Well what a whirl wind of learning this semester. I started off not knowing a whole lot about online learning and did not end the course being an expert but I sure do feel a lot more confident.
Wherever you are on your journey in this masters program best of luck and thanks for being great colleagues.
Bev and I completed our Learning Summary together.
The course I have started to develop is Grade 2 Health and focuses on Healthy Snacks. Being a VP currently I do not have the opportunity to teach but this is the grade level that I love teaching the most. The module can take place in the classroom or at home if the student can not attend. The course prototype requires a lot of pre teaching before the module could be successful with the grade 2 class. In this era of digital learning our students already come with a great knowledge of skills and abilities, sometimes I believe it is definitely more than myself!
Developing Module one w
as definitely very time consuming and caused myself a lot of self doubt as to whether or not it was the appropriate lessons for the students. That in itself is one of the joys of teaching, you are always able to adapt and modify lessons if they are not working.
I found the feedback that we received from our peers during one of our online classes very beneficial and changed my layout of the module to make it easier to follow for younger students. The peer feedback on paper was also very beneficial, not only was it positive but also allowed for some suggestions and questions regarding the module.
Developing module two was a little easier and was met with less self doubt. In Module two I kept the whole lesson together instead of breaking up the activities into septerate sections as per one of the suggestions in my written feedback. I liked this idea for this module as it is a bit shorter than the first one and the students should get through it all in one setting minus creating the poster.
Throughout the modules I used different approaches to allow for learning and student interaction. Some of them are as follows:
Now knowing what I know I wish I had developed something for my staff to participate in during a staff meeting. That will be my next module I create!
Class Code for Google Classroom: bjib46k
Reviewing peers work is a tough job. I found it hard to critique when I am just learning to manipulate and maneuver an online platform.
Thanks to the ladies who reviewed by course prototypes. I enjoyed reading the comments and will comment on some questions that were posed to me in this blog.
Can all the slides flow together in one file?
I did originally have it that way but was suggested from our online sharing format in class that I spilt it up in case the kiddo’s did not complete the whole lesson they may not remember where they left off and I thought that was a great point. I do however agree that the amounts of tabs open in the end was a little excessive.
Background for slides.
The suggestion to upload the content /background as a picture does make a lot of sense so the kiddo’s have less places for them to click. I will try and do this for my next module and see how it works.
Traditional Foods.
I can not believe that I never thought of adding some traditional foods into the lesson. What a great idea!
Screencast Video Could be added with directions.
I totally agree that a screencast could be uploaded with the directions of how to get from one place to another throughout the module especially if a kiddo has to complete the lesson from home. I will try and add that to my second module.
How will you provide feedback for students during the modules?
That is a good question. I would provide feedback either in person or through flipgrid as well.
If students, who are not present, are not keeping up with the assignments how will you connect to get the work done?
If the kiddo is in school I will spend some time with them to help problem solve what is going on and what could be done to help them be successful with the module. If the kiddo is working from home I would make contact with home and see what is going on and what could be done to help their student at home be successful.
What will you do to support those at home if they are not doing their work or showing up to class?
I would make a contact with home and see if there is anything I could do to support the kiddo.
Rationale for Google Classroom over another LMS.
I chose to use google classroom for a couple of reasons even though SeeSaw would have been an easier format for grade 2’s. I have never used Google Classroom so I wanted to explore and play with it. I suppose with any LMS used for younger kiddo’s there would have to be a lot of pre teachings done in order for them to be successful.
Thank you!
I really enjoyed going through the comments and suggestions I had from my two reviewers. So many positive comments were made and great suggestions and questions were posed. I look forward to creating module 2 and adding in some of these suggestions that were given to me!
This week we talked about building an online community and what impacts it could have on learning. Building an online community when all students are not in the classroom can create a feeling of belonging and acceptance.
During Covid, I as a teacher felt a loss of community as well. As the time away from school kept increasing we as a staff were struggling so we developed a
“coffee break time” through an online platform. This was an optional meeting to join but it gave everyone the opportunity to connect and actually see fellow staff members. You don’t realize how much you actually miss the collegiality until it is removed from you due to extenuating circumstances. I believe that one thing that Covid has taught us is the importance of feeling part of a community!
Please click on the link below as it list great ideas to help build community in your online platform.
In my course I will use a few different options but will not be limited to just these. One thing I am learning from this class is that I am continually learning of new and better ways to incorporate ideas into my online unit plan.
Flipgrid
Google Meet
Jam Board
What is Flipgrid???
Review of Flipgrid
Strengths
https://it648whittet.weebly.com/pros-and-cons.html
Weaknesses
https://it648whittet.weebly.com/pros-and-cons.html
Potential for Teachers
Target Audience
Grade 2, aged 6-8, high indigenous population in each grade living on File Hills with poverty related issues. Through Jordan’s Principle and their Nations about 80% of the students have some type of technology they can use at home. The Nations are currently having a SaskTel work with them to provide better internet services. Our students struggle with various amounts of trauma including intergenerational trauma as a result of residential schools that have negatively impacted their learning. Many students struggle with FASD, ADHD, ODD and learning gaps due to poor attendance.
Course Timeline
Classes will be held for 32 minutes three times during a six day cycle. Each lesson is estimated to take two classes but can be adapted or modified to suit the students needs.
