Blog – Melanie Taylor

EDUC 491 and #oneword2020 Reflection

On 2020-04-03

My #oneword2020 was Write. As I read and reflected to January when I set this goal, I believe that it was a very reasonable and pertinent goal for me to set for my EDUC491 experience. One of the first things I observe and learned during my practice is that it is crucial to document everything we do as teachers. This helps us when it comes to assessment, behaviour management and relationships with co-workers and parents. My coaching teacher was amazing at documenting her practice in writing. She communication technology like Class Dojo to communicate with parents immediately if there were issues in the class like incomplete assignments or inappropriate behaviours. We were then able to glean really important information about the students lives outside of class that we would not have otherwise known. There were other systems in place before I arrived that really helped me to document parts of my day. For instance, there were behaviour logs for certain students who were on behaviour plans and there was also the office referral system through First Class that forced me to reflect on my days with these students and how I dealt with the behaviours. It not only kept the students accountable, but it forced me to be accountable to my actions and react appropriately as well.

I started my practicum strong with my goal of writing my reflections for the day. I found time to sit down and reflect in writing on my day plans and lesson plans. As the practicum went on and other stresses like marking and planning/adjusting came into the mix, I became less focused on writing my reflections and fell back into my old routine of reflecting in the car in my head. This is not the worst way to reflect and I did a ton of great thinking in that 1 hour round trip car ride every day. Moving forward, I think that I need to start recording myself as I drive in the car (if I can do it without being distracted). As I reflect on my experience in 491 and even as I move forward into the unknown of a new contract during the time of a pandemic, I have realized that I have been trained to an auditory learner. I absorb information so much better when it is spoken. Nothing drives me crazier than a big long email full of text that has many important pieces of information. I will only digest all that information if it is spoken to me first. I rely a lot on inflection and sound of the voice to judge the meaning of the words. I think this comes from the training I have done on stage ad the constant reading of body language and inflection to receive information. That being said, I don’t want to abandon my goal of being a better writer. So many times, that same email chalked full of information, has saved my butt when I an looking for important information down the road.

What worked best for me during my practicum was being able to reflect within a system that was already in place. That could be a simple spreadsheet that I can tick boxes, or a real quick prompt that I ca respond too. If I must look at a blank page that says “Reflection” I will not write. This is something that I will need to set up in my own practice if I am going to be successful in documenting the days events. I will also be looking into a class communication system like Class Dojo or Fresh Grade as I move forward in my practice. I saw how effective and important it was to build a relationship with the students’ parents and I would like to have that, as best I can, with my future classes.

As I reflect on my students for 491, I realize that they all have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to communicating ideas. Some loved to write, while others loathed picking up a pencil. That didn’t mean that they all didn’t have brilliant and valid ideas. Some were more adept and expressing themselves verbally and others were happier to sit quietly and write. As I move forward and play with technology that will allow me to verbalize my reflections, I hope to be able to find resources that will help my students do the same thing.

I would not have chosen a different #oneword2020. It is something I want to continue to work on. Just because I am a better auditory learner than a visual learner, does not mean that I cannot improve that skill. Above all, I hope to model a growth mindset for my students when it comes to ways to reflect and say organized and I will continue to strive to get my thoughts on to paper, through my pen!

So what’s the point of Ed Tech?

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-12-15

In Uncategorised

My eyes have been opened to the possibilities of Ed Tech as both a professional learner but mostly for student learning. My expectation coming in to the class was that we would be learning how to use the Smart board and some apps for language learning or math games. I am so glad that is not what this class was about. Firstly, I am so glad I learned about PLN’s (personal learning networks). This was not an acronym that was on my radar up to this point in my life. Technology has completely revolutionized how we professionally develop as teachers. I am grateful for the time spent on twitter. Through the excellent modelling of Christine Ho-Younghousband, I can see how effective a strong PLN can be and how easy it is to call on colleagues through social media when you have a question or need support. Podcasts are another clever way we can be networking and keeping up to date with current trends, literature and information pertaining to education. I hope I will have more time in the future to dedicate to podcasts and I have been much more aware of my twitter feed since beginning EDUC 431.

Second theme that I took away from this class was to use technology in my class for creation and sparingly for consumption. I am hoping my students in the future will be able to use some of the apps introduced to us for creative purposes, whether it be an Office 365 Sway presentation or Pic Collage. There are some great ADST creation possibilities with Scratch JR. and I am feeling like I have a much better understanding of how I would like to use technology in my own class.

