Monday 2 March 2015
Final Project
I can't believe it's my last week of classes! I compiled some thoughts on technology and teaching for my final project and put it in a video. Check it out at the link below:
Wednesday 25 February 2015
Presentation with Jennifer Dyck-Sprout
Today, Jennifer Dyck-Sprout, the Implementation Manager of Everfi came to visit us.
Jennifer has worked in the New York School Division, and had a lot to tell us about the school system in the states and specifically, New York. She also told us all about charter schools, which are somewhere between public and private schools. They are publicly funded, but are available at no cost to students. To get into a charter school, a student's number needs to be pulled in a lottery. For many low-income families, the chance of going to a charter school means a chance to go on to college or university.
It is expected that all of these students will go on to university, since they have great outcomes for their students. On the other hand, charter schools put the public school system at a disadvantage, as it somewhat leaves the public school system in the dust. It sounds really interesting, and I'll have to do a bit more research on charter systems. Jennifer suggested watching the movie "Waiting for Superman" on Netflix, which touches on this debate.
Another thing Jennifer told us all about is Everfi, the company she works for. Everfi is a company that partners with fortune 500 companies in order to bring technology into the school system. It has digital courses on financial education, digital education, substance abuse prevention, and civic education. I tried out one of the financial education courses and it was pretty great!
It sounds like a cool program and I'll have to look into it more!
Friday 20 February 2015
WestCAST!!
This week I didn't have Internet for Educators class because I went to Saskatoon to present at the WestCAST conference. A few girls and I presented some literacy strategies that we have learned through our PDS program working with struggling readers.
It was a great trip, and we really enjoyed it! It was great to be able to share the different strategies that we have learned through working with our students, and it sounded like our presentation went over really well. The listeners were really engaged in our presentation, and it was a lot of fun.
We shared a bit about the program first, and went on from there to discuss specific literacy strategies in accuracy, comprehension, and fluency. Since each of us presenting had a student at a different reading level, as well as different areas that we were working on, we were able to present a pretty well-rounded presentation.
Along with presenting, we also attended some breakout sessions, as well as had a great keynote session with Dr. Jay Wilson from the U of S. He session was called "Using Technology to Enhance Student Engagement," and it was a great summary of our I4Ed class! He talked about how important it is to engage students in the class, and how well technology can aid us in doing so. He also mentioned a lot of different apps and resources to help us. Here's my summary notes of the session:
It was a great trip, and we really enjoyed it! It was great to be able to share the different strategies that we have learned through working with our students, and it sounded like our presentation went over really well. The listeners were really engaged in our presentation, and it was a lot of fun.
We shared a bit about the program first, and went on from there to discuss specific literacy strategies in accuracy, comprehension, and fluency. Since each of us presenting had a student at a different reading level, as well as different areas that we were working on, we were able to present a pretty well-rounded presentation.
Along with presenting, we also attended some breakout sessions, as well as had a great keynote session with Dr. Jay Wilson from the U of S. He session was called "Using Technology to Enhance Student Engagement," and it was a great summary of our I4Ed class! He talked about how important it is to engage students in the class, and how well technology can aid us in doing so. He also mentioned a lot of different apps and resources to help us. Here's my summary notes of the session:
So there you go! All in all, it was a great week!
Sunday 15 February 2015
The Future...
What does the future hold for education? That's not a simple question to answer. The future is ever-changing, but I think it holds exciting new things, especially in terms of technology and the role of the teacher.
The education system has definitely changed since I was a grade school student. When I got my first cell phone in grade 11, we weren't supposed to even look at them in class. At my last teaching placement, students used their phones on a daily basis for research. Things have certainly changed!
With technology comes access to a greater knowledge base than we had before. As a student teacher, I use the internet all the time for lesson planning, as it's good to see what other teachers have tried and what has and hasn't worked. My last cooperating teacher told me about how she remembered when she started using the internet for lesson planning, and how it saved so much time and made it so much easier for her; she no longer had to search through poetry or short story anthologies to find the right one for her class to study, she could just google it!
Not only is knowledge accessible to teachers though, it's also accessible to students, which makes me rethink what and how I should be teaching. If students have access to the internet everywhere they go, what is the point of me teaching them that Canada became a country in 1867? Unless they're on a game show about to win $1 million, can't they just look it up when they need to know?
In talking with my professors and cooperating teachers I am glad to hear that I am not alone in this thinking. Students don't need to be taught facts like this in school. They need to be taught how to learn. Sure, the curriculum is still important, and I will still teach the curriculum of course, but instead of quizzing students on important dates in history, how about I ask what makes them important? It's the deeper understanding that I want to teach - that along with how to do research to find out the specific details.
The NMC Horizon Report looks at the changing education system and challenges the role of teachers in this new system. Rather than being the primary sources of information in the classroom, teachers are being challenged to "act as guides and mentors to promote student-centered learning," that is, to show students how to be a lifelong learner. Rather than equipping students with a bunch of facts, teachers need to be equipping students with the skills to problem-solve and create - that is what best prepares them for the future.
