This year, to expand our resources circle, EDTC 400 students were partnered with EDTC 300 students to help them as they began their journey through twitter and their blogs. 

Here are the EDTC 300 students I was able to work alongside. 

Kassia Nameth	Twitter	Blog
Melina Palamara	Twitter	Blog
Shana Blenkin	Twitter	Blog
Branden Smith	Twitter	Blog
Caelyn Hembroff	Twitter	Blog

Here is a link to my mentoring log. 

It has been a few years since I took EDTC 300 so I was not confident in myself when answering technical based questions but most of my mentees were quite knowledgeable about their blogs so they did not have many questions. 

At times it was difficult to work with my mentees because I did not have any connection with them. I found that I had a tendency to tweet at different mentees that I had other courses with because there was a connection that was already formed. 

I preferred to talk over twitter because it allows for more conversation between my mentee, myself and other EDTC 300 students. They also brought forward amazing resources that I know I will be using in my future classrooms. It was very interesting to read some of the blog posts, especially the ones that I completed when in EDTC 300, because I could see how much education has changed over 2 years (mainly because of the pandemic). 

This assignment did push me to rethink how to work with students especially when online. It makes you rethink how to give feedback and how to expand a student’s learning when you are unable to have a face to face conversation with them. I have just started teaching online to a class that I have never taught before, in fact I have not even “met” them yet- using comments in flipgrid and microsoft teams is how I can create relationships with my students right now. I think this assignment would be very beneficial as I become a teacher, as my older students could be giving feedback and positive reinforcement to the younger students. 

A few important mentoring times..

Melina’s post about digital citizenship and curriculum 

Hi Melina,

I have found that health and ELA are the two strongest subjects to connect digital citizenship to. There are some areas within the PAA modules to teach about digital citizenship or digital footprints. Some more middle years outcomes would be…

Health:

USC7.7 Investigate and express understanding of possible discrepancies in morals (e.g., beliefs, ethics, virtues, understanding of right/wrong) that may determine and/or affect the commitment to the well-being of self, family, community, and the environment.

Indicators:

D. Investigate possible relationships and/or tension among values (e.g., values of integrity and honesty

F. Express an understanding of how norms, trends, and values in society influences self, others, and relationships.

G. Explore the source and rationale of social precepts/principles (e.g., prohibitions, rules, rights, norms in everyday life).

K. Determine situations when one may be required to assert personal beliefs in the face of opposition.

English:

CR7.4 View and demonstrate comprehension and interpretation of visual and multimedia texts with specific features (e.g., circle graphs) and complex ideas including the visual components of media such as magazines, newspapers, reference books, graphic novels, broadcast media, videos, and promotional materials.

Indicators:

B. View critically to understand and analyze opinions and messages presented in visual and multimedia texts.

G. Analyze and evaluate what is seen in visual and multimedia (including digital) texts considering elements, techniques, and overall effect.

And these outcomes within grade 7 career ed would be great to start talking about Digital Communication and Collaboration.

CG7.1

Explore and draw conclusions about the influences of positive and negative self-images on one’s life and work.

CG7.2

Develop and demonstrate the behaviours and understandings needed for building healthy relationships (i.e., emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical).

Thanks for sharing

Branden’s post on teachers and social media

Hi Branden,

I understand your ideas about privacy and I think you bring forward good points. 

I did watch this video that says that the bigger your online footprint the easier it is for people to try to help find you if you every go missing. Something to think about because yes they are able to find important details about you but they can find those detail if you are missing or not.

If you want to watch it (it won’t let me hyperlink in the comments)

Something to think about- how will you try to collaborate/ trade ideas with other teachers without social media? I think that “teacher” social media pages can become overly negative about lack of resources or budget cuts so it would be interesting how you would be in contact with others. 

