My Body Map

all good things must come to an end

Week 6 marks the end of our Tech class. I am sad that it is over, but also really excited to start a new class on Friday's. The change will be interesting because Tech fits so perfectly into my timetable, but I think I will get used to it after the first few weeks. I am excited for the end of the year because that is when we will get to do more teaching. I know I have a micro-lesson coming up at the end of the year, and this class has made me feel much more prepared for that. I look forward to implementing the technology tools I have related, but also beyond that, the other skills and practical learning resources I have gained from this course.
I feel that this course has been extremely beneficial for new teachers. It provides such a great overview of all the tech-related aspects of teaching. The mix of modules and assignments and explorations of apps has been enlightening. I am thankful for the experience. That being said, I am happy the weekly modules are done because they are a little bit time consuming. I am happy to have consistently been forced to leave my comfort zone and explore new resources. I was so nervous about certain assignments such as the TED talk but I really ended up enjoying it. Its a nerve wracking thing, being forced to put oneself out there, but overall, I think it really paid off. I have learned so much and am happy with the progression I have made.
I always knew I did not want to be one of those teaches who couldn't even set up the projector, or didn't know how to work a Youtube video. I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to advance beyond that, I now have a more advanced level of applications and websites to turn to. So even though I learned through the years the basics of technology, this class has made me a more competent tech user, and in turn a better teacher.

five alive!

This week is reading week so we had at-home learning modules. We are wrapping up our Genius hour and I am struggling through my tasks. I wish I had more time because I do not feel like my experiment is done so I think I am going to continue working through it after the class. I am happy with the topic I chose for my Genius Hour because I think it will benefit both me and the students I continue to work with. I can meet a lot of curriculum expectations with a topic like this. One of the things I found was this quote from the curriculum, “ As students develop their reading skills, it is important that they have many opportunities to read for a variety of purposes. A well-balanced reading program will provide students with opportunities to read for the pleasure of discovering interesting information as well as for the pleasure of self-discovery, for self-enrichment, and for the sheer fun of it. Such reading activities are particularly important in the elementary grades, when attitudes towards reading and reading habits are first being formed. Reading experiences that invite students to discover new worlds and new experiences and to develop their imaginative powers will go a long way towards convincing them that reading can be a rich source of pleasure and knowledge. Such experiences are likely to lead to a love of reading, which is among the most valuable resources students can take with them into adult life.” (10) I think my Genius hour project can work to do all of those things, which is why I am quite happy with the topic I chose, and the small advances I have made so far. Perhaps I could have planned better and done more in the six weeks I did have, but unfortunately it did not work out that way.


One of the things I created was this comic using ToonDoo:

         I really love the tool ToonDoo and am happy to have had the experience to try and do it to create it. My object in my Genius Hour is to inspire students to enjoy literacy more through increased library time and recess book clubs, or after school book clubs. This cartoon demonstrates one of the things I tried to do with the younger students I work with, some of them are just newly grade 3's, and I tried to start encouraging them to like books by reading to them at first. 

This week has been a challenge so far, and I am still continuing to work on my Genius Hour Ted Talk and Movie Trailer, so more later... 

        Upon further thought, I was looking through a bunch of resources and found the Storybird website. I wanted to create a book that could act as a better learning tool. I started researching through it, and found a really cute picture of a reading worm. I created a story called The Reading Worm and decided that would be a better Learning Object. My goal was to inspire students to read more. The curriculum supports that goal, as it is expected and essential for students to read. I wanted to create something that would curb them to be influenced to read at a young age. 

The book I created is a short snippet of what literacy has to offer, and I would perhaps read this to junior students, catch them while they are young and encourage them to understand all that literacy has to offer.
   My Movie Trailer is up, and I made it using Powtoon. I really like it. I definitely put a lot of work into it and it was challenging to make, so I hope other people also enjoy the results. I did consider using something like iMovie or another more movie-like tool, but in the end loved working with Powtoon and felt I would be better suited to explore a resource I was enjoying more. Anyways, it is under the Movie Trailer tab, so check it out!

weak for/ week four

Reflect on what you learned about your topic to this point.

Reflect on what have you learned about yourself.


Explain where you go from here.


So far, I have learned that motivating students has been the hardest challenge. I did not think finding volunteers would be the absolute hardest part, but so far it has been. I am still working through it, and subtly including the literature encouragement in every day life, especially when I am at practicum. I have spoken to a few students in the class, and they had extensive conversations with me about the books they are reading. From this, I think I have started to answer the second part to my question, because these students are now more familiar with me, and are more encouraged to participate.


I did also find the tool we used this week super exciting and useful. Story line Online is an online database of children's storybooks that are read out loud through Youtube videos. I really want to try and use this with the younger kids. I have also heard about another resource, Owl Eyes, which is a very useful tool for assisting in reading. This week I am hoping to implement these resources with the students and see how they react to them.


This last week I feel like I have learned that teaching is problem solving. Sometimes things do not go exactly as planned, as my genius hour is evident of, but we have to persevere through it and continue to find ways to teach and learn. Learning is also one of the main topics of things I have learned about this week. To be a teacher we constantly have to be learners as well. The power of words to motivate is also something that has stuck with me. Put in the hard work, get those good results.


