Final Post!

This will be my final post for the term! Thanks for all the ideas we've shared throughout the semester, and I look forward to keeping up with everyone's blogs!  Please use the link below to view my final project :)

http://portal.sliderocket.com/DFXQB/9C11BC1A-0F42-49CC-B480-46FF7A9BF982 

Future of Education?

I think it is clear after everything we have learned this semester that the future for us as educators is filled with tech savvy teaching tools! The Horizon Report shares a few of their ideas of what they think some of these teaching tools may be. 

Cloud Computing (One large home to many different servers)

Mobiles (Just as it sounds, mobile hand held browsers are taking over!)

Game-Based Learning (A more interactive way for students to learn using multiple different games and simulations)

Open Content (Sharing and collaborating, meaning less textbooks)

Learning Analytic (Studying many types of data produced by students to better target each individual learner)

Personal Learning Environment (We are very familiar with these!)

I am a firm believer that the technology we have today and advancements in teaching tools is making us "smarter" individuals. I also believe in the "Work smarter not harder" saying!! I think this is what all teachers and students can look forward to in the future. Teachers will still  be great role models in the classrooms (guides on the side), students will still be learning a great amount of information each year, but it will simply be delivered in a more modern, interactive way using the most up to date technology available. 

Safe to say I think this is a great time for us to be entering the world of education!
 

App Show and Tell!

After our group presentations two weeks ago, I couldn't help but feel panicked about properly citing my information while in school. (Especially considering I'm 4 years in...) So I found an app, which may or may not be new to my classmates, that will be such a big help! Its called "CiteMe" &  CiteMe on Facebook". 

The best part? It's a fool proof way to cite all your resources! Once you go to CiteMe on Facebook, all you do is type in the name of the book, textbook, or whatever it is that you are citing and it will bring up the proper way to cite the resource. Then, you can just copy and paste it to your document. The other great feature is it will automatically change it whether you are using APA, MLA, or other forms of citations. 

 

The website "CiteMe" is just as convenient and allows you to search even more than just books. It will conveniently cite articles, newspapers, or any other media you have used. It gives you a template to type in all the necessary information (such as author, year, article name) and it cites it for you! It also keeps a list to make it easier and more organized for when you are finished. Hope this helps everyone else as much as it will me! 

Infographics

Since I am very new with infographics, I took a look at everyone else's first and realized it's just a fun and unique way to display information. So my next thought was, what type of information do I want to share? With any students (of any age) it's important to talk nutrition. That's why I decided to do a piktograph on the amount of sugar in some popular beverages among kids. It was simple, quick, and I think it gets the point across! I know one of the best things I learned when I was a teenager was how many calories and sugar I was drinking. As a teenager, you never think of your beverages as a contribution to your health or intake of calories. However, if more students are made aware of this at a young age, and understand the benefits of adding water to their list of favorite drinks, then I think it would be extremely beneficial!

Video in the Classroom

Video in the classroom has not only made the average classroom more fun, but it has connected the students and teachers to current events happening around the world. I remember getting so excited in high school when my teacher would roll in that big tv, we would all cheer as we knew we were getting the chance to watch a video. Times have definitely changed since then! (And that wasn't all that long ago!!) Teachers are using video almost everyday. Video apps such as brainpop, teachertube, and other helpful resources are being used to assist with the delivery of the curriculum material. Not only are students more engaged, but it is keeping them connected with the world, too. For middle years classrooms one of the most important topics in social studies is current events. My sister teaches grade 7 at a school in Brandon and sometimes shows a news clipping to activate her social studies classes. The students will be asked if they heard any important news the night before that they think is worth sharing; similarly, the biggest topics around the world such as weather systems, breaking news, once in a lifetime moments being captured on tv, and other important events around the world- are never missed. The students love feeling so connected with the rest of the world and love to take part in discussing current events. Not to mention, video can be used to assist ANY grade, and almost any subject. It is an interactive way to engage your students and give them some variety in their classes. We have the ability to be connected with people all over our universe within seconds through technology and we need to use this as a teaching tool in our future classrooms!