Thanks

Sarah EDTC 400

Kassia Nameth and Haley Begrand amazing resource

#edtc400 wasn’t tagged so I wanted to make sure everyone saw this great list @HaleyBegrand and @MissNameth made with PD-related recommendations. It is great! https://t.co/pgyKGAmpGU

— Sarah Wright (@SarahWright306) March 28, 2021

Social Justice issues within teaching

I think teachers are required to be responsive in their teachings and in turn they should be aware of social issues. Teachers have a choice to be on social media and have a choice to make that account public so others can follow and learn from them. When a teacher makes the decision to be open to the world they should be aware of social issues and respond when appropriate. Responding does not mean that they have to make millions of posts and long stories stating how they are/ their students are impacted by what is happening in the world but rather they can share others’ information and emphasize voices that are often silenced. The article Social Media Activism Can Work, but We Don’t Need to Shame People Into Itdoes a great job at explaining that social media activism can be great but it can’t be a “substitute for more impactful actions such as voting or offline protests”. As we discussed, social media can make social justice issues look trendy for a certain time period but it is important to continue reflecting and educating yourself/others even after it is no longer “cool”. 

The question is “do teachers have to be neutral”. As teachers we are taught to remove all bias from teaching but should the same go for our public social media pages. The goal when sharing this information is never to alienate someone but would a student feel comfortable sharing their thoughts knowing that their teacher did not agree with them?

Schools are not neutral in social issues, this is clear by the issues happening with the new Alberta curriculum, so do teachers have to  be neutral also?

It is clear that responsive teaching is important and by bringing social justice into the classroom it can be helpful in expanding students’ thinking and making students feel heard. A quote from the article Creating Classrooms for Social Justiceis “Teach your students about making positive change in the world by connecting with them, discussing real-world problems and multiple perspectives, creating classroom community, and including authentic assessment”. As teachers it is important that we do abide by the Saskatchewan curriculum but to also educate students within the broad areas of learning (building lifelong learners, building a sense of self and community, building engaged citizens).As described within the article The Importance of Social Justice in the Classroom and Curriculum Design, social justice should be introduced within young grades (age appropriately) and should be a part of the curriculum as students have access to so much information and do not have the skills to work through it. 

Cell Phones in the classroom

Cell phones in school are touchy subjects and will create different answers when talking to different schools or neighborhoods. As we discussed, cell phones are privileges and not all students are able to afford to bring a smart phone to school. There is a divide that forms when allowing cell phones in the classrooms of young students and creates a stance of privilege. 

According to thiswebsite the pros and cons of cellphones at school include…

• Pros of Allowing Cellphones in Schools
  • 1. Learning Environment
  • 2. Emergencies
  • 3. Access to Research
  • 4. Opportunities for Social Learning
  • 5. Opportunities for Multimedia Learning
  • 6. Voice Notes
  • 7. Parental Contact
  • 8. Facilitates the Individualized Learning Process
• Cons of Allowing Cellphones in Schools
  • 1. Cyberbullying
  • 2. Encourage Cheating
  • 3. Cellphones are Addictive
  • 4. Health Concerns
  • 5. Misuse of Technology
  • 6. Safety Concerns
  • 7. Class Disruption
  • 8. Disconnect Students From the Real World

Many of the positive areas of technology in the classroom can be replicated using school devices. The downfall of using school devices are the transition from home to school, but as more schools are transitioning to google or Office 365 platforms students can access their work using almost any device. 

For schools that are K-6 Away for the daypolicies can be very beneficial and can be beneficial up to grade 8 but as we discussed in the debate having transition periods with strict rules could be beneficial before hitting high school. 

With the phone debate there are two viewpoints for looking at it, through the viewpoint of academics or behaviour. Included within the article CELL PHONES IN THE CLASSROOM: LEARNING TOOL OR DISTRACTION, many of the negative downfalls of cell phones have to do with the issues of distraction and cyber bullying but the cell phone itself does not have a direct negative impact on a student’s learning but rather the distraction of the cell phone is the issue. The positives of cell phones have an impact on how students learn and share their learning and should not have an impact on students’ behaviour. If cell phones are not a behavioural problem then they are a good academic resource but if they become an issue, then it is not aiding with students learning and it causes  a power struggle. 

As we have discussed in class it is really important to teach digital safety and citizenship. When teaching digital etiquette comes the task of teaching balance of using technology, by slowly introducing cell phones into the classroom it can help students discover the balance of learning off and online. 

