Last class, we had the opportunity to sign up for our Ed Tech inquiries that we are presenting. Most groups are presenting their tech inquiry projects next week so they had the chance to work on them this class. Our tech inquiries can be in groups, pairs or solo presentations and the required time is based upon the amount of group members. I chose to do my tech inquiry alone because I feel that for the topic I chose, I would work best solo. I chose to do mine on fitness apps, particularly MyFitnessPal. This app can be used in multiple methods of pedagogy in high schools since it can be accessed through smart phones, laptops, iPads, etc. For a class like PHE which now includes the health aspect of fitness, it is a wonderful app because it allows students to track their diet and daily caloric intake. It keeps a record of what a student eats throughout the day and makes it very easy to track the food. It also allows students to track their physical activity and estimates how many calories are burned. It keeps a record log of the activities done each day including the number of steps a user takes. It’s an amazing app to incorporate in a classroom and allow students to use to show display learning.
Category: Personal Learning Networks
Last class, we had the opportunity to reflect back on our last two classes and share any key points we took away. We had got into groups of three and were able to voice our opinions on what we thought of with Jessy visiting and us visiting PSII. We elaborated on a bit of what Jessy talked about which was internet safety and security. Although we all loved his presentation, we had some mixed views on how far was taking it too far with posting pictures on the web. One example that came up was “Should parents be allowed to post milestone pictures of their child on social media?” We had a brief discussion wether that property belonged to the child or is it the ownership of the parents since they are the guardian until legal age. We had a chance to share our discussion with the class afterwards. Several questions were being asked about the topics of discussion which was pleasant to see since everyone was engaging. After out reflections, we had a chance to work on our tech projects since most students are doing theirs in groups of 4. This class provides them with time to work collaboratively with their group members instead of struggling to find a time outside of class.
Today we had the chance to visit Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) and hear a bit of their experience as an advanced school. The way the pedagogy is set up at the school is in a way that tailors to the learning of the students. It offers a personalized education experience where the responsibility is all on the students since all their learning is inquiry based. It puts the students in the driver’s seat of their own learning because they get to choose what they would like to learn about and think of inquiry questions to explore their idea. They then take a number of steps where they research around their questions and revise them afterwards.
I found that school very inspiring because I would like to implement a few of their strategies as a teacher myself. I would love to allow my students to explore different inquiry questions in the given subject and self-pace their own learning. I found it really interesting how Jeff Hopkins, the founder and principal of the school, was talking about how there are no traditional classrooms or lecturing. The teachers act more like tutors to help guide the students with inquiry in their own topic rather than lecture for an hour about a topic the students have no interest in. Also, all the students that attend want to be there as opposed to being forced there by their parents. I strongly feel this independent school should be funded equally as the public schools but unfortunately, they get less than half the funding. I think that independent schools like PSII are the future and that should be implemented in all countries across the world that have the adequate resources.
Today we had Jessy, guest speaker in the class talk to us about the potential dangers of posting material on social media. He explained that teachers should not be having any type of relationship with their students on social media from their personal account as it goes against the teacher’s ethics. He discussed previous incidents that had occurred where teachers had been wrongfully using their mobile devices while connected to the school’s web server. For example, a teacher in a BC school was using her teaching time to online shop on a regular basis and wasn’t using the web for educational services so she was disciplined accordingly. Jessy explained how we should be more vigilant with our online activity at school and told us about some potential risks to watch out for. He also made it aware of the steps I should take as a teacher if I see a student at a restaurant while I am having a few drinks. He explained that a student seeing a teacher drink in a public place like a restaurant can be unprofessional and may hurt the teacher’s image.
Jessy definitely taught me a vast amount about internet security and how to properly use the web as a public figure in the community. His presentation got me thinking of all the potential things I could be doing or would do in the future that could put me at risk of being publicly exposed. That presentation was one of my all-time favourites and taught me so much that a regular class or document could not. Jessy will be one of my go to contacts if I have any questions regarding etiquette web usage within schools or social media use. He seems like a very knowledgeable individual who will only give the best and most appropriate advice possible.