Miss G's Blog

My Education Journey

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EdTech Blog Post #6: Let’s Jam With Google Jamboard

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On March 17, 2020

In Group EdTech Inquiry

Hello everyone! We are coming at you with one of our final EdTech Inquiry blog posts. Today’s topic is how to “unleash your creativity” with Google Jamboard. First, we will be describing and outlining the technology and then we will move on to discuss it’s pros and cons before showing a video of the technology in use. 

Google Jamboard is described as a way to “visualize your ideas in a new and collaborative way.” It is a way to “sketch your ideas whiteboard-style while benefiting from the access and connectivity of an interactive canvas.” This platform allows for images to be dropped, notes to be added, and it grants access to assets from all around the web. It is a portable 55-inch, 4k display screen that can move around an office or school with a “purpose-built portable stand and single-cable setup.” It comes with a passive stylus and eraser that do not require pairing so it cannot run out of batteries. 

Co-authoring can occur both in the same room or across the world using a physical Jamboard or even the Jamboard app. 

Pros:

  • Jamboard supports up to 16 touchpoints at once on a single device – lots of kids can use it at once
  • Unlike a SMARTboard, it is mobile and can move from class to class if a school can only afford one Jamboard
  • Work from google docs/sheets/slides/photos can be inputted into a jam

Cons:

  • Jamboard is quite costly: Jamboard starts at CAD $6,949 (includes 1 Jamboard display, 2 styluses, 1 eraser, and 1 wall mount) plus a CAD $820 annual management and support fee. However, G Suite for Education customers are eligible to purchase a Jamboard with a one-time management and support fee payment of CAD $820. There is no recurring annual fee. Email jamboard-sales@google.com or contact your reseller.
  • It might be unnecessary – you could just use a whiteboard and google docs to collaborate in class

Let us know what you think about Google Jamboard and if you think it is an effective tool for collaborative, inquiry-based education. Is it a tool just for offices/business or do you think it could transfer over to education as well?

– Sarah, Lauren B, Heather

Zoom, Group Presentations, & Twine

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On March 17, 2020

In EdTech

Hey everyone! This is my second to last edtech blog post for the semester. Just to update everyone on the current situation, Covid-19 is actively spreading and all of our classes have been moved online for the remainder of the semester. This is a difficult time for everyone and I hope everyone is doing their part to work towards social distancing and slowing the spread of Covid-19. 

During today’s class, we had the opportunity to use “Zoom”, a video program that allows group video conference calls. Overall, I thought the program was super cool and a great resource to use. However, I do have some concerns regarding the program. I personally had a challenge where my computer kept cutting off the call. Fortunately, I had my classmate Sarah here and we were able to use her computer to tune into class. The topic of today was listening to our classmates’ group edtech inquiry presentations. In these presentations, people presented their findings on different technological programs that can be used in the classroom. Some of the topics include the following: Kahoot, SMARTboards, and a variety of others. One group discussed the topic of screen time and whether it is beneficial or detrimental to your child’s well-being. There are a lot of misunderstandings when it comes to screen time, but ultimately, everything with reason is acceptable.

We concluded the class by exploring the use of the program “Twine”, a digital program that allows students to create interactive stories. This program is an introduction to basic coding while students combine language arts skills by writing their own stories. I definitely can see this being a fun tool for teachers to implement in the classroom. I would like to spend more time exploring the sight and discovering all the cool features it has. One interesting thing I learned was that Twine was the program used to create the popular story of “Bandersnatch” from the hit Netflix series “Black Mirror“.

– Ms. G 🙂

EdTech Blog Post #5: Coding With Google

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On March 12, 2020

In Group EdTech Inquiry

Welcome back to another exciting entry on the abilities of Google! In today’s classrooms, we are seeing the importance of technology and the amazing things that students are able to do with it. A current trend we are seeing in North American schools is the use of coding. Coding allows students to use computers and produce instructions to create endless possibilities. How does this relate to Google? Well, let us tell you!

 

CS First is “a free computer science curriculum that makes coding easy to teach and fun to learn”. This program supported by Google offers a variety of coding courses and programs that teach a variety of introductory coding experiences. CS First provides both free and paid coding courses that can be accessed through your school or free through your Google account. Since we are not a school, we decided to explore what was available in the free version. There are 2-options for students to choose from. The first is a variety of 1-hour stand-alone coding activities that usually revolve around a story or character development. The other option is a course option that offers 8 coding activities in one specific area of interest.  What we like about the coding options is that there are 3 different levels (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced) for students to choose from. This allows students to gauge their coding abilities and pick an activity that works best for them.

We attempted to complete the first activity, however, I was unable to figure out how to complete the project. Unfortunately, none of us have experience with coding and would have to dedicate more time and effort to learn how to code. I think in the future, it would be fun to incorporate coding in the classroom but we all need a bit more experience before feeling comfortable enough to teach it.

– Heather, Sarah, Lauren B.

When to use ASL in the classroom?

