I can appreciate how the app scienceJournal can be implemented in place-based science learning in intermediate and middle school classrooms to augment learning of sensory information such as sound, motion, & light. I am drawn to the Sound safari exploration as I believe it would be perfect for grade 4/5 as it links to human anatomy in the BC science curriculum. It provides cross curricular learning in tech, science, math (graphs, comparing values. etc..), as well as supporting the development of various core competencies such as collaborative learning, planning, & critical thinking. A few drawbacks are availability of tech, safety of the tech being taken on a walk, and teacher familiarity with the program.
Joanna Lake gave a great lecture on using tech in the classroom which went from using tech for assessment, including doing mood scales at the start of the day as seen below with answers recorded on flip grid I think (Where’s Nutmeg?) to helping students stay on track with daily agenda reminders (see below).
From Tara Wood Pinterest.From Joanna Lake
List of ways to use tech in the classroom to augment learning as suggested by Joanna Lake:
side by side text writing with mentor text available
digital portfolios
Many of these suggestions help build community and trust in the classroom as well as acting as forms of tangible assessment.
I think I will try tech as my first morning communication with the class as they get settled and see how it goes. Flipgrid sounds cool and allows for inclusion of diverse learners.
But, can also integrate blended designs. It is important to note that the Multi-Access learning model developed in 2006 by Valerie Irvine, goes far beyond modality access. There are different ways to deliver multi access learning including:
Hyflex
Blended Synchronous
Synchronous hybrid
How these are implemented is based on the class and access to resources/tech as well as teacher preference. Decisions around how to use the online component are made as teachers consider their pedagogical approach and choose between:
Flexible learning
Flipped learning (content is learned before class through recordings and other resources)
Inquiry-based learning (creating time and space for independent learning)
There are pros and cons to all types of learning such as access, available time to prep, multilevel learners and familiarity with technology. It seems that that the hyflex model provides 4 different ways to interact with coursework so likely with satisfy most learners’ needs but can still be labour intensive for the teacher. Flipped learning may work well as an in class solution to a diverse learning needs classroom so that some students can work more independently or at a different pace than others who may need more teacher support. Videos can be watched then have learning stations set up to engage in active collaborative problem solving and project work. A concern for elementary online teaching is being able to keep the students engaged so I think synchronous learning with active participation would be the best option for k-5 if classes need to go exclusively online again in future.
My grade four aged kids Love coding with Scratch Dance Party. Coding & computational thinking is a great way to:
Develop problem solving skills as students try to get their dancers to change dance moves with the music they choose
help explain the world & make virtual worlds come alive for example with VR tours of museums
Have fun with grade curriculum through games such as geometry etc..
Practice thinking & writting in more detailed and specific formats and practice problem solving and editing as exampled by the PB & J video.
Computational thinking can help learners become better problem solverâs because they must engage in the four steps of decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithm design. Decomposition involves breaking problems down into easier to manage pieces which is often the first step in creative problem solving. Pattern recognition is about recognizing whether youâve used strategies in the past to solve problems and then building on those strategies to address current problems. Abstraction is an essential part of computational thinking and problem-solving because it allows you to remove extraneous information and focus exclusively on the details of the problem. Itâs sort of a summary of which next steps need to be completed in order to solve the problem so itâs kind of about putting the pieces back together and summarizing the problem results after you have deconstructed to actually engage in the problem-solving practice. These are the same strategies necessary to create an infographic that is a summary of multiple and larger concepts which seems to be an essential skill of the 21st-century. Being able to focus and highlight important information out of textbooks and readings or videos is another important skill that is fostered through computational thinking in the educational setting. Think… CORE COMPETENCIES teacher candidates…Nailed it !
BUT remember… It’s not all dance parties and flappy birds (It’s not all peanut butter and gumballs) (It’s not all sunshine & rainbows)
Screentime??
internet & computer access
kids playing that weird car game during class up in R hand corner of screen
more difficult fo r me to see how to relate it directly to First Peoples Principles of Learning
Not as conducive to early French Immersion classes as there is an expectation for no English.
I Coded a Flappy Bird Game! Wanna PLAY???
See how fun it can be to code and engage with creating games, videos and presentations using scratch type coding programs.
Tracey Humphreys of BCEDAccess was the guest speaker today sharing her knowledge of assistive technology in the classroom with a focus on advocacy for change.
I didn’t know much before about digital accessibility except the addition of subtitles to videos and translation including ASL video in video. I hadn’t considered contrast or describing photos which makes me wonder what else I haven’t considered.
The website Wave – is a web accessibility evaluation tool which provides a breakdown of accessibilty features and shortcomings of chosen online content. See the photo below for a numeracy education website for kids which I assessed using Wave.
