Category: EdTech (page 1 of 1)

Today, due to not being able to have class all together at UVIC we all participated in class online. Through my instructors help we set up an account for the website Zoom which enabled our class of 32 to be all on one video conference together. I have had some previous experience in group calls on platforms such as Facetime and Skype but I have never been on a call with more than four people before so it was definitely interesting. I think Zoom was a good alternative to being in class altogether, the audio worked well for everyone and it was nice having the option to be on mute or off as well as have your camera on or off. The chat was also cool to have a form of communication and to share links which helped in my instructors explanation of the following activity.

Due to schools being closed now until further notice I think Zoom would be a good option for educators to communicate with their students and hold class online for middle school, high school and post secondary students. It has a variety of features that an educator could take advantage of and has the ability to visually see everyone which gives educators visual cues to make sure the students are still engaged and listening. Some cons that I noticed from my experience today was that it was hard focusing sometimes because of how many distractions their were but almost because of this I was very engaged in the video call. The scene sharing portion of it was also helpful when my peers where doing their presentations so give a visual to their explanations and research.

Overall, I don’t know if I would use it unless I have to one day but it is a good tool to have in my back pocket if something happens  where I cannot meet my students face to face in class.

Today was very interesting! We had Heidi James come in and talk about her experience using Mindcraft in her classroom and the learning opportunities that it can create. Coming into today’s class I was skeptical about how Mindcraft can be used as a pedagogical tool.  Previously, I viewed Mindcraft as just a game that can immerse children for hours on end, and in a way “rot their brain”. The whole movement for the past few years has been to try to get children away from spending too much time on the computer. The amount of ‘screen time’ children should be allocated is very controversial for most parents and educators, due to recent research on it’s negative effects for children. So it was very interesting to see how this game can be used to support subject areas such as math, social studies, language arts and arts and design. 

After trying out playing Mindcraft and listening to Heidi and her students talk I could definitely see the appeal for this game in the classroom. It is a great way to engage students in their studies and cater the content to them, which is what the new BC curriculum is encouraging. As much as I love the idea I don’t know if I would personally incorporate it into my own classroom unless I developed a passion for it later on in my career. I just don’t think I have the knowledge and technical ability to execute this type of activity. If I were to incorporate it someday, here are some lessons that I would be interested in doing:

Language Arts – https://education.minecraft.net/lessons/fairytale/

Science – https://education.minecraft.net/lessons/element-scavenger-hunt/

Math – https://education.minecraft.net/lessons/fractions-steeplechase/

Art and Design – https://education.minecraft.net/lessons/patterns-and-motifs/

Today we also talked about the Google Science Journal which is an app that collects scientific data on your phone. Using smartphone sensors it can detect and measure light, sound, motion, and atmospheric pressure. This is cool because students could use it in any way the wish, such as attaching it to their dog to see how fast he/she could run around the house. This would be something I would be interested in doing because it incorporates technology in a way that students are comfortable with and is something that they could use and explore, in and out of school.

WHAT IS A BUTTERFLY?

• WHAT I SEE 
• WHAT I KNOW
• WHAT I WONDER 

Lesson Plan

Grade: 1

Time: 30 Minutes

Beginning the lesson: The students will explore the nearby butterfly garden. While they are exploring the garden they will observe and note in mind what they see, what they know and what they wonder about butterflies. (This is what the lesson will be based on- not included into time allocated to this activity). 

What I See: The teacher will assign the students into pairs, they will discuss what they see, then begin a pair and share about what they saw when they were outside exploring in the garden.

Debrief: Class discussion based on the images of the different types of butterflies. 

