Paper Work - Ick!

This past week and a half I have been keeping busy with getting everything ready (try to anyway) for Australia. 

If you didn't know, I am moving to Australia mid-July for a year where I will be teaching, travelling and having a marvellous amount of fun! I will be living, for the most part, in Melbourne, which is a massive city holding more than four million people! Wow! I couldn't be more excited, but with moving to a foreign country comes a lot of paper work and frustration. 

Last week I got all the requirements sent to me that I needed to complete. Get a RCMP finger print criminal record check, get my Visa application sent in and get my Victoria Institute of Teaching (VIT) documents together. Well, the finger printing was a breeze, although it left quite a mark on my credit card! Next, I completed the Visa Application online, which took a while as I was VERY SUPER careful to answer each question carefully and reread everything over FIVE times. Still, they sent me back an email which stated I needed a health assessment. THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! Totally threw me off, but I thought about it through the weekend and finally today I accepted that I needed one and made an appointment with the only qualified physician in Saskatchewan - In Saskatoon! Not only would this be a three hour drive but it also would cost me THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE DOLLARS! WHAT?! So today, I was a little frustrated and a lot worried about how I would pay for this appointment. When I got home from work, I called the lady who is taking me to Australia, she said that there is no way I would need to get a health assessment  so I searched the Visa website. IT WAS TRUE! According to the requirements set out by the Australian Migration Law, there was no way I needed a health assessment! (It pays to do your research!) I politely emailed the immigration officer back and within two hours she replied saying she had made a mistake and I really didn't need a health assessment. I sure hope that doesn't happen often, those mistakes, because those are expensive mistakes to be making!

Now that all that confusion is out of the way, I am now able to continue with more paper work on my day off tomorrow! It looks like I will be working a lot with my scanner and making copies of all the documents that are required by the VIT. Once this paper work is out of my way, I will be even more excited to go to Australia, this paper work is boggin' me down!  

Interview with Mentor

While we spent time with our mentors online, we were also asked to interview them. I feel like ECMP 355 wrapped up well with this final interview with my Mentor (@KelliHolden) because she left me with some valuable insights and information that was too good not to share!

Check out the interview we did through Google Docs.

First of all, what are your views on using technology in the classroom? What made you want to become a very tech savvy teacher? What do you think are some general and educational benefits?

I've always used tech in my teaching.  I find that it integrates so well with a constructivist view, and makes curriculum alive for students.  It is so easy to move past a textbook into the real world, and students are so much more connected and engaged.  They have authentic audiences and authentic purpose, and the learning is so much more powerful.  

For example, when studying Canada’s connections with the world in Grade 5, my students connected with people all over the globe and sent emails.  They asked questions based on the research they did and compared the answers.  One group was surprised to find that German children don’t go around wearing lederhosen as shown in the encyclopedia, but wear jeans and skateboard to school like them.  

Often using the technology makes work more efficient, such as typing up writing.  The funny thing is that it rarely saves time over handwriting, because the kids do so much more. 

I know in internship, I wanted to use a lot of technology, but it just was not available at the very small school I was in. How did you start using technology and what were some struggles? Did your school already have many of the tools you use today or did you request them?
For me, the biggest problem has always been access.  Being in a school means that budgets are always tight, and technology is always money. It often depends on the principal’s focus.

It also depends on the staff at the school.  I have been in schools where I have been seen as the tech leader, and have carried the trouble shooting and fixing of equipment, as well as helping teachers.  I’ve also been on staffs where there were several people to share that load.  Each presents it’s own challenges.

The school I am in currently was seen as leading the way with the use of SMARTBoards several years ago and was an Elite Showcase school.  However, with a change in focus, things have changed quite a bit.  We have real issues now with access to computers for our kids.  With trying to get student blogs going, it’s been a real problem.  A big issue right now for us is evergreening.  The laptops that were great three years ago and on a mobile cart now can’t hold a charge and have to be plugged in in a permanent spot.  I really miss the freedom of having the laptops in my classroom at the point of instruction.  It has left me feeling very frustrated this year.  

Another issue for us is student population.  Our school is literally bursting at the seams - we have classes in what used to be our music room, and are even using closets as teaching spaces.  This means that it is that much harder to find a time to use the computers.

