How funny is the HBO series “Flight of the Conchords“? If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it, you will probably get a sense of my sense of humour! Ok, ok, back to the task at hand… my Flight Path for ETEC 565A.

A little about me:

I am originally from Edmonton, AB and have been living in Calgary, AB for the past six years. I am in my fourth year of teaching this year (2008-2009) at Westgate Elementary School (K-6) in Calgary. Westgate is a large elementary school (approx. 560 students) within the Calgary Board of Education, which offers two programs, French Immersion and Spanish Bilingual. I taught a French Immersion grade 3/4 class my first two years of teaching; last year I taught a grade one French Immersion class and I am doing the same this year with a twist. I am team teaching with another teacher with 36 grade one students! Exciting to say the least! I enjoy being able to support other teachers around the area of technology. Currently, I am assisting my Assistant Principal in the maintenance of our school server and computer lab.

In 2001, I graduated from the University of Alberta with a BA in Recreation Administration and in 2005; I graduated from the University of Calgary with a B.Ed. through the Master of Teaching Program. I am interested in consolidating my current beliefs on teaching/learning, as well as adding to them in the context of French Immersion and technology.

In my leisure time, I enjoy taking advantage of my surroundings. I try to make it out to the mountains as much as possible; mountain biking, hiking, trail running, snowboarding, snowshoeing and the list goes on!

ETEC 565A appeals to me because I believe it will allow me to “get my hands dirty” with a variety of applications. In the course introduction this course was described as a “Sandbox” of sorts and that pretty much sums up my feelings!

Goal #1:

Define my skills in assessment and work through what that looks like in grade one when using digital resources. As I mentioned in my post, “Applying the Frameworks“, I have been using the LMS “Desire to Learn” this year. I am struggling with it’s usability in a grade one context and I want to learn how LMS systems can be adapted to different age groups. Although I love teaching grade one, I do see myself working with older students eventually and therefore would like to understand the full power of LMS.

Goal #2:

Continue to implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning in my teaching and provide purposeful digital-age learning experiences to my students. I was introduced to this design model through the book Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning written by David H. Rose and Anne Meyer (2002). It is in this area that I hope to develop my understanding and skill set with synchronous communication, social software, and multimedia in order to best differentiate my teaching for my students.

Reference:

Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the Digital Age : Universal Design for Learning Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved May 14, 2009 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Posted: 05|14|09 at 22:34. Filed under: Module 1.
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