Last Blog!

This week we had a synchronous online class where we discussed technology in the classroom and online education using the app Kialo. Kialo can be used as a tool in the classroom to foster conversation. 

Another neat feature of Kialo is the interactive pie chart feature. Kialo will take the results of your discussion and make them into a pie chart with red sections that represent the con points and green sections that represent the pro points. It also gives students a great visual to understand the distribution.

I could see this app being used in an ELA lesson to introduce a unit on debates. Kialo would also be a handy tool in group projects.

Andy McKiel

Today we had a Zoom conference with Andy McKiel, Curriculum Coordinator at St. James-Assiniboia School Division. He talked to us about "Deep Learning".



Andy talked about how our generation is so much more familiar with technology than his (or Mike's) generation. I can't help but feel like my technological literacy will pale in comparison to that of my students.

There were a few things that Andy brought up that I found really interesting, first being the 6 C's

The 6 C's

• character education
• citizenship
• communication
• critical thinking
• collaboration
• creativity

The 6 c's are all areas that can be tied to technology in the classroom. These are all ongoing conversations we need to have with our students so that they are familiar with the concepts. 

4 Elements of Learning Design

• new pedagogies (embracing new teaching techniques)
• learning partnerships (more student centered instead of teacher centered. Encourage student voice. Let go of control. Bring in experts. Connect students with the community)
• leveraging digital (support investments in technology. 
• learning environment (different kids of furniture, flexible seating. Different kinds of light. How to move outdoors.)

Michael Fullan 

Simon Breakspear - Start small. Failure is good. You learn by trying. How could students show what they know using technology? 

Harness the power, don't ignore it

Digital Citizenship

"You can't have the benefits of globalization without some of the responsibilities" -Bono 

Digital Citizenship goes far beyond how we're acting on the internet.

The world is moving more towards more sustainable and ethical practices. Often I think about the food I eat, the clothing I wear, the services I use and whether they have a positive or negative affect on the world. I have to admit, I never really thought about it when it came to my phone. 

This summer I worked at FortWhyte Alive. 

"FortWhyte Alive is more than just a nature centre, wildlife refuge, or a place for education – our 640 acres of protected urban greenspace is an award-winning destination for incredible outdoor experiences.
We connect humans with nature through a variety of unique programs and events that foster sustainability in our community, as well as offering every day nature exploration, outdoor recreation, adventure and discovery – leaving our visitors inspired, with a new and memorable experience, each time they visit.
Experience our passion for the outdoors and the things we care about – active people, a healthy planet, and a vibrant community."

While working there, I learned a lot about sustainability. Some of the initiatives from their 2015 Sustainability Plan include:

• Acquire Call2Recycle battery recycling boxes for all buildings (2014 - ongoing) 
• Develop educational signage to promote waste reduction program (2015) 
• Develop an internal e-waste recycling program (2015) 

*Aside*: The FortWhyte Alive website also has a ton of resources for educators. They have early , middle and senior years outdoor lesson plans on sustainability, the environment and Canadian history.

Throughout the center, I saw these initiatives in action, alongside a really neat composting program. Often we would get people coming in with bags of batteries to recycle, or folks calling with questions about where to recycle aerosol cans, markers and old technology. 

Recycle Manitoba is a great resource for figuring out where to dispose of certain items. 

It's super simple and user friendly. Just select the material, item and location and it will tell you where to go!

Thanks for reading,

Mme. Lamont

Survey Results!

Hey everyone! 

In order to post the cool graphic of the results, SurveyMonkey wants me to buy the upgrade. Not in the budget. So just imagine this information is presented in a fancy graphic. You can imagine a line graph, a bar graph or maybe even a pie chart if you want to get wild. 

Out of 7 total responses!

2 of you said you would allow cellphone use in the class "Only when I've given them permission. For educational or recreational purposes."

2 of you said you would allow cellphone use in the class "Only when I've given them permission and only for educational purposes."

3 of you said you would allow cellphone use in the class "Always, but with rules based on my discretion."

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Mme. Lamont

January 27th

Tyler, an English teacher from Vincent Massey came in to present today.

Tech Tools to Create Meaningful Tasks and Improve Your Health

One really interesting thing Tyler showed us was how to create a Snapcode!

So I thought I would give it a try...

I created my Snapcode by going to the Snapchat website. I had to log in and then it was very simple!

I just entered the URL that I wanted the Snapcode to link to. Then it gave me the option to add an image to my code. Every time I tried to add an image the ghost just went black so I'm not sure what I did there. Anyways, here's my Snapchat QR code! Give it a try :)

January 29th 

Social media! I use social media every day. So why wouldn't I use it in my classroom? At the beginning of today's class we all went out into the hall and lined up. At one end were the people who planned on using social media in the classroom. On the other end were the people who thought they wouldn't. I found myself somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I hand't really thought about it a ton... 

As an educator, can I create a social media environment that is safe and educational for my students? Or will the dark and damaging things we see on the internet infiltrate my little online bubble? However, is it our job to shield students from the world (online or off, I think I've decided it's pretty much the same thing)? Or teach them how to navigate it as analytical and conscientious citizens? 

