My name is Mike Forsyth, I am a high school teacher at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver, British Columbia on the traditional, and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̕ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. I wear many ‘hats’ at Handsworth, primarily I am a Social Studies teacher specializing in Physical Geography 12, Social Studies 9 and 10, but also serve as one the school’s Teacher-Librarians, the AP Coordinator, and the sponsor/coordinator for the school’s long running Japan Exchange. I am currently in my eighth and ninth courses in the program and I am looking forward to being complete in December.
As a ‘techie’ teacher I was transitioned into the Library Learning Commons to support teachers with technology and explore new technologies and strategies for technology use with students. In this role I started to reflect on my practice which brought me to the MET program and now to ETEC 524. On reflection I had been, and still am, using technology for substitution (PowerPoints for notes, etc.) and some augmentation (videos and new types of assignments) according to the SAMR model which has helped in some ways, but is not really enrichment (Terada, 2020). This led me to the MET program as I am looking to utilize technology to its greatest potential in my classroom, and from there share what I had learned to the rest of the school in keeping with ISTE standards of teachers as learners, leaders and collaborators (ISTE, 2017). My hope for ETEC 524 is to better select and evaluate technologies and strategies that can be practically (cost, support, privacy compliant, etc.) integrated into my practice in an authentic way while staying true to my values and teaching style.
There are several of Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) principles that I need to work on in my classroom, namely the use of active learning techniques, prompt feedback, and emphasising time on task. I am hopeful that 524 can assist me in finding technologies, and ways of using them, that will improve these skills and subsequently the outcomes for my students, especially with regards to time on task as the use of technology by students currently is often a detriment to this for a host of reasons from distraction to troubleshooting issues.
On looking at the course schedule I am most interested in assessment and learning environments.
With the upcoming implementation of changes to the reporting order for grade 8 and 9 students in British Columbia it seems like the perfect time to explore how technology can play a role in assessing student’s abilities and understanding (Government of British Columbia, 2022). Since the new reporting order requires changes in how I assess and communicate information on students learning, why restrict my self to the fairly narrow minimum change of using performance scale metrics instead of letter grades (Government of British Columbia, 2022)? Instead, what else can I change/implement to improve my quality of life and the feedback for students? How can I use technology to streamline assessment inline with Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) rules to gives students more useful and timely feedback on their learning? Can this be done without it being a bigger burden on an already overtaxed workload? My hope is that 524 and the remainder of my courses in the MET program can assist me with this, not just in terms of theory, but also with specific resources, technologies, and strategies that I can implement with my students and hopefully share with the rest of my colleagues.
The learning environment that I have created over the years is one that is very much centred around the teacher. I am looking to transition the focus away from the teacher and place it on the students, both individually and as a class. I have started that transition but am looking to all of my MET courses, and discussions with other teachers both at school and at professional development sessions to see how I can further the process. Most importantly I need to learn how to give up control, something that I struggle with and one of the reasons the transition is still in progress.
I need an open mind, to be open to the new technologies and ideas presented by the course material and fellow students. To move away from the mindset of, how can this be integrated into what I am already doing? Focussing instead on how I can embrace these new concepts and techniques to improve my practice and the learning process for my students.
References
Government of British Columbia. (2022, May 13). Changes to K-12 Student Reporting Policy – Province of British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/legislation-policy/public-schools/student-reporting-changes
Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
FNESC (2015). The First Peoples principles of learning. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/aboriginal-education/principles_of_learning.pdfLinks to an external site.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2017). Standards for teachers. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Terada, Y. (2020, May 4). SAMR: A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration | Edutopia. EduTopia.Org. https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-integration/