philippa Nicoll Antipas and the #WellyED team... ka mau te wehi!

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata

Bits and bots #educamprotovegas are they learning or playing? @DianaWilkes @digitallearnin pic.twitter.com/Y5v4twQMTr

— Caroline Bush (@CaroBush) February 27, 2016

* +Caroline Bush  EducampNZ wiki

Chrome Multiple Users - Update

View on Mac OS - click 'People' to add person
or switch between accounts. 

Shared previously the benefits of creating multiple users in chrome especially in my role across a community of schools.

Multiple users enables me to personalise Chrome for each of the school accounts I am using, including blogging admin accounts, and saves a lot of time when switching between different Google accounts.

Even if you are accessing two accounts e.g. GAFE account and a gmail.com account, creating another user is recommended rather than adding an account.




Adding accounts can result in conflicts when using other applications that need to be signed into with your Google Account e.g. Hapara Teacher Dashboard.

Recommend alerting your learners to this as well. Remind them to add a new user rather than signing into another account from within their existing account on their Chromebook. I have noticed this can also display as an issue when viewing student accounts via Hapara Teacher Dashboard.




Kasey Bell has created an awesome video with step by step instructions, including removing accounts and adding new users. Recommend you add +Kasey Bell on Google+ and follow @ShakeUpLearning on Twitter too!