Well I think that I am one post short for my blogs, so I thought it would be worthwhile to write a quick thanks and good luck to all of my fellow classmates. It has been such a great term, I have learned so much from Mike and many of my classmates *cough* Tyler *cough*!
At the beginning of the term I had never blogged, so I questioned whether I would keep something like this up after this course. I am happy to have started one, and excited to keep it updated with educational resources as I come across them. (Hopefully some of you do too so I can continue to borrow ideas *cough* Tyler *cough*!) In all seriousness- I am sure we are all on the same page with the usefulness of blogging and all of the other resources that we were introduced to this year!
I am excited to say that this course has not only introduced me to new resources, but it has pushed me to share more and not just take from the internet! I shared my first resource on Smartexchange today- (and just as soon as I figure out what I am doing wrong and why it won't show up when I search for it- I will post the link!!) I was thinking a lot about sharing resources lastnight when I was creating it. It probably took me, realistically, 3 hours to make in total- which for one attendance resource is a lot! It was comforting to think of all the other things that I can save time with though thanks to everyone else sharing online- so it made it worthwhile!
All in all- I couldn't be happier that for whatever reason, I was placed in this course at the very last minute. I am crossing my fingers that we will be able to take this course again next year- I know there is so much more out there that we haven't even brushed on!
Good luck everyone :)
Thursday 7 March 2013
The Future of Education
When I consider the future of education, I am excited to realize that it will not only be my students that will be learning over the course of my career- it will be me too! Technology is always advancing, and I find this to be both motivating and inspiring. I hope that I will keep up with all of the new ways that I can incorporate technology in both my classroom and my everyday life, and inspire my students to do the same. This course has made me realize that even the most tech savvy of us have so much more that we can learn!
One thing that stood out in the horizon report was the gaming devices in the classroom- I had never considered this tech option. I'm not too sure what my thoughts are on it? I feel like as a parent (which I'm not yet, but if I was!) I wouldn't LOVE the idea of my child on gaming consoles in school. That being said, I know that not all forms of technology have always been accepted so maybe my opinion could be swayed on this!
The other comment in the report that was no surprise to me (but worth mentioning) was the idea of too much technology in the classroom. I know when I first started this Internet for Ed course I felt overwhelmed, so is this something we need to be keeping in mind with our students as well? That being said, I have never learned so much useful information in one course as I did with this one. Is it worthwhile then for us to possibly overwhelm our students with technology when it is all useful or relevant? Maybe we need to have classes dedicated to technology in middle years or high schools too that can help ease the load for our students?
So much to think about- and all of it is well worth our time. Technology is going to continue to advance whether we approve of it or not- so how much is ok for our classroom?
One thing that stood out in the horizon report was the gaming devices in the classroom- I had never considered this tech option. I'm not too sure what my thoughts are on it? I feel like as a parent (which I'm not yet, but if I was!) I wouldn't LOVE the idea of my child on gaming consoles in school. That being said, I know that not all forms of technology have always been accepted so maybe my opinion could be swayed on this!
The other comment in the report that was no surprise to me (but worth mentioning) was the idea of too much technology in the classroom. I know when I first started this Internet for Ed course I felt overwhelmed, so is this something we need to be keeping in mind with our students as well? That being said, I have never learned so much useful information in one course as I did with this one. Is it worthwhile then for us to possibly overwhelm our students with technology when it is all useful or relevant? Maybe we need to have classes dedicated to technology in middle years or high schools too that can help ease the load for our students?
So much to think about- and all of it is well worth our time. Technology is going to continue to advance whether we approve of it or not- so how much is ok for our classroom?
Thursday 28 February 2013
Podcasts
This is the first time that I have ever listened to a Podcast, once again this class has opened a window that I had never considered!
So one that I found that I thought would be good for my upcoming placement was "Today in Canadian History"- which is exactly as it sounds! I'll be teaching grade 6 so it would work out well as a side note for lessons on Canada. There are a lot more out there other than just this one that would also work well for current events in the classroom.
Since I hadn't really ever considered Podcasts to begin with, I also had never considered them in the classroom. I was coming up short for ideas so I cheated a bit with this one and googled ways that they can be useful and found a ton! These were a few of my favorites that I found...
Explaining/Teaching: If we are teaching a new method to math problems or explaining other types of ideas, we can record ourselves so that students can access the instructions later as well. This would work well for students that don't understand and want to try again at home, but also for students who are absent that day. It could be posted to your class website so it is accessible anywhere the student needs it to be!
Interviews: I can remember doing interviews as a student and recording all of the information on paper, but why not do it as a podcast now? It would be a good way to know that the student took a professional approach to the interview and didn't just hand someone a list of questions to answer.