I have worked in schools with lots of technology and in schools with little technology.  Definitely, I use my voice to encourage more technology - and usually my projects with what I have prove to admin that the technology is definitely worth it as my students show leadership and learning.  Often we will get one of something to try it out, such as the first projector in the school.  Instead of keeping it in the library, I asked if I could keep it in my room - I would always give it up when anyone came to ask, but it gave my easy access for the most part.  I’ve used that strategy frequently.  It gives my students more access, but also proves to admin that the technology is being used effectively.  When other teachers see what I can do with it, then they are more likely to try it and ask for more.

What has been your favourite technology or use of technology in your classroom? What is your students?

Tough question.  There’s been lots of highlights over the years.  One favourite is that it levels the playing field for all students.  I love to give a challenged child the tech supports they need to feel confident.  That might be using an iPad and typing or using Read and Write Gold/Dragon dictation to get thoughts down.  Often using a mindmapping piece lets a student who has difficulty writing get lots of ideas organized and then off they go. There is nothing that feels better than when a student recognizes hey, I can do this school thing after being at the bottom of the pile. 

I also love video conferencing and Skyping for the leadership and responsibility it brings out in my students.  It’s always great to learn about something and share that, and I give it to the class to decide how we will approach it.  I love it when I have them present to adults and the adults say Wow.  The kids are always very pumped.

Are there any negative of using technology in the classroom or being online?

I know that there is a lot of media attention about the negative use of technology.  When I think hard, there’s only been one time that I was involved with a junior high project with several  classes of students.  Part of the project involved a WebCT chat room, and some inappropriate comments were posted.  It was a good reminder to me to always go into a project being very clear with the students about what being negative will bring.  If we discuss how to handle ourselves appropriately and positively before getting on, then that’s what I get from the kids.  

We've been working lots with talking about our digital footprint.  My kids are tweeting and blogging about the good things, and they see how we can be inspired by a tweet to make a difference.  This year my class has connected with Peter Reynolds and others around the world, as well as making a Kindness video that was a highlight of our year.

http://www.psdblogs.ca/4gh/2013/03/10/welcome-global-tv/

Has your community and parents responded well to the use of technology and social media in your classroom/school?

Definitely.  We've been in the paper and on the news, and our parents have been very supportive.  We are lucky to have George Couros in our division, and he’s done so much groundwork for us!

We have been seeing many schools and classrooms go completely paperless. Do you see your classroom being a paperless one where everything is to be done digitally? What would be some major downfalls of having a paperless elementary classroom?

Sadly, my class is far from that right now.  I am on a committee for the division that is looking at our direction.  I would love to see us in a 1:1 environment where that would be easy to do.  Has been very difficult this year with 48 students and little computer access!

For me, the biggest issue is bridging the gap between the have and have not kids.  Some of our students bring their own iPad to school.  Others haven’t got the finances to have a TV at home.  That makes having the technology here at school and giving them those skills vitally important.  Always have to think about the Digital Divide!

What is something you would like try or something you would like to do more of with your classroom as far as technology goes?

I would love to get my hands on some Chromebooks!  Using Google Drive with our kids this year has been amazing.  It’s so easy to have them work at school and then go home and back - seamlessly!  With our issues with access, it’s meant that they can use their iPods and iPads to work here at school, freeing up computers for the others.

Tech Task #11 - A Peek Inside Your Classroom

This weeks tech task asks us to think about our future classrooms. To think what it will be like, the must haves, the pedagogy and the overall learning environment. To be honest, this is something that I have been thinking about for the last four years since the beginning of my journey through becoming a teacher. Although I have been constantly thinking about it, my ideas are constantly changing. There are always new ideas and teaching 'must haves' popping up that I know I would enjoy using. If there is one thing that is for sure, my future classroom will be very tech friendly. I've always imagined having a well connected classroom and using technology in my teaching and ECMP355 has given me many resources and tools to work with to achieve that goal. I want to lay out what I have learned in this semester to paint a picture of what my future classrooms may look like. 

BLOGGING - I hope that blogging will be a big part of my future classroom. Through this class I have been able to explore many classroom and student blogs and have really enjoyed it. The process for students is so engaging to having their own blog as well as it lets parents explore their child's learning process. Sue Waters did a wonderful ETMOOC presentation on Student Blogging. I would highly recommend anyone wanting to start student and classroom blogs to check out the session.