Rationale for Design
By providing the students with an opportunity to complete their unit through Google classroom will allow them to participate in class even though they are not physically in the building. Hopefully this easy laid out class will give the students confidence and build their skills in our ever-advancing technology-based learning. Introducing more technology into the classroom may make learning more engaging thus increase the number of outcomes that a student can complete in a year.
The reason for choosing Google Classroom was to increase my knowledge in using the platform. As an administrator many of our teachers in our building use this LMS and I felt the need to understand how it works. Will it be the best choice for Grade 2? I believe it will be comparable as long as I methodically build the course.
Course Delivery
I will use the modality of Blended (Hybrid) which allows for students to attend face to face learning or the opportunity for it to be completed at home. This unit will be presented through the LMS system of Google Classroom. There will be no group instruction for this unit, if the students are physically at school they will log into google classroom and follow the easily laid out structure for the lesson and if they are at home they will complete the lessons from home asynchronously. Students that are in school will receive help individually from teacher when they require help and if the students are at home there will be a set time for students or parents to reach out for help. Many other types of technology will be pulled in through the Google Classroom platform. Some of these may include but are not limited to edpuzzle, google meet, PowerPoint, epic reading, and jam board.
Course Materials
Learning Outcome and Indicators
USC2.2 Determine how healthy snacking practices influence personal health.
a. Develop a common understanding and use of respectful language used to talk about snacking (e.g., diet, food, preferences, likes/ dislikes, energy, healthy/unhealthy, sugar, portions).
b. Investigate the role food and water play in being healthy (e.g., food – energy; vitamins – growth; water – 2/3 of one’s body composition, regulates body temperature, eliminates waste).
c. Discuss how to determine if a snack is healthy/unhealthy (e.g., reflect on what is known, gather information).
d. Examine, sample, and describe (i.e., taste, look, smell, feel, sound) a variety of healthy snacks.
e. Investigate benefits of healthy snacking (including but not limited to growth and development, increased concentration, healthy weight, improved oral health).
f. Illustrate how healthy snacking provides sustained energy throughout the day.
g. Examine why people choose particular snacks (e.g., culture, cost, preference, availability, media).
h. Recognize a variety of snacking patterns (e.g., three meals/day with a few snacks, times of day/night for snacking).
i. Examine personal preferences for snacking (e.g., class survey).
Guiding Questions/ Unit Lessons
Special Considerations
Attendance
Students that miss class can go on google classroom and catch up on the work asynchronously (before launching this blended learning unit to the students there will be many opportunities for students to familiarize themselves with the use of google classroom). Students will be required to complete each lesson and have an opportunity to meet with the teacher once daily if they have questions via chat through google classroom.
Assessment/Assessment Strategies
There will be many opportunities for students to be assessed. Some options they will have are completing the assignments online, a paper copy of the assignment, conversation with teacher either face to face/online or even submitting a video of their work. Students will also be assessed on the I can statements that will be represented within the assignments.
Assignments
There will be an assignment for each lesson that students will have to complete. If they can not complete the assignment online paper copies will be made available depending in the situation. There will be both summative and formative types of assignments that will be used towards assessment.
Communication Communication will be sent home through Google classroom, along with EDSBY and phone calls home before the unit starts to communicate the new learning tool.
HyFlex provides students the opportunity to attend fully online, fully face-to-face, or somewhere on the spectrum between the two environments depending on personal choice or need. HyFlex is a version of the hybrid model with flexible participation. Asynchronous attendance is participating at a different time while synchronous is participating at the same time.
Pros for Hyflex Learning from a Student Perspective:
*Students are able to customize their education to fit their needs, whether they need a more hands-on, in-person approach or thrive in an asynchronous online environment where they work more independently.
*High anxiety students have the option to stay home and lesson the stressors that school may bring on for them
*Teachers may see an increase in students participation levels due to the different avenues for sharing their thoughts and ideas
*During a pandemic students can continue to learn in a safe environment if they do not feel comfortable attending face to face learning
Cons for Hyflex Learning from a students perspective:
*May see an increase in student disengagement
*Students are missing out on social interactions
*May increase their feelings of isolation
*Lack of proper technology
*Lack of intrinsic motivation to engage and complete the learning
*Some students would not have the supports at home to help them
From the perspective of an administrator of a vulnerable school where the majority of our students are scoring at least 7 out 10 on the ACE’s questionnaire (Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire) this model of learning would not be beneficial to our students. Our students need to make connections with people outside of their homes. Some of our families struggle to put food on the table, how are they suppose to afford the technology to support this model? Our students in our school come to feel supported, loved, fed, clothed and supported through crisis’. In some situations we are their escape from their reality.
I believe this model will stick around and become more popular with some students, but I struggle with this becoming the be all end all model for teaching. So many students need the day to day interactions and positive connections that face to face learning enables.
For more information about ACE’s please see below.
https://www.albertafamilywellness.org/assets/Resources/CAAMHPP-ACE-TIC-Resource-Guide-Nov-2016.pdf
Hello folks. I currently in my 20th year of teaching and have been the VP of Balcarres Community School for the last 4 years. I live on a farm with our three girls and wonderful husband. This is my 5th class in my EDL Masters Program!
Three things I hope to take away from this class are:
1. Learn about all the numerous platform based teaching tools that widely used for teaching.
2. To have the opportunity to push myself to interact with different types of social media.
3. To feel more proficient in in blended and online learning opportunities.