Stories: There are lots of books that have accompanying audio, but why not make your own to any book you like for your students? This would be good in earlier years when students are first learning to read. They can put on a set of headphones, listen and follow along with the book in front of them. (You could get fun with this too and get a few people to read different characters in the books). This might also be a good activity for older students to do- let them get a few ready for their young reading buddies!
Once again, a tool that I would never have considered before this course! Thanks for the ideas Mike!
So one that I found that I thought would be good for my upcoming placement was "Today in Canadian History"- which is exactly as it sounds! I'll be teaching grade 6 so it would work out well as a side note for lessons on Canada. There are a lot more out there other than just this one that would also work well for current events in the classroom.
Since I hadn't really ever considered Podcasts to begin with, I also had never considered them in the classroom. I was coming up short for ideas so I cheated a bit with this one and googled ways that they can be useful and found a ton! These were a few of my favorites that I found...
Explaining/Teaching: If we are teaching a new method to math problems or explaining other types of ideas, we can record ourselves so that students can access the instructions later as well. This would work well for students that don't understand and want to try again at home, but also for students who are absent that day. It could be posted to your class website so it is accessible anywhere the student needs it to be!
Interviews: I can remember doing interviews as a student and recording all of the information on paper, but why not do it as a podcast now? It would be a good way to know that the student took a professional approach to the interview and didn't just hand someone a list of questions to answer.
Stories: There are lots of books that have accompanying audio, but why not make your own to any book you like for your students? This would be good in earlier years when students are first learning to read. They can put on a set of headphones, listen and follow along with the book in front of them. (You could get fun with this too and get a few people to read different characters in the books). This might also be a good activity for older students to do- let them get a few ready for their young reading buddies!
Once again, a tool that I would never have considered before this course! Thanks for the ideas Mike!
Infographics!
This tech task is up there with my favourites now that I've finished it! I have seen these infographics lots before, I have just never considered them for my classroom! (Partially because I didn't think it was something that could be done so easily!)
I think these most definitely have a place in the classroom, it is just one more option for students to present their work that they have done. I think it would be a perfect accompaniment to an oral presentation, highlighting key points while the students expand on their topic.
I found a couple of sites that were free to use to make these, but Piktochart was my favorite. (And by favorite I mean user friendly... other sites had fun templates but no amount of screaming at my computer worked to insert my own information..which is odd.. normally my computer responds well to outbursts like that....)
I used an article written by Simona Siad for my infographic that used statistics taken from Statistics Canada to show how stressed out our teenagers are these days. The article was written for TheStar.com in May of 2007. I thought it was applicable information that we should be keeping in mind as we move into the classroom, especially those of us that might teach high school. I think we need to be remembering that these students are a lot like us, trying to balance school, work and a social life. I think that, especially during these last few weeks of class, we can all relate!
I look forward to using this tool in both my student teaching placement and in the future with my own classroom!
I think these most definitely have a place in the classroom, it is just one more option for students to present their work that they have done. I think it would be a perfect accompaniment to an oral presentation, highlighting key points while the students expand on their topic.
I found a couple of sites that were free to use to make these, but Piktochart was my favorite. (And by favorite I mean user friendly... other sites had fun templates but no amount of screaming at my computer worked to insert my own information..which is odd.. normally my computer responds well to outbursts like that....)
I used an article written by Simona Siad for my infographic that used statistics taken from Statistics Canada to show how stressed out our teenagers are these days. The article was written for TheStar.com in May of 2007. I thought it was applicable information that we should be keeping in mind as we move into the classroom, especially those of us that might teach high school. I think we need to be remembering that these students are a lot like us, trying to balance school, work and a social life. I think that, especially during these last few weeks of class, we can all relate!
I look forward to using this tool in both my student teaching placement and in the future with my own classroom!
Digital Footprint
Well I'm happy to say that when I "google" myself- nothing horrifying pops up for anyone to see! I think the first thing that comes up when you get to the actual "me" is my old Hi5 account which hasn't been used in years. This does bring up the important point that everyone has been making though about the importance of always keeping your digital footprint in mind. I know that I didn't have a career in education in mind when I had that account, yet it is still searchable today. I think this is an important thing to teach our students- hopefully they can understand the importance of their digital footprint. I do think this will be hard to do, young kids especially but also teenagers might not be able to put it in perspective at a young age. (Or be able to consider the fact that actions that they take today can have an effect on their lives years down the road).
