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“Teacher, help! Who am I?”

“Teacher, help! Who am I?”

Debate 7 – Educators and schools have a responsibility to help their students develop a digital footprint. (Just a quick heads up – I went a bit off the rails with this one into some borderline philosophical territory. Happy reading if you wish to continue (: ) [Quick nod to the debaters for topic 7. You did a masterful job!] It’s no question that technology and the internet have become central and integral to our lives. As stated in the…

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A blessing or a curse? Cell phones in today’s classrooms

A blessing or a curse? Cell phones in today’s classrooms

Debate #6 – Cell phones should be banned in the classroom. This topic is an especially difficult one for me. In the pre-vote, I easily chose “disagree”, but upon reflection, there have been a number of times in my teaching career so far where I have said “OKAY CELL PHONES AWAY EVERYONE I DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM AT ALL FOR ANY REASON ANYMORE” or something along those lines. Granted, this usually happens in moments of erupting frustration around some…

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TikTok TikTok… Childhood is running out

TikTok TikTok… Childhood is running out

This week’s debate (1 of 2): Social media is RUINING childhood. As pointed out during the debate a couple of times, ruining is certainly a strong word. It is also interesting thinking about childhood and the biases each new generation holds regarding what makes a “great childhood”; each age group seems to have had it better than the one that succeeded them for various reasons, one being the digitalization of society. A common outlook is viewing today’s children as missing…

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Debate #3 – I love multiplication facts…but it’s not all about me

Debate #3 – I love multiplication facts…but it’s not all about me

“I am not asking for the complete removal of all these strategies, but merely a re-balance, a refocus, a re-emphasis on the importance of acquiring and mastering basic math skills.” The above quote is from Nhung Tran-Davies, a parent concerned about the lack of basic math skill teaching in his daughter’s Alberta school (full article here). Granted, this article is from 2014, and aptly stated by our professor, anything published related to education and/or technology beyond 7 years or so…

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Debate #1 – Technology in the classroom enhances learning

Debate #1 – Technology in the classroom enhances learning

The pre-vote for this topic took me about 1.5 seconds. I was 100% team agree. After listening to Nicole and Daryl defend their argument from the disagree viewpoint, however, I definitely questioned my rigid beliefs on this topic. I thought more about what the word “enhances” means. Naturally (at least to me), this led me to a few dictionary definitions of the word. Merriam-Webster defines it as to increase or improve in value, quality, desirability, or attractiveness. Dictionary.com defines it…

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