Category: EdTech

Today in EdTech, we learned about coding and using scratch to teach coding.

I have used the Scratch coding program before in Grade 10 during my Technology class. I made two stories using scratch at the time. Although I am unable to find them know, which is probably a very good thing. For today’s class, I followed the Hour of Code’s Google Doodle tutorial.

Because I did not create an account, I do not know how to share my creation on this site. Still, I had a lot of fun creating my doodle, I made all the letters follow each other in a circle starting from the end. My prior experience with Scratch and coding made this experience a little easier.

Scratch could be beneficial for creating a cross-curricular lesson plan in Computer Science and Language Arts. Students learning a second language (like French, Japanese, or Spanish) could create a dialogue between two characters while also learning the basics of computer coding. Students in English Language Arts can recreate a scene from a novel/play they are reading in class. Much like Twine, students could also create their own stories if they want to be creative.

For today’s class, we all stayed home. Although, there’s a little bit more to it than that. Because of the current pandemic with COVID-19 and health officials recommending social isolation, UVic has closed for the remainder of the term. No need to panic, since we still have video conference calls. Last week, I was a guinea pig for video calling for a possible shutdown, we used the BlueJeans system. For today’s class, we used Zoom. As the New York Times puts it, “teenagers have jokingly referred to themselves as ‘Zoomers’ online for years; now the name is literal.”

Since most schools across the world have been shut down, many professors are turning towards conference calling as a solution to lectures. Zoom is a pretty good system that also allows for screen-sharing. This feature came in handy for our class, as we were doing group presentations. One pitfall of Zoom, and all other video-conferencing systems, is that it requires a laptop/tablet and a stable internet connection, which not every home has access to. I do think it is a really cool operating tool, and it could be interesting to see whether more people decide to use Zoom in the future.

Not only did we use Zoom, but we also looked at Twine. Twine is a story-telling website that creates choose your own adventure stories online. Twine also introduces the idea of coding to students. I think that Twine would be beneficial for Grades 5 and up. In my schooling experience, we started writing our own stories in Grade 6. I believe Twine would be good for students who don’t want to draw pictures and would rather focus on the story. Twine would be good for combining computer science and English language arts, by teaching students about how the system works, and how computers/coding helps build the system.

As a fond reader and storyteller, I really enjoyed playing around with Twine. I got really into my story and will probably keep writing it after I post this blog.

Today, I was not in class because I have a not so great cough. Instead, we used a platform called BlueJeans that allowed me to have a video/audio feed of the class. Downloading BlueJeans was fairly easy. Although starting our class, the audio did not work until we switched laptops. Overall, BlueJeans was a good system. There were a few times where the video or the audio would cut out for a moment, and I would have to wait a bit for it to come back in.

However, that was not the main topic for today’s lesson. In class, we learned about Minecraft from a Middle Years teacher who has used Minecraft in her class for several years. Heidi James spoke to the class about how she used Minecraft as an educational tool and how she allowed students to complete projects using Minecraft over the traditional slideshow presentation.

Heidi allowed our class around 5-10 minutes to just explore the controls and the world of Minecraft before freezing their avatars. An effective method for classroom management when using games as learning tools. She told us how Minecraft can engage learners who might struggle in traditional learning environments but focus whenever they are playing the game. Although she did stress that the students are playing under strict guidelines from the teacher. Her students usually play in a private world that they helped build.

Heidi brought some of her students along to talk to the class about what they can learn using Minecraft. One student mentioned building landscapes in Minecraft then painting them, and another mentioned that Minecraft sparked his interest in architecture. Minecraft can also be used to teach students about math, specifically perimeters/areas, ratios, and coordinates. Students could also build Ancient Civilizations as a part of the Social Studies curriculum.

Finally, we visited the Minecraft Education website and looked at some of the lesson plans they have available. I love history, so I looked at the ones they had available there. I found one about creating a Coat of Arms that I think would be cool if you were studying Medieval England. You could have all the students pretend to be knights or lords and ladies of the court.

This Wednesday, our class took a field trip to George Jay Elementary in the Victoria School District to talk with a teacher about using Inquiry in the Kindergarten classroom. The teacher we visited, Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt, also known as @inquiryteacher on Instagram, uses an inquiry and student-based approach to teaching early primary students.

She spoke to us for about 40 minutes and then allowed us to explore her classroom and take photos of what inspired us. I really enjoyed looking around her classroom and was inspired by all of the natural elements in the toys and the furniture. She includes toys and books that center around topics that the children are interested in (for this term, the topic is dinosaurs). I also really enjoyed all of the quiet spaces around her class and the flexible seating for students (with clipboards, stools, wobble chairs, and coffee tables).

She spoke to us a lot about encouraging student autonomy, even in the early primary years. When students are engaged with a topic, they are excited to come to school and learn. She also spoke about how inquiry does not have to mean a complete loss of control and chaos in the classroom. Inquiry can start with more structure, with the teacher closely guiding the students with pre-determined questions. As the students gain experience with inquiry and guiding their innate curiosity, the teacher can release some control, and the students can guide their inquiries.

