Category Archives: Assessment

Libe 477 – Final Post

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This is my final blog post in my TL diploma (but not my last post ever)! When I think back to where I started a year ago to where I am now, I have not only become more knowledgeable about library organization, cataloguing, Web 2.0 tools and resources but I have gained a new understanding of the education system and the learners I will be teaching, in the library or in the classroom, in the 21st century.

I am excited to be a beginning teacher at time when the education system and the BC Curriculum is being transformed. I have a new appreciation for inquiry based learning and how classroom teachers and librarians can support each and every student in being producers of knowledge who will contribute to the plethora of information available on the web (McArthur, 2009). I’m excited to “thin the walls [of the classroom] and open up all sorts of possibilities for exploration and collaboration” for both teachers and students (Richardson, 2012, p. 111).

There are many themes that ran throughout the TL diploma but one in particular resonated with me. The idea that creativity is not only valued but crucial to success in the 21st century excites me. Will Richardson said that education in the 21st century is not about delivery. “In one word, it’s about discovery” (Richardson, 2012, p. 60). Several Ted Talks that I have been exposed to through this diploma have also discussed creativity. I’m looking forward to helping foster creativity in students; in helping them explore their passions and connect with others around the world; in helping to maintain and expand on the curiosity students enter the school system with. It really is an exciting to be an educator and a student!

The final project in LIBE 477 has given me a first hand taste of an inquiry project. I started this project with fear and uncertainty. I had a vision for the future but it was in bits and pieces. I decided to focus on one specific area – using technology to document learning in math. I wanted my project to be something I could use in the classroom immediately and something that I could potentially share with my colleagues. The way I have designed my presentation will allow me to insert new videos of student made products once I have implemented the tools in my classroom. My initial feelings of uncertainty and fear have been replaced with a sense of accomplishment and a desire to use my learnings in my class.

Next year, it is my goal to start a class blog. I have not been able to overcome one challenge but I am working on adapting to it. As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m not sure how I will export the videos and images students create on the iPads to the class blog if the iPads do not have an email or dropbox set up but at the moment, I plan on sharing my students’ products within our class with the projector. Small steps.

In trying out different apps to document learning I have thought of other ways to integrate these apps as tools to achieve learning outcomes. I will hopefully be able to have one iPad at our plant and butterfly observation station to document student learning. I will also be touching base with our buddy class to see if we can incorporate Book Creator into our sessions.

I leave you with my final project – a vision for how we can use iPads to document learning in Kindergarten math. I have uploaded my presentation to Slideshare. There are embedded videos in my powerpoint and to view them you must download the presentation.

Works Cited:

Finish Line. (2011). [image online] Available at: http://akshatrathi.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/the-art-of-finishing/ [Accessed: 28 Mar 2014].

Laplante, L. (2013). Hackschooling Makes Me Happy. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY [Accessed: 28 Mar 2014].

McArthur Foundation. (2009). Re-thinking learning: the 21st Century Learner. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0xa98cy-Rw UBC library course reserve.

Richardson, W. (2012). Why school. New York, NY: TED Conferences.

Robinson, S. K. (2007). Do Schools Kill Creativity?. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY [Accessed: 28 Mar 2014].

LIBE 477 – Final Vision Rationale

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In my last post, I decided I was going to focus on finding a meaningful way to incorporate iPads into our math lessons.  I want to focus on using iPads to share and demonstrate students’ learning in math with the class and the world beyond our four walls.

Assessment for learning is a buzz term in our district and in education right now.  According to the BC draft curriculum for digital literacy we are “[moving] toward meaningful descriptions/collections demonstrations of student learning” (Ministry of Education, 2014).  Using iPads for documentation and sharing will allow students an opportunity to reflect on their learning.

In the 21st century students must “develop proficiency with the tools of technology,” “design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes” and “create, critique, analyze and evaluate multimedia texts” (NCTE, 2013).  Using iPads to document learning in math will not only develop these skills but it will also allow students to “ask questions, work with others to find answers, do real work for real audiences and add to the storehouse of knowledge that the Web is becoming” (Richardson, 2012, p.61).

I was reading a blog post on langwitches.org about iPads in a Kindergarten classroom.  The students drew a picture for a subtraction story, used the Show Me app to take a picture on the iPad and then recorded their voice explaining their story.  The teacher posed some interesting questions for the reader.  One question in particular was “could the same [learning] have been accomplished by keeping students’ illustrations analog?” (Langwitches, 2012).  My initial response was yes, the students could have stood in front of the class and explained their picture.  This made me question the intention of my project.  However, after some reflection I realized the iPads added to the learning in a way analog illustrations did not.  The students put their stories on their blog for other people to see and comment on.  The students were practicing using digital tools at a level appropriate for their ability and the work could be used as part of a student portfolio because their voice had been recorded.  Students could revisit their work at any time and reflect on their learning.

For my project, I will be exploring a few apps that will allow students to document their learning and I will create some sort of presentation, perhaps a Slideshare or Prezi, that will allow me to communicate my learnings to my teacher colleagues, in particular those who teach Kindergarten.  This presentation will communicate my vision for 21st century education as it pertains to math, technology and documentation. In my presentation I want to explicitly explain how using iPads in the classroom for documentation in math can benefit the students, teachers and even parents.  I want to explain how the skills developed by using iPads for documentation are critical in the 21st century.  I hope my presentation will inspire others to look at the ways they are using iPads in the classroom.

 

Works Cited

Kindergarten Math on the iPad…Many Questions…. (2012, June 14, 2012). Langwitches Blog, [web log] Retrieved from: http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/06/14/kindergarten-math-on-the-ipad/ [Accessed: 17 Mar 2014].

Ministry of Education. (2014). Draft digital literacy standards. BC: BC Government, p. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/dig_lit_standards.htm.

NCTE Executive Committee. (2013). Ncte definition of 21st century literacies. [report] p. http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition.

Richardson, W. (2012). Why school. New York, NY: TED Conferences.