Category: EDCI 336 Page 1 of 3

On April 6, 2022

In EDCI 336, EdTech Inquiry

How can we successfully teach elementary students about online safety?

Online safety is a complex and ever changing entity. As the internet and it’s role in our lives has changed and expanded so has the meaning of online safety. Though I think a definition of such a complex topic is difficult, South West Grid for Learning (SWGLF) has a good base level definition “Online Safety is being aware of the nature of the possible threats that you could encounter whilst engaging in activity through the Internet, these could be security threats, protecting and managing your personal data, online reputation management, and avoiding harmful or illegal content.”

As the definition highlights, a lot of online safety focuses on managing what you let on to the internet. This includings personal data and information, as well as, managing what you post online. This video, appropriate for children, is a great resource to teach a little bit about how to be safe while online.

Avoiding harmful or illegal content is more complicated than not giving money to a Nigerian princess. Online scams are real and exist in a variety of ways. Having good filters on your emails, not opening links even those sent to you by friends, and not being ashamed of making mistakes and seeking help. There is a lot of shame around being involved in scams but we should feel free to seek help if scammed. Below is an interesting canva that could be printed and posted around classrooms. It could be a good set of guidelines for safety online.

Why we should teach students about online safety?

Teaching students about how to be safe online is becoming increasingly important, as they are spending more and more time using technology. Through online services, students can play games, message friends, talk with strangers, learn about the world and a whole lot more. Almost every aspect of everyday life can be found online these days. Due to its prevalence it is no longer enough to warn against using the internet, instead, students must be taught the necessary skills that will help them stay safe.

So why should educators be concerned with teaching online safety? To put it simply, it is our responsibility as educators to not only impart factual knowledge on students, but also to facilitate the means for them to learn about life as well. Ignoring the subject of online safety leaves students open to navigate this vast world all on their own, which can lead them down many unfortunate pathways. However, if they were made aware of how to safely navigate the internet, they would have the tools they needed to reap its many benefits.

Teaching about online safety is also important to student’s education because education itself is drifting more and more into online learning, as evidenced by the pandemic when this became necessary. If we as teachers are having students complete assignments, or learn online, it is our responsibility to ensure that they are safe while doing so. If students are not properly equipped to be online, then it may directly influence the quality of their education. Now that the importance of online safety has been made clear, how should teachers go about teaching it?

Ways to teach online safety

There are so many great ways to teach elementary school aged students about online safety, however I also want to share a few things that teachers should NOT do when teaching this subject, as well as a few risks in teaching it.

First of all, having class discussions is a great way to introduce students to the topic, as long as they are done in an age appropriate way. A good starting point is to discuss strangers, as even young students have likely been told to avoid strangers in real life, but it is important that they know to be wary of strangers online as well.

Here are some good questions to ask:

Are there strangers online? Do you always know who you’re talking to?
Where can we meet strangers online? (Social media, gaming, Youtube)
What is personal information that you shouldn’t share?
Discuss social media by asking who has an account, is it private or public, why should we only let people we know follow us?
What should you do if a website or a person online makes you feel uncomfortable?

For this last question, it is important to approach how inappropriate content can make children feel in an age appropriate way. A good way is to use the traffic light scale (Green= you feel okay, yellow=you feel iffy, red= you feel risky or uncomfortable), as even young students can understand this. If something online makes students feel yellow or red, they need to know that they should seek out an adult and tell them about what they saw.

To supplement the lesson, try these fun and informative activities:

Talk about passwords and practice making good ones-they should be long, use letters and numbers, and not include your name
Have students create an internet safety poster- possibly to put in the computer lab or library
Act out scenarios with older students about what they should do in unsafe situations online
Have students create comic strips about what to do to stay safe online
Play games that teach students to spot fake or unsafe websites or information

I have made a video exploring a few of these online games that are appropriate and informative:

There are a few teaching tactics that should be avoided in order to teach effectively and in the most objective way possible. Naturally, sharing information or content that is not appropriate, even as a demonstration, is not allowed. Additionally, employing fear tactics or only speaking about the dangers of the internet and none of the benefits is inadvisable because it may cause students to be afraid of going online. Finally, resources do not recommend teaching online safety as a stand alone-rather it should be incorporated into a series of lessons about computer use and the internet. This way, the information remains fresh in student’s minds, and it reinforces the importance of online safety.

