Why I Became An Educator? What Legacy?

 

 

Why did I become an educator??

I was actually going to be a Commercial Artist and worked briefly in the industry. At that time it was a field that few women were working in and an adventure in itself. However, I found that there was very little opportunity to create. I painted huge murals on buildings, trucks, windows, and even created and screened museum exhibits. After a awhile, every street I drove down had some of my work on display and every piece of clothing I owned had paint on it somewhere.  But..I was always producing someone else's creations.

 Next came Computer programming and I enrolled in Computer Science. I took an elective course in education and the rest fell into place.

Opportunities to create abounded. One of the best parts of teaching is being able to create a space where learning is an adventure. Every September is a new beginning. Every year has its own challenges and rewards.  Creating activities and opportunities to challenge and inspire my students and then watching them surpass my them is always rewarding. Every new project we take on inspires new ones.

I enjoy working with children, and each year they become mine, but for me it is the way a classroom takes on a life of its own.


What legacy do I want to leave behind? 

 That is harder. I have never thought of teaching in those terms. I  have always been passionate about integrating technology and have spent many years striving to do so. I want the world to see elementary school students as the powerhouses they are. Too may times we underestimate their abilities. I have heard:  the children are too young to learn how to save their work, or how to logon to their accounts, or that they don't need the computing capacity of older students because they only write short stories. I would like the world to see that these kids are fearless, quick to learn and capable of taking on many of the challenges we assume only much older students can do.

 I would like my teaching legacy to be that I have shown my students, and the world what amazing things they are capable of.  I want them to believe they can do it all. I want to open your eyes and make you understand that too.

Just The Facts

 Multiplication Time

 Every year it is a struggle to get my students to master their times tables. We listen to music, have timetable drills, play times table games and I assign them for homework. I've tried it all. Last year I tried something new. I had the class create their own times table raps and for the first time virtually all my students learned their tables.

This year we are working to make times tables ebooks with voice over fact "raps".  It is a time consuming project but if the students learn these facts  it will be time well spent, as very few of my class know them.
 

The assignment:

1. With a partner create a rap for the 6 times table.

Example:

6 and 4

are on the floor.
6 times 4

equal twenty-four.

I

2. t took a while to get the students rhyming the second line with the last. They automatically wanted to rhyme it with the first instead. They struggled with a few that were harder to rhyme but eventually they succeeded.

Use the storyboard sheet provided to re-write out the verses and then create pictures to go with them.

 3. Create the illustrations and then take pictures of them with the iPad camera and upload them to Dropbox

 4. Use Book Creator and the iPad to create a digital 6 times table rap by placing the illustration in, and adding a voice over. Some students may choose to add a text box too.

 Timeline:

4 to 5 days per times table fact:

Day 1: create the rap
Day 2: make the storyboard and start the illustrations
Day 3: finish Illustrations
Day 4: create book and voice overs.


We will do the 6, 7, 8, and 9 times table facts.  

Innovative Learning Year 2

Last year was a true adventure in learning for me. I have always used technology in my teaching but I have never had so many opportunities to integrate.  Access to technology, availability of new apps, online space to blog and the emergence of iPads have opened new doors to us.

 Today I went to the first Innovative Learning meeting of the year. It was exciting to see and hear of the changes moving forward in project based learning.  As part of the day's activities we re-considered our progress and re grouped for a fresh start as each of does every fall ready to take on another year of learning. We made short artifacts of the year that was as we looked ahead.

 This year I want to find new opportunities to support my class and new resources to individualize learning for each of my students. 

1. In year 1 of the Project we dabbled with Pinterest and although we only managed to dip our toes in and bookmark our work to share, I can see now that there are other great possibilities for this year. I want to set up separate boards for each child:

•  to post links to their online blogs, movies and to post photos of their artwork;
•  to pin the resources they find and the photos they use in their creations. This year we used dropbox but Pinterest makes it much easier to bookmark and collect resources because it is so visual.
• one for me to post resources and links to new projects. I make webpages for each of our projects with video, links and instructions and I think Pinterest will help me organize and make them quicker to access. Also the class can add new links they find that we should use or share Then they become part of the assignment creation phase.

2. I will continue to make movies with the class. Last year we made two.  Both were follow up projects to novels. The class loved making them and it helped them develop a stronger understanding of setting, character, key events, and plotlines. They said it made them become the characters and they learned to work together and value each other. This year I would like to open up opportunities for them to use this format to make documentaries of our First Nation's workshops and research Owls. Now that Book Creator can hold videos we can embed our videos and then write about making them. Or perhaps create a book that contains them all and allow a question and answer  or comment section to go with each video. Lots more possibilities.

3. I would like to find more opportunities to give students choices. They love to take charge of their own learning. I think that after they have tried a variety of presentation and research projects they should have the opportunity and the confidence to decide which ones they want to try again.