Educators should share lessons, resources, and other materials that they have created openly online

Yes, I believe that teachers can share their lessons, resources and materials online but I do not believe that they should be forced to do so. After my internship my cooperating teacher also gave me a large amount of her resources, as explained in this article but it was mostly resources rather than the specific lessons.  With an increase of online teaching resources, both free and purchased, co teaching relationships may start to decrease because teachers are forming ideas for online resources rather than brainstorming with other teachers. 

As a teacher currently teaching outside of my subject area I would love to have free lessons, resources and materials. On the other hand, if I were to be have all of those resources for free then I would not research and teach myself as much because the resources would be made for me. I would not have the background for the lessons, and may not be able to teach as effectively. With new times like online learning I am glad that I found online facebook groups that are willing to share activities with each other. As explained in Teachers Share Resources for Teaching Online During Coronavirus School Closures, professional Learning communities were important during the original shut down of schools as teachers were able to share ideas and resources to teacher dealing with main different issues. 

OER Benefit Educators, Students, Districts, and the Community

• Increase Equity.
• By giving out free resources can we limit the amount of inequality with teachers. Would it be possible to create these resources to give each student a chance to learn the same information? 
  • Personalize learning, Customizable experiences
  • Support competency-based education
  • OER are available to learners of all ages
• Keep Content Relevant and High Quality
  • OER are hosted online, so they can be updated more quickly than traditional print textbooks
  •  Flexible, not static
• Empower Teachers and Students 
• Here is where the issue of differing curriculums can be an issues. Would it be easier to make OERs for the province of Saskatchewan or should teachers be looking at different provinces and countries. 
  • Teachers have more freedom to design learning experiences by creating or finding a wide variety of high-quality, standards-aligned OER to support and supplement their teaching.
  • Students can use OER to supplement their studies, as well as create OER while learning.  
  • Unlimited possibilities
• Save Money
  • Free, minimal costs
  • Savings can be diverted to teaching and learning
  • Streamline content delivery

There is a difference between creating a weak or basic unit plan and a create in-depth unit plan full of materials. Is it far that those different units can be sold for the same amount of money

Unlike other side jobs, selling teaching resources is not taking away from a teacher’s actual job since they would be creating some parts of these things for their classroom already. This article “Don’t Blame Teachers for Selling Their Lesson Plans. Blame the System That Makes It Necessary” explains that yes teachers love students but that does not mean that they are required to do share their materials for free, the metaphor used is doctors don’t give free medical advice for the children. Yes, it is okay to give some resources to other people or post online just like a doctor can choose to give free medical advice to a family in need but neither are necessary.

What is the difference between the resources and lessons found within published teaching book and the online lessons and resources? There are some copyright issues when changing TPT lessons but where does the line get drawn. 

I think it is amazing when teachers want to help each other by giving free lesson, resources and materials but I also believe that teachers should have the chance to make money on different resources that they created on their own time.  It is great to give free resources or to ask for compensation, whatever the teacher chooses is best for them. In the end, it is up to the teacher using the resources to make them fit their own teaching style and the requirements of their students and curriculum.

Here is my final self assessment of my e portfolio for ELNG 326

Social media is the new way that educators are able to connect and share resources with each other. The University of Regina offers a course to future educators called EDTC 300 that discusses how to integrate technology, especially social media, into the classroom. Here is a link to some amazing online resources put together by some #twitterteachers.

As we have discussed in class many people have learnt English through TV shows (especially Friends) and TikTok could be the new wave of that. According to Want to learn the English language? TikTok is the way to go!, India has English Learning centres but they cost a large amount of money to attend so instead TikTok and other platforms can be used for free and from the comfort of your home. Check out this articleas it is full of different TikTokers and hashtags to follow. This Oxford House Blog also has a great articlefull of TikTokers to follow. In school based EAL courses there is a main focus on academic English so students are able to understand what is taught within their other subjects but with TikTok students are able to also learn conversational English and vocabulary that matches other people in their generation. 

Something special about TikTok is the short length of the video that can be jam packed with information. These short views would be great for reviews or reminders when doing a take home task. 

For example Ms.James or iamthatenglishteacher(as she is known on TikTok) would be great for students to watch because she is showing short review activities, mainly with fill in the blank sentences. She also integrates important cultural lessons. 

