My #oneword2020 was DETERMINATION. This word motivated me throughout my EDUC 491 practicum experience. It was with determination that I was able to succeed in my practicum. My practicum wasn’t easy by any means but I was confident in myself and confident in knowing that after this practicum I would become a certified teacher. My #oneword2020 will continue to resonate with me throughout my teaching journey because it is with determination that I am able to try new things in my classroom and get through tough days as a teacher. I used self-reflection constantly throughout my practicum experience. I would think about the things that went well and things I could change for next time. Self-reflection is truly the key to growing as an educator and being determined in this process is what helped me grow. I learned that I am a very strong individual and that I do not let little things bring me down. As an educator we face many challenges but we can’t take these difficult times to heart. We all have our good days and bad days. I noticed that I continued to stay positive throughout my practicum experience. I leaned on my triad group for support when I needed it. I also learned that certain things take time. For example, our classroom management skills develop each day but we can’t expect to know everything all at once. I learned that I needed to focus on building stronger relationships with certain students in order to have a calm classroom environment. With each student I had a different relationship. I will continue to use the word determination as a reflection piece because it helps me stay positive, strong, and motivated.
Throughout the past few months, I have realized how important incorporating technology into your classroom is as an educator. All of the guest speakers we have had talked about the multiple benefits of technology and the different ways it can be used in your classroom. Of course there are pros to cons to everything, including technology. Some schools may not have the resources to incorporate much technology into their classrooms but I don’t think this should stop educators from sharing this EdTech world with their students. Coding is very popular right now but you don’t necessarily need technology to code. Carrie from Science World showed us how to create our own codes using symbols on a piece of paper. This was my favourite activity thus far. This activity is fun and inexpensive and allows students to start building computational thinking skills. Technology is a great tool that is accessible to all students. Technology gives everyone the opportunity to learn whether it is by using voice apps or by connecting with people from all over the world. As educators we need to decide what is a good balance of using technology in our classrooms and this depends on the needs of our students. It is a bit intimidating knowing that so many educators are on social media and are connecting through those means; it brings an expectation to us who are new in this field. Although you would assume that this generation lives off of social media. I think the hard part is creating unrealistic expectations for ourselves. We try to stay relevant by blogging every day or tweeting but this can be daunting as some guest speakers had mentioned. It was reassuring to know that it is okay to not create an online presence. However, I think social media is a great way to share ideas and to ask for help and as educators this is a very important. As long as our students are benefitting, there should be no specific rule with regards to technology. Students love trying new things and we need to give them the opportunities to do so. The whole concept of EdTech is still pretty new to me but I am excited to implement what I have learned in the past few months and incorporate it into my future teachings.
Today we had Janet Chow from Burnaby, B.C. video call into our class to discuss EdTech. We need to move from consuming information to creating; this increases the importance of the content. Janet discussed the importance of using story through technology. Everyone has a story. I think it is important for everyone to share their own story while they are learning. For example, if you are working in groups to create a totem pole, everyone should incorporate their own culture, their own background, and their own story to that totem pole to reflect who they are. This makes the experience a lot more meaningful. We did a fire starter activity with Janet where we created our own story with random materials. This let me take a step back and reflect on my learning journey. As educators we need to create experiences not lessons because that increases the desire for students to learn as it develops purpose. This message is really powerful for me because everything that I remember from school was a unique experience provided to me by my teachers. I continue to talk about these experiences to this day because they were so special to me as a child. I think it is essential for every educator to take a step back from the content and see how this could be meaningful for their students and how students can connect who they are to the content.
Today we had Kristina Tzetzos video call into our class to discuss assessment as learning. Assessment as learning is when students take charge. Student directed learning and inquiry based learning is the basis of Spinndle. Spinndle is a learning platform for grades K-12. The goal is for students to keep track of their learning and to see their growth. This platform gives students the opportunity to practice specific skills such as self-assessment, peer collaboration, and self-management through their education. Students need structure when it comes to learning because students will not see the importance of what they learning without it. With Spinndle, students can create posts that reflect the core competencies. Students are to assess how their posts reflect these core competencies and then wait for peer feedback. I think it is very important for students to learn various assessment strategies and Spinndle is a great way to start practicing these skills. It is great how more educators are slowly allowing students to take more ownership of their own learning and assessment. I feel that Spinndle is more beneficial for older students because with younger students they are still building their reading and writing skills; therefore, Spinndle may be difficult to implement in primary grades. However, there are many other ways teachers can implement assessment skills in primary grades.
