Sunday, 30 March 2014
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test<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/32914172" width="427" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px 1px 0; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;" allowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/dibhardman/the21st-centuryclassroom-32914172" title="The21st centuryclassroom" target="_blank">The21st centuryclassroom</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dibhardman" target="_blank">dibhardman</a></strong> </div>
My Vision of the 21st Century Classroom!
I chose to do my final project on "My Vision of the 21st Century Classroom". I found this topic very relevant to me at this time in my teaching journey as it is all encompassing of many different topics that I'd like to pursue more of in the future. This final project gave me a general overview of some of the key components of the 21st Century Classroom. I touched on 11 Main Components of the Classroom:
- Digital Tools in the 21st Century Classroom
- Why technology is an essential part of the 21st Century Classroom
- Ways that Ipads support learning in the 21st Century Classroom
- The Physical Layout of the 21st Century Classroom
- Furniture in the 21st Century Classroom
- Environmentally Sustainable Design in the 21st Century Classroom
- The role of the Teacher in the 21st Century Classroom
- Using the "Flipped" Model of Teaching in the 21st Century Classroom
- How is student learning demonstrated in the 21st Century Classroom
- Students sharing learning through Social Media in the 21st Century Classroom
- How is learning assessed in the 21st Century Classroom
What I discovered as I was researching this topic is that this is an enormous topic to discuss in detail, and I could have done an entire project about any 1 of the 11 components. I particularly found Web 2.0 tools a huge topic in itself. As a result, I just touched on some of the key apps that I found to be most helpful by showing a graphic overview of some of the most popular ipad apps used in classrooms. I would have liked to have gone into more detail discussing technology, but again, this is such a huge topic.
Likewise, "Flipping" the classroom, or "Project-based Learning" are also large topics which I barely skimmed the surface of.
The nice thing about doing a general overview is that it allowed me to see the "big" picture of the pedagogy that is guiding teaching in the 21st century, and better understand some of the popular phrases, and digital tools.
As I reflect on what I have learnt over the course I feel I now have a much better understanding of many of the web2.0 tools that are commonly mentioned than I did before I embarked on this learning journey.
Blogging is not unfamiliar territory anymore, as is embedding videos, and sharing on social networks.
Going forward in my professional learning journey, I see myself continuing to develop my personal learning network, continuing to explore the many educational apps available on Ipads, and in general just continue learning about how other teachers are using digital tools to engage students in their learning. It is an exciting time to be a educator!
Friday, 28 March 2014
Final Vision Insights
Oh my goodness, I didn't realize what a large topic "The 21st Century Classroom" is until I started my final project! I should have listened to a wise peer in this class who suggested I could do my final project on just "the flipped classroom" aspect of the 21st Century Classroom. So as a result, I have ended up with a general "overview" of a very large topic. It also made me realize that for a teacher to practice the pedagogy of a 21st century teacher it can involve a lot of changes which is a little overwhelming. But I also found that as I broke down all the aspects of the 21st century classroom it also allowed me to see it as made up of a lot of different parts put together, so I could begin by focusing on one part at a time, such as examining the physical space and technology components, and then move onto using different assessment methods etc., rather than changing everything at once! And most classrooms are in a state of transition between the 20th and 21st Classroom, so there already are many components of the 21st century classroom present.
I have chosen Google Drive to do my final vision project.
I must say I'm very glad I tried it and it is amazingly easy to use. I like how it is stored in the icloud so that it can be accessed from any device from anywhere. It seems to be very user friendly. I experimented with changing the background colour and font and layout. It was easy to add or delete slides and I like how I could see the slides on the left hand margins so I could get a feel for the overall project as I was working on it. The only thing I was wondering about was if I could add voice recording which I couldn't seem to find. One website I found helpful for explaining more about Google Drive is called "15 Tips & Tricks to Get More out of Google Drive"http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/google-drive-tips-tricks/
Another thing that I am wondering about is when I have seen students projects who have made Power Point presentations, they have somehow arranged for fancy things to happen with the graphics as the page turns to the next page in the presentation. I haven't figured this function out on Google Drive yet or if there is somewhere to set how long each page shows for before it goes to the next page when the presentation is being played.
The only potential hurdle I anticipate at this point is transporting the presentation as a document into the final blogpost. Because this is my first time using Google Drive I'm not sure if it will be easy to transport the finished product or not. I'm sure with a little playing around I will figure it out.
Another question I am trying to figure out is how to share a huge document on Twitter when there is a 140 character limit. I haven't been experimenting with Twitter as much as I should have been. I'm guessing it must shared as a link or attachment in the tweet that connects to the large document??
I have chosen Google Drive to do my final vision project.
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| image courtesy of doss.deviantart.com |
Another thing that I am wondering about is when I have seen students projects who have made Power Point presentations, they have somehow arranged for fancy things to happen with the graphics as the page turns to the next page in the presentation. I haven't figured this function out on Google Drive yet or if there is somewhere to set how long each page shows for before it goes to the next page when the presentation is being played.
The only potential hurdle I anticipate at this point is transporting the presentation as a document into the final blogpost. Because this is my first time using Google Drive I'm not sure if it will be easy to transport the finished product or not. I'm sure with a little playing around I will figure it out.
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| image courtesy of google.com "Hurdles 2012" |
Another question I am trying to figure out is how to share a huge document on Twitter when there is a 140 character limit. I haven't been experimenting with Twitter as much as I should have been. I'm guessing it must shared as a link or attachment in the tweet that connects to the large document??
