A Co-(Ad)Venture

- Chris Busby 6 Comments

I have often been the guy that has marveled at how others use technology in their classroom. Always watching from the fringes with trepidation and a lack of confidence that I did not have the skills, imagination, or creativity to incorporate it into my own teaching. Well, I still lack the confidence, I don’t have the skills (yet!), I don’t have enough imagination to even bring myself to watch Star Wars (no I have never seen any of them!), and my creativity is questionable at the best of times. But the time has come….to dive in head first….and hope it turns out a little better than this:

fat diving GIF

The last year of pandemic learning has brought educators many challenges, but has also allowed us to explore new horizons. It has opened our eyes to new ways of learning and creating connections. Technology in education is here to stay.

Online learning was difficult for teachers and students because of the lost face to face relationships. There is no doubt that teachers want our students in the building (particularly in an elementary setting where I teach), and a huge majority of students and parents feel the same way. Teaching and learning just aren’t the same when comparing being in the same room vs. being on a computer screen. But what if we explore the connections that can be made in a virtual setting? Can students form connections with other students they haven’t met before? Can students teach and learn from each other via online platforms? If viewed through a different lens, can we turn the potential positives of technology into valuable personal and educational experiences? This is exactly what @Farris0120 and I are seeking to discover.

Using my Grade 3/4 and her Grade 4 Health classrooms, we are setting out to make some personal connections while also learning some valuable social media and technology skills. While our ideas are fluid and will evolve as our project progresses, below is a summary of our plans so far:

Purpose: To explore the use of technology and social media to teach each other and establish connections between students in different schools in a common school community. Students will develop skills that enable them to understand the positive power of social media and technology as a personal and educational tool, that can foster relationships and friendships via asynchronous and synchronous communication.  We will use ‘real time’ communication on Microsoft Teams as well as personal video logs via Flipgrid, as a way of sharing with each other, teaching, and responding to peers, including the following –

*Virtual Teams meetings between classrooms.

*Student Teaching and Responding to Blog Posts – both written and recorded video

*Classes/Individuals will teach a lesson/share information.

*Analysis of the effectiveness of both written and oral communication, via technology.

Curricular Ties

– Health 3.2 Inner Self

– Health 3.4 Families

– Health 4.3 Relationships

Our ultimate goal is to teach children that open communication via technology can foster relationships beyond the digital world and can be a valuable learning tool.  Presenting social media and open communication in a positive way can affect how students will view and use technology in the future and potentially trigger the desire to create and maintain a healthy digital footprint.  While students will be learning about digital tools and communication they will be teaching their peers, albeit virtually, and sharing ideas that they can relate to, understand, and learn.

As this is my first venture into this world, I am both excited and nervous. I am excited to learn and hope our students can learn as much as I know I will.

Social Media: Good? Bad? Both?

- Chris Busby 4 Comments

am·biv·a·lent:

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

When describing my relationship with social media, I can’t think of a better word than ambivalent.  While I value the many positive and neat ways it can be used to communicate, learn, and educate, I can’t seem to ignore the negative aspects and the way it has changed our lives and world.

My activity on social media is also somewhat ambivalent.  While I browse Twitter and facebook daily, I have not posted on facebook in at least ten years and have sent one tweet in my life.  I appreciate the opportunity to follow what friends and family are up to and enjoy following sites and accounts that interest me.  However, I don’t feel the need to post details about my own life.  I value my privacy (and don’t feel that I’m exciting enough for others to want to follow!).

I see social media and technology being used in so many great ways in educational settings.  The access to information that kids have at their fingertips is something I longed for in my elementary school days.  There is no doubt that many sites and platforms offer great learning opportunities for all different types of learners.  I am hoping this class can kickstart my personal motivation to learn and implement more technology into my own teaching.  Working with an EC&I 831 classmate, we have plans for a project that will allow our kids to interact and learn using digital platforms such as Seesaw and blogging sites.

I sometime wrestle with technology’s place in education.  The world is heading in a direction where these skills are becoming increasingly necessary, but are they coming at the cost of basic skills?  Where is the balance between learning to read/hand write/develop basic math skills, and relying on technology to do it instead?  Are we becoming too reliant on technology just because it can help, or are we allowing students to experience success they may not have achieved otherwise?  Lots of questions, lots of great answers on both sides of the argument.

My two largest grievances with technology and social media are how we have allowed it to take over our lives and how it has allowed for the spread of misinformation.  I am guilty of being attached to my phone.  I feel naked without it and must force myself to put it away.  Even when I do I find myself wanting to check it to see if I have received any texts, emails, or sports alerts.  I need to do a better job of setting it aside and being more present in other parts of life.  As for misinformation, look at the situation we find our world in right now.  We are so divided.  Social media, technology, and the spread of misinformation bears a lot of this blame.  I tell my students all the time that they need to think for themselves.  Look at issues from all sides, check the facts, then decide on what you believe.  Unfortunately, too many adults in our world can’t do this and set a bad example for kids.