Thank You

As I reach my last couple of weeks in the Red River College Teacher Education program I find myself reminiscing on all the things that I have learnt and experienced within the past two years. When I entered into this program two years ago I didn’t know what to expect. After taking four years of study at the university to obtain my first degree, I was very much used to lecture and theory based courses. Little did I know that RRC’s teacher education program was going to turn my life upside down… in a good way.

I was faced head-on with real, hands-on, active, authentic, project-based learning. And not only that, but I learnt how to effectively teach this way too. I was introduced to a number of teaching methods, technologies, professional learning networks, professional development opportunities, and projects that I am so grateful I was able to be a part of.

I can confidently say that if I did not enter this program, I would not be anywhere near as prepared to enter into the teaching field as I am today. I feel confident, motivated, and even curious to begin my journey as an educator.

Something that I will take away from this experience is to constantly share my knowledge, not only with students, but with my colleagues as well. I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to have great professors who taught me how to incorporate current and relevant teaching practices, along with the infusion of technology in a purposeful manner into our education system. But not every pre-service teacher gets this opportunity. I know I will be working with educators who might need assistance in areas of technology that I had to privilege to learn, and I will continue my learning and sharing with others.

Thank you to the Red River College Teacher Education program for not only teaching me how to become a great teacher, but for giving me some of the best memories of my life. I will forever recommend this program to any individual with a passion for education. 

Growing My Passion With Authentic Learning Experiences

I find that growing your passion for something you want to do is difficult if you aren’t actually practicing it. You can read about inquiry-based approaches in the classroom all you want, but if you aren’t actually experiencing it then you may end up losing that passion.

As a post-secondary student I’ve experienced the dreaded 3-hour lectures on theory, and I find that it is really easy to lose sight of what you are studying for. I know for a fact that I want to be a teacher, but if I experience times when I’m not active in a real classroom setting, I sometimes forget the true joys (and setbacks) that come with being a teacher. 

That is why I am so grateful to have the opportunity to practice my micro-teaching this semester in an actual school setting. My teacher Eva Brown has set up my micro-teaching lessons to be taught at my practicum placement where I will be teaching for nine weeks in the spring. This is awesome because it gives me an opportunity to get to know the students and the type of courses I will be teaching. 

By practicing my micro-teaching at my practicum placement, it has definitely given me that adrenaline rush of passion for teaching. Rather than me “pretend” teaching to my college classmate Rob, I am jumping right into teaching 32 grade 9 students. It’s pretty scary, but it’s also the best thing that could ever happen to me. 

Today I experienced my first micro-teaching lesson at my practicum placement, and trust me, you can plan as much as you want and it will look flawless on paper. But once you get into a real classroom setting, there will always be unexpected situations that you have to adapt to.

This is real authentic learning. I would not be able to practice adapting my lesson or thinking on my feet by “pretend” teaching to Rob. This is the real deal! And I am so happy that I am learning in an authentic setting, because it is preparing me to be a better teacher.

By being immersed in real authentic learning experiences I can truly say that it has inspired my passion, and it has reminded me of why I chose such a rewarding career.

 

“Add-on”

Throughout my experience of being a preservice teacher, I’m finding that there is a lot of emphasis, research and literature about the effectiveness and importance of inquiry-based pedagogy and technology in education. You practically see resources everywhere encouraging and assisting teachers. But my question is, if it’s so important to our current state of education why is it still not being addressed in Manitoba?

In my eyes, we are experiencing three main groups of educators. The first group consists of educators who understand the deep meaning and purpose of using inquiry and technology in education. These teachers are the ones you see going above and beyond, collaborating with classrooms around the world and displaying their students work and progress through Instagram, Twitter, WordPress, you name it.

The second group consists of educators who know that technology is a buzz word in education, and that their administrator would like to see more use of the iPad in their classroom. However these teachers view inquiry and technology as an “add-on”, something that requires more work, and is only being used to simply add to their already created teacher-centered lesson plan.

And the third group consists of educators, as you can probably guess, who don’t use current technology at all. These are educators who dust off the old projector in the back corner of the room to place notes on for the students to copy down. The educators who are too comfortable with their old routine and perhaps are too afraid to learn something new.

So how can we get rid of this gap? The gap that separates these three groups of educators apart? How can we all be on the same playing field, and teach in the century that we are actually living in? I believe a good place to start would be the main source of teacher development. The young adults who are entering into the Faculty of Education with fresh open minds. That is where we can begin. But let’s be honest, I need a whole new blog post to even begin touching on that.

VFS Animation Workshop at Sisler High School. Photo Credit: Eva Brown

Confident and Prepared

Now that I have completed my ICT Methods course I feel confident and prepared to infuse technology into the curriculum. Before taking this course, I felt comfortable with using technology but I wasn’t exactly sure how to ensure it follows Manitoba’s Literacy with ICT Model. I can confidently say that I am now fluent and literate with using technology effectively in education.

I believe my greatest strength to infuse technology is my ability to think creatively and find great resources quickly to suite whatever topic is being explored in the classroom. I can locate an application and figure out how to use it proficiently in a short period of time. Additionally, I believe another strength of mine is the ability to adapt quickly to any situations that might impede the use of technology. Many teachers get scared and frustrated when things do not work out and simply just drop the use of the technology in their lesson all together, but there is always a way around it. It’s important to be able to think quickly and critically to fix the situation and to be able to still offer your students the great learning experience you had planned for them.

Prior to taking my ICT Methods course I did not know there was so much research and literature on the topic of using technology in education. I knew it was something that was currently happening, but I wasn’t aware that people have already spent years of devoted research to this topic. I have been introduced to numerous resources that will support my use of technology in my teaching, such as the ISTE Standards, the New Horizon Report, and many others.

