distributed learning

December 4, 2018elissahallidayLeave a comment

Distributed learning is a style of learning that is independent of the teacher and focuses on the use of technology for learning. It provides an opportunity for student independence and for flexibility by learning outside the normal classroom setting. Teachers who use this style of learning use a variety of electronic resources to communicate with their students, such as video conferencing, email, telephone calls and more.

Video conferencing is a great tool to use when choosing to do distributed learning. It is a way to communicate with your students and help guide them through their learning through the use of technology. Video conferencing allows for face-to-face interaction with others anywhere in the world. This can be used by the teacher to help a student one-on-one or help teach a group of students. Students can also use it to conference with their peers to help each other with their learning. One example of a popular app used for video conferencing is Skype. Skype allows users to video conference with up to 25 people and all you need is the app (which is free) and a wifi connection.

Throughout my high school years, I did not have a lot of experience with distributed learning. A lot of it was very teacher directed. It was not until this year that I really experienced distributed learning. I have had the opportunity to do multiple inquiry projects, which allowed me to choose topics that I am interested in and do my own research on these topics. Through this project, I learned how to use a blog, found many resources to back up my ideas, and gained more independence in my learning. My teacher of this class also introduced to us the idea of using video conferencing to stay in touch and to get any help we need on our own time (we did not have to be in class to get assistance). I really enjoyed this style of learning and found it very beneficial to my own learning. I would like to learn more about it and use it in my own classroom in my years to come.

Twine and Google Classroom

November 6, 2018November 6, 2018elissahallidayLeave a comment

Today in class we talked about two tech tools, google classroom and twine.

Twine is a tool that allows its users to tell interactive non-linear stories. It was created in 2009 by Chris Klimas but it is now maintained by several people. Twine is free to use for any way you wish to use it, including for commercial use, and it publishes directly to HTML, which allows you to post your work almost everywhere. It is used by most of its users to develop hypertext narratives and games. It does not require any programming languages that most game development tools do. This makes it very desired for those who do not know any programming languages. It is a tool that can be used by anyone who is wanting to create interactive fiction. In class, we created our own one by an example given to us by our teacher. I have never been good with technology so it was interesting for me to see how Twine works. After some practice, I began to get the hang of it and learned about some basic coding for design elements. Within Twine, you do not have to code, but if you want to add certain design features, such as bold writing, underlining, background colors etc. you can code them into your writing. After you have finished creating your interactive story, you can play it and see it for your self which is a cool feature. You can also share what you have created with whoever you would like.

Screen Shot 2018-11-06 at 10.53.12 AM — This is what it looks like when you are creating your interactive story

The other tech tool we looked at was Google Classroom. Google Classroom is a web tool that was created by Google in 2014 specifically for schools but can be used by anyone who has a Google account. It a free to use and allows teachers and their students to connect with each other both inside and outside of school. Within Google Classroom you can create classes, distribute assignments, post materials, and announcements, communicate and stay organized. It is a great tool to use that saves you time, is easy to set up, and is affordable. Students can be added to a classroom by a private code or automatically through a school domain. Students can submit their assignments and post questions they have or add to discussions within the classroom.

I used Google Classroom a lot throughout my time in high school and I found it a really great tool. It makes it easy to see assignments that your teachers give you and various materials that are useful for the course. I like how you can ask a question or start a discussion on Google Classroom, this allows you to collaborate with your peers. In class today we created our own classroom to see how easy it is to create one. For someone not very tech-savvy it was very easy to set up and to add materials within your classroom. Google Classrooms is a great tool to stay connected with your students and is a paperless way to give assignments and materials. I am definitely going to use Google Classroom when I begin teaching.

Overall, both Twine and Google Classroom are great tech tools (for very different reasons).

Twitter

October 15, 2018elissahallidayLeave a comment

Twitter is a very popular social media platform used to interact with others via messages called “tweets”. It was created by Jack Dorsey in 2006 and fastly gained popularity among young adults. It has now become popular for a wide variety of people to communicate about news, important issues, and their daily lives.