That is why I hope to do a lot of project-based learning and inquiry-based learning - so that my students will have experiences figuring things out and solving problems. What better way to prepare them for the future?
As the education system changes, so do teachers. As a new teacher, there's not much I need to change yet, but I will need to make sure to keep an open mind as the education system continues to shift. Regardless of the changes that will occur, I will keep in mind my number one goal - to prepare my students to be lifelong learners and successful in whatever they do.
The education system has definitely changed since I was a grade school student. When I got my first cell phone in grade 11, we weren't supposed to even look at them in class. At my last teaching placement, students used their phones on a daily basis for research. Things have certainly changed!
With technology comes access to a greater knowledge base than we had before. As a student teacher, I use the internet all the time for lesson planning, as it's good to see what other teachers have tried and what has and hasn't worked. My last cooperating teacher told me about how she remembered when she started using the internet for lesson planning, and how it saved so much time and made it so much easier for her; she no longer had to search through poetry or short story anthologies to find the right one for her class to study, she could just google it!
Not only is knowledge accessible to teachers though, it's also accessible to students, which makes me rethink what and how I should be teaching. If students have access to the internet everywhere they go, what is the point of me teaching them that Canada became a country in 1867? Unless they're on a game show about to win $1 million, can't they just look it up when they need to know?
In talking with my professors and cooperating teachers I am glad to hear that I am not alone in this thinking. Students don't need to be taught facts like this in school. They need to be taught how to learn. Sure, the curriculum is still important, and I will still teach the curriculum of course, but instead of quizzing students on important dates in history, how about I ask what makes them important? It's the deeper understanding that I want to teach - that along with how to do research to find out the specific details.
The NMC Horizon Report looks at the changing education system and challenges the role of teachers in this new system. Rather than being the primary sources of information in the classroom, teachers are being challenged to "act as guides and mentors to promote student-centered learning," that is, to show students how to be a lifelong learner. Rather than equipping students with a bunch of facts, teachers need to be equipping students with the skills to problem-solve and create - that is what best prepares them for the future.
That is why I hope to do a lot of project-based learning and inquiry-based learning - so that my students will have experiences figuring things out and solving problems. What better way to prepare them for the future?
As the education system changes, so do teachers. As a new teacher, there's not much I need to change yet, but I will need to make sure to keep an open mind as the education system continues to shift. Regardless of the changes that will occur, I will keep in mind my number one goal - to prepare my students to be lifelong learners and successful in whatever they do.
Monday 9 February 2015
Show & Tell
It's time for Show & Tell!
I want to show off this great app that I found. It's called "Starlight" and it is great for the grade 6 Science unit on the Solar System.
Basically how it works is you go outside with it, point it up at the sky, and it tells you which stars, constellations, and planets are in that direction. On a clear night you'll be able match up the screen with the sky, and maybe even see the planets.
This is a great app as students learn about constellations and planets, and it gives them the opportunity to track the changes in the night sky. It would obviously work best if students had access to devices while at home so they could see this at night, whether it was their own, or a device given to them for 1:1 computing purposes from the school division.
It's currently selling for $1.19 on the app store, but every once in a while it is available for free, so check it out!
I want to show off this great app that I found. It's called "Starlight" and it is great for the grade 6 Science unit on the Solar System.
Basically how it works is you go outside with it, point it up at the sky, and it tells you which stars, constellations, and planets are in that direction. On a clear night you'll be able match up the screen with the sky, and maybe even see the planets.
This is a great app as students learn about constellations and planets, and it gives them the opportunity to track the changes in the night sky. It would obviously work best if students had access to devices while at home so they could see this at night, whether it was their own, or a device given to them for 1:1 computing purposes from the school division.
It's currently selling for $1.19 on the app store, but every once in a while it is available for free, so check it out!
Using Online Video in the Classroom
Viewing videos can be a great way to introduce a subject or reinforce learning, and the creation of videos can be a great way to show what students have learned.
I have used video when teaching grade 7/8 Social Studies on the Medieval period. I found that the students were much more attentive to the video with it's pictures and reenactments than just me talking about the subject. I also gave my students the option of creating a video as their final project, which many of them did.
YouTube can be a great place to find videos, but you can also run into some terrible videos there too, along with many ads. One website that is really great for finding reliable educational videos on YouTube, TED, or other locations is watchknowlearn.org
Here's a video I found introducing the Greek gods:
I would use this video as an introduction to Greek mythology. Students would view this video in order to learn the different Greek gods. There's also a video on the goddesses, that would go well either right after, or possibly the next day so students are not overwhelmed with all the new information.
After learning about the gods and goddesses, students would be able to learn some of the myths and understand the characters more. This understanding of characters and myths would introduce students to Ancient Greek culture.
I would also love to be able to do a culminating assignment where students create a video of their own that reflects their learning. It would be great if they were able to post it on YouTube as well so their learning could be shared with other classrooms.
watchknowlearn.org has a lot more videos as well that would be great for different lessons in math, science, language arts, and Phys Ed. It's a great resource for all teachers.
