Hello, and welcome!
I just wanted to formally introduce myself to all parents/guardians and students. My name is Ms. Speck and I will be your teacher for the 2015/2016 school year.
This is the site where all of the homework, test/quiz reminders, assignment submission reminders, important resources, and other relevant information will be posted. We will be using this site quite often so it is important for all of you to feel comfortable posting! If there are any questions at all, please feel free to contact me via email: danielle.speck@live.ca
All important dates and reminders will be posted.
I can't wait to work with all of you. Looking forward to a great year ahead!
Monday, 16 May 2016
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Unique Educators
1) Frank W. Baker - He is an educator and a Media Literacy Education Consultant. Frank is a national Jessie McCanse Awardee and "Leaders in Learning" honoree. He is a consultant to the SC Writing Improvement Network, and a former consultant to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The Jessie McCanse award is an award given for a recognized individual who has contributed to Media Literacy. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia (ABJ, Journalism). He joined the Orange County (Orlando, FL) Public School System as an administrator in the area of Instructional TV/Distance Education. Frank Baker is an inspiring individual and is the creator of one of the largest media literary resource sites: http://www.frankwbaker.com/mlc/
https://twitter.com/fbaker
https://twitter.com/fbaker
There are approximately 10,000 media literacy resources and he conducts around 500 or more workshops around the globe educating teachers on how to implement media literacy strategies into the classroom, and into everyday lessons. Frank's influence can impact a junior classroom because they can begin to learn by partaking in media literacy from a young age which will in turn spark innovation and creativity.
2) Carol Tonhauser - She is a graduate from the University of Alberta; she has her B.Ed and her M.Ed from the University and she has over two years of experience working with the University's Educational Technology Services Unit. Carol is a former teacher and tech coach so she has the resources required to support/influence educators today and how they might impact junior education. The links in some of her tweets provide mini lessons on how to teach students, and also for adults to learn, about different apps and about some of the different tools or resources that are available. Carol is motivational, supportive, and positive, and I think she would have an influence on a junior classroom through educating the educators. As long as we stay current in our tools and resources and continue to learn what is available and how to use it, we can implement these technological tools into our lessons for the junior grades.
3) David Fife - He is a Vice Principal at Mitchell Hepburn Public School in St. Thomas, Ontario. He is also a Former Learning Technologies Coordinator which means he is exceptionally passionate and knowledgeable about education and technology, leadership, and student voice. David's website entitled "Perspectives 2.0" shares positive insight into the life of an educator. He has his own blog where he shares valuable and relevant information to help teachers on their journey. One of his blog posts from January 2016 talks about being mindful from the book One Word; in outlining personal goals for himself, he promotes and raises awareness for others to be mindful in a multitude of ways.The article he posts on digital citizenship is relevant to 21st century learning because it causes educators to think outside the box - instead of seeing things a certain way, this article asks "What if..." and causes us to see things in a new light/with a new perspective: http://www.spencerauthor.com/2016/04/are-we-missing-point-with-digital.html/
He has links to other edublogs which are often helpful to look at or consider. I believe David Fife would be a great resource for junior education because he causes others to look at things with different perspectives (whether it be a topic, a situation, an outcome, etc.) He also is motivational and positive and supportive which are great qualities for an educator.
21st Century Tools and Resources
1) Cube for Teachers puts thousands of educators in touch with one another. It uses the common ground of education and it allows educators to share resources and tools with one another. Educators can search, save, and share links for one another to view. This is a free online resource where educators can access plenty of resources in a variety of different subjects. http://www.cubeforteachers.com/
* There are so many wonderful tools, tips, resources, and documents at your finger tips with one search.
2) This is a tool and a resource:
Digital storytelling is a great way to teach drama in an interactive way. It uses multimedia components to tell stories in a digital environment. We are continuously looking for new ways to integrate methods of technology into our work and drama is more challenging since it involves a lot of body and in-person physicality. Though there is the film and TV components for drama in education, typically drama classes do not involve a lot of technological aspects. This way drama class can!
3) Though this may seem like a simple resource/tool, it is exceptionally handy:
Google drive makes online learning a lot easier and forms a sense of online community. This is where educators can post their resources/lessons/powerpoints or worksheets/homework so that students and teachers have access to it at all times. There have been countless cases where students lose their instructions, lose their rubrics, or lose their final product and this way, they can submit it and create it online!