This semester in ECMP355, I myself, have learned the importance of blogging and staying connected. The benefits I have experienced would be the same for student blogging. Some benefits I have noticed are that I've grown my personal learning network and it keeps growing! Things like reading other blogs, commenting, receiving comments and making connections through Twitter all have expanded my learning network. Genuine writing experiences are created through blogging. My blog allows me to write whatever I want to write and student blogs will allow them the same opportunities, it's also a great way to get students writing who don't like using a pencil and paper. They also have an audience to read their writing which makes the experience motivating! 

GOOGLE - This semester I have really learned more about Google- that it is more than just a search engine. I've gone from using it only as a search engine every now and then to using it daily on my phone and computer on Google Drive, using Google Hangouts to connect with others, keep track of the blogs I follow with Google Reader and much much more. I've been able to use Google Drive everyday whether it was taking quick notes of things I need to remember to essays to major projects. What I like most is that it saves without me having to remember to hit save and that it syncs immediately to my phone and other devices.  I will definitely be using Google Drive in my future classroom with students. One tool in Google Drive that I will find myself using often is the Google Forms because there is so much I could do with the forms for my students, parents and staff. Also Google Docs is a great way to have student collaborate on any project or assignment.

TWITTER - I enjoy using Twitter, it's a great way to stay connected. I struggled at the beginning of this class thinking of how I would use it in a classroom because I felt that it wasn't particularly beneficial for young children. My opinion was completely changed after listening to one of our sessions #6 Technology in the Primary Classroom, where some wonderful teachers (@techieang, @kathycassidy and @KLirenman) who explained how they used Twitter DAILY in their classroom. They were using Twitter in creative ways which I wouldn't have even thought of before! One mentioned that they would read tweet each day and do grammar and spelling checks on the tweets. Now that I have followed classroom tweeters, I feel like it is something I would want to bring into the classroom. 

These three things, blogging, google and twitter, will form the base of my classroom. My classroom will be emerged into technology and be well connected. The possibilities are endless, which is very exciting!

The Sterotyped Teacher

Today in my ECE class, we had a wonderful presenter, Michelle Gray, who gave us some insight on the EYE (Early Years Evaluation) assessment which happens in pre-school and kindergarten. Although I have many comments and things to write about the EYE assessment alone, that is not where this blog post it going. 

Michelle Gray gave us some examples of what to expect in the EYE assessment. One example she gave is that children are given pictures of certain occupations which they have to identify and tell what the role of the person in the occupation does. If they are able to identify the particular occupation but not tell of the role, they receive zero marks. If they tell what their understanding of the role is, but it is not an 'accepted' answer, they also receive zero. Michelle mentioned that there are three occupations that are shown, a firefighter, a police officer and a teacher. Through her experience she has noticed that one that children often get wrong is the one of a teacher. Why? Because how do you show a picture of a teacher? Most police officers and firefighters are in a uniform that easily identifies them as being in their roles. How is one to identify a teacher through a picture? 

One picture that is provided is of a women, with a bun in her hair, holding a textbook writing "ABC" on the board. Most children cannot identify this image to that of a teacher. Children may say, "A girl writing on the board." With Michelles suggestion to change the picture, they did. They changed it to an image with a female holding a globe. You know, because all teachers stand in the front of the room holding the Earth. Michelle found that that is how children would respond to the image, "Umm, a lady holding the world?" Young children cannot connect to these images because the teachers they work with each day do not look like the people found in these particular images.

These are stereotypes of what a teacher "should" look like. In reality, there are few teachers who will appear that way. For fun, I googled the word "teacher" and clicked to see the image results. All the results contained a female, a chalkboard in the background and they are either wearing glasses, holding a pencil or an apple, pointing, or they look mean. I don't know about you, but I haven't run into a teacher who looks like the following teachers in my professional years of becoming a teacher. I'll give credit to the fact that the people in these images aren't wearing cardigans with knitted apples and one room school houses all around. I realize that these images of teachers were realistic years ago when blackboards were dominantly used, students sat in desks in rows and students all learned through direct instruction, coping notes and worksheets. Are there people today that still believe that a teachers role is to stand powerful among all the students and dictate learning?

 

Not one of the top search results contained an image of a teacher with a child or group of children learning through a hands on experience, a classroom filled with students working on different tasks in a way that suits their learning needs or a teacher facilitating learning through various uses of technology.

I know these images are only a few of teacher stereotypes. Are there other stereotypes that you have faced as a teacher?