Well, week one is almost done and we’ve been introduced to just about everyone in the course. Thanks so much for your words of introduction and warm welcomes. This is quite an amazing group any way you cut it – professional experience, geographical distribution, interests, etc. I’m humbled, and excited for our journey together! A […]
Continue reading What an interesting mob! Posted in: Announcements
Hi, I’m Ping Zhang from Shanghai. Nice to share this course with you all! This is my #2 in MET. I’m a telecom engineer, not like most of you as professionals in education. What make me interested in this program are my kids, one of whom is in school age. I find although I’m dealing with […]
Continue reading Hello from Ping Posted in: Uncategorized
Salutations from Kelowna (BC) to all my fellow ETEC 522 comrades. Currently I am taking 522 and 511, my 6th and 7th courses in the MET program. It seems like just yesterday I was a newbie and terms like scaffolding, digital natives and connectivism were mystifying. If you’re a newbie, please don’t let those words […]
Continue reading Salutations from Steve Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Steve,
I have the (almost) perfect example of a teacher community for you. Art Ed 2.0 (arted20.ning.com) is an active community of over 11,000 art teachers. Many excellent resource and lots of small groups and sharing.
We love the drive-in too. My husband and I drove by at 7:30 p.m. opening night on our way back from Kelowna and were very tempted. Next time:)
Hi Claire,
Thanks for the site! It looks very vibrant and I can’t wait to explore once my membership is accepted…still pending. Its great to see a community of teachers sharing ideas and working together. Are you actively involved in the site?
My wife and I are going tomorrow night…The Three Stooges and This Means War are playing. Looks to be a fun night. Maybe we will see you there. We will have the big white dog, its hard to miss us!
Hi Steve,
I haven’t posted to discussions or contributed resources since last May when I started taking two MET courses at a time.
Very tempting to take the night off and head for the drive-in. We always go early so we can claim our favourite spot just a few rows back and right in the centre. Maybe we’ll see you there.
Hi Claire,
That’s our favorite spot! I wonder if we have shared many a movie, side by side. I look forward to running into you at the drive-in this summer.
Hi Steve,
Your venture to crate a system of collaboration for teachers sounds like a great project to work on during this course. With fellow MET colleagues we created a course designed to help ESL teachers reflect on their teaching through journaling. I have begun a blog which I hope can become a place where teachers can share their teaching and learning experiences, but I too am not sure how to make it fly . . . honestly there is so much out there that it is difficult for teachers to find a venue that they can relate to and also find the time to be part of a community.
I wish you luck and hope your project works out! I look forward to seeing how your venture progresses during this course.
Marie-France
Hi Marie-France.
Journaling is a great idea for personal reflection on teaching and I, myself, have achieved considerable learning through this process. Congrats on your blog! I agree that making these sites fly can be a challenge. I have reviewed a lot of literature on different teacher community sites, and the studies seem to agree that they need to have a strong draw for teachers. They seem to emphasize the need to create a fun, vibrant, supportive and interesting place that teachers want to visit. This is why I was wondering if a social pin board that would link teachers to all sorts of resources posted by peers like humor cartoons, posters, stories, or shared tips and tricks of the trade, to classroom gadgets/technology to more professional sites like blogs and small formal interest groups would create such an environment. It could be a jumping off point to different ideas and resources that would be organized within a highly visual and interactive environment (containing comments, ratings, etc.) allowing teachers to peruse alot of possibilities without going into great depth on any of them….until the teacher was ready to focus their attention on the relevant and personally important sites. If your wondering what I am talking about, try visiting Pinterest.com if you haven’t already. I would love to hear what you think!
Hey Mac!
Good to see you again! It does seem like yesterday that you were a newbie :)! You are just motoring through the program … good for you. Looking forward to working and learning with you again.
gillian
Hi Steve,
I’m also taking ETEC 511 this term so perhaps I will see you there as well 🙂
Interestingly, as part of ETEC 510 last term, my group and I worked on creating an online resource community for teachers like the one you have described. We were also concerned with the fact that most of these ventures tend to end up like ghost towns. It is interesting however, to note that within our ETEC courses, there is such an active group of online collaboraters – people who participate actively in the METs Ning community as well as on certain course project communities such as the ETEC510 Wiki. And looks like this course will be yet another active place where we can all share our expertise and experiences 🙂
Looking forward to working with you,
Sheza
Hi Sheza,
I haven’t “seen” you in my section ‘A’. You must be in the next section. I agree that we are lucky to be a part of such a vibrant and active community of learners. Unfortunately, I think many of these resource sites have great intentions but fail to motivate teachers to visit or participate. Maybe these ghost town sites are just too serious, is it possible we need to make them more fun and interactive and therefore more appealling? I am hoping to create a social pin board site that would draw teachers into causal sharing of interesting sites on humor, videos and personal blogs while mixed in with more meaningful links to specific resources or study groups. I certainly haven’t perfected my pitch, but I am working on it.
