Jordan Schutz's E-Portfolio

Opening Reflection

This week in class, we were very fortunate to have guest speaker, Alan Levine, director of the Community for Open Education Global, present to all of us. He was very knowledgeable and dove into some great topics such as licensing, copyrights, and how “open” really works in education. Listening to him made me reflect on how all of this plays out in my own Grade 6/7 classroom, especially when I am using or creating resources that I want to share or sell.

In tonight’s class with Alan, we also discussed something that I was aware of it, but many others weren’t. According to the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation, any material that a teacher creates as part of their job is legally owned by the school division, not necessarily that specific teacher. This means if you create something in your classroom and then later on try to sell it on Teachers Pay Teacher (TPT), that technically could run into legal complications.

Teachers Pay Teacher & The Culture of Sharing

I do admit to often using Teachers Pay Teachers for certain worksheets, units, or classroom posters. It is so great to find something ready-made and ready-to-go, especially when it is made by a Saskatchewan teacher, and besides, why reinvent the wheel when we don’t need to? But when you buy a resource there, you usually see a big copyright notice that states that you can’t redistribute it, modify it for others, or share it freely. That’s the tension right there, a paid resource but with very strict restrictions.

Alan Levine’s talk reminded me that open education tries to flip that model: create and share resources with permission built in using open licenses so that others are able to reuse, remix and adapt the resources. To me, that is all about the culture of sharing. But I personally use both. I will buy things sporadically on TPT and sometimes I will find or build my own open-licensed resources.

STF, Ownership & What That Means

I did some digging and found some important legal information that I found as per our discussion in class tonight:

• The STF’s “Intellectual Property and You” document states that materials you create during normal school duties may technically be owned by your school division
• The document basically explains how your regular work (even off hours, if it is a part of your job), can fall under your employment scope meaning the school division could claim ownership
• The STF resource is meant to spark conversation and awareness (I know that teacher professional autonomy was discussed during bargaining last go around… so maybe this will change soon?)

Although I often make purchases from TPT, I am still hesitant to sell my own resources and products. Like if I make something really cool am I allowed to share it, sell it, or license it free?

Open Education vs Copyright Boundaries

Alan Levine’s talk and the STF documents gave me some perspective on how “open” works and why it matters:

Pros of Open Education/Open Licensing

• Resources can be shared freely
• Fewer barriers for teachers
• Encourages collaboration and keeps learning resources evolving (similar to what Alan was saying about Wikipedia)

Challenges

• How do we ensure the quality and reliability of resources?
• Open resources may not match your curriculum exactly (would need to adapt)
• Legal constraints (like division ownership)

What This Means for Me (and my 6/7 class)

• I am now more cautious when purchasing and using stuff from TPT
• When I create new worksheets or resources, I may check with my school division to release them as a Creative Common license
• If I ever see a resource I made shared elsewhere without permission, I know that all the legal stuff is complicated
• I will try to model open sharing in safe ways
• I need to teach my students more about copyright issues!!

Final Thoughts

Open education has huge potential to shift how we teach and share different resources. But at the same time, it is not just as simple as just saying “share everything” and we need to all understand ownership and licensing in our local context. Hearing Alan’s insights and comparing them with the STF policies has really opened my eyes to open education and all of this. Moving forward, I want to walk the line and use, create and share resources while also being cautious and aware of respect legal and professional boundaries.

I would love to hear from my fellow educators: How do you navigate using TPT vs open-licensed materials? 

Discovering CK-12

After discovering and learning about various open educational resources (OER’s) this past week in EC&I 831 class, I decided to dive deeper into learning more about one of the most popular platforms, CK-12.

Right away, what stood out to me was how visually appealing and easy to navigate it is. You are able to search by grade, subject, or even specific concepts, and everything is organized in a way that feels easy enough to use, even if you are just browsing for ideas. This platform is full of free digital textbooks, interactive lessons, study guides and even short videos.

