Attack of the 50 Foot Mutant!

This year, I had tried to bring a little more inquiry and research based skills into my Physics 30 classroom. One of the tasks that I had my students had come from the website TeachNuclear. The task is called “Attack of the 50 Foot Mutant: Radiation in Popular Culture,” where the students need to research some sort of radioactive mutant in popular culture (Spiderman, The Fantastic 4, the people from The Hills Have Eyes, etc) and determine whether their mutations are realistic based on our current knowledge of radioactivity. The students will then create a poster (or other form of presentation, such as a video, slideshow, etc) explaining the differences between the fact and fiction of their choice mutant.

I have included links to the pages involved in the lesson below, including an Achievement Chart.

TeachNuclear also ties into the curriculum of every province. To find specific lessons that are tied to your provinces curriculum and grade, just type into the search bar on the side of the website!

• Lesson Plan
• Intro Quiz
• Poster Assignment
• Poster Rubric / Achievement Chart
• Curriculum Alignment (with Saskatchewan)

aimsweb

Did you know about aimsweb? This is a new program that our school division has just purchased, that I am very excited about using in the future. aimsweb allows teachers to screen students and monitor their progress in math and reading. It can also assess early literacy, reading, early numeracy, mathematics, spelling and writing. The program can be fit to incorporate a variety of different curriculums, which allows it to be used throughout Canada. aimsweb allows teachers to gain a quick snapshot of student abilities, and can verify which students are above grade level, or below grade level- thereby indicating which students may need extra individualized assistance or RTI (response to intervention). This quick assessment can be completed individually (as required for some of the English assessments), whereas others can be completed as a group (such as the math assessment which takes approximately 8 minutes for a full class to complete). Having a resource like aimsweb is an invaluable resource for teachers, particularly at the beginning of the year when teachers are given a new group of students, or if a new student transfers to a school. This resource would allow teachers to have a baseline for starting and guiding their instruction. aimsweb can also be connected with Key Math (a great resource which provides very detailed reports of students’ understanding in mathematics from grades 1-9). Key Math offers detailed lesson plans and guided instruction which can be started from the results of the aimsweb testing. In addition to the universal screening capabilities of the software, it can also help schools create learning and achievement goals, as it can be administered numerous times throughout the year and can be used to track individual student progress and guide instruction/ interventions. For those teachers who struggle with new testing, aimsweb offers ample instructional webinars to help teachers accurately complete the testing and learn how to analyze the results to effectively lead their instruction. Upon asking more questions to my colleagues about the software, I have learned that the webinars can be very lengthy however, and the software must be purchased for a school (i.e. it is not free for everyone to access).

OneNote

I have selected to explore OneNote as a new E-Learning tool. As it offers such a range of uses in the classroom, I have broken my reflection into two categories- benefits for teachers, and benefits for students.

Benefits for Teachers

OneNote allows teachers to easily create organized digital binders of their materials. For instance, teachers can compile all of their lesson plans, assignments, worksheets, quizzes and answer keys in neatly tabbed sections rather than having to keep a hard copy of all of their master copies. Teachers can maintain records of conversations and emails, as OneNote and Outlook can be directly linked together. There are easy search features that allow teachers to find key words and assignments without searching through the entirety of their collection manually. The system also has a clear and easy to follow help screen where teachers can follow the web tutorials to learn how to start their own classroom notebooks. It can be accessed at: http://www.onenoteforteachers.com/

Benefits for Students

Through OneNote, students can access quizzes, handouts, class notes, homework, and any other material from their classes. Rather than printing the material, students can fill it in online (which can help schools become more environmentally friendly). Teachers can access individual student work and provide direct feedback and annotate their work as needed. This works particularly well if teachers have access to a tablet where they can actually handwrite and draw on the assignment to indicate changes or suggestions. Students are then able to adjust and edit their work throughout the writing process, in English for instance, rather than having to wait until they have handed it in to receive feedback. Teachers can monitor student progress and understanding and provide clear and descriptive feedback through the OneNote program which can be accessed through a variety of different technological devices. As students collect their assignments online, they can begin to form a digital portfolio and no longer have to worry about losing their assessments. Teachers can also create individualized and differentiated lessons for students and by providing audio, video and text supports for students to learn from. Likewise, students can submit their work through audio, video or text provided they have the correct technology. This allows students of various needs and abilities to submit work which is reflective of their understanding, rather than solely being expected to submit assignments using the traditional paper and pen format. Students can also collaborate with one another through classroom notebooks, or the teacher can change the settings so that students have an individual workspace. This flexibility allows teachers to assign a variety of different assessments and interactive lessons which can be catered to the needs of the students or class. Finally, teachers can easily email the work to parents/students if they are absent to keep everyone informed.


Here is a great video which explains and clearly illustrates some of the features of the program.

