Category: EdTech

In becoming a future teacher, one of the many lessons I have learned thus far is to connect with your community members. Whether it be those in your cohort, those in local schools, or your teachers, all play a huge part in your learning and your success. I hope to continue making lifelong connections as I progress through the education program and navigate towards my career!

One of the programs that really caught my attention from the start was Google Classroom. I find the layout to be very organized, and the tools to be effective! This Google tool also allows groups to easily collaborate, by sharing sources, documents, and projects.

I belive that in my future career I will definitely be using Google Classroom for my students to keep everything in one organized place!

Pros to Google Classroom:

•  It helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly
• Allows for teachers to provide feedback efficiently
•  Allows for easily communicate with their classes
• Facilitates creativity
• Allows for collaboration and individual submissions
• Can work as an assessment tool
• Is fast and efficient
• Has a variety of tools
• FREE

Cons to Google Classroom:

• Not all students will find it user friendly
• Not all students will have a device at home to do group homework
• Not all students have access to the internet
• Students with various designations may find it difficult to use these kinds of technologies and/or devices

Things I have done on Google Classroom in the program so far:

• Unit plans
• Lesson Plans
• Task Analysis
• Quizzes
• Student Assessment
• Proficiency scale rubrics
• Assessment rubrics
• Reflections
• Surveys

To conclude, my experience with Google Classroom has been plentiful and definitely beneficial to my education and future teaching career. Thank you for all of your guidance this semester Rich!

Although I wasn’t able to make it to George Jay Elementary School because of work, I had a really cool realization after seeing students blog posts on the trip that I already follow Rebecca on Instagram! It is a funny world we live in these days. Here I was feeling very disconnected from the field trip and that I had missed out on an opportunity I wasn’t familiar with and then poof! I made a connection to my own social media account and an educational influencer who always inspires me.

Once I had found @inquiryteacher on Instagram, it really changed the way I thought of education, especially in younger grades. Her approach to play is so interesting and I really liked the materials she uses. I found myself looking into similar crafts to make for my future classrooms on platforms like Pinterest. She inspires a lot of the projects I would like to do one day! She likes to give students autonomy and variety so that they can explore things in a different way!

She also wrote a book, which I have ordered, called “Inquiry Mindset” which encompasses her educational approaches and how students can benefit from them. I really look forward to reading this book and growing more familiar with her amazing ways! As always, it is wonderful to reflect on all of the incredible opportunities we are provided through this program (whether we can make it or not), and I feel very fortunate to be apart of this community! As a future teacher candidate, I have learned that even if you can’t be present all the time, to make the most of resources offered around you. If I had not known about Rebecca prior, I would have really missed out even more in not going to visit her classroom!

Google Science Journal was a completely new tool for me, which was awesome! I always love coming across something new in an area that you thought you were quite educated in (like Google). As a future teacher candidate, these are the tools that I really appreciate being introduced to in the classroom so that I am able to work out the kinks and get familiar before I’m up in front of a class!

As Google says, “Science Journal ‘transforms your device into a pocket-size science tool that encourages students to explore their world.” Pretty cool, hey? I thought so! Google Science Journal works as a cloud-based program and is suitable for grade K-12 so it is super versatile! With the use of Google Science Journal, you are able to enhance the scientific experience with things like accelerometers and light meters, which can help with experiments, inquiries, and lessons!

The good:

• Very interactive
• Eco-friendly!!
• Can be time-efficient for teachers
• Always students to explore
• Facilitates inquiry-based learning
• FREE
• Creativity
• Enhance lessons

The bad:

• Not every student has a smartphone and you cannot assume they will
• Not all student thrive with technologies

As a future teacher, this app really excites me. I think that students would have the opportunity to fully engage and the different tools are plentiful and effective. I look forward to exploring it further and have downloaded it on my phone to do so! My goal would be to implement this app during a practicum lesson if applicable!

This past week has been anything but relaxing. Tack on the stress of the semester wrapping up amidst the chaos – it is no wonder I found my self so easily overwhelmed! That being said, TechEd was easily able to switch to online instruction via the tools we used to present such as ScreenShare and Zoom.

Now at the beginning of the semester, I had a very tough time getting started with wifi in my new home in Metchosin. It’s beautiful, spacious, and quiet – but it lacks in good internet connection. I had immediately worried that I wouldn’t be able to connect to the Zoom group call as my wifi often isn’t strong enough to stream Netflix (I know, devastating).

My intuition was right and I immediately had connection problems on my laptop when trying to log on to the Zoom call. I then tried to download the app on my phone but no luck. Then in despair, I was texting a class member who suggested FaceTime. What a great idea! So she held me up for the 2 hours class was held on the Zoom chat so that I could be apart, and I even got to present while she held me up to the webcam. This to me is one of the ways that technology can really bring us all together.  I was able to think on the fly of different programs I could use to make it possible for me to join our virtual class. I believe that this is something that all teachers deal with when technologies do not work or fail in front of their classes while teaching! I learned to stay calm and brainstorm with peers how to make things work in alternative ways. This mishap provided me with some real-life experience that I am sure will help me in my future teaching career. AND I have zoom now installed on all of my devices ready to use when my wifi wants to cooperate!

The pros to having less internet connection? In this time I have been able to read 3 whole novels (outside of class readings)! Something I never could have thought possible. From this hiccup, I was still able to see hoe zoom calls worked and was honestly surprised at how smooth everything went considering the odds that were against us. I want to say also that having a teacher like Rich is extremely helpful. He is supportive and understanding and ultimately makes sure that all students are able to get the most out of the technology we are using to help them in their future careers. So thank you, Rich! You have made even the most uncertain of times feel manageable in terms of workload and support!