Personal Learning Networks

My personal learning network has definitely grown in the last 3 months, thanks to Internet for Educators! It is exciting to think that our classrooms in 2014 will be filled with all new technology that is going to better assist multiple learners.  It is an exciting world we live in and change is happening everyday in the technology world, which means our delivery methods will keep changing too! Most importantly? It is our jobs as young educators to keep up!

EduBlogger: ~Against the Wind~

"I blog so that I can share posts with students. They get a deeper understanding of why I teach the way I do, why I conduct the class the way I do, why I do what I do" (Brian Barry).

At the beginning of this term, I took interest in reading posts by Nunavut_tweeter, an educational blogger from Iqaluit, Nunavut. Brian's blog titled, "Against the Wind" has great posts that are both inspirational and enlightening. As pre service teachers we are constantly learning, and I appreciate hearing tips and thoughts by other educational professionals who take pride in sharing their success stories - and even their setbacks.

One of my favorite posts of his was titled Meeting the Needs of Students. (This post was inspired by a conference about William Glasser's Control Theory). What I loved about this post is he not only discussed the 5 needs of students (Survival, Fun, Freedom, Power/Success, Love/Belonging) but he shared some daily lessons he had created that successfully met these needs. A couple examples of these are..

 "Power/success: Ensuring that all students have a chance to succeed is essential. If some are not good at tests, they might be good at debating, acting, music or art. I ensure I give them the opportunity to succeed at their strength"

 "Love/belonging: I greet my students at the door each day. I have a calendar board for the month where I write various birthdays or events the students have that month. This makes each student feel included. Group activities are good too for meeting this need".

Another favorite post of Brian's that I wanted to share was titled, "We Need More Time Flying Days". 

Photo courtesy of Brian Barry

This post was so simple- yet something we may have never thought of! All that is meant by this post is that time flies when you're having fun. The bottom line that he wanted to get across here is that the next time you and your class have a time flying day, take a moment to realize why. What made the day so fun and engaging? Take that and use it to make every class just as fun!

Finally, an idea that I thought was genius for collaborating ideas was a post titled "A Short Conversation With.. " Brian found a website called Teachmeet New Jersey: Fresh ideas for Education, where ideas are presented to educators through interviews, an idea that he loved. This is where he came up with his A Short Conversation With... idea. Now, you can click on this link on his blog and read multiple interviews with different colleagues that discuss tools for being a great educator. 

"Sure, if I had not been exposed to Twitter I could do some of the same things I have

 done. However, social media has made it easier to connect and work with people (StevenAnderson)".

 "I had an administrator that showed she believed in me and it meant everything. That

belief led to me believing that I could do great things in school. My goal as an  

administrator is to continuously do the same thing for my students and staff.

This is not about false optimism, but it is about finding the gifts people bring and 

helping them share them with the world" (George Couros)".

On an end note, here are a few of Brian's tips titled "I wish I had NEVER learned about teaching"... 

    I wish I had never learned that the teacher never admits when he/she is wrong.
    I wish I had never learned that the class must always be quiet.                             
    I wish I had never learned that a student should always stay in his/her seat. 
    I wish I had never learned that school was not a place for fun.                              

I wish I could continue on and share more of Brian's insights, but I can only hope that my classmates and colleagues in the teaching field will follow his blog and be a part of his philosophy. A few of his other great posts not mentioned here (well worth reading!) are:

~Boredom: It's not about the tool; It's about the students~
~Motivational/Inspiring: My 100th Post: My Teacher Checklist~
~Motivational/Inspiring: What is stopping you?~
~Change: Are you learning?~ 

Photo courtesy of Mark Brannon

Brian's optimism, educational insight and honesty is greatly appreciated and valued by many.Thank you, Brian, for sharing your thoughts and I look forward to reading more in the future! 

