Ashley's Teaching Blog

Here we are at the end of the road, what a journey it has been, I sure have learned a lot! It is funny to look back at all my posts and see the little mistakes I made with posts, or seeing how afraid I was to start this course and to see the growth I have made. I feel much more confident with tech now. Looking back at my first blog post, I struggled with setting up my WordPress but I promised myself that I would have a growth mindset throughout this experience, and I can confidently say I did. I feel so much better at navigating technology and finding great resources in the technology world that I never knew existed.

In honor of this being the last blog post, I thought I would do a countdown of the top 5 takeaways from this course in the category of “information” and “resources” so here we go!

Starting with the information category in no particular order or ranking. 

1.Creative Commons

When I first learned about creative commons at the beginning of the course, I was shocked that I had no idea what it was. I am so happy I was exposed to this tool before I entered into my teaching career! I now know how to attribute images and find ones that are not copyrighted and I can apply that to my future teaching when I need to create presentations or resources that pull from online images. 

2. AI

The power of AI! This class has definitely changed my opinion on AI from once being a hater, to now seeing it as a powerful tool in the teaching profession. It is a time saver, and a helpful assistant, but you still have to be weary when using it. I loved doing the experiment on creating your own flower and then getting AI to create a flower. It really puts into perspective how useful the tool can be. I will be applying AI to my future teaching practice as a tool and time saver for sure. 

3.Inquiry 

We had two weeks in this class where we talked about Inquiry, and it was super beneficial. This class has exposed me the most to the topic of inquiry and I am thankful for that. In our second week we touched on the topic and we learned about the different types of inquiry such as structured, controlled, guided and free inquiry.  This was a cool introduction to inquiry because I was able to see all the possibilities. Then in week 8 we dove deeper into inquiry, and this is where I gained information that I can apply to my future teaching practice. The biggest takeaway for me was just the idea that we can bring little bits of inquiry into the traditional school system.  We don’t have to completely change the system but by bringing inquiry into the classroom in small segments it will create an abundance of benefits. Swapping out more teacher-led lessons for student-led lessons and building in time for reflection at the end of every lesson is something I want to try once I get my own classroom. In my upcoming practicum there are two blocks a week where students engage in inquiry, and I am very excited to see the process take place. 

4.The Potential Of Zoom

We talked about this in week 9 and it was also the topic of my group’s inquiry project. As our world has transitioned out of Covid-19 lockdown, the Zoom classroom has stayed with us. I never really thought about how zoom class could stick with us years from now, I thought it would die down, but now I see that we can use it to our advantage in the school system. 

5. Internet Safety 

This came up in multiple classes, for both the safety of teachers and the safety of students when using the internet. This was so beneficial for me going into the teaching profession and understanding all the considerations we must take when using the internet. I will now always think about FIPPA to ensure I keep my class information as safe as can be. 

Now lets turn our attention over to my top 5 resources from this class that I will always keep in my back pocket. 

1.Live It Earth

I loved this resource because science is definitely not my strong suit, so having a fun interactive way of teaching Stem is so beneficial. I love all the challenges, learning and fun that this platform has to offer. I will definitely be using this in my future practice.

2.BrainPOP ELL

This resource came out of my own research after the EDcamp class. Finding resources for ELL learners is something we are not taught in this program (at least not yet) which seems a little silly to me. So when I discovered this resource I got quite excited. What I really like about this resource is the interactive and easy to access component. It isnt overwhelming and I like that there are different units so that students can progress. 

3.Interland

As I discussed above, internet safety was a big takeaway for me during this class. Interland is a cool resource that can teach students the importance of internet safety in an accessible and understanding way. I think every young student should try this game out, and I will definitely be remembering this resource  for my future classroom.

4. TimelyGrader

A quick shoutout to our guest speaker Chris Du and his AI tool, who joined us in week 6. TimelyGrader works as a teachers assistant, and my favourite feature of this tool is the  rubrics it can create to provide a structured framework for assessing assignments, outlining specific criteria and expectations because rubrics are biggg time consumers. It is safe to say I will definitely be using this in the near future. 

