Category: EdTech

Hello C’s Class

So, as I am sure you are all aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this my university was shut down making us finish up the remainder of the term online….I am not a fan! I personally don’t love doing class online and then doing it one FaceTime… yeah not my favourite! But that is what happened and I am here to tell you how it went down!

We used a cool video platform called Zoom. Which is awesome because you can video conference the whole class! This allowed everyone to stay at home, log on in their pj’s and come to class. Although I personally wasn’t a fan I did think it is a great tool you should look into for future calls that maybe are long distance, or if you are sick, or any other reason you can come to class or even a work meeting! So I would say that this would be my top video conferencing platform that I would use if I had to. My class was even able to do group presentations on it by sharing the screen which means that if I was to share my screen and I had was secretly watching Netflix while in class everyone would see… so don’t do that but you can share you screen and then people can see your power point slides for your prez!

Okay so there must my a catch or some cons for this right? Well as it happens to be there is a catch. This link will take you to the zoom website where it will show you the different plans that you can buy. So there is a free plan but you don’t really get a lot out of it unless you plan on only videoing one on one or up to groups of 100 but under 40 mins…. The other thing is that during out class chat I noticed that lots of people just put their screen on mute and decided to chat with someone in their house or cook food while people were presenting… rude! This would never happen in a real class!

Anyways, I encourage you to check it out and see what you think! That’s all for today!

XO

Hello C’s Class

In our tech class on Tuesday we did a few different things. First, we had a guest teacher come in with some of her students to teach us about Minecraft… Then following this we checked out an app called Google Science. Although I learned lots, I honestly didn’t really love either.

So, let’s talk about Minecraft. A lot of student’s these days are really into this platform…me? Nope not at all. I have never been into games or video games; I literally don’t have any game apps on my phone. Trying to use this in teach class made me so overwhelmed. I actually was getting so frustrated and annoyed and if I had been in school having to use this, I would not be a happy camper. Although these are my thoughts, I can see how students would be more engaged in learning when doing something that is fun and out of the box. I do think that it can aid in student learning and if my future students wanted to use it, I would try and figure it out. Online there are some different lesson plan outlines you can use to create a lesson plan and use Minecraft to implement it. One thing that I would use that I liked was using Minecraft to create stories. I think it would be a cool way to do literacy in the classroom.

The other thing we did in class is check out Google Science. This app allows students to measure light, sound, movement, and more. I do think this is useful because if you have ever tried to take your own data on these things it’s hard! This allows you to track your experiments and take notes and have it all in one app. Honestly, I am still trying to figure out how to use this app and what it really does. So, you are probably better off to go online and look up what this app does instead of reading this blog… I am not very helpful in this department.

Anyways, there you have it. My great explanations….

XO

Hello C’s Class,

Today I want to share with you all about the amazing presentation I went to this week. Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt… (AKA inquiry queen) is an amazing Kindergarten teacher!

So what did I learn? Well, inquiry based learning is so cool and fosters creativity and wonder in the minds of young children. Before this presentation I knew what inquiry was but not really how to implement it into a classroom let alone a kindergarten class! Basically there are 4 categories of inquiry. Structured, controlled, guided, and free! I love this model as it really outlines how you can progress through the stages through out the school year. Okay so more on Rebecca. She has the most open and creative mindset, and seems like she has such a kind heart. I love that she gets to know all her students and fosters a relationship with each of them in order for her to help them to decide what they wonder about so they can explore it as a class. Rebecca creates an open dialogue with her students that creates a safe and inclusive environment that is so inspirational! Her classroom is so amazing. There is so much provocation around the room that allows her students to wonder, explore, foster imagination, and so much more!

There is also so much alternative seating, quiet spaces and tables and carpets that would be so beneficial for all students. I love that her classroom is warm, inviting, and inclusive. The only down side is that she told us that she basically has paid for everything that is beautiful in here class… So there goes all my money… Anyways here’s some cute pics of the classroom and here is her insta because you neeeeeed to follow her! Go! Right now! I will wait…. Also here is her book that is publish and that I just bought off amazon!

Anyways, that is all for today!

XO

 

Hello C’s Class

In my class today we had a really excellent guest speaker that scared the crap out of me… Basically he is an internet genius and told the class how scary the internet can be and all this other crazy information that all of you will want to know, so keep reading!

