Category: Weekly Reflections

I wanted to add the most impactful things from the course for me to my sketch notes. I really like the multimedia lesson, in which I felt like I learned the most and I think it connected really well with the See Think Wonder activities we did. I liked all the technology we used and how it was incorporated into our Inquiry post. All in all I learned a lot from this course, and a lot will be brought with me into the classroom.

I really enjoyed Brittany Johnson‘s presentation about classroom management, and technology in the classroom. I loved when she explained how she uses soft starts to get the class ready to learn. Having a quite and calming start to the day is vital to having a great classroom environment. The use of materials such as kinetic sand and Playdoh, for students to play with when they arrive is such a nice way to utilize soft starts, especially with younger students who get to think creatively first thing once they arrive. I like how everything she does in the classroom is thought out and intentional, enhancing her learning environment to maximize learning focus and creativity. My absolute favourite thing about the class however, was the hugging machine. That thing is the coolest, and I love how it is used in the classroom. I think they need to be made mandatory in every classroom and especially in post secondary.

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Do you think the Science Journal app would be a useful tool at your age level.

I think it would most definetly be a valulable tool, to make science classes more engaging, as well as providing a multimedia lense for our learners. The Science Journal app allows students to organize every part of an experiment, such as the note taking, recording, analysis and observations, all on one application. If you look at the SAMR evaluation strategy for the the Science Journal app, it provides an enhacement to the experiment side of science, by simplifying the process with technology.

Could sketch-noting benefit learners in the grade level you hope to teach at? If so how?

Sketch-noting would be incredibly beneficial to middle school students. In fact, the class I am observing for Link2Practice constantly needs reminders to stop doodling during class time. Sketch-noting is incredibly useful for middle school learners. Firstly, it provides a multi media approach to learning, where students who are listening to lessons can sketch what they are listening to as well. Secondly, students who can’t take notes traditionally can be better suited to to take notes via sketch-noting and having the option for all students, leads to more active class participation. Lastly, something that the teacher I am observing does that I love is when she notices students who are doodling, she asks them “is that helping you focus?”. This simple questions allows students the option to interact with thje lesson in a way that works best for them.

How could the TPACK model help you select the most appropriate tool or technology to help meet your learning objectives for your class?

The TPACK model provides teachers with the framework to properly incorporate, and evaluate the use of technology in the classroom. The video, TPACK in 3 Minutes outlines how teachers need to selectively choose their resources based on pedagogy (how material is presented), tecknology (what technology will be used to maximize learning) and content (what is being taught/learned).

Describe possible cross-curricular active learning opportunities for 3D Design & 3D Printing.

The possibilities for cross-curricular activities are endless with 3D printing. 3D print objects from history such as medieval armor when studying the feudal system, or samurai swords when studying Japan. Learning math makes geometry that much more engaging when you have a finished project to take home. 3D printing can offer many different solutions for students who have difficulties learning. Having physical copies of letters to practice spelling is just one example of many different ways that learning can be adapted for different learners with 3D printing.

What are the potential pros and cons of using 3D Design and print at the school and grade levels you hope to teach at?

Some pros that come to mind are that it provides a new lens for learning different subjects, such as math, social studies, and science. For Middle School students, the vast majority of students are quite technologically savvy, and sites such as Tinkercad, which are very user-friendly, can be used creatively and effectively to provide a safe and fun 3D printing experience. Some obvious cons are that 3D printers are very expensive to buy and run, so I can see obvious accessibility issues in that regard.

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Talk about how you’ve found GenAI useful or not for educational purposes.

I have found GenAI very useful in certain educational instances. In my first-year English classes at Camosun, my professor suggested using it to write our essay outlines. So. I would put in my thesis and it would give me a template to follow and guidelines to organize my ideas and writing. In my first-year lab science courses, I would use it to provide me with study guides for exams as well as outlines for labs.

Describe possible use cases for GenAI in school settings at the grade level you would like to teach or describe why it would not be appropriate for your grade level.

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I don’t know which grade I would like to teach but I know that for my L2P class that I am in, (grade 6) Lesson plans as well as gym games could be done by GenAI. For example, tell AI, I have 6 frisbees and 25 students give me a gym lesson plan for grade 6, teaching ultimate frisbee. Chat GPT for example will give you this:
I can see how AI can be used unethically in teaching, for example with report cards, but its ability to increase organization, creativity, and valuable lesson plans shouldn’t be ignored.

With the brief experience I had with H5P, I think that these tools will not be useful for the grade I would like to teach. However, with the amount of online learning increasing in elementary schools every year, I am confident that in the near future that will change. Currently, the only issue I see with why H5P and other interactive learning sites aren’t applicable for elementary school children, is that children that age don’t have enough access to technology where those resources would be applicable. That being said, having interactive-based learning is proven to be incredibly useful in the classroom for knowledge retention. currently, I can only see H5P being used in a class if a teacher is presenting a lesson on a projector and having the class answer the H5P quiz altogether.

Multi-media Learning Theory can help us create more effective instructional videos and tutorials. It’s important that we maximize and not diminish a child’s ability to learn and a multi-media approach to learning is an ideal way to do that. In a classroom setting, there are many distractions that can impede learning, and we don’t want our lessons to do the same. Having text describing an image and then, as a teacher, reading off the screen to your class, leads to a very overwhelming, situation. Dr. Ray Pastore in his video “What is Multimedia Learning? What is Multimedia?”, this also ties into how learners need to be able to control the pace of instruction, for an effective learning environment.

Do we need to reimagine education?

The world we live in is constantly changing and evolving, so education needs to change and evolve with it. Whether it’s adapting to new behavior issues, attention deficits, or AI, the new world of education is changing fast and curriculum, teachers, and resources need to be changing with it.

What concerns you and/or excites you about this approach? 

There is a lot that excites me about the future of education. I remember when I was starting my education journey and the teacher would wheel out the old box TV with the VHS player attached underneath, now im learning how to use AI so who knows what will be changing in the next 10 years. The important thing is that educators are changing as well.

What are the potential benefits of using Creative Commons-licensed images in my blog posts?

Having Creative Commons licensed images in our blogs allows us to safely, legally, and most importantly add free images to our blog posts, which provides more engagement through a multimedia approach. The website Unsplash for example, provides thousands of free-to-download images for public and private use and lets me use cool pictures like this:

notorious v1ruS – Unsplash