5.PBS Kids Games 

I LOVE this resource. It is an awesome website filled with so many games that provide fun and creative ways to let students use their imagination and learn at the same time.  I tried out the game “Story Creator” where it based its activity off of real life story creators, and allows students to make their own fun story.  I was having a grand old time making my characters be in a pizza palace, getting stuck in pudding and being rescued by a dinosaur. This resource allows teachers to meet curriculum expectations while also adding fun to it, this will always be in my back pocket!

Screenshot of me playing PBSKids Game. Photo by Ashley Hall off of the PBS Kids website licensed under CC 4.0

So there we have it, my top 10 takeaways from this course. One topic I wish to learn more about, as I am not too confident in it is the idea of being a curator or a dumper. I think I need to work on understanding that topic a bit more, but that will come with time!

This blog has come to an end. It has been a pleasure interacting with you all through my keyboard. Until we meet again.

Yours Truly,

Ashley Hall

This class was really cool to learn about. Although I grew up during the technology boom of this generation, I was never exposed to gamification in the classroom. Because of this I was very intrigued as to how I can incorporate this into my future classroom. I liked the discussion our class was having about if too much gamification is a bad thing. On one hand it can be super engaging for students, but on the other hand if there is too much gamification, it can make the times when there are no games in the classroom super boring.  

This conversation really made me think deeper about the pros and cons of gamification. I agree that we shouldn’t gamify everything, and I don’t think that is the intention of gamification, but one pro that I see that can be so beneficial is that it can get even the most disengaged students engaged in learning. Joanna made a good point by saying  “this is the reality we gave them” (as in being surrounded by technology) so why not play to that advantage and give the students a tool that they really enjoy and engage in. I decided to check out one of the educational tools we discussed in our class to see what it was all about, here are my thoughts: 

I hopped over to the website Interland to see what it was all about. This game was created so that students can be prepared to make smart decisions and to safely explore and play online. The first thing I noticed about this platform was how awesome the wording was for kids. It used sentences such as “be a confident explorer of the online world” and “spread good vibes” when entering the kind kingdom. I think this language is super accessible and fun for kids which adds just that much more to the game. Next, I checked out the topics Interland teaches kids. There was kind kingdom, teaching kids that  it’s cool to be kind. There was reality river, teaching kids to not fall for fake information. There was mindful mountain, teaching kids to share with care. And finally there was tower of treasure, teaching kids to secure your secrets and internet safe. I decided to explore tower of treasure. I liked how interactive it was and it had just the right amount of information for kids to grasp the concepts. As an adult, I even learned a little something about keeping your passwords safe, so all in all it was a very helpful game to explore. I will definitely be using this especially with younger students who are just learning how to use the internet, and it is also a good refresher for older students as well! 

Here I am playing the tower of treasure world, learning about safe passwords.

Photo by Ashley Hall is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Here I am finishing the tower of treasure world, an “epic win” as they say

Photo by Ashley Hall is licensed under CC BY 4.0

One thing I really liked about what our guest speaker Laura had to say was on the topic of relationships and gamification/ coding. Laura brought up the idea that we often make students do awkward icebreaker games that can make students nervous at times. Instead why don’t we put them in the experience of figuring out coding and put their focus on something shared so that it takes away that awkward feeling while still building a relationship. I liked this idea because  it gives students a common purpose and makes the environment more comfortable for all, while also being able to immerse themselves in learning. 

This class was super cool to engage in and I would like to end this blog post with a question to my fellow readers. If gamification was incorporated into your learning as a young student, would you have been more engaged in the learning? Let me know in the comments below!

