Dairy Queen Give Away!!!

I need everyone's help for this one. I got my grade 12 marketing class to create a Dairy Queen print advertisement. What I need from everyone is to vote for the one they like the best. Doesn't matter why you like it, just leave a comment of the name of the blizzard on the ad you like the most. Please note the winner of the contest gets a free medium blizzard (I am also putting them on social media and have gotten permission from DQ to do this project).

Go ahead and leave a comment!! Some more may be added within the next week due to a few students on the school trip to Spain who missed class.

Personalized Learning Network

Below is a picture of my personalized learning network (PLN). It is definitely not as intense as some peoples mainly because I have not had the time to search around and find different apps and tools that I may like using. This is the reason I have taken this course because it has given me time to explore different tools. I created this using Mindmeister, you can sign up for free and get the limited version or there are also three other levels that you can pay money to get. I can now add mindmeister into my organizing area of my PLN. I really liked it because it was simple to use, other than the fact (the free version anyway) did not give me any direction on how to use it. I figured it out and enjoyed it. 

Now when it comes to looking at the 21st century connected student's pln (below), I have just put in the areas where technology will be used since depending on the student and demographic many different tools could be used. 

Just by looking at my pln compared to the 21st student I am excited that I get to live during these times and witness all the interesting tools and things that have yet to be developed. This being said I already know that I will miss a lot of cool things after I pass because it is only going to get more intense! 

Google search yourself!

The importance of how you are perceived online depends, unfortunately, on your age and profession. After grade 12 is when your identity online becomes relevant. Post secondary, jobs, housing, etc. are all kinds of things that might take a look at you online. If someone researches you online and finds something they don't like they may put your name at the bottom of the pile. 

To protect mine I don't post much online at all. I use the internet more as a resource of information. This being said I think my online identity would be the one who used to be really active in the online world but now has stop using most things. For example I have twitter and facebook but I only post something monthly even though I actually use them everyday to look for ideas and interesting things.
We need to make sure our students understand how their online presence can affect their offline life. As an example I know of people who search people online when they get their resume... if they see something they don't like online about this person they don't get the job and most of the time they aren't asked to explain why such things are on the internet.

Below is a screen shot when I "googled" myself. Nothing about me came up except this blog, but this blog is set up through google and I was signed in. I decided to go "Yahoo" myself and nothing showed up about me... I guess I don't have much of an online identity.

Science Friday + any day = great blog!

The blog I have follow is a combination of a bunch of different science topics from interesting facts to things you can ask/do in a classroom setting. Ariel Zych heads the education blogs that are posted. I found this blog really interesting and decided to follow it for a few reasons. First I am thinking of teaching science once I graduate. Second, the things posted are interesting and current. Third, there are some cool projects/ideas for all age groups. These education blogs are also split up into a lesson plan template including objectives, materials, procedure, and background information. Also under the educate page there are subjects on the left hand side. These topics are: chemistry, earth sciences, engineering and technology, life sciences, mathematics, and physical science. I am student teaching placement is in a math class so I hope and will try to use some of the neat ideas they have posted. Below is the link to the education page and also a picture of the interface.
http://www.sciencefriday.com/teacher-resources/index.html#page/full-width-list/1

Mental Math Video... a different twist.

The video below is a video I have actually used for a mental math activity. Students watched the video as I wrote questions on the board. "How many dominoes do you think were used? How long did it take from first domino placed to finished video? Do you think they got frustrated and why? Was it all completed at once or in small steps?" My grade 11s and 12s enjoyed it but I got the sense that they thought I was crazy because that is not how mental math has always been done for them. My grade 9s and 10s on the other hand loved it! But how is this mental math?
Well I have changed my outlook on mental math from you have one minute to complete these ten questions on the board. I now will still do the ten questions but I also use more videos and abstract problems like this video. With this activity students get a visual problem to work on. They use estimation skills and communication skills when discussing the questions in groups. Also their answers for the last two questions are "yes the person gets frustrated because they might knock it down" and "they are completed in small separate steps and then video edited to make it look like one big one". Now I leave you with these two questions that I get the class to discuss after, "Does math frustrate people and why?" and "How should math problems be completed, all at once or in small steps that are put together to get the answer?"

The other video below is what I use for a "gear turner" in my physics classes. Gear turners are like mental math but more science based. After watching this video in class I asked the groups "How did he do it?" A bonus is that he is from Winnipeg, MB so he is also local :).