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On March 12, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Happy Tuesday! Thanks for tuning in to another exciting ASL blogpost. Over the past 2 months, I have shared a variety of reasons as to why you should use ASL in the classroom. We have learned the value of having non-verbal communication and how to support both deaf and hearing students. This idea led me to wonder when is it appropriate to integrate ASL in the classroom, and when should it no be used. 

As a society, we understand the importance of utilizing verbal communication skills in order for students to formulate conversations and relationships with their peers. That said, you cannot solely rely on ASL as a form of communication. As a teacher, you have the choice of when you should teach sign language to your students. I have decided to brainstorm a list of occasions of when to use ASL and a few example words for each one.

Using sign language in a hearing classroom has many benefits, but one thing I noticed through my research was that there were no negatives towards using it. We often do not think of the negatives around teaching tools but its something to consider in more depth. There are no set guidelines as to when to use or not use sign language, but ultimately, you can choose what works best for your classroom.

– Ms. G 🙂

Minecraft Education

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On March 10, 2020

In EdTech

In today’s class, we had the opportunity to learn about using Minecraft in an educational setting from Heidi James. We began by logging into the desktop and having a few minutes to explore and try Minecraft. I personally had a bit of trouble in the beginning as I got stuck in the water and could not figure out how to get out. Fortunately, some of the students from the middle school came around and were able to help me. 

After a few minutes of “play” time, we learned a little bit about the boundaries and possibilities of Minecraft Edu. As the teacher, you have the ability to control everything and anything that occurs in your Minecraft server. I was surprised to see that she was able to freeze our screens so that no one had the chance to be distracted by our screens. There are two different modes of Minecraft; creative and survival. 

One of the students discussed how they were assigned to create a civilization during a certain time period. They were asked to create buildings and scenarios that would reflect the feudalism era. Another student built a life-size hedgehog cage which utilizes perimeter, area, and ratio skills. Some other options the teacher discussed were combining Minecraft and language arts to create landscapes for stories. Also, in Science, they had students re-create a human digestive system.

In the image above, you will see a variety of subject areas with Minecraft lesson plans divided into various grades. I found one called “Fairy Tale Reimagined” which allows students in grade’s k-5 to recreate fairytales in the world of Minecraft. This is a great tool for teachers to use and provide a creative outlet for students. Overall, I can see how Minecraft can be a beneficial educational tool. However, I currently do not feel comfortable using Minecraft in the classroom as I am not familiar enough with it yet.

– Ms. G 🙂

Music Blog #4 ~ Mamma Mia!

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On March 9, 2020

In Music

As we begin the second half of the semester, I am really focusing on sharpening my ukulele skills and expanding my musical knowledge. This week, I am beginning to learn the chords to my final song “Mamma Mia”. I chose this song because Mamma Mia is my favourite movie and I believe it is important to be passionate about what you are playing. When I played piano in elementary school, I was often more enthusiastic about songs that I already knew. 

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

The chords used in this song are the following: “D, A, G, Bm, Em”. When I originally chose this song, I had looked at a slightly different version of this song, but after playing both versions, I preferred this one. This song is appearing to be the hardest song I have attempted to learn as the chord transitions are quick and put a strain on my wrist. I am currently working on transitioning from an A to a Bm chord which is a challenge as the Bm chord itself is awkward to hold. I am practicing using my index finger as an anchor for the chord as it slides down one fret but remains on the second string. Over the next few weeks, I am going to increase the speed of the song once I feel more comfortable with the chords.

Along with learning the chords, Alexa and I have been working together to help each other learn the song. Our goal is to be able to perform it together by the end of the semester. I have found that peer teaching has been a huge asset through my musical growth journey. Between the two of us, we can provide feedback for each other as well as work on timing and rhythm. I believe this is a strong component of musical education as students learn a lot from their peers around them. In the future, I hope to utilize peer teaching while playing the ukulele as a way to expand the knowledge towards more students. As a teacher, it is difficult to give every student the one-on-one attention they need. It is important to allow the stronger students to act as mentors and guides for other students to follow. Alexa has experience playing guitar, and while the ukulele is different, this has helped me to learn a lot about chord positioning and posture.

– Ms. G 🙂

A Change In Direction Blog #4

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On March 7, 2020

In Group EdTech Inquiry

After discussing our timeline with each other, we have decided to change the direction of our inquiry. While we feel the google certification program is a valuable asset, the amount of work necessary to complete it is unrealistic at this point in time. Last week, we looked into the first unit of the course which would have taken us a minimum of 85 minutes. The entire course suggests that it would take about 775 minutes. If you see the following images below, you will see the extensiveness of the course. To complete this course and spend time to blog about it, we do not have enough time on top of our current academic course load. 

We will now be using this inquiry as a way to learn more about the apps in the GSuite. We think this will benefit our future teaching careers while also being a realistic goal for our current student schedules. Once we become really well acquainted with the google apps, we will be able to teach our students how to use them easily and also be able to seamlessly incorporate them into our future classrooms.

