Tag Archives: 21st Century Learning

Jefferson/Overseas Science and Technology Institute (JOSTI)

The JOSTI conference was held in Washington, DC from June 27^th to July 1^st 2016

Keynote Speaker

Meg Wilson, the K-12 Education Development Executive at Apple spoke of how the term “technology” is relative, and that today’s students were born into a world of instant, expansive, and portable access to information and individuals/communities around the world. She stressed the need to meet our students in their world and use it to redefine education. Some great examples of using social media, publishing applications, and interactive web platforms were introduced to illustrate a learning environment which focuses on personalized discovery, world-wide audiences, global collaboration, dynamic information acquisition, intrinsic motivation, and skills/expertise development.

It was inspiring and reassuring to hear one of the leading innovation engines discuss education as a student-centered process. What was presented aligned with my instructional philosophies, and I am excited to see the products and applications being created in collaboration with educators to enhance education in the 21^st century. I plan to explore iBooks, iTunesU, and other applications to help expand the walls of the classroom, promote independent learning, and help students create work they are proud of.

Workshops

The workshops for educators addressed a wide range of topics including Maker Education, Research and Development, Computer Science, Digital Citizenship, and several applications to support learning, assessment, distribution of information, and blended learning. Many of the workshops focused too much on web application functionality, and too little on classroom use of the application as modification and redefinition of learning (SAMR). However, some of the workshops provided detailed information on rationale, research, challenges, and how the web applications could solve those challenges in meaningful ways.

In particular, the sessions on applications to support executive functioning, visualizing the world with geo projects, and the hour of code were very informative and applicable to me.

The executive functioning (EF) presentation began with the introduction of a website that simulates the challenges students with EF deficits have. The website, Through Your Child’s Eyes, contains a substantial amount of information about differently abled learners, which can be used to help parents, teachers, and students understand the specific challenges these struggling learners face, and how to best support them.

The presentation divided EF into four main categories where deficits/challenges may arise. Each category was then broken down into identification of a student with the challenge through common behaviours, background information and research about the challenges, and specific and detailed tools and strategies to help the students build the skills to overcome the difficulties. The presentation was saturated with information and resources about support for students with EF deficits, and I look forward to exploring these resources to expand my understanding of the challenges faced by my students and the ways I can help all of my students improve their EF skills. In particular, I look forward to reading the WATI guide to assistive technology for organization.

The geo projects presentation had some great information about how to use Google Maps, Google MyMaps, and Google Earth to redefine the exploration of a topic spatially. Much of the information was familiar to me from working with Torie Leinbach on her class’ IB History project, though several other great applications were explored in the session. Some of the ideas I plan to integrate into my future lessons are the use of Street View History, GeoGuessr, Google Earth, and creating/uploading 360 degree photos. I think the tools presented are a great way to visualize information from the class, the school, and the world which can be integrated into every single subject matter.

The hour of code workshop presented coding through a teaching lens, which was incredibly useful. I now feel as though I have adequate resources to participate in an hour of code and I know where to go and what to do. Particularly, I loved the Blockly Games website (which doesn’t require the installation of any programs), and being introduced to Karel the Robot (where students can write in raw code and simulate a robot). I feel confident introducing the hour of code to my students, demonstrating the possibilities of code, and providing resources for extended learning.

I’ve composed an annotated list of apps, from the conference, indicating what each app does and how I plan to use it in the future. I will continue to organize and add to list as I become exposed to additional apps.

The presentation on Maker Education by John Kilbane validated a lot of the work I had done to initiate the Maker Space at ISD. An important point stressed by John was the initial and early involvement of parents, as well as various ways to remove the barriers to Maker Education (such as Maker Faires, Maker PDs, and a student Maker team to generate Maker ideas). I had focused predominantly on teacher involvement and student exposure, but now realize that in order to have Maker Education as a staple in my future classrooms/schools, I will need to get the parents on board from the beginning of the year and help support the parents with bringing the Making culture home. The American School of Bombay Research and Development (R&D) team wrote and published a step-by-step guide to initiating a Maker Space in schools. I have purchased the book and look forward to reading it to learn even more!

Inquiry and Innovation in the classroom- By A.J. Juliani

inquiry and innovation Providing students with autonomy and ownership over their learning enhances motivation, and encourages innovation through purposeful and passion-driven goal setting. A.J. Juliani (@ajjuliani) outlines the importance of preparing students to become independent, creative, open-minded, innovative, resourceful,resilient, and growth-minded risk-takers who take ownership over what they do. He believes this will best equip students for the heuristic, evolving and contracted nature of future available jobs.