Podcasts

One way to get our students more engaged in the classroom is through the use of Podcasts. While looking up some educational podcasts I came across a few ideas of how they could be beneficial and useful in the classroom (which wasn't hard to do considering there are tons of resources out there!). My first idea actually came from my sister; while I was googling ideas for the classroom she brought to my attention how nice it would be to teach a difficult concept (ex. a new math lesson) through a podcast, and later post it to your classroom website giving your students constant access to you as a resource. This would be fantastic for parents as well as they would be able to listen to the lesson and help their child with homework if they were having difficulty. Definitely something worth trying! Not to mention this would be fantastic for any age. While on the topic of having podcasts as resources for outside the classroom, it is definitely worth noting some of the other resources I found for students to use when struggling with a topic. A perfect example is Grammar Girl or The Public Speaker which are beneficial for many different ages. These types of podcasts offer quick tips on how to improve in a certain subject or topic area (such as english) when there is noone around to ask for help. I am not sure how new Podcasts are- but I definitely don't remember being able to benefit from these when I was in school! 

While I'm sure there are thousands of resources for students to use outside the classroom, it is also important to note how Podcasts can be useful in the classroom as well. We are well aware that the traditional ways of displaying information in the classroom are being replaced with more interactive and modern ways. Podcasts give students an additional method of displaying their information for projects and presentations, giving them the opportunity to individualize their schoolwork. A great example of this is a group of students from Charlotte High School, Michigan who entitled their work "This I Believe". Each student has a different podcast broadcasting a belief that is specific to each individual. Some students speak of being yourself, artwork, or even music. 

It is easy to see that whatever way students or teachers decide to use it, Podcasts can be a great resource for any classroom, and any age!

I4ed Proudly Presents!

This week we had the chance to share what we've been working on for the past few weeks through a variety of group presentations. The best part about this is I don't think we had two presentations that were anything like the others! Everyone had unique ideas and different ways of sharing their findings. 

A variety of things stood out for me within these presentations. The first thing being "BYOD's" live chat stream calling Today's Meet. This was a great way to engage all of us by giving us the opportunity to comment and ask questions throughout the presentation, which were addressed often. Not to mention their method of delivering some of their material- through wordle. Such a good idea, considering our class is all about creativity and using multiple technological devices and resources, this was perfect! 

One of my favorite moments of the whole class was Stephanie, Sarah & Scott, Adrienne & Steve's movie clip on "Cyberbullying". Not only did they find a way to get through to people about the dangers of cyberbullying, but their approach displayed the media's role in sensationalizing the news. They explained how serious of an issue this is, but also touched on John Finch's presentation on how to handle social media and rationalize what you are hearing. 

All in all, everyone did a fantastic job at presenting their topics and made for an extremely enjoyable 2 hour class! Brooke, Jen, and Anna discussed the idea of blocking websites from kids and the limitations that it could bring, while keeping in mind student's safety and best interest. Jennifer A., Tyler, Kirsten, Lisa, and Kelsey scared us, I mean, showed us "How NOT to steal from the Internet"!! Such an important topic that even at university level is something that should never be taken lightly! (And it's not all that easy, either!). 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas with us. Great way to wrap up the term!

Free Write

For the week of the 19th and the 21st we were absent due to some bad weather in the states, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to find something on my own to blog about. I came across an article that I thought would be fun to share, and can be found at this link:
 
                                 http://edudemic.com/2012/12/the-future-of-edtech/   

For anyone who is interested! It is an article that was wrote in 2006 that predicted what the future of EdTech would look like, while comparing some of the already changing trends they were experiencing at the time. The interesting part is how accurate this article was. A perfect example of this was when Steve Spengler (the writer of this presentation/article) predicted that classrooms would have handheld devices, wireless computers and tablets. This is exactly where we are at today! He also discusses the differences in technology from 1997-2002 to show the growth they were experiencing. One point that I found interesting was the ratio of students per internet-connected computers in classrooms. 1997 showed approximately 20 kids/1 computer, whereas 2002 showed 6 students/1 computer. Now, compare that to today? Most students (depending on schools and divisions) will at some point have access to laptops/tablets with a 1:1 ratio! It is interesting (and almost scary...) to think about the advances that will be made in the next decade. Hopefully our chosen careers will still be there in 2030 and classrooms wont strictly be ran by web-based programming and and even more advanced technology (Robots/Programmed Teachers?)!  Wonder if that idea is that far off?

