Blog Prompt #6

I think that interactive white boards, Ipads and game based learning are three Educational tools that would work well together in the high school environment if used properly. I think one of the biggest issues I see with ICT being used in the classroom is that teachers are trying to use unconventional tools to teach conventionally. Interactive white boards do not function well when being used for long lectures with a lot of writing involved because they are slower and more complicated than a chalk board. However, interactive white boards are much more powerful than a chalkboard when being used for short well designed presentations. I don’t think that students today need hours of instruction anymore because of the amount of information that is available online. Students need taught how to access what is available to them and how to teach themselves. This is because learning this way is much more engaging than just copying notes but more importantly it is a much more valuable life skill to have.

I think these three tools would most effective if used together. For example if in a math class the teacher could give a short presentation about what exactly they will be covering that day on the interactive white board, then students could answer questions in groups using there Ipads to help them. After the work is complete students could display their answers and resources on the interactive white boards. To get the work more exciting for students it could be presented as a game or competition. This method could apply to many subject areas. One subject area I think would benefit from something like this would be the social sciences. For example history, students in a history class could all be given a section of an historical event to research. Questions could be posted on the interactive white board and as each student posts there answers more and more of the story could be filled in. students could then all save a digital copy of the entire presentation into their notes as well as having the a list of the resources used to make the presentation. 

Students to need use technology in a way that allows them to work independently but keeps them connected with each other. Making learning more independent and interactive will better prepare students for the way they will have to learn in the real world. The possibilities for self-teaching and long learning are endless and students need to be taught how to learn and problem solve rather than memorize content.             

Blog Prompt #5

I strongly agree with many of the opinions discussed in the Changing Education Paradigms video. One thing I have both witnessed and experienced is the belief that school is unimportant. Being someone who likes to ask questions and think about why things are the way they are I have always found it challenging to just accept the structure of our education system. Another reason I may have found this so challenging is because like everyone else I have a unique learning style. If we are all unique learners, then why do I struggle more than most students in the conventional class room? Well I guess (and pardon my serious grammatical error here) my learning style is very unique.  I have never being able to really accept the conventional way of teaching as the most effective way to learn because …. Well… it doesn’t work for me. When I sit down and listen to scripted information being read off an overhead, while failing to get the notes down, I lose interest. I lose interest because if the information seems like it is coming from the text book and not the teacher, it loses its meaning. I think I actually learn best when I am doing work in a group interacting with people and learning from each other or from well put together interesting videos like ones shown my economics is class. ;)

I also think that the idea of chunking is something that has always worked well for me. Chunking is what has lead me to being somewhat successful in math. I was always a good math student in elementary school because math way something that came naturally to me. Unfortunately as soon as letters became involved, everything fell apart. My math marks stayed frightening low until grade 11 when I got my first 90 in course that was P.E.  What really allowed me to make the change was just doing to homework in class and at lunch, instead of going home first. This was effective because I was able to practice what I learned in class instead of re-teaching it to myself. This allowed to understand what I was had learned instead of remembering it. Another example in my life where chunking was effective is grade 8 French. Everyday after school my teacher would make me stay after class to practice what we had learned that day. Not only was the practice work “chunked” but my testing was as well. Instead of writing a test every month or so like the rest of my class, my teacher would test me every three days on what we had gone over. This system took extreme dedication on both our parts (mainly hers) and made French one of my most successful courses that year. I really think that school needs to feel possible and that is one of the reason why chunking is so effective, because it allows you understand materials in pieces and get small rewards as you learn.                

Blog Prompt #4 

Both of my placements were with gym teachers and though they had their own unique challenges, both of them did also pose some similar problems.  One of the most challenging [arts of working with these teachers was simply finding the resources they wanted for their websites. Unlike courses like math and science, there are not a lot of online resources for P.E. Also, I had personally never attempted to create a website before this, so the entire process was quite new to me. Learning how to take the resources and add them to the our sites in a way the look clean as was logical was the most challenging part of this project for me.  It was also the part of the project I found most beneficial. Another thing I found challenging was that even though our placements new what they wanted from us  in terms of functionality, they didn’t necessarily know what type of tech was availed to preform that function. We had to teach them how to use what we had created, which was difficult because the line of communication between us wasn’t very strong.  I was hard to figured what we needed to update and change when we spent days just trying to get in touch with them. However, I do consider our placements to be successes because our teachers seemed happy with the work we did and even though it was a lot more stressful than I anticipated, the work we produced was not only satisfactory but actually useful. I actually did enjoy working on this project and making something that other people can use. One thing I think would make this project better would to have teachers who really want to be a part of the process and who understand the amount of time that is required to make a good website. This isn’t because working with my teachers was tremendously difficult but because the benefits and quality of the work that would be produced from having both involved students and involved teachers would be much greater than when all the development is left to the students.  I actually think the challenges of working closely with a teacher would be much more stressful but the learning experience would be much more meaningful.     

