WestCAST 2015

WestCAST 2015 was a huge success, not only was it a break from the final hectic weeks of school, but also a great opportunity to meat new people in the education field and continue my learning through professional development. Two items of the conference stuck out to me the most:

1: Jay Wilson, the keynote speaker, discussed the role of technology in education. He emphasized the importance of educating our students to become good digital citizens. Although this is not a groundbreaking topic, it is something that cannot be stressed enough. Take the time to educate your current or future students to be good citizens both online and in the non-virtual world.

2: A group named STARS (Student Teachers Anti-Racism Society) discussed the prevalence of racism among todays students. Often this racism is learned or expressed somewhere online, whether that be in the comment section on YouTube, behind a Twitter handle, or through a gaming console. By teaching students to be good digital citizens hopefully the trend of "cyber" bullying is eliminated.

I can't help but think back to how Bryce Ridgen models the use of Twitter in the classroom, and although this is not something that can be as easily done in a middle years setting, in high school I think it is valuable. By having a teacher encourage proper use of Twitter and be aware of what students are tweeting I think it is less likely the students are using the site inappropriately.

Comment on a blog (TT #10)

I chose to comment on a blog from Mrs. Krowchuk's class in Boissevain School. Not only is this my alma mater but this is the class that I will be student teaching in come March. I commented on a few of the students blogs but like Jon I will let the pictures do the talking so here is one.

Video in the Classroom (TT #9)

Bringing video into the classroom when it is effective and appropriate is one the best tools a teacher can use. I personally try to use video as much as I can, when it makes sense. In math, especially lower level, I am a big fan of BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. videos that explain simple math and science concepts using visuals. Most kids find these videos fun and are able to learn from the visual aspect of the video. In the social studies classroom there are many videos on Youtube that are great for engaging students at the beginning of a lesson or unit (Crash Course is a good Youtube channel that provides on outline to many historical or scientific events, I like them for activators for senior years). In math (I know a lot of people..cough..cough Mike aren't a fan) Khan Academy can be useful for providing visual one-on-one instruction for a struggling student. Another that I have yet to use, but am excited to give a try in my upcoming grade 5 placement is gonoodle brain break videos. Check out this BrainPOP Jr video!

Infographic (TT #7)

I am relatively new to the world of Infographics but I must admit I had a lot of fun creating the few I have done. Infographics are great, I can see myself using them in the classroom as a Social Studies activator (see attached) or have the students create them if they choose as a form of assessment. Sites like Piktochart make creating an Infographic quick and painless, something that middle years students would enjoy as they often aren't as capable of creating large, time consuming projects.

Check out the one I created below on Canada's obesity crisis!

My Connected World vs. 21st Century Student (TT #6)

I, like many of my fellow students, realized just how behind I am in the world of technology when creating my connected world versus that of a 21st century student. It never fails that during each placement I learn something new in the technological world that is current, and I've never heard  of it. I chose to complete one chart comparing myself to a 21st century student as opposed to designing two. I'm sure I've missed a couple, and I'm sure there are some that I don't know about. Enjoy.

Digital Identity (TT #5)

A persons digital identity and foot print are very important, especially in the professional world. Over the last year and a half of my B.Ed degree I have been told by countless guest speakers how important maintaining yourself on less is. The tricky part about maintaining yourself online is that often the trail of internet identity left behind on oneself, was not placed their by oneself.

My own digital identity is rather small, and perhaps too small as it does not show enough about myself and my technological presence. Up until last month my Twitter was locked, my Facebook is still locked, and all thats left are a few blog posts and some old hockey stats. The importance of maintaining ones digital identity is tricky. It is important that your online identity be professional, not littered with drunken high school pictures, but it also needs to be present, showing you are current and capable in the world of technology.

Protecting yourself online is much more than locking an account. Although this helps, it doesn't do as much as many people think it does, and certainly doesn't make you invisible online giving you free will to post whatever, whenever you want. The fact of the matter is people WILL google your name, and make assumptions on what they find. In fact one class guest speaker went as far as saying she checks potential employees tweets for spelling mistakes! The rule of thumb I follow is that if I don't want my mom to see it, I won't post it.

Educating students about what they post online is critical. Students need to be made aware of the potential hazards of the online world, and be taught that nothing is as private as they may think. Most importantly teachers need to model proper online behaviour.

Teacher Trust

This week Kelli Boklaschuk from Brandon School Division Communication and IT visited our class to inform us about the technology policies in BSD. Prior to her speaking to our class I, and many of my class mates, had many questions and were wanting to clear rumours shrouding BSD and their technology use policy.

Kelli was clear about BSD's technology use policies and I am left with no questions about what teachers in BSD can and cannot do, although I believe their policies could be adjusted to make using technology in the classroom, especially having students use technology in the classroom, more friendly. The most pressing issue for me is the desire to go 1:1 with the current policies in place.

Teachers in the division are able to use a variety of websites, and just because they require a log in for students to use does not mean they cannot be used in the division, but rather they need to apply for permission from the division to use the apps or websites. The division will approve or deny the request whether they believe it is necessary, and in some cases will direct teachers to other apps or websites that may be similar but are already approved b the division.