Digital Footprint

Well, I was happy (and a little relieved) when googling myself to find that there is not much that the public can find about me on the internet! When only searching my full name, I was interested to find out that there is a Jen Banks that is extremely popular for her blogging (with a blogger name of @abusymommy) who is way more popular than me! I searched for 3 pages and still couldn't find anything on myself. . However once adding "Brandon University" to my name, I was excited to see that my student exchange experience with Indiana University came up. I was one of the first people to ever take part in the student exchange program through BU and am proud to see my name attached to the first news articles published about the NSE program. Thinking back to what George Couros told us about having a positive digital footprint, I feel relieved to see that only my professional footprint is to be found! (Not that I expected any negative information to be found, but it is hard to believe how long the internet has been around for and that we weren't ALWAYS as smart as we are today.. Thinking back to MSN chatrooms, etc). Thanks to our I4ed class, the only other link to be found is my google account which is full of educational blogs. Luckily, I only need to worry about adding positive information to my digital footprint in the future, not removing any negative!

Web Based Learning

Thursday in our Internet for Educators course we had a visit from two Manitoba Education professionals, Sophia Palahicky and Donald Girouard. The topic they brought to our attention was Web Based Learning. The first important point that I took from this presentation is that there may be distance in many types of learning, as an example: lecturing. This doesn't seem like it would be a distance learning model, but if the student isn't engaged in the classroom, then there is a distance between the teacher and the student.  Sophia had a great point when discussing if Web Based Learning is right for you - this tool is simply going to mediate "your pedagogy"- whatever that may be. Web Based Learning does not simply mean that the student is learning independently through online course work and test taking, without a teacher present. Web Based Learning can be done: face to face, as a teaching resource, as part of a blended learning environment, or with distance learners. Sophia and Donald expressed the importance of using this Web Based Learning tool along with your own resources, and to use it to benefit your own teaching style. 

Growing up in a small town, I understand the benefit to these types of web based courses being offered. Although I never took part, I remember 3 different classes (from schools surrounding Melita) getting together and taking part in a broadcasted course, from the comfort of our own schools. One worry with this is that it clearly took one teacher to teach three different groups of students, instead of three teachers. However, if you look at this from a different perspective, those students wouldn't have had the opportunity to take that course if it wasn't for web based courses. Web Based Courses benefit students of all ages, especially university level, as we aren't limited to courses only offered on campus. This is important especially to small campuses such as BU who only have a limited number of courses and professors to accommodate such a small student body. When attending IUPUI last year (with a student body of 30,000), I felt completely spoiled when registering for courses in the fall as I had SO many options of courses to take. This was largely because of the online and web based courses being offered. It was a convenient way to get the credit while accommodating my other courses. To add to this convenience, the professors who were the instructors of these courses were located right on campus, in case of any trouble with the course material.

As a pre-service teacher, I do wonder about how often these types of courses will be used when I am teaching middle (or even early years). However, like anything, there is both advantages and disadvantages to these web based courses, and I need to keep an open mind about the idea.  While I can't speak from experience (of having my own classroom) I do feel we need to keep the student's best interests in mind and accommodate their needs when possible. I think it will be extremely important to collaborate with other teachers in your school and division once teaching, and web based courses should only add to this convenience. On a final note, I can't help but think the more possibilities and resources offered for teaching our students, the better. We always keep different learning styles in mind when creating our lesson plans, as it is one of the most important aspects of a lesson  to consider. So, on a final note, having web based courses as an option for learners who do not benefit from face to face instruction seems like a no brainer!

@Twitter

Twitter...the new and improved facebook? I can't help but think that twitter just might be giving Mark Zuckerberg a run for his money. While facebook was fun for a while, it seemed (and still does) to be more of a network for sharing pictures and updates. Twitter, on the other hand is an easy way to connect with other educators (and of course any other people of your chosen profession). Not only that but some of the first pages I followed on twitter were news pages (such as @CNNbrk), keeping me connected with everything that was happening around the world. I personally like twitter because it has more to do with what's happening around the community and world (such as our @BUbobcats mens volleyball team winning the gold lastnight! #bobcatnation), and less to do with photo sharing. Most importantly, twitter makes it easy to follow people that inspire you, not only professionally but on a personal level too. 

From educators to designers, sports teams, latest trends, news pages, friends, celebrities (oscar winning of course), and anything else that moves you, twitter is definitely where it's at!

Clarence Fisher

 

"The learning in a classroom is only as strong as the network it occurs in" (Clarence Fisher, 2013). 