How are you liking the new Connect format. Personally, my head is hurting with the new stream format of posts, although I am sure I will be used to it.
Cheers, Mac
Hi, I am Brian Hotovy from Victoria, BC. I am a Middle School teacher that teaches Computers 9 and Photojournalism (Yearbook) 9. I play hockey, fish, ride off road motorcycles and have recently began cycling to work.
Continue reading Hi, I am Brian Hotovy from Victoria, BC…. Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Brian;
I also teach computers 9 and quite enjoy it, especially the fact that we do not have a set curriculum for the course here in Alberta just yet. My students get to do all sorts of things. What are some projects do they get to tackle?
Hi Brian. Looking forward to working with you. I also teach ICT and yearbook.
Colin
Hello everyone! My name is Lisa Allen, and this is my final term in the MET program. Along with this course, I am also taking ETEC 590. Professionally, I work as an Administrator in the Faculty of Arts at UBC full-time. My department has been integrating a lot of e-learning into the delivery of courses […]
Continue reading Hello from Lisa! Posted in: Uncategorized
Welcome Lisa! I am sure you are looking forward to the end. I ahev been looking forward to this course for the same reasons. We will see what comes of it.
Dennis
Thanks Dennis – looking forward to working with you this term!
Hi Lisa,
It’s nice to be working with you again. Wow…a marathon…I’m impressed!
Looking forward to your insights!
Deborah
Congrats on being almost done … I must admit to being a little jealous.
I hope you enjoy it until the end.
gillian
Last one?!! Waaaaah, that is where I want to be. 🙂
Well, must earn my stripes as you have done. Congrats and good job… look forward to reading you hear.
Hey Lisa,
Marathon running….good for you. I can’t run on concrete, but love the track.
Where is the marathon in October?
Looking foward to the semester.
-Regen
Hi Regen,
The 1/2 marathon is in Kelowna. I did it last year as well – I like it because there are no hills! Hills are my enemy when it comes to running. Hoping to run it in 2 hours 30 minutes this year!
Looking forward to working with you this term!
Lisa
My name’s Adriana, I am from Mexico and a recently landed immigrant in Canada. I have worked in ELT (English Language Teaching) since 1984 in teacher training, coordination posts, materials design, and teaching. I have also co-authored several textbooks for the Mexican school market. I have an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, and I am on […]
Continue reading Hello from sunny Vancouver! (Yes, it’s actually sunny!!) Posted in: Uncategorized
Adriana,
I LOVE the image! I’m with you on course #8 as well. It looks as if we have taken all the same courses – odd that we haven’t run across one another before. I look forward to working with you – you seem to have a great attitude towards learning and life.
gillian
ps. Who DOESN’T love a good BBC series?
Hi Gillian,
We probably hadn’t run across each other because I took a year off.
I also look forward to working with you.
Adriana
Hi Adriana,
Love your sense of humour! What an interesting background you seem to have . . .
Glad to have another language teacher on board – I look forward to working and sharing with you over the term.
Marie-France
Hi Adriana,
It must be great to have such diverse work experiences. I’ve taught ESL and FSL and loved it! Of all the topics a person can teach, language teaching seems the one to get teachers and students to bond the most, what with everybody talking about themselves so much.
I hope your transition to living in Canada has gone smoothly.
Take care!
Hi Adriana!
Wow you are an all-star by the sounds of it! I only hope that one day my CV will sound as impressive 🙂
I am also extremely interested in ELT – I started my career teaching at a bilingual school in Berlin, Germany where students conducted 70% of their school day in English and only 30% in German. I then taught in the foreign languages department at a private school in Istanbul, Turkey, teaching English to over 250 students from Grades 5-9. It has been an exciting journey thus far, and I found that the abundance of online resources were extremely helpful when I was first learning how to wrap my head around teaching so many different ESL levels at once!
Looking forward to working with you on this course,
Sheza
Hey all, Nice to see some familiar names on the blog so far. My name is Regen Schmidt, and am taking my 5th, 6th, & 7th MET courses this semseter. (511, 522, 532). I have a wife, two kids, and a dog. I currently work as a highschool librarian at Earl Marriott Secondary in Surrey. I […]
Continue reading Sorry, here it is again, but posted in the proper ‘Introductions’ section…. Posted in: Uncategorized
Wow! You’re very brave to take three courses! Best of luck.
3 courses a family and a job … I bow down to you! How do you find the time? Best of luck.
gillian
I don’t know how I find the time.
I don’t watch tv and I don’t really have any hobbies at the moment. lol….
…sounds exciting doesn’t it?
-Regen
Hi Regen,
It sounds like it will be a busy summer for you, goodluck with your studies. I look forward in having a great semester with you and the rest!
Karon
Hello Regen,
We meet again. I’m also taking the same 3 courses as you are this term! However, with work I’m already have that overwhelming feeling that maybe I have bit off more than I can chew.
I hope that all is well.
