Internet for Educators

 In this weeks presentation, this was the question which resonated with me, "what's your unfair advantage?" I think that is one of the most interesting things to ask someone in an interview. Its essentially like asking what special or unique qualities you bring, but the way its structured almost implies that you have to really think about your answer.  I love how grounded this presenter was as well. He mentioned how its not always realistic to present your qualities to its highest format, as it can be draining physically and mentally. That's why I am also a strong believer that teachers taking care of themselves and finding ways to work on regulating their work is EXTREMELY important.  After being asked that question, I thought of some answers, and I honestly feel like at the time my answers would not have sufficed. The question is structured in a way that makes my answer almost feel insufficient. With that being said, I don't think that's what its intention i...

The main points I want to focus on during the class presentation on school programs is how different certain programs are across divisions, and how this will change if amalgamation happens. First, I am a fan of TEAMS. Its easy to use, and my favourite part of it is that it saves all the files and work you do. So if you make a rubric for an assignment you can apply it to any other work and just make slight changes. I found that learning how to use it proficiently took time, but it was worth it.  How I think using apps may change in the future is that there will be less schools differentiating in what programs they use. This will make it easier on teachers, and especially on students. I know it seems a little far fetched, but all the schools being on the same page, as well as teachers will what I believe increase proficiency and training. For tech task 10 my review was actually on this matter. The findings were that schools and teachers having proficient training and utilizing it in ...

 Here is my video I did for the school divisions in an "all about me" format. Hope you enjoy! 

This was a very interesting task that we had. I think that overall, infographics are an awesome tool when used effectively. My critiques with them would be that they can appear cluttered if there are too many, or if they are a little unorganized. Also, I think you have to be very careful with what kinds of information you put on there. For example, there are a lot of infographics used in politics. With that being considered, a lot of things can be take out of context. However, I definitely see myself utilizing infographics in my classroom, and I have found a few that are interesting that you could maybe use in your classroom. 10 Great Infographics for Education- Piktochart Infographics | Piktochart   Now for my own infographic design, I am always interested in how I can teach physical skills to students and young players/athletes. So I made this poster for beginners or early years on how to kick a ball. Feel free to use it if you wish.

 I know what you're thinking, would I use Joe Rogan in my class? My response would be why wouldn't I? He is currently one of the most famous podcasters right now, and it is a way right off the bat to connect with your students. I will say that it is not a podcast that I would put on for my class without watching first. It does have vulgar, and at times, controversial topics. With that being said, the content, and individuals that Joe has joining is nuts! He has people from every background that joins his discussions. Its a great way to open up a variety of conversations in your class, particularly in the later years.  You want to hear Joe talk to one of the best boxers of all time, and ask him about his life experiences and what his views on certain things are? No problem, his podcast with Mike Tyson is awesome!  Joe Rogan Experience #1227 - Mike Tyson - YouTube You want to get your kids excited about science, and want to try and integrate videos that explain science from...

 This blog post won't be super long, but I absolutely love this app. I know that Mystery Lake Division uses this for their classrooms, and pay a subscription fee. From what I can see, the site is actually transitioning into a new site with the same functions called Vocabulary A-Z.  To summarize this website in short, it is a website designed to enhance and teach kids literally any and every word you desire. All a teacher would have to do is input the words they want, or they can even do a "theme" search, and the website can create tests, games, activities, and tasks that fit those words. It's like Mathletics for ELA! Maybe not as game-like, but close enough. The awesome part about this too is that it saves you the teacher a ton of time. It corrects their work and keeps track of the students progress as well. You can have a subscription, or pay a direct fee which is fairly expensive. If its something your division uses or is thinking of using, I highly recommend lookin...

Students today have been greatly impacted by Covid, and the ramifications and setbacks into education. Its not all bad however, it has opened up everyone's point of view on how important technology and staying connected is today. I do not believe that Covid has changed the students connections to others or to their teachers, rather that certain areas have been greatly amplified.  When I say amplified, I mean that Covid has opened up so many avenues for the digital world and being connected to others. Microsoft TEAMS is one of the most popular apps in classrooms today. Following this would be things like google classroom, blooms, or zoom. With that being said, all of these coincide with the technology that helps produce a productive class setting, or just a typical meeting. So what does this mean for students? It means that although teachers and educators are greatly improving their tech skills, and being connected with others, students are just getting that much more ahead of us. I...

 Unfortunately, I had discontinued my Twitter account prior to entering the education program. There were two reasons for this. The first one was that my account was extremely immature, as I had had it since the 7th grade. The second reason was simply that I was just over reading about other peoples opinions all at once. It was another time consuming, addicting app that I had, and I thought it was worth getting rid of. Overall that's what it came down to, and to this day I would stand by that. I find that my screen time is done enough especially with Covid going on right now. With that being said, I get why Twitter is such a great tool for some people. It connects you with people from all over the world, you can gather resources, share resources/ideas, talk with literally anyone, and get to see what the latest trends and potential news updates are. I would not say that Twitter is bad in any sense, rather that I personally just did not want to use it anymore. I have Instagram, and F...

 For this task, I wan tot begin with discussing the importance of teaching digital identity to students in a classroom. I think it is greatly important, because a lot of things that anyone does on the internet has the chance of it being there forever. Not only can it stay somewhere forever, but it has potential to cause harm to their future. For example, it was asked that all education students check their social media accounts prior to entering the program. I remember receiving an email from the department saying that they had found things they did not like, and that people needed to do a better job on protecting their accounts, and the materials on them. I find this to be interesting because, what if they can't see what they :"found?" When I go on my personal device, I see what the device essentially wants me to see. This is going back to an older post when I talked about the Social Dilemma documentary, but its the same idea. Facebook for example even has an "off a...

 For this blog post, I would like to draw attention to certain aspects of Mr. DiMuro's discussion topics around incorporating video games, and coding into a classroom. I think this is a fantastic idea for several reasons. The first big reason is because its what the kids are into now. Not just kids, but adults. Technology should not be pushed aside. The amount of kids that are playing video games in their spare time, or watching other people play video games is off the charts. I think that using coding is a great strategy to help kids problem solve and engage their spatial awareness as well. Using this to implement game movements just makes it that much more fun for them! Draw backs. I think the biggest draw back for this to begin with is inclusion. The big thing would be initially making sure all students have access to technology. Not only that, but it is incredible frustrating to play any game, or work in general with a slow computer, phone, or iPad. This would also mean having ...