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Final Vision Audience
Who is the Final Vision Project For?
I see the final vision project of "The 21st Century Classroom" as a learning tool for myself primarily, but also as a learning resource I can share with teacher colleagues through social networks.
One of the social networks I plan on posting my final vision of the 21st century classroom is Classroom 2.0. http://www.classroom20.com Classroom 2.0 has over 78000 members from 199 countries and is free. It is a supportive social network where teachers who are new to using technology can find a lot of helpful information.
Another network I plan on joining and sharing my final vision on is The Educator's PLN- The Personal Learning Network for Educators http://edupln.ning.com. There are over 16000 members from all over the world.
I also plan on sharing my final vision of the 21st Century Classroom on LM_ Net-Where School Librarians Connect http://lmnet.wordpress.com. I think it is relevant to talk about the 21st century classroom on the school librarian network list-serv as the future school library or media centre will not be isolated from the 21st century classroom but rather overlap and share the common goal of digital literacy.
What are the needs of the Audience (Social Networks?)
Social networks rely on members to post and share information. The more "active" its members are in regard to discussing topics online, commenting on each others posts and sharing new information, the better the network will be as a professional learning tool and resource. Social Networks for Educators are also looking for members to comment and discuss new "trends", "theories" and "practises" in education. The 21st century classroom would definitely fit into this need.
Why have I chosen to to share this Final Vision Project on 3 Popular Teachers Social Networks?
I chose my main audience focus to be teacher colleagues globally accessed through social networks because I think the learning opportunities for educators are amazing in the 21st century through social networking. Educators in the past could discuss teacher topics with other teachers in the staffroom or occasionally go to a conference to have the opportunity to meet with other teachers in the province. Very rarely, were educators given the opportunity to discuss and share ideas with educators from around the world. But through social networking, educators can share ideas with other educators and learn from educators globally. Learning in the 21st century is all about sharing and learning with others who share a similar background and interest. Through social networking, the potential for collaboration and learning is at a whole new level.
Hargadon of Classroom 2.0 sums this up well by saying,
I see the final vision project of "The 21st Century Classroom" as a learning tool for myself primarily, but also as a learning resource I can share with teacher colleagues through social networks.
One of the social networks I plan on posting my final vision of the 21st century classroom is Classroom 2.0. http://www.classroom20.com Classroom 2.0 has over 78000 members from 199 countries and is free. It is a supportive social network where teachers who are new to using technology can find a lot of helpful information.
Another network I plan on joining and sharing my final vision on is The Educator's PLN- The Personal Learning Network for Educators http://edupln.ning.com. There are over 16000 members from all over the world.
I also plan on sharing my final vision of the 21st Century Classroom on LM_ Net-Where School Librarians Connect http://lmnet.wordpress.com. I think it is relevant to talk about the 21st century classroom on the school librarian network list-serv as the future school library or media centre will not be isolated from the 21st century classroom but rather overlap and share the common goal of digital literacy.
What are the needs of the Audience (Social Networks?)
Social networks rely on members to post and share information. The more "active" its members are in regard to discussing topics online, commenting on each others posts and sharing new information, the better the network will be as a professional learning tool and resource. Social Networks for Educators are also looking for members to comment and discuss new "trends", "theories" and "practises" in education. The 21st century classroom would definitely fit into this need.
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| image courtesy of the playground advocate.com |
Why have I chosen to to share this Final Vision Project on 3 Popular Teachers Social Networks?
I chose my main audience focus to be teacher colleagues globally accessed through social networks because I think the learning opportunities for educators are amazing in the 21st century through social networking. Educators in the past could discuss teacher topics with other teachers in the staffroom or occasionally go to a conference to have the opportunity to meet with other teachers in the province. Very rarely, were educators given the opportunity to discuss and share ideas with educators from around the world. But through social networking, educators can share ideas with other educators and learn from educators globally. Learning in the 21st century is all about sharing and learning with others who share a similar background and interest. Through social networking, the potential for collaboration and learning is at a whole new level.
Hargadon of Classroom 2.0 sums this up well by saying,
“The conversations that used to happen in the hallways or teacher’s lounges or at conferences are now happening all the time on the Web, and the more conversations you can have about your work, the more you can develop your specific professional interest,” he says. “Putting these tools together in an environment that encourages community and collaboration creates enormous potential for history teachers, or Latin teachers, or music teachers to build a network of colleagues at their fingertips.” (Hargadon, Classroom 2.0)
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| image courtesy of learnboost.com |
This is an interesting video clip that shows the power of social networking tools, mainly Twitter and how it help professionals develop their own personal learning network. The video clip is not of an educator but the topic of how Twitter can help nurture professional development and learning is relevant for any profession. I will not be sharing my final vision on Twitter for this particular project, but this video speaks to the power of social networks reaching fellow professionals worldwide.
Sharing at a professional development day at the school I'm working at
Although social networks reach the most audiences globally, there is nothing like connecting one on one with the people you work with daily. So therefore, I think it is always nice to share at a Professional Development Days at the school you are working at and ask the staff if they would be interested in having you present your latest learning quests. Therefore, I would ask my colleagues at the school I am currently working at if they would like to hear about my project and watch my "Vision of the 21st Century Classroom" at an upcoming Staff Meeting or Professional Development Day.