I have used video when teaching grade 7/8 Social Studies on the Medieval period. I found that the students were much more attentive to the video with it's pictures and reenactments than just me talking about the subject. I also gave my students the option of creating a video as their final project, which many of them did.
YouTube can be a great place to find videos, but you can also run into some terrible videos there too, along with many ads. One website that is really great for finding reliable educational videos on YouTube, TED, or other locations is watchknowlearn.org
Here's a video I found introducing the Greek gods:
I would use this video as an introduction to Greek mythology. Students would view this video in order to learn the different Greek gods. There's also a video on the goddesses, that would go well either right after, or possibly the next day so students are not overwhelmed with all the new information.
After learning about the gods and goddesses, students would be able to learn some of the myths and understand the characters more. This understanding of characters and myths would introduce students to Ancient Greek culture.
I would also love to be able to do a culminating assignment where students create a video of their own that reflects their learning. It would be great if they were able to post it on YouTube as well so their learning could be shared with other classrooms.
watchknowlearn.org has a lot more videos as well that would be great for different lessons in math, science, language arts, and Phys Ed. It's a great resource for all teachers.
Brandon School Division and policies
Today we had Kelli Boklaschuk from the Brandon School Division come and do a presentation for our class. She is the Communications and IT person for the division, and had a lot to tell us about technology in the division.
She was challenged with the task of bringing the Brandon School Division to a 1:1 computing state, and discussed with us the challenges that come with that. The budget is obviously the most challenging aspect, as it takes a lot of money to purchase computing devices for students, and it also takes training of the teachers. There is no point in having devices for all students if the teachers don't know how to use them in the classroom. Teachers need to be trained on how to use devices, how to incorporate technology into their lessons, and what is appropriate digital citizenship.
She showed us a site called Popplet were we created an online bulletin board with connected points about digital citizenship vs. general citizenship. We talked about modelling good digital citizenship and being respectful, both online and offline. Popplet itself seems like a great program to use, and it has great educational value.
She also told us about the policies in the Brandon School Division regarding showing student work, photographing students, having students participate in digital activities, and other policies. Social media is a big one, since most teachers are on some kind of social media, or store their files in the cloud. It is important for any teacher working in the division to understand the policies that are in place.
All in all, it was very informative and helped me as I will be heading to the BSD in 4 weeks!
She was challenged with the task of bringing the Brandon School Division to a 1:1 computing state, and discussed with us the challenges that come with that. The budget is obviously the most challenging aspect, as it takes a lot of money to purchase computing devices for students, and it also takes training of the teachers. There is no point in having devices for all students if the teachers don't know how to use them in the classroom. Teachers need to be trained on how to use devices, how to incorporate technology into their lessons, and what is appropriate digital citizenship.
She showed us a site called Popplet were we created an online bulletin board with connected points about digital citizenship vs. general citizenship. We talked about modelling good digital citizenship and being respectful, both online and offline. Popplet itself seems like a great program to use, and it has great educational value.
She also told us about the policies in the Brandon School Division regarding showing student work, photographing students, having students participate in digital activities, and other policies. Social media is a big one, since most teachers are on some kind of social media, or store their files in the cloud. It is important for any teacher working in the division to understand the policies that are in place.
All in all, it was very informative and helped me as I will be heading to the BSD in 4 weeks!
Infographics
Infographics have become increasingly popular in the last few years. Basically they are information graphics (hence the name infographics?) where information is shown through the pictures. Infographics are a great way to find out information quickly, or to see quick facts about a topic.
Here's an example of a couple that would be useful in the classroom:
These infographics would be great to have posted in the classroom, as the one above talks about technology safety, and the one to the left talks about user activity of popular social media sites. Both are really important for students to know, and they can be helpful in teaching different things in the classroom.
I started thinking: what kind of infographic could I make that would be useful in the classroom?
Since ELA is my main teachable subject, and I am working in a student literacy intervention program this semester, here is an infographic I created on literacy:
Here's an example of a couple that would be useful in the classroom:
These infographics would be great to have posted in the classroom, as the one above talks about technology safety, and the one to the left talks about user activity of popular social media sites. Both are really important for students to know, and they can be helpful in teaching different things in the classroom.
I started thinking: what kind of infographic could I make that would be useful in the classroom?
Since ELA is my main teachable subject, and I am working in a student literacy intervention program this semester, here is an infographic I created on literacy:
I made this on Piktochart, and you can make one too for free! Check it out!
Sunday 8 February 2015
Podcasts
I've recently begun listening to a Podcast entitled "The Plus One Show - Educational Technology". It's put out by LevelUpTeaching.com and it is hosted by Chip Dolce who goes through some great tips for instructional technology and the latest things available for classroom teachers.
It's pretty entertaining, and Chip is great to listen to! He encourages teachers to think outside the box, and he discusses what kinds of things are available, like Google classroom and Google labs. He interviews other experts who discuss what kinds of technology they use, including Chromebooks and Google Drive.