Blog Promt #3

Interdisciplinary and ICT Knowledge

In working my two placements I have learned a lot about the role ICT plays in 21^st century education. The biggest difference I see in today’s education system is that more accommodations are being made for students with different learning needs. For example, the main focus of one of my placements was to use ICT to communicate the same information taught in the in class to ESL students who struggle with just verbal/non-verbal information and need to learn visually.

            In working with my placements I have learned a lot about the available ICT tools that I have never used before. This was my first time working with Google Sites, Google Calendar, Google Forms and though I used Google Docs/Drive before, I have learned a lot about how to use them effectively, making them a much more powerful tool.

Thinking and Inquiry

            Organizing and planning projects is something I have always struggled a great deal with. During this project I have had to not only plan around my schedule but also the schedules of my partner Danielle but most importantly both of my placement teachers. Before meeting with our teachers Danielle and I had to plan exactly what to ask the teachers to make sure we know what they want from us. Once we understood their needs we made to make sure we knew what we required from our teachers to accomplish our goals. Now that we have a plan and clear idea of how our finished product should look and function, we are able now able to make adjustments to our work and fix technical problems that we are facing.

            Some examples of ICT analysis we have done are looking at teacher’s old websites to see what the problems are and what tools/information are worth using in their new websites. Also, we have had to find and sort through many educational resources for health/fitness and pick and choose which ones will be the most beneficial for teachers and students.

            My teachers challenge me creatively because often they do not know exactly what they want from us but have a more general idea for the site. For example one of my teachers wanted away to digitally submit an assignment that students have to do every year. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to create a dropbox type system or if there would be a more efficient way to do this. Because the project required students to fill out a daily log we created a form he cite for students to submit their answers. This ensures that students fill out log everyday and not all at once at the end of the project.

           

After we had everything on the cite that are teachers wanted from us, we had to make sure that everything was functional and laid out logically. This is because the website was actually going to be used by students. Every time we added a new feature it seemed like we had to change of the layout of the website to make sure it was organized and easy to use.

Communication

            We didn’t develop any written instructions on for teaching ICT skills. We verbally explained how to use what we built for our teachers because most of it was self-explanatory. What we offered to one of our teachers was for him to contact use via email, so that we could make him video tutorials answering any further question he might have.

            One of our placements was entirely dedicated to finding resources for ESL students. We found videos which teach the content taught in class. Also, for some of the topics we posted multiple videos which the same content if different ways.

            The only oral communication we really did for this project was between our teachers and us. Though there wasn’t a lot of oral communication, I think that the oral communication that did occur was clear and effective. This is because our teachers were satisfied with our work, which means that we communicated effective we was required and was going to be done.

            All the materials on our sites are spelt properly and because most of what our teachers wanted were links to online resources, so, most the formatting and spelling was already done for us. The only thing we had to do was make sure that the link were organized properly.

Application

            What we used was things like Youtube, Google docs, Weebly, Google sites, Google forms and websites specific to course curriculum. We combined these tools into websites for students to use in order to get extra help, contact teachers and submit work.

            We didn’t get too advanced with our work mainly because making these webpages was a learning curve for both of us. We used the web tools in the way they were intended to be used and didn’t change much about how they could be applied.  

            I discovered or rather enforced my belief that digital files are better for my leaning style because they are easier to send to people, keep track of, edit, and most importantly reorganize. In terms of being an educational tool, I think the best way to describe the internet is as a giant sharable notebook. Hopefully our website will be help to students who use it but I am really hopeful for is to allow teachers to get a better idea of how ICT can be used in the classroom and maybe inspire them to try new methods of teaching.

  

Blog Prompt #2

Procrastination 

I procrastinate all the time. I am currently writing this sentence at 7:40 PM the night before this is due. Not only do I procrastinate on school work I procrastinate on just about anything work related. I was extremely excited about learning how to drive. I was so excited that on my 16^th birthday I got my dad to sign me out of school early so I could go write my G1 test. That may not sound like the work of a procrastinator, however, I didn't study for the test until I was sitting in the waiting room at Service Ontario and even though I passed the test, too this day I have never taken a single driving lesson. There is a very largest list of uncompleted tasks in my life, it’s too long to know where to begin.  I haven’t unpacked my camp bag, folded my laundry, taking the dishes out of my room, gotten my volunteer hours, looked for a job, shaved, studied for my math test tomorrow, worked on my chemistry projects, gotten my Ritalin prescription, gotten reading glasses, figured put a healthy packable vegan lunch and the list goes on. It may come as a surprise but I do not procrastinate on everything. I am a hobbyist and if there is something that I have a real interest in, I can work at it until it hurts. For example I practice magic every day without fail and without even thinking about it.