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| image courtesy of ridge.k12.wa.us |
Monday, 17 March 2014
Final Vision Brainstorming
Brainstorming for my Final Vision of the 21st century Classroom
When I began this course I was certain that my final project would be about "how to transform a school library into a learning commons, as I spent the fall in a temporary-contract position as a teacher-librarian and heard the term "learning commons" so often. I am still very much interested in learning more about "learning commons" as I am working towards becoming a full time teacher-librarian. In the meantime, I was assigned to a grade 6/7 class two days a week for the remainder of this school year. Since I have not taught grade 6/7 before in length I have been using other grade 7 teachers lesson plans and ideas, which has been a great help. My brain is constantly consumed with how to meet the PLO's in a 21st century manner that keep the students engaged and actively learning as well as taking ownership over their learning. For this reason, I have switched my final vision focus to creating a vision for the 21st century classroom and teaching using 21st century tools and strategies.
I have heard a little about the flipped classroom model and would like to learn more about it as I am interested in using it possibly for teaching Math as I find it challenging to teach two different math lessons to two different grades one after another while still ensuring that students remain on task.
So prior to creating my final vision project, I will have to learn more about the flipped classroom model and how this may fit into the 21st century classroom. To get to this point, I will be learning more about the flipped classroom model using some of the following resources: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc The Flipped Classroom by Aaron Sams on U-tube:
I am also going to use the following websites for information; The Flipped Classroom: Turning the traditional classroom on its head http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/ This is an infographic to help understand the difference between traditional teaching and "The Flipped Classroom"model. To help better understand how to record lessons for students to view at home and do educational Vodcasting, I found information at this site: http://www.techsmith.com/education-flipped-classroom.html titled "Flip Your Classroom". The Flipped Learning Network http://flippedlearning.org/FLN is another place I will gain information as well and http://flippedclassroom.org/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fflippedclassroom.org%2Fgroup%2Ffirsttimeflippers, which is a social network dedicated to teaching and supporting "First time flippers" in the education world. Jon Bergmann seems to be a leader in the field in terms of flipping the elementary classroom and I will learn from his site as well.http://jonbergmann.com/flipping-the-elementary-classroom/.
As I am brainstorming about my final vision I am thinking about what that will look like. I am realizing I will need to learn about several digital tools that students would use in the 21st century classroom. I see myself listing and discussing how different digital tools would be used and how that is different than the traditional style of learning. So perhaps I would do a comparison of the learning tools of the traditional classroom with the digital learning tools in the 21st century.
Some of the sites I will use to research and find out more about this topic are:
Another thing I might look at is how students are evaluated in the 21st century classroom and what that looks like.I would also take a look what students are learning about and how they are demonstrating their learning in the 21st century classroomhttp://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Assessment_tools_in_a_21st_Century_classroom Assessment tools in the 21st Century Classroom.http://www.slideshare.net/teachandlearn/assessment-in-the-21stcentury-classroom-presentation Konrad Glogowski Assessment in the 21st Century. Another place I will review 21st Assessment is at Education Week Teacher PD Sourcebook: Classroom Assessment for a New Century. http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01wolpert-gawron.h04.html
In terms of how to deliver this information for my final vision I am contemplating a few different methods such as:
When I began this course I was certain that my final project would be about "how to transform a school library into a learning commons, as I spent the fall in a temporary-contract position as a teacher-librarian and heard the term "learning commons" so often. I am still very much interested in learning more about "learning commons" as I am working towards becoming a full time teacher-librarian. In the meantime, I was assigned to a grade 6/7 class two days a week for the remainder of this school year. Since I have not taught grade 6/7 before in length I have been using other grade 7 teachers lesson plans and ideas, which has been a great help. My brain is constantly consumed with how to meet the PLO's in a 21st century manner that keep the students engaged and actively learning as well as taking ownership over their learning. For this reason, I have switched my final vision focus to creating a vision for the 21st century classroom and teaching using 21st century tools and strategies.
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| image courtesy of curriculumtechnology.jordandistrict.org |
I have heard a little about the flipped classroom model and would like to learn more about it as I am interested in using it possibly for teaching Math as I find it challenging to teach two different math lessons to two different grades one after another while still ensuring that students remain on task.
So prior to creating my final vision project, I will have to learn more about the flipped classroom model and how this may fit into the 21st century classroom. To get to this point, I will be learning more about the flipped classroom model using some of the following resources: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc The Flipped Classroom by Aaron Sams on U-tube:
and also www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWvc6qhTds How the Flipped Classroom Works by Mediacore.com
As I am brainstorming about my final vision I am thinking about what that will look like. I am realizing I will need to learn about several digital tools that students would use in the 21st century classroom. I see myself listing and discussing how different digital tools would be used and how that is different than the traditional style of learning. So perhaps I would do a comparison of the learning tools of the traditional classroom with the digital learning tools in the 21st century.
Some of the sites I will use to research and find out more about this topic are:
- .http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/sites/edtechmagazine.com.k12/files/rg_21stcent_k12_031011.pdf 21st Century Classroom- Improving classroom engagement through technological innovation.
- shttp://www.web2teachingtools.com/team-collaboration.html Building Strong Team Collaboration Skills with Web 2.0 Tools
- mhttp://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/guides/edutopia-parents-guide-21st-century-learning.pdflassr;l
- http://www.teachthought.com/technology/9-digital-learning-tools-every-21st-century-teacher-should-be-able-to-use/nghr
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image courtesy of classroom-aid.com/technology-resources - I think I would also talk about the physical layout of the classroom and how this would be different than the traditional classroom. I might mention the type of actual furniture that I see in the classroom as well as the physical arrangement of this furniture and how this lends itself to collaboration .This is a site, I will research further to get more information on this topic: https://static.squarespace.com/static/510b86cce4b0f6b4fb690106/t/512eafb7e4b0ed945e310a91/1362014135657/stephen-harris_virtual-pedagogical-physical-space.pdf Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning -The Place of Virtual, Pedagogic and Physical Space in the 21st Century Classroom. https://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Learning+Spaces 21st Century Learning Places, and http://www.oecd.org/education/innovation-education/centreforeffectivelearningenvironmentscele/46413458.pdf CELE exchange. "Can the physical environment have an impact on the learning environment?"
