Blogging with Erica

In this week’s technology class we discussed Artificial Intelligence. AI can cause a lot of anxiety for people as there is a huge fear of the unknown, something we know humans struggle with is change. AI is changing the way we do research, how we interact with technology, and forming different sorts of jobs that may one day completely take over jobs that can be done by a machine or AI technology. This is something that we as future educators have to keep in mind. How can we use AI responsibly, and when is it a tool and when can it become dangerous in terms of feeding wrong information or removing students from “real life”.

Something to note, as said in “Applications of AI in Education” is that although AI can provide effective help for learners, it does not provide the same personalized experience a teacher can give to students. Aside from the human social connections and personalization that teachers can provide, AI does prove to be highly effective in teaching students information and motivating them. Being able to afford this technology and make it accessible to all students and districts is what makes AI somewhat difficult. It is important, however, that student’s understand the world of AI, as it will be something our future students will be growing up and into. It is also important for students to step away from just AI learning, as although there will be jobs in the AI business, there will also be less jobs due to the fact that AI can take over “simple” jobs. This means that it is more important than ever for students to learn creative thinking, collaboration, social skills, communication, and problem solving in order to succeed in the world where technological advancements are taking over ‘ordinary’ jobs. Overall, AI is going to significantly have an impact on the future of students, and it will be mostly positive, with examples of some of these new technologies outlined in this article. 

In today’s technology class, we discussed inclusion in the classroom, and equitable access. The integration model is becoming more common in classrooms, and is the first step towards inclusion. There now needs to be a step made towards inclusion for all students, rather than just integration of the placements in which students are put in. There are certain barriers that need to be hurdled in order for this new idea of the inclusion model to be utilized. For starters, there is no such thing as a student who needs to be “fixed”. Rather, the institution must address barriers and help the student succeed by adding and utilizing different resources. Meaningful inclusion should be consistent for every learner. Ways to start doing this, is to ask for help, plan ahead, read the IEP, connect with the student and parents as well as family, be open to change, and consider incorporating different resources such as technology. Starting by understanding your students’ needs and strengths is how you should create lesson plans around learners who may have struggles, as this will benefit the student, and give you the ability to create a lesson that will be fully manageable for the student.

https://edtechuvic.ca/edci336/2022/03/04/assistive-technologies/

Games can actually help motivate students and engage them in activities or ideas that they are used to playing in their favourite games. Gamification can include rewards, a fun look, progression in difficulty and a range of difficulty levels, as well as instant feedback, and promotion of discovery based learning. It’s important that rewards within a game are not the dominant way that students are doing the activities. Balancing the rewards with other activities is important to shift the extrinsic motivators into intrinsic motivations. Game-based learning however, is using resources such as gimkit and kahoot to help students learn things that have been put into the game by the teacher, such as questions and answers. 

Teach Your Monster To Read : An Immersive Game

Other games:

Duolingo

ABC kids games

Rtejr 

Coursera

Brainscape

Credly

OpenBadges

TopHat

In today’s class, we had a speaker Chantelle Morvay-Adams come in to discuss BCEdAccess Society which is an entirely volunteer-run organization that focuses on making education accessible to all. The organization helps serve families of children with disabilities and complex learners all over the province. We also went on to discuss ableism and how to identify it, in order to create a safe and inclusive space. Ableism is something that every teacher needs to be aware of, and how they can prevent classifying students as someone who needs to be ‘fixed’, and help students recognize ableism. When it comes to tech, ableism can be identified in situations where people believe students are “too disabled” or “not disabled enough” to use tech as a tool. Withholding tech from students who need it as an aid, for the purpose of “not making other kids jealous”, is an example of ableism, and is an idea that needs to be demolished, as equity starts with understanding that some people need tools in order to succeed at the level of everyone else. Explaining that everyone has a need that can be fulfilled to help them learn better is something that can help children understand this idea. There should also be a discussion surrounding what it looks like to use technology appropriately, and how it is used to support students.

We had a class discussion regarding two big questions : “What can you do to determine your students’ tech needs?”, and “What are some ideas of how we can normalize tech use in the classroom”. We can help demolish stigma in our classrooms by normalizing the use of tech, and being honest with our students, and how it can aid other students and giving them the opportunity to understand that not everyone needs technology as an aid, and it’s helping them to get to the same level of understanding as everyone else, and it isn’t an unfair advantage, nor is it a toy that some students get the privilege of using.  In order to get every child what they need, they need to be a part of the conversation. Getting the family and student involved can help develop further ideas for supporting the student, as well as give the student more support, and learn more about the student in order to find what works best for them. An idea to support the student, would be to send out a questionnaire to each family about the student so they can talk about their child and how they are best supported, and what has maybe worked best for them in their learning in the past. This would give parents the opportunity to talk about their child’s disabilities or learning blocks, and give the teacher more opportunities to support the student. Google lens, Google read and write, are apps that can be integrated into a classroom and used for those who need tech support. These are free apps making it more accessible for students. There are many ways technology can be integrated into the classroom, and finding what works best for those students who need technology to aid them throughout their learning can support them to feel there are less barriers, and feel comfortable using technology as a tool to provide them with the learning they need. 