The last theme that resonated with me throughout this course is using technology as an access point. This can be achieved by having ipads or laptops in the classroom for students to need to listen to audio books or students who need to type or dictate their written output because of fine motor issues. I loved Valerie Irvine’s idea of using technology to keep students in the learning environment even if they cannot physically be in the classroom. This is becoming increasingly important in the world we live in today and I am grateful to live in a time when the technology facilitates this kind of learning.

It is an exciting time for Ed Tech and I know that my learning is far from over so I hope that through my PLN’s I will be able to learn from my peers and keep incorporating technology into my classroom so that every student feels they can succeed.

Janet Chow!

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-11-12

In Education, Education Technology, Reflections

What Did I Learn: ED Tech is a powerful tool to help students SHOW their understanding and should be used for creation and limited for consumption.

FIPPA-make sure information is stored on a Canadian Server.

Why is it important: Accessibility! Different apps create access points for some of our students who struggle to show their understanding with paper and pen.

The Patriot Act is terrifying and we must not store our students information on server’s in the USA.

Where do I go from here: This presentation was a great summation of what we have been learning this semester with Ed Tech. I will continue to experiment with different apps that help students to show their understanding and hopefully begin to implement these pieces of technology into my practice.

Using Ed Tech for Formative Assessment

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-11-12

In Education, Education Technology, Reflections, Uncategorised

Kristina beamed into us today to talk to us about her new program Spinndle. I so appreciated Kristina’s enthusiasm about formative assessment and her determination to create a program for teachers to better facilitate formative assessment in the classroom.

My biggest takeaway from this presentation was the idea that student directed learning is a tricky thing to facilitate. The biggest reason for this being that we have trained our students to be very reliant on the teacher and many of our student do not have the tools to perform effective and meaningful inquiry. Kristina planted the idea with us that we need to be teaching our students the skills for effective inquiry. We need to provide structure to the freedom and that is the focus and utility of her app. I really connected to the continuum that she showed. Students must monitor behaviour ► track scope and sequence ►collect artifacts► reflect► assess. I like the idea of creating a lesson in which students can practice these skills while working on other curricular competencies. I have planned an ELA lesson for my practicum in which the learning intention will be: I can stay on task for 30 minutes. This will help students to conquer the first skill of the continuum: monitor behaviour.

Kristina’s program is still in its infancy, but I hope that she and her partner Jacqueline are successful in getting it up and running. I am sure we will be hearing a lot from both of them in the future.

Sandra McAulay 2.0

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-11-12

In Education, Education Technology, Reflections

CODING!!! I find it so interesting that growing up, my dad was a computer guy, and yet, I am relatively inept at using a computer. I can do the basics like check my email, peruse social media, watch Netflix or order off Amazon but other than that, I am pretty hopeless. My dad was interested in computers before they were even a thing. Growing up in the late 80’s early 90’s, we had at least 3 computers in the house at all times and I had an Atari in my room before kindergarten. My dad could code. He didn’t like it but he could do it. He developed software and could talk to computers better than he could to humans. I guess I wish that coding came as easily to me as it did to him. This is also why I am grateful to have had so much exposure to coding this semester. It is important that our students are exposed to this way of thinking and that they get hands-on experience with the art of coding.

Sandra was able to show us what this could look like in our classroom. She showed us an activity where students could map out their code on the floor and then ask a friend to act out the code. We had a lot of fun with this activity. The goal was definitely to stretch the limits and see who could make our friends do the wackiest things but isn’t that what programming is all about: making people do wacky things with technology (SNAPCHAT! for example) We then performed a similar activity at the desk with pen and paper, where we had to navigate a little avatar across a maze using code. It was a lot of fun and I can see how it would be a very engaging activity for students. Lastly, we got to experiment with an iPad app called Sratch Jr. I have attached a video below to show our creation. I would play with this app all the time. What a hoot. I will hopefully have an opportunity to bring this into a classroom in the future.

I am so grateful to Sandra for coming back a second time to share her enthusiasm with us and I hope that our paths cross again in the future.

Tim Cavey and Podcasts

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-10-19

In Education Technology, Reflections

What did I learn? Podcasts are another great way to develop professionally and expand our professional network.

Why is that important? As professional teachers, we need to be constantly reflecting and learning so we can be effective teachers for our learners. Podcasts provide access to innovative thinkers and leaders in the profession.

Where do I go from here? I will be listening to more Teachers on Fire podcasts as well as other education podcasts to learn more about the innovation that is happening in the field of education.

