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:
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