Our digital footprints, to me, are the scariest aspect of technology. It is a fun tool that is so often incredibly useful, yet one wrong move and it can be the end of a career or one of many other consequences. There have often been times that I have felt frustrated and considered deleting certain accounts, such as Facebook, but I almost wonder if that would be worse. At least right now I know that I am (hopefully) being tagged in any post about me or picture of me. Without an account I would have no idea what pictures, posts or other information was being posted online without my consent. So I figure it is better to keep the accounts!
I do think that I need to work on more of a digital footprint for myself that reflects my future as a teacher. I would like a principal to be able to google me and find information that reflects my knowledge in the field of education. For this reason I am excited that we were able to take this course a year early, I now have some more tools that I can use for my digital footprint. I'm definitely leaving this class with a lot of good food for thought- and lots to work on over the next year!
Our digital footprints, to me, are the scariest aspect of technology. It is a fun tool that is so often incredibly useful, yet one wrong move and it can be the end of a career or one of many other consequences. There have often been times that I have felt frustrated and considered deleting certain accounts, such as Facebook, but I almost wonder if that would be worse. At least right now I know that I am (hopefully) being tagged in any post about me or picture of me. Without an account I would have no idea what pictures, posts or other information was being posted online without my consent. So I figure it is better to keep the accounts!
I do think that I need to work on more of a digital footprint for myself that reflects my future as a teacher. I would like a principal to be able to google me and find information that reflects my knowledge in the field of education. For this reason I am excited that we were able to take this course a year early, I now have some more tools that I can use for my digital footprint. I'm definitely leaving this class with a lot of good food for thought- and lots to work on over the next year!
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Video in the Classroom
During my student teaching placements I came across a few
YouTube videos that quickly became my favorites! I was teaching in a grade ½
classroom so one thing that came to my attention quite often was their need for
a little movement break! I think that this is only one of many good reasons
that we can use video in the classroom, but definitely one of the ways I used
YouTube the most often in my first placement!
(I will warn you now that this song tended to stick in my
head for hours after playing it- so listen at your own risk!)
The second video that I wanted to share was also used in my first placement but
for a different purpose. I think we can all think back to rhymes that help us
to remember certain things, whether it be for math tricks or spelling rules. I
thought this video was pretty cute and helped the students when they were
trying to learn how to add doubles as a math strategy.
I think that video in the classroom is extremely useful for
many different reasons depending on the age of your students and the class that
you’re teaching. It can be used as an activating strategy, a complimentary
video to a lesson you are teaching, movement breaks, catchy songs to help kids
learn, and so much more! Another way that I used video every day in my
placement was to read my students a book at the end of the day. (I know it sounds
like I am being lazy- but I would read to them myself in the mornings! The end
of the day book was my time to get their Zippy’s and anything else ready to go
home- it also served as a great reinforcing tool! The students knew that they
would get to listen to a longer book if they were quicker at cleaning up the
classroom, putting their chairs up, etc!)
(Many websites make you pay to use this site- this one is
through Perth & Union District Library so there is no charge…After all of
our talk on proper use and sharing online- I worry that maybe this is breaking
a rule?? Leave me a reply if you think I am crossing some lines!!)
I do think that as a teacher I would love to be able to
allow student or class made videos. I think there are many fun ways (like Kid
Snippets) that they could play around with video but there are also many other
reasons to bring it into the classroom. I think it is a very real world type of
skill for them to have- many YouTube videos are teaching something, whether it
is how to play guitar or how to bake a cake. Why not teach our kids how to
share knowledge that they might have with others? I think this is another one
of those areas that fall under the “let’s teach them properly” column. I think
it will happen regardless- why not teach them in our classroom?
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Some Fabulous Projects!
Today we went through and took turns sharing our I4Ed Projects, some great information was shared by our classmates! I made a few notes on what stood out with each group as every group had some bery good points!
Devices in the classroom- should we or should we not have them? Although there are arguments for both, there was an example given in the presentation that really stuck with me. The girls talked about the example of a red, green, yellow and (blue?) light when using devices in the classroom. Each color would have a corresponding rule in terms of device use- from no device at all to free use of devices. I think this was a great idea, keep devices in the classroom and use them when the time is appropriate but know when to draw the line.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - issues that we have when it comes to the internet and new technology that we have in our lives and classrooms. There are many arguments for both sides, but we decided as a group that we believed there would always be good, bad and ugly- but what we need to focus on is proper education and utilization. If we can teach our students the proper way to be using these tools- they can be amazing resources that help all of us succeed with education and many other areas of our lives.
"How Not to Steal" from cyber space. They talked about how easy it is these days to be stealing information and mentioned a point that is always worth coming back to, and that is to be vigilant in monitoring our students work. We need to be sure that we are teaching our students how to properly cite materials that include not only text, but music, pictures and anything else that we are using. With this project I appreciated their points on creative commons and copyright issues, I think it is important to understand the differences. Although it can sometimes be much more difficult to find pictures or other material that you prefer using proper copyright, our students need to understand the differences.
