My Personal Flight Path
Learning Goals
Though I have been lucky enough to teach in an environment where use of technology is encouraged, I would like to find ways to continue to improve my teaching practice and ensure I am using technology in a way that will improve student learning and not just for the sake of using something new. I would like to learn how to utilize the WordPress platform to create a collaborative environment for students. I feel that discussion forums are a great place for students to safely and freely share and debate ideas. Within this idea, my goal would be to learn how to effectively use and moderate forums to engage students in a digital environment. An ideal environment would be one where students are not just directly responding to teacher-posed questions, but are posting their own and engaging with others to help improve their overall learning. I would hope that through this, students feel more comfortable engaging with one another and that this could help to foster an environment of creativity, innovation and inquiry.
Another learning goal of mine, would be to find a platform that can be used for providing quick and effective feedback in a digital environment. I would not necessarily be looking for something that is strictly for marking and tracking grades, but that can be used to provide quality formative assessment for students on a consistent basis. This is an area that I currently feel I have room for improvement in, and that would bring about great benefit for my students. Being able to effectively communicate high-expectations, and provide effective and clear feedback regarding those expectations, would help create more positive outcomes in my classroom.
I would also like to find a platform that can be used for extracurricular activities within the school so that student athletes are able to quickly find team schedules, connect with coaches, access and assess game film and allow for the teams to be promoted within the school. I think that athletics are a great way to help develop school culture and help students feel a stronger connection to their school. This is an area that I see within my school and myself, as having room for growth by effectively utilizing technology.
Experiences
I have been a high school teacher in Port Coquitlam at Riverside Secondary since 2012, and during this time have been able to teach a wide range of classes. A majority of my teaching experience has been in elective classes. Many of the elective courses have been computer classes that focused on skills ranging from basic entry level keyboarding up to higher level programming and web-design. Riverside also has a strong digital and technology focus, and we are currently in our fourth year of a digital immersion 1:1 program. All of our students use some sort of personal device for their different courses. We also have our students using Edublogs (a WordPress based platform) and Microsoft Office 365 as part of their everyday course work. This program has also allowed me to become more familiar with using Edublogs for developing my course website. If you are interested you can find a link to my current Edublog site here. While working in this program, I have been able to see the benefits that can come from a well-designed technology based environment. We have been able to help create a place where students feel comfortable taking risks and trying out new tasks.
In addition to teaching, I am also a three-season coach. I currently coach Senior Boys and Girls soccer and Grade 9 Boys basketball. This provides me with a chance to work with students in the school that I may not teach in my classroom. I am hoping to find ways in which I can effectively use technology to improve my coaching practice, and to provide better developmental feedback for athletes.