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| image courtesty of culture-achievement-schools.blogspot.com |
Another thing I might look at is how students are evaluated in the 21st century classroom and what that looks like.I would also take a look what students are learning about and how they are demonstrating their learning in the 21st century classroomhttp://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Assessment_tools_in_a_21st_Century_classroom Assessment tools in the 21st Century Classroom.http://www.slideshare.net/teachandlearn/assessment-in-the-21stcentury-classroom-presentation Konrad Glogowski Assessment in the 21st Century. Another place I will review 21st Assessment is at Education Week Teacher PD Sourcebook: Classroom Assessment for a New Century. http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01wolpert-gawron.h04.html
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| image courtesy of langwitches.org/blog/2013/02/05/assessment-in-the-modern-classroom-part1 |
In terms of how to deliver this information for my final vision I am contemplating a few different methods such as:
- using google drive ??? I think this is what it was called. Aaron showed us this in last weeks hangout and it is similar to a power point presentation
- making a presentation using "Explain Everything"
- doing a blog post
- making an i movie
Since this course is all about learning new technology I will probably try to do something other than the blogpost since I am now fairly familiar with how to blog.
I envision my audience for this assignment to be teacher colleges. I would share it online for other teachers to access on web searches of this subject.
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Key Takeaways and Going Forward
After exploring so many new things in Phase 2, I feel I'm having information overload. But my plan is to do as so many others have commented on their blogs, to pick a few things to focus on at a time so its not so overwhelming. Anytime someone has mentioned in their blog about a good app or web tool that I haven't heard of, I jot it down on a list of things to explore at a later time. At the same time I have come so far in the last year in learning digital literacy from someone who resisted technology for so long. This has been one of the most valuable courses I have taken because it everything we are learning is so current and can be applied immediately to the classroom or learning commons. This course has allowed me to face my hesitancy to dive in and learn new digital tools. I am still reluctant with twitter, but am feeling comfortable with blogging and have been now using Edmodo www.edmodo.com with the class I'm in and have just finished a project with Explain Everything,https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8 ,so a little at a time!
Key Takeaways
The key takeaways after exploring Phase 2 for me were:
After looking into different networks to join, I think for me; BC Teacher Librarians Ning http://bcteacherlibrarians.ning.com is one that I will include in my personal network, as well as Classroom 2.0 http://www.classroom20.com, Ted Talks http://www.ted.com/watch/ted-ed, and LM_Net listserv for Librarians http://lmnet.wordpress.com. I haven't embraced Twitter yet, still reluctant but have learned of the amazing professional networking capabilities. The hashtags I have highlighted to follow on Twitter are #edchat, #edteach, #iPaded, #EdApps, and #flipclass. I know there are other great ones out there as well as personal educators that I could follow down the road, but these ones will get me started.
Supporting Professional Development in the School
The key takeaways after exploring Phase 2 for me were:
- The importance of developing my own personal network
- Ways to support the school staff in terms of professional development resources
- Learning about mobile technology uses in developing countries
- Inquiry based learning and "hack schooling"
Developing my own personal network
After completing phase 2, I now know what my own PLN might look like and how to go about creating my own personal learning network. I now have a better idea of how much information is out there and so therefore how important it is to zero in on a few specific relevant sites to my professional interests. Otherwise sorting through the mountains of daily information is unproductive and uninspiring!
I enjoyed watching the video that Sarah shared on her blog titled "What is a PLN- Marc Andre Lalande's take"http://youtu.be/hLLpWqp-owo. I found it interesting how Marc said you can either be a "lurker" or a "sharer" of information on you personal learning network. Although I don't really like the term "lurker", I am definitely spending more time reading other peoples opinions and information than I am sharing my own at this point. As I become more confident with my digital knowledge and expertise and using a social networking system, I hopefully will move more towards the role of a "sharer".
After looking into different networks to join, I think for me; BC Teacher Librarians Ning http://bcteacherlibrarians.ning.com is one that I will include in my personal network, as well as Classroom 2.0 http://www.classroom20.com, Ted Talks http://www.ted.com/watch/ted-ed, and LM_Net listserv for Librarians http://lmnet.wordpress.com. I haven't embraced Twitter yet, still reluctant but have learned of the amazing professional networking capabilities. The hashtags I have highlighted to follow on Twitter are #edchat, #edteach, #iPaded, #EdApps, and #flipclass. I know there are other great ones out there as well as personal educators that I could follow down the road, but these ones will get me started.
Supporting Professional Development in the School
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| Image courtesy of cc.csusm.edu |
The key takeaways in terms of supporting professional development in my school are the importance of sharing professional resources with staff and setting up a library website to include professional resources. Clare suggested a site such as "Delicious" https://delicious.com for sharing professional resources with staff. This is something I am going to be looking into further. I also liked Leslie's idea of creating a twitter account for staff to follow and the teacher-librarian could tweet out links to useful articles & video for staff to look at on their own time. As I move forward and build future relationships with staff members to support their professional development another key concept that was reiterated in phase 2 was the importance of collaboration and building relationships with staff is key above all.
