Digital Audio Technology

Attached is a Sliderocket presentation that was created for my AQ course on technology. It is a visual representation of my written assignment on Digital Audio Technology, and includes an audio component. What better way to talk about this type of technology than to explore it for myself, and demonstrate what I've learned in the exact forum I am discussing! It is posted for my peers in the course, but as always welcome any viewers if they are willing to take the time to watch and listen!

Electronic Submissions - Using Computers for Assignments

I have recently been enrolled in an Additional Qualification course called "Computers in the Classroom". I signed up for the course because of my passion for incorporating technology into daily lessons, learning tasks, and projects. My first assignment for the course was to create a generic rubric that could be used to review and evaluate curriculum based educational software. I was motivated to complete this assignment because of the many educational programs I was fortunate enough to use with students while teaching summer school in a blended learning environment. I chose criteria that was important to me as a teacher to have in a program that I would be willing to use in the classroom.

I chose to post this assignment to my blog in an attempt to demonstrate the importance I see in using technology in the classroom. The course I am enrolled in is an online course. What better way to submit my assignment than on a blog? It welcomes feedback from other professionals. It is also a demonstration of how teachers could post rubrics for assignments in a classroom blog perhaps, and allow students to submit electronically as well. It makes for an easy submission and, of course, less paper piled up on my desk to take home and grade! It can be accessed ANYWHERE! For both students and teachers, the advantages to using an online forum to assign and submit projects are evident.

Back to School!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new school year for millions of students across Canada! For the first time in my life, I am not returning as a student! Yet, I still feel those back to school butterflies in my stomach. Tomorrow, I am beginning to work at a Before and After school program with the HWDSB. I am extremely excited to join the team and look forward to many new learning and teaching experiences!

I would like to wish everyone good luck on their return back to school, both students and dear friends of mine that are embarking on a journey teaching their first classrooms. May the 2012/2013 school year be full of positive memories and unforgettable accomplishments!!

Wordle

For the summer school program I recently taught, the last individual project was a book review. I encouraged my students to use technology to present their review. One bright student used "Worlde" to try and convince her peers to read her book. It was highly motivating to see her creativity shine in her creation. This inspired our class to create a Wordle to represent our experience in summer school. Here is what we came up with:

It's Been a While!

Hello to the world of online educators and teacher candidates!

It has been a while since I had inspiration to blog! During my 2nd teaching block in a grade 8 classroom, my life revolved around exploring tools and developing unique lesson plans to engage the learners. I was able to craft a hands-on language unit following Ontario Curriculum expectations on persuasive writing. Instead of "boring" (in the eyes of my students) writing tasks, students explored the art of persuasion in the media and were able to create their own commercials using techniques they have found to persuade them, and finally wrote an essay trying to persuade myself and my associate teacher on the topic of their choice. Without going too much into detail, it became extremely obvious to me that integrating relevant issues and media to a unit and allowing space for student choice truly makes a difference in the depth of learning that goes on.

I am motivated to continue my passion for teaching and learning as I am actively seeking employment in various boards in Ontario and Alberta!

Until next time..

From my grade 8 students at St. Augustine School in Dundas, Ontario

Kids in the Hall Workshop

Brock offered an optional professional development day called Kids in the Hall. There were rumours that this was arguably the most engaging PD offered all year. With such great reviews, I promptly signed up. One of the workshops that I chose to attend that day was The Grieving Child. I decided to attend this session because as a student, I myself dealt with issues at home and had a hard time separating them from my life at school. After growing since my struggles as a student and reflecting about them during my post-secondary education, I strive to be a compassionate and understanding teacher. I know that all students carry different baggage in their emotional backpacks, and it has been a personal goal of mine to be educated on assisting these students at school in order to optimize their education.  

The rumours were correct; the session was extremely beneficial to me as a teacher candidate. We were provided with many resources for our journeys as teachers and all the ‘backpacks’ we may see along the way. This session involved very little technology, but was naturally engaging based on the importance of the topic. I have learned from this session not only the information about grieving students, but also that technology is not always necessary for engaging students. Good conversation and opportunities for participation are useful tools for teachers in addition to the new technologies available.

Ebooks In The Classroom

I was recently introduced to the idea of "Ebooks". Basically, it is an opportunity to tell a story in a digital format. To explore this technological teaching strategy, I created my own Ebook using Sliderocket.

Through creating this Ebook, I have learned about the power of using pictures and a few words to tell a story. I would consider using this activity in the classroom for students to communicate a story to the class. It would be useful in a unit to stick with a theme, like the one I used for my Ebook; "Inspired". I would suggest that students add an audio track of them verbally narrating their Ebook, or it could be incorporated into an oral speech given in front of the class.

What a unique way to encourage students to tell stories!