On this page, I will be reporting about the different badges that I will be completing in my pre-service tech course. Come along and join me as I learn about things like gamification, project-based learning, and more!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 1: Gamification
 |
| Brock University. Gamification Badge (Online Photo) [Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site] |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 2: Hour of Code
 |
| Brock University. Hour of Code Badge (Online Photo) [Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site] |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 3: Project-Based Learning (PJBL)
 |
| Brock University. PJBL Badge (Online Photo) [Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site] |
This week I chose to pursue the PJBL badge because I believe that PJBL is a great way to engage learners, to make learning meaningful and purposeful, and to connect curricular expectations to real-life contexts. Thus, I was interested in learning more about how to implement PJBL in my future teaching practices. PJBL essentially is when students have an end-product to demonstrate their learning as opposed to simply answering questions on a test. Although, C. Figg (2013) emphasizes that there is more to it than simply having a project, but highlights the importance of learning through the project (not just as a representation of learning) and of critical thinking and reflection. In the below diagram, you will see a project-based unit that I designed using the information that I learned within this module. I would like to highlight a few important points about this activity. First of all, I followed C. Figg's (2013) structure that includes three stages: setting the stage, core development activities, and closure/consolidation activities. Secondly, critical thinking, collaboration, reflection, and revision were all concepts that were continually highlighted throughout the various resources that I read, thus this unit includes opportunities for students to think critically, to work collaboratively, to reflect on their work, and to revise it before their final product. Also, this unit does not simply include a project at the end of the unit, but the project is used as a learning tool where students are actually learning through researching and creating their project, which A. Miller (2017) expresses as being "the main course, not dessert". Lastly, I would like to point out how this activity allows for creative freedom from students, where they can choose a focus that interests them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 4: Digital Citizenship
 |
| Brock University. Digital Citizen Badge (Online Photo) [Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site] |
I chose to pursue
the digital citizen badge because it is crucial that I prepare myself to teach
students how to protect themselves and behave properly online. The internet is
an increasingly more prominent part of our society and the students in my future
classroom will be growing up in a world surrounded by technology, thus it is
essential that we equip them with the skills to navigate that world effectively
and safely. This module was a bit a long haul with there being three
sub-modules, but despite taking longer than usual, the insight that I have
gained is invaluable.
Copyright
As a songwriter, I
appreciate copyright regulations and how they protect our creative works. As a
teacher, I think it is essential that I learn about what I can and can not do
in regards to copyrighting, which is why I chose to complete the digital citizenship
badge this week. After completing the copyright module, I have new
understanding of what copyright is and what my limitations are in regards to
using copyright work as a teacher and I also learned about how to navigate CC Search and Flikr in order to
find media that I can use and share. I
learned about fair dealing, which essentially gives individuals that right to
use copyrighted materials for research, private study, criticism, review, news
reporting, education, satire, and parody (providing it follows certain criteria
and restrictions). Some important limitations that I discovered and that I
consider incredibly important as a teacher, are that we can not copy things
that are intended for one-time use (ex. Workbooks), sound tariffs apply for
music being played outside of instruction (ex. Assemblies, school dances,
concerts, etc.), and that just because something is publicly accessible on the
internet, that does not mean we have the rights to copy it or use it in the
classroom. Not only is it my responsibility to make sure I am following
copyright laws when using materials in my lessons, but it is also my
responsibility to educate my students about copyright laws and ensure that they
are following them in their class work. A few key points that I think are most
important to teach students is that any
original work is protected by copyright, that unless a creator has a creative
commons license, we are not authorized to use or share their work without their
permission, and how to locate materials with creative common licenses.
 |
| Ryancr. (May 21, 2006). Stealing (Online Photo). [Retrieved from flickr.com/photos/ryanr/157458385] |
 |
| Airpix. (February 25, 2017). Share (Photograph). [Retrieved from flickr.com/photos/144152028] |
Cybersafety
During this module, I had the opportunity to peruse
various videos and games that can be used in the classroom to help students
understand how to use the internet wisely. I was very impressed with the
multitude of great resources there were. Of all the wonderful resources I
looked into, the one that I think I would be the most likely to use as a
teacher are the Training Missions games. These games offer students a gamified opportunity to learn
about an practice internet safety. There are four missions that students can
participate in where they identify spam emails, block people that ask for
personal information, differentiate between good website content and dangerous
adds and pop-ups, and respond to cyber bullying. I particularly like these
games because they relate to experiences that students may actually be facing
online and they really help prepare them for protecting themselves on the
internet. When using this in the classroom, it would be important to use these
missions to guide discussion in the classroom and to help students understand
why the strategies that they learn through these games will help protect them
and keep them safe. Not only would this game be a great tool for learning, but
I also think that they would be games that many students would genuinely enjoy
playing, which is extremely important in order for the games to be effective.