And another for an educational video that shows evaluation of contrast:
screenshot of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYPKcI6J3uY edited with wave
I know I have often missed adding Headings as I didn’t know how as well as subtitles and I didn’t consider contrast.
I think many accessibility features are unused because they are unknown and take extra time to include. I bet that often it is assumed that the added accessibility features will only help a few viewers so it’s not worth it; however, these features often help everyone.
A video from BCEDAccess website focusing on inclusive education in BC
I added some accessibility features to my blog post including headings and subtitles on this screencast I did.
I really enjoyed the Ed Camp experience and see now how valuable it is a a tool for collaboration and learning, in education especially. I liked how free movement between groups was encouraged and I took advantage of that by visiting 4 groups; however, I spent most of my time at my first chosen group of “naturalists in the classroom.”
The naturalists group discussed and shared great local resources for learning about native plants, including South Vancouver Island Mycological Society (SVIMS), Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary for online and in-person K-12 programs, and local native plant gardens. We brainstormed ideas and resources including retired botanists, Indigenous knowledge holders, and potentially UVic botany students as people who could partner with classrooms for nature field trips.
Check out this video from SVIMS (fast forward to 47:05 for some great mushroom photos and descriptions)
Now, GOOGLE KEEP is so cool. For those of you who are like me and have a million things bookmarked but can never find them again and also never close browser windows because you don’t know how you will ever find it again, then Google Keep was designed for us!!!!!!! I’m going to show you the beauty of it and how to get started I hope.
How can the SAMR theory of technology adoption help you evaluate technologies that you might consider using in your classroom?
“SAMR model” by souvenirsofcanada is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The SAMR model can be used by teachers as a tool to assess and evaluate when and how technology is incorporated into the classroom and into instruction. Some technologies simply replace traditional tools while others enable experiences which would not be possible without it; dramatically augmenting the learning experience.
Examples:
Substitution: digital overhead projector to replace acetate overhead projector. The information is delivered and received in virtually the same way.
Augmentation: A word processing program with the ability to edit formatting and check spelling/ grammar improves the product over hand written text if revisions are necessary and allows for much cleaner editing without recopying.
Modification: Having a guest speaker join the class remotely modifies instruction allowing for an experience which otherwise would not be possible; however, without pre-planned materials/ questions for the class to engage with so as to increase the amount of student/ speaker interaction this technology modifies but doesn’t substantially alter or redefine instruction.
Redefinition: Connecting online with a class on the other side of the world to do a collaborative project redefines and enriches the learning experience dramatically thus redefining instruction.
How could the SECTIONS model help you select the most appropriate tool or technology to help meet your learning objectives for your class?
All of these factors should be taken into consideration when considering implementing new technology in the classroom so that learning is augmented and not perceived as creating a more challenging learning environment for some or all involved. The tech need to be age appropriate and accessible both at home and at school if necessary and reflect the approval of the school district. It should be easy to use, reliable and facilitate the learning outcomes while not detracting from teaching time. Make it clear how students can benefit from using the tech to network and connect to external learning opportunities. Finally, the tech needs to follow security and privacy policies set out by the school district so as to protect staff and students.
Could sketchnoting benefit learners in the grade level you hope to teach at? If so how? Absolutely! Grade 4s and 5s are beginning to have to take more individual notes from textbooks etc. so need to learn and practice higher level processing skills of summarizing and consolidating information. Sketchnoting is a fun way to practice summarizing, prioritizing information and making connections between information in a way that improves memory of the material. Students engage in active thinking while Sketchnoting and are shown to retain more than when copying word for word. The cognitive load theory supports that summarizing helps info get stored in long-term memory rather than overloading the working memory thus increasing retention overall.
Here are some of my sketch notes for you to admire… Ooohhh… AAAhhhh….
I also got to play around in Canva and learn some pretty cool stuff. This will definitely help me make bookmarks, infographics, and posters that are much nicer in future.
As a teacher, if I become aware of a student who is being bullied on social media, I think itâs extremely important to have a conversation with the student but also let them know that you need to have a conversation with their parents or guardians and that the student may want or need to be involved in that conversation. I think itâs important as a teacher to model and teach about technology and social media being tools to be used in learning and not in negative or hurtful ways. I think it would also be a good idea to bring this to the attention of the school administration in case this negative behaviour is more widespread. Teachers also should reinforce the idea that kids need to be communicating with a trusted adult about their online experiences and especially with any illegal or harmful content.