Mobile Technology in Developing Countries
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| image courtesy of logo pond.com |
Another takeaway from phase 2 was learning about how mobile technology was being used in developing countries. I found this topic fascinating and enlightening because I didn't know it was happening to the extent that it is. I found it amazing how technology is reaching even the remotest part of Ghana and helping pregnant women learn prenatal information through text messages on iPhones and farmers are learning better farming techniques through the use of the internet in remote farming areas of developing countries. The key points I learned here was that technology is reaching even the remotest villages of the word, which will have monumental effects and decrease the disadvantage that developing countries have had for so long. I found it inspirational and truly amazing all the ways that mobile devices are helping people improve their livelihoods and health in developing countries.
Inquiry Learning & "Hack School"
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| Image courtesy of www.w3.org "The Web on the Move" |
Inquiry Learning & "Hack School"
The final takeaway from Phase 2 that resonated with me the most was a video in Kacy's blog titled "This is what happens when a kid leaves traditional education" on Ted talks.
This video was so powerful to me it really made me think critically about traditional school. The 13 year old speaker quoted, "Schools focus on teaching students to make a living rather than make a life." This speaker also talked about the Science of being happy and healthy. This student left traditional school and began an independent inquiry based style of learning where he learned about topics that really interested him such as skiing. Although I don't believe everyone should leave school and do independent studies such as the speaker did, I believe there is a lot of room for improvement in modern classrooms. If we did just some of what the speaker talks about on Ted Talks it would make a tremendous difference in learning to have students engaged in learning about things relevant to them, using technology in the moment to take advantage of learning opportunities, and to teach students skills to live a balanced healthy life, not just get a job. Moving forward in my own personal learning in this area, I am going to explore Inquiry Learning more and what that looks like and how to implement that in a classroom.
References:
Laplante, Logan (2014, Jan.9). This is what happens when a kid leaves traditional education (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46La-hV_PLs
This video was so powerful to me it really made me think critically about traditional school. The 13 year old speaker quoted, "Schools focus on teaching students to make a living rather than make a life." This speaker also talked about the Science of being happy and healthy. This student left traditional school and began an independent inquiry based style of learning where he learned about topics that really interested him such as skiing. Although I don't believe everyone should leave school and do independent studies such as the speaker did, I believe there is a lot of room for improvement in modern classrooms. If we did just some of what the speaker talks about on Ted Talks it would make a tremendous difference in learning to have students engaged in learning about things relevant to them, using technology in the moment to take advantage of learning opportunities, and to teach students skills to live a balanced healthy life, not just get a job. Moving forward in my own personal learning in this area, I am going to explore Inquiry Learning more and what that looks like and how to implement that in a classroom.
References:
Laplante, Logan (2014, Jan.9). This is what happens when a kid leaves traditional education (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46La-hV_PLs
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Reading Review Blog Post #3
Learning Commons exploration
One of the places I looked at for information on Learning Commons was T.E. Scott's webpage. http://tescott.org/category/t-e-scott-learns/ I found this website relevant to my topic as it is an example of a learning commons from a school in the district in which I work. There wasn't a lot of information detailing the before and after transformation, but I liked the collection of images from the finished learning commons, the humorous video of teachers taking on new technology and get rid of the old, and the fact that it is a local example for me.
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| Learning Commons at T.E. Scott Elementary. Image courtesy of T.E. Scott Elementary. |
http://commonsconnections.edublogs.org. I found coyotecreek blogspot helpful in that the presentation of the blog was interactive and interesting and provided good ideas for making a library blog.
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| Image courtesy of Coyote Creek Library |
The common connections blog is another local example with great ideas including grade 2's tweeting about their learning on the iPads.
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| Image Courtesy of Commons Connections |
Why empowering public libraries with technology is so important
Library Projects in Developing Nations with Mobile Devices
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| Rural Kenya. Image Courtesy of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation- Global Libraries |
According to Rebecca McDonald, who is CEO of Library for All: A digital library for the developing world, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1692978335/library-for-all-a-digital-library-for-the-developi in developing countries such as Haiti, a school of several hundred students may only have about 30 library books. These books are so precious that they are often locked up and unavailable for students to take home. Rebecca has started the organization Library for All to help those living in poverty to have access to ebooks and other digital devices. She and her husband moved to Haiti after the the earthquake to help rebuild and realized that providing paper copy books was unsustainable and the information may be out of date. By providing the schools in Haiti with ebooks, laptops and digital resources needed to connect online, students are given access to thousands of books and learning opportunities, which they previously hadn't had. Also in the past, the books received in developing countries for libraries may have been books weeded out in developed countries because of their out of date information etc. By having access to ebooks the children have equal access to current books and current information as children in developed countries. The organization relies on support from individuals and companies to fund the project. The pilot school for the project is in Respire Haiti. One of the types of technology that they are using there is a lowcost tablet that retails at $40 called a Aakash tablet.
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| A grade 4 student in pilot school in Respire, Haiti using a low-cost Aakash tablet. Image courtesy of Rebecca McDonald, Library for all |
Mobile devices in developing countries such as Haiti, provide more democratic access to information as for the first time, it provides people in poverty with equal access to information as people in developed countries have which will enable them to learn new skills and have more control over their future.
