Ramble #3

This week's video comes from Rita Peirson... She has an amazing message about education!

This week in class we had a guest presentation from Manitoba Education on 'Web Based Courses'. The content was very informative and I really appreciated the detailed presentation.

During the presentation, when they were speaking about synchronous courses, I had a profound moment of thought. I thought to myself... "How crazy is it that we can teach students hundreds of miles away, but technically still be face-to-face." This thought then led into another thought..."It is truly amazing how much education has been transformed by technology in just a few decades." 

When I began schooling (1997) so much of what is possible in the classroom now, was not possible then. Heck, computers were just beginning to become popular mainstream items. I remember the introduction of "smartboards" into our classrooms in Grade 6. This was a big deal! You could draw onto a computer screen and move things around on the screen too! Now, "smartboards" are increasingly becoming obsolete to bigger and better technology. It truly is amazing how quickly technology is advancing.

It makes me wonder what technology will exist in my classroom when I have been teaching for 20 years. Simple mathematics tells me that will be roughly around the year 2029.  Wow, that year is something you envision to be part of a sci-fi book or film and certainly not reality... haha. What will be possible for students in 2029? Will there be virtual reality learning in which students can virtually become a white blood cell, or simulate a session of parliament? To be honest, I am inclined to believe that the answer to this question is YES. Virtual reality is already seeing a lot of attention in terms of development and funding. I think it is perfectly reasonable to assume that in 20 years students will come to class and put on their very own V.R goggles and "learn".

I am truly excited for the future of education knowing that new and exciting technology is being thought of and created daily. Teachers in 1950 would have never thought that a class could be taught "face-to-face" (webcam) where in which the teacher and students are hundreds of miles away from each other. 

It begs the question... what do teachers of 2016 not see coming in terms of educational technology?

  

Ramble #2

As promised, here is another video I really enjoy...

I love Casey Neistat! Okay, now on to more related content matter...

This week in class we focused on two main concepts: curation and collaboration. During class, I learned a lot of valuable websites and platforms to curate and collaborate online. 

For me, the most interesting stuff we talked about was google: drive, docs, slides, forms, sheets, etc. This is because, as mentioned last week, I was already briefly aware of these online applications. However, during Tuesday's lecture I became aware of so much more that these online applications could offer us as teachers. 

For instance, I did not know about the live playback feature that allows the teacher to watch back, in real-time, who added what to the document and specifically when they added to the document. That is an amazing feature! I was also not aware of the google forms application. Using Google forms, teachers can gather data and information pertinent to their class in a very simple and expedited manner. Teachers could use this application in so many different ways. For example, a few weeks into the term, teachers could poll their class on their performance so far and ask for suggestions to make the class better.

On Thursday I played around with these various online google applications. I tested almost all of them out to see what they do and how they function. The biggest thing that stood out to me as I was tinkering with these applications was their ease of use. For me, all of these applications were extremely simple to pick up and use. They do not overly complicate things. Instead, the way in which you design your document or presentation is thoroughly intuitive.

I honestly, look forward to incorporating these various Google applications into my classroom. I believe that these application will make the learning experience of my student's more rich and fulfilling all the while incorporating fun and interactive activities into their classroom work.  

Until next week,

Justin 

Ramble Numero Uno

This is my first blog... Wow! Where to start? Maybe... a video? Yeah, a video.

Here is a video that I really like... it may not have much to do with my topic for today but its worth sharing anyway.

As a matter of fact I think I may just share a potentially unrelated video that I really like at the outset of each of these blog posts!

Anyways.... back on topic! I think the most fitting topic for my first blog in this course is my personal thoughts on ICT in the classroom. So let's do it!

I have always been a person that is not afraid of new technology and unfamiliar technology. I have never been apprehensive of new technology. In fact, I often am excited by new technology and eager to jump in and learn the tech. That is why I believe that technology will be a great resource for me as a teacher. I fully intend to use technology in my classroom. However, the major caveat to that point is that I will only use technology when it is appropriate and useful. I once heard a professor say that technology should only be incorporated into a lesson if it "adds something to the lesson, not if it just being incorporated for the sake of technology itself". This statement was profound for me. I believe all too often teachers feel pressured into incorporating technology into their lessons. This pressure most likely stems from the current contemporary discourse surrounding education and its need to modernize. This pressure leads to the technology being used in non-useful ways, that frankly, add nothing of value to the lesson.

Us a young teachers should not have this problem. By nature of our generation it is most likely that we have much more knowledge and savviness towards technology as compared to older generations. We should be able to understand the technology better and recognize when it is truly useful to us as teachers or our students.

For instance, I really love the program 'Socrative'. We learned about this program last term through Dr. Skyhar. The program has various features but most notably it allows the teacher to make quick and easy admit/exit slips or quizzes that the students can do right from their smartphones. The data is then automatically put into a spreadsheet format for easy analysis. The is no argument against the using this program in my opinion. It allows the students to use their devices in a productive way and it provides the teacher with valuable formative assessment data in a matter of minutes. Traditionally, a teacher would have to organize, and analyze physical exit slips themselves. Now, a software program does it for you!

Also, I have become familiar with Google Docs. This program allows multiple users from multiple devices to edit and publish a online document at the same time. It has many uses. This can be used to make group work possible from great distances. It can also be used a brainstorming application or a forum for classroom suggestions. The possibilities are tremendous!

In closing, I believe it is worth mentioning again that technology in the classroom can be an invaluable resource for teachers and students, but only if it used appropriately and adds something to the lesson.