I am Kathleen. I live in Bowmanville, Ontario. I am fortunate to live on the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. The land covers the William Treaties and the traditional territory of the Mississauga, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi.
Professionally, I am a new(er) educator currently teaching Kindergarten. I consider myself privileged to watch young children learn about themselves and the world in my classroom. I am also fortunate to work in a school that inspires me to be the best educator I can be. My educational passion revolves around play-based and gamified learning.
Although this is my fourth course in the program, it is safe to say that I have not taken a course like this before! I am intimidated by the “business” or rather, venture of technology because it is outside of my comfort zone. I look forward to making mistakes and experimenting within this experiment.
Hello Kathleen,
Kindergarden!!! Wow, that is amazing, I taught kindergarten in my practicum and it is not an easy feat. I love that you bring gamified learning in your classroom. Do you use get to use lots of technology in your classroom? If so, what sorts of tech do you incorporate?
Hi Skye,
Kindergarten is never a dull moment, that is for sure! I use a mix of low and high tech. For example, I use arrows as low tech coding to teach children about directions and increase communication/verbal skills. Once we accomplish that skill, I introduce coding through Scratch Jr, Ozobots, and Dash & Dot. I often incorporate a story too. For example, help little red riding hood get home safe from the big bad wolf.
Love your statement of “I look forward to making mistakes and experimenting within this experiment.” Having accidentally found myself embarking on a few ventures throughout the years, I think the trick to loving that world is all about being comfortable making mistakes and experimenting. For me, that is also what education is all about, as we after all learn so much from our mistakes and from opening ourselves up to new discoveries.
Absolutely! I am what you call…a “perfectionist” (not actually close to perfect though), so being willing to make mistakes is quite difficult for me. Yet I am always telling students that it is good to make mistakes…I have decided to take my own advice!
Good for you, Kathleen.
Hi Kathleen, it is interesting to know that you have a passion for gamified and play based learning. Look forward to learning with you.
Welcome Kathleen!
Hi Kathleen,
Of the MET courses you’ve taken prior to this one, what has been the most valuable for your learning? I am planning my courses, so I’d appreciate any advice!
Also, let me know if you’d like to share any teaching resources. I can send you a lot that I have developed over the years. This will be my first year teaching French K-1, so it will be a an experiment with a lot of trial and error. I’m sure it will also come with some great results!
Best of luck!