Today we had the opportunity to download and explore two applications with very useful functions! As we are furthering our journey in teacher educaiton, it is great to develop new skills for new programs that will help us in future classrooms and practicums!

The first program I was able to play around with is called Screencastify. This application allows you to record your screen with use of microphone audio and webcam and screen recording. The screen recording is something I hadn’t used before and I thought that was the most handy and exciting tool to get to know! With this, you could record many different lessons and info segments, as well as use as a tool to catch students up if they have been away or had to miss classes. This would definitely be something I would use in my classrooms. There is also the added factor of having your tabs and ads being recorded, which could be distracting for students. Screencastify would be a great tool for grades 6-12 to record projects, as well as update said grades on missed work. This app could also be used to give parents tutorials on any tech apps that they are using such as FreshGrade.

As for grade K-5’s I think that this could be used to explain different areas of reserach and would inhibit inquiry based learning! I wonder if students would be able to put together a project with Screencastify and properly construct something for class material. It would  be an effective way for students to present in from of the class that would potentially ease stress and nervousness of public spekaing, to ease students in to speaking in front of the class.

Additionally, I was unable to get my microphones paired to this software (despite my efforts and troubleshooting) as you can tell in my video below! I found it moderately user-friendly, but everytime I went to connect it took me to a dead end link. All-in-all, I think this is a great tool as long as it is cooperating properly!

On Tuesday we had the privilege of Mr. Miller coming to speak to our class about social media and the effects it can have on your professional life. This was just as educating and inspiring as it was terrifying!

Reflecting back, I got Facebook when I was in grade 7 -roughly 12 years old. This meant that I used it for fun. I posted silly pictures with my friends and goofed around with text on their “walls” and comment forums. Fast forward a few years later and I was still actively using social media to update friends and post content that I thought would only be shared with them. Now I’m not saying that I was out getting in trouble with the law, I was just a young kid doing normal high school things like attending parties and trying the odd beer.

It truly is unsettling to think that those carefree years could come back to haunt me. I have now been on social media for more of my life than I have NOT been. Meaning at 25 I have been on social media for 13 years. I don’t remember everything that has been posted of me or where to find content I haven’t been “tagged” in to get deleted.

Moving forward, I think that you just have to do the best that you can. Be human. Make mistakes. But always try your best to be a better version of yourself yesterday. This doesn’t mean drastic changes. But perhaps letting friends and family know you don’t need that family photo on Facebook where you are beside the bottle of wine might help.

I have since deleted all careless high school content and even saved some pictures for my own personal collection! These are some great memories, but just don’t need to be shared with the world (especially future students!).

All-in-all, Mr. Miller’s presentation taught me a lot about the lack of control and ownership I have over my social media. We can often feel secure with things like privacy settings but at the end of the day you just can’t be sure if you are choosing to post something on a free social media platform, where it will end up.

I found this presentation extremely informative and really appreciated him being brought into class! I have gained new perspectives and knowledge that I can guarantee will benefit my future career as a teacher!

On Tuesday we had the wonderful opportunity to take our learning off campus and spend time at the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. This included a warm welcome from staff and students, a thorough information session with principal Jeff, and a self driven tour to explore the schools functions and students. I have to say, I was skepital at first. Having grown up in a very strucutured school system it was hard to imagine how this school would run smoothly. In my mind there could only be one way of operation – chaos. I was quickly surprised when I walked through the doors and found students working away in the collaboration space with no sight of scheduled teacher instruction. This was especially interesting once I found out that all students are working on independent inquiry studies of their choice and interests. I think this is an incredible option to our standard traditional high schools, and would allow for students with different needs and learning styles to excel. One of the biggest takeaway points I left with was that the principal mentioned this educational system is set-up in a way that integrates students into society gently and encouragingly. I believe that we tend to grow up in a “bubble” that is our school and are not nearly as prepared for the real world once graduation passes. Life skills such as public conversation and integration are just as important as academics!

To contrast, I do see the limitations to this kind of schooling in terms of grade/age level. Students whom were of the elementary category would likely not have the skills required to navigate their own personal learning journey. From this, I believe that students need autonomy and choice to be able to blossom to their full potential. I will take these learning perspectives from PSII with me into the elementary classroom as best I can to ensure that students gain the deserved amount of independence, mastery, passion, and social skills, that they should have before they enter the world of the working class!

As I am a resident of Metchosin, the snow this week had a big impact on my school attendance. I was unable to make it to UVic from Monday to Wednesday and therefore had to miss TechEd for this week. During this class period we were to set up an account with Trello to use for our Free Inquiry project. Although this seemed intimidating at first, I was able to follow the provided GoogleDoc that had clear step-by-step instructions. I found Trello itself to also be fairly user friendly and am looking forward to exploring its features! Thus far I have implemented blog post checklists as well as my Inquiry question lists to keep me on task and organized. To conclude, although I was stranded at home for most of this week, I am confident that I was able to catch up and continue my blogging journey.

My name is Cassidy and I am currently in my 2nd year of the B.Ed. Program offered at the University of Victoria. Setting up a blog was something I had never done before so I was excited and nervous to get started.  With the handout provided in EDCI 336, I found it quite easy to get my WordPress site created and my account set-up. From here I was able to explore the different tools and formats offered by WordPress to begin to personalize my layout. This part I found a little trickier – there are many different options and it is difficult to decide on a specific theme! I hope to further research how to make my WordPress blog an inviting space to share ideas that involve learning and education. This experience was very informative and I look forward to using blogging as a personal and classroom tool to broaden my skills for the future.