Cheers,
Donna
Hello again Donna,
Nice to see you here. Yes, its always overwhelming, I just try and get comfortable with that feeling. I just try and do the best I can and the worst that can happen is I have to re-do a course. I procrastinate way too much and need the pressure. If I just took one course I wouldn’t be motivated to do anything. We should email each other anytime we need encouragement. …lol.
Looking forward to the semester with you.
-Regen
3 courses eh? You sadist you! 🙂
Good luck, surely we will be reading each other as the course goes on!
cheers.
lol.
Yes, we will be discussing a bunch I’m sure.
-Regen
Regen! How’s it going?
Are you working full time while you take these courses? I predict a strong caffeine dependence in your future! I hope you can manage it, but like I said to Donna, you might want to gauge the workload and consider dropping a course after the first two weeks. Just be sure to see what the refund policy is! I just realised though that this is the end of the school year, so the work load is less, right?
Anyways, best of luck to you!
Hey Danielle,
Nice to hear from you. Yes, this semester will be busy, hopefully enjoyable too though.
Looking forward to the semester. Good idea about the drop deadline, I’ll keep it in mind.
-Regen
Doh! I just found out that the drop deadline is today.
Oh. Well I guess I’m in then.
I took 500, 520, & 530 last semester and got through so I’m optimistic.
Thanks.
-Regen
Hey all, Nice to see some familiar names on the blog so far. My name is Regen Schmidt, and am taking my 5th, 6th, & 7th MET courses this semseter. (511, 522, 532). I have a wife, two kids, and a dog. I currently work as a highschool librarian at Earl Marriott Secondary in Surrey. I […]
Continue reading Hello from White Rock, BC….. Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Regen
Nice to meet you. Wow! 3 course and 2 children. You are in for a very busy term. I am also taking 532 this term so I will probably see you there. I look forward to learning with you this term.
Valerie Wells
Hi Regen,
Great to see a fellow White Rock’er here!
Looking forward to working with you this term!
Lisa Allen
Hello fellow White Rock’er.
Have you lived in the Rock for long?
-Regen
Hello everyone My name is Bridget Perry-Gore and this is my final course in the MET program. It is amazing how memories of the crazy weeks when school, social and MET deadlines all collided have faded. It has been a great experience so far and I have definitely improved my reading and writing. It sounds […]
Continue reading Hello From Montreal Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Bridget
Nice to see you again. Congrats on being at the end of the MET program! I look forward to learning with you this term.
Valerie Wells
Hey Valerie,
Nice to see you again too. In the beginning I never thought that I would take this course but I am excited about it.
Bridget
Hi Bridget,
I like your picture; I can perceive your joy at nearing the end. Congratulations! I’m looking forward to learning from you. Being a runner, a mom, a teacher and more, you clearly have what it takes to succeed. I’m sure you’re going to do really well on this course.
Adriana
Hi Bridget. It looks like this is my final opportunity to work with you as our MET paths have yet to cross.
Congrats on all of the University degrees your family is collecting – especially as yours is only a few months away.
Best of luck to you
gillian
Dernier cours?! Beau travail! ( I have to assume you are bilingual or at the very least comprehend that, being from Montréal and all. 🙂 )
Congrats on wrapping up the MET after this.. with 5 kids and yourslef in Academia, it has to be busy times! Look forward to learning with you.
Cheers.
Hello again Bridget,
Nice to see you’re at the end. Must be a great feeling.
Good luck with the semester.
-Regen
Hello everyone, My name is Donna Forward-Houriet and I am a French Immersion, Spanish and Music teacher in the only senior high school in 100 Mile House, B.C. I also teach piano and accompany our local choir. I love languages, travelling and performing on piano and singing. I also like to spend time with my […]
Continue reading Hello everyone, My name is Donna Forward… Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Donna,
Bienvenida!! You are very talented. They’re lucky to have you at your school (four teachers in one)!
I look forward to working with you.
Adriana
PS – I just looked up some pictures of 100 Mile House; it looks amazing!
Hi Donna,
I am chuckling because as big as it is, it is a SMALL world. I live in Quesnel and my brother and his wife (Geoff and Melody) both work at PSO! You probably taught my niece, Hannah, and/or nephew, Keenan.
Looking forward to getting to know you!
Janet Barker
Hi Donna …
Everyone needs a little crazy now and then. I am sure you will do fine. How is 100 Mile House these days – I haven’t been up there in a few years.
gillian
Hello Janet,
Yes it is a small world. In fact, Geoff was one of my references to get into the MET program. And yes, I have taught Spanish to both Hannah and Keenan!
Have a great day,
Donna
Hi people! My name is Colin, and this is my fourth/fifth course (concurrently taking ETEC 530). I live in Vancouver, about a 10-minute drive away from UBC. Despite living so close to campus, I chose to do the MET program because I wanted to experience online learning first hand. I’m a high school teacher in […]
Continue reading Greetings! Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Colin,
It’s good to hear there is someone on the course with business knowledge. It’ll come in handy!