Chip also takes questions from listeners and tries to answer them on the air. It's a great way to have your questions answered, as well as help others who might have the same questions as you. All in all, it's a great informational podcast about Ed Tech.
I think podcasts can be a great way to encourage learning in the classroom. It could easily be used as a social studies project, having students discuss current events or historical events in a podcast for their peers to hear, or to summarize learning in a presentation format in a podcast. It would be great to be able to post this publicly as well so that the students' learning could be shared with others.
Podcasts could also be used as an ELA project, and it could really be on any subject at all. I'm looking forward to finding new ways to incorporate podcasts into my teaching!
It's pretty entertaining, and Chip is great to listen to! He encourages teachers to think outside the box, and he discusses what kinds of things are available, like Google classroom and Google labs. He interviews other experts who discuss what kinds of technology they use, including Chromebooks and Google Drive.
Chip also takes questions from listeners and tries to answer them on the air. It's a great way to have your questions answered, as well as help others who might have the same questions as you. All in all, it's a great informational podcast about Ed Tech.
I think podcasts can be a great way to encourage learning in the classroom. It could easily be used as a social studies project, having students discuss current events or historical events in a podcast for their peers to hear, or to summarize learning in a presentation format in a podcast. It would be great to be able to post this publicly as well so that the students' learning could be shared with others.
Podcasts could also be used as an ELA project, and it could really be on any subject at all. I'm looking forward to finding new ways to incorporate podcasts into my teaching!
Friday 6 February 2015
My PLN
My Personal Learning Plan - how connected am I?
I didn't think I was all that connected until I started listing all the ways I am!
I use Twitter to communicate with others, mostly in the Educational world. I use Facebook to communicate with friends and family, but also with informational pages. I use blogger to communicate my own thoughts, and Skype to communicate with others. I use Ning and Moodle to communicate with others in BU's Education department.
For photo and videos, I use YouTube and Netflix to view video content and Flickr and Instagram for photos.
I use Itunes to listen to my own music, Songza to listen to playlists (mostly ones I've favourited), YouTube when I'm looking for new music or something specific, and Shazam to connect with music on the radio to find out the name of the song I hear.
For storage I use both Dropbox and Google Drive; Dropbox for files I want stored for later or that I am finished with for now, and Google Drive for my current files and files that I share with others.
For bookmarking, I have a few different things that I use; Symbaloo for educational sites I want saved, Feedly for educational blogs that I follow, Etsy for bookmarking things I like, and Pinterest for bookmarking all kinds of things from lesson plans to recipes.
All in all, I am way more connected than I thought! Check out the mind map I made on Mind Meister:
Wednesday 4 February 2015
1:1 Computing... Oh the possibilities!
Today we had a presentation with Martin Ingenmey and Bryce Ridgen from Minnedosa Collegiate on One to One Computing, where each student has access to a device in the classroom. We also discussed the opportunities available for classes that implement 1:1.
Bryce Ridgen teaches high school Social Studies and Math and regularity has his students participate in Social Studies Twitter chats. His students each have a student Twitter account (for school purposes only) where they can routinely participate in chats with experts, ask questions, post selfies and descriptions that summarize what they learned about a specific topic, along with many other things.
Along with being a great way to assess learning (formative assessment), there are many opportunities to teach online etiquette and generally how to have an online presence. This is something that I firmly believe in - teaching students how to have an appropriate online presence. What better way than to actually have them participate online in a somewhat "controlled" environment with the teacher as a moderator?
One of the really important things about using 1:1 is giving students choice on researching topics and showing what was learned. This helps to foster creativity in the students, as well as makes it easier to differentiate to different levels or abilities of learning.
Using videos, vines, and applications like storify, popcorn maker, thinglink, and chatterpix are things students can create to show learning, and applications like padlet and schoology are ways for students to contribute to discussions, post their ideas online, and gain feedback from other students and from the teacher.
All in all, having a classroom with a 1:1 ratio for students and computing devices opens the door for so many possibilities for the teacher and students. As long as technology is used as a tool, not an event, the students will benefit from it. I hope to be able to use technology in this regard in my classroom.
I'll leave you with a great video made by one of Bryce's students:
Bryce Ridgen teaches high school Social Studies and Math and regularity has his students participate in Social Studies Twitter chats. His students each have a student Twitter account (for school purposes only) where they can routinely participate in chats with experts, ask questions, post selfies and descriptions that summarize what they learned about a specific topic, along with many other things.
Along with being a great way to assess learning (formative assessment), there are many opportunities to teach online etiquette and generally how to have an online presence. This is something that I firmly believe in - teaching students how to have an appropriate online presence. What better way than to actually have them participate online in a somewhat "controlled" environment with the teacher as a moderator?
One of the really important things about using 1:1 is giving students choice on researching topics and showing what was learned. This helps to foster creativity in the students, as well as makes it easier to differentiate to different levels or abilities of learning.
Using videos, vines, and applications like storify, popcorn maker, thinglink, and chatterpix are things students can create to show learning, and applications like padlet and schoology are ways for students to contribute to discussions, post their ideas online, and gain feedback from other students and from the teacher.