Whether or not a lesson is taught in an appropriate way, there are a few risks related to this topic that teachers may encounter. There is the risk of upsetting parents who do not want their children to learn about the content that can be found online, especially older students who may seek it out as a challenge. Conversely, some students may not have had any parental guidance in forming healthy internet habits, and may have already encountered inappropriate content that they may tell their peers about. Students today are very competent at using technology, sometimes more than teachers, and may be able to use this knowledge to find inappropriate content, or encounter situations that teachers have not experienced.

Resources to Teach Online Safety

Finding resources to teach your students about online safety can seem like a daunting task. Because there are so many resources out there that cover the topic of online safety, it can be hard to tell which are really worth using in your classroom. We have tried to dive a little deeper into some online safety resources that will actually be helpful for using in your classroom. They are each described below!

Common Sense Education: Common sense education is a nonprofit organization that is committed to improving the lives of students and their families by providing trusted information. This site has a 23 great lesson plans for internet safety page that has lots of free resources and lesson plans to help you teach your students about internet safety. They have lessons ranging from kindergarten to grade 12 that include learning objectives, videos, and either quick or full versions of each lesson. See a walkthrough of the Common Sense Education website below!

Interland: Interland is an interactive online game that is included in Google’s Be Internet Awesome Program, which has lots of resources for both teachers and parents to educate children about internet safety. On Interland, students play as an Internaut to learn about cyberbullying, data protection, phishing, and more. The information is taught using lots of fun minigames that are spread out across floating islands. This game is a great resource for teaching students about online safety, check out a walkthrough of the game below

Band Runner: Band runner is an online game on the ThinkUKnow website. In this game, students choose a player and try to jump over obstacles. If they accidentally run into an obstacle, students must answer a question about internet safety before they continue. After each level the game speeds up, which makes it more challenging. See a demo of this game below!

Thank you for reading our blog post! This was a group project by myself, Rachel Woodruff, Alice Brown, and Jessica Liebe 🙂

Week 11: Final Blog Post

On April 3, 2022

This week is my final blog post of my free inquiry project about the use of American Sign Language in the elementary classroom. Throughout the semester I had the opportunity to explore various resources that classroom teachers can use to teach ASL in their classrooms. I started this project by exploring resources that are helpful when learning ASL for the first time and used them to learn some of the basics of ASL for myself. As I worked on the basics, I learned to sign numbers, the alphabet, my name, colours, and some other basics!

Once I understood some basic signs, I started researching the use of American Sign Language in the classroom. I learned about situations where using ASL could be beneficial in the classroom and about techniques that can be used to teach ASL letters and numbers to elementary students.

One of the most interesting topics to research was ASL student projects. Through that weeks blog post I was able to explore projects that could be used to teach ASL. These could not only be used in elementary classrooms, but middle and high school as well (if changed slightly to be appropriate based on grade level). In the final weeks of my blog I explored books that can be used to introduce conversations about ASL and Deaf culture to the elementary classroom.

My biggest takeaway from this project is the way American Sign Language can be beneficial in the classroom. Using ASL can help with classroom management, teach students a useful new skill, and help them better understand deaf culture. I am so excited to continue working on this inquiry and to implement my findings into my teaching practice one day!

Week 11 Reflection

On March 29, 2022

This week we discussed artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and how these impact the modern classroom. I didn’t know a lot about either of these things or how they are being used in classrooms around the world, so this was a very interesting class for me!

Artificial intelligence is a vast collection of computer technologies that are able to perform tasks in the same way as humans. Everyday, we are interacting with artificial intelligence technology without even giving it a second thought. Common artificial intelligence technology includes web searches, google suite, voice recognition, face recognition, and social feeds. Artificial intelligence can already create art, write music, learn to play video games, read lips, and write stories and more artificial intelligence technologies are in the midst of being developed by large companies like Google and Meta. Some schools in China have stated using advanced artificial intelligence in schools, but it is still unclear if Canadian schools will follow suit and incorporate artificial intelligence technology into the classroom. (Photo by Owen Beard on Unsplash).

Augmented reality is when a real world environment is visible on or enhanced by technology. Augmented reality can be as simple as viewing 3D objects on your smartphone or tablet or as complex as seeing real world environments enhanced by technology through a pair of glasses or on a headset. Unlike artificial intelligence, augmented reality is already being used in Canadian schools. In class this week, we watched a video of students using augmented reality technology to create an online bank of museum artifacts that you could view as 3D objects. (Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash)

I personally have very little experience with artificial intelligence and augmented reality, however, I am excited to keep learning about this new technology as it is developed and potentially use some in my future classroom.