Tools for Blended Learning

Note: With all of these products, teachers should look into the copyright on the materials uploaded, and should ensure that the privacy settings on the programs adhere to classroom and school policies. These three technologies, while beneficial when used correctly, do involve uploading personal content to the internet and as such teachers should fully research their policies before using them.

Schoology:

PROS:

• Parents and students can access the website from any device with internet, so parents can stay informed about student work and key dates. Parents can also see what their students are learning on a daily basis (depending on how frequently the teacher updates the page).
• Teachers can post assignments and notes for all students to access.
• Students and teachers are able to converse through Schoology, and teachers can provide comments/feedback for students. This allows for the option of class discussions.
• Students can use the same platform for multiple courses. They do not have to login to different accounts to view different classes.

CONS:

• It is harder to differentiate lessons for students unless you assign them to separate classes (i.e. you cannot post an assignment just for a group of select students). 
• The system can be harder than others for teachers and students to learn if they are not technologically literate. It can be harder to learn as it is more complicated.
• The basics are free, but if you want a more specialized platform, you will need to purchase it.

Three Ring:

PROS:

• Students can select the evidence which they feel best meets the expectations of the teacher, thereby allowing for differentiation particularly for those students with special needs or abilities. 
• Teachers can provide instantaneous feedback to students from any device. This means that teachers do not need to print off student work (more environmentally friendly). Teachers can also access the student work from any location (which allows them to easily take marking home).
• The software can be used on many different devices.
• Allows students to develop a virtual portfolio of their work.
• It is free!

CONS:

• Requires students/teachers to have a device to upload the material and the app (must have the internet).
• Some reviewers have suggested that the interface is complicated to use, and the settings can be hard to find/change. 
• Hard to organize the files once uploaded. Can be hard to find assignments and assign them to individual students. 
• The system can be hard for teachers and students to learn if they are not technologically literate.

Google Classroom:

PROS:

• Students can submit their work online (more environmentally friendly), and teachers can instantly see who has completed their work.
• Teachers can upload all of their class files so that students can print off notes and assignments, particularly for those who are absent.
• Teachers can also grade student work and provide feedback for individual students. 
• Students can monitor their progress in the course and have access to a calendar with due dates (if set up).
• Students can also have discussions with one another using the stream feature.
• The software is free!

CONS:

• It has been speculated that Google was using student data to target their advertising. (https://scooled.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/using-google-classroom-the-pros-and-cons/)
• Requires students to have a computer (most schools do not have enough computers for each class and student to be using one).
• The system can be harder than others for teachers and students to learn if they are not technologically literate.

Blended Learning

As the world of technology continues to advance, there is a greater emphasis on teachers to incorporate blended learning into their daily routines. That is, they are being encouraged to utilize technology in order to enhance students understanding and optimize learning. As schools purchase more technology, this has made our jobs much easier to incorporate blended learning and I have noticed that students are more attentive when it is used.

In the primary and junior divisions, we have seen a great push towards guided math instruction. In this model, students rotate through a variety of stations (which change daily based on the needs of the students) where students are able to work in small groups to develop their learning by completing tasks with the teacher, individually, or virtually with the help of technology. Using programs such as Mathletics and Mangahigh, the teacher is able to pre-select the assessments, challenges, or learning tasks that the student must complete which allows teachers to differentiate it based on the individual needs of the student. With Mathletics, the teacher is able to monitor how each student progresses through the work (thus allowing the teacher to hold the students accountable for their work), and they can select specific content which aligns with their curriculum (which for most provinces is already in the Mathletics system). My fiancé utilizes this program throughout her guided math lessons, and finds that by using this program, the students are excited to learn about math- particularly those students who have a learning disability, as the material can be changed and catered to meet their needs or to even challenge those students who are more advanced. The program also can read the questions and information aloud to help those students who may not be fluent in the English language.

We have also seen more teachers using Schoology, Blackboard, Edmodo and Google Classroom. A good friend of mine uses Google Classroom throughout her Practical and Applied Arts classes, as well as her middle year’s English classes. Through Google Classroom she is able to provide students with all of their assignments online so that if students are absent, they are able to take the initiative and look at what they have missed from any computer. She also utilizes this program to collect students’ work and provide individual formative feedback. For those students that struggle with writing (whether it is due to a disability or a language barrier), this allows students to utilize assistive devices on the computer as they can upload audio files, pictures, or other file types to demonstrate their understanding of the outcome. Rather than having the students write down their answers every time, she is able to have the students record their conversations and submit their audio files or video, thereby allowing her to differentiate her assessments based on the individual needs of the students.

