Today’s Manaiakalani session was exploring Google Sites. I spent the bulk of my time stepping back from my current site to look at the big picture: the structure, theme, and layout of my class site. Also creating the slides that sit behind the site. Not a lot will look different on my site at the moment.

The biggest takeaway for me wasn’t just about making a site look visually appealing; it was about intentionality. I’ve started to rethink how I plan and create resources so that students are able to access all of their learning and their ‘doing’ directly from the site. While I’ve previously made work accessible, I need to rethink how it works from the student user’s perspective.

I am a user of Google Workspace, so seeing how seamlessly these tools embed into a site was a great way to combine both platforms. My new strategy to minimize update time includes:

Using Google Slides as the backbone of my daily lessons. By embedding the slides once, any changes I make in the deck automatically reflect on the site. This ensures that the “behind the scenes” work I do naturally flows directly to the students’ screens.

It was incredibly valuable to browse through other teachers’ sites. Seeing their layouts gave me a ideas for making my own site visually appealing without becoming onerous. I also walked away with a new cheat: we can make a copy of shared Google Slides to adapt for our own needs.

Moving Forward
My focus is making sure that my class site is not just for storing information, but on curating a system where learning is accessible, visual, and most importantly, sustainable for me to maintain.

The focus of this session was to learn more about the ‘visibility’ foundation stone of Manaiakalani pedagogy, focusing on the power of making learning visible to everyone involved—students, whānau, teachers, and colleagues.

Key Learnings:
Google Sites: We explored using Sites as a digital hub to house this visibility.

Multi-modal Content: Moving beyond just text, including videos, podcasts, texts, images, links to websties etc., to ensure learning is engaging and accessible for all.

Hooking the Learner: Using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to create “hooks” that spark curiosity and meet diverse needs. The 3 key aspects of UDL: multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation & multiple means of action or expression dictates that the Google Site should also include resources at a range of accessibility.

I’ve developed a class site designed to be the “digital window” into this term’s Social Sciences focus: a comparative study of the Elizabethan and Victorian ages. It’s built to be interactive, inclusive, and a one-stop-shop for students, which will be linked to our class site. Student voice will be visible through their blogs which can also be found on our classroom site.

The Learn, Create, Share kaupapa:

Learn: Understanding how to structure data so it tells a story.

Create: Building robust systems that track progress and gather feedback efficiently.

Share: Using the data gathered to provide timely, meaningful feedback to students and whānau.

I was interested to learn about the upcoming transition from Edublog to Myspace in 2027. Taking the plunge, I’ve set up my own Myspace page today. I’m keen to explore the features and see how this shift will enhance digital sharing. One of the main dissatisfactions with Edublogs (from student feedback) is their inability to change the appearance of their blog. It will be interesting to see if there are any restricitons to students’ ability to personalise their Myspace.

Moving forward, I want to focus on:

Automating Feedback: Setting up “Form Mule” or similar Add-ons to send instant, personalized responses to students after they submit a Form.

Student Dashboards: Creating simplified Sheets that allow students to track their own learning goals, putting the data back into their hands.

Overall, today was a reminder that digital tools are at their best when they make our workload lighter and our teaching more intentional.

In this week’s post, I have explored the data behind a student’s blogging journey, exploring the frequency and regularity of their online presence over the last three years.

The numbers tell a story of periodic consistency: after maintaining a steady output of around three posts per month throughout 2024, the student took a complete hiatus in 2025. Now, with the new year underway, they’ve returned to their original regularity.

Key highlights in this analysis include:

• 2024: The student had a steady habit of monthly contributions in her Year 4 class, the first year of blogging for this student.

• 2025: The reason for a year-long gap for this student was that she moved into my class – my first year back in the classroom after a 5 year break working in another educational capacity.

• 2026: The student successfully restarted their momentum because, while still in my class this year, I have got my head around teaching at this level and being back in the classroom. I now have time to encourage and expect regular blogging. The impact of the total break for a year is on audience engagement and student expectation.