CK-12 is a non-profit platform that is generously funded by the Amar Foundation, and by Vinod and Neeru Khosla, who have a profound belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn.

The Good Stuff: What CK-12 Does Well

Even though it’s mostly American-based, CK-12 still has a ton of useful content that we as Canadian teachers can borrow from or use in our classrooms. The fact that you can edit, rewrite, or remix lessons means that it’s flexible enough to match any curriculum.

Expanding what some of my classmates and I noted when we discovered it together include:

• It’s up to date and can easily be modified to include local examples
• Perfect for supplementary resources, homeschooling, or substitute plans in a pinch
• Great for independent or split-class learning (you can assign lessons, track progress, etc.)
• The built-in “Ask Flexi” AI tutor is a neat feature (it can answer questions, explain tricky topics, and help students)
• It can be used as an interactive textbook (where students can read, watch and respond)

For my own Grade 6/7 classroom, I can definitely see myself trying to use and implement CK-12 for independent learning opportunities or even as a quick resource when needed.

The Not-So-Perfect Parts

When taking another good look at CK-12, I noticed that some of the language and reading levels were a bit too high for Grade 6 students, and a few of the interactive features glitched.

I’m also curious as to how reliable the content is? I would like to dive deeper and learn more about where they pull and get their information and content from.

At the end of the day, CK-12 is still somewhat similar to any given textbook, just in digital form, however it is customizable and free, which already puts it still further ahead of many other options.

Final Thoughts

Even with a couple of small minor flaws, CK-12 has a huge potential for teachers, especially those who like having flexible, ready-to-go resources that can be tweaked to fit individual student needs.

I do plan to test it out in my Grade 6/7 classroom soon, probably during my split science or math classes, and see how it works for differentiation and self-guided learning. I can see myself using it for reviewing or reinforcing concepts, extra practice or else extension work for early finishers. For any teachers looking for reliable, ready to use free resources, CK-12 is definitely a great option.

Exploring CK-12 reminded me how exciting (and overwhelming) digital learning can be. Free resources such as this gives teachers new ways to connect, create and customize learning. Even if it doesn’t align with our Saskatchewan curriculum perfectly, it is still a great option overall. Who knows, maybe we will even have a Canadian CK-12 in the coming years!

(A 6/7 Teacher’s Take on Digital Culture & Learning)

Life in a Digital Classroom

As we are all aware, the digital world is constantly changing and I feel as though I am always trying to keep up with the next trend or meme. As a younger middle years teacher, you think it would be easy for me to keep up with these kinds of things, but nope. To this day, I still do not understand the whole “67” meme”. Let me tell you, it is NOT the year to have a 6/7 split homeroom classroom… Between TikTok trends, AI, memes, and everything in between, today’s students are growing up in a world where information moves faster than ever before. As a 6/7 teacher, I see firsthand how connected my students are to this digital culture.

Honestly, I don’t use AI or digital tools with my students every day. But I recently tried something new in my ELA class, and it was a hit! We were reading “Ungifted” by Gordon Korman, and I asked students to design their own unique robot. They used descriptive writing to explain their robot’s features, then used ChatGPT to turn their drawings into realistic AI-generated photos. The students were blown away seeing their creations come to life. It made writing so much more meaningful (and honestly, so much more fun). Other than that, I mainly use AI for my own planning and creative ideas, but this experience reminded me how powerful digital tools can be when used intentionally.

Memes as Modern Meaning-Makers

Let’s be real- memes are their own language now. My students use them to communicate emotions, opinions, and even sarcasm in ways words alone can’t. Instead of trying to stop or fight against them, I think we as teachers can bring memes into the classroom to connect with how kids already think and share ideas.

For example, I used memes throughout one of my class read-aloud novels last year, “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” By: James Patterson. Instead of giving students the traditional handout chapter comprehension questions, I had them make 2-3 relevant memes each week that would summarize a moment from what I had read aloud to represent the chapters I would have read. The kids loved it!

