EDUC 5203 - Final Post

As I completed and sent in my final project for this course, I was reflecting back on some of the assignments that were completed. I really enjoyed the development and maintenance of this website, and how rewarding it was to use it regularly in my classroom. Another assignment that I also enjoyed was hosting the professional dialogue. It brought forth a really interesting discussion following me asking my participants whether they had taught in a combined classroom or not. After much discussion it was agreed upon that despite not having technically taught in split-level classes, all of us, in one way or another, teach students in one class at varying abilities. Thinking of my grade 3 class, I have students working with building numbers to 10 and some working on complex multiplication problems.  It's amazing to think of how beneficial technology can be to our students and to our lesson planning. It gives students the right-away to progress at their own pace and not feel as if they are lesser than their peers.

All in all, this was an enjoyable class and I look forward to taking more technology classes in the future.

EDUC 5203 - Creating a Growth Plan

I enjoyed the process of creating a growth plan throughout this course. I like to look ahead and think about where I would like to be 2 or 3 years down the road. The biggest point of my growth plan is my plan to apply for another masters degree, this time focusing in technology. While there are some that seem to fight against it, I fully believe that technology will ever expand as a greater influence & focus in our school systems. Some more established teachers feel as though it is impeding our students ability to read, write, spell and do simple math processes, but I disagree. I think that there is a way to use technology in conjunction with traditional techniques in order to provide a stimulating curriculum for our students.

The reason I want to participate in this masters program is that I know that unless you actively work to keep up with the ever changing advances made in technology, you can quickly fall behind. I left teaching for 3 years, and when I came back, all of a sudden everyone was talking about smart boards and google websites, and I had no idea what they were talking about! This technology masters will help support me in my career, which will in turn help me support my students and colleagues.

EDUC 5203 - Hosting a Discussion

This past weekend I hosted my discussion on the benefits of implementing technology in a combined classroom. I had 4 great participants who helped push along the discussion and challenged me on my thinking of a "combined classroom". I was nervous after the first discussion post as all of my participants noted that they had not taught in a conventional combined classroom. However as things progressed, I realized that all teachers teach in combined classrooms. Despite grouping all 8/9 year olds together in my grade 3 class, I have students in that room who are at a preschool level and students who are at a grade 6 or 7 level of comprehension. This goes for all educators who are in the classroom. Grouping students together by age will automatically mean that some students will be further ahead/behind than others. So despite my participants never having taught in a conventional combined class, they all truly have!

EDUC 5203 - Artifact 1

Hi all,
I've been enjoying working my way through the modules thus far in 5203. I'm currently thinking about where to start with module 3, where the focus is to create artifacts using technology that is new to me. For a while now, I've been wanting to learn how to make PDF's, so I am going to start there. I think they will be very beneficial to learn how to make as I'd like to be able to post PDF's to my website for Math homework.

Now...to research how to make PDF's!

Chris

EDUC 5203 - Introduction to Educational Technology

Hello all,

My masters ejournal experience is continuing on to a new course, Intro to Education Technology. I'm very much looking forward to working through another technology course, as I've loved the previous two that I have taken. Please check back often for further updates.

Cheers,

Chris

Assistive Tech 5173 - Final Day - Summer Session

Last day! Woot!

To start off our last class, we were given the task of finding an assistive tech video to share with the class. I was given the topic of Assistive Tech in Sports. I immediately wanted to share a video of my friend Laura, who has metachromatic leukodystrophy. She was diagnosed with MLD in her late-teens and it has effected every aspect of her life. One thing that continues to grow is her love for life. She enjoys taking part in all activities. One that has alluded her over the years has been skiing. Unfortunately, I'm not able to share the video on my blog due to it being on Facebook, but it shows Laura in a modified wheelchair that can be used to ski. It's amazing to watch her ski while being assisted by an aid! It brings her so much happiness!

Chrome Music Lab - a really cool website for students with autism, that allows you to pair up sounds with visual images. 

Main Takeaways
Our iMovie that Christine, Jill, Chelsea & I created sums up some of our main takeaways from our course this summer.
1) Collaboration - collaboration is key in instances of assistive tech. We have so many people that we can consult when we have a student in need of assistive tech. Working collaboratively is critical in a student finding success & gaining the most out of their time in school.

2) iPads - we've heard it before & we'll hear it again...iPad's are by far the most accessible devices on the market. While more expensive than its competitors, the constant updates and the drive Apple has to adapt to different circumstances make iPads well-worth the extra money. As I mentioned previously, my goal for September is to acquire iPads for my classroom...fingers crossed!

3) Thinking outside the box - we didn't mention this in the video, but the Dollar Store activity was a great reminder that we have so many devices available to us that can be used to assist students in-need. All students do not need an iPad or a laptop to get by, but can use items that can be found for a dollar or two. Just have to get a little creative!

I appreciate having the opportunity to participate in this class. It's nice to partake in a worthwhile experience that will benefit me come September & the years that follow. 

Thanks for reading, time for summer to start! Cheers!

Assistive Tech 5173 - Day 11 - Summer Session

2nd last day!! Today was filled with all the presentations on Book Creator. There were a ton of great ideas presented today. I think we all discovered how useful of a program Book Creator can be. Now, my goal is to get the iPads for my school so that we can use it...a project for another day!!

I jotted down a few quick notes on the presentations.

Joy & Nike -  they created a welcome book for new staff, students, parents. They put their audio explanations on burgundy circles on each page. Very nice way to draw your attention to the explanation, cool format!

John & Laurianne - I liked their matching activities, along with their activity on creating a family album. We had a similar idea for our book as well...great minds, right guys?? I also loved the Daily Prophet idea, as in Harry Potter. I love being able to connect activities to relevant literature for the children. Well done!

Alecia & Holly - created a book on the journey through primary. They would use their book to create a memoir of their grade primary year. I really liked the table of contents that you made! You both had many creative ideas. In particular, I enjoyed the "Learn to Listen" idea, as I find "listening" is one of the hardest outcomes to assess.

Tracy & Joanne - what a cool idea to create a book on interview skills & etiquette. Resumes & interview skills are so hard to fine tune, and I think that your book is a real practical book that could be useful to a lot of people currently looking for work. Great thinking!

Suzanne & Dave - I liked your innovative ideas, especially using book creator rather than research posters...they really do get boring and are so limited with whom they can be shared with. I feel like the social stories book is also something that could be used very easily in class, and would make going through them with our kids a little more interesting.

Christine & Chelsea - awesome use of different apps and combining them with book creator. Really helps draw in the audience. The autobiography project was really cool. It's something that we do so often in class, but it's nice to have new platforms to present our ideas in a more engaging way.

Terry & Rachel - I really liked how you were able to take book creator & make it usable for post-secondary students. When we think of creativity, we so often think of younger students. I think it's important to continue to foster that creativity as we get older...it keeps a level of humor and fun in life!

Sherri & Michelle - Cool idea on the interactive cook book. Regular cookbooks are so inaccessible, using book creator makes them accessible for all. I like the idea of creating a class book...makes for a fun keepsake from the year!

Nick & Sue - Neat idea for the personal classroom yearbook. I love all the class projects that I did as a student that I got to keep, so I really like the idea of doing more of those in my classroom. Cool idea for making the patterns, as well.