I4Ed Presentations

On February 26th, our Internet for Educators class held class presentations. There were 5 groups with all different topics to discuss. Each group had a different sort of approach to how they presented, which made it exciting to see how the next group would present.

We kind of had a "The More You Know" theme with ours. Our group presented on "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the Internet." We were able to get together as a group a few times and discuss ideas that may be good, bad or ugly. There were some arguments to whether a few of the ideas belonged in good or bad, bad or ugly, and so on.

So, some of the GOOD of the internet were:

• Technology in the classroom (endless resources)
• Moocs
• Video conferencing
• Networking
• Wikipedia (kind of) - an endless amount of information, on any subject

Some BAD:

• Wikipedia (kind of) - sometimes inaccurate info/any Joe Schmo could add info
• Inappropriate use of Facebook
• Plagiarism and Copyright laws 
• Unexpected advertisements

Some UGLY:

• Cyber Harassment/Bullying (Amanda Todd)
• Black mailers/Predators
• Digital Footprints/Job Losses

We ended our presentation by discussing how children can stay safe on the internet. We introduced some programs to help teach your children or students how to be smart when they connect. In the end, it was really fun presentation to be a part of.

The other groups were very creative with their presentations. A couple groups used "TodaysMeet" which was a great idea because it really got the class involved in the presentation (Wish we would have thought of that...). Another group used "Instant Audience Feedback," in which we had to text to a number to answer whether we feel internet should be censored in schools. That idea I thought was pretty cool, because they got all sorts of answers...which I think they didn't expect. Last but not least, the group that did "cyber bullying," used video and a fake news cast to discuss their topic. They also had some crazy stats to go along with their role playing in the video...just like the others, it was a very good presentation as well.

Show and Tell...

A cool web based app that I have seen used a few times is called PlanbookEdu. Obviously I haven't use it myself yet, but when I was an education assistant out in Souris I saw a few teachers trying out this lesson planning app. I remember them telling me "If or when you become a teacher...definitely try this program out." I actually forgot all about it until I needed to find a app for this blog.

This has many great features to help educators...

• Takes the hassle out of lesson planning.
• Can access your lesson plans with any computer with internet. (No need for paper lessons anymore)
• With a click of the mouse you can send a lesson plan to a substitute.
• The app makes it real easy to plan a clear customized lesson in seconds.
• It is also real easy to share your lesson plans with others, it lets you manage what you share as well.
• Lets you convert plans into any kind of format.
• Lets you easily edit other teachers lessons that they have shared with you.

Its something to check out and try in the future. It's calendar set up is pretty awesome. It is designed to reduce the time teachers spend on lesson planning. It lets you focus more on what really matters in the classroom.

http://www.planbookedu.com/

Pardon?...Infogra...what?!

Just like a few other of my posts, I had no idea what an infographic was. Well, after doing some research through other blog posts and using google, I kind of have a better understanding to what an infographic is all about (graphic visual representations of information). Visual learners would benefit greatly from infographics, as it puts ideas more in perspective when they can see a cool graphic visual. Something like a world population map could give them a better understanding of where the 7 billion people live in this world (My world geo infographic is not too extravagant). Basically, they are easier to understand for most kids I think, than a teacher lecturing, it can be very appealing and it keeps students engaged as well.

 

 

 

This is my first infographic. I picked a map, because geo and history are my teachable's. There is endless amount of data you could plug into this map. 

Inspirational Video

As we never had presenters the other week, I thought I would just share a inspirational video with you guys, that kind of blew me away. This video would be neat to show a group of students, and hear there thoughts afterwards. You could just have a discussion period, do a journal entry or have them do their own blog, on what inspires them? Stories like these need to be shared, so I had to put in my blog.

Girouard & Palahicky Presentation

On February 21st, we had Donald Girouard and Sophia Palahicky visit us to discuss the importance of web based learning. The technological advances that have occurred over the past decade or so has made web based learning a logical educational option. Being originally from a rural town, this type of learning would be very beneficial because not all schools can offer what others can. I remember being in high or middle school when IITV became a new way of getting credits for classes that were not offered at our school. A teacher from Wawanesa or Hartney instructed the class on a television 30 minutes away, and students were able to get that physics credit or whatever was that they really needed. Various types of web based learning give students a chance to learn at their own pace, which I think is an advantage over the traditional way of doing things.
                                             

I don't see web based learning or blended learning (which I mentioned in my last post) fully taking over the traditional classroom instruction, but I do see it slowly increasing as schools embrace the newest technological advances that continually come out. It's important I think for students to learn in different ways and it's important to give students opportunities to learn what they want to learn and web based learning may help make that happen. The presenters make the point that we need to most importantly consider the students learning needs and whether the courses taught in these particular ways will meet their certain learning style.

