Brock University’s Ed Tech Showcase

 Brock University held an Ed Tech Showcase for educators. Being in the Ed Tech cohort I decided to participate in this event. This would be a wonderful opportunity and this would help me teach about technology in my future blocks. .

My group and I decided to do gamification in the classroom using the Kinect X-Box. At first I was a bit hesitant because bringing a video game into a classroom almost sounds ridiculous, but I shocked myself and found that is it very useful in the classroom. Some schools are already using the Kinect. They use it mostly for special needs students. It is a get way for students to get engaged. I also found that high schools and universities are cracking the X-Box Kinect and using it for advanced math. 

On showcase day, I was extremely nervous! Principals, vice-principals, board members and teachers were attending, so I had to make sure I impressed. I found that everyone enjoyed playing with the games. While playing the games, I explained how they could incorporate my game (Kinect Adventure) in their classroom across the curriculum. Many participants loved the idea and some were hesitant but all told me that they could see the X-Box Kinect in the future in classrooms. That is one step closer for bringing new technologies in schools. 

My PD Session at Viscount Montgomery

On Friday, February 24, 2012, my classmates and I received the opportunity to hold a PD session on Integrating Technology in the Classroom,  at Viscount Montgomery. I want to thank the staff at Viscount Montgomery for being great and patient participants. Also, I wanted to thank the administrative staff and my cohort leaders for setting up this session for us.

Krista and I, presented Livescribe. We showed teachers how to use it in primary, junior, and intermediate grades. For primary, we modeled the use of a Livescribe on a word wall. For junior and intermediate grades we showed how to create concept maps. We also showed how this tool is extremely useful for student with special needs.

We were extremely nervous about the session because Viscount Montgomery was our next placement and we wanted to make a good impression.  We were also nervous about the technology not working properly in the session but we had a backup plan just in case. In the end it is a successful session where teachers were asking about purchasing the items..

On presentation day, my anxiety disappeared because of the welcoming and warming staff at Viscount Montgomery. The principal and vice principal immediately introduced themselves and gave a tour of the school. They  ensured that everything would be fine and that they were THANKFUL that we were presenting at their school.

Professional Development Day: Kids in the Hall

On Thursday February 2nd, 2012, Brock held a PD conference called Kids in the Hall.   

"This participatory, workshop-based, PD will help you to get to know the kids, their complex lives, and how to impact the learning of the kids in the hall," Brock University. 

 Click on the link for more information : http://www.brocku.ca/webfm_send/19920

 The workshops available are:

The Kid Who Can't Sit Still

The Kid of the Faith You Don't Understand

The Grieving Kid

The Kid Who May Have Addictive Tendencies

The Kid Who Gets

Hurt!

The GLBTQ Kid (Positive Space)

The Disruptive Kid

The Kid Who Doesn't Want to Speak French

The Kid With Communication Concerns

My Personal Experience for Kids in the Hall 


I got the chance to attend two sessions: kids with addictive tendencies and the grieving child. 

 Addictive Tendencies

Usually when I hear word addicts I think of adult drug addicts. This session challenged my thinking and explained that children are also addicts. Some of the addictive behaviors that we covered were gaming and gambling. I found that children start to become addictive to gaming, gambling, and drugs at a very early age, early middle school.

Grieving Child

This workshop helped me understand and support grieving children.This session started by asking us if we would like to share a personal story of loss. I always knew that family members were important to children but I never knew that pets were just as important. I also found that children at different ages grieve differently.


I can say without a doubt these two sessions were amazing. I would highly recommend everyone attending this PD.These sessions were extremely helpful.

Recommendations
- Teachers be able to attend all of the sessions.  
- This PD would of been useful in the beginning of the school year.
- Create sessions for children that could be integrated into schools. I think this would help children understand themselves better and create better community within schools.

Why has the use of educational technology failed to create widespread changes in teaching and learning

There are multiple reasons why educational technology has failed:

 

Costs: Technology is very expensive. Some school boards can not afford technology, or spend it on something else.
Lack of teacher technology education: Its hard to create workshops when there isnt a demand. It is also hard to find teachers who are leaders in education.
Intimidated about Technology: Many teachers are reluctant to learn about new technology. As technology leaders it our job to de-mystify this concept.
Lack of Technology in schools: Many schools have limited or no technology.
Generation Gap: There are many younger and older teachers who do not believe that technology is useful in a classroom.

Difficult Integration: Many teachers who might be trained, can have a hard time integrating technology in the classroom. Its hard to bring something new into a classroom.

21st Century Classroom

What my 21st century classroom will look like.

Academic/Technical -
word walls, anchor charts, teacher as model and facilitator, student work on the walls, TLCP boards
Physical - 
desks in groups, smartboard, computers, carpet space, math/literacy/social justice stations
Culture - 
tribes ( community ), positive space, character building, community building activities

New Resources

Ive decided that this post will be dedicated to new things Ive learned in class.


There are some awesome teaching resources for the classroom

Media Awareness Network
This website helps with media literacy and there's lessons for teachers and parents. .
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm

 Google Docs
I am in love with google docs and power points. I can create documents online without worrying about accidentally deleting them.  I also dont have to upload my documents to my email because its already saved and I can edit it online. It also has a share option. I have done so many projects online with my partners at the same time.
docs.google.com/

Google Plus 
Awesome networking tool. Google google plus :)

Adjective Poem For Prince of Wales School

For Cohort we did a adjective poem, so here it is!

The Awesome Prince of Wales School

1) New
2) Large
3) Sweet Staff
4) adorable students