This week’s tech class was super cool! I never knew what “EdCamp” was, but after participating in a mini one, I see all the benefits to it. First of all, I really liked all the choices that were offered. It was cool to be able to switch back and forth between groups if you wanted to and get a variety of learning. The only downside I felt was that all the topics were so rich and beneficial that it sucked not being able to attend all of them! However, it is nice we get access to all the notes from every group so that you can see what others talked about. My favourite part about EdCamp is that you got to learn from everyone, and all their perspectives. It’s so cool to have a room filled with knowledgeable classmates who bring something new and different to every topic. For the first session, I was in the group, “Managing Difficult Behaviours.”  Our group came up with lots of great ideas and strategies and reasons for why students could be acting this way. One of the most beneficial conversations we had, and something that I feel like is so obvious but so important is really ensuring you have a good relationship with a student. This allows for genuine conversations, trust and makes the child not feel targeted when something goes wrong.

 For the second group I was in “Tools for ELL Learners.” This conversation was also super beneficial, and again hearing what everyone had to say was so cool as it was a collaboration from so many different perspectives and ideas. This was a topic that I didn’t know much about, and I am anxious about it in my future classroom because I feel like I have been given no resources for this topic. One classmate pointed out that it is not a bad thing to continue learning their first language, in fact extremely important! And it is important to be doing so at school. Students will lose literacy abilities when we disrupt their progress in their first language. During this session we also talked about using technology with ELL learners such as Edpuzzle, and I found this super helpful to learn about. It can be used to insert Youtube videos to translate, vocabulary work, and comprehension. After class I decided to check out other edtech tools that could be used for ELL learners. I came across this article that gave quite a few tools, and decided to explore one form the list. I came across this tool called BrainPOP ELL. I explored the site, and found that it had a good mixture of easy to access movies, activities, quizzes and games for all different ages. In each level, there are 6 units in it providing students with lots of support. It connects reading and written words, there are interactive features that allow students to practice grammar and explore new vocabulary.  It is good to know that there are tools out there that can support ELL learners and that are easy access fro teachers. 

Screenshot from the BrainPOP ELL site, showing the different levels and units.

Overall, this was a super cool and helpful class. I loved hearing everyone’s different opinions and ideas. It was a great way to have an open discussion and brainstorm all together!

When Covid-19 stormed the world, I was in the last month of my second year of University. When the world moved all education online for my third and half of my fourth year of University, I was only able to see online education from that level. So going into this class, I had my doubts and was curious as to how online school would look for those not yet at the post-secondary level. All I knew prior to this class was that zoom classes consisted of getting motivated to turn on your camera and get out of bed. We are all mature adults, who, for the most part could seem to get to class on time and have motivation to complete the work.  so my skepticism was how would this look for younger students? Do they have the motivation? Are they self-disiplined enough to hold themselves accountable without the teacher being physically present?  I was happily proved wrong, and honestly it seems like younger students might even be more engaged and motivated then us older folk were at online classes. 

After listening to Meghan Carrico, she really answered all my doubts and questions about online school in the primary and intermediate years. Her talk really opened my eyes to how a class could be done online. I never knew what the structure of online school would look like in younger years, but after fridays class,it seems manageable nad well laid out

I get all the benefits to online classes, like students who don’t feel comfortable in a real classroom setting, accessibility and  students living in rural areas, etc, etc can all learn online. I just worry about the social aspect of it at such a young age. The socialization during your younger years is so important, and you learn the most through your social connections in my opinion. By having young students online in-front of a screen all the time, and not in person with classmates it seems harmful. I read an article by Forbes saying the harmful effects of zoom, such as the social isolation that I already talked about, but also theres no outside play with friends, or critical brain breaks like the article suggests. I think in order to balance it out, a blended classroom would be beneficial,  just like how universities have shifted to after Covid. If you are sick or cant make it you can hop on zoom so you dont miss any learning. I love that 

Photo by Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC 4.0

I am curious if any of my fellow classmates can share their feelings towards social interactions with their classmates during covid. Did it have an effect on you? Do you feel like nothing really changed? Let me know! 

Enjoy your day everyone, cheers!