4. Sharing. Last year we shared our books and videos at assemblies and through YouTube and our blogs but we did not have a partner class to work with to get feedback.This year I will involve at least one other class and help them to start their own class blogs,  publish ebooks and I will mentor other teachers as they work on their own class projects. Also I will find another class that is blogging and link up with them to comment and share our work and give my class an opportunity to appreciate the work of others. I want to set up groups to share online resources and ideas with others on our new Surrey Schools website and I hope others will add and share theirs with me.  I would like to find a way to meet with some of my twitter colleagues  to share,  compare, plan and engage in collaborative projects together.

5. Assessment:  Last year we did school wide writes and as I looked at the fall and the spring writes I was amazed at the growth. The new writing is focused and far more detailed. The students edited more,  their stories had better overall structure, and their voice shone through. I will need to see if the same is true next year.  When they published their research on the CPR with Book Creator they were able to publish their findings in their own words - a big step for grade four. Was this just a one time event or does blogging make such a major difference in student writing? Some of the most dramatic changes were made by my lowest students. 

Year 1 was inspiring and I am looking forward to an another great year.  I am sure that more opportunities and ideas lie just around the corner. Starting all over with a new class of "rookies"  seems daunting, but I know  that  jumping right back in always works,  the children always amaze me and the year flies by. 

On to year 2! 

In Our Own Words!

This is a documentary made by my students about our year long journey in project based learning with technology. The students interviewed each other and mixed in clips of their work. I asked them to  think about how the technology changed the way they learned and what they learned.

This is their voice.
This is what they want you to know about their adventures along the way.

"Using the blog is incredible because we can share our projects with the world

 When making our movies we cooperate with each other and get closer

A textbook has limited information when the web has millions of results

computers are very fast for searching up stuff

When we did our Barkerville journals it felt like we were there

When we are on Youtube looking at our movies it looks like we have fame and people we don't know, know us

In a group you an share your ideas and create something amazing

Kids feel like they have more trust 

Blogging about a book or something makes you feel like your in the book

If you bring your own technology you can work on your stuff at home too

Putting movies on YouTube might make it go viral

We learn by doing it

When we do blogs we have to research things and by getting information we are learning 

When you have a blog you can share your information with everyone elsse I really like our website because you can look back on it all"

Mindshift

I am excited to begin planning for the year ahead. There is so much I would like to take on. A new class, a new challenge,

From my twitter feed, today

KQED  MINDSHIFT HOW WE LEARN via Kevin Amboe

August 22, 2011 | 2:14 PM | By Tina Barseghian

Five Changes Every School Should Make

Make all learning real, relevant, tied to communities, with real application in the kids’ lives outside of the classroom. Example: Ban research papers—unless they are published online and have an informative, persuasive, or other real purpose for others. Learning should have an impact beyond getting an “A” on  the assignment.

Teach kids to think through, with, about, for–and create–new, interactive digital global communication. I don’t mean this as an add on. I mean rethinking all the subjects we now teach in view of the possibilities (what techies call “affordances”) of the digital age. That means getting rid of the “two cultures” binary. STEM subjects are impoverished without creativity, analysis, critical thinking. The Information Age is about putting back together the knowledge that the Industrial Age subdivided. A simpler way is to say have them all learn Scratch multimedia programming and think about the possibilities.

 Things I learned from my methods classes:

1. You need to make learning relevant. You need to tie it to the here and now. We learn best when we need to use  knowledge for a greater purpose. It is not good enough to teach skills and content for future use.

For example, if we require students to research a Canadian Explorer, and report back simply to receive a mark, they will. However, if we ask them to join that explorer on his journey, find out where they went, what they did, and  blog about their adventures, they live the part. They need to use all the research and tie into their imaginations, They need to create, to become involved. They will take away so much more and enjoy the experience.

2.  Children love to share. We all do. The bigger the audience, The more successful they feel. This year my class made videos that we posted on YouTube of their novel studies. They enjoyed the literature circles they participated in as they read their books, but they loved turning them into movies. They asked for one more chance to make a movie before the year ends so we are racing to do just that. This time, the excitement is much higher, the plans are more elaborate, the sets and characters are coming together quickly and after a few days we are almost ready to film. This one is all them. Their project. They are working at night and planning at recess. There have been trips to dollar stores for the extra sparkle and telephone conferences to create scripts. This is a true labor of love.

What I learned from my students:

3. It's not  about the mark. It's about growing, sharing and teaching each other. It's about working together  and appreciating and enjoying each success.  It's about being proud and celebrating. It is about being our best.

Reflections on Innovative Learning: Year 1

As I read of a new group of schools stepping up to work on the Innovative Learning Initiative I took a moment to look back a year and reflect on what our school and in particular, my class has accomplished. From #sd36learn I read

Innovative Learning: School-Based Exploration

The National Council of Teachers of English (2008) defined twenty-first century readers and writers as those that need to:

    • Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-cultural

This year students learned  to work collaboratively on a daily basis. They not only took on all of the projects I created for them but  as the year progressed many added their own. They loved blogging and took every opportunity to add extra blogs and include their own choices of what they wanted to share. As their teacher, I watched them grow in competence and in self appreciation. I decided that blogging was something that I should take on as well. So I started this blog to help me reflect, share and experience blogging with my class. As their teacher I felt I should learn and experience  new opportunities with my class. Their energy spurred me on. Next year, I will create a blog to share with them and work towards interacting with them on the next step. Comments.

