Category: Weekly Reflections

I loved listening to every groups presentations regarding their podcasts. Although it was great to hear all of the new and interesting ways to implement technology into classrooms, my favourite part of the presentations was hearing how groups worked together and overcame issues they ran into it. The reason for this is because I’ve never been super confident in my technology abilities, but regardless of everyone’s ability and comfort level in relation to technology, everyone was able to work through issues they ran into to create a podcast. This gave me more confidence for my future working with technology because it gave me reassurance that my first attempt at new technology doesn’t have to be perfect. If I tried to make a podcast and it completely failed the first time, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t utilize podcasts, it just means I need to learn from what went wrong and try again.

Additionally, I thought it was great to see how every group collaborated and supported each other throughout this project. Sometimes group projects can be really difficult when the groups sizes are larger, but it seemed like everyone utilized their strengths and communicated very well throughout this process. I think our class all collectively learned more about each other by working closely together to create a podcast and a presentation. Especially since our groups were formed based on our interests, we were able to find new things that we have in common with each other.

My final point is in relation to the podcasts format. Since this assignment was fairly open-ended, it was super interesting to hear about the different approaches that each group took; I enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between each podcast format. For example, some podcasts were conversation style and others were more speech oriented. I thought this made for a really nice variety and contrast between each groups content, it also gave me more ideas for future podcasts. Overall, I really enjoyed hearing from each group and hearing about what everyone learned throughout this experience.

I got sick over the weekend and had to miss yesterday’s class; I was at the doctor so I wasn’t able to engage with the class through zoom either. I was super disappointed that I wasn’t able to hear from our guest speaker directly because I am super interested in the topic of inclusion and equality for students with disabilities. My mom used to work with students with disabilities in schools, so it has always been of interest to me. I also work at the Centre for Outreach Education (CORE), which is a tutoring program ran through UVic education, so I’ve had experience working with students who have specific and diverse learning needs. CORE is a great opportunity to get involved, especially for future teachers looking for more experience, so I’ve inserted the link to CORE below if anyone is interested in learning more!

https://www.uvic.ca/education/core/index.php

Regardless of missing yesterday’s lecture, I have taken the time to look through the powerpoint slides and the additional resources which were all super helpful. On one of the first slides, I read the quote from the 2021-22 Exclusion Tracker Report regarding the mistreatment and exclusion of students with disabilities and it is so heartbreaking to see those stats. The worst part is the lack of improvement in the past 4 years, and I really hope that us future educators can make a difference for those students. The only way this change is possible is if educators and members of the school community take constant action; in this powerpoint, I learned the term “affirmative action” in relation to equity. This means that every student is deserving and has access to the resources and supports they need to succeed and participate in all aspects of school. The requirements will change depending on the student, which is why it is so important for teachers to make “Personalized Learning Plans” to decipher what each student needs to thrive in their classroom.

In my Link2Practice classroom, my teacher and the EA have integrated technology in the class to support students with disabilities or unique learning needs. One example is that we have 2 students in our classroom who are hard of hearing; these students have hearing aids/implants that are connected to a device around our teachers neck so that they can hear the teacher better, even when they aren’t in close proximity. Another example is a student we have who is new to Canada and whose first language is not english. This language barrier has made school difficult for her so far, but our teacher has implemented technology into her learning to make this transition smoother. When reading, she gets to use an iPad with a headset to translate between her first language and english. There has already been significant improvement with her english since using this technology daily. This demonstrates how technology can support equity because rather than having these students learn in a separate classroom, they have been supplied with the additional resources they need to learn and succeed in this classroom with their peers.

As for a lot of recent technological advancements, ChatGPT comes with both pros and cons. Although this applies to a lot of professions, I feel like there is specifically a divide in education between educators who support resources like ChatGPT, and those who don’t. Teachers that take on an “old school” approach, likely do not agree or support the principles of utilizing artificial intelligence in education. However, teachers who have grown up with technology and appreciate the benefit it provides, may think that resources like ChatGPT can be an amazing addition to education.