Well I don’t necessarily have 6 tips but here are some things to think about. Teachers should avoid interacting with students on social media unless itâs directly related to school work firstly, because as role models, teachers need to be modeling healthy boundaries in relationships as well as healthy social media use. Secondly, engaging with students online socially may lead to a dependence in the relationship due to the power imbalance which could put the teacher or the student in a position of moral distress if they are expected to keep secrets or support the other emotionally. Interaction on social media also creates a digital footprint such that without even knowing the context but just that the relationship is outside of school work can be misconstrued as being inappropriate and crossing boundaries which could affect future career goals or current job security and prospects.
We can help our learners manage their digital footprint by scaffolding online learning experiences that support productive and positive reflections of self such as creating a classroom blog focussing on community engagement, learning, and positive social and emotional growth.
Here is an interesting interview which touches on resources for parents and teachers and covers a variety of digital issues for teens including cyberbullying. It is hosted by a local Canadian organization specializing in cybersecurity and digital education for parents, teachers and kids.
Do copyright laws serve the majority of people any longer?
I believe that if you manipulate an existing soundbite enough you can eventually claim it as your own creation as long as the majority of the population can no longer recognize the soundbite as a previous song. As an example, some people take sounds from nature which are not copyrighted and use those to create their own musical pieces so using soundbites from other artists if they are unrecognizable in the end product seems like a reasonable activity. Furthermore, just like with text where if information is used it is cited appropriately perhaps that could be done in the same way for music such that new works build on existing works as long as they are given credit.
I canât really separate whether I think the creative process or the final product is more important because the creative process I think is probably more important individually for those creating it and the final product is potentially more important publicly or for the intended audience.
To be fair to both the artist being sampled and the artist doing the sampling, perhaps there could be guidelines such that you cannot use any more than a total of 10% of anyoneâs previous song and that any use needs to be cited appropriately. Further, perhaps only up to one percent of a song can be used per new soundbite created which makes up the new track with an overall maximum of 10% of the original song in the new track but spaced apart.
Copyright laws were originally intended to encourage people to create. However, I think that intention has changed in recent years whereby the copyright laws are being used to force litigation to compensate original artists which in turn limits future creativity.
How ’bout a library of pre-cleared music samples? Check out track lib.
I guess in todayâs global online community one country has to impose copyright laws on another because everyone has access to everything which is posted online and so there are no borders of protection any longer which would prevent what happened in Americaâs beginnings, where the copyrights of foreign authors were ignored. To ignore copyrights and profit off other artists in order to support local artists seems outdated again because of our global online community.
I think there should be an expiry that is not in the distant future for some of these copyright laws to prevent people from profiting off somebody else in the short term, however maybe after five years or 10 years that copyright expires and others can build upon that for their creative interests. Thereâs also links to pharmaceutical companies like where Brazil defied US intellectual property laws by breaking multiple international patent patents on HIV medication. They produced their own copies of the drug for a fraction of the price. There are so many instances currently of people being unable to treat themselves medically because the medications are cost-prohibitive which seems like a major equity issue as well as a human rights issue. How much does a multi billion zillion dollar corporation need to make off peopleâs health?
I think if there could be a global community initiative to create medications in a not-for-profit way then the impetus for such financial competition in the field would be eliminated and we would see a more cooperative humanitarian type effort to benefit all people and animals.
Wow, what a learning experience. We learned how to screencast which is where you can capture a video of your own computer screen and narrate over to explain concepts, teach, and share ideas. I have done a screencast and created the most basic how to video called: Brightspace for dummies. I have included the pen tool, the pointer tool, a pause and a multiple choice question with a pause. This is for those people that prefer to digest new tech info in tiny bites (bytes. lol)
Check out our what we learned from our cool teacher.
I absolutely believe that the H5P interactivity tools we have worked with to create the above interactive video would be useful for me as a teacher creating grade 4 to 6 level videos for teaching. Being able to insert pauses in teaching videos to highlight important points and including multiple choice questions to have students actually use the new knowledge so that it becomes embedded in their long their long-term memory is very helpful especially if classes go online or have an online component in the future. This may also help individualize instruction so that students who need less teacher support or intervention would be able to work more independently or in groups from an interactive video while the teacher spends time with other students who may need more one-on-one face-to-face attention.
In a grade 5 class you could use video or audio editing as the assignment medium for “Literature Circle” reading groups to summarize, explore, make predictions, and interact more deeply with the text by asking questions and having small group discussion. This exercise could be done and uploaded as a video whereby the students then cooperatively insert pauses for other students to review and contemplate as well. This is a cross curricular activity as it promotes reading and engagement with text as well as engagement with the core competencies and practice in technology knowledge.
