Almost There!

      Well let me see it has been a whole year since I have written on my blog. I have been so busy and often think that I should start blogging again. I am now 48 years old and navigating my way through my second year of Teachers College. I have come along way with the use of technology as an educator in primary/junior education. I was able to incorporate the skills I developed during my first year technology course in my practicum and I am still building on them.
      I have been a part of a technology project using Kidblog in the classroom. It was an amazing experience and I incorporated it into the grade 6 class that I worked with during my last practicum. The students were so excited about using Kidblog. They were able to interact with each other as well as develop their comprehension skills by answering questions about the novels they were reading.
      I was also at a presentation for professsional development this past week. I attended a workshop that discussed having digital portfolios for students. It was a great presentation. The thing that I enjoyed most about it was how this educator incorporated the growth mindset into his students portfolios. He also introduced us to the term "I CAN YET." When students are struggling and stuck on feeling like they can't; you say no you can but just not yet. Instead of saying I can't, you say "I can yet."  Everyone will get there in their own way on their own path. I really want to incorporate this with my future students.
      I am hoping to be able to blog more and share my growth as a student and educator. As an educator we never stop learning. We can't' there is always more to know! The best part of being an educator is realizing how much we can really learn form our students!

Digital Class Complete!!

Oh my it has been a journey over the past six weeks of Teacher's College. I have been BUSY!! I did not realize how much work had to be done when I embarked on this journey through Teacher's College.

It has been exhausting but it is worth every second of it. After my first two weeks I wondered if I could really do this. There was so much to do; reading, reading and reading oh, did I say reading? On top of the reading there is a lot of math work. That's right math! I struggled with math when I was younger so the idea of this class frightened me just as much as the idea of a digital class.

Well I am making it through my math class and I have made it through my digital class with the help of our wonderful instructor Dave. He has been so enthusiastic. He is always smiling and willing to help. How could I not enjoy this course? I had a tough time with some of the aspects and tools for the course but learning isn't always easy! It can be difficult but it's all a part of the journey! As educators we need to keep on learning.

The world is changing everyday and we have to be prepared to teach in this ever changing world. This digital course is just the beginning of what I need to know digitally, but thanks to the course and our amazing instructor I have the confidence to continue this digital learning journey. I have been shown the tools to develop some technology in the classroom and I am ready to use them and explore some more!

Teacher's College Week 5

Wow I cannot believe that tomorrow is my last day in my Technology course. I am sad that I missed Week 5 but even more sad about the reason I missed it. I lost my Gram. She was one of the strongest, beautiful, loving woman I knew. I was so blessed to have her in my life. I was already playing catch up as I am not the fastest techie!! I feel like I fell even further behind in my digital class because I missed one week. It takes me a bit to catch up but I can do it. It might take me the next three full days to finish but I always complete my projects no matter how trying they can be for me at times. I went back to school in my late thirties and have made it through my undergrad and my Masters so I can get through this class too!! ALMOST THERE!!!!

Teacher's College Week #4

It is hard to believe that I am in my fourth week of Teacher's College. I am so happy that I made it through another week. It has been challenging. I think the course work has been overwhelming for many of us. I know it has for me. I am busy doing something every day and still feel like I am playing catch up. I am managing to get through what I can and hoping to catch up on everything over the next week.

I posted a quote on my twitter account in digital class today that says "Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot!" I find if I focus on what I cannot do it really holds me back from what I can. So I am staying focused during this journey through Teacher's College and know how good it will all feel at the end!!

Well it is week #3 in my digital learning course and I have learned quite a bit. Hopefully I can retain it all! I am taking notes to keep all of the steps clear.

I have learned how to create and update this blog (it has taken me more than one try!). I am learning how to navigate through twitter, powtoon, bitly, plickers... to name a few. Just yesterday my Mathematics Instructor said "Practice makes perfect!" I think this is true for anything we do.

It is a struggle but I want to make my way through so that I can incorporate and use what I am learning here in my career as an educator. I am going to keep pushing through. I have made to week #3 YAY!!!!

A Bit About Copyright for Teachers

It is important to keep copyrights in mind when teaching. We need to be aware of copyrights as we and our students need materials from the Internet. Basically copyright law means that all rights are reserved. Any copying, distributing, displaying or even adapting digital media is prohibited (Figg, 2013). We as teachers or just as a person would like to protect our own work as do others. We need to set this example to our students. The work of others should not be used without permission by an author, creator or Copyright Act (Figg, 2013). Teachers can use different types of media, web sites and recordings in their teaching. When teachers use these types of tools in their classroom they also need to make sure the works are not for profit and also for used for educational premise as well as educational purposes. Like anything we do in the classroom we need to do it ethically; even when using other materials that have a copyright.

Examples:

                                           Retrieved from Google Images September 24 http://bit.ly/1YFq1Tx

Hi,

It has been almost a week since I last wrote on my blog. It has been a busy week for me. I have been keeping up with all of my classes; although it is a bit of a struggle balancing home, work and school. I am a bit exhausted but excited about this new learning journey. I was hesitant about the digital learners class, but it has actually allowed me to discover some useful tools and activities that I can use as an educator. I want to be more comfortable with technology and how to use it to help not only myself but my future students.With that being said I feel like I need to expand a bit more on the concept of "Genius Hour".

Genius Hour is a time when students can have their passions come to life. Educators can allow for their students to work on what they want on their own learning. Genius Hour can not only be fun for students but it allows them to become more engaged in their learning. The more engaged and enjoyable it is for them; the more it will boost their confidence. I cannot wait to try this out with students. I hope it is something I can do during one of my placements. Here are a couple of links to see what can be done when it comes to Genius Hour

Genius Hour Intro

Pinterest Hour Genius