Week 10 Reflection

On March 21, 2022

This week we talked about gaming, gamification, and coding. We started off by talking about the types of technology we will likely see in the classroom, such as iPads, chrome books, text to speech, audiobooks, and many more! These types of technology can be used as assistive technology in classrooms or as tools to include game-based learning or gamification.

Before this class I had no idea that game-based learning and gamification were different. In game-based learning, the game is the learning experience. But in gamification, the components of the game are added to the traditional teaching method. Using either type of gaming in the classroom can keep students motivated and get them excited to learn new things and try using new technology. Gaming in the classroom can also engage students in healthy competition, creative play, social interaction with peers, problem solving, and safe uses of technology.

Some of my favourite classroom gaming tools are Teach Your Monster, Class Dojo, and Gimkit! I have explained these a little further below:)

Teach Your Monster To Read

Teach Your Monster To Read is a phonics and reading game that gives students awards as they progress in their reading journey. On this site, students create their own monster and take it along with them as they complete literacy activities. This site would be a great addition to any elementary language arts class and would definitely be a great way to get students excited about learning to read! The Teach Your Monster To Read YouTube channel has lots of great tutorial videos like the one below!

Gimkit

Gimkit is an interactive quiz-style game that can make learning interactive and exciting. On gimkit, teachers can create their own multiple choice quiz questions or use kits that other teachers have already created. Once teachers have created their own question kit or chosen one to use, they can pick a theme for the game and decided whether students will work individually or in teams. Teachers can also choose the duration of the game and whether students can join in the game after it starts. Once the teacher has chosen the kit, theme, and duration they will click continue and be taken to a waiting room where the room code is available on the screen. Students will enter the game code on their worn devices and be brought into the waiting room. They will choose a name and a little character with their name will show up on the waiting room screen. From there, the teacher will start the game and the students will be brought into the game room. In the game room, students will answer questions and get money for each right answer. As students gain money, they can buy things with it (what they are able to buy depends on the game from chosen). This game is a great way to make learning fun and super engaging. Playing on teams or as a class could definitely help students build a sense of community. This game is a fun and simple way to introduce students to using technology for learning. The New Ed Tech Classroom YouTube channel has a great Gimkit tutorial for teachers, I have linked it below! This channel has a lot of great resource for teachers who are looking to bring more technology into their classrooms.

Class Dojo

Class Dojo is a classroom site that teachers, students, and families can use to communicate with each other. Class Dojo help teachers and students share what they are learning in the classroom by providing photos, videos, and messages for families to see. The messaging service on Class Dojo is one of its most used features. It allows parents and teachers to communicate through commenting on students work and messaging directly. The site offers more than 35 languages, so teachers can make comments and announcements in their language and all families will be able to read it in theirs. On the site, teachers can also assign activities, take in students work, and approve work before it is published for parents to see. All student tasks are saved and logged to provide an overview of each students progress. Their progress can even continue from grade to grade. Class Dojo is free for teachers to download and use and they offer a YouTube channel with video tutorials to learn about Class Dojo as well as live training with a member of the Class Dojo team! This is an excellent ay to build your classroom community.

Class Dojo even has their own YouTube channel that has lots of video tutorials, this can be found here. Their channel also has a section called The Mojo Show where Mojo, the green character, teacher students about different topics, from friendship and respect, to finding your passion and harnessing your creativity, all the way to being selfless and showing compassion. The introduction video to the Mojo Show channel is linked below!

TeacherFYI has a great video on her Youtube channel about Class Dojo that has lots of great tips and tricks!

Thanks for reading my blog this week!

Week 10: Using books

On March 14, 2022

This week I decided to explore some children’s books that can help students learn about ASL and deaf culture. Using children’s books can be a great way to introduce a new topic to students. It keeps them engaged and excited to learn! Below, I have written a little bit about 5 books that could be used in a classroom!

My Language, Your Language by Lisa Bullard

Description: This is a book about Romelie, a student who makes a new friend in class. Her new friend Camila speaks Spanish with her family, so she teaches Romelie some Spanish words. After learning some Spanish words, Romelie become curious about different languages. Romelie realizes that at home, her family speaks English and American Sign Language. With the help of her mother, Romelie spends the weekend finding new languages that surround her in her town and neighbourhood. When she goes back to school on Monday she is excited to tell her classmates about all of the languages she learned. At the end of the story, Romelie teaches Camila the ASL sign for friend.

Uses: This book would be a great addition to a social studies lesson or unit about different languages in your community or around the world. This book explores not only Spanish and English, but sign language, Arabic, Somali, and French. It could also be used to teach students about diversity and inclusion. Romelie and Camila come from different backgrounds and speak different languages, yet their differences made them better friends and they were able to learn from each other. As well, this book has a question on each page that gets the readers thinking about different languages. I do want to mention that this book is from the United States, so one page uses American language to describe Indigenous languages. This is definitely something to be cautious of if you choose to use this book.