Three Ring is a new software program which teachers have also started to use to incorporate blended learning into their classes. Three Ring allows for students to capture images or videos of their evidence to show exactly what they’ve learned. The students therefore take the initiative to document their progress, and these files, once uploaded, are sent to the teacher who can provide instantaneous feedback and comment on specific sections of their work. Three Ring helps students to develop their self-reflection skills and can be used with students with language barriers, or those with a disability, as they can choose to select any evidence that they feel best demonstrates their understanding. For a student who may not feel comfortable writing about their understanding, they could instead chose to perform a song or a skit.



It is clear that learning is no longer limited to a paper and pencil. By incorporating any of these programs into a classroom, teachers can help to engage students of all backgrounds and abilities in order to optimize student learning.

9F62 Questions on Course

1. Identify your personal learning goals for this course
   
   I hope to become better at adapting technology within my classroom. I have used a number of different virtual strategies, but I always seem to fall short on performance. I’m hoping with some help through this course, I will be able to achieve something that will benefit myself and my students.
   
2. Identify a specific topic, tool, or pedagogical approach that you want to learn more about
   I’d like to learn more about the flipped classroom and how to get it started. It appears to me like it is something along the lines of: Students watch video at home of how to do the skills; practice skills in classroom instead of teaching it to students; have more time to assess (diagnostic and formative assessment).
   
   The only issue I have is that I can’t seem to get the students into the idea of going home to learn the concepts. Most of my students don’t watch the videos or prepared lessons on their own time. This means I’m re-teaching the material to the majority of the class, which then hinders the point of doing this flipped classroom.
   
3. Identify one educator that has inspired you to take this course
   I don’t believe an individual alone has inspired me to take this course. It is more along the lines that seeing the available technologies out there has inspired me to take this course. I’m very interested in integrating a lot more technology into my classroom than I have ever done before.

The Teachers Role for 21 Century Tools

As a teacher, it is our job to prepare students to be successful and productive citizens. In this day and age, this picture of success looks very different than a century ago. Today students are bombarded with images, videos, televisions, computers, and other forms of technology that have changed the landscape of education. We as educators now must take on a new role of helping students navigate this confusing online world, and teach them new 21st century skills to ensure that they can make informed and safe decisions. No longer do we need to just teach basic facts and terms, as we are learning how important it is for students to also develop critical thinking skills and other 21st century skills needed in the workplace. Our job is to prepare students by ensuring that they have developed an ability to think critically and analyze information both in paper form and through technology. Much like learning how to write the alphabet, students now need to learn how to use technology safely and securely, and understand their role in the real and digital world. Students need to understand how to find information, effectively manage and organize it, and be able to present it using a variety of different formats. In doing so, students will also be expected to understand FAIR use of content. This implies that students recognize the origination of the work that is published online, and give appropriate credit where required. Teachers should work with students to develop an understanding of copyright laws, and ensure that students consistently reflect on origination of their information in order to think critically about the validity and reliability of the piece- thereby applying their 21st century skills. Teachers can also help to promote this understanding by ensuring that their resources are properly documented and modeling proper FAIR use policies. These policies should be discussed and explored with students to help them prepare for their futures- particularly if students are intending to continue their education in a post-secondary institution where students will likely need to understand FAIR use content.

What Is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization which allows people to share their information, pictures, and knowledge using free legal tools and clear copyright licenses. As an individual using CC, you can select what the conditions of the copyright is for each of your documents. This ultimately allows you as the author or artist to ensure that your work is not being claimed or used by someone else or businesses (for profit) without credit, depending on the terms of your copyright. As a teacher, I would recommend this to my students- particularly those who produce music, artwork, or any type of document for publishing online, to ensure that they have ownership over their work. It is also a great resource as it offers free and legal songs, videos and academic works that the public can use. Thus, students can utilize these resources in their classes without having to do additional research the copyright laws on the material, such as the Public Library of Science journals.

Creating Positive Digital Citizens

In order to develop students that are positive digital citizens, I believe it is first imperative that teachers reflect on their own use of social media and their digital footprint. OCT has created an advisory regarding social media and acceptable use which I feel all teachers need to be familiar with. It can be accessed at: http://www.oct.ca/resources/advisories/use-of-electronic-communication-and-social-media

As technology continues to advance, so too does the push to ensure that our students are developing 21st century skills. To help students create a positive footprint, teachers are beginning to work with students from a young age about what is appropriate to post and say online, and what types of websites are safe. Mary Beth Hertz posted an interesting article about how she incorporates digital citizenship skills into her grade two classroom and provides some great links to resources for elementary teachers. It amazes me how much time young children spend using technology, and as a result I believe that we need to teach more of these skills in elementary grades before they’ve fully developed their footprints online.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-citizenship-mary-beth-hertz

I also found some interesting videos that could be used to help explain the concept of digital citizenship to parents, students and staff alike. Each of the short videos offers different statistics, techniques and skills for developing 21st century skills, including videos that discuss copyright issues and protecting privacy online.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-digital-citizenship