I love your dog by the way 🙂
Adriana
Hi Colin,
It sounds like you have a lot of background knowledge to bring to the course! I look forward to working with you.
On a personal note, can one ever say enough about their dog? I have a black lab…she also likes splashing, though in deep water!
-Meggan
Hi Colin,
In my opinion, you can never talk too much about your dog. I talk about mine all the time! She’s a 95 lb flat coated retriever mix and she is always doing goofy stuff worthy of mentioning.
Best of luck in both courses.
gillian
Hi everybody! Here’s some instrumental music to listen to as you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23UF3haMYqg I’m in my second semester of the MET and I’m studying full time. After a semester of 4 courses, I’m taking 3 more now (ETEC 511 and EPSE 410). I’m in Timmins, Ontario but recently spent a few months […]
Continue reading Hi! I’m Dan from Northern Ontario Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Dan,
Nice to meet you, I’m Karon. Wow, you’re a quickie!! It is your second semester and you are already in your 7th course! I am also trying to find an educational technology position where I can start to gain more work experience in this field. Try the search engine Eluta, it is pretty good for searching up jobs in Canada and all. It seems like it will be a busy semester for you, goodluck with your studies!
Karon
Hi Karon,
I’ve done the work+study thing a few times before. I want to get my courses done as quickly as possible and start enjoying 9-5 work days with free evenings.
Thanks for the job search tip! Here are some sites I like:
http://www.cnie-rcie.ca/?q=node
http://www.cvu-uvc.ca/employment.html
http://www.celea-aceel.ca/
http://www.candevs.ca/
Hi again, Danielle. You and I were in 565A last semester. I thought your Science Education site (Moodle) was very well done. I look forward to work with you again this semester.
Hey Colin,
Thanks for the compliment! I liked your course too; the look was very professional and the whole thing was very well organized! It’s great to see you here! Lynnette’s in ETEC 511. Enjoy your semester!
Hello Danielle,
How nice to have you in my class again. I loved reading your assignments in 500! I’m currently taking 3 courses and am already feeling overwhelmed. How did you do it? I’m looking forward to July when I won’t have to go to work and can just concentrate on my courses. I’ll also be doing 511 like you and 532.
Have a great week,
Donna
Hi Donna,
It’s great to see you again too! ETEC 500 was lovely (and thanks)! Your constantly positive contributions really made a difference in that course!
I was able to do 4 courses because that’s all I had to do and I don’t have kids. I know other people have taken 3 courses and had work at the same time, and I hope you can do it. However, if the next two weeks indicate that the course load is too much, no one will think less of you if you drop a course. Check the refund policy too. Whatever you do, I wish you the best!
For me, the next 6 weeks will be like having 4 courses because one of my courses (EPSE) is condensed. Then I’ll have a very reasonable work load just in time to enjoy summer! It’s still springish here with rare days of warm weather.
What do you think of the new LMS in ETEC 511? I find it’s got a much more mellow look and it’s easier to navigate the discussions – less clicking.
Oops – the drop deadline is today!
Hi Dan,
I changed my avatar by uploading a picture, but I believe if you go to the Dashboard, then Settings and Profile, you can change it there,too.
Thanks for the nice music!
Adriana
Hi Danielle,
Nice to meet you! And thanks for the background music, that was a nice idea.
Your job sounds wonderful! Though I am sure you are glad to be on leave with 3 courses on the go! I would have loved to have done that. Perhaps with my next degree!
I am looking forward to learning more from you!
Danielle
Salut Dan. 3 autres cours eh? Tu va tapper ça pas mal vite le MET.
Bon courage et bonne chance.
-y
Hello to all my ETEC co-learners and e-venturists. A warm hello from central Ont. It’s nice to see so many familiar names in this group. My name is Helen DeWaard and I am working on my 7th and 8th MET courses this semester. I am currently finishing my first experience as a contract lecturer with […]
Continue reading Hi from Helen Posted in: Uncategorized
Helen;
I am glad to hear the kitchen reno is done. I hear they are the worst. What project is next? I am addicted to handyman shows and love to pick up on what they do wrong.
Dennis
Dennis, I don’t think my marriage would survive another reno project. You know what is said about ‘opposites attract’. Not so much with reno work! 🙂 I love the DIY shows too, but they make it look so easy. Doesn’t look anything like the months of dust and mess!
Helen
Hi Helen,
I’m Karon, nice to meet you. Wow, you have a lot of teaching experience! I just started teaching in the hospital, however I am hoping to become an Instructor for New Media one day. I look forward in learning with you.
Best,
Karon Wong
Hi Helen. Nice to meet you again. We were in ETEC 500 last semester. Thank you for reading and providing suggestions for my critiques :). I look forward to working with you again this semester.
Hi Helen,
It’s great to see you again! As I recall from previous courses, your experience leads to some fantastic insight. Looking forward to working with you again.