Let me start things off with asking, who all uses snap chat? Probably all of you at some point or you currently have an account. Well guess what. Snap chat has EVERY SINGLE picture and or video you have taken on snapchat! So not just the ones you have sent but all those ugly selfies you have taken and then deleted, yup they have those too. So should you delete you snap? I mean probably, or just stop taking ugly pictures and remember what ever snap sees, the snap world has access to… Holy crap I probably just blew your mind because mine sure was at this presentation.

Okay what’s next? This one is just a tip for all you creepers out there. Have you ever stocked someone on insta? LOL yes you have because that’s basically what insta is for. Have you ever been humiliated because as you are creeping some hot guy and you accidentally liked his pic from like 50 weeks ago? Well hot tip coming at yeah, put your phone on airplane mode and BOMB… nothing will happen… try it, go tap that pic as many times as you want. You’re welcome.

Want some more advice? Basically don’t be an idiot! If you are second guessing posting a pic, a status, video, sharing someone else’s video then DON’T DO IT. Some female elementary teach put a pic of her students on her TINDER profile… Like how dumb can you be! You guys are smarter than that! If you don’t have consent to do what you are doing or maybe in your head you think “hmm I would never show the principal my tinder profile with my students in it” them hmmm maybe it’s not a good idea! If you are worried about someone seeing a pic of you doing something you shouldn’t be doing or you think that you would never want you employer to see a certain pic then don’t post it. If you don’t get it by now not to be an idiot on the internet then I don’t know how else I can help you..sorry not sorry! I warned you…

As a future teacher I have a few words of wisdom for those who have kids, teach students, or really anyone that likes to learn something new and share it with others. Educate those around you on using social media pleaseeee. Teach people that once you put something on the internet it will probably be on there forever. But you think “well my insta is private so no one will see a pic of me at a party…” News flash hunny it’s called taking a screen shot. So if your friend takes a screen shot of this pic of you at a party and you deleted it because you are applying for a job well right before your interview this friend makes a post saying “happy birthday girl, party hard” and it’s the picture of you wasted at a party, whelp see yeah later job. Be so carful and educated those around you to also be so carful. Go onto you social media accounts, go through you info and pics, set up privacy settings, and think twice before you post.

This is just some of the things that I learned but I will be going through all my social media accounts to ensure that I have privacy settings and no information out there that someone could use or any pictures that I wouldn’t show my future employers. You all better be doing the same! Below is a TED Talk of Jesse Miller who presented in my class today! Enjoy!

Oh also here is a video I edited on iMovie in class today! lol don’t judge I am new at this… If I get better at it, I will give you some tips and tricks on how to work it. For now just laugh at my editing skills..

 

Anyways, that’s all for now! Keep posted for more blogs this week!

XO

 

Hello Casey, Holly, and Kate here!

Today we wanted to share a bit about a new cool app teachers are using called Fresh Grade!

Keep reading to learn more about this awesome online resource and to discover our true thoughts on this app…

So what is Fresh Grade? First off, this app allows for students to watch their growth over their educational career from k-12 in the form of a digital portfolio/learning journal. If that isn’t cool enough, it also grants access to parents so they can comment and add post to their students profile. If you aren’t convinced by now to use this app, we are hoping it’s just because you aren’t very techy…

Some more sweet features are: 

Free for everyone to use (teachers, students and parents)

Create lesson plans and activities

Unlimited number of classes and subjects

Unlimited number of assignments and projects

Attach files (rubrics, links and examples)

Make online groups within your classes

Compatible with more than 100 apps

Unlimited storage

Useful to create and store formative, summative and interim assessments

Create custom assessments for each student

Embed google translate for international students to communicate with teachers and parents 

Send messages to parents private or in groups

There is a fresh grade blog! 

Online professional development and learning available for teachers

E-books and case studies available

There is an area where your whole school can go onto freshgrade and principals/admins can see (with privacy permission)

Some unfortunate cons…

If parents/guardians or students are not familiar with technology or they don’t have accessibility to a laptop or computer it would be difficult

If parents/guardians don’t feel comfortable having their students information online even though it is private and secure

If you still don’t know what is going on in this blog… here are two videos that hopefully sum up any questions you still might have about Fresh Grade!