Here is a great video to show it. 

@iamthatenglishteacher

#arethafranklin #respect #synonym #grammar #teachersoftiktok

♬ Respect – Aretha Franklin

This one also

@iamthatenglishteacher

#verbtenses #commas #internationalwomensday #acronymm #iwd2021 #ELA #ESL #teachersoftiktok #englishasasecondlanguage #English #grammarlesson

♬ original sound – MsJames

Not only can these videos teach students information they also can be a great form of assessment. Because TikTok is an open app I would not have students post on there but I would have students create short TikTok videos on Flipgrid or another similar app. 

Elle Mikmaw

I am enjoying Elle Mikmawvideos, she has a way of integrating and educating people about Indigenous peoples languages and traditions. A great example of this would be her video about how to pronounce MI’KMAW’KI. 

@elle.mikmaw

Reply to @bonniebarlow2

♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic

For many people they can learn small words or phrases in their home language (especially if they have lost it) which could help them feel more connected to their ancestors. Her video about seal=waspu would be a good example.By promoting platforms like Elle it helps to teach others about Indigenous content and hopefully work towards acceptanceand reconciliation. 

@elle.mikmaw

Day 40 Seal, Waspu #mikmawwordaday #smudgeprayrepeat

♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic

Elle not only tells the translation but gives different traditions or stories that make the word significate. Though Elle’s content has change a bit and is no longer looking heavily on translations it is still a great page to follow.  

Anna M Bartosik

 Anna does a great job at integrating popular songs and engaging music to her TikToks for students to become engaged. This video is a great example. Students in middle school or high school may struggle to stay engaged when learning English so having an app like TikTok that has shot digestible information could be very helpful. 

@ambartosik

Being understood > pronunciation. Variations exist everywhere! #learnenglish #EnglishWithAnna #fyp #pronunciation #ESL #English Pronunciation

♬ original sound – Anna M Bartosik

Social media is ruining childhood

Most people look back on their childhood or at least their generation’s childhood and have a belief that those younger than them are growing up in a worse generation. It is easy to point fingers at social media and the increase of cyber bullying with 1 in 5 teens saying they have suffered online abuse.But as we debated in class, social media is also helping expand students’ knowledge and group of support. If a child was living in a small town with old views they may be able to use social media to expand their world view and find people similar to them outside of their area. On the other side they are able to find people that are catfishing them and may cause more illness related to depression and anxiety. Social media is the double edge sword of safety and connecting with people. 

For schools, social media could help with education (the downsides of this is argued in the second debate). Discussed in the article Exploring the Potential Benefits of Using Social Media in Educationthe different areas of how social media can improve education including…

• Communication and Collaboration- we examined this in EDTC 300 and looking at the pros of using twitter within the classroom.
•  Finding Concrete Information Online- social media (if students have taught about how to find strong researched news) can be a way for students to start research and find how different people view current news. 
•  Parental Involvement- share information about school and highlight parts of activities/projects that is happening at school. 
•  Improved Literacy, Communication, And Reading Skills- I would not rely on social media to improve literacy skills because there is very poor writing techniques online but it can be helpful for students to find important formation or students can show the main idea because they only have a certain amount of characters. 
• Distance Learning Opportunities- as we discussed in class- social media has help students stay touch with their peers and learn different online skills. 

Surveillance of student data and online activities by school systems is necessary to ensure student safety

How far is too far when watching students’ online activity?

It is simple to say that online tracing will help schools be more aware of students and if issues are arising. A survey shows that online tracking can help prevent school shootingand I assume suicides. I think it is great but even as a teacher I am not aware of what my students are tracked  on and what I am being examined on. Based on a discussion with other employees in my division I have found that my division is really strict about blocking websites. There are different systems that block searches and websites, one that is used for keeping a log of when people log in and what they did online and one system that watches of trigger words. Though the division does keep record of all of this it is only used if there is a need such as a drastic change in behavior or a student brings forward an issue.  

