Pass On the Knowledge

Write a short  “Did You Know?” informational post that describes what resources are available in Ontario and at their district. This post will provide information for others (students parents, teachers on how to access these resources).

Honestly, since I myself have not had my own classroom yet, nor has the area of technology been my forte, I really feel like I do not have a lot of information to offer on this topic. That is one of the reasons I wanted to take a course in information and computer technology because I want to be connected to more resources.

I am trying to rack my brain as to what teachers use at my school...and I have come up with one link to other resources, and one program we use:

1. The one resource I know a lot of you may use for other areas of life, but it is also chalk full of resources and ideas for teaching, is Pinterest. I know this is a simple solution (and some of you may already use it), but it works, and a lot of staff at our school use it to connect them to other resources. It has classroom design ideas, teaching tools and resources, etc. Pinterest and Twitter were two accounts my placement teachers told me were “must haves” for staying connected.
2. Fast ForWord is a computer program we use at JKCS for Grades 1-4. It is a program designed by Scientific Learning that they have described as, “A radically different online reading intervention that targets foundational phonemic awareness, language, memory, attention, processing and sequencing skills.” It can be used for gifted students who would like to challenge themselves and advance these skills, or for students who need extra support. It can be used on a PC or an Apple product, and it can be used at home or at school. Students from our school love this program because it helps them master the skills listed above through games. It also has a ton of resources and support for instructors facilitating the program, including webinars and videos for training in the program.

Bloggers and What They Have to Bestow on Us Regarding 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Post a reflection or commentary of three separate blogs that focus and reflect on skills related to 21 st Century teaching and learning.

When posed with this task I thought to myself, “How am I going to completing this and find good/meaningful blogs?” My first reaction, and go to answer, “I should type this into Google and see what comes up.” But then I thought, no, I should check out some of the blogs from those 10 Teachers to Follow on Twitter that Richard Byrne suggested adding. That way I could complete the task, and get to know those I am following better. These are the blogs I found:

1. The Power of Educational Technology by Liz B Davis (http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.ca/).
1. The description she uses for her blog is as follows, “Demonstrating the power of technology to transform learning, energize communities and inspire innovative thinking.”
2. I love that because she not only has a mission to students and learning, but to her community, and she not only wants to teach it but model it as well.
3. If you watch her YouTube post for her application to the Google Teacher Academy it gives a great, creative synopsis as to how she is an excellent example of a 21st century teacher and learner.
2. Angela Maiers by Angela Maiers (http://www.angelamaiers.com/blog).
1. Angela is an author, speaker, writer, and teacher with the tagline, “Together We Are Smarter!”
2. She has won many awards as a teacher, blogger, innovator, and speaker. She posts summaries, links, and reflections of interviews, conferences, and her own personal experiences in order that others may gain from her learning. My first impression is she is one who doesn’t hoard the information she gathers, but instead, like any great educator, she is excited and passionate about furthering other people’s understanding, and knowledge.
3. As I scrolled through her posts, the post titled, “Getting to the Heart of Collaboration” caught my eye since it is an area in which I just took a course. Angela’s reflection on this buzz word was in line with the questions and reflections that our class posed and discovered. It was encouraging to know that an expert in the teaching field was on the same page as us.
3. The Curious Creative by Tom Barrett (http://edte.ch/blog/).

1. This blog addresses 21st Century teaching and learning, but my first impression is that he does it from a more philosophical perspective than the others I read through.
2. It was a blessing to read through his reflection on feedback.

Overall, it has been a beneficial experience to my education to look through these different blogs. Even if one is an expert and has many awards for their blog and work I would use it just as much as I would use others; depending on the 21st Century teaching and learning that I was curious to explore.

Blended Learning

Before beginning this task I definitely had to do some research again on what is Blended Learning? From my education classes I remember learning the term, as well as E-Learning, but if you don’t use it, you lose it. Therefore, I began my re-search with, what better place then, the Ministry of Education Ontario government website. There was a good definition, a great comparative chart between classroom, blended, and e-learning, as well as links to other resources.