All in all, having a classroom with a 1:1 ratio for students and computing devices opens the door for so many possibilities for the teacher and students. As long as technology is used as a tool, not an event, the students will benefit from it. I hope to be able to use technology in this regard in my classroom.
I'll leave you with a great video made by one of Bryce's students:
Friday 30 January 2015
My Digital Footprint
Your Digital Footprint or Digital Identity is who and where you are online. Depending on whether you post online or use online curation, you may have a large or small digital footprint.
The easiest way to take a look at how you are portrayed online is to Google yourself and see what comes up. Unfortunately for me, even though I blog, use Pinterest, have an open Twitter account, and have two websites, when I Google myself, I do not even show up on the first page:
I wish I had control over what people see when they Google my name. I am careful to only post things online that I would be fine with my future employer and future children to see, however I can't control what the other Kelsey Jennings' of the world choose to post in (my?) name. I would hate to be turned down for a job because another Kelsey Jennings posted something inappropriate online, but all I have control over is what I post.
I think it's important that we encourage our students to Google themselves and see what comes up. Sometimes when we post something we think is private, it ends up being seen by far more than we would like.
I also believe that we have the choice to be the same person online as we are offline, or we can be a different person. While I think it is best to be a good person both on- and offline, and I try to do so, I can't trust that everyone is the same on both platforms. It's important that our students recognize this when they are interacting with others online. Digital Dualism exists, and we need to be careful of it.
The easiest way to take a look at how you are portrayed online is to Google yourself and see what comes up. Unfortunately for me, even though I blog, use Pinterest, have an open Twitter account, and have two websites, when I Google myself, I do not even show up on the first page:
I wish I had control over what people see when they Google my name. I am careful to only post things online that I would be fine with my future employer and future children to see, however I can't control what the other Kelsey Jennings' of the world choose to post in (my?) name. I would hate to be turned down for a job because another Kelsey Jennings posted something inappropriate online, but all I have control over is what I post.
I think it's important that we encourage our students to Google themselves and see what comes up. Sometimes when we post something we think is private, it ends up being seen by far more than we would like.
I also believe that we have the choice to be the same person online as we are offline, or we can be a different person. While I think it is best to be a good person both on- and offline, and I try to do so, I can't trust that everyone is the same on both platforms. It's important that our students recognize this when they are interacting with others online. Digital Dualism exists, and we need to be careful of it.
Following an Edublogger
The wonderful thing about teaching in this day and age is that there are tons of resources, lesson plans, and ideas online, and many of it is free for teachers!
One Edublogger that I've recently started following is Free Technology for Teachers, whose title sums up exactly what I look for in an edublogger. It focus a lot on technology that I already use, such as Google Docs, Google +, and iOS tips.
The creator of Free Technology for Teachers, Richard Byrne, is a former high school Social Studies teacher, Google Certified Teacher, and the recipient of many Edublogger awards. He posts multiple times a day and also does presentations around the world on using technology in the classroom.
I'll be honest - the reason I started following this blog was mainly because of the word "FREE". For a student like myself, free is the magic word. I once took a tour of the cafeteria just to get a free lunch, even though I'd been in that cafeteria multiple times before.
Free Technology for Teachers is a great blog, and I've learned a lot from following Richard. He recently posted about the 100 Word Challenge - a blog that posts a short writing prompt for students, and allows them to submit them and have them read by peers. The grade 5/6 students in my last placement used these writing prompts and read others' work, but did not post theirs online. It was great to hear Richard's thoughts on this platform, as I think it would be a good way to work with students' writing in class.
Along with posting technology blogs and tips on using technology, Richard also posts different resources for teaching our students. Today, Richard also posted some great resources on snow, specifically Scholastic's Interactive Weather Maker, which was actually pretty fun to play around with!
I'll leave you with a video he posted today on the chemistry of snowflakes:
Thursday 29 January 2015
Organizing Yourself Online
I like to think of myself as an organized person... for the most part. There are times when my organizing is pushed to the side and I let things pile up, but that doesn't usually last long. During my undergrad, I wasn't able to write a paper until my dorm was completely clean and organized, so that usually meant cleaning and organizing until midnight, and writing my paper until morning; not something I would even encourage students to do, but I got through it.
The online world is so huge that really, you have to be organized if you want to keep anything there. I don't know how many times I've come across a video or article, thought I should keep it or pass it on to someone, and then forgotten where I found it in the first place. Curation is a necessity when dealing with the internet, and it is something I'll need to teach my students.
The main way that I organize myself online is through Pinterest. I have everything from lesson plans to recipes, to tips on how to get stains out of the carpet. I have over one hundred recipes on my "Recipes I've Tried" board, and over one thousand on my other "Food" board that I have yet to try... and sadly I'll never have time to try them all.
Another way I stay organized online is by using Google Drive. I love storing my files online because I can access them from anywhere. It's also really easy to share them with someone, or allow them to edit your files if you want.