From here, I hope to implement the technology based resources and see how they work in my last week of Genius Hour. I am also hoping to finding more blogs and research that will allow me to understand and reach my students to enhance their experiences with literature.

techtechtech (week 3)

This week is week 1 in our Genius Hour projects. Unfortunately for me, that did not bring the best outcome. While searching for participants in the grade 3 class I work in, I came up very short. The class did not seem interesting in spending recess inside reading books, instead of outside playing. This will continue to be one of my greatest obstacles. I did try and talk to the grades 7/8's in my placement class about literature, and encouraged a student to read Lord of The Rings, after noticing he had just finished The Hobbit. He does not know it yet, but he will be my first participant from the class. I decided to try it with both the classes I work with in hopes that I can see the differences between younger students and older students. From this week, I have learned that I will have to start with the inspiration part (which I was hoping wouldn't come until later on). But I will definitely have to bribe kids to be interested, and encourage them with little hints and tricks. I don't know how many willing participants are going to join, and if that happens I will have to subtly track the project through my practicum. I also ventured to the library at the elementary school and tried to engage the librarian in the methods she uses to convince students to join the library programs. She did not provide me with any details. I see why the students have been avoiding that section of the school. Unfortunately the school lacks the funds to create engaging and interactive programs, but really all they need is good books and willing educators. I am hoping to try and propose some ways to the librarian that we could work together to create a book club. Before next genius hour I hope to find more students who will participate. I also am hoping to spend more time researching methods on how other people have encouraged their students in English class.

In a world.... full of technology ...

     I had to pick a Genius Hour topic, which was very hard. I decided to discuss helping students reengage with literacy. I am hoping to test this out with the grade 7/8 in my practicum, and also the grade 2/3’s a volunteer with. I have been trying to get some of the girls in the class I worked with last year to read more, but they are always hesitant. I am going to talk to them again this week and try and suggest a book club, where they can come stay in for one recess a day and I will talk to them about books. I don't know if I will get many volunteers, perhaps I will have to entice them with some good snacks. 

     

          I learned so many cool new resources this week. I loved all the links in the PBL badge, and am starting to save them so I can revisit them later on. I love all them mind map websites that make creating mind maps very simple. I also really enjoyed powtoon, and learning how to make cool videos. Google Slides was a very useful slideshow maker. I am seeing the true power of Google recently, I love how it is so reliable and saves everything always and is basically accessible no matter what computer you use. 

          I am also really hoping that I get to try to do a Genius hour with some of my students. I don't know if it would work well if I am not there all the time, because we are only in the classroom once a week right now, so I will have to wait and see what will work best. I think Genius Hour is a really great activity that encourages creativity. Tracking their progress through something like Google Slides would also be a really good idea. I look forward to working with that tool more. To do my own Genius Hour with the grades 7/8 I would have to get to know them all better, have the time to allow them to research, and consider what kind of students they are. I do not yet know how independent they are as students, so I cannot judge yet. I would consider doing a classroom project that was similar with the grade 2/3 but I think they are still too young. Perhaps on a smaller scale. 

          

           One of the resources I really want to use is the Trading Cards from Read Think Write, because it would be a very good way to check in after each chapter of any book. By asking the students to create new cards for each new character that was introduced, they would then have a whole stack by the end of the book, and could hand them in as a whole. I think the questions on thing are simple enough and easy enough to respond in that it would not be too much work to continuously do it on a weekly basis, and that way the students would have to keep on top of their readings. 

Overall, very excited about all the tools used this week in tech class, cannot wait to try some of them out ! 

Copyright

"Funny Hacker Stock Photo". [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/funniest-hacker-stock-photos-daniel-solove 

Inkles, Paul. (2011, September 25). "Business Baby Pointing"  [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/e2QMS5

            This week, we were required to learn how to properly cite photos! So the above photographs were my first attempt at citing and embedding photographs onto a blog. The first is a generalized stock photo, and the bottom was taken by an actual artist (so thanks for the use of the funny picture Paul Inkles)! 
Next Up is my thoughts on some pretty cool articles we read about copyright and citations .... 

             One of the first things I learned from these readings was that everything has copyrights that are attached to it, and we have to be cautious of that in the tech world. That being said, that does not mean that one cannot use the material, just that the proper use of citations needs to be implemented. I remember my first lesson on citations in high school, they took us all down to the library and the librarian droned on for hours about MLA style citations and the official handbook and how we were all expected to use it perfectly thence forth. It was exhausting and impractical. I only properly learned how to cite once I got into university and was forced to teach myself, so I am really looking forward to learning tools on how to teach this effectively. 

Creative Commons is a concept I knew about but did not fully understand, just like citations. The video was a really cool summary of how easy it is to protect the content any artist creates. Everyone deserves to define the rights of how other people can share and manipulate their work. The other amazing thing is that it is completely free! That opens the Internet up to so many aspiring artists who want to share their work without risk or fear of it being stolen. It also made me wonder about things like memes, are they protected under the “fair use” that comedians often use when receive complaints about discussing other people? “Fair use” allows for copyrighted material to be used without obtaining permission from the own in specific circumstances such as parody, criticism, news reporting or research. That further complicates the ideas presented in the article. Content can be used without copyright, but only for certain reasons, but that still reinforces the need for citations to avoid the confusion over who actually owns the original work. Also, after further reading into the “Exploring Copyright” section in the “Copyright for Tech Enhanced Teaching” guide I realized it expands on the fair use law. Teaching is not protected under that law, which is another interesting revelation. Creative Commons is the answer to the public wanting to explore sharing content without losing ownership of creations, and allows teachers and students to have more freedom while exploring online. 

From reading and learning about all of this, I think it is most important to teach students about resources such as Creative Commons that they can use to protect themselves. That being said, the students would first need to have a comprehensive and complete guide to understanding why we cite and have copyrights associated to ideas and art. I would enjoy trying to plan a lesson around this topics, especially because of my aforementioned horrible past experience with learning about citations. I would definitely try and use interactive tech tools to guide my students to deeper understanding. 

Overall, this was a good lesson in copyright and copyright laws. Citing is extremely important and sometimes the lines get blurred, but the tech world has come up with some handy solutions such as the Creative Commons and different techniques of citing to allow people to continue to share media.