From what I can gather here are some examples of programs schools can use as a platform for blended learning in their classrooms:

1. MiiQuest (http://www.edvation.com/miiquest/) is a program I quickly researched that could be used in the Primary grades.
2. Edsby (http://edsby.com/) is a program I have a bit of personal experience with when I had my placement in a high school. When I checked out the website I noticed that elementary schools use this program as well, therefore, I would use it in the Junior division.
3. Moodle (https://moodle.org/) is something I have a lot of experience with because I used it in university. Again, when I went to their website it explained that elementary schools use this program too. You could use this program with Senior grades.

Fair Use and Creative Commons

Here is the link to my Fair Use Statement:

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br /><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">The Collaborative Community of Education</span> by <span xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" property="cc:attributionName">Danielle Miedema</span> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>.

Our Role as Teachers is To...

What is the role of the teacher when it pertains to learning and understanding 21 st Century tools?

I think our responsibility, as professionals, is to follow what we are held accountable to in our Standards of Practice and Ethical Standards. Meaning, when a new, or old, 21st Century tool is brought to our attention we should study it, learn more about it, do research on it, and question it’s use, safety and integrity. Basically, we need to be the barrier between what this century is offering as tools, and its new or continued use in our classrooms.

Reflecting on Our Professional Standards in the 21st Century

Discuss both the Ethical Standards and Standard of Practise and share a post/reflection about how 21 st Century teaching and learning practices relate.

From my perspective teaching and learning in the 21st Century is faster, more efficient, more accessible, global, and more technological than ever before. This trend has a time and place in the classroom. I obviously want my students, colleagues, and myself to “keep up with the times” or else I wouldn't be unholding part of the teaching professions’ Standards of Practice - Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and staying current.

However, as I mentioned, there is a time and place for 21st Century skills. We cannot forget, in our eagerness as ongoing professional learners, the values and skills from the past, and the time and place for the simple aspects of teaching as well. Let me explain before some of my fellow professional teachers and learners get up in arms. There needs to be a balance.

In another class that I am currently finishing up, Collaborative Workspaces and Restorative Practices, the professor chose to use no technology in her instruction. It was refreshing. Part of the Ethical Standards for teachers calls us to reflect on our profession and its standards. Reflection is an art that requires us to slow down, meditate, and think, create, journal, etc. I believe this is best done without technology. There is something to be said about the simpler times in the past where these skills of reflection, hands on experiences, and no technology were used daily.

Overall, I realize the Standards of Practice call us, as professionals, to lead with new ideas, to never stop wondering and learning, to take in new knowledge, to try new practices within our classrooms, and to model 21st Century teaching and learning. Yet, I don’t want us to stray away from what has worked in the past as well. Keep in mind a balance of skills, and teaching practices. Slowing down, being intentional, reflecting, etc. is also modeling teaching and learning that has the best interest of our students in mind.

If you love John Knox...tell a friend!

Personal plug for my school...our email tagline is: "If you love John Knox...tell a friend!" 

Which is precisely what I am doing. I love working with this community, and I would definitely recommend this high standard of education to anyone interested. Check out the school's website at: http://www.jkcs-oakville.org/

Introduction to My Blog

     Hello, my name is Danielle Miedema. For more information on who I am please visit my About Me page.
     I will be using this blog as a collaborative space for educational resources, journal entries, discussions, and questions, etc. Since I am the kind of person who is a lover of organization and efficiency I would like to use this blog as a hub for all of my educational findings, and the central location to access all of my other social network apps. I am new to Twitter, About Me, and Blogging, etc; therefore, I find it would be valuable to have a starting point into this world.

About Me

If you would like an introduction on who I (Danielle Miedema) am please feel free to open my About Me page: http://about.me/daniellemiedema