But memes can also open up deeper conversations. Although most memes are funny, not every meme is harmless or even accurate as some can spread misinformation. Having students critically analyze memes could help them think about why something is funny, who it’s for, and what message it really sends.

Coming back to the whole “6-7” meme that I mentioned earlier, I recently saw on Facebook a teacher who had posted a “Six Seven” student assignment. I think it is hilarious and the perfect blend of meme culture and classroom creativity. Students are asked to write exactly 67 words in 6-7 minutes about what the meme “six seven” even means. I need to try this with my students right away! It’s short, funny, and completely shareable, just like a meme. What’s great about it is how it turns a social media trend into a learning opportunity that focuses on creativity and participation. It’s a great example of how something viral can become an engaging writing challenge that fits right into today’s digital culture.

Remix Culture: Students Become Creators

Social media platforms such as Tik Tok and YouTube have completely changed how young people learn. Students aren’t just consuming information anymore, they are mixing it, recreating it, and are sharing their own versions of it. From our EC&I 831 course lecture the other evening, I learned that this is called participatory culture, the idea that everyone can be a contributor, not just a learner. Some teachers really embrace this and use this as part of their teaching style and instructional practices, while other teachers want nothing to do with it. I could have students become creators in my very own classroom such as after a science lesson, my students could create a short video explaining vertebrates and invertebrates using a trending TikTok sound, or make a funny “before and after” meme of what happens when an ecosystem loses a species. Projects like this give students ownership and let them show their understanding of concepts and ideas in creative ways. As Henry Jenkins explains, “Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from individual expression to community involvement” (Jenkins et al., 2009, xiii). As teachers, we can teach students how to use digital tools safely and responsibly.

Teaching in the digital age can definitely be both exciting and overwhelming. But at the end of the day, our students are growing up in this world, and not outside of it. Whether it’s through memes, remix projects, or digital storytelling, our goal isn’t to keep up with every trend, but rather it’s to help students learn how to think, question, and create in the world we all live in.

To end things off, I wanted to share this video where Henry Jenkins explains participatory culture. It really helped me think about how students can move from just consuming content to making meaning with it.

Note: I used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to brainstorm heading ideas for this post and to learn more about Henry Jenkins work on “Participatory Culture”.  All final writing, reflections, and examples are my own.

References:

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robison, A. J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. The MIT Press.

Jenkins, H. (2013, May 7). Participatory culture [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gPm-c1wRsQ

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

Thank you for reading!

-Mr. Jordan Schutz (The 6/7 Teacher)

Last year in August, our Government of Saskatchewan introduced a policy on new provincial measures to limit cell phones in Saskatchewan’s K-12 classrooms. It indicates that for Grades 9-12, there are exemptions for when phones are needed for specific learning or instructional purposes, as well as for students who need devices for medical or learning reasons.

I work in a rural K-12 school out in Vibank, and I have to say, having all grades under one roof makes this policy even more complex than it already was. At the beginning of last school year, we spent a lot of start up meetings talking about what “no cell phones in class” actually means and looks like. Our teaching staff was completely split: Do we physically take the student’s phones and lock them in buckets? Do we just ask students to keep it out of sight and store in their bags or in their lockers? What if a students refuses to hand it over? What about apple watches? It was a complex issue that impacts overall student behavior, safety, and how smoothly things are ran, and we only had a few short meetings to get it figured out before the student’s first day of school. Because the policy left many of the actual implementation details up to individual school divisions and then eventually up to individual schools, it felt like everyone was making up rules as we go. For my grade 6 students last year, it was zero tolerance and no phones at all. High school students were allowed their cell phones during breaks and lunch time. This year, with a current 6/7 homeroom split, unfortunately the rules are different for each grade. The grade 6’s still have zero tolerance, but my grade 7’s are allowed to use their cell phones at lunch recess if they decide to go to the library as they can’t have them outside during elementary outdoor recess. It is honestly messy and can be very confusing for students, staff and families. Here in our school’s student handbook, you can find more information regarding our school cell phone policy.

