Category: Weekly Reflections

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!

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.

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!

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 🙂

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.

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.

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!

This week we had an EdCamp session with our class pod groups. My Pod discussed gaming in education, physical and mental health technology, assessment strategies, and UDL guidelines. Each of these topics were chosen by a different pod member based on their areas of interest. We discussed each topic and found some resources on them that could help us bring them into the classroom in the future.

Jessica’s topic for the week was gaming in education. Gaming in education is bringing video or computer games into the classroom for educational purposes. Including educational games, virtual reality technology, typing games, coding, or other types of gaming into the classroom can keep students engaged and deepen learning. Most students are already gaming at home, so bringing gaming into the classroom can add an interesting element to learning and assignments/projects. Jessica told us about an assignment where students built their own mining village in Minecraft as part of a social studies unit about gold mining towns. This is just one example of how gaming can be used to enhance student learning experiences!

Rachel’s topic for the week was mental health technology. In this discussion we mostly talked about resources teachers can use to implement physical and mental health practices in their classroom. We talked about apps, YouTube channels, and websites that can be used to guide yoga, meditation, brain breaks, or physical activity in the classroom. One resource that stood out the most was the Cosmic Kids YouTube channel. This channel features yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation videos for children. Using videos like this can make physical and mental health activities fun for students and help them develop healthy habits they can carry through their lives. Below, I attached a Cosmic Kids Frozen Yoga Adventure video. It is a great example of what is on the channel.

Alice’s topic for the week was UDL guidelines in the classroom. UDL guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any subject to ensure all learners can participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. We spent most of this discussion time talking about the importance of incorporating the UDL guidelines into every lesson plan as you create it instead of adding them in as an afterthought. Incorporating the UDL guidelines into every lesson can be beneficial for all students and can make your lessons engaging and exciting for every student.

My topic for the week was assessment strategies. Assessment strategies give teachers information about their students learning and help them understand what students have learned, how well they have learned it, and where they may have struggled. In this discussion we talked a lot about the 3-2-1 assessment strategy. This a method of assessment where students record three things they learned, 2 things they found interesting (or two things they are going to continue to work on), and 1 new question they have. This assessment strategy can be used across subjects and can give teachers a lot of information on what their students have learned and what they may still be confused about. We also discussed using the proficiency scale, exit notes, daily journals, rubrics, self/peer assessment, teacher check ins, and the importance of ensuring students know exactly what is expected of them.

This weeks discussions were very informative and left me with a lot of new information! I am excited to have many new resources to look into and take with me into my teaching practice. I would love to do a larger scale EdCamp session with more of my peers to hear about more great ideas and teaching resources!

This week we talked about our personal learning networks and generation alpha. A personal learning network is a group of colleagues, mentors, and professionals that you can connect with to enhance your learning and professional development. We talked a lot about how we can use social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok as platforms de develop our personal learning networks. Before class this week I was following lots of different educators on social media, but I realized I was not following any educators from BC. So, after class I decided to find some teachers and administrators from BC to follow to potentially deepen my personal learning network. We also talked a lot about generation alpha, born between 2010 and 2024. This generation is different from ours, so it is important to consider who they are and what type of world they will need to navigate when planning and teaching.

The last thing we touched on today was graphics and different platforms we can use to create them. To get a little bit of practice making graphics I decided to make a short video with Canva. Once I had created the video I had trouble getting it into my blog, but I eventually figured out how to do it. Then I wanted to have it autoplay and play on a loop so I had to search through the settings and find the ones that would allow me to do that. It was a little tricky, but I am glad I was able to add my first graphic into my blog!

This week we were fortunate enough to have Jesse Miller as a guest lecturer. He discussed social media as well as privacy, consent, digital footprints, and online professionalism. As soon as he started his lecture, Jesse had myself and my classmates thinking critically about the ways we use social media. I was totally unaware of the ways social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat keep our data and share it with other corporations. This is definitely something I plan on researching more, especially so I can make my students aware of it in the future. I would have loved if we learned about this sort of thing in my middle or high school technology classes.

Jesse also had us look up ‘Teacher fired social media’ to see what would come up. I can say that I was honestly shocked by some of the results. Lots of the things these teachers were doing on social media and being reprimanded for seemed like things that teachers obviously shouldn’t do. As I scrolled through news articles I thought to myself “they should have known better”. However, as Jesse’s lecture continued I realized that some of these teachers were probably not educated on online professionalism and the do’s and dont’s of social media for teachers. I think that is why it is so important for us, as future teachers, to have technology classes. We are going to be able to go into our teaching practice knowledgable about social media and how to conduct ourself on different social platforms online.

I found Jesse Miller’s lecture very informative and engaging, I am excited to explore his website and find out more about these important topics.

Week 3 Reflection (January 25)

This week our class was focused on learning how to screencast and create interactive videos. I found this class to be very interesting and I learned a useful new skill. This is something that I am excited to be able to take into my teaching one day! Below I have attached my very first screencast video. It is a tour of the All-trails website, which is one of my favourites for finding new hikes near me.

Week 2 Reflection (January 18th)

In the second week of our class I have been working on completing my blog posts while trying to learn more about how to create a website. I have gotten a lot more comfortable and confident, but I still have a lot to learn.

In class this week we discussed digital footprints, intellectual property, and copyright. My biggest takeaway was the many rules of copyright. In high school some of my teachers briefly touched on the rules of copyright, but I never learned about them in depth. I was mainly just aware that I could not take something from the internet and claim it as my own. Now however, I feel like I have a much better grasp on the rules of copyright and know how I can use and post content online. The other important point from this lecture was the reminder about our digital footprints. As aspiring teachers we have to remember to stay mindful of our digital footprint and what we post online.

After only two weeks of class I feel like I have already learned so much, I am excited to see what’s next!