Also I was going to put a couple other videos up but I found that my other math teacher friend used both of them as well. Instead of posting them myself I added the link to Cecile's derivatives below
http://cecilecorriveau.blogspot.ca/2015/01/online-videos-tech-task-9.html?showComment=1425326358461#c5814814755016561839

Brandon School Division and 1:1

Another guest speaker came and talked to us about 1:1 computing but from a different perspective. Kelli, from the Brandon School Division (BSD) communications and IT department came and talked about 1:1 from the divisions point of view. It was cool to find out that Kelli was the lady put in charge of getting the BSD to 1:1. She was given a small budget and began. She has had to jump through a lot of hoops and dodge holes and change plans numerous times. BSD is interested in keeping things safe for all students when it comes to 1:1 computing. After explaining the processes she has been through, Kelli described what we as teachers must do and be careful of when using technology. For example when you want to use a social media site for class you must fill out the project proposal papers. These then get sent to the division and verified that it is an appropriate and safe way to use technology. I didn't know about this form before and I have had all my placements in the BSD, so it is a good thing I didn't have my students use social media. Now that I know and will have finished this class I look forward to implementing some of this technology in my next BSD placement and will have the forms filled out. Even though Kelli outlined a lot of the issues with using technology she still was able to get across the fact that if it is used right it will be really beneficial for students. 

http://aaaphx.org/seniors-carving-sizable-niche-technology/

Simple but Complicated

We had some speakers from Minnedosa come to our class today. Martin and Bryce talked to us about how 1:1 computing is working in their school. When doing 1:1 in the classroom they still use Blooms but like the SAMR model better because it is a model about how students use technology. Below is a picture of the model.

 



They strive to get students in the transformation region of the model as it demonstrates higher order thinking. They talked about how they have students do all sorts of projects using what ever technology they want. For example in math... yeah a real life math example :)... they get students to make videos anyway they would like about topics in math and the steps you need to follow.

I really like the idea of this and having someone who is actually trying it come and talk about both the positives and negatives was great. One thing I am still not sure about is that the school provides the technology. I think that this would just create problems in a larger school since you will most likely have more students who may not like school so could wreck their devices. I like the idea of having a bring your own device system. This way students are comfortable with their devices and will take care of them while learning!
Below is a 6 minute video on why going 1:1 is not really a choice if we want our students to succeed

Tweet Tweet Twitter

Tech Task #3. For this class I was finally forced to get twitter. I didn't really want to but I was optimistic and started an account.... I have loved it! I don't tweet much but more follow things I am interested in to stay updated more easily. I have also found some interesting people and groups that I have not heard of before and have followed them. It is not something I will use for my social life but it is definitely a tool I will use to find ideas for all aspects of my life not just teaching. I am still not sure yet if I would use it in my classroom but who knows, like teaching and the internet... anything is possible :).

Online Classes in Manitoba

We were fortunate enough to have two speakers from Winnipeg come talk to us about online courses in Manitoba. This was an eye-opening talk for me because I didn't even think Manitoba had online courses for high school students. The thing is though Manitoba actually has a total of 43 online course available and they range from grade 5 to grade 12 level. Since I knew nothing about these I went and looked around even more after the talk. The online courses are all laid out based on the curriculum outcomes so they are exactly what you need for the credit. We discussed the positives of these great courses. Accessibility is infinite if you have internet access. Therefore for students up north who can't get to a school regularly it allows them to still get their credits and graduate. Also some of the courses are not offered at every school so if a student is interested in something they can still do it online. I really wish I had the opportunity to take agriculture and it is a course that is offered online so students can now take it regardless if their school offers it or not. This is also really beneficial for students who become parents before graduating this way they can be at home with their child and do their schooling online when they want.

http://www.ivoclarvivadent.us/en-us/ivoclar-vivadent-online-learning-center/

Organizing Your Online Life

Tech task #2. We have looked at and discussed different ways of organizing yourself online. Before this class I just used the classic "add to favourites". This works but it does take some effort and time organizing it as well. We talked about a few other ones in class that allow you to access your information from any computer. For example Pinterest, Diigo and Feedly are just a few. After exploring these tools for curation I found I really like Feedly. Both the computer and mobile interfaces are really simple to follow and use. I also found when searching for things on Feedly  I found a lot of things I like and everything that came up was relevant to what I searched for. This may not be the case for everyone that has tried Feedly but it was for me. Below is a picture of what the mobile interface looks like.

I believe it is important for anyone who will be using the internet for resources to have themselves organized. Teachers and students don't have time to try and remember every site they like and think they might use so curation makes it simple. As a teacher I would give my students the choice of what they want to use because they might find something they prefer better than feedly.