At the Kindergarten level, inquiry can be a topic chosen by the students. In Rebecca’s classroom, the students chose dinosaurs as their main topic of focus. Rebecca then sub-divided the students to focus on one type of dinosaur of their choice. The students will do research with picture books to learn more about what they eat, where they lived, and what they look like. While the students chose the topic, the teacher still has control over how the classes are structured.

To know more about Inquiry in Primary Classrooms, check out the book Inquiry Mindset.

Found on Amazon. 

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog.

Today we had a guest come into our EDtech class to talk about internet privacy and media literacy. Jesse Miller came in and talked for an hour on various topics about technology and our lives on the internet. I found this talk a lot more engaging than the TEDtalk we watched for homework, perhaps because I could hear it a bit better :).

I remember talks about internet awareness and stranger danger of the online world from back in elementary school. However, we did not talk about the implications of social media on our future selves. My media footprints from middle school were erased to the best of my ability once I started applying for jobs in high school. My email from middle school, an address too embarrassing to release here, has long since been just for signing up for websites that require an email address. Although this is not the case for everyone.

For people who have forgotten their passwords to accounts that contain embarrassing tweets, videos, or pictures, there is little to do to erase these digital memories from their names. Before the internet, people made the same silly mistakes; however, they were not as well documented as today’s youth. For certain people, this could lead to not getting their dream job in the future because of a small mistake in their teens.

I wish we had talked a bit more about how parents are posting videos and photos of their children without consent, and how that could lead to trouble when the children get older. As children growing up nowadays already have a digital footprint, that they might not want. This is especially true in the mommy blogger circle.

Even though this might sound a little too Gen Z, there is a YouTuber named tiffanyferg who does social commentary and has addressed topics like these. I will link them below this post.

In addition to the privacy talk, we also learned a bit about iMovie. This was the first time that I recall using iMovie and it was pretty easy. I included some music in the background from a movie that I enjoy. I found the title cards a bit tricky to control but, I think with some more practice it will make sense.

Videos

Family Vloggers are Ridiculous 

The Importance of Deleting Old Posts

In EDTech class today, we went into groups to work on a shallow dive into an educational resource. Myself, Angie, Brittany, Arnelle, and Maddie did a “brief” overview of Quizlet.

What is Quizlet?

Quizlet is a free website that provides learning tools for students of all ages. It includes a flashcards section, learn section, write, spell and test section. It makes learning fun! It is a digital take on the simple Q cards, which allows for students to think and share to learn. 

Below is a link to a Youtube video, which explains what Quizlet is. 

Did you know?

• That 90% of students receive higher grades when using a Quizlet to study.
• It is an American Company.
• It was invented in California.
• It has seven study modes.
• You can share your Quizlet’s with your friends. 
• You can include Quizlet diagrams. 

Study Modes and Games: 

Quizlet lets users create sets of terms and their definitions. These sets can then be used with several study modes:

1. Flashcards: this is the most commonly used mode and it simulates paper flash cards. Users are shown a card for terms and they can flip it over by clicking it to see the definition
2. Gravity: In this mode, definitions move vertically down the screen like asteroids. Users must type the correct term before it reaches the bottom of the screen. Gravity is one of the ‘Play’ study modes
3. Write: in this mode users are shown a term or definition and must type the term of definition that goes with it. Users are graded automatically
4. Long term learning: In this mode, users are given a study set that has been recommended to them based on whether they answer study set questions correctly. Terms are repeated if answered incorrectly. A dashboard shows learning progress. This mode focuses on spaced repetition to stimulate long term retention and mastery rather than short term memorization
5. Speller: in this mode, the term is read aloud and students must type the term correctly. Correct responses are rewarded with a video of a monster truck using a flip
6. Match: In this mode, users are shown a grid of terms in random order. They must drag terms on top of their definitions

How is Quizlet Used in the Classroom? (Pros and Cons)

Here is a good link for some pros and cons of using Quizlet in the classroom: 

Because Quizlet is a public website, anyone can go on and create a set of study notes. However, this freedom can lead to the spread of misinformation. Educators can combat this by creating study sets for their students and encouraging them to work with their peers to create concise notes. Another problem with Quizlet, is that if one word is out of place, the website will mark the answer as incorrect. 

Quizlet Live is an in-class tool similar to Kahoot for quizzes using devices. The students are shown a question on the board and must choose the correct response on their device (phone, laptop, or tablet). It is important to weigh the pros and cons of Quizlet, to decide whether or not it will work in your class. 