Keeping with the Manaiakalani spirit of constant growth, today’s KEN Learn meeting introduced us to a new creative outlet: Google Vids. I’m a firm believer in “learning by doing,” so I’ve spent the evening tinkering with the platform to prepare for tomorrow’s lesson. My students will be using it to create their learning journals, so I wanted to make sure I had the basics down first. In particular, they will be holding their mahi up to the camera and so having the option to not ‘mirror view’ is great. This is my first attempt. It’s a work in progress—especially the audio—but it’s a start! A tool with lots of potential to help students share their learning effectively and creatively.

The Power of ‘Create’: Moving from Consumption to Contribution

I found today’s dive into the Manaiakalani pedgagogy – ‘create’ to be inspiring. It has made me rethink how to include a ‘create’ as an integral part of each lesson. I am seriously concerned about time and may have to be one of the many ‘disobedient teachers’ in order to fit everything in.

For a long time, education was largely about the first pillar: Learn. We sat, we listened, and we remembered. But in the Manaiakalani journey, the learning isn’t “done” until it is applied. To me, the Create phase is the most vital part of the pedagogical cycle because it is where a student’s individuality begins to surface in their work.

1. Making Thinking Visible
Creating is an act of translation. When a student takes a new concept—whether it’s the water cycle, a historical event, or a mathematical process—and turns it into an animation, a blog post, or a digital poster, they are making their internal thought process visible.

As a teacher, I’m hoping that during this phase that I truly see what my students understand. You can’t hide behind a multiple-choice answer when you are tasked with creating something original. It requires higher-order thinking—synthesizing information and deciding how to represent it to others.

2. Agency and Ownership
The “Create” phase is where students become “designers of their own learning.” By offering a choice of tools (be it Google Drawings, Slideshow, or Canva), we give students the agency to play to their strengths.

The student who struggles with writing might experience success in creating a podcast.The visual learner might explain a complex story through a digital storyboard.

This isn’t just about “making stuff”; it’s about empowerment. When a student creates, they own the knowledge. It is no longer the teacher’s information; it is their product.

3. The Bridge to ‘Share’
Without “Create,” there is nothing meaningful to “Share.” In the Manaiakalani context, sharing is about purposeful audience engagement. If a student simply learns something and tells the teacher, the loop is small. But when a student creates something high-quality, they feel a sense of pride that makes them want to share it with their whānau, their peers, and the world. The act of creation gives them a voice. It tells them that their ideas have value and that they are capable of contributing to the global digital landscape, not just browsing it.

Final Thoughts
Being new to Manaiakalani, I am filled with trepidation. Knowing that I have to step back and allow the “Create” phase to happen, knowing that it can be messy, and it takes precious time – hence the disobedient teacher! Just have to get my head around the Create phase being as important as the Learn phase and time must be made for it.

In the create session, I looked at animation in Google Slides. I will upload when finished.

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

This session reinforced my understanding of RAT within ‘Learn, Create, Share’ kaupapa. It was also a reminder that digital platforms serve as a bridge between school and whānau. Making the learning journey visible and transparent so that parents and the community can engage with the student’s learning and progress in real-time.

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional?

While I was familiar with these Google Workspace tools, the session helped me refine my workflow efficiency. Specifically, I can now see how to use the Gmail settings to streamline emails and Google Keep and Calendar to more strategically manage my time.

What did I learn that could be used with my learners?

The focus on ‘Create to Learn’ reminded me that learners should be the primary content creators, not just consumers. I plan to incorporate more opportunities for students to choose their medium—whether it’s a screencast, a digital drawing, or a blog post—to demonstrate their understanding. This shifts the focus from the tool to their creative agency.

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life?

This session has led me to re-examine my reliance on OneNote in favor of Google Keep’s  integration within the Google Workspace. I see significant potential for students to use Keep for research and quick note-taking, fostering better organization during the ‘Learn’ process. I have also extended these organisational efficiencies to my personal life by implementing ‘Tidy Drive’ protocols and better bookmarking, ensuring my digital resources are consistent and easy to navigate regardless of the platform.