Podcasts

Before reading a half dozen blogs about podcasts, I didn't really know a whole about them to be honest. I searched through ITunes for a good hour, listening to a few educational podcasts and came to one called "Reinventing the Classroom: What's Next?" by BAM Radio Network. Basically they discussed the technological explosion that has happened in the last decade or so within schools and especially in the classroom. They point out the evolution from blackboards, to whiteboards and now to smart boards. One of the topics discussed was that kids don't learn the way they used to, they need technology to help them learn and so the classes or teachers need to stay up to date with all of the new classroom technology.

They also discussed the future of blended learning, which is combining face to face classroom methods with on-line learning. It gives them an opportunity to be engaged, at their level because they are living in this digital environment. Whatever they may complete online, the teacher will be able to see it. They say that online schooling will be the next thing to take off in the next decade, but it's a matter of teachers getting the proper training through PD sessions to administer this type of teaching.

I enjoyed this podcast because it gave me sort of a glimpse of what's in store for the future of education. So we as future teachers should take full advantage of PD's that introduce new technology.

You could test blended learning with a group of students, to see if it's effective or not. Maybe have them do their own podcast on their thoughts on blended learning and ask them to share how much they have noticed technology changing over there years in school. (Social Change Unit)

Video in the classroom has come a long way...

It really is insane how far video use in the classroom has come in the past decade. You would think sending a couple students down to the library to pick up a television to watch a Bill Nye VHS is in the past...guess again. As of last year, the school where I was an EA at, still very much used television sets and VHS tapes. It's not a big deal that this is still happening, it's just sad that some teachers aren't taking the time to realize how useful and awesome smartboards can be.

Out with the old and in with the new! YOUTUBE has everything you need, for any subject. You as a teacher can stand and blab about god knows what all day long, and your visual learners will not get anything out of it. You need to keep your students engaged, and there's no better way to do that than a sweet video.

 

TeacherTube is an excellent website for all ages and educational areas. As a big history and geography nut, I took a good look at what this website provided for those areas. The video: http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=World_Population_Explosion&video_id=189453, I would use this video in a world population unit (gr.7), to give my students a better understanding of where the population is distributed throughout the world. They should also understand what areas are overpopulated now and what areas have always been overpopulated.

 

 

Another one would be: http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=47658 "If the World was a Village of 100 people." What percentage of each of those 100 people would be from each of the continents? (61 Asia) (14 Africa) (11 Europe) (9 South America) (5 North America) (0 Austrailia)...if you wanted to know... Then you could try it with your class, split the students into the continents. It really is a cool site, because a lot of students have made their own educational videos and put them on there and some very creative.

 

I would definitely encourage students to do their own videos, especially with the technology available nowadays, students can be quite creative once they get an idea in there head.

 



Edublogger Joe Bower: for the love of learning

Joe Bower is an educator from Red Deer Alberta that I have been following for the past few weeks. A one-time middle school teacher who is now working with people under the age of 18 with a wide range of mental health related difficulties.

Joe Bower is a committed educator who started his career by teaching by the book, disciplined students when need be and gave penalties to students who handed in late assignments. He makes it clear in his blog and website that's not how he does things anymore. Joe got tired of teaching the way he got taught to teach, and began to explore more "progressive ways of education."

Mr. Bower may have had an epiphany at one time, where he came to realize that it's okay to teach the way you want.

• Rethink discipline!
• Rethink Lesson Plans!
• Rethink Standardization!

These are just a few subjects in which he is constantly discussing and elaborating on in his posts. He is a teacher that is passionate about how some certain areas of education should be done. A few times a week Joe usually puts other people's posts or articles about education on his site, which are usually quite informative and worth taking the time to read.

"I believe students should experience their success and failure not as reward and punishment but as information." (Joe Bower)

Information on how to do better, know where they are right now and how to get to that A+, give them that information so they can become successful. I enjoy his approach to teaching, and thats why this edublogger caught my eye.

www.joebower.org

Digital Footprint

"Digital footprints provide data on what has been performed in the digital environment" (Reliable Wikipedia)

When I started this blog, I needed a refresher on what exactly a digital footprint was, through research I have come to realize that a lot of what we do shows up online. We need to be careful with how we use social media cites, as any average joe can google my name and find my facebook page...eventually. I say "eventually" because when I google my name a lot of Ben Affleck stuff pops up and not a whole lot of Tom Affleck. I just don't want employers to mistake me for Ben....just kidding.

By googling my name I found my facebook page, twitter, my blog, my senior baseball stats, and my contributions to the Souris School Newsletter the last couple years. I definitely found a lot more info on me when I typed "Souris Manitoba" beside my name. But it's crazy to think that with a simple search, someone may find where I grew up, what I do for a living, what my hobbies are, what I have coached, etc.

As my PLN gets larger over the years it's important to be aware of my "digital footprint." The interviewers of jobs I may pursue will google my name, so I must be alert of what my digital footprint displays.