From a teacher’s perspective, one huge benefit is that there are significantly fewer distractions in class which seems to be helping with overall student focus and a more productive learning environment. With this policy, students are more likely to pay attention as there are fewer disruptions. I think from a student perspective, some students might appreciate the break from their busy lives and cell phones, but I know for a fact many others miss and “can’t live without them”. From a parent perspective, I am sure they are somewhere in the middle regarding this policy. I feel as though many parents and guardians support the policy as it allows their child to concentrate and do well in school; however other parents see it as a safety concern as it makes it more challenging to contact their student. In all of this, school-based administrators have the most difficult job of balancing fairness, enforcing the policy and individual school rules, communicating with families, as well as dealing with any student’s defiant behavior.

Aside from our province of Saskatchewan, several other provinces and territories in Canada have done similar things and implemented similar policies. For example, many school boards in Ontario have had phone bans or restrictions in classrooms before we did. Ontario’s cellphone policy, seems to be very similar to the policy our Government of Saskatchewan put in place last August. Many other provinces in our country also have policies in place regarding student cell phone use in classrooms. A study and article shows negative associations between how overusing smartphones affects ones attention span and overall well-being. That being said, for a policy such as our SK school and cell phone restriction one, needs to have very clear guidelines and needs to include prior perspectives from all affecting stakeholders. Without that happening, policies can create confusion and unfairness. Overall, I would say our particular K-12 rural school has come a long way since last August when this policy was released by the government, however there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that the policy is fair and consistent for all stakeholders.

“We expect more from technology and less from each other.”

This quote related to technology and social media today really stood out to me as I agree with this statement in saying that in today’s day and age, more and more people of all generations are starting to rely on technology more than ever, while starting to lose the connection and relationship with others in person.

Social media is something that I never had to “learn”, rather it has been something I grew up with. Being born in 1998 (the same year Google was invented), I have spent most of my life learning and consuming the new and upcoming social media platforms. Growing up in the early 2000’s, I became familiar with and used several social media apps such as MSN Messenger, Vine, Skype, Snapchat, Facebook, Vsco, Instagram, Twitter (now “X“), and so many more. It was almost a trend, that as soon as you and your friends got familiar with a certain social media app, a new one was released that you needed to get on and be using in order to be “cool” and “trendy”. Regardless, each of these apps gave me several moments of laughter, tears, connection with friends and family, and an overall sense of community and belonging.

As I begin to reflect on social media and technology today, I can’t help but wonder and worry about how consumed everyone is becoming, as well as start to think and look at the benefits, risks, and controversies. As a middle year’s teacher, in the recent years, I have noticed student’s attention spans becoming shorter and shorter, most likely from social media apps such as scrolling through the quick videos on Tik Tok. However, an application such as Tik Tok, can also be a positive platform with many benefits, such as entertaining content, connecting people and cultures from all around the world, as well as for educational purposes. Personally, I have used Tik Tok for travel advice and tips before planning trips, keeping up with news events around the world, coming up with creative ways to teach lessons, as well as trying new food recipes.

Additionally, I have also started to think about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in connection with social media and technology. AI has really started to play a prominent role in schools lately, with many of our back to school professional development sessions including conversations and seminars on how to navigate AI in our schools, how to use in our own classrooms and teaching practices, as well as student use. Similar to social media apps, AI is quickly becoming a part of everyone’s day to day life, whether we are ready for it or not. On one hand, AI has the potential to support learning and help teacher’s save time with planning purposes, however on the other hand, there are risks of people relying too much on AI and people to start not thinking for themselves.

Overall, social media has been a huge part of my life and teaching journey that brings several positives and drawbacks. Although it has given me creative ways to learn, share, and connect, it has also created new concerns for all users. As technology and AI continues to grow and develop, I think it is crucial to continue to keep reflecting on how these platforms and tools shape our personal and professional lives. I look forward to continuing this conversation on social media in our EC&I831 course this term!