Another organization that is really helping to enable developing countries to have access to digital books and digital resources in The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation-Global Libraries.http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries The philosophy behind this organization is based on the premise that by providing people in poverty access to information and knowledge it provides a more sense of equality worldwide in opportunity. Farmers can access information on crops and learn ways to produce bigger crop yields. This bee farmer in the video clip substantially increased his honey production after learning about new varieties of bees in farming on the internet.
Mothers can access health information in public libraries like this women in northern Ghana. She received a weekly text message providing her with information on prenatal development.
According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, there are approximately 230,000 public libraries in developing countries. Public Libraries are becoming information centres in rural developing countries. A program called EIFL-PLIP which stands for Electronic Information for Libraries and the Public Library Innovative Programme is providing services such as prenatal information to this women in Ghana http://www.eifl.net/plip
This program focuses on connecting communities to vital information which improves their lives. This year to date the program has grown to a total of 39 services in 23 countries. The program helps provide information on agriculture, employment, health issues, helps youth. Some of the ways this organization has helped connect people to information through technology in libraries is:
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Friday, 21 February 2014
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Ways for a teacher-librarian to support professional development of school community
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| The TL Virtual Cafe Wikispaces. Image Courtesy of Jennifer Lagarde & Jennifer Northrup |
Supporting
Teachers' ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy: On-going Professional
Development
One
way teacher-librarians can have a positive effect on the school
learning culture is by facilitating a series of professional
development workshops on ICT Curriculum. There is a excellent website
called “Literacy with ICT/ A Model for 21st Century
Learning”.
This website was created mainly for Manitoba teachers to
blog, tweet, and share technological resources but it has some
excellent professional development workshop ideas to refer to. To
name a few; topics like Inquiry Learning, Digital Citizenship, Bogus
Websites, Collaboration, e-Portfolios, and Evaluating Websites are
some of the Mini workshop topics. To get to this site you go to http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca Once in the website you type in Literacy with ICT/ A Model for the 21st Century Learning. into the Search bar. Then go to; For Teachers, then
to Professional Learning, and
then click on PLE (Professional Learning Experiences). If
you decided you wanted to facilitate a workshop on “Teaching
students how to Evaluate Websites” the PLE for this topic provides
links to acquiring information on this topic, How to apply in the
classroom, and suggestions for assessment.
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| Literacy with ICT llicenced image courtesy of Manitoba.ca education and advanced learning K-12 |
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| The Teacher Librarian licenced image courtesy of Tim Gauntley |
The
book that was voted “Best professional book of the year” by the
Journal for School Library professionals is Growing
Schools-Librarians as Professional Developers
by Debbie Abilock.
This book provides suggestions and incite on ways a teacher-librarian can provide school leadership in technology and professional development.
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| Growing Schools- licenced image courtesy of Debbie Abilock |
This book provides suggestions and incite on ways a teacher-librarian can provide school leadership in technology and professional development.
Another
way to meet the professional development needs of the teachers within
the school might be to offer a monthly Breakfast BookClub meeting to
talk and discuss latest articles in professional journals relating to
hot issues (similar to a book club). The teacher-librarian could post
the articles and links to the teacher professional magazines or
articles on a blog so that teachers could read the articles online
prior to the monthly breakfast book club meeting. This would be a way
for teachers and the teacher librarian to learn new things and
discuss current topics in the headlines. The teacher-librarian could provide muffins and coffee and it would be a way to bring teachers into the library to collaborate and discuss teaching ideas with technology.
A helpful site to refer to
for monthly updates on teaching with technology and teaching
strategies is to go to The Teacher-Librarian VirtualCafe.http://tlvirtualcafe.wikispaces.com
This website is a great
resource for teacher-librarians to become leaders in their school
communities. One of the options that is available in this wikispace
is a TL chat Live every 2nd Monday of the month.
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| Licenced image courtesy of the TL Virtual Cafe |
Here
is a video explaining how to become a part of this live TL chat.
If the teacher-librarian had his/her own school library blog, this may also be a place to discuss and comment on current professional issues and pedagogy.
The teacher-librarian may also have a section in the School library website for staff resources, where the teacher-librarian may provide links to resources on a multitude of topics related to teacher professional development. It is also important to regularly talk to the teachers in the school to find out what they would like to learn more about or have more resources to. Communication is the first step in being a successful leader in providing useful professional resources in the school.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Inquiry Blog Post #2
Ways
for teacher-librarians to connect and share learning
Being
a teacher-librarian in this day and age is an exciting time. Gone are
the days where the teacher-librarian is isolated from other
teacher-librarians. There are so many online networking opportunities
to share and learn from one another so that the modern
teacher-librarian has a myriad of innovational teaching ideas at
his/her fingertips.
I
think one of the best places to connect and share with other
teacher-librarians is at http://www.teacherlibrarian.ning.com
.This website has over 7400 global members. There are twitter feeds,
blogs, videos, and discussions. It provides a real sense of a
learning “communing".
Another
helpful place to stay in touch with digital literacy lessons and
strategies is www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum
.What I like about this website are the examples and videos
pertaining to digital literacy. Information on everything from
cyberbullying, to digital citizenship, digital media & school,
internet safety & privacy and learning with technology is
available under the Educators section. This is a good reference to go
to when teaching students about digital literacy issues
eg.
digital citizenship licenced image courtesy of Common Sense Media.
I
also found this site to be very useful:
www.onlinecollege.org/2012/07/10/100-best-blogs-school-librarians/
This site is appropriately named 99 Best Blogs for School-Librarians.