This activity will be done by having the teacher choose the students whose hands are raised and sitting quietly and listening. (5-8 Minutes)

What I Know: The teacher will begin by showing and sharing the GIF of the butterfly whose wings are flapping. They will each receive a q card and write down as much as they can about what they know about butterflies and are welcome to draw a small picture on the backside of their q cards if they finished early. After this part of the activity is completed, they will discuss their findings as a whole class and record the findings on the board. (5-8 Minutes)

What I Wonder: I noticed the students were interested in drawing butterflies and wondered how to symmetrically make them. By following along with the Youtube Video the students will be able to participate in an art activity and explore how to create a symmetrical butterfly using different mediums such as watercolor. This part of the lesson plan will take the majority of the time. (15-20 Minutes)

Screencastify Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZlMeeO_4f8V1QDXvUkw_CpiIjLxydRjD/view

By: Angie Cauthers, Madeline Osgarby & Arnelle Basi

For this week’s class we met up on Wednesday at George Jay Elementary to learn about inquiry based learning in Rebecca Bathurst’s kindergarten classroom. Before this class I was familiar with Rebecca Bathurst’s work with her students from following her Instagram page after a teacher had recommended it to me. I have been following and reading what she has been doing with her latest inquiry on dinosaurs and have been amazed. From going outside and exploring the possibilities of habitat’s to going as far as to create dinosaur eggs she has truly taken on her students inquiry and is creating a multitude of learning possibilities.

One thing that stuck me upon entering Rebecca’s classroom was how beautifully she had decorated it. Last semester one of the classes that I took was literacy in the Elementary classroom instructed by Jodi Streelasky. In this class, one of the things that Jodi was very passionate about was the importance of classroom walls and how too much commercialized materials and colours could over stimulate a child and could affect their learning ability. Jodi showed many examples of classrooms that were inspired by Reggio Emilia that use natural materials, neutral colours and natural sunlight, and explained all the research behind the benefits that these environments have for students. Right when I walked into Rebecca’s classroom it reminded me of all the pictures that I was shown last semester and was instantly inspired.

I loved to see how passionate Rebecca was while talking about inquiry learning and her education heart (I think that is what she called it). I definitely would like to explore and integrate topics of inquiries into my own classroom one day because of how it can engage students and make learning fun. As a teacher that is our biggest goal when it comes to the lessons that we teach and I feel as though I walked away with inspiration and visions as to how I would like to teach and structure my own classroom one day. Overall, it was a cool experience and am very grateful I was given the opportunity.

In today’s Tech class we had a guest speaker Jesse Miller who talked about the importance of online safety. This is something that I have been cautious and aware of since I have been a kid. My parents were always very strict about not allowing me to have any social media growing up. I remember always being that kid that was so out of the loop every time something happened in school or out, because I wouldn’t hear about it until someone physically told me. In middle school I made an Instagram account behind my parents back and unfortunately wasn’t educated enough to make it private so they found out about it right away and asked me to take it down. After that incident it wasn’t until grade 12 that I became a user on Instagram again and was even later until I downloaded Facebook for the first time.

Jesse talked about the importance of attaining and maintaining a professional presence online as an educator and an employee. His presentation definitely made me think about what I have been posting online and especially what I have been tagged in online. I have been careful with my social media but I do have to say that I am also very naive when it comes to regularly changing my password and not using public WiFi to check personal information of my phone. It seems like such an obvious thing when I actually think about it, but the dangers of doing so has never really crossed my mind when I am on the go and have to google or check my banking quick, which is a scary thought. Jesse’s presentation definitely gave me something to think about for the future and things to be mindful of when online.

In class we also explored the use of iMovie which was interesting. It is something that I have never used before because I have always used windows products and have never gotten the opportunity to play around with it on a laptop or iPad. I would definitely use it in the future either with my students or for my own personal use but I would need a lot more practice! It wasn’t easy let me tell you that, but I am so glad I am obtaining the experience and exposure to all these different digital platforms and technologies that I can integrate into my teaching practice one day.

Today our class visited The Pacific school of Innovation and Inquiry and listened to the principle Jeff Hopkin explain how the school works and the idea behind the creation of this type of education. This school emphasizes inquiry based learning and encourages students to follow their interests. I had a hard time at first fully understanding this concept of education and I just couldn’t wrap my head around how they still incorporate the curriculum and how students are still able to carry on to post secondary. The idea of having no bells, no large classrooms, and integrated grades and ages of learners just seems so foreign after growing up in the public school system. It is hard to fully understand how the teachers keep on track of all the things that these students are doing and guide them within such a wide array of topics and interests. As a student I don’t think I personally would do well in this environment just because it is so different to what I am used to. After 16 years of sitting at a desk, listening and waiting for the teacher to tell me what to do and what to learn I would find it difficult to then be asked to take charge of my own learning.

