Reflective Blog Post Week 5

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to take the time today to discuss all of these amazing technology resources that we discussed in class. Now that the we're getting more involved in our teaching placements, I feel it is important to share some of these amazing resources that we are learning about.

Katic, K. October 9 2015. Emaze.com.

The first resource that I feel is worth sharing is called emaze. Emaze is an online tool that anyone can use to create amazing presentations. If anyone has ever used PowerPoint or Prezi, I feel that it is a happy middle ground between the two resources. Emaze allows the user to create engaging, 3D presentations; there are pre-formatted slides, the ability for GIF art to be added to the presentations, and the beauty of 3D slides. The website also provides an embed code that allows the user to paste this on their webpages, such as blogs.

Another interesting resource is Paper.Li. This online tool allows Twitter users to turn their Twitter links into a newspaper-style format page. This allows the user to provide their students with daily newspaper articles tailored to the classroom, student's or school's passions and interests.

Another resource is available on Coggle: Coggle allows users to create mind maps while the ideas are displayed in a clear, visually appealing way. Coggle is similar to the mind map tool Popplet, however, Coggle creates a mind map consisting of tree-like branches, while Popplet is more of a web format. Both of these resources are super easy to use and visually appealing. I posted an example of a map I created using Coggle on My Learning Object Page on this blog.

Additionally, I believe that it is important to mention Kahoot and Plickers. These resources are great and I can really see myself using them in the classroom. Kahoot is an online resource that anyone can use to create fun, interactive, competitive quizzes. The user can allocate teams, and whichever group answers the questions the quickest and with the correct answer wins at the end of the quiz. Plickers is an online resource similar to Kahoot, but it is anonymous. Square shapes are printed off on regular paper, and the user goes online to enter in multiple choice quiz information. Then, they instruct their users to hold up the cards in the orientation they believe is the answer to the question. For example, if the question is 'What is your favourite season?', the user would hold up side C if their favourite season is fall. The person conducting the quiz then uses their smart device to scan the cards held up by the audience to gather data anonymously.

Katic, K©. October 8 2015. Grade 8 Work, 1.

Katic, K©. October 8 2015. Grade 8 Work, 2.

However, I will add in that while there are so many technological resources out there to bring fun, interactive, dynamic activities into the classroom, sometimes old school methods are equally as engaging. To the right I have included two images from my placement classroom. Two of my grade 8 classes have their language projects displayed in their classroom. The task assigned was to read a relevant short story and extract important symbolic messages and principles. The class was then divided into two groups, meaning that they would have to work collaboratively on their posters, ~15 students per poster.

As you can see, these posters turned out amazing! They are massive pieces of art with so much symbolic and significant meaning incorporated within them, yet they were created with peer collaboration and old school paper and writing instruments. So while I do argue that technology within the classroom is an amazing resource, old school methods are equally as important, and I believe it is the responsibility of the educator to use their discretion on what method should be used and when. The outcomes will be amazing and extremely beneficial for everyone involved.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Weekend everyone!

Reference
Emaze. (2015). Emaze Home Page. Screenshot. Retrieved from <https://www.emaze.com/> 

Reflective Blog Post Week 4

Chan, W.M. © Oct. 2 2015. Photo.

Hi Everyone!

I went out exploring today to try to find some trails that I can incorporate into my Genius Hour project. For me personally, the biggest challenge can be to stay motivated to workout or run when life is so busy! It is around this time of year that I start to go stir-crazy, with the weather getting cooler, keeping inside the house and constantly working. This was a necessary study break as well as a fun exploration to see if these trails will work to be incorporated into my Genius Hour Question. The simple answer is yes!

*Just as a reminder I am exploring how I can create a step-by-step program that motivates people of all fitness levels to improve their running mile, and then incorporate it within their own workout routine.*

Chan, W.M. © Oct. 2 2015. Photo.

For me, I am very much an outdoors person, I love being surrounded by nature, and simply being outside motivates me to run. These trails are no exception; they are within the Dundas Valley Conservation area, and while they are very challenging trails to run, the fresh air is amazing and the scenery keeps you going to see what is around the next corner. I was not prepared to run these trails today, simply because I have laryngitis, however when I am healthy again they will be awesome to try to conquer! My next steps will include discovering more local trails as motivation for fellow readers to get out into their local environment to find trails to run, and further researching and documenting the subquestions I have within my main Genius Hour Question. For more information on my Genius Hour Project, feel free to read my Week 2 Reflection Blog Post listed below! With the cool weather quickly approaching, stay warm and healthy everyone!