I particularly liked #26 The Busy Librarian www.busylibrarian.com
This teacher-librarian has an active blog, and seems to blog every
day. The blog has pinterest, podcast, and book club information on
it. It is an interesting blog and as a future teacher-librarian,
following another teacher-librarians blog, such as this one, connects
me with a wealth of knowledge and ideas as well as an opportunity and
forum for me to share my ideas.
| Image courtesy of The Busy Librarian |
Having
my own blog, is an excellent way for me to interact with the global
teacher-librarian community and is by far the best tool that is
currently available to stay connected digitally.
Strategies,
tools, resources and networks to implement and maintain my
exploration and development
I
think it's important as a teacher-librarian to not only connect with
other teacher-librarians online but also in person as well. To do
this I would be an active member of the BCTLA , www.bctf.ca/BCTLA
and attend the annual general meeting and other scheduled meetings so
that I could have a local human network of expertise to share with
and learn from. Although online networks are great to share resources
and learn from, there is nothing like the real human network of
interacting and connecting with people in person.
Nationwide,
the CLA, Canadian Library Association, offers more networking
opportunities through an online system called Listserv,where members
can share information and ideas. The CLA also provides a online
magazine called Feliciter, 6 times annually. This magazine is the
fist choice of library & information specialists and offers
another way to stay up to date with current issues.
I
would attend library conferences and workshops to further my
learning. I may choose online workshops and seminars through video
conferencing capabilities.
Twitter
is another essential tool to use to stay connected with other
teacher-librarians globally and what may be on their minds.
Pinterest
is a great resource that has grown in popularity in the last year
because of its ability to share visual images & ideas on what
other teacher-librarians are doing. There is no need to reinvent the
wheel in this day and age, so the more resources and ideas we can
share digitally, the more time we have to collaborate with teachers
and focus on other things.
Finally
another resource that I would use to continue learning about and
using technology in my teaching is www.freetech4teachers.com
This site is titled Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne.
Richard seems to blog almost daily about videos, and topics relating
to teaching with technology. This blog provides teachers with free
websites and resources to use in their teaching.
Image
courtesy of Free Technology for Teachers
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Fostering Reading Cultures in School
How do we already foster a reading
culture in schools?
D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) or
USSR (Uninterrupted Super Silent Reading) is one way we've encouraged
and tried to foster a love of reading in schools. Literacy centres
in primary classrooms and buddy reading have also served this
purpose. Home reading programs in primary classrooms where students
get rewarded for reading so many books have tried to encourage
reading as well as province wide events such as “Drop Everything
and Reading” for 20 minutes and community programs such as “Raise
a Reader” that schools have supported.
Moving forward, one tool that can be
implemented in schools to help foster a reading culture is for the
school to subscribe to www.razkids.com
, where students have access to hundreds of ebooks online. Children
can record themselves reading and take a reading comprehension quiz
after if they like. There is a parents link also so parents can view
which books their child has been reading and send them personal
messages. My daughter loves reading books on this site which is
linked to her classroom teacher.
When ever we give a child choice over
their reading selection they often are more enthusiastic about what
they are reading. One way to nurture and allow for a student to
pursue the authors and book genres that they are interested in is to
provide a school library blog with links to favourite authors
websites as well as a school you tube channel with authors book
trailers, and readings or performances of the books. One school that
has done this well is coyotecreeklibrary.blogspot.ca This school blog
has an excellent alphabetical list of authors that students can click
on to get to the authors website for more information. I think
providing these kinds of digital resources give students the
opportunity to learn more about the books they enjoy reading and what
new books may be coming out, which fosters a love of reading.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
Blog Post#2
One of the topics I am interested in
exploring is how to transform an elementary school library into a
learning commons; what this entails, what it looks like, how it
changes the learning opportunities for the students.
I found TE Scott Elementary's Learning
Commons blog to be a great resource on this topic. The blog is
tescott.org-curiosity+creativity.
The blog highlights the schools new learning commons and has several
pictures. There is also a link to a fun short video called
“Transforming Learning Designs” showing how four teachers at the
school have embraced new technology into their teaching. This is a
great resource to see what a school in Surrey has created as a
Learning Commons.
Another
useful blog is coyotecreeklibrary.blogspot.ca
What I liked about this learning commons blog was the presentation
and interactive possibilities of the blog. The teacher-librarian has
posted weekly blog entries such as; Today is Canada Book Day What is
your favourite book? Tell us in the comments...etc. There is also a
authors tab in this blog where students can access a alphabetized
directory of authors book trailing and readings through utube. The
teacher-librarian also included links to other websites that she uses
when teaching with her smart board. The polar bear video links
through safesharetv looked very interesting for younger students.
The
website bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/zubke.pdf
includes a great book
bibliography on learning commons as well as websites of examples of
learning commons.
At
commonsconnections.edublogs.org-commonsconnetions,
Anna Crosland- Teacher Librarian shares great ideas about learning
commons, including Grade 2's tweeting about their learning with the
ipads.
A
slide show about Anna Croslands learning commons at George Vanier
Elementary in Surrey can be viewed at www.slideshare
“Developing an Elementary School Learning Commons Physical Space”
This website is a great
resource to understand the designing involved in the physical space
of a learning commons area.
I am also
interested in learning more about the flipped classroom style of
teaching, as I just accepted a .4 grade 6/7 assignment for the
remainder of the school year and I am interested in learning more
about this style of teaching for teaching Math. One of the websites I
looked at was www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom. This website
provides good visuals for understanding the difference between a
traditional classroom and a flipped classroom. I also found Jon
Bergmann's website useful, jonbergmann.com He is a pioneer of
flipped classrooms in Florida. He speaks at conferences and his
website provides lots of useful links and information about flipping
your classroom. If you go to
iteachwithit.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/explain-everything there
is helpful information on using the app Explain Everything as a great
teaching tool in a flipped classroom.