A final way I organize myself online is fairly recent; using an RSS reader. This is a great way for me to keep up on all my classmates' blogs and see when they've added a new one.
I hope that my students will use Google Drive in the classroom, provided it is allowed and not blocked. It's a great place to save and share documents with the teacher or other classmates, and I think students would really benefit from using it.
The main thing is staying organized, which reminds me... I need to get back to pinning new recipes.
The online world is so huge that really, you have to be organized if you want to keep anything there. I don't know how many times I've come across a video or article, thought I should keep it or pass it on to someone, and then forgotten where I found it in the first place. Curation is a necessity when dealing with the internet, and it is something I'll need to teach my students.
The main way that I organize myself online is through Pinterest. I have everything from lesson plans to recipes, to tips on how to get stains out of the carpet. I have over one hundred recipes on my "Recipes I've Tried" board, and over one thousand on my other "Food" board that I have yet to try... and sadly I'll never have time to try them all.
Another way I stay organized online is by using Google Drive. I love storing my files online because I can access them from anywhere. It's also really easy to share them with someone, or allow them to edit your files if you want.
A final way I organize myself online is fairly recent; using an RSS reader. This is a great way for me to keep up on all my classmates' blogs and see when they've added a new one.
I hope that my students will use Google Drive in the classroom, provided it is allowed and not blocked. It's a great place to save and share documents with the teacher or other classmates, and I think students would really benefit from using it.
The main thing is staying organized, which reminds me... I need to get back to pinning new recipes.
Wednesday 28 January 2015
Web-Based Courses
Today we had a presentation in class on web-based courses in Manitoba, and specifically using online courses in high school. There are a great number of web-based courses offered in Manitoba, and they come in handy for students in remote areas who do not have access to specialized teachers, those who want to take two classes scheduled at the same time, or those who need flexible schedules for one reason or another.
One particular online tool we looked at was Blackboard, which can be previewed as a guest by clicking the link. Blackboard is kind of like an online classroom, with all the lessons available for students. There is the ability to use reflective journalling, chat with one another, compose blogs and wikis, participate in teacher-guided discussions, and visit posted web resources.
In taking a look at Blackboard, it was awesome to see how the outcomes were organized and easily accessible for students. If a student taking an online course wanted to sit down and work through a few hours of the course, no problem! If they only have time for a short lesson, that's fine too! Blackboard makes it easy for students taking online courses to work at their own pace.
With the classroom shifting toward blended learning, it is becoming more necessary for myself as a classroom teaching to use an online environment, such as Moodle or Google Docs and integrate it with my face-to-face classes. Giving students the option to work online can keep them more engaged in the learning process, as well as more able to work at their own pace.
While I do not know yet where I will be teaching in the future and what age groups I will be working with, I know that my students will likely be web-savvy and it will be up to me to find ways to integrate web-related material into the classroom.
One particular online tool we looked at was Blackboard, which can be previewed as a guest by clicking the link. Blackboard is kind of like an online classroom, with all the lessons available for students. There is the ability to use reflective journalling, chat with one another, compose blogs and wikis, participate in teacher-guided discussions, and visit posted web resources.
In taking a look at Blackboard, it was awesome to see how the outcomes were organized and easily accessible for students. If a student taking an online course wanted to sit down and work through a few hours of the course, no problem! If they only have time for a short lesson, that's fine too! Blackboard makes it easy for students taking online courses to work at their own pace.
With the classroom shifting toward blended learning, it is becoming more necessary for myself as a classroom teaching to use an online environment, such as Moodle or Google Docs and integrate it with my face-to-face classes. Giving students the option to work online can keep them more engaged in the learning process, as well as more able to work at their own pace.
While I do not know yet where I will be teaching in the future and what age groups I will be working with, I know that my students will likely be web-savvy and it will be up to me to find ways to integrate web-related material into the classroom.
Wednesday 14 January 2015
Who am I online?
We've been talking a bit in (and out of) class about digital identities and digital dualism - basically who are you online, and is it the same as who you are "in real life"? I'd like to say that I am the same on and offline, but I'm not sure that's true, and here's why:
Offline (in real life) I don't always think through what I say. That can often backfire on me, as I can easily say something that is taken the wrong way and then have to backpedal. Thankfully, after three years of marriage I'm learning that it's probably a good idea to think before I speak, so I'm working on it
Online, I've always found it easier to think through what I post, probably because I see it there in text before I press "post" or "publish". Even now I'm stopping to re-read my sentences to make sure I won't be misinterpreted. Online, you have those few seconds to look over what you are saying before everyone hears.
Not everyone takes advantage of this, though. I see unbelievable amounts of comments that are passive aggressive, rude, or offensive, and I bet that if you were to question some of those people in person, some would be ashamed of what they wrote, or regret posting it altogether.
Often if I read a comment or an article that gets me fired up for one reason or another, I can be tempted to reply in a sarcastic or passive aggressive tone, but I'll stop myself before pressing enter. Because of my husband's position as a pastor and mine as a future teacher, I want to make sure that nothing I post online will come back to haunt me. This certainly doesn't mean I'm perfect, only that I have been taught that anything online lasts forever.