In a quick skype meeting today we were able to hear from Clarence Fisher, a teacher from Snow Lake who currently teaches in a school with a student population of only 145. And that's K-12! Just like his small town of 1000 is changing (due to a big industrial development) Clarence explained that Education is changing, too. What I liked about this discussion was that Clarence incorporated real world changes into his own classroom, and encourages it for other teachers too. 

As he discussed earlier, we are supposed to be adjusting to this new-world concept of advancing technology, but yet we ban kids from many of the resources available? Our job as teachers is to educate students and prepare them for the real world, but it is incredibly hard to do so if we are not allowed to expose them to different types of technology. What we should be doing is teaching them how to make connections, take what they are learning in the classroom, and apply it in different areas with different types of technology. For example- the Iphone. While it could be considered an interruption, it could also be a great resource with all of the available apps that come with it. He also discussed laptops and the issue of having personal lap tops (and other learning devices) banned from the classroom. A great point he made was-- Would we turn away a $500 donation from a parent? Of course not, then why do we turn away available resources that students could provide for themselves? Finally, Clarence also discussed the importance of being a passionate teacher who has the ability to engage students.Yes, education has high standards, but find a way to meet these standards using passion-based learning in your classroom! 

While finishing up this post, I'm left thinking about how available information is to our students, and the idea that teachers aren't as needed as they used to be. Students can find any information on the internet! Why do they need us? Maybe we should be thinking about how to feel "needed" by our students!

George Couros

"You have the opportunity to be found rather than hidden, so give people something great to find" (George Couros, 2013).

I have heard a lot of great opinions in the last couple of weeks about online communication and technology, but George Couros had some great ideas that looked at things from a different angle. He not only told us the value of technology, but also some tricks to being a successful teacher. Being an administrator, George told us the key to beating the other 399 resumes that land on his desk. Be precise, to the point, and be noticeable. How could you wind up in 1 out of 10 applicants left on his desk? Stand Out! George told us the first thing he would do is google us. What I liked about this is he explained that it's better to be found than hidden. Don't worry as much about keeping all your information private, but worry more about the good things that you DO want being found- blogs that might show personality, your best qualities; Profiles that show your professionalism, development, and growth. This is what will land you that interview, and most likely the job.

Now, you are the last one standing. Keys to being a great teacher? George said it's simple: Expect the same from yourself as you do your students. Always have growth in mind, and don't be afraid to struggle in front of your students. Focus on learning goals rather than performance goals. Be a passionate teacher. And the easiest tip George gave us? Take a second to think about whether or not YOU would want to sit in your classroom. If it wouldn't be engaging for you, chances are your students feel the same!

Finally, you don't have to be an expert on teaching, you just have to be an expert in learning! 

Handling Social Media

John Finch joined us in class yesterday for a face to face (despite some serious jet lag) to discuss the topic of social media. With technology changing and advancing every single day, how are we (or should we…) be handling it? John Finch shared an interesting topic about how we can attempt to handle social media. First of all, John discussed one of the most popular topics in today’s media. Personal and professional profiles: How can we protect ourselves as new teachers?

The key is keeping your identities absolutely separate. A perfect example is, “Meet The Teacher” night at your school. As John said, why not call it, “Meet the Creature” night? We are completely naive if we think we aren’t being “googled” on a regular basis once we are in the world of teaching. The fact that our competency as educators may be compromised by a certain profile picture or status is bizarre, but we are taught that this is absolutely the case today. When blogging, twittering, or networking, use a profile that is strictly professional and keep your personal information (and full name) out of the account. However, as John said, we are still human and are allowed to have a personal life, but keep it just that: personal!

Who reads the fine print? I know for me it usually ends up in the garbage with the rest of the packaging. John stated that when it comes to copyright, if you aren’t paying for it then somebody is. And that somebody is usually making money—off you. Luckily (and I mean luckily) for us, John said there is a new copyright law in Canada that basically states we can do a lot more today than we could 6 months ago. We can now legally distribute material to students that is copyrighted material, without paying. Whew.. because no one has ever done that before..

John left us thinking, if we aren’t reading the fine print, are we ever getting the full story?