As far as filters go in our schools, I think that I agree that filtering should be more specific and not go overboard. I also agree that students can go home and search for anything they want, we might as well be teaching them how ot use these resources properly!
The last group took a different spin on things and made a video to present, loved it! (Sidenote- this is why we should let videos into our classroom- it was my favorite presentation!) This group did a GREAT job of pointing out the differences between bullying and cyber bullying- and I liked that near the end they pointed out that more bullying happens in every day life as opposed to online. I also like the point that the social media tends to exaggerate cyber bullying (although it is terrible, it can still be overplayed).
Great class, thanks for all of the presentations!
Devices in the classroom- should we or should we not have them? Although there are arguments for both, there was an example given in the presentation that really stuck with me. The girls talked about the example of a red, green, yellow and (blue?) light when using devices in the classroom. Each color would have a corresponding rule in terms of device use- from no device at all to free use of devices. I think this was a great idea, keep devices in the classroom and use them when the time is appropriate but know when to draw the line.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - issues that we have when it comes to the internet and new technology that we have in our lives and classrooms. There are many arguments for both sides, but we decided as a group that we believed there would always be good, bad and ugly- but what we need to focus on is proper education and utilization. If we can teach our students the proper way to be using these tools- they can be amazing resources that help all of us succeed with education and many other areas of our lives.
"How Not to Steal" from cyber space. They talked about how easy it is these days to be stealing information and mentioned a point that is always worth coming back to, and that is to be vigilant in monitoring our students work. We need to be sure that we are teaching our students how to properly cite materials that include not only text, but music, pictures and anything else that we are using. With this project I appreciated their points on creative commons and copyright issues, I think it is important to understand the differences. Although it can sometimes be much more difficult to find pictures or other material that you prefer using proper copyright, our students need to understand the differences.
As far as filters go in our schools, I think that I agree that filtering should be more specific and not go overboard. I also agree that students can go home and search for anything they want, we might as well be teaching them how ot use these resources properly!
The last group took a different spin on things and made a video to present, loved it! (Sidenote- this is why we should let videos into our classroom- it was my favorite presentation!) This group did a GREAT job of pointing out the differences between bullying and cyber bullying- and I liked that near the end they pointed out that more bullying happens in every day life as opposed to online. I also like the point that the social media tends to exaggerate cyber bullying (although it is terrible, it can still be overplayed).
Great class, thanks for all of the presentations!
Monday 25 February 2013
Show & Tell!
I have started bookmarking all of my favorite educational resources, so for this blog I managed to narrow it down to a few of my favorites!
I think that some of you have probably heard of this website before, but what I found interesting is that there are actually 5 of these useful sites for us to use! BrainPop and BrainPop Jr both cover tons of curriculum material, complete with activating videos all the way through to assessment resources for each topic. There is also BrainPopEspanol which (I bet you guessed it) is a spanish site for kids to use that covers the same lessons. BrainPopESL is another one for english as additional learners, and as with most computer activities I think it can really help get these students engaged! Gameup is the last link, which is an educational games portal for your classroom. This sort of thing would be perfect for free time activities that keep students learning!
This one is an obvious, but I think it's always nice to have a few of these sites in your back pocket! Super Teacher Worksheets is just that, worksheets for all of your subjects including math, reading, writing, phonics, grammer and much more! I know we can easily create our own as well, but I think it's true what they say- work smarter, not harder!
My last one is similar to SmartExchange that I am sure we are all familiar with! This site has a ton of interactive lessons and activities to do with your class, all sorted by subject. Harvey's Homepage is great for complimenting lessons with interactive smartboard activities, especially when you need something quick! This would be great for students who finish ahead of time (maybe without you expecting it) as well!
This is one blog that I feel like I could go on and on about since there is so much out there for us to use, but I will stop here for now!
(PS. All of the underlined websites are hyperlinked for easy access!)
BrainPop!
I think that some of you have probably heard of this website before, but what I found interesting is that there are actually 5 of these useful sites for us to use! BrainPop and BrainPop Jr both cover tons of curriculum material, complete with activating videos all the way through to assessment resources for each topic. There is also BrainPopEspanol which (I bet you guessed it) is a spanish site for kids to use that covers the same lessons. BrainPopESL is another one for english as additional learners, and as with most computer activities I think it can really help get these students engaged! Gameup is the last link, which is an educational games portal for your classroom. This sort of thing would be perfect for free time activities that keep students learning!