Whether you believe the internet counts as "real life" or not, I think it's important to make sure your digital identity is as much your identity as possible. I want to be able to teach my students that bullying online is the same as bullying in person, and that what you say online matters, and could come back to haunt you if you aren't careful. I hope that as our culture becomes more active online, they also become more "real" in their digital identities.
Offline (in real life) I don't always think through what I say. That can often backfire on me, as I can easily say something that is taken the wrong way and then have to backpedal. Thankfully, after three years of marriage I'm learning that it's probably a good idea to think before I speak, so I'm working on it
Online, I've always found it easier to think through what I post, probably because I see it there in text before I press "post" or "publish". Even now I'm stopping to re-read my sentences to make sure I won't be misinterpreted. Online, you have those few seconds to look over what you are saying before everyone hears.
Not everyone takes advantage of this, though. I see unbelievable amounts of comments that are passive aggressive, rude, or offensive, and I bet that if you were to question some of those people in person, some would be ashamed of what they wrote, or regret posting it altogether.
Often if I read a comment or an article that gets me fired up for one reason or another, I can be tempted to reply in a sarcastic or passive aggressive tone, but I'll stop myself before pressing enter. Because of my husband's position as a pastor and mine as a future teacher, I want to make sure that nothing I post online will come back to haunt me. This certainly doesn't mean I'm perfect, only that I have been taught that anything online lasts forever.
Whether you believe the internet counts as "real life" or not, I think it's important to make sure your digital identity is as much your identity as possible. I want to be able to teach my students that bullying online is the same as bullying in person, and that what you say online matters, and could come back to haunt you if you aren't careful. I hope that as our culture becomes more active online, they also become more "real" in their digital identities.
Monday 12 January 2015
Using Twitter
When I was first introduced to Twitter, I thought of it as nothing more than a shortened Facebook status. Why would I want to use technology to let the world know that I "Just watered my plants #greenthumb #gardeninthemaking" or why would I want to "shoutout @EllenDegeneres put me on your show!!!"? Who really thinks they are so important that the world needs to know everything they do?
But in the last year I have realized that just because some people use Twitter for tweeting celebrities pointless messages or filling everyone in on their boring day, that doesn't mean that how Twitter should be used. Twitter can be used for all kinds of things!
This summer, I worked for the Manitoba Youth Job Centre, setting up odd jobs for youth and helping them with resumes, as well as the job hunt and interview processes. Part of my job included advertising that the centre was open for the summer, and letting people know about the events we had planned for our Odd Job Squad.
We had a pretty limited budget and were asked to be creative with how we used it, so my work partner and I set out to make connections in our city. We met with politicians, radio stations, and other well-known business people in Brandon and let them know about our services. Then we added them all on Twitter and got to work!
I spent quite a bit of time on Twitter this summer promoting events, tweeting the radio stations and asking them to stop by our BBQ's, and generally getting the word out. We found that Twitter was by far our most successful way to contact people in Brandon, and it didn't take long for followers to retweet our events and do some of the work for us! It was amazing to see how well Twitter worked in this way.
and in case you're wanting to sign up for Treehouse and learn how to code... use this link:
referrals.trhou.se/garyjennings
Anyway! All that to say Twitter is awesome, and I look forward to using it more this semester with this course, as well as in my future teaching career.
But in the last year I have realized that just because some people use Twitter for tweeting celebrities pointless messages or filling everyone in on their boring day, that doesn't mean that how Twitter should be used. Twitter can be used for all kinds of things!
This summer, I worked for the Manitoba Youth Job Centre, setting up odd jobs for youth and helping them with resumes, as well as the job hunt and interview processes. Part of my job included advertising that the centre was open for the summer, and letting people know about the events we had planned for our Odd Job Squad.
We had a pretty limited budget and were asked to be creative with how we used it, so my work partner and I set out to make connections in our city. We met with politicians, radio stations, and other well-known business people in Brandon and let them know about our services. Then we added them all on Twitter and got to work!
I spent quite a bit of time on Twitter this summer promoting events, tweeting the radio stations and asking them to stop by our BBQ's, and generally getting the word out. We found that Twitter was by far our most successful way to contact people in Brandon, and it didn't take long for followers to retweet our events and do some of the work for us! It was amazing to see how well Twitter worked in this way.
I believe that Twitter can also be an asset to Education. Last year I started following John Evans, a retired teacher and Web Tech Consultant who came and spoke to our class about education and technology. He tweets out some fantastic resources for teachers, and I have retweeted him quite a bit.
Twitter is a place where people can voice their opinions and link it to articles about education. There are so many great articles out there, and it's possible to have a conversation on Twitter about it. I've watched some great chats go on, but have not yet joined in, so I think this semester I'll be joining in on an EdChat or two.