Where to Find: You can buy this book on amazon here, and you can find a read along of it on YouTube here from the Miji Lee Channel.

Hands & Hearts By Donna Jo Napoli

Description: In this book, a mother and her daughter spend a day at the beach where they swim, dance, and play together. Through the day, they communicate using American Sign Language instead of spoken language. This book teaches reader how to sign 15 words using American Sign Language, with the help of sidebars that have drawings of the signs. Each sign that you learn is used later in the book. For example, at the end of the book you learn how to sign the word sunset and on the next page the word sunset is used, highlighted in red. This makes it super easy for students to practice the signs they learn as they read the book.

Uses: This book is a great resource that can be used to teach students some ASL signs and teach them that not all communication is verbal. It gives teachers a great opportunity to teach students about deaf culture as well. This would be a great addition to a lesson or unit about inclusion, diversity, cultures, or languages.

Where to find: You can buy the book on amazon here, and you can find a read along of it on YouTube here from the Rebecca Knowles Reads Channel.

The Moses Books by Isaac Millman

Description: Isaac Millman has created three books about a student named Moses; Moses goes to a concert, Moses goes to school, and Moses goes to the circus. These picture books incorporate simple American Sign Language instruction into stories about a boy named Moses, who is deaf. The illustrations in the book are super engaging and very clearly show the signs, which are related to each individual story.

Uses: These books are awesome additions to a classroom library. They can be used to help students learn some ASL signs and information about the deaf community and the lives of deaf students at school. These books are great because students can connect with Moses and engage in his stories!

Where to Find: Moses goes to a concert can be found on amazon here and a read along of this book by the author Isaac Millman is available on YouTube here. Moses goes to school can be found on amazon here and a read aloud of the book with sign language can be found on the Alissa Amell-Postler YouTube channel here. Moses goes to the circus can be found on amazon here and a read along is available from the Lauryn Shreffler YouTube channel here.

All images come from the above Amazon links

So far I have found resources to teach the ASL alphabet and numbers as well as projects for students to learn more about ASL. I have also explored Handspeak, the ASL dictionary, and books to use when teaching ASL I am excited to continue exploring ASL and ways to teach it to students! If you are looking to learn more as well, come back next week! Thanks for reading 🙂

Week 9 Reflection

On March 10, 2022

In class this week we had Chantelle Morvay-Adam from BCEd Access come and talk with us about advocacy and accessibility in the classroom. BCEd access is a non profit organization that works to serve families of students with disabilities in British Columbia. It is a parent support group with over 4000 members pursuing equitable access to education for children in BC schools.

Since the pandemic has started, technology has become increasingly more important for students and parents. However, some schools and classes do not have the right technology to support all learners. Chantelle talked specifically about the exclusion of students with disabilities in classrooms with little or no technology. Some students require resources like speech to text or typing instead of writing to be able to participate in class activities with their peers. I was surprised to hear that BCEd access and volunteers like Chantelle still need to fight for all students to receive the support and technology they need to learn.

This weeks class was very informative and we were so lucky to have Chantelle talk to us about a topic she is so knowledgeable and passionate about. Since our class with Chantelle I have looked a little bit into BCEd access and the resources they have on their website. They have a blog which is accessible here, and exclusion tracker which is accessible here, and a social groups page which is accessible here.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Week 9: Handspeak

On March 6, 2022

This week I have decided to write about Handspeak, the ASL dictionary. Handspeak is a website that provides an online ASL dictionary with videos and definitions of words in American Sign Language. As I have been working on this inquiry project I have used a few different ASL dictionary resources, but I think this one has been the most helpful to me! Below, I have outlined my favourite features of the Handspeak website.

Sign of the Day

Every day, Handspeak posts a video of a new sign. The videos don’t have a definition with them so you can try and guess the word they are signing. After you try to figure out what word they are signing you can hit the ‘take me to the word in the dictionary’ link to see what the word was. This feature could be a great addition to a morning routine in the classroom. Trying to figure out what the new sign is every day would get students thinking right away and help them learn new signs over the course of the year!

Language/Cultural Fundamentals

The Handspeak website has a section called ‘Language/Cultural Fundamentals’ that has links to lots of different resources. The pages I found most useful in this section were ‘What is American Sign Language?‘, ‘Deaf Culture and Sign Language’, and ‘Audism: a form of discrimiation’. These pages were very helpful to learn about deaf culture and the history of American Sign Language. A lot of the information provided on them could be useful when teaching students about deaf culture.