Super Teacher Worksheets
Harvey's Homepage
My last one is similar to SmartExchange that I am sure we are all familiar with! This site has a ton of interactive lessons and activities to do with your class, all sorted by subject. Harvey's Homepage is great for complimenting lessons with interactive smartboard activities, especially when you need something quick! This would be great for students who finish ahead of time (maybe without you expecting it) as well!
This is one blog that I feel like I could go on and on about since there is so much out there for us to use, but I will stop here for now!
(PS. All of the underlined websites are hyperlinked for easy access!)
Web Based Courses
Last Thursday we had the pleasure of two guest speakers from Manitoba Education, Donald Girouard & Sophia Palahicky. Donald and Sophia came into our class to talk to us about Web Based Courses- giving us a great heads up on what will likely be much move popular as we move through our careers.
In my Bachelor of Arts Degree I took several classes online, partially for timing reasons but also because I had more choice online than I did with BU alone. As an adult I appreciated having the extra choices and the chance to take the class quicker than I would have been able to otherwise, so I feel like I am biased toward Web Based Courses. I think that a student will succeed a lot further in a class that they are interested in so giving them the extra choice is a fantastic idea.
I hadn't really thought about it at the beginning of the presentation, but Web Based learning can also be a great resource for us as teachers as well! I look forward to being able to connect with and learn from other teachers in my area and to not be restricted by distance thanks to this tool.
Devon Caldwell: Kindergarten Diva & Edublogger!
I had the privilege of attending Devon's PD a few months ago, so when one of my tasks was to follow an edublogger I knew exactly who it would be!
Devon has only been teaching since 2008, but has accomplished amazing things already in her career that I can only hope for in my own! She has been awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in addition to other awards such as the FLBSD Early Years Teaching Excellence award. What caught my attention the quickest, however, was her most recent achievement of the Mindshare 21st Century Digital Classroom National Video Challenge for central Canada. She has taken full advantage of all of the ways that technology can be used in the classroom and has an incredibly useful blog to follow.
(http://kinderdiva.blogspot.ca)
Although I learned a ton at her PD, I also learned from her blog. She includes a section on how to use technology for assessment which I found to be useful, giving examples such as Evernote. I had downloaded Evernote a while ago to start using it for just this, but somehow forgot about it with everything else that I have been trying to keep up with! Devon had a great point at her PD about this sort of thing though and I was reminded of it while glancing through her blog. She mentioned that while all of the new ways to use technology may seem overwhelming, what is sometimes important is just to know that they are there to explore for yourself when the time comes. I think this is a great piece of advice because trying to take everything in can be just that, overwhelming!
I have also been reminded while following Devon's blog that this job really can be as fun as you make it! I am really excited to try some of her ideas out in my next student teaching placement, and can only hope that my students are as excited as engaged as hers are!
Last but not least- this seems like a great time to give a big thanks to Devon and her Kindergarten class for their help with our group project! We look forward to presenting tomorrow with the help of our youngest group members!
Thursday 7 February 2013
Clarence Fisher
Today we Skyped with Clarence Fisher, a grade 7 teacher from Snow Lake. He talked to us about the connected learner and of the importance of technology in the classroom. I appreciate him taking the time to talk to us about some of the technology in his classroom and how useful it can be. I agree with Clarence that we shouldn't always be taking away the resources that the kids are bringing with them to class. Rather we should be looking at ways that we can incorporate them into our lessons and activities throughout the day!
I liked the example that he gave us about his students working on projects and assignments together online at home. It is nice to hear about how kids can build their own learning communities and I agree with Clarence that it can really create global perspectives for the students. I'm happy that he brought this point up- it reminded me of a great PD that I went to last term. I heard Devon Caldwell talk a few months ago about some amazing things that she is doing with her Kindergarten class in Oak Lake. We actually Skyped in with the little guys and they told us about their friends in New York City that they got to talk to. They learned that they get around their city by using a subway- little 5 year olds talking about transportation in a city that most wouldn't even know exist yet?? (Ok maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get my point!) I know that when I was in Kindergarten my world existed of a town of 1200 people and the "big city" of Brandon that mom and dad would bring us treats from after a shopping trip! It's just amazing to think of how far we've come.
I also agree with Clarence that we need to think of how we can reach out to the kids in our classrooms and one avenue that we need to take is definitely with technology. I think it's important that we connect with them in all of the different ways that we can and using technology that excites them is a big one.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today Clarence!
