Category: Exploring and Enhancing Pedagogy
Coding
Today we had Rich McCue come into our class and talk about and teach coding. We were introduced to different tools that we can use to learn coding. Most of the tools that we used could be introduced into an elementary classroom. It is important for teachers to learn about coding and understand the passions that some of our students might have.
Scratch can be intorduced into all different subject matters. McCue provided different links and levels for teachers and teachers. Some students are not fond of Scratch because they want to get into typing real code. This shows the differentiation and the importance of students communicating with students about their preferences and skill levels.
Grasshopper is more textual, and you use Javascript. There are a lot of supports with Grasshopperdon’td you dont need to have programming experience to be able to understand the Javascript.
Hour of Code uses a multitude of coding languages, and there were multiple activities and instructor guides to help train you in coding. There is also an activity that does Floppy Cricket. You can filter with grade and comfort levels. The quality of instruction is not even umong activities, but you can go through and find what would work for you class.
TinkerCad is a 3D design application, and you can print if you have a 3D printer. They have an interface that takes your design and use code to copy, rotate, and creat a 3D design.
Code BC is helpful if you are wanting to do more coding in science. It has a framework for teachers to see how they can use coding within classes and how to help students.
Video Conferencing
Today we learned about video conferencing, accessibility, and modality.
Video Conferencing increases accessibility. Students who are unable to attend a physical class, whethere its because of location, disability, or mental health, students can attend class through video conferencing.
We considered a variety of questions through this session:
Why do we need to have required face-to-face experience as a class?
Should an instructor’s preference override student accessibility? Or student preference of modality?
Does/should modality bias exist?
Should we allow flexibility in modality accessibility? What are the implications?
Jess and I worked together on these questions through discussion, and she posted our answers on her twitter page.
How teachers design instruction and allow flexibility affects the levels of our students’ engagement. There tends to be a binary way of thinking in terms of modality: face-to-face or online. Researchers and instructors are working on changing this way of thinking. The more flexible an instructor is with their presentation of information and student access, the better and more accessible their instruction is. “Blended” instruction is a dead term. There is no increased access to learning afforded by blended learning and blended can not meet mobility needs.
Teachers carry bias when entering the field in terms of modality, whether they intend to or not. It is important that teachers are aware of these biases, and work to break them down and extend past their comfort zone in order to accommodate all of their learners. Once teachers provide freedom, location is no longer important or an obstacle. I have been fairly biased in terms of face-to-face instruction, as I have tried online coursework, and it was not effective for my learning. I have come to realize how allowing more flexible modalities and different points of access will directly impact the inclusiveness and acceptance within my classroom community.
I have linked some examples of successful Video conferencing and alternatives to face-to-face instruction, and places for further research.
EdTech Inquiry – Further Research
This week I have been working hard on researching my topic. Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) is the use of computers to provide and enhance instruction in the classroom. CAI can rand from simple programs to teach typing to a complex system that uses the latest technology to teach new keyhole surgery techniques.
Through my research, I found that CAI can help all students in and outside of the classroom. In terms of students with disabilities, CAI helps students with physical and learning disabilities, as well as deaf students.
Compared to the other assisted technologies that my other group members researched, CAI is one of the cheaper options of incorporating software in the classroom. Students and teachers find that CAI, especially in terms of educational games, are fairly accessible. Where text-to-speech and speech-to-text are typically over a couple of hundred dollars per student, CAI programs are sometimes free, and far easier to find.
There are two basic types of CAI: tutor and tool. Tutoring is split into four different categories: Drill and practice, tutorials, simulations, and games. Drill and practice use the behaviourist model where the repeated practice is focused on lower-level cognitive skills. Drill and Practice are typically frowned upon as it follows the old school models, and is not adaptable. Tutorials are the most common type of tutor in elementary school. Tutorials allow students to practice different skills and assess their learning. Simulations are not usually seen within schools as it is used for working with real-life tools, such as training to be a pilot or surgeon. Games are one of the most motivating for younger students. They incorporate and competitive element with other students and reinforces the knowledge that the learner is assumed to already have. The second category of tools enhances the teaching process, usually by focusing on one particular learning task and aims to improve it. Tools could look like highlighting different math symbols or bolding important terms.
Next, I am going to look into the positive and negative effects of CAI.
Minecraft is Awesome!
Today we had a teacher and students from Colquitz and Spectrum school, where we were taught all about the Microsoft owned program, Minecraft. Minecraft is an incredible platform for both teachers and students to help them dive into different subject matters, make connections, and change pedagogy. There is an edition of Minecraft called Minecraftedu that allows students and teachers to access the program and change modes from tutorial to survival. In Minecraftedu teachers have the ability to change the settings and modes. They can adjust how and if students communicate, what resources are available to them, difficulty, controls, and so much more. The teacher also has the ability to relocate students within the game, have private conversations with them, and help students stay on task and focus. The students that came into our classroom were unbelievably excited and full of knowledge about the program and ways that it could be used. When playing the game in our class, peers were constantly talking, helping each other out, and learning from one another, leading to the building of rapport, communication skills, and bonding opportunities. The teacher discussed how she had learned a plethora of skills from her students while incorporating Minecraft within lessons. One of the most interesting skills she learned was instead of blurting out resources and instructions for students, she allowed them to play around with the crafting tables. If the students try out different options for themselves, they are more likely to retain the information they have learned and struggle less with resources in the future. The tutorial mode is structured more by the teachers and implements teamwork, ideas of career decisions, and different subject matters.