If you create a twitter account you have a “handle” which is your username. You create your own username and it can be whatever you want to make it. This is how other members search for you by searching @ and then your handle. You can customize your profile as much or as little as you would like. You have the choice to add in a profile picture and a bio or to leave it blank. You also have the option to make your profile public or private depending on the level of privacy you wish. If you have a private profile, people have to request to follow you and you have the choice to accept or decline. If you have a public account, then other users can see your profile and tweets without requesting to follow you.

A tweet is a 140-word message that is sent out to one’s followers. If you hashtag (#) something on your tweet and you do not have a private account others who are searching up that hashtag can see your message. If you do not want people being able to see your message then you can make your account private. When you have a private account only those who you have allowed to follow you can view your tweets. If your account is public then anyone can view your tweets and they also have the option to retweet your post, favorite/like it, or reply to it and create a conversation.

The hashtag that I briefly touched on earlier is a way of finding something that interests you or a way for you to start a conversation. You can search up a topic you want to see what other people have been saying about it by searching for example #dailynews. Another way to use the hashtag is on your own tweet. You can add hashtags to start a conversation and for other people to find your tweet. If people want to reply to your tweet they can also hashtag the same thing and add to the discussion. Hashtags are also used to create twitter chats. Twitter chats are conversations on a certain topic (a hashtag). They are a good way to connect people who have similar interests, questions, and/or beliefs. Many people participate in Twitter chats including educators.

Many educators are on twitter to get new teaching ideas, to see what other teachers are doing, and to stay connected with fellow co-workers. It is a great way to start a discussion with other educators and to see their opinions on certain topics such as technology in the classroom. It can also be used by teachers for their students to see what is happening in class, when things are due, and other important notes. Since technology is becoming more and more prevalent in classrooms, twitter is a good resource for teachers to use to stay connected and to learn more about education.

All in all, Twitter has many great features and allows people to share their interests and to keep up to date with what is going on. It is a useful tool for businesses, educators, and individuals looking to stay connected with others and share their opinions. It is good to know the privacy settings of Twitter before creating an account and posting tweets.

Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry School Visit

October 10, 2018elissahallidayLeave a comment

In my Technology Education class, we went on a school visit to observe Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. It is a newer high school in Victoria, that offers a personalized education. This school has been operating for six years and has 85 students attending. It is a private school, but the tuition is more affordable than most private schools. PSI does not want to create more schools, but wants to be a model to other schools and hopefully show them that they can do it too.

At this school, they focus on inquiry-based learning, where students are told they can ask anything. Their inquiry process is to find an initial question then do some research and from that research create a better inquiry question. These inquiries can be anywhere from a week long to a year long. The staff recommends doing three inquiry projects at one time, so students stay engaged and always have something to do. The inquiry process is a lot of build, make, try and experiment, not just research. The students have the opportunity to go work with the community and get hands-on experience. For example, one year a student wanted to learn about boat building, so they worked with a boat builder for one year. I think this is a really cool idea and allows the students to get a good hands-on experience, which is valuable to find your interests.

The learning design is much different than most high schools. They do not test at this school, they put learning in the student’s hands and their success is based on their engagement. The learning environment is meant for the students to succeed, they want there to be a joy in learning for the students. The students build there own daily schedules to be what they want to be working on and can include breaks to go get some exercise etc. A tablet is used to sign in and out that says where they are going and when they will be back. This allows students the freedom to leave when they want to better their learning process. They still have report cards, as it is needed to go onto university or college, so the teachers meet three times a year to put students inquiries into courses – subjects are integrated within each other and their inquiry questions.

I personally have never been to a school like this. It was a very cool experience to get to go observe it and it gave me, as an aspiring teacher, a different way of looking at learning. I really like how PSI puts learning in the student’s hands and allows them to research topics they want to know more about. I think this ensures the student’s engagement into school and is of value to them in their future. I am happy I got to experience this school as it gave me a lot of ideas that I could implement in my classroom to create an effective and engaging learning environment.

PSI’s Website: http://learningstorm.org/