Finally, as a teacher it can be sometimes daunting to find a way to incorporate new concepts into an already jam-packed schedule and curriculum. There are a number of resources that have been created as of lately to help teachers integrate lessons about digital citizenship into their plans. This site is organized by lesson topic, grade and resources/tools to help teachers teach about digital citizenship and safety.
http://www.teachinctrl.org/

Teaching Social Media Etiquette in the Classroom

I believe it is important to teach students about proper social networking tools in order to fully prepare and protect them from the multitude of opportunities and dangers associated with the worldwide web. We would never allow students to start as a quarterback without first teaching them the rules about football. The same logic should apply with social media and networking- as this field is even more complex and potentially harmful if students venture out onto the web without any skills or knowledge. Susan Elkin reaffirms these ideas when she wrote an article for The Independent, where she states that it is “much better to guide and teach than to leave vulnerable children and teenagers to find out for themselves without warning them of the potential dangers, pitfalls and problems." As teachers we don’t always need to have a computer or device in order to instruct students about proper social networking etiquette. Simply having a conversation with students about what types of information they should or should not be posting online can be included into any lesson, at any grade level. Students should understand that they should not be posting anything that their teachers, parents or friends would not be comfortable viewing. This type of lesson could easily be discussed in a health class or wellness course, particularly when talking about safety or bullying. Talking about the dangers of social media and the web would also be a good exercise in order to discuss the implications of posting pictures and talking with individuals who they may or may not know online. For instance, when talking with a group of high school students in a law course, teachers could easily explore privacy laws to discuss their applications to social media. If teachers have access to social media and networking tools, they could have students use some of the devices for assignments in order to educate students about the positive tools these sites offer, while also modeling how to positively develop their digital footprint. For instance, by learning how to use Google Docs or online bulletin boards, the teacher can allow students to work in groups and positively share their ideas with one another. Even having the students use Twitter or Pinterest to capture their ideas and post their comments about a class book that they were reading can allow students to learn how to effectively communicate and organize their ideas using 21st century skills. There are also many mock sites that can allow teachers to teach these lessons without actually having students create accounts on public forums, such as Edmodo which allows students to create private educational profiles. By using mock websites, the teacher can better monitor students’ postings and provide immediate feedback if they have control over what is posted. As teachers we are exposed to students’ interests and activities each day, and as a result, I believe it is part of our job to make sure that students are equipped with the skills needed to succeed when they graduate – which includes being able to effectively and safely use 21st century skills and technologies. We must be continuous learners ourselves in order to learn and modify our teaching to reflect new ideologies and technologies, such as social networking and social media.

Digital Footprint - How Much is Too Much?

As a teacher, we have the responsibility to teach our students how to utilize technology in an effective and responsible manner- which includes social media. Students need to learn about privacy on the internet, and how to create a safe digital footprint. With the mass production of new technologies and software programs, students are bombarded with new activities and ideas online and it is our role to help them learn how to utilize these tools in a safe and productive manner. My students are often using “Snapchat” and “Instagram” but I can guarantee that many of them have not actually looked into what happens to these pictures once they are posted, or who truly owns their rights. As their teacher, I feel that it is my duty to set an example of what positive citizenship looks like. In the OCT advisory for the use of electronic communication, they specifically note that “members should maintain a sense of professionalism at all times- in their personal and professional lives” and that “teacher’s off-duty conduct, even when not directly related to students, is relevant to their suitability to teach." Thus, as an educator, I feel it is my job to model what a positive digital footprint looks like. This includes keeping all of my postings and blogs professional, and not posting anything that I wouldn’t be comfortable sharing in front of my students. I believe that teachers should also ensure that they are aware of the privacy settings for all programs which they use, so that they are aware of what information is truly public, and what is able to be shared amongst approved friends or family. As reaffirmed by Chantelle Bradley-Davies in her Edublog “A Learning Life for Me”, “even things shared through mediums like Facebook should never be something you would be embarrassed of if your students saw. There is no guaranteed privacy and we can be leaders in reminding our students of that." In order to keep a professional digital footprint, I think it is important for teachers to explain to their students about the importance of protecting their digital identity and how their identity can influence their futures, and setting a positive example themselves is just the beginning. I believe that teachers should ensure that all communication with students and parents is conducted using appropriate channels, and that students should be made aware of the reasons for this. The OCT advisory confirms that “even the most innocent actions can be easily misconstrued or manipulated. The immediacy and simplicity of a text message, for example, may lead to longer, informal conversations. Rules may relax and informal salutations may replace time-respected forms of professional address." As such, teachers should model what appropriate uses of technology and social media looks like- by keeping their digital footprint professional and utilizing social media in an appropriate manner both in the workplace and at home. I feel that Ms. Bradley-Davies sums it up well when she writes “there is no guaranteed privacy and we can be leaders in reminding our students of that."