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.