The first app we will be looking at is “Science Journal.” This is a Google app that “transforms your device into a pocket-size science tool that encourages students to explore their world. As they conduct eye-opening experiments, they’ll record observations and make new, exciting discoveries.” This app can be used in younger classrooms that have tablets/iPads or in older middle school classrooms where students have their own phones.

The app allows students to document their science experiments through measurement, picture taking, and note-taking. The app is free and provides “70 hands-on science activities from education experts.” 

– Sarah, Heather, Lauren

ASL and Basic Manners in the Classroom

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On March 4, 2020

In Free Inquiry

This week, I thought about what ways I want to use ASL in my future classroom. This idea brought me back to a personal experience I had a few weeks ago. I was teaching a PE lesson into a grade one class, and the students showed us a “silent appreciation” to me and my peers. I was pleasantly surprised to see all the students were demonstrating the signs “thank-you” and “applause” in sign language. This simple gesture showed was a way for the students to show their gratitude in a small way. 

In the primary years of elementary school, students begin to develop their own attitudes and behaviours towards others. As teachers, we have the responsibility to exemplify positive behaviour as our students are susceptible to our actions. We are role models and students will follow and mimic what we do. For today’s research, I decided to look into signs that you could teach your students some basic manners.

In this first video, you will learn the signs “please” and “thank you” in the tune of a catchy song. These signs are perfect for both the student and the teacher to learn and use on the daily.

In this video, you will learn the signs “more”, “all done”, “food”, “milk”, “water”, “sleepy”, and “toilet”. These signs are often taught to infants but can also be used in the classroom usually around snack time. In my opinion, the most useful sign is “toilet”. Rather than having a student disrupt the class, the could simply show the sign to the teacher and go. 

The last video demonstrates two signs that are simple confirmation signs. This video repeats a few signs we have already learned, but the three new signs are “yes“, “no“, and “your welcome“. These signs are easy to do to quickly answer a question a student may have.

Thanks for reading!

– Ms. G 🙂

Using ASL to Respond to Questions

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On March 4, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Happy Thursday! I hope that everyone had a good reading break and are ready for the rest of the semester. As we approach the end of the term, I am continuing to improve my own ASL skills while learning more about how ASL can be used in the classroom. For this week, I am going to look at a first-hand account of a teacher using ASL in their classrooms.

The website I found is called “Education Oasis”, a blog where teachers can share strategies they use in a multitude of subject areas. The article “Using Sign Language in the Classroom” by Rick Morris, discusses how he uses sign language to communicate with his students. In his blog, he gave the students a math problem and had different ways he used ASL to help create more efficient conversations with his students. In the 3 images below, you will see which signs Rick has taught his students.

Images from Rick Morris’ Blog

I could 100% see myself using these communication techniques in my classroom. This is beneficial because if you see a student with their hand raised, you may be unsure of what they are going to say. If you are wanting an answer to a question, but someone still does not understand, the teacher can call on that student before getting the answers so it gives that student a chance to understand. Non-verbal communication in the classroom is extremely important. In the chaos of the day, it can be difficult to be consistently relying on verbal communication. Using ASL can help eliminate confusion in every classroom.

– Ms. G 🙂

Multimedia Learning Theory & “ScreenCastify”

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On March 3, 2020

In EdTech

For today’s class, we began by debriefing the field trip to Rebecca’s class last week and then moved into multimedia learning theory. Multimedia learning theory is about the process in which we remember things and how things are regulated into our working memory. In our EDCI 336 course, Rich encourages “learning by doing” and in class, we have many opportunities to try new technological things. When the class is over, we blog about our experiences to reaffirm our learning and understanding. That repetition of a skill helps the brain to be more likely to internalize the information and be able to recall it at a later date. One resource that is proven to be useful is “Sketchnotes”. While I have never used the program before, the concept is to draw pictures along with your written notes which will help with memory recall. Our class will be trying this program in the next couple of weeks and I am very interested to see how this might be implemented into the classroom. 

Moving on, our class began to discuss how educational videos can be utilized in the classroom. Three possible video platforms that teachers can use are “Youtube” “Khan Academy” and “TeacherTube”. Some reasons why using videos in the class is beneficial is that videos can be engaging, offer new perspectives, and help to show concepts or things that may not be accessible based on the school (ie. students do a project on Egypt and want to see the pyramids). However, there are some cons which come with videos is that not everyone has access to technology, students may not be engaged with the video, or students may choose to not watch the video. It is important to remember that if you are going to use videos in the classroom, make sure they are suitable and relevant to the lesson you are teaching. 

Afterwards, we practiced using “Screencastify” to screen record our computers to show students how to use the computer to look something up. In the video below, I used the example of sloths as my screen recording. If I were to make this into the inquiry project, I would have students initially watch a video of sloths in the Costa Rican jungle to illicit excitement into the subject. Then, I would have students do some primary introductory research to learn a base level about sloths. Once they know a bit of information, I would have the students develop an inquiry question about sloths. This could be like “what do sloths eat? where do sloths live? how do sloths climb?” and so on. 

– Ms. G 🙂

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