Today we welcomed Sandra back at UNBC to discuss coding in the elementary classroom. The first activity we did was sequencing. We worked in small groups and used various codes (e.g. forward, right, hop etc.) to create a stop and start sequence. This was a similar activity we did with Carrie (from Science World). This is a fun inclusive activity that could be used for all grades, especially primary! Sequencing is a good activity for big buddies as well. Sandra also shared some apps that are great for classroom management strategies (e.g. Team Shake). In our next activity we coded a maze. I personally preferred sequencing over coding a maze but that is probably the primary in me talking). We were also introduced to the app Scratch Jr. This is a coding app where you can drag different commands to create a sequence. This app has a lot of features that would need to be taught before giving students free reign. In this app, you can create your own characters and background as well. Scratch Jr. would be great for storytelling and could be used in different subjects. This is an app I would need to play around with first before I introduce it to my class.
Today we had Tim Cavey from Surrey, B.C. video call into our class to discuss educational podcasts. Tim has his own podcast (Teachers on Fire) where he discusses the educational journey with teachers from K-12. The reason why he started a podcast was because it pushed him out of this comfort zone. Tim said “If I am not being challenged, I am not growing.” I definitely think having a growth mindset is important for all learners and educators. With a growth mindset, we do have to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations from time to time but with these uncomfortable situations we are able to continue to grow and learn. I personally do not listen to podcasts because I prefer to listen to music or read books in my free time but I think podcasts would be the perfect combination. Also, I have never really been introduced to any podcasts that I would be interested in. I think I need to step out of my comfort zone and try to listen to a few podcasts because I may find one that I really like. Since I am passionate about teaching, maybe I will start with Teachers on Fire! As an educator, podcasts are a great way to easily share learning with anyone across the world. Podcasts can also motivate and inspire other educators so that we continue to grow and learn.
Today we had Karen Lirenman from the Vancouver school district video call into our class. She shared her personal experiences as to why educators should be a strong advocate for using technology in the classroom. Some of the key points that resonated with me were that technology allows students to show what they know in ways that work the best for them. Technology gives us the ability to learn in so many different ways apart from using textbooks and show what we have learned in so many different ways. Also, when we are using technology nothing is set in stone, there is always an undo button which is very important for children. This is important because it shows children that it is okay to make mistakes and that there is a way to fix those mistakes. Technology also allows learners to connect with the world. There are many ways you can incorporate this into a classroom. For example, having a pen pal or doing an alphabet exchange across various cities or even countries. The wow moment for me was when Karen mentioned that the use of technology is different in the classroom then it is at home. At home, technology is used for consumption (e.g. watching Netflix) and at school, technology is used for creating (e.g. math journal). I am very curious to use the app, Book Creator. I have never heard of this app before but Karen mentioned how it can be used for all grade levels and allows students to write, use their voice, and images in different ways; hence, it is accessible to various student needs.
Today Carrie (from Science World) came to UNBC to present a workshop on coding without computers. We discussed computational thinking and how it involves taking a problem, understanding the problem, and then figuring out the steps to solve the problem. Computational thinking is a critical thinking process and is something that a computer can understand as well. Computational thinking is very different between humans and computers because humans have presumed assumptions. We had the opportunity to code our partner with algorithms. This was a lot of fun! I coded my partner who was sitting on my right to stand up and sit on a chair a few feet away. This coding turned out to be successful. Who knew coding could be so much fun?! I liked this form of coding because it was visual and easy to follow. This is a great way to introduce coding especially with younger students and can easily be done in the classroom. I will definitely try to incorporate this activity into a future practicum.
Cliff Waldie, a Vice Principal in Prince George was a breath of fresh air and talked about Fresh Grade with our class. Overall, Fresh Grade is an online portfolio for students, teachers, and parents. It is a tool where you are able to communicate information from teacher to parents or teacher to student but also student to teacher. Fresh Grade is accessible across multiple medias and is free to all users. This platform allows parents to see what their children are learning and doing at school. Parents are now able to ask their children about specific activities they have done instead of just asking how there day was. I have been in many situations where students have asked me to share an image or video with their parents but I did not have a way to share this information. I am glad that I am now aware of Fresh Grade so that I am able to keep a track of a student’s journey and more importantly, students are able to keep a record of their learning. I think this is a great substitute for report cards and is much more valuable to all parties involved. This is a platform that allows teachers to become paperless, and more organized as well as present material in real time.
It was a pleasure to have Sally Song, a Grade 7 teacher from the lower mainland video call into our class. It was nice to hear from her perspective because I am from the lower mainland and hope to teach there in the future. She shared her experience with technology. Sally mentioned that in her first few years of teaching she kept her social media and blogs up to date but eventually it got very overwhelming keeping up with everything. I do like the idea of using social media and blogging to track our learning journey but I do not think I would keep up with it because it is a lot of pressure. And for someone like me, if I can’t put my all into it, I would rather not do it. Also, as teachers we already have a lot on our plate and blogging would be the least of my worries. We can’t do everything as Sally mentioned, we need to pick and choose what works for us and what works for our students. I think it is more beneficial to use technology as a tool not just because it is accessible as there are other methods and skills that students should learn. However, I do like the idea of using online resources to share ideas or to get inspiration.