Pros

• Free 
• Allows students to share and create their own quizzes using various forms (MS, short answer etc, matching) 

Cons

• It could be used to encourage cheating, as students can copy/paste material and find answers to online quizzes. 
• Could provide false info because anyone can make a Quizlet 

History: 

Quizlet was first created by Andrew Sutherland while he was studying for his French class to help him memorize words. The coding for this program took him over 420 days to create, and was then posted to the public in October of 2005. Over the years Quizlet has been revamped and restructured to grow with modern day technology. Quizlet was then developed into an app available for iphones and androids so that students could view their flashcards anytime, anywhere. 

Privacy Policy: 

Information from Quizlet is stored in servers in the United States, which as we know, have different privacy laws than Canada. Quizlet keeps the information as long as the account is active. The information Quizlet can gather include: login information, google and Facebook accounts, language, and local time zones. 

GROUP: Catrina Moyes, Angie Cauthers, Maddie Osgarby, Brittany Johnson & Arnelle Basi.

For today’s class, we adventured out to PSII (Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry) in downtown Victoria. The principal and founder of the school, Jeff Hopkins, greeted our group and talked to us about the school and the pedagogy behind his teaching methods. I grew up in B.C. in the public school system as a French Immersion student. My experience K-12 was quite traditional in terms of testing and assessment. So, this school seems a little out of the ordinary to me and, at first, it doesn’t seem like it would be that effective. However, as we walked around the school, I found lots of students collaborating and working together on their projects.

I did wonder how the school worked within the confines of the B.C. curriculum. Jeff told us that PSII receives 50% of public funding, which requires the students to be B.C. residents, pay taxes, and the school must not spend more per pupil than the average school district. That means that the students must take all required courses (and exams) to graduate with a high school diploma. These exams include the new literacy and numeracy assessments in Grades 10 and upward. Jeff said that the students usually feel prepared enough to take these exams without traditional classes to prepare for the tests.

I noticed that the students had a lot of freedom in their daily schedules and were free to do whatever they needed to work on their personal (or group) inquiries. I do like this set-up, but I’m not sure it would work for every student. I also believe that too much freedom can cause some students to lose focus on their tasks. I did like the idea that students were free to ask for help from any teacher and that learning was co-constructed by the teacher and the learner.

I’m not sure how this system would work for an elementary school. However, with some tweaking, I’m sure that a learning system similar to PSII could work in an elementary setting.

Find out more about PSII at their website here.

RIP: A Remix Manifesto talks about the fight between big companies fighting over intellectual property vs the individual remixes created by young people. Intellectual property in this documentary started with a focus on music. Whether or not remixes were infringing on the copyright by sampling the music. The film’s creator, Brett Gaylor, states that

1. Culture always builds on the past.
2. The past always tries to control the future.
3. Our future is becoming less free.
4. To build free societies you must limit the control of the past

Musicians and artists are constantly developing and building on artists before them. The problem lies in the laws of copyright. In the past, inventors could keep the rights to their materials for 14 years then their property would fall into the public domain, where anyone could copy/change the original materials and develop it into something new. Adam Ruins Everything on youtube does a great short video on this topic. Now, artists are suing and trying to keep their creative material to themselves. It is my belief that all this does is prevent culture from evolving naturally and developing new ideas.

A defence against the new copyright laws that is mentioned in RIP is Fair Use. Fair Use is a copyright law that allows small snippets to be used to make a point or fighting for the freedom of speech. New copyright laws in the US lasts for the lifetime of the original creator plus another 70 years. For corporations, the copyright lasts for roughly 90 years.

In addition to the movie, we learned a bit about open resources in education. I found a link to a resource about women suffragette’s in the US on OER, while we are not in the same country, it is still interesting to learn about.

Image

Alright, week two, here we go. For homework before this class, we were told to watch the documentary “Most Likely to Succeed,” which follows human creativity in high school. This documentary started with how artificial intelligence has developed over the past decades to be better at chess and Jeopardy than a human being.

They also talked about how many jobs will disappear over the next few years, regular workers being replaced with computers/robots. In my opinion, I believe this is not the whole story, as jobs are disappearing, but new ones are being created at the same time. John Oliver does a great video on the topic here.

But I’m getting off-topic. Today in class, we started setting up our Trello account. From my understanding thus far, Trello is a task organizing tool. Trello seems quite easy to set-up and use; however, it does seem like just another step or chore that must be completed.

For people who would prefer to go mainly digital in their planning (or lifestyle), Trello seems like a great option for general organization and group project planning.

Hello!

This is my first blog post on my new site. I have made a blog on WordPress before however, this set-up was much easier. Maybe because I have gotten older and wiser (but not by much). We were given a list of instructions in order to complete our set-up which made it a lot easier. I am excited to have an electronic database to record my knowledge and create a history of my learning. I look forward to sharing ideas on bringing technology into the classroom.

I believe blogs help students (as well as adults) track their learning and growth, as they can identify where their abilities started and how they have developed. Although, blogs and technology in general, are not always accessible to students in public schools. So it would be interesting to see how educators could take this digital platform and transfer it to traditional teaching methods.