Multimedia learning theory explains how by having audio text as well as written text at the same time as input, it overwhelms our working memory and decreases learning and decreases retention of the information; therefore, when creating effective instructional videos and tutorials it would be better to narrate over an image of just a simple picture without too much text or to put text next to a picture on the screen and not dictate simultaneously. So the message is to keep it simple; either audio text or a visual text at a time, not both. As I reflect on our one class that is offered fully virtual this semester I can see how understanding multimedia learning theory could vastly improve the lecture delivery in this course because I have felt that I want to just close my eyes and listen to the teacher talk because she is reiterating the written text on the screen and itâs too much input and now I know why I feel that way. Itâs great to understand the underlying reasons behind why we prefer to learn in certain ways and it truly will help me in the future as a teacher to keep this theory in mind.
A flipped classroom is a classroom where most of the didactic lecture teaching would be given as pre-class homework assignments via videos and online text I assume. Once students arrive in class that would be where most of the active learning (Doing) would take place. As opposed to traditional classes where a teacher would give a lecture in class and students will be sent off individually to do their homework and engage with the material and content. The flipped classroom idea seems to me that it would work extremely well for middle school or high school but would pose potentially an issue for equity access to technology to work in this way. In elementary grades it would likely be difficult to get students to take on the responsibility and initiative of pre-class learning necessary to have this be a successful format.
Let me know your favourite ways to use multimedia in your elementary classrooms or what you’ve tried.
This is such a huge question; if we define reimagine as throw out the old and invent the new then I would say no, we do not need to completely reimagine education. However, if we declare that reimagine just means to consider future economic needs of our society and of humanity and then evolve and tweak our current system then yes, I believe we do need to reimagine education for a few reasons. Firstly, in general, students are less equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in BCâs 21st century workforce economy. These skills are things such as collaborative work, creative problem-solving, effective communication, and leadership. These skills are not necessarily taught directly but are practiced in an environment created specifically to nurture and expand the skills through inquiry and project-based learning. Typically in the past, school has not been student centered, allowing for inquiry but has been teacher based, mostly through didactic learning. Since our education system holds many of the values from 125 years ago, it would be wise to re-examine and reimagine the system on an ongoing basis. This would create more of a continual evolution rather than individual redesigns. The video about success based on high tech high showed an education environment that had many similarities to Deweyâs original education model. This supports the concept of not needing to reimagine education but to evolve education. Itâs interesting to note that evolving our education system must be based on projections that are conjectures. We cannot know the future. Therefore, there will always be a degree of risk when evolving a system to satisfy future unknown needs. Another consideration is that in the past, solid good educational ideas have not translated from policy into practice as evidenced by the year 2000 document followed closely by the 1994 education plan. I think that teachers need to be the driving force behind an ongoing continual evolution of our education system which necessitates prioritizing collaboration and communication between educators. I think itâs a no brainer that increasing funding to allow expansion of the current curriculum for project based learning and inquiry and to improve equity across the province is a sound recommendation. Reimagining how EAâs or education assistant support learning may be one area that is an untapped resource where there is huge amounts of lost opportunity and fiscal waste. In conclusion, I believe that there are valuable foundations within our current education system; however, I think that many areas and factors need to be reimagined in the system and as a whole it needs to evolve significantly to meet future needs of humanity as well as the province. BC has made strides in that direction with our new curriculum and I am excited to be part of the potentially ongoing evolution driven by the underlying current momentum I feel.
Check out this thought provoking you tube video that challenges technology norms in the classroom.
What obstacles do educators often face when they try to change pedagogy?
Objections from parents based on underlying fear of their children falling behind in society even though they are growing as humans.
A disconnect between levels of education and the workforce so that elementary schools work a bit differently than middle schools which work a bit differently than high schools which then also donât often have the same priorities as the workforce.
Availability of resources and materials and learning plans and physical space to accommodate inquiry type collaborative learning.
Teacher hesitation because they donât feel prepared for a new way of teaching.
What concerns and or excites you about this approach?
Iâm excited to think that students will be more engaged in inquiry than in typical school and Iâm excited to really tap into students’ love of learning and personal growth. I am concerned that efforts to evolve the education system may not succeed in practice since there are so many players in the system with different needs and priorities.
Pros and cons of lesson plans versus learning plans?
Learning plans take more time to create as they are individualized whereas lesson plans apply to the whole class.
Learning plans have a potential to increase student engagement as they are personalized and focussed on studentsâ interests more than a generic lesson plan.
Lesson plans are a great place to start and then teachers can have brief one on one conferences with students to add an individualized learning component to that overall lesson plan may be a good solution.
What are the potential benefits of developing a robust PLN?
Sharing resources
Become reinvigorated in your career by being stimulated by other ideas
Constantly striving to improve oneâs own practice can lead to greater satisfaction
Support
What are the potential benefits of using creative Commons?
Less time lesson planning as we are not starting from scratch
Before proceeding with this first blog post, we expect you to consider your privacy preferences carefully and that you have considered the following options:
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First tasks you might explore with your new blog:
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