Looking at the full picture though and listening to some of the stories Jeff and some of his students told. I can completely understand how this would work for a majority of learners especially in today’s learning environments where teachers are starting to explore different methods of education based on the needs of the individual learner. A student that I talked to while visiting the school described how she has experienced 3 different education systems moving from Alberta then attending Vic high then moving on to PSII. She explained how for her especially in math class, she never fully understood the lessons being taught and never was able to sit down with the teacher and ask all of the questions that she had. She felt like she wasn’t learning anything and all she was gaining from being school was anxiety and depression. She explained to us how starting at PSII was strange at first because it was so different from anything that she has ever experienced but she finds herself excited to go to school now and excited to learn the things that she is interested in. She is currently exploring her inquiry towards photography and film while learning Spanish and researching the effects and history of depression in young adults.  Its stories like these that make me believe in this form of education especially in middle school or high school where students are starting to become more independent and focus on their own interests. I am not sure how this would work in an elementary setting but I think it can be explored and introduced by simply giving the students more autonomy in their learning so that they are able to focus on their interests and stay engaged. We may not be anywhere near what PSII is doing currently but I do believe with our new curriculum that we are heading in the right direction, and may get there one day.

The topic and idea of copyright seems very confusing to me. It hasn’t been something that I have had to worry about in my life thus far. After watching the documentary RiP! Remix Manifesto I realized that I have a very conflicting opinion about the use of copy written music. I do believe that music remixes are an emerging art form, and due to this belief I think that it shouldn’t be copy written if it is used in a way to express creativity. An example of this thought is a Youtuber named David Dobrik who creates these elaborate videos twice a week that showcase crazy moments in his life and in his friend group. They also show all the amazing things that he does for his friends and the community. In his videos, he always includes songs especially in his outro and in result of this, Youtube does not pay David the amount that they are suppose to. Currently he has 15.4 million subscribers and gets paid the same amount as his friends who have 2 million subscribers. Even though this happens, he still continues to add these 15 second song clips in his videos because it is his art, and it completes them. This is the part of copyright that I don’t agree with, if an artist is using a song to create something or to create art with it I don’t think it should be anyone’s place to say no.

The idea of open education though is one that I can get behind. As educators why can’t we share our resources in order to help one another? The way that I see it is that we all have one thing in common, every single one of us; we all want the best for our students. We all want to see them learn and exceed and the best way that us educators can do that is to work together so that we can provide our students with a positive and enriched learning environment.

Hello friends!                                                                                                                                             

So today I had my second EDCI tech class and it went really well! Last class I had a hard time with the instructions and with the set up of my blog post and I unfortunately left class feeling upset. After that experience I took time over the rest of the week to get familiar with the course website and the website that I created for my blog posts and was prepared for class today with all of these websites opened up in my tabs. With this, I felt more confident and was able to take my time through the set up instructions of Trello and even had time to explore the website a little bit which is very encouraging for me!

In class we also discussed the documentary ‘Most Likely To Succeed’ which explored education through a new light, focusing on inquiry based learning. I find this concept of education very intriguing in a way that it focuses on the individual child and their development. In this form of education there are no bells that ring at the end of each class and subjects are not divided into different rooms. Students are not expected and trained to obtain good grades to better prepare them for the SAT and to get into their preferred colleges. This school focuses on life after college and what would benefit students the most such as developing communication techniques, teamwork and collaboration. I fully support these ideas but I also think that it is way ahead of its time. These ideas are very beneficial and could possibly be the new way of education but it is all meaningless unless post secondary changes as well. Grades are so valuable in school and they have been for years, and it is not something that can just change. If post secondary changes, teacher education programs need to change as well to better support and nurture these thoughts and ideas in students then classrooms need to be redesigned to better accommodate student inquiries. If we re-imagine education in this aspect, it is going to be a very long process but you never know what the future holds.