Online Life for Young Canadians

What does online life look for the average young Canadian? This was the question posed and then answered in the article Young Canadians in a Wired World. This weeks article began by stating that 99% of students have internet outside of school. At first I thought that it sounded high but when I stepped back and started writing this post I think that it might actually be right. As I type this on my laptop at home and I will post it using my phone after I re-read it from wherever I am that I get cell service.

With this stat it made us pose the question if they have it and are using it out of school why shouldn't we get them using it more in schools? To do this and get the technology to each student it will cost schools a lot of money therefore I think BYOD (bring your own device) is the way to go. This of course brings up some issues as well. Students who cannot afford their own device would have to be supplied one which would still create some costs for the school. Also teachers would may need to learn a variety of devices and how they work in case a student doesn't know how to do something on their device. This being said and after reading the article linked above I believe it would be a really rare case that a student wouldn't know how to do something on their device.

Some strong positives for BYOD could be that students will take better care of the device since it is actually their own and it was not supplied by the school. They won't be able to use the excuse I don't know how to do that since it is not what I use usually. I feel that since it is the students personal device that they will bring it charged and with the charger most days.

Either way you look at it, students having accessibility to internet and devices at school is the important part. Regardless of whether the device is provided or if it is their own but I think it will be better and also faster to implement if it was BYOD.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cainc/6283248242/

Online Presence Judged Offline?

We have discussed in class about: digital identity - how you  are seen and act online

                                                       digital dualism - online and offline life is completely separate

                                                       technological determinism - a society's technology can influence                                                                                                                                           .                                                                                                    the society's values and culture

The two big ones that I found important are the first two. First digital dualism, I do agree that both lives are completely separate but most people end up attributing online images to an offline person. With this being said this is why both a person's online and offline life need to reflect there values. So yes you can have to completely different lives, one online and one offline, but in the end they should reflect a person'a core values and beliefs. With this being said it leads right into digital identity. The importance of how you are perceived online depends, unfortunately, on your age and profession. After grade 12 is when your identity online becomes relevant. Post secondary, jobs, housing, etc. are all kinds of things that might take a look at you online. If someone researches you online and finds something they don't like they may put your name at the bottom of the pile. 

So what does this mean for teachers?? Well first we need to really make sure anything we have online that may be interpreted, even a little bit negatively is not put online. Also we need to make sure our students understand how their online presence can affect their offline life. As an example I know of people who search people online when they get their resume... if they see something they don't like online about this person they don't get the job and most of the time they aren't asked to explain why such things are on the internet.

http://www.launchablemag.com/?page=post&title=Startups-Build-Your-Online-Presence

Brakes Off!! and Radio Off?

Well the last semester of my education degree is underway. In the first week of class we were lucky to have two interesting presentations.

First Dean Shareski talked to us about the 20th vs 21st century classroom. I really enjoyed everything about his talk. First of all it was done using google hangout so he talked to us and gave us a presentation over the internet from his own living room. So cool! The main point of his presentation is that in the 21st century we have to move towards using technology as a learning asset. He pointed out that there are all sorts of text online that we can have students reading and reflecting on for classes. This is a cool idea because it gives different students the choice of what they want to read, so they can pick what they are interested in. This not only allows me as a teacher to see what students can pull from text and the depth of their reflection but it also allows them to learn something from the text. The only thing he talked about that concerned me was sharing student work online with the world. This is a great idea which I agree with but I am not sure how well it will work. By this I mean our students seem to be more bubble wrapped than before so I don't know if the parents would like the idea of their kids putting their own name out on the internet everywhere.

John Finch, from Manitoba education, was the second speaker we were lucky to have. First topic of the day was making sure schools are using the most cost efficient technology. For example he said a lot of the Brandon schools have gotten smartboards installed and are not using them fully. I do agree with this between all my placements one had posters over it, another was just used as a projector and the last was used more correctly. The other big topic that took over was the issue of Copyright. A couple things found surprising is that teachers cannot play music or videos in class unless they are used for educational purposes and not entertainment. I actually zoned out for most of this to be honest, this is because as a teacher we are told to pick are battles. I figure this is a law and it is not a battle I want to get into... mainly as it would most likely end up being a waste of my time and energy that I could have used to help my students other ways. Also thinking about this from the other side if I was a singer or actor then I would like to get paid for people using what I made regardless of it's use. So I guess it will be Radio Off and I will be signing up for song writing/singing classes :p.

Brakes are off and it is your turn!! Any parents out there have a say about there kids posting school work online for the world to see? Also has anyone come by a, really low, cost efficient technology that would be useful in a MATH classroom?