My thought is for students who do choose to message each other the social media platforms (outside of normal text message or What’s Up) are blocked. Would allowing social media apps on wifi and websites on school computers make it easier to bully each other or would it make them feel trusted. The article Should Schools Monitor Students’ Social Media Accounts?explains the importance of parents being aware of what a student is doing and should talk action not the schools. I think if parents were more involved that problems could be identified faster or would parents want to rely on the school if they did not know what to do. I think it is way too far though for parents to have weekly updates on their child’s online usage. As Jesse mentioned within class, students may be searching about different things that their parents or the school board may not agree with. If a student is researching things involving LGBTQ+ matters or religious views they may not feel comfortable doing it on their parent’s/family electronic devices so instead do it at school so being sent their online usage would make it so the child does not have a safe place. 

This is a reflection of my micro teaching on March 28, 2021. 

Questions or statements to help work through the reflection are included in BOLD. 

• In teaching context, was the lesson plan realistic?

Yes, our lesson was realistic. If this was my actual class there would be more routine structured, for example, Trudy Keil gave a template for lesson notes from her thesis of a biology class and I have started using that within my French class. Here is a link to my template. If I were using this lesson, students would have recorded the vocab words, they are aware of the content objectives and would circle all of the skills being used (speaking/vocabulary and listening). This lesson is traditional English view/listening activity that is followed by an assessment of comprehension. 

• Was I able to follow the lesson plan as I intended? lf not, why not? (Remember, a good lesson, AS TAUGHT, is not necessarily one that rigidly follows the original plan!)

Yes, I was able to follow my lesson since it was the same as what we did with the Mexican English learners. As I discussed within my blog about the EAL students from Mexico, throughout the times we taught the lesson organically things change and flowed better because of practice. The lesson became much more vocabulary based which was not the intention but if this was a real class we would have picked up from that point the next time and practice more speaking. 

• Is it necessary that the lesson plan unfold the same way each time it is taught, or is it necessary to make adaptations? 

A lesson does not need to unfold the same way each time it is used and adaptations or reflections will be made during and after every lesson. If you were teaching different students then the lesson probably would not unfold the same way because the students aren’t the same- they have different likes/dislikes, different levels of understanding and different life events. If you were teaching this lesson multiple times to the same students (for practice) then it probably would not unfold the same way because the students have stronger prior knowledge each time. Going in with a lesson, especially if it is assessed or connected to the Saskatchewan curriculum, the teacher must be aware if the lesson plan is changed or does not unfold the same way, then changes to the assessment may be needed. After the lesson, reflections are important to see how you as a teacher can improve and how the lesson can improve. At times the lesson will need adapting but not always. As I explain in the next question, yes I would change things about my lesson but that does not mean that it is NEEDED but rather it means that I have reflected to see how to reach my students better. 

• What would I change if I had the opportunity to teach this lesson again?

I would have started with brainstorming of different vocabulary words the students knew about sports and have a little conversation with it. This would make our leaving/closure conversation stronger. I would have students do a poll of if they have ever heard of the vocab words and then add a sentence into the chat using the word (they could do this either in English or in their preferred language). Though the video was very informational, through this class we have learned about the benefits of songs or repetition so I would definitely integrate it in the lesson so students became more comfortable with the words. 

• Could this lesson be taught to a different teaching context? 

Definitely, this lesson would work as a great bell ringer warm up. I would go through the lesson as normal but have students write down the response if they do not like talking. This is a really beneficial type of free write or free speak because it helps look for important information from the video but also has them combining their personal stories. This lesson if altered to change speaking to writing (unless the students want to video tape themselves speaking) could be great for asynchronous learning. 

• What do I need to work on?

Wait time, especially with online teaching. As I mentioned appropriatewait time is difficult with both EAL students and online learning because students are pre-thinking about what they want to share. As a teacher I have a tendency to try to fill that space up sometimes it is important to give students a quiet time to collect their thoughts.  I also find it more difficult to create relationships with students online. This is something that comes natural to me in the classroom but online students have a tendency to be quieter (especially middle and high school students) and aren’t talking to their friends in the same way (they will be talking through the chat VS talking in person) which makes it harder to spark a conversation. As a teacher who recently had her teaching transfer to online I will see if it is difficult to continue an in person relationship online but I know that I need to improve my methods of connecting with students. My relationships with students also rely on conversation that as we have discussed in class, which is not something every student is comfortable with so I am going to need to find different ways of connecting with students. 