 |
| Carnegie Mellon University. (2018). Email Mission (Online Photo) [Retrieved from http://www.carnegiecyberacademy.com/missions.html] |
Digital Citizenship
In today's day and age, digital citizenship is an
essential skill for success in our internet-loving society. Hagen C. (n.d.)
shares 9 elements of digital citizenship, which helps summarize the different
aspects of digital citizenship that we should ensure that we are equipping out
students with. The 9 elements are digital access, digital commerce, digital communication,
digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital health and wellness, and digital security. I
specifically focused on digital citizenship and social media. After reading a
variety of articles discussing how to be responsible digital citizens on social
media, I came up with the following set of social media rules.
6 Rules for Using Social Media
- Before you post something, ask yourself "Is this something I would want my parents or a future employer to see?"
- Don't share confidential information (even if your profile is private)
- Report cyber-bullying and inappropriate behaviour
- Be nice and respectful to others. NO BULLYING
- Don't believe everything you see/read on social media
- Be careful interacting with people you don't know in real-life
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 5: 3D Printing
 |
| Brock University. 3D Printing Badge (Online Photo) [Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site] |
I also really appreciated reading through the case studies, where
teachers, McGowan
and Utter,
demonstrate how they have used 3D printing in their classrooms. These case
studies demonstrate how 3D printing can be used to engage and inspire students,
to promote collaboration and teamwork, and to encourage innovation, all while
meeting curricular expectations. This module inspired me to think about how I
could use 3D printing in my future classes. Some of the ideas that I have
thought about are to create landforms in Geography, building structures, simple
machines, electrical circuits, and habitats in Science, and for vectors,
shapes, and measurement in Math. It just so happened that the Makerspace was hosting a 3D printing workshop this week and Tinkercad had a webinar as well this week, so I thought I would take advantage of these opportunities to extend my learning on this topic. The Makerspace workshop focused on a lot of the same skills that I learned in the Tinkercad tutorial, but I designed my own key chain from scratch (pictured below). The webinar was fairly interesting as it focused specifically on 3D printing and how it can be used to accommodate for students learning styles and disabilities in the classroom.
Natalie McMillan (February 15, 2018). 3D Printing (Online Gif).
[Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/3dprinting-makerspace-iqscMOOrft22rETACO/embed]
 |
| Natalie McMillan (February 15, 2018). 3D Printed Key Chain (Photograph). |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 6: Flipped and Blended Learning
I chose to work towards the Flipped/Blended badge this week because I felt like it was something that I was not very familiar with and I sure am glad that I chose it because it was extremely insightful. After this module, I am able to define what flipped and blended learning is and consider how I might use flipped and blended learning in my classroom. Blended learning is essentially tech-enhanced instruction. It goes beyond simply incorporating technology into the classroom, but it uses technology in a very profound way to blend with and enhance instruction. In the video posted below, Jen Johnson (2014) does a great job of explaining just what blended learning is and she shares 4 main hallmarks of blended learning.
- Strong connection between online and offline learning
- Increased collaboration and student control
- Online classroom present (ie. Schoology, Google Classroom)
- Re purposes class time to increase application, collaboration, and teacher-student interaction
A flipped classroom is a very similar concept that pre-loads the content, where students can learn the content on their own time, at their own pace, so that more classroom time can be spent on application. Lodge McCammon (2011) expresses that after flipping their classroom, they spend approximately 90% of class time on application and only 10% on content. This provides more opportunities for rich learning experiences and for differentiation. Some examples of how teachers may use flipped and blended learning in their classrooms is by having stations instead of direct instruction, using collaboration, providing students with videos or online modules, and involving a variety of differentiated practical activities for classroom time.
Jen Johnson (January 20, 2014). Blended Learning and Technology Integration (Youtube Video).
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD8AUfGsCKg&feature=youtu.be
No comments:
Post a Comment