All-in-all I see why the division is hesitant to give free reign to the teachers as they do not want to create headlines in the newspapers for inappropriate use of technology, but with that being said I believe teachers are relied to use their judgement many times throughout the day that this shouldn't be any different.

Speaking of trust, another point that Kelli made is the responsibility of teachers to ensure devices, and in particular I am referring to student owned devices such as smart phones, iPads and iPods, are being used appropriately in class. If a student is caught using a device, whether it be their own or not, inappropriately in the school it is the teachers responsibility. What is most concerning is how difficult it is to manage students using their personal devices in the class and it made me think twice about having the students bring personal devices into the classroom. What measures can a teacher take to ensure students are using their personal devices effectively in the classroom? Other than having strong classroom management skills I can't think if any. In particular I think this is a bigger issue in a senior years setting than a middle years setting, but problems could arise in either.

I think that allowing students to use their personal devices in the classroom can be a powerful tool, but precautions need to be taken.

Social Media in the Classroom

This week we discussed the role of social media in the classroom and discussed some of the formats that we would use in our future classroom; the most popular being Twitter and Instagram. Not only am I a fan of using social media as means of communicating with parents but also as a way for students to communicate with other classes or experts on relevant subject matter.When used effectively and safely, social media can be a very powerful teacher tool, they key being when used effectively and safely.

Personally I would keep my personal Twitter account separate from my classroom Twitter account, although there are many teachers who have one account for both purposes. One of the main reasons I would like to have two accounts is to limit the interaction that can be had between my personal account and my students accounts, not so I can spout out whatever I want without my students seeing it, but rather to maintain a private life outside of teaching.

It is important that if a teacher is going to take on social media in the classroom that they commit to using it effectively. If I were a parent there would be nothing more frustrating than having a teacher tell me to follow their class on Twitter for updates, receive updates for a month and then not have another post between October and June. Even worse would be to follow to learn updates about my child's class and receive nothing but information that is not relevant.

Using social media is a commitment, although it seems daunting, it really isn't. Effectively implementing social media can be as simple as a quick post each week outlining what you are doing. It is a great way to keep parents in the loop without having to always fire away emails. Having the students use a class Twitter in the classroom is a great way for the students to see a role model for social media and connect with experts despite the distance barrier.

Joy Nelson of edudemic.com said that social media "is more than a way to find cute cat videos" and I know we all love cat videos but she also said "it is a powerful entity that can impact how you teach and how you relate to your students." Don't be afraid to try social media in your classroom!

TT #4 - Follow and Edublogger

An Edublogger that I have been following for the past month is mrbridge204 (https://mrbridge204.wordpress.com). I began to read this blog after being advised by Mike Nantais that his blog may be informative for an upcoming BYTE presentation.

mrbridge204 is a Mantioba Physical Educator that teaches in Winnipeg. It is apparent through his blog that he is a passionate teacher and has a wealth of knowledge on implementing technology into physical education. Not only does he blog but he is also is an avid tweeter.

What I enjoy most about the blog is the resources it provides for Physical Educators. I particularly enjoy this because I do not have a PE degree, but would enjoy teaching in the gym in the future if the opportunity came about. Although he has not blogged much in the new year, I have enjoyed scanning through previous blogs and gaining knowledge on how to provide authentic assessment in PE.

For anyone who will teach in the gym mrbridge204 is a must follow blogger and tweeter!

Online Education

This week we had visitors from Manitoba Education, Donal Girouard and Shannon Horne, dress our class on the role of internet and education from a distance ed, and online teacher resource perspective. Online courses is something that I am very unfamiliar with, but I can definitely see the benefits, so the presentation was especially welcome from me.

Although I enjoyed every minute of my small town education, it does have a negative. What is most unappealing is the lack of course selection at a smaller school as opposed to larger high schools, especially those in Brandon or Winnipeg.Distance ed helps diminish the inability of smaller schools to provide these courses as one teacher could teach a specialized course for an entire division from one classroom as opposed to having one teacher per classroom.

On a recent trip to Green Acres Hutterite Colony just south of Wawanesa, I was able to see a form of distance ed in action. The school had an extremely low population and I was surprised by the integration of technology. In one room four students sat with a large flat screen tv and  speaker system. I learned they were being taught by a teacher from across the province, and not only were they being taught via a television screen, a camera and a stereo, but many other students across they province were doing the same.

In my short visit I was able to see how the system was successful, although it has its limitations. Providing a distance education such as this is impossible in a course where hands on learning is the primary focus. In particularly I am trying to envision myself a science teacher engaging the students in a science experiment through a TV screen, not going to happen. The other downfall is the total lack of a teacher-student relationship. The teacher at the previously mentioned colony was trying to teach upwards of fifty-sixty students at a time in over a dozen classrooms across the province making developing a relationships with the students and providing adequate feedback to each student a task even the best educator is likely to fail.

I understand that the implementation of a distance ed program is not a replacement for traditional teaching, and having a school replace their 40S Pre-Calc teacher with someone through a TV is unlikely, implementing any type of system has challenges  that need to be overcome but the benefits are outstanding.