Schools should stop teaching “googleable” facts and information

I have struggled the past few weeks trying to rap my brain around this concept and how schools would function without direct teaching. 

The key factor was taking into account if it means stopping all google-able facts or just some that others deem unnecessary. The other factor is the difference between teaching google-able facts and testing on google-able facts. The final factor is what actually is a google-able fact, as we discussed in class you can learn just about anything online but technically learning how to throw a ball is not a fact but rather a skill. 

The article Memorizing the times tables is damaging to your child’s mind explains it is better if students are deep in their learning and not passively giving answers to math question. Now as a middle year’s teacher I am all for having inquiry learning within mathematics and science but for elementary students who need the foundational information for the rest of their life, how do we make sure they have this strong foundation. 

The articleWhy memorizing facts can be a keystone to learning explains 

“Memorizing facts can build the foundations for higher thinking and problem solving. Constant recitation of times tables might not help children understand mathematical concepts but it may allow them to draw on what they have memorized in order succeed in more complex mental arithmetic. Memorization, therefore, produces a more efficient memory, taking it beyond its limitations of capacity and duration.”

Though this may not all be true it explains the importance of students having both memorization and understanding of concepts prior to expanding their knowledge. 

According to the Huffpost,going back to the basics of memorization is not the best. Instead they say to keep these 4 areas in mind with teaching. 

1) reading and writing; 2) numeracy; 3) creativity; and 4) health and nutrition

Based on this article I would include facts like boiling point of water and the year that Canada became a country redundant since they can be googled. 

Something that was not discussed within the debate was adaptations, for a student with dyscalculia wrote learned math facts are important because they are unable to connect three dots with the written number three. But on the other hand many students, such as those with ADHD or dyslexia, do not have the ability/ it is difficult to memorize and then give that information back. 

In the end I believe schools do not need to assess on facts but rather on skills and if a student is confident and competent in completing their goal. If a student is able to learn through inquiry and problem solving techniques that is great, but we need to be recognized that some students are missing curial information that will need to be fill in at some point. 

As technology became a norm within the classroom a question was raised if it is benefiting learning. 

I think that the article Technology in Today’s Classroom: Are You a Tech-Savvy Teacher?outlines what we discussed in the debate and many times with in #edtc300. For technology to be beneficial in the classroom the teacher must be comfortable and confident with it. If they are not it will not have the same amount of impact on student learning. I had so many classes that used smart boards as glorified projector screens causing them to be useless as a piece of technology. 

The main points within Top 6 benefits of using technology in the classroomare technology…

• Improves Engagement
• Improved Knowledge Retention
• Encourage individual learning
• Encourages collaboration
• Students can learn useful life skills through technology
• Benefits for teachers

As a future educator, I don’t want to rely on technology for the engagement of students because it may become a barrier in relationships between the students and I. All of the other areas show that a HEALTHY amount of technology in the classroom can be beneficial. 

As a student many of my peers did not have phones in elementary school but we did have tamagotchis (a small digital pet that require basic needs and could play games). Every generation is going to have a distraction from school, but why is that? Outlined in this article students say that when they are distracted they are “not paying attention” and “miss instruction” and their reasoning for this is to “stay connected” and “fight boredom”. There has to be stronger ways to help keep kids engaged and connected with each other that is also attached to the curriculum. 

 A large argument within the debate was whether cell phones were a distraction in class which I believe to be true but it does not mean that all technology is a distraction. Students will find ways to interact other items to become distracted. 

Outlined within this article Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Technology In The Classroom, it is explained that technology in the classroom can influence students through…

• Privacy and Security
• Branding
• Equality
• Changes to Teaching
• Poor Technical Infrastructure

Based on both lists it is easy to see that technology helps with the actual education and learning but it is impacted by the social and political factors surrounding schools.

With healthy co-constructed rules, technology can be a great learning and assessment source. In my opinion, students’ personal devices should not be used with in the classroom because they can cause a distraction but technology such as school iPads, online resources and smart boards can be used to expand students’ education.