Pecha Kucha and some last words for my #I4Ed class

Last class of my university career. Feeling excited, nervous, scared and nostalgic. On our last day of class we are having a Pecha Kucha/Pizza party! What is Pecha Kucha??????  Pecha Kucha "is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (six minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format, which keeps presentations concise and fast-paced, powers multiple-speaker events called PechaKucha Nights (PKNs)"

In this moment I feel like I can say that I will keep up with my blogging, and I will try to, however I should not make any promises right now. 

It was fun to see my classmates presentations, everyone added their own personality to their presentation. The pizza was also very good! Thanks MIKE for ordering a special vegetarian pizza just for me :)

Good luck to all of my classmates in their final student teaching placements! I will miss seeing all of you in class. Good luck in your future teaching career.

Thanks Mike for a awesome class!!

Final Project #I4Ed

Here is my final project for my Internet for Educators course! This is a self reflection of what I have learned this semester.

This video was created using iMovie



Enjoy :)

EDU Blogger: Cre8tive Havoc

I have been following Tara's blog Cre8tive Havoc for about a year now. Tara teaches ELA at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate in the St. James SD and was my cooperating teacher for my second student teaching placement. I loved my experience and learned so much from my time teaching with her. Cre8tive Havoc is her classroom blog where she posts assignments for her students and shares what they are doing in the classroom. She is very skilled with using technology in her classroom, and is always creating new ways to engage her students with technology.

Tara is also very active on twitter! Check her out at @msmclauchlan

She also has and iTunes U course available called Twitter and Flicker and Blogger; Oh My!

Internet Good or Bad?

When I think about how the internet has changed us, I feel as though it has it has changed us for the better. Not everyone would agree with this statement, and yes I spend a lot of time on my devise, I am always updating and checking social media, I am watching videos, reading blogs, articles, and looking at photos. And yes I have become accustom to the instant gratification that comes along with it. When my husband and I are in a restaurant we pull out our phones to check what is happening online, or pull up photos and videos. Some people may look at this as feel that we are not connecting with each other, but the couple who is staring in silence at each other at the table next to us does not seem to me as though they are sharing in a greater connection. Often times my husband and I are sharing things we have found or have read online, which often sparks conversation. Personally I do not have a problem spending times with my friends and leaving my phone in my bag, I spend most of my free time in the summer outside walking, hiking, biking, swimming, camping, and playing with my dog. The internet has changed the way I socialize, it is so much easier to stay connected to friends living far away, I can stay connected as I travel and with friends that are traveling. I feel as though I am more socially aware, there are so many more ways for me to connect and learn about what is happening in the world. I have access to information anywhere I want, I can easily learn about any topic I am interested in, or answer any question I may have.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the internet has to offer us. I do view it as a tool that can be used for good or bad. Using it for good requires educating yourself on how to use this tool properly.

The Future

What does the future hold for education?

I feel as though technology has already changed education so much from when I was in school, and we are going to be seeing big changes in the near future. I am excited to see what future holds for education and how we can continue to change the way we educate future students. I also feel that education is changing in the way we reach students, classrooms are becoming more student centred as well as inquiry based.

The K-12 Horizon Report points out certain key trends;

• Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning, and collaborative models.

• Social media is changing the way people interact, present ideas and information, and communicate.

• Openness — concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions of transparency and easy access to data and information — is becoming a value.

• As the cost of technology drops and school districts revise and open up their access policies, it is becoming more common for students to bring their own mobile devices. 

• The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is challenging us to revisit our roles as educators.

Some of the challenges that come along with these trends are also outlined in this report. Key challenges include;

• Ongoing professional development needs to be valued and integrated into the culture of the schools. 

• Too often it is education’s own practices that limit broader uptake of new technologies. 

• New models of education are bringing unprecedented competition to traditional models of schooling. 

• K-12 must address the increased blending of formal and informal learning. 

• The demand for personalized learning is not adequately supported by current technology or practices.  

• We are not using digital media for formative assessment the way we could and should. 

Digital Footprint

It is easy to think that once we leave our computer screen that what we have done online is left behind or anonymous. The things we do not disappear, anyone can have access to it. The picture or video we posted, or the things we said are there for anyone to read or even copy. I have always been very conscious of what I put online. I care about the how I represent myself in person, so I also take care of how I represent myself online.
It is important that students growing up understand what their digital footprint is, and how to protect themselves.

Source

Your digital footprint can be something that you take control of to enhance your online identity. The infographic below gives some good tips on how to do this.

Source

App Show & Tell

One the apps that I will be using in my classroom is my TED app. I can easily search through videos, and save my favourites.

One of the other apps that I enjoy using is Imovie, I have used it many times. It is also easy for students to use. You can use in on a mac, Ipad, Iphone, or Ipod.

A great way to find educational apps is on pinterest! Here is a link to one board that I follow: 

 Top Education Apps