Inquiry-driven practices integrated throughout the curriculum are necessary for helping students ask questions about their learning, instead of simply looking for the required answers. 20% Time (Genius Hour, Passion Projects, etc.) provides an opportunity for students to practice self-chosen inquiry and exploration while developing core skills and competencies. The book walks teachers through the steps of creating the appropriate classroom environment, approaching parents and administration, and implementing the structured unstructured class time for inquiry-based learning. A.J. Juliani provides useful handouts, a plethora of additional resources, sample rubrics and letters, and examples of final projects.

Innovators meet frustration not with complaints- but with a commitment to devise more effective solutions” –Charles Leadbetter

Coding Workshop

Before entering the education program, my familiarity and knowledge of computer and internet use was very limited. Other than some previous tinkering with HTML, my usage was limited to Microsoft Office and research. I have always been fascinated with the expansive potential of technology use, and was extremely lucky that my cohort was paired with the Personalized Learning and Technology cohort at UBC. My interest and passion for technology use in the classroom skyrocketed this year, and I was fortunate to attend several workshops and discussions. One such workshop was held on February 19^th in Surrey, and was instructed by Mr. Curtis Wiebe (@DivisionW).

The workshop focussed on the use of coding in the classroom: how to introduce coding to students, multiple uses for coding, and the cross curricular benefits of coding. Curtis recommended introducing coding through non-computer means, and focusing on the applied logic of sequencing and planning. One such example used a kinesthetic approach where children physically move another person, writing down each movement they made in order to complete a given task, emphasizing the basic step by step nature of coding. We were exposed to several websites and apps to help students practice the concepts, such as Scratch Jr and Hopscotch. The apps and websites emphasize the continual need for revision, persistence, patience, and attention to detail required in coding. These transferable skills and competencies can be carried into numerous courses and subjects.

I was at first nervous to even entertain the idea of exploring coding in the classroom due to my lack of experience. However, as Marva Collins, Carol Dweck, Yvonne Dawdiak (@yvonnedtechtalk), and numerous other experienced educators have echoed throughout the year, “a good teacher is one who continues to learn along with the students” (Dweck, 2010). I am excited about the potential for learning that coding can bring into my future classroom for both my students and myself. I am excited to further explore the use of microcomputers, such as Arduino , and websites such as tynker.com and madewithcode.com. I recently began teaching myself Python, designing skeleton units for computer science, and have explored some potential uses of code in the classroom with a colleague. I plan to continue my own learning to maximize the impact of coding within my future classrooms.

A few ideas shared between colleagues. I am hoping to expand on these ideas as I learn more.

Computer Using Educators of British Columbia (CUEBC)

The CUEBC conference was held on October 24th 2014.

Keynote Speaker

The conference began with an excellent keynote speaker named Will Richardson. Mr. Richardson emphasized the pivotal role that technology has begun to play in our classrooms, and highlighted the importance of embracing technology as a way to transform education. Much of what Mr. Richardson spoke of resonated with me, and has influenced the way I approach lessons in my classroom.

Mr. Richardson discussed the importance of fostering conditions that make students want to learn more. He shares my belief that promoting discovery of content through problem solving, building, playing, and creating will better result in long lasting comprehension due to the constructive nature of the learning taking place. Mr. Richardson had an excellent idea about creating integrated “missions” for students instead of specific subjects. For example, “the elimination of hunger,” which can be approached from biological, statistical, and humanities perspectives.

In order to maximize discovery, classroom walls need to become much thinner so that students can reach out and communicate to experts, a feat possible with current technology. With the radically changed classrooms, student self-regulation becomes increasingly important as students learn to navigate through, and use the information online.

Workshops

The first workshop I attended was held by Bryson Norrish, a Google Certified Teacher in Vancouver. Mr. Norrish explored just over 20 apps/websites that could be used in the classroom to support learning. I plan to test out and try as many of the apps as I can in search of those that fulfill the “Redefinition” category of the SAMR model, promoting transformation in education. Mr. Norrish also mentioned that we could apply to the Google Teacher Academy, and if selected, we could go to Google for a 2 day workshop. I would love to do this, as I have a strong passion for technology integration in the classroom.

The second workshop I attended was held by Bryan Hughes, a North Vancouver teacher. Mr. Hughes explored the potential for iBeacon use in the classroom; Bluetooth beacons which connect the physical world with digital devices. Unfortunately, these particular beacons required Macintosh Operating systems. However, upon watching the presentation I was able to relate beacon use to QR codes and began brainstorming many ways in which QR codes could be used in the classroom to facilitate Total Physical Response activities.

The final workshop I attended was on Digital Citizenship and Social Media with students. The workshop touched on adolescent brain development as it relates to social media use, an awareness of social media driven envy, and the importance of constant critical analysis of what is seen online. With reference to Juan Enriquez’s TED talk, the workshop reinforced the permanency of online behaviour.