Deborah
Hi Helen,
I am particularly interested in new ways to globally expand learning and teaching, and hope to one day land a job that allows me to share new learning ventures with the world. I look forward to working with you over the course of this term and also sharing common thoughts on the subject of teaching in non-traditional contexts.
Marie-France
Hi Helen,
Fantastic to ‘see’ you again. I look forward to your insights as usual. Maybe this time around we will have the chance to work together.
How are you enjoying ‘higher’ education? It’s definitely one of my future goals.
Congrats on your new kitchen … I can tell you one thing about home renos – you are NEVER done!
gillian
Hi Helen.
Most interesting background you bring to the course. I very much look forward to learning with you. We are planning to sell and buy in the next month or so as well, and with that the inevitable painting, fixing, moving, etc. Months of mess and dust – don’t miss that at all… We tried out concrete countertops in the kitchen in our current home, they turned out beautifully… but have you ever tried to keep up with concrete dust when sanding and polishing??? With an 8 month preggo wife was quite the experience. 🙂
Good course and good luck!
Hi Helen:
I enjoyed your presence in ETEC 500 and appreciated your willingness to provide both experienced guidance and practical ideas in many ways. Wish you the best for this course and I look forward to your comments and analysis on the material to come.
Tim
Hi Helen,
It’s great to see you again in this course. Looking forward to working with you.
Leonora
Hi Helen,
Its great to be in your insightful presence again. I really enjoyed your research proposal from ETEC 500, thanks for sharing. I hope we get a chance to work together again.
Cheers, Steve
Greetings all: I am looking forward to learning with you all through this course. It is one of my 5th and 6th MET courses I am taking this semester (also taking 530). Nice to see a few familiar names but I look forward to getting to know each of you. I am a senior secondary […]
Continue reading Hello from Tim Roos Posted in: Uncategorized
Hey Tim;
I will have to bounce some ideas off of you as I am the new technology coordinator for our school this coming year. No-one has been doing it before me. We will see how it goes. Enjoy the term.
Dennis
Hi Dennis:
I’d be glad to help where I can. So far my experiences have been a combination of installing/integrating hardware such as projectors, interactive whiteboards, document cameras and doing Pro-D sessions on Moodle use and interactive whiteboard use.
Tim
Hi Tim. We took ETEC 500 together last semester. Nice to see you again. Looking forward to working with you again this semester.
Hi Colin
It will take some adjustment to do a course in blog format but I look forward to the challenge and contribution of all of us.
Tim
Hi Tim,
You’re in a K-12 school? I’d like to hear about how that works!
Which science courses are you taking? I bet that using tech tools makes those subjects easier to teach! There are some abstract concepts in higher-level chemistry and physics that are much easier to explain with the help of graphics and animations.
Hi Danielle:
The K-12 school concept works great for us. We have a total of about 400 students separated into three main buildings. We share computer labs, music and art facilities and gym. Under one main administrative umbrella we have vice principals for each of the three sections.
I am currently teaching Science 10, Chemistry 11 and 12 and Biology 11 and 12 as science courses. I also teach Math Principles 12. Technology access has definitely made teaching more interesting for both the teacher and the student. I’ve also used animations in Biology with good success. I also have an extensive set of Pasco Probeware that I try to integrate in labs. Next year I am looking forward to using a class set of dedicated netbooks in my instruction. Really looking forward to see how that goes.
Tim
Good seeing you again Tim.
Hi Chris
Our project in 511 seemed to work out well. I look forward to working with you again in this course.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Good to see another science/math teacher.
Looking forward to working with you.
Bridget
Hi Tim,
Great to see you again! You are going to love 530. Take some time to get to know Von Glaserfeld as he has some interesting points of view on teaching science. I am looking forward to working with you again.
Cheers, Mac
Hello Everyone! I am currently completing MET courses #8 & 9 – #10 will happen in September. I teach FT at a community college in SW Ontario in the Pharmacy Technician program. I am also a Registered Pharmacy Technician and work PT at Rexall. I have been teaching at the college level for 7 years. […]
Continue reading I am Ronna Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi again Ronna. We were together in other courses but I can’t remember which ones. I remember your bike riding adventures and look forward to hearing more about your work integrating ed. tech into your teaching at the college.
Helen DW
Hi Helen,
So nice to see you again! (565A last summer? AWESOME course!) I read you post and I think it’s fabulous that you entered the world of higher education – I hope the experience was a great one for you! LOTS of exciting stuff happening at Fanshawe College with technology – I feel like I can’t keep up with the pack there. How did that happen?
Ronna
Hi Ronna,
It’s nice to meet you. I got a chuckle from your comment about free time in January. A full time and a part time job should keep you busy. It’s amazing that you can fit courses in too. I look forward to working with you:)
😉
Hi again Ronna,
I think you, Helen and I were in a course together….maybe 2 semesters ago? Great to see you again. I am a U of G graduate…loved the place. Although I left before the new sports complex was built.
Looking forward to sharing ideas with you.
