Where Have I Been: Where Will I Go?

Where Have I Been: Where Will I Go?

At the beginning of the semester, the EDUC 4P29 seminar group collectively designed a course outline under the leadership of our professor. Ideas went back and forth as to how we could create an interesting, engaging, 21^st century learning experience for us as future educators. The course description is as follows:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

“This course revolves around multiple literacies and how they can be integrated into the curriculum. This is an emerging area of extreme importance for all new teachers who will need to have an understanding of what the new literacies are and how they can be integrated into their teaching. As a new teacher, you will be expected to lead the way into 21^st Century teaching and learning. Since this is an emerging area there will be a lot of exploratory work between us as we engage in our role as a community of learners.”

In this course, we have completed a literacy presentation, completed ongoing blogs, pinned educational tools/resources. In addition, we have critiqued an integrated curriculum and have made revisions to that document, by explaining how we would integrate three literacies.

Please join me on my journey as I reflect on what I (and we as a group), have created and explored in this class.

I chose to do my educational literacy on “Global Literacy.” I had an idea of what global literacy was, but did not realize all the possibilities in which classrooms are able to connect with others in environments of learning.

I created a Prezi (my first one ever), to explore what global literacy is and how it can be integrated into a teacher’s curriculum planning.

Two of the ways that caught my interest to allow students to be globally literate, was iEarn and Skype Translate.

iEarn is a large network of educators and students who are using technology to connect with one another in order to engage in a variety of curriculum related projects that make a difference in the world.

Skype Translator gives you the ability to speak another language without learning one. Simply set up a Skype video or voice call with someone who speaks another language and start talking. Skype translator is currently available in English and Spanish, but other languages are coming soon.

During the course, we also explored various educational institutes that embody what a 21^st century classroom looks like… Many of these go beyond the walls of the classroom. I really liked how project-based learning was integrated, and students were utilizing their creativity and collaboration skills. Although I am not a teacher right now, these networks and institutions have given me ideas to integrate with the students at my current job as a Tutor in the Classroom. For instance, I let students work in groups on tasks, allowing them to be the “teacher” (students teaching students), and I try to create a hands-on environment for mathematics.

One of the organizations that caught my eye was the Galileo Educational Network, which is an independent, charitable organization that consists of thought-leading educators and a high profile Board of Directors. The Galileo Educational Network creates, promotes and delivers innovative teaching and learning practices through research, professional learning and fostering external collaborations.

Galileo is essentially about teaching for deep understanding.

One of the items that caught my eye was the “Rubric for Discipline-Based and Inter-Disciplinary Inquiry Studies.” The rubric has a section in which an assignment “adds value beyond the school,” which makes learning both reliable and relevant for students.

Another institution that was interesting was the Inquiry Hub, which provides grade 9-12 students an innovative, technology driven, full-time program, allowing them to pursue their own learning questions by shaping their educational experience around their interests (instead of structured classes!) I like how the Inquiry Hub is a student-driven approach to learning.

 

            Example of a research-driven question:

 

Throughout the semester, I have been following various online education hubs that share blogs on twenty-first century learning, including TeachThought and Edutopia. Both websites provide many online resources for teachers to use, including themes such as project-based learning.

TeachThought is a progressive learning brand dedicated to supporting educators in evolving learning for a 21st century audience. The website provides resources for K-20 teachers through the TeachThought blog. TeachThought is primarily interested in exploring new learning models, including blended learning, project-based learning, self-directed learning, and the role of play in learning. I like TeachThought because their suggestions provide a fair balance of reality with possibility.

Over the course of the semester, these are two articles from TeachThought I really enjoyed because they provide a variety of unique ideas for teachers to explore:

·      Snapshots Of Understanding? 10 Smart Tools For DigitalExit Slips

·      60 Non-Threatening Formative Assessment Techniques

I like both articles because they provide teachers with different methods to check for learning and evaluating progress.

Edutopia is a very comprehensive website and online community that increases knowledge and sharing of varying techniques/tools in K-12 education. Edutopia emphasizes core strategies including: project-based learning, comprehensive assessment, integrated studies, social and emotional learning, teacher development, and technology integration. I really enjoy Edutopia because it shows ‘what works’ in education as different educators tell their own stories of innovation and learning.

Over the course of the semester, these are two blogs from Edutopia I really enjoyed:

“Technology,PBL, and Place-Based Education” By Hannah Orcutt

(Although she is a primary school teacher, the blog shows the possibilities of PBL integration)

“Strategies for HelpingStudents Motivate Themselves” By Larry Ferlazzo (He is an English & Social Studies at inner-city high school in Sacramento, Califronia)

I like this blog because he gives helpful ways to motivate students by looking at: relatedness, relevance, autonomy, and competence.

Strategies for Helping Students Motivate Themselves

I also followed many of Larry Ferlazzo’s other blogs @ http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org

Ferlazzo shared a blog in March that caught my eye, “The Problem With History Classes” By Michael Conway

In his blog, Conway argued that in terms of history, single-perspective narratives do students a gross disservice. He argues, “Currently, most students learn history as a set narrative—a process that reinforces the mistaken idea that the past can be synthesized into a single, standardized chronicle of several hundred pages.” As a future educator in history, I enjoyed the article because I do not agree with how many history classes are being taught in high schools.

Following More Bloggers…

Heidi Siwak

Heidi Siwak is a middle school teacher from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her students undertake original projects that challenge the boundaries of learning and have won national awards. I love her blogs because she is doing really innovative things with her students, and she brings you on a journey into her classroom. You get to literally see what her students are doing and thinking!

Check out her most interesting blogs I have read:

http://www.heidisiwak.com/2015/02/teaching-students-to-understand-stance/

http://www.heidisiwak.com/2015/01/what-is-my-class-thinking/

http://www.heidisiwak.com/2015/03/design-thinking-in-action/

Mark Carbone

Mark Carbone is an educator with 33 years experience. Carbone has had numerous roles in the education field including: secondary school classroom teacher, secondary school department head, an ICT consultant and IT Manager.  He currently holds the position of Chief Information Officer for the Waterloo Region District School Board Ontario, Canada. I enjoy his blogs because he gives updates/information regarding OSSEMOOC and reveals what twenty-first century can look like.

http://blog.markwcarbone.ca/2015/03/10/publishing-makes-a-difference/

Well that's PIN-TERESTING 

Throughout the semester, my fellow colleagues and I have been "pinning" various educational resources and tools. Through Pinterest, I have been given snapshots as to how other teachers are integrating technology, project-based learning and collaboration skills into their every-day practice. 

Here is a snapshot of just a few of the items I have re-pinned: 

Over the course of this semester, I have opened my eyes to the possibilities in the education realm. I have been informed on various literacies by my peers and even analyzed an integrated curriculum. I know what Cube for Teachers is and I know what a 21st century classroom can look like, through the blogs I follow. I am aware of how schooling can differ by different regions, even within the province (as informed by Miss. Shannon Paisley regarding her experience in education on a Native reserve). One of the best lessons I have learned from Professor Drake (besides the integrated curriculum, literacies, etc.) is her encouragement to "be open to change." This was more emphasized last semester, but I have carried it with me in EDUC 4P29 as well. I am aware that the education system is constantly changing as is society. Future educators, including myself, must be aware (and of course adaptable) to these ongoing changes to maximize learning. 

Out of all my previous blogs, I often finish with a quote, and as tradition goes I will today. However, to retrieve the quote, scan the QR Code that follows: 

Follow me on Twitter:  @missweir123