Anyways, that’s all for today, hoped you enjoyed our surprise collab.

xo

Casey, Holly, and Kate

https://youtu.be/-oizBrhWhyY

Hello Casey’s Class

It has been a hot minute since I last posted! Sorry to keep you all hanging… So this week I wanted to share a bit about my field trip to PSII and my thoughts on how this school works and my personal pros and cons!

Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) is a high school this is very different than the “normal” high school that most of us probably went to. When you walk in there is a big open space where everyone is working on a computer, chatting, collaborating, and working on projects that they chose. Then off to the sides there are a few small rooms with glass windows and then at the back there is a quiet room. So basically in a nutshell this school is super cool. Instead of it looking like a typical school, the space is much like an office where everyone is working and has a place. Anyways I am sure you don’t care what it looks like and just what to know why the heck this school is so cool and my thoughts.. right?

PSII, like other BC high schools follow the BC curriculum however, they do it a little differently. Each person in the school is set up with an individual learning plan made by the student and teacher so that the students can facilitate their own education… cool right! Then, based on what passions, interests, and or questions a student has on a topic(s) they get to build their education around those ideas which is also known as inquiry based learning. So how does PSII ensure that students meet the BC requirements? Well… students will participate in a class in each subject once a week. For example instead of a normal high school making you do 1 million hours of math a week and confuse you then you fail because you have know idea what the heck is going on… PSII makes you take one math class each week which then allows students to comprehend the info and or allow them to set up one-on-one meetings with a teacher to ask questions to ensure they fully understand. Students will have check-ins to see about where the teachers think they are on the scale of you know B+,A-,A,A+ you get the point. And then, what’s even cooler is that students get this feedback and are told what they need to do in order to get their mark up and they get to decide whether or not they want to go the extra mile. So have I convinced you yet to check out this school? Well I know it sounds pretty great so what could my cons be? As you all know, I have a lot of experience working with individuals with diverse abilities. This school, although really awesome in what they do, they don’t really do special ed. So although it is an inclusive school where learning is tailored to the students.. if you look close it isn’t that inclusive. A lot of my clients need a structured routine, rigid schedule, and one-on-one support. On my visit I did ask this question of “how does this school support people with diverse abilities?” The answer I got was great however not 100% what I had hoped. For individuals who have autism who are lower on the spectrum and for those with anxiety and or depression thrive in this environment. However the school did say that they aren’t set up to be specialized in special education. But since everyone gets an individualized plan and can set up a strict schedule for themselves and make one-on-one meetings with teachers, it can be a great space for these individuals to grow and thrive in.

So this school is super awesome and the students that I talked to are so passionate about their schooling and the teachers are rockin it! So my question I leave here with you all is, how can we use the ideas that PSII is implementing but also collaborate to make it accessible to everyone’s individual needs?

Check out below PSII’s competencies and core values!

Wow that was a long blog… thanks for stickin it out with me! Until next time C’s Class.

XO

Hello C’s Class,

I wanted to start this blog off today with what I did in last weeks class and then I will go into a bit of what I did today! Basically I am going to talk about a school and then on how we are pretty much all criminals… That escalated quickly. If that sounds interesting keep reading.

So as I was saying, last week I watch an interesting documentary called “Most Likely to Succeed”. To sum up the movie from at least my stand point it was about a school that did things a little differently. It was a school based on inquiry and student directed learning. First I will say that the idea of this innovating school is a really great idea. I think that we are on the right track if society is coming up with new ways to revamp the education system. Although I don’t completely agree with this idea of student directed learning and this sense of freedom within the class without structure… I definitely can see the benefits and for some students this would be a game changer for their educational experience. Yes, stepping away from a rigid strict curriculum and leaning towards a curriculum in which the students chose what they want to learn is ideal. How can we teach while keeping students motivated if they don’t care about what they are learning? So why don’t I agree completely with this idea you might ask? Well fun fact is that I get to work with individuals with autism and I love it. These smart and talented individuals have taught me a lot about how every single person brings different abilities to the table and that everyone learns differently. What I have learned is that we can’t as a society take education and put it at two extremes. Right now you either have strict classes, tests, and a rigid curriculum or you have the complete opposite and have freedom, student choice, and inquiry based learning. Where is the middle ground? The individuals with autism that I get to work with would never be able to work within a no structure environment. But on the other hand I know many people who can’t work in a strict environment. So what are we to do? How can we take two polar opposite ideas and compromise to ensure everyone has equal opportunities to get an education? Just some thoughts to hangout with, but anyways on to my next point.