Bridget
Hi Bridget,
There MUST be something very attractive about UofG because I tried my best to recruit my kids for UWO. There is always something special about one’s alma mater. The cool thing for me is I also graduated from Humber College and it is now Guelph-Humber. Nice to see you again!
Ronna
Hi Ronna
Nice to see you again. I am also completing course #8 and #9 this term, the other course being 532. What other course are you taking? I look forward to working with you again this term.
Valerie
Hi Valerie,
Great to see you here too! Congrats on being close to the finish line:) I am taking 511. I took 532 a coupld of years ago and really enjoyed it. This is my first time taking 2 at once so I hope I still have time to log a few hours on the motorcycle – it gets the creative juices flowing (that;’s my story and I’m sticking to it).
Ronna
Hello all, I’m pleased to recognize some learning colleagues from previous courses and also glad to make new acquaintances. ETEC 522 is my 6th course and I am excited to embark on this new learning venture! For those of you who don’t know me yet, I live in Gananoque on a horse ranch and […]
Continue reading Hello all, I’m pleased to recogn… Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Marie-France, it’s nice to ‘see’ you again. I’m also excited (that is, anxiously eager!) about the blog format. It should be very really interesting to learn this way!
May
Hi May,
I hope you had a nice break and I’m glad to see you are as excited as I am with this new form of learning and sharing.
Marie-France
Hi!
Great to see another language teacher on the course! Your job sounds very interesting! Looking forward to hearing more!
Danielle
Hi Marie-France,
I look forward to this opportunity to work with you prior to moving on to ETEC590 and ending the formal portion of my MET journey. This course looks like it will be a great adventure with its different format and content.
Hi Claire,
Nice to be taking this course with you . . . are you also taking ETEC 590 this term? You are so close to the end of the program – it must feel great! What do you plan to do after you finish the program?
Marie-France
Hi Marie France,
In addition to this course I’m taking LLED565, a drama, literacy, and diverse learning summer institute. There’s an online session on June 9 and then one week on campus from July 3-7. In September I’ll start 590. I have mixed feelings about being done as I’ve learned so much and will miss the stimulating, thought provoking discussion and the assignments that have led to me creating valuable resources. At the same time my tech/teaching tool kit is bulging and I’m anxious to have more time to apply what I’ve learned. I’ll be keeping myself busy with managing the community arts centre which opens in September and am also considering marketing the visual arts courses I’ve written. I’m also going to do a bit of f2f teaching both at the arts centre and at my school.
Hi Marie-France
Nice to see you again. I look forward to learning with you this term.
Valerie Wells
Hi Marie-France,
It’s great to work with you again.
Leonora
Hi everyone, my name is Shawn Harris. I am from the beautiful Island of Jamaica but I currently live and work in the country of Turks and Caicos for the past three years. It also has beautiful islands. I have been a teacher for over thirteen years. I teach at the primary level Computer […]
Continue reading Hello Everyone! Posted in: Uncategorized
Hey Shawn. I believe that we just finished 500 together. I wish I could work in the Islands!
I believe so too! that was an awesome course! Loved it and looking forward to a great summer course as well!
Shawn
I wish I shared your enthusiasm re: that experience. However, somehow, I ended up with the highest grade I’ve ever received at this level, so what do I know? LOL
Good for you Jody! It means therefore that you were on the right track all along since you got a very high grade! I enjoyed it and did well too.
Hi Shawn,
I have never visited Jamaica or the Turks . . . it must be wonderful to teach there! I grew up in Barbados and still miss the surf and sand – sometimes I wonder why I ever moved away.
I look forward to working with you over the term.
Marie-France
It is great teaching here! I certainly cant deal with the snow…I visited Toronto in December 08 and that was my last visit. The experience was good but I prefer sun, sand and beach! Never been to the Bahamas, but I hear its lovely there too. All the best for this semester. Nice meeting you!
Shawn
Hi Shawn,
I have met a few Jamaicans on my MET journey. Great to have you here. Your experience and desire to collaborate will be a great asset to this course! 🙂
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
Nice to meet you. I must say though I have not met any Jamaicans on the MET journey so far! I have two more semesters to go so I hope I will! All the best for this summer semester!
Shawn
Hi Shawn,
It sounds like you live in a wonderful part of the world. The idea of year round sun and warm weather is appealing.
I look forward to working with you in this course.
Hi Claire, nice to meet you! I will confirm that yes the caribbean is a wonderful part of the world.
I too look forward to working with you this semester!
Shawn
Hi Shawn,
It’s been a while since I’ve encountered anyone from Jamaica on my MET journey. Looking forward to collaborating with you.
gillian
Hi Gillian, nice to meet you. Looking forward to working with you! All the best for the semester!
Shawn
Hi Shawn.
I think we need to do set up a student exchange program… I can see myself doing this course from a hammock in Turks and Cacos. 🙂
Good luck with the courses.
-y
Hi Yves,
The student exchange is a GREAT idea I must say…however I aint moving! lol I love here, so peaceful and quite and NO SNOW!
