Amanda’s Flight Path
Before I had even begun my Bachelor’s degree, I knew that once I became a teacher, I did not want to stay in Montreal to teach. I wanted a different experience, one that would take me to a new place and challenge me, both professionally and personally. With this in mind, the summer before my last year at McGill University, I went to Italy to teach English in Immersion Camps for two months, with a program called ACLE (Associazione Culturale Linguistica Educational). We were given one week of ESL training and then were sent off to different locations across the country. I stayed with four different host families and had a unique experience with each one. That summer validated my desire to explore.
So, as the end of my Bachelors approached, I applied to teach in England. I was flown out for an interview at an Academy North of Manchester and was offered a job shortly after that. I moved there and it was a more rigorous and intense first year of teaching than I could have ever imagined. I taught English to one class at each level, from grades 6 to 10. In addition to all the regular pressures of a first-year teacher, the school was funded by a technology company. I had to quickly learn how to use and effectively implement devices and programs that I had never seen before. Although it was very challenging at first, that was my favourite part of that year. I quickly discovered the importance of being a collaborator and was so thankful that others were willing to be as well (ISTE, 2017). I learned so much from the staff in my department, from the IT support team, from the students and from the student iPad genius team. The exposure to technology I received in this school would eventually lead me to apply for the MET program.
After my year in England, I decided to return to Canada and was offered a job in a Cree community in the James Bay area of Quebec. I am currently in my fourth year and have taught Grades 3/4 French, Grade 5 English and Grade 6 English. It was a big shock for me to go from having access to the newest technologies to a computer lab with desktops that were rarely updated and not even having a SmartBoard in my classroom. However, as any teacher would, I’ve done what I can with what I’ve got. Last year, I was fortunate enough to convince the school board to provide my classroom with a set of iPads for this school year. So, since August I’ve been learning how to integrate the devices and restructure my teaching accordingly. Using a combination of research, collaboration with two fellow teachers and trial-and-error, I have found an approach that works for myself and my students.
One of my reasons for starting the MET program was to be challenged by learning skills that would allow me to stay somewhat current and up-to-date with technology. Since teaching in England, technology had become a huge interest of mine and I wanted to pursue it in a way that would allow me to learn about various technologies in general, but also more specifically about how to use them and effectively integrate them into my classroom. Prior to this program, I had designed maybe one website for a class in University and the only apps I used were games on my iPad and phone. Since starting this program, I have become confident in my web design skills, I’ve learned how to record relatively good quality videos and I have taught myself how to use Canvas, Piktochart, VideoScribe and AdobeSpark. I’ve learned about Big Data, VR and Makerspaces. I’ve also been able to try out apps based on recommendations by other students in my courses. These opportunities to share and learn from each other have been extremely valuable for helping implement technology in my classroom. I hope that this course and the other three I have left will allow me to explore new multimedia programs and technology tools.
In 565A, I want to continue learning and reflecting on the reasons for using educational technologies in various contexts. In ETEC 511, one of the frameworks we explored was Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. They explain that “quality teaching requires developing a nuanced understanding of the complex relationships between technology, content, and pedagogy, and using this understanding to develop appropriate, context-specific strategies and representations” (Mishra & Koehler, 2006, p. 1029). The readings from week 2, Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) and Bates (2014) have already provided insight into how to appropriately select technology to facilitate the delivery of content and have provided examples and questions to help guide the pedagogy behind it. In this course, both through the readings and the assignments, I hope I can continue to develop my understanding of how the design of multimedia and LMS can support the intersection between the three components of TPCK.
At the end of this school year, I will be moving back to Montreal and I’ve decided to look for a job outside of teaching. I’m not sure what I will be able to find but, through my journey in the MET program, I have discovered that I am very interested in the design and development of e-learning tools. I currently have very little knowledge of LMS, other than my experience with them as a learner. I have been looking forward to 565A since my start in the program, because I feel like it will give me an opportunity to gain some hands-on experience with these systems. I am excited, yet also a little apprehensive, because the course will also help me determine whether this is something I would like to pursue or not!
References
Bates, T. (2014). Choosing and using media in education: The SECTIONS model. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical differences-between-media/
Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2017). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for integrating technology in teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054.