Twitter

I am definitely struggling with getting into twitter. I am glad that I have signed up, but I am finding hard to tweet, except for when I am trying to connect with friends. I see it being very useful in connecting with other educators and I look forward to using it in that way in the future...but for now I am struggling to get tweeting.

It's fun to read classmates tweets about something they put together or resources they have tried. Some of the people I follow send out 30 tweets a day, I can't even imagine doing that...I am just not that interesting. But those people are showing me how easy it is to share awesome resources, educational websites, and interesting blog posts.

I really hope to keep at twitter in the future, and keep following my fellow classmates as most of you are graduating soon, I would love to see if ya'll keep with twitter in your first years of teaching.

I promise to start tweeting more, the more followers I have, the more pressure on me to share something...also, remember to read my blog.

Clarence Fisher's Brief/Informative Visit

An educator by the name of Clarence Fisher skyped in to our I4Ed class on Thursday, to discuss his views on the role of technology inside the classroom. Clarence is a grade 7 teacher up in Snow Lake Manitoba, where he has 28 students inside his homeroom. His visit was very brief because he could only Skype while his students were in phys-ed class, so it was nice that he was able to fit us in.

Clarence started his session by expressing that teachers in his first few years of teaching seemed afraid to change the way they should teach the curriculum. But in the last 10 years or so, it has been all about keeping the students engaged in lessons by trying all sorts of new things technology wise in the classroom. He explained that Manitoba has very high standards and outcomes, so it is important to get your students passionate about what they are learning throughout the school year.

Clarence feels that mobile learning plays a very important part in keeping the students engaged as much as possible, and so he welcomes lap tops into his room with open arms if it's going contribute in a positive way to their learning. "Kids should also create and not just consume," he feels that the ability to create in education has not been done well and so with more technology usage inside the class, this should help change that. Also, it will help make that connection to the "real world", which is becoming a bigger focus in many classrooms.

He went on to explain that school budgets in the province are getting quite smaller, so we must take advantage of the free resources that we have in front us. There are 1000 ways to get your hands on different kinds resources, so get out there and explore.

It was nice to hear from another educator who promotes exploring different ways of teaching and focuses on the importance of student engagement. Great Session.

George Couros

Our class had the pleasure of having George Couros Skype into our Internet for Educators class. George is from the Edmonton area, where he is the Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning for Parkland School Division. From start to finish George had many useful tips on what to do and what not to do when beginning your career as an educator.
Some of those useful tips include:

• Parents will google you because they are dying to know as much as possible about their child's teacher. So think twice about posting your party pictures online for your facebook friends to see.
• You could be the best teacher in the world, but if you have a bunch of spelling/grammar errors on your resume then your teaching skills mean nothing.
• You may use twitter and blogs just for a few months while taking a course, but these ways to communicate and share can be very useful once you begin your life as a teacher.
• "Yon don't need to be an expert on teaching; you need to be an expert on learning." I think this particular quote really stood out for most of us. George feels we need to inspire our kids to follow their passions, while letting them inspire us to do the same. This I think is great moto to live by.
• "Kids before curriculum," we need to build relationships with our students, get to know each and everyone one of them. It will help in building respect of your students.

I appreciate George Couros taking time to speak to us and sharing great points that really stuck in my mind, as every single one of them have their importance. Also, take some time to visit George Couros website, his blogs, resume and list of presentations/projects are a few of many areas that are quite impressive. A True Professional at what he does.

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/

John Finch Visits Brandon University

This past week we had John Finch visit our Internet for Educators class to discuss an assortment of ideas/issues with education and technology. One of the topics that caught my attention was cyber bullying and how it is not increasing like most people think it is. John Finch mentioned "Tell them from me," which measures safety in school and how engaged students are in school. They conducted a survey that showed that 25% students were a victim of bullying at least twice a week, but only 12 percent or so reported incidents with cyber bullying. He went on to say that most principals and superintendents will say that cyber bullying is on the rise within their schools, according to Mr. Finch there is not any data that will prove that statement. It really makes you think whether cyber bullying isn't on the rise like everyone thinks it is.

Another topic he discussed that is somewhat related to my first paragraph is that teachers are reported by some to be the biggest bullies that exist inside a school environment. To hear that many teachers are bullying some students about the clothes they wear and the fact that their family is poor is absolutely sickening. If this is the case, something should be looked into and those teachers should pay the price.

John talked a lot about internet privacy and safety, and how you should be well aware of who can access your facebook and whether your students or parents of your students can see your profile. I have had teacher friends tell me about the endless amount of requests they get from students and parents throughout the year. They just don't understand that teachers want to keep their private life private, so John really stressed that there should a clear separation between professional and personal, so a professional facebook page or twitter page may be a good idea for parents and colleagues to connect with you through social media.

I enjoyed having John Finch visit our class today, as he gave us some great surprising info that kept me fully engaged throughout the session.