Teachers have become concerned over their students relying on artificial intelligence and worry that resources like ChatGPT will prevent students from thinking critically or completing their own assignments. This is a valid concern and students should be educated about when it is appropriate to utilize AI, and when it is not. Regardless, this fear is enough for a lot of educators to avoid the tool completely. However, ChatGPT has the ability to increase teachers efficiency and benefit them tremendously. For example, ChatGTP can develop comprehensive lesson plans, it can generate questions and assessment prompts, it can aid teachers in assessment by analyzing students work, it can provide helpful links and resources related to the relevant content, and it can even offer support about how to increase students engagement and reduce behavioural issues. These are all tasks that teachers are capable of completing without help, but saves them time and generates productive feedback when necessary.

In ChatGPT, I chose to ask the question, “Why is ChatGPT bad?” The answers it came up with was lack of understanding, bias and misinformation, ethical concerns, limitation in context, and dependency. I thought this question was interesting to ask because I’m essentially asking AI “Why are you bad?” or “Why shouldn’t I use this?” However, the answers are accurate cons of ChatGPT which were all addressed by the AI. ChatGPT did make a point of mentioning how AI is continuing to refine and develop its abilities to improve and become less controversial.

I find the idea of incorporating your own graphics and images into the classroom to be very valuable. Especially for elementary students, learning with visuals is often super helpful and engaging. If there are words and images on the screen, the chances of students looking and analyzing the visual first is much higher. When the image is really powerful and effective, rather than the image always accompanying the text, the image can be the main attraction and text can be added to support the image instead.

Although sometimes it may be useful to include images from google or other places, having the skills to create your own graphics as a teacher can go a long way. This skill would prevent the risk of accidental copyright; it also allows the images to be specific and personalized to the content being shown in the classroom. If a teacher made their own graphics, this would provide more opportunity for discussion because the teacher would be more passionate about what they’ve created and would be more eager to share. As technology advances, teachers technological creations will be a great model for students to follow if they want to learn how to create their own graphics eventually as well.

Adding artistic effects to graphics promotes creativity in the classroom and enhances the class’s interest level over the content being introduced to the class. Colour, motion, patterns, collages, and pictures are naturally engaging and will capture the students focus throughout the lesson. Today in class, we experimented with adding graphics and effects to powerpoints to make them more engaging and to practice our skills. I’ve shared the link to my work below.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Tk80r8mE7Zz0JCBkpvME_ELuU_FCVnKsHvk3jA_55BQ/edit?usp=sharing

Today in class we got to hear from Kirtsen about the importance of connecting with nature, as well as discovering ways to build a relationship with the land in the classroom. I was especially interested in this presentation as it directly relates to my free inquiry project about hiking; Kirtsen is clearly passionate about nature too, so it was nice to see that we have that in common. I’ve always thought of nature as being a significant resource for learning and developing respect for the land; especially nature around the school community. The nature surrounding elementary schools can help students focus on place and help them to recognize how the land they are on relates to their identity and sense of self.

I also found the crossover between technology and nature to be very interesting. Often times these topics seem like opposites, but as Kirsten emphasized, technology can be an amazing way to enhance our knowledge of nature. Resources like google earth, minecraft, iNaturalist, ChatterPix, and more, provided our class with perfect examples of how technology can support our understanding of our land.

We got the chance to walk through Finnerty Gardens following this presentation, which was a really nice way to contextualize what we had just learned. Last year in my Biology class, we would walk through Finnerty Gardens to examine the plants and general environment. I found that learning opportunity supported my understanding of Biology more so than the Biology lectures in class. So especially for elementary students, learning in nature and about nature has immense benefits.

Photo credits to UVic’s website:

Today we got the opportunity to hear from Rich McCue. Rich’s lesson was very informal and engaging; he shared lots of great strategies about how to integrate technology into classrooms in a positive and effective way. One big take away from this presentation was his insight on the benefit of including educational videos into classrooms. I’ve been thinking about different ways of integrating technology into elementary classrooms without having it take over; children tend to spend a lot of time on screens outside of school, so I think it is important to not rely on technology to teach too often. However, technology has become a huge part of society and has great benefits when it comes to learning. Educational videos can be more engaging and concise than a long lesson on a topic. It also creates an opportunity for students to feel comfortable giving both negative and positive feedback to the video, whereas they may not share their opinion if the information is coming from a teacher or peer. Rich gave us suggestions on reliable sources to find educational videos from such as Teachertube, Khan Academy, and YouTube. He also brought to our attention possible drawbacks of using YouTube. Teachers have to be aware of the advertisements, the suggested videos, and they must make sure that all of the content is appropriate for their target audience. I appreciated that he gave us names of commonly used sites because now I know where to look for inspiration for finding educational videos. I spent some time browsing each of these sources and I can see why they’ve become popular tools for teaching in classrooms. I have included the links to these sites below. I also included a link to my “Screencastify” video which we experimented with in class today.