Great to see you again in another course! All the best!
Shawn
Hey all. I am very pleased to begin ETEC 522 and look forward to the learning, the challenges and the friendships I will encounter along the way.I am a technology coordinator for a french language school board in Southwestern Ontario. I have taught computer science and technology at the high school, collegiate and university levels, […]
Continue reading Hello form SW Ontario! Posted in: Uncategorized
Nice to meet you Yves, I am looking forward to learning from your knowledge and experience in the multiple feilds you have been in!
Wow Yves! I’m impressed – you seem to have so much experience with technology! I’ll certainly look forward to learning from you over the term.
Cheers!
Marie-France
Hi Yves, your knowledge and enthusiasm are wonderdul! I am looking forward to learning more from you! Danielle 🙂
Hey Yves; Good to have you here this term.
Dennis
Hi Yves,
I’m glad to “meet” another SW Ontario resident. You have a very diverse background and I’m very much looking forward to your insights this term.
Deborah
Hello Yves,
It sounds like you have the perfect background for this course. I have been curious for a while about the google apps certification. How did you find it?
gillian
Allô!
I think you were in ETEC 520 (managing… higher ed) last semester, but in a different section. Is that possible?
Anyways, I’m looking forward to what you’ll be doing in this course. It’s fun to see people taking a chance and trying out new projects.
À la prochaine!
Dan
Hi Everyone! I made up a quick app for the course this morning. You can get it if you point your phone’s browser to http://ibuildapp.com/projects.php?action=info&projectid=235609 or you could try to scan the QR code If you have any suggestions about what you would like to have included in the app, please just let me know! FYI, […]
Continue reading ETEC 522 App Posted in: Blog Café
Nicely Done Kenton!!
Heh, slick!
dat’s l337! 🙂
That is awesome Kenton. I want to do that!!!
Dennis
Hi Dennis, it is nice to see you again!
If you are interested, the program I used is found at ibuildapp.com. It is fairly easy to create as long as everthing is already on the web, no need to program. Another option that works is a site called appmakr.com again easy to use but you will need to know some programming to get the phone to do more than just show rss feeds, its kind of a pain but with practice it gets better.
I have to say I prefer ibuildapp for its easy of use over appmakr but I think that there is more you can do with appmakr if you are good at programming.
K
That’s pretty sweet, particularly the ease of the QR. Any chance of tweaking it for the iPAd?
I’ll have a look and see what I can do. I currently don’t own an iPad or any tablet for that matter so I’m not sure how it looks as is on them, but I’ll try and tweak it a little bit. As always, with things like this, it is a work in progress and can only get better!
Neat stuff, Kenton! I’m porting some Android apps (apk) to Playbook (bar) over the summer. I might be able to port your native app to Playbook if there is a demand. 🙂
Not too confident that this one will hit a million downloads, but feel free to do with it what you want! I guess we will have to wait and see if it is useful for people first.
Excellent! Great share.
Awesome! I put xCode on my Mac and tried once to get building but gave up before I got anywhere. Any suggestions for skill development?
Sorry Chelsea, I am not much of a programmer, I tend to find sites and web 2.0 applications that I can use and modify for my personal benefit! I have tried to do some coding but have no experience with xCode or Macs in general. I do know that Apple does offer some online tutorials and support for people wanting to learn how to use xCode and make their own apps. I think too, a lot of getting better at programming and creating apps is practice and refining, its not going to be perfect the first time, you just need to keep trying.
Hey thanks – added this to the iPhone. One of the benefits of taking a course entirely on WordPress rather than the LMS is that is instantly becomes mobile friendly. Great work Knewton.
I agree! I really like how WP renders on the smaller screen without a hassle.
Side note: Has anyone had any problems accessing any of the pages?
Hey Dennis. I viewed the app on my phone and it looks great. I have an Android phone though … how do I put it on my phone? (Sorry … a little technically challenged here …)
gillian
Hi Kenton,
Wow! I’m impressed! Thanks for creating this app.
Cheers,
Adriana
Thanks, Kenton! Much appreciated.
Deborah
Good stuff Kenton!
Hello Kenton
Thanks for the application. I am using both systems iOS and Android. I tried the application on iOS ( iphone) and it is working properly. I haven’t tried it with my Android tablets. It is an interesting application.
Thanks
Nice work Kenton! I wonder if I’ve missed something since I can’t find the entry to install it (only can view it in safari). Isn’t it supposed to redirect me to somewhere with a “Install” button? Sorry I’m a newbie of iPhone. Tell me the steps pls, can’t wait to use it.
Thanks!
You are going to have to open it in safari for the iPhone and then add it as a bookmark to the home page. Its not like a normal app store app in that it needs to be installed, its just a web-based app at the moment.