Basic Stories and Poems

This section of the Handspeak website provides a description of a story or poem and a video of someone signing the story. When watching these stories, I try to pick up on words I already know or patterns of language. Each story/poem page also offers points of the story and grammar sections.

So far I have found resources to teach the ASL alphabet and numbers to students as well as projects they can do to learn more about ASL. I am excited to continue exploring ASL and ways to teach it to students! If you are looking to learn more as well, come back next week! Thanks for reading 🙂

Week 8 Reflection

On March 3, 2022

Today was our first class back since before reading break! We spent the first part of our class reviewing things we have learnt already, since we are already half way done the course. For the rest of our class time we talked about technology integration and the SAMR model and TPACK framework. I fount this class very helpful because I had never heard of either the SAMR model or the TPACK framework before.

The SAMR Model

The SAMR model is a framework that was created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. This model categorizes the four degrees of technology integration in the classroom. The letters in SAMR stand for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. I found the Power School website explained each of the four degrees of technology integration very well. I even used an image of their diagram below! This model is a very simple and effective way to think about how we incorporate technology into our lessons on a daily basis.

This image comes from the Power School website. You can check it out here

The TPACK Framework

TPACK stands for “The Integration of Technological, Pedological, and Content Knowledge.” This framework identifies three types of knowledge that teachers need to combine to create lessons with successful technology integration. The centre of this diagram represents a complete understanding of how to teach using integrated technology. This model is very useful to me as a future teacher because it demonstrates how these three important areas of knowledge intercept with each other and can be used to create lessons with technology seamlessly incorporated.

This image comes from the TPACK website. You can find it here

I really enjoyed the topic discussed in class this week. I found it super interesting to think about the place that technology holds in education. It is so important for teachers to keep themselves up to date on new technology, especially because it can be so helpful to our students!

Thanks for reading!

Week 8: ASL Student Projects

On March 1, 2022

This week I am going to outline two projects that students can do to deepen their knowledge about ASL. These projects can be adapted to be easier or harder depending on the grade level being taught. Both of them will deepen students knowledge around ASL while allowing them to develop competence in other areas.

Visual Dictionary

In this project, students can work alone or in small groups to create a visual dictionary related to a topic of their choice. For example, students may choose to explore signs related to animals, sports, or school. Once they have chosen a topic, students will create a dictionary containing vocabulary related to their topic. Detailed steps to complete this project are listed below.

Provide students with a list of possible topics, brainstorm topics as a class, or have them choose their own in small groups.
Once they have chosen their topic, give students time to brainstorm and record vocabulary words in their topic they could include in their dictionary.
Provide students access to technology and and ASL resources. Students should have access to online ASL dictionaries as well as deaf community reference sites related to their topic.
Now, students will begin to create their visual dictionary. There are a few different options for this depending on the grade level:

a) Have one student sign a vocabulary word while another student take an image or video of them. All of the images/videos of their vocabulary words can be compiled and made into an online dictionary using an online content creator such as google slides or google docs. These dictionaries should be able to be shared with the class.

b) Give students a blank, printed dictionary with multiple pages. As they find the signs for their vocabulary words they can draw and describe them in their dictionaries. When students create their dictionaries this way you will end up with multiple physical ASL dictionaries that students can have access to in the classroom!

5. Once their dictionaries are finished, have students share their work with the class. They can teach their peers some of the signs from their dictionaries.

The Learn How To Sign YouTube channel has a lot of great video tutorials that students could use as starting points when creating visual dictionaries. I have linked a few examples below!

Story Telling

In this project, students will create their own story and tell it to their peers using ASL. This project gives students the chance to work on their writing, verbal, presentation, and listening skills. Detailed steps to complete this project are below.

Have students write, edit, and ‘publish’ a story. This story can be about a topic of their choosing or something the teacher wanted them to write about.
Once their stories are polished, have students draw out their story using a storyboard or graphic organizer.
Have students find a sign for each section of their storyboard or graphic organizer. The sign they choose should sum up the key point of that section of story. Students will record each sign they would like to use.
Have students practice telling their story verbally while signing.
Once they feel confident, have students present their stories and signs to the entire class or small groups.

Showing students examples of ASL storytelling could be very helpful while they are working on this project. I have linked an example of ASL storytelling from the Statewide Center Outreach Videos YouTube channel below.

Week 6: Teaching Numbers in ASL

On February 15, 2022