The other topic I
am exploring is using Wikis in the classroom. I found www.
techforteachers.net/wikis-in-the-classroom.html very helpful as
it provided background information of what a wiki is, how to get one,
obstacles with them, and links to other elementary classroom wikis.
If you go to www.
educatorstechnology.com/2012/07/teachers-guide-on-use-of-wikis-in.html
there is more great information and links to other classroom
wikis. The resource I found most helpful with setting up a classroom
wiki was http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/
Examples of educational Wikis. I liked this website as a
resource because it had an enormous collection of links to classroom
wiki ranging from Grade1-12 in alphabetical order. Most of the Wikis
were from the U.S. But
there were many
from Canada and a few from around the world. This was a great
resource for ideas on how to use a class wiki and what it would look
like. And lastly, www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas2.cfm
provides great information on the how, what, when and why of
having a classroom wiki.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Blog Post 1-Cont.
Some key terms and interests at this point in my career that I would like to explore and learn more about are:
-Learning commons
-better understanding of how to use Dropbox
-better understanding of using Explain Everything
-more about 'the reverse classroom'
-using podcasts
-Internet safety for students
-teaching students ethical online behavior
-Learning commons
-better understanding of how to use Dropbox
-better understanding of using Explain Everything
-more about 'the reverse classroom'
-using podcasts
-Internet safety for students
-teaching students ethical online behavior
Blogpost 1
My topic for this post has to do with the use of Wikipedia in the classroom and creating a class Wiki.
I wanted to explore this topic further after being a new teacher-librarian and after talking to several grade 6/7 teachers. I found some of them were getting tired of their students only doing research using Wikipedia and wanted them to be using something different for research. Coming from a primary background, and not having much technology or Internet experience, I did not know much about Wikipedia and only understood it to be an online encyclopedia. So why were some teachers getting tired of their students using only Wikipedia for research? I wanted to find out more about Wikipedia and how it works and why some teachers may not love it.
What I learned is that Wikipedia is written by millions of authors who are constantly adding, deleting and revising the information in it. Most of the time the information is 100% accurate but occasionally errors are made intentionally or unintentionally. Usually these errors are corrected quickly but if you don't cross-reference your research with another website other than Wikipedia then it is possible for some of the information to be incorrect. Secondly, most of the authors writing Wikipedia entries are adults that are not necessarily using language or vocabulary that is easy for younger students to understand. In otherwords sometimes it's not a good choice to use for research for elementary students because it's written far above the grade level of comprehension.
I also wanted to learn more about Wikis. I hear the expression all the time, but until now have not really understood what the term meant.
I learned that the word Wiki is a short form of the Hawaiian word "wiki-wiki", which means quick (Will Richardson, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts.) So a Wiki is like a quick reference to information. The concept behind Wikis according to Will Richardson is that everyone together is smarter than anyone alone, so any entries made in a Wiki are collaborated, edited, and written by an online group interested in that topic. I didn't realize that there are Wikis for everything from recipes to travel spots to classroom wikis. I wanted to learn more about classroom Wikis. With classroom wikis, the students have a real opportunity to collaborate together. I wondered how teachers deal with a student going in and writing profanities or sabatoging the groups information but I read that the more the teacher hands over to the class the more ownership the students take over their Wiki and this is far less likely to happen. I am thinking of trying a class book report wiki after learning more about Wikis.
I wanted to explore this topic further after being a new teacher-librarian and after talking to several grade 6/7 teachers. I found some of them were getting tired of their students only doing research using Wikipedia and wanted them to be using something different for research. Coming from a primary background, and not having much technology or Internet experience, I did not know much about Wikipedia and only understood it to be an online encyclopedia. So why were some teachers getting tired of their students using only Wikipedia for research? I wanted to find out more about Wikipedia and how it works and why some teachers may not love it.
What I learned is that Wikipedia is written by millions of authors who are constantly adding, deleting and revising the information in it. Most of the time the information is 100% accurate but occasionally errors are made intentionally or unintentionally. Usually these errors are corrected quickly but if you don't cross-reference your research with another website other than Wikipedia then it is possible for some of the information to be incorrect. Secondly, most of the authors writing Wikipedia entries are adults that are not necessarily using language or vocabulary that is easy for younger students to understand. In otherwords sometimes it's not a good choice to use for research for elementary students because it's written far above the grade level of comprehension.
I also wanted to learn more about Wikis. I hear the expression all the time, but until now have not really understood what the term meant.
I learned that the word Wiki is a short form of the Hawaiian word "wiki-wiki", which means quick (Will Richardson, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts.) So a Wiki is like a quick reference to information. The concept behind Wikis according to Will Richardson is that everyone together is smarter than anyone alone, so any entries made in a Wiki are collaborated, edited, and written by an online group interested in that topic. I didn't realize that there are Wikis for everything from recipes to travel spots to classroom wikis. I wanted to learn more about classroom Wikis. With classroom wikis, the students have a real opportunity to collaborate together. I wondered how teachers deal with a student going in and writing profanities or sabatoging the groups information but I read that the more the teacher hands over to the class the more ownership the students take over their Wiki and this is far less likely to happen. I am thinking of trying a class book report wiki after learning more about Wikis.
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