Thank you Kenton, I got it. 🙂
Really cool stuff – Thanks Kenton 🙂
Hello everyone My name is Hussain Luaibi. I am ESL/ELSA teacher. I have been in this field for about 18 years. I did the same thing in Moscow, Russia for nine years and three years in the Middle East, Yemen. Currently I teach at MOSAIC , Vancouver BC. I speak two more languages Russian and […]
Continue reading Hello everyone Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Hussain, good to see you on this side as well. Looking forward to a great summer semester!!
Shawn
Shawn, you made it! Looking forward to working together.
Hussain
Yes Hussain! It took me some time, but I made it finally!
Shawn
Hello Shawn, the platform we are working on now is different from the classical VISTA. It is cool but has many glitches. I hope we will do well.
Hussain
Hi Hussain!
Nice to work with you again – I look forward to sharing experiences with you over the term. éare you still working on your ETEC portfolio?
Marie-France
Hello Marie-France
Happy to know that you are taking the same course. My eportfolio is still there. I need to update some information in it. I think we will need to have a portfolio here as well. I wasn’t able to upload a photo here in this site. The photo is JPG but still the system refused it. By the way I am taking some HTML CSS self-paced classes. I think we will need them in our future work.
Take care
Salam wa aleikum!
Nice to meet you, Hussain! How long ago were you in Yemen? I would love to visit Yemen someday.
It will be great to share ideas with another English language teacher. Looking forward to learning from you and hearing about your experiences.
Danielle
Salam wa aleikum ,too
Glad to meet you,Daniella. I worked in Yemen for three years. It is an amazing country in terms of culture and nature. People are very friendly. The innate beauty of people’s spontaneous behavior can be marred by overambitious politicians. I hope that hasn’t affected people there because I left Yemen in 1997. I would love to go back and see how things are there. Daniella, there is a market not far away from the city center of Sana’a, the capital. If you go inside you feel yourself you are in the year 1500. Oh, I miss it a lot. By the way do you speak Arabic? The way you transcribed the Arabic words was very very accurate.
Looking forward to working with you and other classmates.
Hussain
Hi Hussain,
My apologies for the late reply! I am still getting used to finding my way in this blog. The search function is coming in quite handy!
I am learning Arabic though I have been a terrible student as of late! My Arab friends speak English so well, as do most people in the UAE, so there are few opportunities for me to be immersed in the language. Insha’allah I will be able to focus on learning Arabic once I have finished the MET – an Arabic eLearning venture perhaps? 😀
Nice meeting you!
Danielle
Hi Hussain. MOSIAC does excellent work empowering newcomers to Canada. I look forward to working and learning with you this term.
Colin, nice to meet you. Yes, MOSAIC has done a lot of work in regard to preparing newcomers to be part of the society.
I am sure we will have great ideas to share with all classmates in this site.
take care
Hussain
Hi Hussain,
When you say ELSA, do you mean ELSA Net.? Do you also work there? Did you go to the BC TEAL Conference at Capilano?
I’m looking forward to working with you, and sharing ideas about language teaching.
Adriana
Hello Adriana
By ELSA I meant English Language Services for Adults. It is offered by most of the schools that deal with immigrants and refugees. ELSA Net is a society of ELSA Service Providers. So MOSAIC is part of it. I don’t work for the ELSA Net. They usually hold conferences and meetings from time to time and schools that provide ELSA services usually send their members or some of their members to attend. I usually attend their conferences. Also I always attend the BC TEAL conferences. But I didn’t attend the one at Capilano. I attended the previous one which was held in Coal Harbor, Canada Place.
I am looking forward to working with you as well.
take care
Hussain
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
mariefrancehetu 12:30 pm on May 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ping,
Nice to see you interested in the role technology plays in our children’s education. I also think our present school system needs to drastically change to meet the needs of our 21st century world.
I look forward to learning and sharing with you over the course of the term.
Marie-France
ping 5:54 am on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you Maria, I’m looking forward too to share this exciting course with you.
maybacon 4:05 pm on May 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Ping,
I really admire your motivation for learning; our kids are so important! I completely agree about the gap between teaching tools and what we/teachers actually do to teach. We have such a great opportunity to bridge that gap through what we learn in the MET program.
Have a great semester, looking forward to sharing more ideas with you in this course,
May
ping 6:06 am on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you, May! How sweet your little angel looks 🙂 My little one is in the same age. It’s exciting to watch their growth, what we learn in this course may help them living better, that worth everything. Enjoy the semester too!
Hussain Luaibi 8:59 pm on May 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Ping
I am sure with your science-oriented outlook to learning, your ideas will be very useful for any collective discussion in our present educational site.
Welcome to 522.
Hussain
ping 6:18 am on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Oh Hussain, I’m embarrassed for your expectation on me:-) I’m not a quick writer in English and my time is limited, but I’ll try my best to participate discussions with you as much as possible. I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas with you all.
karonw 4:12 pm on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ping,
Nice to meet you, I admire your passion with education and how you are motivated by your kids in learning more about educational technology. Good luck with your studies, I look forward in learning with you.
Best,
Karon Wong