Overall I have learnt so much within the past few months, however the learning doesn’t stop there. Technology and resources are forever evolving and growing, and as an educator it is my duty to continue my own studies to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest technologies out there for my students to use.

The expansion of my experiences!

Since my previous blog post I have learnt and experienced so much, especially when it comes to inquiry approaches and project-based learning. I had the opportunity to teach and present at three completely different events. The first lesson I taught was to the Early Childhood Eduction program that is offered at Red River College. In this lesson, I used an inquiry approach to guide their discovery in learning about Digital Storytelling.

My second lesson was much different in the sense that I presented at the ManACE MTS PD Day to a group of educators who devoted their day to learn more about effectively using technology in their lessons. I thought this day went really good. We explored certain topics, such as Mystery Skype, and it automatically ignited a passion in certain teachers. They were amazed at all the different possibilities these forms of technology could offer in their classroom.

And lastly, I presented at the Media Literacy week launch event held at the Human Rights Museum. This presentation included an audience combined with students, educators, and extremely important figures such as the president of the Manitoba Teachers Society and the president of the Canadian Teachers Federation. During this presentation I stressed the importance of being digitally responsible and respectful, and I provided tips on how to manage a positive digital footprint. Throughout the rest of the day I could tell that my presentation had an influence on the students because many of their ideas in the workshops stemmed from the advice I had given them.

Although all three of these lessons had different audiences and different topics, they all focused around one central component: using technology responsibly and effectively in education to foster and engage student learning. I was able to see a great example at Sisler High School of a teacher who passionately uses project-based learning and technology in his classroom. Personally, I wouldn’t even call it a classroom because it is really a makerspace for the students to work on their projects.

This teacher, and many others, are working tremendously at providing a learning atmosphere that engages their students. The only downfall is that there is still this large gap. We have teachers who are taking the steps forward in education, such as the one I observed at Sisler, however there are still teachers who make the students sit in desks with a pencil and paper and record notes that are being projected from the overhead projector. I know, I know… you are probably thinking “really? an overhead projector?” But yes! They are still, for some reason, being used. I know the thought of having your classroom turned into a makerspace might freak some teachers out, but perhaps this is what needs to happen in order to meet the needs of the 21st century world we are living in.

What do you think?

Let’s get out of this rut…

The thing that excites me the most about becoming a teacher is that I will be able to influence the learning of my students in a positive and exciting way. I have learned how to infuse technology effectively in the classroom by using a number of different apps and resources. I wish I could have experienced this when I went to school as a child. 

I grew up going to school in an age where teachers and administrators frowned upon the use of technology. We were not allowed to use technology on school grounds at all. We were restricted to the textbooks and resources only our teacher approved of. I do not want to be that kind of teacher.

I want to be the kind of teacher who allows students to use a number of resources and technologies of their choice. If it will enhance their learning, then why not? There is a whole world out there with resources and opportunities to explore, and we now have the technology available to access it. Students should be ALLOWED to access it. Youth these days are already restricted by so many things, so why should we restrict them from having access to a better education?

Our education system is still relying on using methods from the industrial age, such as memorization, copying notes word for word, and using the same old resources from fifty years ago. Uhh… NEWS FLASH! We are no longer living in an industrial society. Our society (and the rest of the world) has evolved to more technological advances, so why hasn’t our education system? As Sir Ken Robinson has said, “one of the roles of education is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity. Instead, what we have is a culture of standardization”. 

I am excited to become a teacher who breaks out of the rut that our education has been stuck in for the past however many years, because it’s time for something new! The past is in the past for a reason, and it’s time we look to the future of education. I want to use technology in a way that will expand my student’s knowledge beyond a boring textbook or classroom walls, because realistically… there is a whole world out there waiting for them to explore. 

Henry G. Izatt Middle School – Technology in its prime

On February 10th I attended the Henry G. Izatt Middle School’s (HGI) open house. I was immediately impressed with the student’s positive behavior and manners in the hallway. Throughout the day I encountered numerous teaching methods to incorporate technology into the classroom. Many students were so competent and skilled with using the technology in their learning. Just from observing I could tell that these students had the imagination and mindset to use technology devices for the greater good. Many instructors are worried that by incorporating personal devices into education the students will become off-task and easily distracted. But by personally witnessing it first-hand I must say that technology is definitely increasing their efficiency and opportunities for greatness.

However on the other end of the spectrum, I encountered a problem that is undergoing possible solutions at HGI. While I was seeing all of the students with the opportunity to use technology, there are also students within the school that may not have the same kind of experience. During the open house we are exposed to all of the teachers who DO use technology in their classrooms, however behind closed doors there are some teachers who still do not. A parent can send two of their children to the same school, and one may be exposed to the great opportunity of technology and the other can be completely left out. We need to find a way to infuse technology in ALL classrooms and to give ALL students the same equal opportunities.

Technology in Education – Why are we still trying to follow a traditional curriculum?

I stumbled upon a video on YouTube while I was searching for a focusing event for one of my lessons. The video is called “The Future Starts Now”. It discusses how our education system fails to allow students to use technology in the classroom. But why are we restricting students from using devices they are most comfortable with? The fact that the curriculum is still trying to follow a traditional model is beyond absurd. Why are we trying to teach today’s generation by using the same methods our grandparents were taught with? Our world is now living in a digital age, and it is constantly evolving. As educators, we are responsible to keep evolving and expanding our knowledge in order to teach our students with the most current and effective resources. Don’t we want them to succeed in all areas of life? We should be teaching them lifelong skills, and in today’s business world technology is huge! We should be teaching them how to incorporate this technology into their assignments, and assist them with pursuing their aspiring careers. It just doesn’t make sense to me why we are still trying to teach in what I refer to as “the dinosaur age”. Let’s get innovative and teach in the digital age.