It’s always good staring off with more information into what Manaiakalani is and hearing Dorothy share more about the humble beginnings of the 5 cluster connections back in 2015 now 10 clusters from throughout the motu. Kei whea mai, how awesome. It’s awesome how Manaiakalani provide those opportunities for a range of educators to connect with similar levelled schools to share.
As always DFI providing the whole HĀKARI feast for the brain today with Enabling Access Sites. I thought my site was pretty awesome prior to today’s session, was I humbled, hahaha. In a positive way of course.
I enjoyed the opportunity to explore a range of junior sites to which it highlighted that my site was made more for teachers to use, rather than for my aakonga and whaanau to use and understand. It was also good to look through and see how user-friendly other sites were (or not), the aesthetics of the sites, and using the feedback provided to look critically at my site.
So, I am currently working on making my site more user friendly for my aakonga and whaanau to access both at kura and at home and will continue to use the class sites we looked at today as reference to ensure I achiever my goal of making my class site more user friendly.
The first photo was prior to making any changes and the latter shows buttons that are easily recognisable through the picture prompts for aakonga with written words for whaanau below if need be. Definitely a work in progress and will be keeping me busy over the holiday period.
Feel free to have a nohi at my class site here.
Hopefully you’ll see the changes throughout the holidays.
Kia ora Camille,
Nice meeting you today.
Thank you for sharing such an insightful reflection on your DFI journey today. It was great to read your acknowledgment of Dorothy’s opening kōrero regarding the humble beginnings of the Manaiakalani clusters back in 2015 and how much the network has expanded across the motu.
Recognising that your initial site was designed more for teachers than for learners is great. The modifications you shared—moving towards picture prompts for your ākonga and clear text instructions for whānau below—are an important step. This focus on user-friendliness greatly enhances accessibility, ensuring that learning can seamlessly continue between kura and home.
As you continue this mahi over the holiday period, a great next step could be thinking about how you might evaluate the site’s new layout alongside your learners next term. How might you involve your ākonga or whānau in giving feedback on the new navigation buttons to ensure it fully supports their independence?
Ka mau te wehi! Your commitment to developing an inclusive, enabling digital space for your class is great to see.
Enjoy the rest of your non-contact time!
Ngā mihi nui,
Casper