So when do work best?

I think my ability to work efficiently at something depends mainly on the amount of pressure I have to complete the task and my mood. When I have something important to do I tend tell myself that I have enough time relax over and over until I have absolute no time left to work. This added pressure either gives me the motivation to work or makes me feel helpless and prevents me from even attempting the task. I don’t question my abilities as a student and I think that allows me to be comfortable with leaving work until the last minute. This method of working is not the most effective or healthiest way to get work done, so how can I change things. Like I said before my mood plays a huge role in how much work I get done. I think the best way for to be outgoing and hardworking is to be happy and healthy. If I want to get school back on track I think what I need more than hours of studying is more sleep, better food and a better outlook. It has been a struggle form me over the years to stay positive but what I have noticed was that I worked the most efficiently during the ups and was the laziest during the downs. I have been trying to figure out how to stop procrastinating for my entire life, maybe actually writing about it will help me more than a new study system.                      

Blog Prompt #1

How I use technology to learn:

                I personally use technology, every day for both curriculum and non-curriculum based learning. My go-to piece of tech is my smartphone. The main reason for this is convenience- but what does my phone really do for me? The short answer is simple, which is, it answers questions. My phone is knowledge at my fingertips and it is there all the time. Information about any topic is online, ready to be viewed saved and shared. I rarely make it through a conversation without pulling out my phone to look up the answer to a question that has come up. To be quite honest I can’t remember the last time I made it through a full day without using Google. That’s how I learn about the concerns and questions in my day to day life; but how do I use tech specifically for school based learning?

                Educational technology was introduced to me at a very early age. In Grade Three I was diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities and as a result I was given a computer equipped with educational programs such as WordQ, Kerswell 3000 and Dragon Naturally Speaking. Though most of these programs didn't actually prove to be very helpful, they allowed me to see computers as a tool for learning and not just something to play games on. Today, technology plays a role in almost every aspect of school. I use tech for note taking, research, organization, review, group work and more.  Here are some specific examples of how I use technology for school:

• Facebook: As most people know, Facebook is a social networking website used to keep people connected. One of the many features of Facebook is the ability to create and join "Groups". Groups are essentially shared pages where group members can make as well as be notified of new posts. The way students are using this feature to benefit us from an educational perspective, is by creating Groups for school clubs, classes, events and more. Facebook allows students to work together from home by asking and answering questions, sharing notes, sharing links to helpful resources etc.           
• Google Drive: Google Drive is a file storage system that allows users to save and share files online using "cloud storage". What makes online storage systems like Google Drive and Drop box so helpful is that they allow users to access their files from any computer or smart device. Google Drive keeps all my files together and accessible at all times.         
• Wolfram Alpha: Being a math student I find this website/app to be particularly helpful. Wolfram Alpha is a search engine which is designed to provide the key information relevant to the desired search topic. Though information about almost any topic is available, I find this tool be most helpful when trying to understand concepts and principles in the areas of math and science. It can also be answer specific questions you have. Such as, what are the permutations of (a,b,c,d)? Further more Wolfram Alpha allows users to not only view information but also to download and save search results, which can then be added to notes to be reviewed and studied later on. 

I think it is important to mention that I use my phone to connect with all of the tools mentioned above. I have the Wolfram Alpha app for doing quick searches. I have the Facebook app for sharing pictures of board notes and Question. Finally I have the Google Drive for saving, Viewing and sharing files like Photos, Power Points, textbooks and more.     

What about the teachers?

With all this tech available out there, how are the teachers adjusting? Though not all teachers have embarrassed our Brave New World, many have started to use technology or are at least now allowing students to use technology to there advantage. Many teachers have there own class websites where students receive/submit assignments, access teacher approved resources, download notes packages/slides and most importantly contact teachers for extra help or to make excuses for not handing in assignments on time. 

Making information accessible to students is a very important step for education. One of the first questions I ask a new teacher is if they have website or some other way for me to get digital copies of class materials because it allows me to focus on learning in class, instead of focusing on note taking. Only one of my current teachers actually use a class website. However, all of my teachers have digital files available on USB storage. This has greatly worked to my advantage and made my success as a student really seem possible. Without technology school would seem completely overwhelming and almost impossible. But, is it always helpful?

Technology isn't perfect and it is important to understand it can sometimes do more harm then good. The best and most common example of this is when teachers are relying of a program or file to teach but do not fully understand how to use them. Teachers as well as students sometimes spend more time in class trying to troubleshoot technical problems instead of actually using the technology. This is a real problem for teachers who don't understand technology, not only because they cannot use it to their advantage, but because these bad tech experiences negatively shift the views of teachers about the use of educational technology. I think that teachers need the same access to information about technology that students have but in a way that makes sense to them, in order for them to see the true potential for learning that is already available to all of us all the time.