Education Technology to Create and Connect

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-10-15

In Education Technology, Reflections

Karen Lirenman began her presentation to us by stating that there are three main ways that she uses Education Technology in her practice: as an access point for every learner, a way for learners to show their learning in different ways and as a way for her learners to connect to the world around them. The first two ways she discussed resonated with me as they were ideas that were being echoed by many of the other presenters we have heard from this semester. The new idea that came from listening to Karen and that I had not considered was whether we are using technology for consumption or creation. Karen encouraged us to try to use technology with our students for creative purposes. She elaborated by saying that research is showing that many of these consumption apps have little to no benefit for the student and that they are simply glorified worksheets. I tend to agree with Karen and think that our student would benefit more from interacting with their peers and experiential learning.

The other idea I had not considered before was using technology, specifically social media, to connect with the world around us. I have been developing my professional network (PN) this semester on twitter and can see the benefits of being connected to other educators on that platform but had not considered how my students could benefit from connecting to my PN or other professionals. Karen suggested starting a twitter account for one’s class and then asking questions to the twitter universe. The class could connect with academics, scientists, politicians, authors to ask them questions and help them realize that there is a whole world of learning beyond the books they read and the walls of their classroom. They can also connect with other classes and learners from around the world to collaborate and share their learning. This is such an amazing opportunity for students that I could not have dreamed of when I was a child.

Twitter is such an amazing powerful tool that I am excited to keep exploring. I will be setting up a class account when I have my own class.

Coding without Computers

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-10-10

In Education Technology, Reflections

This was a presentation I was very much looking forward to and nervous for. First, growing up on the lower mainland, Science World holds a very special place in my memory. I remember school trips, trips with my parents and even a sleepover in Science World. There were so many exhibits at Science World that blew my mind as a child and there was also, of course, the Omnimax theatre that never disappointed. I was nervous though because whenever I see the word “coding” I feel frustrated because I have never considered myself to have a computationally inclined brain. I grew up in a time when students were good at some things but not others and I never considered myself to have the logic to be able to figure out computational problems. I always loved math, but I often struggled to apply it to other aspects of life which is essentially what Applied Design, Skills and Technology (ADST) is all about.

What I loved about Carrie’s presentation were the activities. Both the Tour Guide and Knights Tour activities broke through my fixed mindset and showed me that I can think computationally. I think that these activities would be so important to introduce to students to show them the same thing, that anyone can think that way and with a little practice, one can become quite good and coding without computers. I am excited to delve further into the resources that Carrie has provided us and I hope to be able to do an ADST lesson with my students in my next practicums.

Fresh Grade with Cliff Waldie

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-10-08

In Education Technology, Reflections

Fresh Grade was an application that I had heard mentioned by some teachers, parents and students but until today, I had not fully understood its power and capabilities. One of the first things Cliff said was that it works like and e-portfolio, which is exactly what my impression was. However, Cliff went on to say that Fresh Grade is not intended to be that. I believe that its biggest advantages are its communication possibilities as well as the transparency it provides when it comes to assessment. Fresh Grade allows for communication between teachers and parents as well as between students and teachers. Cliff mentioned that frequent teacher and parent involvement in student learning will result in a higher student engagement. Fresh Grade provides the platform for parents and teachers to engage and communicate with students when it comes to student progress and learning outcomes.

The one thing that is a little daunting about the application is how much planning and organizing goes into initially setting up assessment and assignments. I think that if I could get organized and put the time in initially, that Fresh Grade could be a very powerful tool in my classroom. I really appreciated how the learning standards for the BC curriculum were already loaded into the program and I liked how easy it was to set up a grade book. I want to try this in my own practice, when the time comes.

Sally Song and Office 365

by Melanie Taylor

On 2019-10-03

In Education Technology, Reflections

Office 365 is a program I have been using for several years through my music studio business. I use Word mostly and occasionally dabble in Excel to make budgets and show financial statements. I have used PowerPoint for one or two presentations for the education program and I use Outlook on my phone and computer to deal with my emails. I considered myself well versed in Office 365, but I was surprised today to learn that Office 365 has a lot more to offer, especially in terms of Ed Tech. I think the biggest takeaway from Sally’s presentation was the collaborative nature of Office 356. It functions similarly to Google Docs in terms of collaborating. We can be sharing documents with our students, with parents, or with administration. Students can also be collaborating with their peers for group work and projects. I find Office products to be a lot lets clunky than Google Docs, so I am looking forward to trying the collaborative features of Office 356 with some of my peers for upcoming assignments and presentations.

The other application that I had not considered that Sally mentioned was Sway. I had a chance to check out its features a little, but I did not have a chance to really delve into its capabilities. I am excited to try using this application as it seems very sleek and to have more features and options than PowerPoint when it comes to presenting a project. I think it could have great potential in the classroom for students when they are presenting inquiry projects or other work. Just another tool to put in the toolbox.