So Many New Things to Process

So many new things to think about!

Photo Credit: AmyFaithPhoto Flickr via Compfight cc

     I really feels like I am learning a new language.  Even though I know it’s not true, it seems l am the only one having to start near the beginning of the technology continuum.  I feel like I am learning words such as and, the, at…. while others are able to use this language to speak another one.  I have to spend so much time researching the meanings of the terminology, then I have to turn around and try to figure out how to create an online course (all the while – trying to remember to ‘have fun’).

     I am grateful to my colleagues who continue to generously offer help and suggestions.  Ellen and I have decided to base our prototype on the Saskatchewan Grade 3 Arts Ed. Curriculum . We have not made any final decisions about the particulars, but will be doing that in the following weeks.  As Natalie said in her blog this week, I too feel “fairly overwhelmed with the “how-to” of the process.”

     Danielle posted something on Twitter that was good for me to read this week.  It talks about 4 ways to personalize learning .  It peaked my interest about Genius Hour with  “…a few of [their] favorite online tools to use include Google Slides, Sway, Buncee, Thinglink, Padlet, and Powtoon. I’m sure after checking these out, we will have a better idea about what we might use in our project.

Photo Credit: iggysaves Flickr via Compfight cc

     I enjoyed the article The Myth about No Significant Difference this week.  I think it is clever how the authors point out in each paragraph the potentially important roles that technology can play. Then turn around and ask at the end of each paragraph ‘if technology makes a vital difference’.  Information like this gives me faith that increased implementation of technology into the classroom can be a good thing for students. Ideas like: “it allows students to interact with experts and work on real-world problems”, and “simulations allow students to learn by doing”, and “users receive information, but they also comment, collaborate, and create their own content.”

     Stephen Downes post also contains some information that helps me to think about why moving towards having a blended classroom might be a good idea: ” In the case of personal learning, the role of the educational system is not to provide learning, it is to support learning. Meanwhile, the decisions about what to learn, how to learn, and where to learn are made outside the educational system, and principally, by the individual learners themselves.”  I think his final paragraph is so important, where he talks about the fact that people need to be able to learn on their own in order to become ‘effective’ learners.

And finally, I end this post with an idea I got from reading Kara’s blog this week – and try to embed a GIF. (thanks Kara 🙂

If anyone has any good ideas for platforms that would be good to use for visual art – please let me know.  Thank you kindly !

 

via Gify