4) PowToon is another resource that is great for student engagement and online learning. https://www.powtoon.com/index/
It is a free app that allows for the creation of animated videos/stories and/or presentations. This is great for both online use and in-classroom use. It is a fun and engaging way to deliver information to students and to watch them create and design their own content. They can finally ‘learn by doing’ through this app.This app can be used for a variety of different styles of learners and different aged learners. It also allows students to communicate with others, and/or colleagues. It is a fun and entertaining way to understand content and the app provides free templates and user-friendly videos on how to create animation videos.
Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning, I believe, is essential for students to learn valuable skills at a young age. PBL promotes and takes into consideration the following categories: Interdisciplinary Studies, Collaboration, Inquiry, Motivation, Self-Directed Learning, Learning Styles, Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, and Technology Integration. All of the aforementioned are essential to 21st century learners. If all of these skills are learned at a younger age (junior learners) then they will be implemented and practiced for the rest of the students' careers (both in school and out of school in the real world). These are not only essential skills for school life but also for the working world and the social realm.
Interdisciplinary studies focuses on two or more academic subjects that combines knowledge with skills (also known as cross-curricular studies). Collaboration focuses on two or more people working together to reach a common goal. Sometimes this can be called cooperative learning where each student generates ideas, plans, organizes, and shares together. Inquiry focuses on searching for knowledge by asking questions, examining facts, and summarizing information. PBL allows for this because it provides a section where a problem must be observed - a study or an investigation of some sort. PBL deals with the issue of students being un-motivated because it entices students by creating personal meaning. Most of the topics for PBL are self-chosen which also touches upon the aspect of self-directed learning. Self-Directed Learning is great for fostering independence and responsibility in students right from a young age. Students will understand what it is like to work within a given time frame, and also learn how to pace their work/keep themselves on-track. PBL caters to different learning styles because when the students choose their projects themselves, they officially select which learning style they will employ to engage in their projects. PBL fosters critical thinking which is an extremely important skill and focus for the 21st century, along with creative thinking. These two types of thinking focus on interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and the summarization of information while stimulating imagination to create ideas, insights, solutions, etc. Students are engaged and creatively stimulated to want to do well - as it is a project of their choice (something that interests them individually). Lastly, PBL integrates technology as it focuses on self-directed learning where the student can decide if they would like to include method of technology.
I have attached three examples of worksheets that would help the junior learner or high school learner through a project-based learning unit. The first is a team work plan so that the work is divided up appropriately and responsibly. The second is a project management log so each member in the group knows what is required of them and by when (there are check boxes on both worksheets for when each is completed). The third is a self-reflection which is extremely important. It is important to self-reflect because in doing so, students are able to learn about themselves and the way they learn.
Though there are a great number of skills that have stayed the same from the past until now, there are definite changes made that are reflected in the 21st century. One is that technological advancement is huge and is trying to become more popular in schools and learning communities. Another is that the emphasis is placed on teacher-student learning partners (teachers are always learning regardless of their age or status in the profession), teachers learn alongside students. Both students and teachers benefit from this partnership.
I found an incredible link that shows the difference between 20th and 21st century education and it is phenomenal to see how drastically things have changed. There has been a shift from a teacher-centered, fragmented curriculum where students are working in isolation and memorizing facts to a focus on what students know, what students can be, and what students can do (shift from teacher-centered education to the focus on the child/student), and PBL has helped evolve that shift.
Thoughts on Michael Fullan's "Great to Excellent" Article
First of all, reading this article was extremely interesting because I did not know for a fact that Ontario was valued so highly in terms of the education statistics and success outcomes it has to offer. I can relate to this article both as a student and as an adult learner because the article stresses that technology and pedagogy have to go hand in hand in order to progress from great to excellent.
I do believe that if we had learned more interactive lessons from a young age (junior grades) that we would be more advanced technologically - which is why upcoming students are much more technologically savvy. As technology advances so do our students. I also agree with the idea of taking action - if we want to see a difference we have to work towards getting there, we have to be committed and dedicated and take action not just sit back and expect things to be done. We have to host a part in the change we expect to see - this is why we need the government to work closely and more deeply with education (so that we have support behind us and a strong investment towards change).
FDK (full-day kindergarten) is something that intrigued me as well because it promotes: the development of self-regulation, social emotional learning, inquiry skills, and play-based learning that fosters creativity, imagination and problem solving which are all essential life-long skills that even we as adults/students need to understand, value, and demonstrate. If we learn these critical skills at a young age we will foster, implement, remember, and practice them forever.
http://www.michaelfullan.ca/media/13599974110.pdf
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