I liked the example that he gave us about his students working on projects and assignments together online at home. It is nice to hear about how kids can build their own learning communities and I agree with Clarence that it can really create global perspectives for the students. I'm happy that he brought this point up- it reminded me of a great PD that I went to last term. I heard Devon Caldwell talk a few months ago about some amazing things that she is doing with her Kindergarten class in Oak Lake. We actually Skyped in with the little guys and they told us about their friends in New York City that they got to talk to. They learned that they get around their city by using a subway- little 5 year olds talking about transportation in a city that most wouldn't even know exist yet?? (Ok maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get my point!) I know that when I was in Kindergarten my world existed of a town of 1200 people and the "big city" of Brandon that mom and dad would bring us treats from after a shopping trip! It's just amazing to think of how far we've come.
I also agree with Clarence that we need to think of how we can reach out to the kids in our classrooms and one avenue that we need to take is definitely with technology. I think it's important that we connect with them in all of the different ways that we can and using technology that excites them is a big one.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today Clarence!
21st Century Connected Student
Alright here's my connected network- it's actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be! I am sure I am missing some too, I definitely didn't realize that I was connected with this many until I started getting them down on paper!
Once again- I'm sure I'm not thinking of everything that I could be with the 21st Century Learner but it's easy to see that there are plenty of options for them! I think it's nice that there are so many avenues a student can take to research a topic of interest to them. I think it's important to note once again how important it is to educate our students on the proper ways to utilize today's technology. Looking at this map also reminds me that our students can find out anything that they want to with the click of a button- it's a scary thought but they don't need our help to learn about any topic. With this in mind I want to be sure that I am helping my future students realize their passions and that I am also teaching them how they can make the most out of these interests.
Well I'm happy to say that I finally came across something in ICT class that I had a hot clue how to use-Twitter! I do appreciate everything that I am being introduced to in class, it just feels a touch overwhelming sometimes! But I'm getting there :)
With Twitter I'm on the fence. I prefer Twitter to Facebook on a personal level, I would much prefer to cruise through and read everyone's tweets because they seem to at least have a purpose to them. Although lots of times that purpose is only to make people laugh, it's still entertaining!
I started following some fellow educators and although I do feel like it is a good way to connect, I'm not sure how much I like it for education. I saw a few tweets looking for help with unit plans and I can see how that is useful, but it's just not something that I see myself using for education. I would prefer using Pinterest or smart exchange.com to find lesson or unit ideas.
I think part of my reasoning too is that I am fully aware by this point that I need to be conscious of my digital footprint. I know there is nothing inappropriate about me online, and I hope this doesn't sound to anyone like I am not going to be a dedicated teacher, but I just want some online resources to just be for me personally, for fun! Twitter is somewhere that I read all of my friends silly one liners that make me laugh, but now I'm paranoid to have anything connected to me that isn't educational. I look forward to sharing and creating tons of educational stuff online, I just wish I could have a bit of separation sometimes from my personal life.
So that sounded a lot more negative in the end then I meant it to, I didn't mean to come off sounding like Debbie Downer! I do think there are amazing things that we can do online and we have so much more with technology as far as resources go than we could ask for. I feel lucky and look forward to utilizing as many of these as I can in the future!
With Twitter I'm on the fence. I prefer Twitter to Facebook on a personal level, I would much prefer to cruise through and read everyone's tweets because they seem to at least have a purpose to them. Although lots of times that purpose is only to make people laugh, it's still entertaining!
I started following some fellow educators and although I do feel like it is a good way to connect, I'm not sure how much I like it for education. I saw a few tweets looking for help with unit plans and I can see how that is useful, but it's just not something that I see myself using for education. I would prefer using Pinterest or smart exchange.com to find lesson or unit ideas.
I think part of my reasoning too is that I am fully aware by this point that I need to be conscious of my digital footprint. I know there is nothing inappropriate about me online, and I hope this doesn't sound to anyone like I am not going to be a dedicated teacher, but I just want some online resources to just be for me personally, for fun! Twitter is somewhere that I read all of my friends silly one liners that make me laugh, but now I'm paranoid to have anything connected to me that isn't educational. I look forward to sharing and creating tons of educational stuff online, I just wish I could have a bit of separation sometimes from my personal life.
So that sounded a lot more negative in the end then I meant it to, I didn't mean to come off sounding like Debbie Downer! I do think there are amazing things that we can do online and we have so much more with technology as far as resources go than we could ask for. I feel lucky and look forward to utilizing as many of these as I can in the future!
Thursday 31 January 2013
George Couros
Today in class we heard from George Couros, Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning from Alberta. I found a lot of what Alec had to say interesting and also found it to be very useful information that we can use in the future.
One of the first things he talked about was our digital footprint, which is always good to remember. Although I have heard many people talk about making sure that we don't have anything negative attached to our name when it's googled, I had never thought about making sure that I have positive educational attachments to my name when I am searched. I appreciate the point that he made and I will make sure now that I keep myself up to date with this so that when the time comes for an interview, a principal will see that I would be an asset to their school.