In my tech class today we started off by watching the documentary “RiP! Remix Manifesto Documentary”. Basically to sum up what this docu was about is we are all criminals… LOL JK… Maybe. I want to be able to explain to all of you what this movie was about but honestly there was so much info I don’t know where to start. Incase you’re wondering (my prof) I was paying attention the whole time.. I promise. Basically what really stuck with me is that all of us at some point have probably used something from the internet without being allowed to. Have you downloaded music without paying? Or maybe a movie or picture? Well shhhh because no body needs to know that it is a hefty fine. We all have Spotify or Netflix now so we’ve mostly moved on. But to sum up my learning I got from this docu is cite your work people! Make sure you can use something before you take it. Educate yourself on how to take someone else’s property in the right way. If someone was to take my words from my blog and say they were there’s I would forsure sue them.. No honestly I would laugh because if you think my blogs are worth stealing then can we be friends? Anyways, just be smart and stop stealing. A cool tip if you are getting images off the internet is to search for your image and then change to usage rights under “tools” boom cite that and you aren’t a criminal.  My prof also gave us a cool website to use for images that I absolutely love and can give all credits to for basically all the images I will post on here. Check out Unsplash for free pics!

Anyways that’s all for today. Check out C’s Class for more info on my wellness journey this week.

 

XO

 

 

 

 

Hello C’s Class,

I wanted to chat with you guys today about organization. If you are feeling unorganized and looking for a techy way to get your life together… Well then I have a tool for you!

Today I made an account with Trello.If you haven’t heard of this website before basically it allows you to create different lists and checklists for things you have to get done in your life. For example you could make a list for say homework. You would title your list “homework” (obviously) and then within that box you can create a check list.. ex. english paper, math sheets, art project… and so on. You can also make it more a general to your life and make lists for chores, groceries, bills.. the list can go on. I mean I don’t know what you all got going on it your life but Trello can definitely make it seem like you have your life together. Fun fact you can also download Trello as an app and then have all your lists on your phone. Lets be honest we all have our phones on us so download this stuff!

So you must want to know my thoughts on this site. At least I’d assume since you’re on my blog… I think it can be really beneficial to any who likes to stay organized with an app. If you’re anything like me you won’t get things done unless you actually write it down somewhere or put a reminder on your phone. So hit this site up and get organized! If you aren’t a fan of technology well get off this blog and go buy yourself a journal.

Anyways, that’s all for this session today. I’ll be adding another post later this week so if you are in a snow storm like me, stay in and check out my next session.

-C’s Class

XO

 

Hello Casey’s Class,

In today’s session I’ll be chatting about my experience making a blog and some of my thoughts. First off, it was a whole lot easier than I thought. I followed some easy steps and now here I am in the blogging world… we’ll see how this goes.  If you’re thinking of making a blog yourself.. well good luck because I have been sitting in front of my computer for 20 minutes just trying to come up with something clever to say. Keep reading to see my thoughts on blogging…

I think blogs are a great way to get your thoughts out into the world and to give you a bit of hope that someone out there is listening. Even if it’s your mom, nice job you just got your first follower! I mean who knows, maybe you’ll become an internet sensation or maybe your blog will be a way to express your thoughts and feelings into the world of unknown.

As a teacher I believe that pursing a blog for whatever reason it may be is a great way to express your true self. It gives you the opportunity to purse your passions, talk about what interests you, or to just chat about what’s going on in your life. Blogs are also a great way to use a pseudonym so you can keep your blog private. If you are worried about what people might think then throw in a funny name and write away with no pressure from the outside world. The only precaution I will warn you about before setting up a blog is really thinking about what you are putting out into the world. Yes, I encourage you all to dig deep and express yourself but remember that what you put out into the world can’t be taken down. Have fun but always be aware!

Anyways, that’s all for today’s session… Check back next week for more from Casey’s Class.

XO