  •  Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

 We started with publishing  a creative writing assignment for Halloween. Each child followed the writing process in planning, drafting, editing and publishing their own story. They learned how to create a webpage, took photos of their illustrations and posted both. During the process they learned how to use Dropbox,  how to upload pictures from iPads and then download them  to use in a blog. We worked through many problems and the students found that if you placed all the photos into iPhoto before using them in iWeb that most orientation problems disappeared.

We moved on to making movies of our Literature Circle novels and my class found creative ways to combine Apps to add voice-overs to their stop motion animations. I was amazed at how easily they moved into the role of teachers and supported each other as we made the movies. I was worried about whether or not we could accomplish such a big project. I tried out a few animation apps and decided to go with MyStopMotion. I was worried about my choice and hoped all would go well. We jumped in feet first and again the class surpassed all expectations. We all started together but soon leaders emerged and as problems were encountered, solutions were found. Everyone was proud of their finished movie and gained a deeper understanding of the elements of a story. As I watched and listened I realized just how important this was to them and marveled at their new found expertise in setting and character portrayal.

On relection, I realize that we experienced truly transformative learning experiences as a class.

 

Foundation elements of the Innovative Learning Design Project: 

bit.ly/sL7SwN

• Learning tasks that are authentic (e.g. project and problem-based), relevant and cross-curricular
• Assessment that is ongoing, performance-based, equitable and guides instruction;
• Constructivist instructional models that engage students in inquiry
• Diverse learning needs are met with differentiated content, process and product
• Collaborative learning opportunities that are incorporated into both physical and virtual spaces
• Use of technology as a learning tool
• Creative and critical thinking skills are pervasive across all curricular area
• Students are able to influence and actively participate in shaping their learning.

As the year unfolded and students' abilities and proficiency with technology increased they started to ask for more projects and opportunities  to direct their own learning  by

• choosing to do extra projects, 
• asking for new ways to research and present their learning, 
• looking for input from other classmates, and valuing contributions from others
• expecting to share their learning and teach each other
• asking for choice in shaping new projects, and debating what they should be
• wanting to work in teams and building on each others strengths
• demonstrating a more involved understanding of content

 I am amazed at all we have accomplished and how we have grown as a team.  I have learned as much as I have taught and am excited to try new projects next year.  Each new project we finish seems to open a new door of possibilities for another.

I asked the class how using the Macbooks and iPads changed how they learned. They said:

"It makes learning fun!"
"It makes you remember what you learn. It makes the information travel around your head."
"It means we get to work together."
"We have learned so much about blogging, webpages, movies and book making."
"It is so easy to tell others what we found."
" We love making voice-overs."
" It makes us feel in charge."
"Making movies was the best because we got to do so many things."

Let The Pinning Begin!

http://pinterest.com/mrsdycksclass/laura/

Today I introduced the class to Pinterest and their new boards. I started with a few students and they are passing on their expertise to other classmates.  By the end of next week all of them will have their boards well underway. They are all eager to create their own pins and have their webpages and blogs updated.



I think that Pinterest would be a great resource for students to use to keep their bookmarks to resources they are using on class projects as well. What I love about Pinterest is that it is so visual. You can find exactly what you are looking for and it links back to whatever it is. This year we used dropbox to keep all our resources together but next year I will set up Pinterest as well. I am thinking that it would be a  good idea for students to have 3 boards each. One for access to their blogs and videos and other creations, one for resources they gather and bookmarks to assignments, and one for snapshots of artwork and projects that are not online. I will have one as well with links to assignments and resources I want them to use.



We are using IWeb for the sites and blogs and I have them on Mobile me. Somehow with the changeover to ICloud we can no longer publish so we are changing to a new host. The class is still blogging everyday and are eager to upload so I hope our changeover goes quickly so the students have access to all of their blogs to pin the ones they choose to share.

I am thinking of changing from iWeb for next year but I love how all the students can work on their pages at the same time while we only need one site.  I don't have to set up separate accounts for each student and it integrates so well with iPhoto and iMovie and YouTube.

Blogging- a class changer.

Blogging
Blogging
Blogging



The kids can't get enough. They blog their journals. They blog their poetry. They blog Jasmine's diary from White Jade Tiger. They blog as explorers, fur traders and document workshops, movie making and field trips.

We started to blog with the idea of blogging once every week or two. We now blog every day we are together. The kids are always looking for more ideas to blog. They write more now. They are more creative in their blogs and they are always busy taking pictures of their work with the iPads to publish their work in their blogs.

I struggle to keep up as now I have 29 blogs to follow and a class of prolific writers.  Blogging has transformed my classroom, taken on a life of its own, given my students a purpose and an audience.  They share their blogs with family and friends and take the time to share them with each other. They like being able to show their writing to relatives from all around the world.

Writing has taken on new importance to the class.  The students have begun to take charge of their own learning and choose to blog from home as well.