"You don't need to be an expert on teaching, you need to be an expert on learning". My guess is that I 'm not the only one who will repost this quote that George gave us. I think this will be good to keep in mind- I want to make sure that I keep my students engaged and passionate about what they are learning in my classroom. We might all graduate and have all of the know-how's on grading and multi-level intelligences but if we don't help our students build and understand their passions then what is it all for?
It's also nice to hear first hand from a principal the "do's and don't" when we become teachers. I will make sure that I am a "school" teacher and not just a "classroom" teacher. Principals want to see that we are a valuable employee and that we care to build relationships with all students in our school, not just our own classrooms.
I appreciate George taking the time to talk to us today- hopefully taking what he said into account will help me get my first job next year!
One of the first things he talked about was our digital footprint, which is always good to remember. Although I have heard many people talk about making sure that we don't have anything negative attached to our name when it's googled, I had never thought about making sure that I have positive educational attachments to my name when I am searched. I appreciate the point that he made and I will make sure now that I keep myself up to date with this so that when the time comes for an interview, a principal will see that I would be an asset to their school.
"You don't need to be an expert on teaching, you need to be an expert on learning". My guess is that I 'm not the only one who will repost this quote that George gave us. I think this will be good to keep in mind- I want to make sure that I keep my students engaged and passionate about what they are learning in my classroom. We might all graduate and have all of the know-how's on grading and multi-level intelligences but if we don't help our students build and understand their passions then what is it all for?
It's also nice to hear first hand from a principal the "do's and don't" when we become teachers. I will make sure that I am a "school" teacher and not just a "classroom" teacher. Principals want to see that we are a valuable employee and that we care to build relationships with all students in our school, not just our own classrooms.
I appreciate George taking the time to talk to us today- hopefully taking what he said into account will help me get my first job next year!
Tuesday 29 January 2013
John Finch
This afternoon we heard from another presenter, John Finch, who talked about the dangers surrounding technology, but also around the myths. It was interesting to hear a different perspective on some of the topics, including cyber bullying. I know that, up until today, I felt that cyber bullying was an issue that has been on the rise with all of the technology that surrounds us. I was interested to hear that the data actually shows nothing of the sort. Now that I hear it from another perspective, it makes sense. Bullying has always been an issue- it is just being done in a different context these days.
One thing that stuck with me from the presentation was the information reported back from "Tell Them From Me". The website measures how engaged students are in school, school completion as well as how safe the student feels in school. The survey was done in over 80 new schools in the spring and fall of 2012 and found that on average about 25% of students are bullied physically, emotionally and verbally each week. Interestingly, cyber bullying was only reported 8-12% of the time. This surprised me- I would have assumed that the cyber bullying numbers would have been much higher. It makes me wonder if the cyber bullying topic is being blown out of proportion in the media? I had never thought of the Amanda Todd story as a blackmail story either, it has always been portrayed as cyber bullying and so I never thought any deeper about it.
I was heartbroken to hear that the highest percentage of bullies, as reported by students, were actually the teachers in the schools. The thought had never crossed my mind that after all of the thought and efforts we put into anti-bullying campaigns, the adults could actually be the biggest problem. Socio-economic status is apparently what a lot of kids feel bullied about, specifically the clothing that they wear. I would never purposely treat any student differently because of what they wear, but I will make sure to be mindful of it now.
I appreciated John's point that we need to keep parents in the loop when we are using social media in our classrooms. Letting them know our reasoning for a class website or any other media and getting informed consent from them is one measure that we need to take in order to use technology responsibly. It's a very important step to take in order to protect ourselves and also to be respectful of parents' wishes.
I was interested to hear what John had to say about referencing as well. One of the things that I worry about with using all of the technology out there is that I will unknowingly break some sort of copyright law or something similar. Clearly I understand that if you take someone's words, pictures or videos from print or from the web, you need to reference them. I just worry that with all of the small print involved with most things that I might accidentally teach my students or show my students something that is somehow unethical.
Overall I enjoyed listening to John today- he definitely gave me a lot to think about in terms of technology, copyright and other ethical issues.
One thing that stuck with me from the presentation was the information reported back from "Tell Them From Me". The website measures how engaged students are in school, school completion as well as how safe the student feels in school. The survey was done in over 80 new schools in the spring and fall of 2012 and found that on average about 25% of students are bullied physically, emotionally and verbally each week. Interestingly, cyber bullying was only reported 8-12% of the time. This surprised me- I would have assumed that the cyber bullying numbers would have been much higher. It makes me wonder if the cyber bullying topic is being blown out of proportion in the media? I had never thought of the Amanda Todd story as a blackmail story either, it has always been portrayed as cyber bullying and so I never thought any deeper about it.
