If you have read any of my other posts or been in classes with me you might have heard me say “teaching is a career that is ever changing”. This is what I believe is a very important part of teaching because our world is ever changing so for a person to be a successful teacher they must be open to the changes and the teachings that come along with them.

Through elementary and high school we never learnt about what digital citizenship was or even heard of it. In my later years in school we have touched on the topic and maybe been shown a video or two on how the online world can be dangerous but as a kid you brush those things off your shoulder and never think back to it.

The document Digital Citizenship Continuum from Kindergarten to Grade 12 is a great resource to have in a teachers back pocket to check in and see what a that grade level should be able to comprehend and learn about digital citizenship using it as a way of cross curricular outcome’s and using technology in the classroom.

I think a new challenge we might face as future teachers is that even in our elementary schools we have students with phones and social media. students coming into kindergarten most likely understand how to navigate a phone or iPad on their own so instead of teaching how to use technology it will be more focused on the proper and safe way to use it.

In Wesch’s lecture they show how before it was very uncomfortable talking into a camera and felt vulnerable in that space. I think now people are more comfortable talking to their phones and a camera than they are if someone was standing right in front of them. This has an impact on today’s generation both in and outside of school.

When you talk into a waiting room the majority of people are going to be staring at their phones instead of having a conversation. Students today would prefer to do a presentation or project via online or over zoom then talk in person in front of their classmates. I think their are many grate resources online to do a school project and different

I am not someone who believes everyone needs to be comfortable public speaking as I am not a fan myself but being able to carry and communicate face to face with a stranger is still a very important part of our lives.

For this blog prompt I chose the app ClassDojo. This app helps teachers keep in touch with families, students engagement, provides fun activities and learning games and has a fun way of keeping track of class or student points.

 

Here is a little video of me exploring ClassDojo for the first time. I loved the point system through this app because not only can you give class points you can also reward groups or individual students. I really enjoyed the different points you can reward and make your own so you can see what the students were rewarded for!

I found the scheduling piece a great way to communicate and remind students and guardians what is happening within the classroom and school.

Somethings I think ClassDojo could improve on would be the quality of the Dojo island as I found it very hard to see clearly and figure out the island. I think more detailed instructions for each game and possibly voice over of the demo videos could be best for all types of learners.

Overall I think this would be a great tool for my future classroom. I would love to play around with it a bit more and do a deep dive into what it is capable of!

In my everyday life the apps I use most would consist of YouTube, Spotify, Snapchat, Audible and Finch. The first 3 I would say I use mostly for leisure and entertainment as for audible I use for my own hobby as well as academic help since I do have a learning disability whenever I can I try and listen to everything I am required to read. Finch is an app that combines entertainment and productivity into one. I have been using it for 127 days now and it helps keep me accountable and motivated to do the everyday tasks I dread doing. Finch keeps me motivated because of the little penguin you get to help reach goals, Mine is named Pebble. She asks me to complete tasks and when I do I can check them off to earn energy, once you reach 35 energy points I can send her on an adventure. Once she is back from her adventure she will share what she found and this will help her develop her personality traits. Another fun feature is that you can earn money to buy furniture, clothing, and different colours for your penguin. I think I enjoy this so much because I was a fan of Webkinz as a kid so now I have a helpful app that also adds fun.

Another app I use mainly during the school semester is google keep. It acts like a sticky note for me of what assignments and tasks I need to do for each class and is accessible on my phone, iPad, and computer which is helpful to keep organized.

 

I think the number of distractions for me is my notifications. When I am doing something, for example writing this blog I find myself glancing at my phone each time it buzzes or lights up. I think now that I am aware of this I could use the focus feature on the iPhone to help me focus on the task at hand. I also know I do work better with music, videos, or a movie playing for some odd reason but I have noted it is best for me to play something I have already watched or heard before so that I don’t get caught up watching the screen instead of doing my task.

I struggle greatly with balancing my screen time for personal and academic use. I think this is just because I am a procrastinator so when I tell myself to get on my iPad and do some work it often leads to telling myself I can watch a 10 minute video before I start. What I have been doing this semester as of last week is using my boyfriend’s physical laptop to do my work as I open it. It has my blog and UR courses pulled up and not any distracting apps to tempt me instead!

Hi everyone!

My name is Harlieanne but most people call me Harli. I am a 22 year old student at the University of Regina in the Faculty of Education taking the secondary education program. My major is Physical education and I minor in Mathematics, most people are shocked at that combination of classes but both are my passion. I have one more year before I graduate which includes my full time internship starting in the fall which I am looking forward to as I had such an amazing time doing my 3 week block.

I am originally from Moose Jaw but moved to Regina when I started post secondary. I just recently moved again for the summer to Moosomin and got my placement at the high school.

I am from a family of 4 which includes my mom, dad, sister and me but I also have (what I refer to as) bonus brothers. My family has billeted for the Moose Jaw Warriors for around 10 years now and for those who are not familiar with what that is my family basically takes in hockey players from all over Canada and some out of country players and they live at our house during their season. While doing this over the years we have made some really close connections with the family’s we billet and had them return for many seasons which only makes them feel more like part of our family. Even if they get traded teams or age out we still have strong connections with our past billets and their families.

 

Another part of my family is my two kittens! I have a Black Siamese cat which we believe is around 10 years old named Mummzy and a long haired Orange Tabby named O’Malley who will be turning 2 this summer. They are my babies and I couldn’t make it through a week without them by my side.

 

Some of my hobbies include rec volleyball, rec cheerleading, and reading. Reading is a new passion of mine I picked up this past summer. I actually told myself I hated reading as I am Dyslexic and have always struggled and been embarrassed that it did not come easy for me. I picked up my first book called How to Solve Your Own Murder and I was hooked. Although I do listen to the audio book to help my brain understand more toughly I must have a physical book in my hand in order to focus and follow along. some of my other favorite books include Verity and A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I plan to start the Throne of Glass series this summer but during school I have been enjoying reading stand alone books in my spare time.

I have always loved both volleyball and cheer and did it as my main sports growing up but once I reached my late high school years I began to move away from activities and focused on work after school. This year I joined a rec volleyball team through the university which a bunch of my close friends and classmates. We originally created a team as a joke and for fun not realizing we would actually make it to the finals. We went into 3 sets in the final game and ended us getting first place in the rec volleyball league. As for cheerleading my friend is a coach at a club and they had an adult rec team she convinced me to join. this was also just for fun and to be active but we did preform at a showcase event towards the end of the season.

   

I was so happy to get my body moving again which also lead me to want to try something new like golf! My boyfriend is a big golfer in the off season of hockey and he has always tried to encourage me to try it out but one this about me is I am a very big poor sport. If I am not immediately good at something I will refused to do it. I have golfed before in school during one of our PhyEd classes and I didn’t hit the ball once. This past summer my best friend convinced me to give it another go with her at the lake, so I did. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed myself even though I’m not perfect at it. That is a little bit of the back story behind why I chose this new skill to learn and blog about as I want to learn more and this is the perfect opportunity to do so!