In class this week, we discussed the positive and negative outlooks on learning online. To begin, I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed discussing this in class. Since classes have been online this year, learning has looked a little different. Each class has been lectured via zoom, which can be rather difficult for some classes. Instead of being able to meet your professors, peers and engage in real life experience learning, it has all been communicated through our computer screens. Although it has been quite the adjustment, I believe that online learning has been a smooth transition to deal with our current times. I appreciated discussing this topic because we were able to hear our classmates thoughts on this matter, discuss how it has been more helpful and also discuss how it has negatively impacted our learning.

Personally, I originally found online learning very difficult. I have always been one to ask questions during lectures and learned better through personal interaction in face to face learning. However, now that we are almost wrapping up our second semester, I can confidently say that it eventually got better. Professors have been very engaging and helpful during these times to ensure that all students are aware of deadlines, course material and have given us extra time in class to complete our assignments. It has also shown all of us how important technology is and how to properly execute lesson plans through different online platforms in order to teach desired outcomes. I found that it was beneficial to create a plan for myself when it came to being in class and completing homework, so I was not left staring at a screen for hours. This allowed me to distribute my time sitting in front of my computer and while doing homework accordingly. It can be straining on the eyes to stare at a screen all day, which is why creating a plan felt needed.

With the enlightening news that classes will be in person in September, I am sure that everyone is relieved and excited to get back into our learning norms. I believe that this year taught us all patience, acceptance and understanding when it came to learning online, and is definitely an experience that we will not forget. See you all in September!

For this week’s class, we were honoured to have Tracy Humphreys, guest speaker, lead our class lecture. Tracy taught us all about technology and inclusion in classrooms, which I found very beneficial. Tracy works for BCEdAccess Society, which is a volunteer-run program that serves families of students with disabilities throughout B.C. This program helps families of complex students relate together by highlighting challenges that they possibly may face while receiving education in B.C. Schools.

The BCEd Access Society helps provide education to families by promoting equality and inclusion for all students. In our lecture, Tracy touched on the fact that some parents deny the use of technology and are against its use in the classroom. However, especially in our COVID-19 times where face-to-face gatherings should be limited, the use of technology in classrooms is more vital than ever. Technology is growing and expanding everyday, and can be a rather useful tool to implement into classes to enhance students learning. In the lecture, we engaged in a discussion regarding how students with learning disabilities can strive and learn better with the use of technology. Personally, I shared a moment from when I used to work in after school care. There was a child who had troubles speaking until she/he was the age of 4-5, and until then she/he could only say particular sounds. However, with the use of an iPad and pictures, she/he was able to communicate better with the teachers and eventually learned to read the words of what she/he wanted to say. I am sure that they are several more various stories that individuals can share relating to a moment where they believe that technology can help students with complex needs to strive in a classroom. With proper support and access to these resources, education systems can help students succeed in all aspects of their lives, as well as continue to progress these types of learning methods.

I included the link to Tracy’s website, as I would like to possibly use it in the future as a reference.

This week in our technology and innovation class we learnt about the importance of educational videos. Personally, I think that educational videos are great. I believe that they provide a diverse method of instruction to students by promoting listening, engaging and reflection. Since students are in the classroom for around 25-30 hours per week, teacher instruction can become rather repetitive to students. Although teaching verbal lessons to students is of course the most effective method, teaching through educational videos also holds its benefits. By listening to educational videos, educators can teach their students in videos instructed by others or through the use of visuals. Incorporating videos into daily lessons can enable students to hear instruction from guest speakers (those speaking in the videos) or through the use of diagrams, visuals or storylines. Also, by providing videos in the classroom, teachers are able to pause the videos to provide their input, ask the students questions during the videos and facilitate post-video discussion in the classroom. Teachers are able to use videos to teach various subjects and promote interaction in the classroom and diversify their lessons.

When we had our Wednesday visits into elementary classrooms last semester, I recall my mentor teacher using educational videos for particular lessons. Our teacher would use calm and relaxing videos during quiet time, where students could listen to ocean waves and the video would run through a sequence of relaxing videos to prepare students for a down time. In addition to quiet time videos, I believe that their is a plethora of ways that educational videos can be integrated into the classroom. For example, educational videos can be an author reading aloud a story book for students to follow, a math instructional video that diversifies how to count or add, or even introducing students to the number line or reading. Educational videos can also be as simple as playing the students a short cartoon clip at snack time to get them familiar with sounds and reading. While the students are watching they will be enjoying the video and its visuals, while also learning from it simultaneously.

Two weeks ago I created an iMovie for my weekly reflection post. Even as the author of the video, I found it enjoyable to make and it provided a diverse way of explaining my inquiry topic. This enhanced my understanding of the importance of educational videos and made me realize that instruction and explanations can be portrayed and taught through the use of videos.

This week we had a special guest speaker Jeff Hopkins lead our class zoom lecture. Jeff Hopkins is the founder and principal of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) in downtown Victoria. This school is much different than the other schools around Victoria, or even in the Lower Mainland. This school is built around the idea of an inquiry based framework, where the learner’s interests are put first. In other words, the school emphasizes curriculum around what the learners are most interested in and at each students specific skill level. Prior to this lecture, I was unaware that this school existed. Last semester in our history class, we learnt about different types of schools such as Montessori and Summerhill Schools. I was rather intrigued at the idea of Montessori schools which also follow a similar framework of teaching according to the students interests. The PSII reminds me of Montessori schools, and is a concept that I would like to learn more about. I believe that as educators, putting the needs and interests of the schools first is most important. Each student learns in an unique way and it is important to target and adapt to these needs to ensure that all students are striving to reach their full potential. I found the Youtube Video by Jeff Hopkins on his Introduction to PSII very interesting and eye opening as to what occurs in these schools. Although I hope to one day teach at a public school, I hope to implement a few of these ideas into my classroom to ensure that my students are reaching their full potential and that I am teaching them what they are most interested in. I would like to save this link to watch these videos and further research these schools in the future. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci336/2021/02/22/jeff-hopkins-the-pacific-school-of-innovation-and-inquiry-psii/.

This week we learned about screen casting and how to create videos on a Mac using iMovie. I found this topic particularly interesting because prior to last semester, I had not used iMovie on my mac before. I had seen friends of mine use iMovie to create very creative and interesting movies through the many options provided on the mac to construct movies. I always thought that it was a complicated app that required a surplus of time to understand and actually engage with. However, after last class, I became more interested in challenging myself to understand. Last semester, I used iMovie once to edit a video for a gym project, but it was a rather short video that did not require detailed graphics or design. After viewing this resource (https://docs.google.com/document/d/174-wSYFC93g03L3NciyZ_8uAs2cm0EW2Szk45gB194M/edit) posted on our class website, I took a look deeper into iMovie itself. I was able to take my time and follow YouTube guided instruction on certain directions and options associated with it. I took the time to create a small video of my summer from last year with simple photographs and small video clips, as it was just for fun to help deepen and grow my understanding on how to utilize it. In relation to my free inquiry topic, I am hoping to integrate a video made on iMovie into this topic. I am going to continue exploring iMovie and its various options in hopes to become an expert on it!