https://www.teachertube.com/

https://g.co/kgs/T6TLmi

https://g.co/kgs/m7HR5q

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/LkiWI1JhjKSDHfUy6plM

Concepts in technology revolving around copyright and privacy guidelines is not something that I have a lot of knowledge in. However, I want to expand my knowledge in this area because I think it is important to model appropriate online behaviour for students. If I don’t develop a solid understanding of copyright guidelines, I may struggle to recognize if a student has plagiarized or copyrighted work. Also, if students come to me with a question about copyright, I’d like to feel confident in my answer. Reviewing the copyright matters document already enhanced my knowledge and understanding in this subject area. Although I already knew more about the BC FIPPA cloud guidelines, the clarification about certain privacy guidelines was really beneficial to read. This resource is one that I can see myself referencing regularly on my journey to becoming a teacher. As it is a lot of complicated information to process at once, it will take me time to have absorbed all of the data presented. Teachers understanding the importance of protecting students privacy and managing their own is essential to creating a safe and unproblematic classroom, so this is something that is really valuable to me.

I am so grateful that I got the chance to listen and engage with Jesse’s presentation today. I’ve started to become more aware about my personal social media accounts because I’m beginning to work in school environments. I feel like social media as a teacher and social media in the classroom is a very grey area. This is mostly because teachers, parents, and social media professionals are all going to have their own differing opinions. I know that I have the responsibility as a teacher to make my own decisions, but I appreciate the guidance and advice that Jesse provided our class with. I personally think it’s better to keep my social media life separate from student and parent contacts. As it is common for parents to do some digging about their students teachers prior to meeting, I think it is better to avoid having public social media accounts. In the chance that parents disagreed with a post I posted for whatever reason, I’d rather prevent those potential issues ahead of time.

I found it helpful to hear specific examples about when teachers should get involved with students personal lives over social media. If you happen to find something online about a student that puts their safety or well-being at risk, it is your responsibility to get involved. However, there are positive and negative ways about dealing with these situations. It is important to think critically before making a decision about how to handle sensitive situations involving students online, the priority has to be to protect the student. Some circumstances are better to talk to the student, whereas others are better to bring up to the principal.

This presentation gave me a lot of clarification and support with navigating social medias connection to teaching. I still have more to learn, but now I have access to some trustworthy and beneficial resources to support me.

After watching the film “Most Likely to Succeed” by Greg Whiteley, I feel as if I’ve been exposed to an entirely new way of learning. The school High Tech High challenges students with the exposure to essential life skills that are often not taught in traditional high schools. Rather than having students sit at desks and follow teacher’s instructions all day, High Tech High learning is hands-on and encourages students to advocate for their own learning. This redefines student-teacher relationships by giving students a sense of responsibility and agency that they wouldn’t experience in previous schools. As the year progressed, students seemed prepared to enter the workforce as they had developed valuable skills such as collaboration, communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving in ways that students in traditional classrooms may lack. Most students in traditional high schools feel confident with the level of knowledge they’ve accumulated but feel as if it won’t serve a purpose in their future careers. Most students would benefit from a balance of knowledge production from traditional high schools and exposure to the kind of learning that High Tech High offers. The teachers at High Tech High emphasize the importance of students making decisions for themselves, encourage reserved students to be leaders, and place students in situations where they must work cohesively with peers. As the instruction by teachers is very broad and open-ended, students must take their learning into their own hands. Teachers were rewarded by the growth they saw each student endure; they gave feedback and constructive criticism to help their students succeed. Students responded very positively to this feedback because the teachers re-wired their brains to have a growth mindset. The effort teachers took to “re-wire” student’s mindset’s was essential because previous schools put so much value on tests and grades, rather than other forms of assessment. I wonder how high school teachers and education ministers would feel after watching this film. Maybe understanding that the traditional way of learning doesn’t work for every learner could provoke productive changes in the curriculum.