Another great person I've been following is Joy Kestern, who is a teacher in California, but also an online coding teacher at Treehouse, which is something my husband introduced me to. While I still have no idea how to code and have never even tried, Joy suggests that it is something we can and should begin teaching our students at a young age. Here's a video of her introducing a new course on Treehouse:
referrals.trhou.se/garyjennings
Anyway! All that to say Twitter is awesome, and I look forward to using it more this semester with this course, as well as in my future teaching career.
Thursday 8 January 2015
Movies and Music in the Classroom
Yesterday in class, we had a presentation by John Finch, the Coordinator for Manitoba Education. We heard from him last year about issues of copyright and other important things about technology use, but it was really good this time to reinforce some of those issues and to delve deeper into what it means for us as future teachers.
One thing I had not realized is the copyright issue with music. Of course I am aware of copyright issues when it comes to downloading music, but what I had not thought of before is the issues surrounding music performance; playing music for my students.
Teachers have the right to use music for educational purposes, that is, if it connects with the curriculum that is being taught. Teachers do not, however, have the right to play music publicly for enjoyment. In other words, I do not have the performance rights to the music on the radio, or even the music on the album I purchased, so I cannot play it for my students while they are working on homework unless I have purchased the rights through SOCAN. That is something I would have never thought of!
The same goes for movies - if the movie directly links to the curriculum or is being used for educational purposes, then I can show it to my students. Otherwise, I do not have the right to publicly show a movie, even if I bought the DVD - it is for private use only. The same goes for Netflix - private use only.
It seems that the more accessible data becomes, the more rules have to be made surrounding use of the data. I totally understand the reasoning - the artists need to be recognized for their work, and they are the ones who own the rights to it, but it just seems crazy that I can buy something and there are rules about who can listen to or watch it. I don't own it, even though I bought it.
This being said, I am so glad that teachers have the right to use media for educational purposes. One of the six Language Arts in the ELA curriculum is viewing, and I've found during or after reading a novel, it is extremely helpful to view the movie and see how someone else interpreted the characters and storyline.
During my last teaching placement, I read Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" with my grade 12's, and we watched the movie after. I had my students write a reflection on what the most important scene was in the movie, as well as what missing scene they felt should have been included. I found it really helpful to see how well they understood the importance of little details in the story, and most of them were able to see how much character development has to be left out when a book is made into a 120 minute movie.
Film and music are so important in education, as they can reinforce something that has been learned, or even help students learn something new and make new connections. I intend to use both in my teaching, and I believe it is important for teachers to understand how to properly use them without infringing on copyright laws.
One thing I had not realized is the copyright issue with music. Of course I am aware of copyright issues when it comes to downloading music, but what I had not thought of before is the issues surrounding music performance; playing music for my students.
Teachers have the right to use music for educational purposes, that is, if it connects with the curriculum that is being taught. Teachers do not, however, have the right to play music publicly for enjoyment. In other words, I do not have the performance rights to the music on the radio, or even the music on the album I purchased, so I cannot play it for my students while they are working on homework unless I have purchased the rights through SOCAN. That is something I would have never thought of!
The same goes for movies - if the movie directly links to the curriculum or is being used for educational purposes, then I can show it to my students. Otherwise, I do not have the right to publicly show a movie, even if I bought the DVD - it is for private use only. The same goes for Netflix - private use only.
It seems that the more accessible data becomes, the more rules have to be made surrounding use of the data. I totally understand the reasoning - the artists need to be recognized for their work, and they are the ones who own the rights to it, but it just seems crazy that I can buy something and there are rules about who can listen to or watch it. I don't own it, even though I bought it.
This being said, I am so glad that teachers have the right to use media for educational purposes. One of the six Language Arts in the ELA curriculum is viewing, and I've found during or after reading a novel, it is extremely helpful to view the movie and see how someone else interpreted the characters and storyline.
During my last teaching placement, I read Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" with my grade 12's, and we watched the movie after. I had my students write a reflection on what the most important scene was in the movie, as well as what missing scene they felt should have been included. I found it really helpful to see how well they understood the importance of little details in the story, and most of them were able to see how much character development has to be left out when a book is made into a 120 minute movie.
Film and music are so important in education, as they can reinforce something that has been learned, or even help students learn something new and make new connections. I intend to use both in my teaching, and I believe it is important for teachers to understand how to properly use them without infringing on copyright laws.
Monday 5 January 2015
...And We're Back!
Well, here I am back at it!
This is my final semester at BU and I'll be finally graduating this spring from the Education program. For my final semester, I'm taking a class called Internet for Educators, which means I'll be starting up my blog again!
I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging about what I'm learning, as well as learning new ways to use technology in the classroom. Once again, part of my assignments will be to blog weekly about what I'm learning, so if that interests you, be sure to follow!
This is my final semester at BU and I'll be finally graduating this spring from the Education program. For my final semester, I'm taking a class called Internet for Educators, which means I'll be starting up my blog again!
I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging about what I'm learning, as well as learning new ways to use technology in the classroom. Once again, part of my assignments will be to blog weekly about what I'm learning, so if that interests you, be sure to follow!
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