Integrating Minecraft into the classroom allows students to understand what career path they may want to go down. One of the students discovered that he is interested in becoming an architect, and another student loved the amount of creative freedom she had and was steered towards the arts. Minecraft is also beneficial in building community within the school. If teachers hold Minecraft at lunch and recess, students are interested can join and meet other students with similar interests. This creates a safe space for students where they can connect and build a community. Students can also work together online while in different locations. One of the students had used Discord and Skype in order to walk through what they had created on Minecraft and explain why and how they connected to the curriculum. If there is a particular set of skills and instructions the teacher wants the students to achieve, she hands out papers with checklists to help students reflect. This allows students to see their development, use metacognition, and understand how successful they were. The lesson held on Minecraft has taught me that teachers need to have an open mind and be willing to change and build on their pedagogy in order to interact with students and their interests. Teachers don’t have to be experts in order to use Minecraft with their students, they need to enter the class with an open mind and a willingness to learn from their students.
Musical Growth – Blog #3
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been focusing on playing and holding my ukulele properly. During the class time to practice our assignments, Anita came into the room full of my peers and I who were all practicing ukulele and let us know how to properly hold and play the ukulele. Since the beginning of my self-taught ukulele journey, I have held my uke on my lap, resting on my chest, and strumming in the middle of the body of the instrument. We learned that the proper way to hold the ukulele against your chest with your right forearm across the top edge of the lower bout. Your strumming finger should be able to comfortably reach almost to where the neck meets the body. With your left hand, you put the pad of your thumb on the top half of the back of the neck somewhere between the nut and third fret. Since adopting this new technique I have found that my ukulele stays in tune for longer and sounds crisper, and allows me to switch to new chords with more ease.
I am still having a small amount of difficulty singing the song, but have found that playing and singing along with the song, or a cover, helps me stay in tune throughout. I believe that I have stayed fairly on-track when it comes to following my growth template, and have learned some additional skills that were not outlined on the template. I am both nervous and excited for the video upload in a couple of days and hope that the process is relatively painless. I know that there is room for growth throughout this process, and I am intrigued to see where the rest of the semester will take me.
Privacy and Safety – Jesse Miller
Today we had the pleasure of having Jesse Miller come and speak to our class about privacy and safety on the internet. I have never understood how the internet works as much as I did after this presentation. Miller focused on the role that technology has within an educator’s personal-life and classroom. “We always need to be learning more about the tools human beings are using that are always evolving”: this quote is one of the first things that really stuck with me during the presentation. Although new and evolving technology can be scary and hard to understand, I have realized that the more we know the better; that we can understand the impact we are making, and the impact it has on our lives. This quote doesn’t necessarily focus on technology, but the overall human experience. Technology and screens are the new normal, and that normalization is also multifaceted. Another aspect of the internet that Jesse focused on was the by-product of anything that we interact with on the internet. Ads, google-home, and proving you are not a robot all have by-products that are helping improve and have innovative effects.
The next important aspect that Jesse focused on was “network citizenship”. This section of the presentation highlighted the concept of digital identity, and who you decide to present yourself as on the internet: Parent, friend, professional, educator, etc. When applying for jobs, or in a professional setting, parents and bosses at your job will judge you based on your persona on the internet. We are the first generation where the majority of things that we’ve done in our past is online. This part was particularly stressful to think about. Past generations embarrassing or immature moments were typically held in year books and photo albums. Now, all of our past is on the internet, whether we want it there or not. Jesse depicted the importance of communicating with friends and family about your personal boundaries of what you are comfortable friends posting of you on the internet. In terms of use of mobile technology by educators, Jesse spoke about the importance of balancing professional expectations. In the current social climate, parents feel as if given the fact that they can access you 24/7 means that they should be able to. Teachers are already bombarded by long work days, and having to bring work home for program planning and grading. One of my classmates mentioned a site called Fresh Grades where teachers can post upcoming events and what children will be learning within weeks of school so that they are not bombarded by emails all of the time. Another wonderful thing about Fresh Grades is that its an online tool to communicate with families where all of the data is stored within Canada, and therefore is following privacy codes.
Another part of Miller’s presentation that I found impactful was his idea that as parents and teachers we need to figure out what kids are doing with technology and engage and participate with them. Technology can be used as a distraction for both parents and students, but if we are able to find ways to make technology an educational experience, teachers, parents, and students will be more engaged. The majority of articles that parents are engaging with that talk about technology are written by parents or teachers, not researchers. This means that only half of the evidence is making up 100% of the value in their minds. It is important for teacher and parents to look into research, who did it, and how they are doing it. Another aspect highlighted in this section was about teacher and student accountability in terms of cellphones in the classroom. If students are bored, they are more likely to need more stimulation, and therefore, will end up being on their cellphones. If students give respect to their teachers, the brain, and learning environment, they are more likely to be stimulated: “when teachers treat their classroom like a team sport, there is more regulation and accountability”.
As future teachers, we hold a lot of power in the information that we have, and what we do with it. Digital consent is something that I have been aware of for a few years now. Given the fact that Ive work with at risk youth for 6 years, consent is an extremely important thing within my jobs. I have taken multiple courses and signed multiple documents that have to do with privacy and media consent. Jesse highlighted multiple important questions to ask yourself before taking or posting information: did you ask permission?; are you sharing information without informing the person it may impact?; are you aware that illegal consent on your device may impact your life in a variety of ways?. His main point was that you need to share information with care.
The last impactful piece of information that Miller shared was a quote from John Culkin: “we shape our tools and therefore, our tools shape us”. The tools we shape, such as technology and social media, become part of our culture.