We had a Zoom conference with Andrew Mead (principal at Mitchell School) and Kirsten Thompson (from a few classes ago) and I liked the examples they gave for how staff are using social media. The idea of using it as a news source appeals to me. I think social media would be useful for replacing newsletters and celebrating successes within the school. In the same way we see student run school newspapers, I wonder how student run Instagram or Twitter accounts would work.

Survey Monkey Update*

I will be posting my Survey Monkey results this weekend. If you haven't had a chance to weigh in yet, check out last week's blog post!

Thanks,

Mme. Lamont

Tech in and out of the Classroom

This weeks presenter was Chris Fredrickson! He is a  Web Based Course Consultant with MB Education.

email: Chris.Fredrickson@gov.mb.ca
Bit.ly: bit.ly/2QRxWzh

Chris discussed technology supports for students:

• Classmate communication (text, email, etc.)
• Photos of Assignments
• Online Videos
• Social Media
• Mobile Apps for Organization

I think the biggest technological support available to our students is their cellphones.

Cellphones allow students to access all of the above supports. In my last placement (grade 8, Winnipeg) classmate communication happened via group chats, texting, email etc. My class of 17 students made a group chat on their own where they would ask each other questions about homework, find out what they missed if they were sick and share study questions for upcoming tests or quizzes. There were a few students in this class that struggled maintaining an agenda. They would take photos of assignments or a picture of the homework board before leaving for the day (whether or not they checked their photos that night was another story...) We would use online videos as learning tools every day and students used their cellphones to film their own video projects for their "Ancient Egypt Vlogs". My cooperating teacher had a few students who would contact her through her social media on her professional Instagram with questions about tests or projects (how do you guys feel about that? I feel like that would be a no-no in some divisions). I feel like, in a french immersion classroom especially, there is so much room for helpful mobile apps. *See bottom of page for a list of apps I would have my students download on the first day of school and why they would be useful in the French Immersion classroom.*

So with all that being said... what do you guys think? Obviously cellphone use policies are going to vary division to division, but what if it was up to you? I've created a brief survey because I'm curious to know where everyone's at. All responses are anonymous and I will be posting the results in next weeks blog!

Create your own user feedback survey

If you chose one of the pro cellphone options, would you mind letting me know in the comments what regulations or expectations (if any) you would implement in your classroom? In theory, I like the idea of a classroom where students use their cellphones freely and responsibly. I'm just trying to figure out what that looks like in practice.

Thanks everyone,

-Mme. Lamont

Useful apps for French Immersion

(Or: Apps that save my butt as a french-as-a-second-language speaker)

• French Dictionary - Offline - Great if not all your students have data, free, great for finding out if the word is masc. or fem. Great as a spelling reference. Awesome French word of the day feature for expanding vocabulary.
• WordReference.com dictionaries - Just the mobile version of the website that runs circles around Google translate. Provides multiple translations based on context. 
• French verbs conjugation - Conjugation -  It's embarrassing how much I use this. Just a quick, simple App to conjugate your verbs.
• Duolingo - Fun just for practice at home. Can build your students confidence. I'm using it to learn Spanish. Encourage all your students to learn Spanish. It's an awesome language. Plus it's a lot easier to learn if they already know French!

First Presenter!

Today we had Kirsten Thompson come in and do a presentation titled "Why I Replaced Myself With A Machine".

Kirsten Thompson is a Brandon University graduate. She was a classroom teacher but now she assists teachers with technology in Mountain View School Division.

During her presentation, Kirsten touched upon how to use technology to make your life easier and tasks faster so that you have more face to face time with your students. Kirsten is active on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube. She uses these accounts to model how social media can be used in the classroom.

Kirsten also talks about a Hierarchy Mindset vs. an Ecosystem Mindset. The Hierarchy Mindset is the idea that either humans or technology are going to be higher up on some sort of chain. The Ecosystem Mindset is what should be adopted into the classroom. Since we already use the term "Classroom Ecosystem", it's an easy concept to apply. Essentially, technology has a place or a niche within an existing system, and so do we. Educators and technology each play an important and unique role within the classroom ecosystem.

In an ecosystem approach, the effort is to see what each component does best. In other words, teachers need to find their niche doing things they do better than technology. - Zhao, 2016

So what are my niches within my environment?* I think that it is important for me to consider what I bring to the table as an educator that technology may not. Here's a few I came up with:

• Personal experiences, stories and perspectives
• Interpersonal relationship skills
• Ability to care for and empathize
• Classroom management techniques

*My environment was two 6th grade classes and one 8th grade class all in French Immersion. I hope to end up teaching in the middle years stream.

Other important niches human educators fill:

• Relationships
• Content development
• Social emotional learning
• Small group instruction
• Transfer inspiration
• Inquiry support
• Differentiation
• Motivation
• Summative assessment

So what aspects of my teaching could be replaced by technology?

• Non subjective assessment
• Translation/definition/vocabulary/conjugation
• Instruction reminders
• Giving spelling words
• Video resources
• Curation
• Agenda
• Instructions
• Content
• Multimedia
• Large group instruction
• Formative assessment

Thanks to Kirsten for taking the time to come speak to our class and thank you for reading!
-Mme. Lamont