I was heartbroken to hear that the highest percentage of bullies, as reported by students, were actually the teachers in the schools. The thought had never crossed my mind that after all of the thought and efforts we put into anti-bullying campaigns, the adults could actually be the biggest problem. Socio-economic status is apparently what a lot of kids feel bullied about, specifically the clothing that they wear. I would never purposely treat any student differently because of what they wear, but I will make sure to be mindful of it now.
I appreciated John's point that we need to keep parents in the loop when we are using social media in our classrooms. Letting them know our reasoning for a class website or any other media and getting informed consent from them is one measure that we need to take in order to use technology responsibly. It's a very important step to take in order to protect ourselves and also to be respectful of parents' wishes.
I was interested to hear what John had to say about referencing as well. One of the things that I worry about with using all of the technology out there is that I will unknowingly break some sort of copyright law or something similar. Clearly I understand that if you take someone's words, pictures or videos from print or from the web, you need to reference them. I just worry that with all of the small print involved with most things that I might accidentally teach my students or show my students something that is somehow unethical.
Overall I enjoyed listening to John today- he definitely gave me a lot to think about in terms of technology, copyright and other ethical issues.
Late Intro!
Hi again!
So I think I originally posted this in the wrong place I think- so here it is again! A quick intro about me!
On the off chance that any of my followers are not fellow BU Ed students, here's a quick "about me"! I'm in my first year of Education at BU- hoping to teach early or middle years when I graduate in 2014.
So I think I originally posted this in the wrong place I think- so here it is again! A quick intro about me!
On the off chance that any of my followers are not fellow BU Ed students, here's a quick "about me"! I'm in my first year of Education at BU- hoping to teach early or middle years when I graduate in 2014.
I live in Brandon with my younger sister Jen, who is also an Ed student at BU. I just started working at the Keg this past September and am thoroughly enjoying it so far!
I love to travel, usually with my sisters or a close group of friends, and am hoping to get back to Europe next or possibly Africa or South Asia to try something new!
I think that sums me up in a few quick lines- hopefully I can get the hang of this blogging and you will know more about me as time goes on!
Happy Blogging!
Monday 28 January 2013
Guest Speaker Alec Couros
Last Thursday we had a guest speaker, Alec Couros, in our Internet for Educators class. Alec specializes in Education Technology and spoke to us about the rapidly changing technology that is sitting at our fingertips. There are many ways that we can incorporate technology into our classrooms as teachers and Alec spoke to us about the incredible influence that it can have if we take advantage of it.
One thing that Alec talked about was the use of personal devices in classrooms; many devices are permitted but I think we need to expand this even further. I know for myself it was beneficial to be able to have a live screen in front of me while Alec was talking so that I was able to type out a question if I happened to have one. I think there are a lot of students that could benefit from this in classrooms as well- the ones that are perhaps too shy to have otherwise asked a question for themselves. I also found it interesting to be able to log into Twitter on my phone and follow Alec with the click of a button while he spoke to us. While he was introducing himself I was able to find out a little bit about him for myself just by looking at his Twitter account. I think it is a neat way to get more out of things such as presentations, and our students should be able to use these sources to compliment lessons given by us as well.
Understandably, with technology comes responsibility. As educators we need to be making sure that we are teaching our students the proper ways to utilize these resources as there are many ways that it can be misused. As Alec pointed out, however, technology is inevitably going to be a part of our classrooms, so we will need to take on these challenges. We need to teach our students how to connect, share and learn from each other with the technology that is available to us.
Sunday 20 January 2013
I have had a Twitter account for a while, although I don't actually post much myself. I do enjoy following others and laughing at some hilarious one liners! I think it's cool that you can follow celebrities (yes- I'm a nerd!) and it kind of makes it feel like you know them! A few weeks ago when we were in Florida, my sisters ran into an old Bachelorette in one of the parks. We went back to the hotel and checked her Twitter and sure enough, her posts were all about the ride that we had all just been on! Kind of cool- makes the world seem a bit closer together!
Guest Speaker Dean Shareski
I thoroughly enjoyed Dean's presentation in class and appreciate many of the points that he had. I think that his opinion on sharing resources is one that I most agree with. Being able to share has never been so easy, and it leaves us with the time to create exciting unit plans of our own to use and share. This will make our first year with our first classrooms so much less stressful!
While I am completely aware of the fact that I need to keep up to date with technology, the only part that worries me is that I might accidentally do something unethical without realizing it. I look forward to learning ethical issues alongside all of the new technological resources that we are introduced to this term!
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