Speechify is another tool that allows students to listen to documents, as well as highlights the words as they are being read

https://speechify.com/?utm_campaign=search_natural_readers&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhL2qmZD89gIV0RZ9Ch2czwCKEAAYASAAEgLE7vD_BwE

In today’s technology class, we discussed the things we have gone over during this first half of the semester. There have been a lot of interesting topics shared, but the two that stick out to me as the most interesting and important was the presentation we had about professionalism as well as students relationship with technology, and its effect on their learning and how we can be responsible in teaching students how to use these technologies, as well as the class we had where we learned about how the school system is created based on the idea when we were sending kids into factory style jobs, and where we used to be able to guarantee them a job after schooling. 

We also discussed in class today the technology integration models such as constructive alignment, TPAk, and SAMR. These models help teachers integrate technology into the classroom. SAMR is based on substitution (task is the same but technology substitutes as a tool, with no functional change), augmentation (also a substitution version, but enhances the lesson), modification (can modify task by adding new components, like comments from peers, which allows for significant task redesign),  and redefinition (creation of a new task that wouldn’t be possible without tech). These can help students develop new skills, explore new ideas, think creatively, and become masters of using technology. Considering new elements that can be implemented as extensions into your lessons can benefit everyone as it can help teachers plan and use new resources, and help students encourage creative ways of thinking and learning. Young students can easily adapt to technology, and therefore shouldnt be looked over when it comes to using technology as a way to adapt lessons.

The TPACK framework brings together technology knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge.  Content knowledge is what you know about what you’re teaching and which direction you’re going in, in terms of subject, lesson plans, and goals. Pedagogical knowledge is the how of teaching, it’s the mechanisms you use, and the ways you get information across to students.  Technology knowledge creates opportunities for new ways of learning. Technology knowledge is based on the ‘what’, such as what sort of technology will you use with students, and how can you incorporate technology into lessons. TPAK is a reminder that goals should be made first, and technology is just a part of great teaching that should be layered onto content and pedagogical knowledge. It’s important that lessons using technology aren’t created by first deciding on the technology, then the lesson. Instead, technology should be fit into the lesson, where you decide later how certain technologies will piece together with your goals and ideas for the lesson. 

These ideas for technology integration allows for a variety of skills and for a variation of activities that stretch the minds of students. Instead of creating the same type of lesson structure, technology can make lessons diverse, and keep students interested in what is to come in the day, as well as create a new layer of knowledge for students to learn. In order to make integration models effective they must align with learning, teaching approaches, and assessment to create a meaningful learning experience. 

This week in tech, we met up with our pods, and discussed a few important topics that can be related back to tech and the overall learning success of students. The topics we discussed were the ones we were most interested in.

 Supporting a diverse classroom was one of my group members’ choice of topic that they were most interested in. We all agreed that ‘supporting a diverse classroom’ was something we all wanted to obtain a further understanding of ways to achieve a classroom that supports and uplifts all students. Ways learning can be accessible to all, and ways lessons can be designed to suit everyone’s needs for them to reach their full potential, are skills we decided we would like to learn more about, whether about tech or any other subject. 

Another strategy that piqued the interest of one of my pod members, was the implementation of UDL in the classroom.UDL guidelines can be effective in the improvement of the teachings and learnings in the classroom for all areas of education. Making learning active, visually appealing, stimulating, easy to follow, and interactive are great ways to engage all students and create a space that thrives on the participation of all. My pod agreed learning how to implement the UDL guidelines in all subject areas is something that we would like to gain further knowledge in. 

Bullying and internet safety was another area of interest one of my pod members had. This was one that interested me a lot as well, especially if I were to teach older years, from grade five to middle school. With a new generation of students, who grew up both in a pandemic and with technology as advanced as it is, and is becoming, we have to consider what effects it will take on our future classes. This is an area we all agreed we need to be better equipped for, as we believe kids growing up in a pandemic can severely affect their social skills, and their developing relationship with technology. From this, there may come students who don’t know how to use technology responsibly, or who may not know their limits and find places on the internet that they could be trapped in, or inappropriate content that could affect their brains in a harmful way.

The last strategy that I found the most interest in was the ways teachers can support their students’ mental health. With technology being a greater focus in schools now, it’s important we know how to use it responsibly and how to limit the amount of screen time students get, as outdoor learning in my eyes is just as important, if not more important than developing a child’s ability to use technology. Although it’s important that this new generation knows their way through the technological world, they also must also understand the natural world and its importance to our overall well being and futures. This is an issue me and my pod discussed as we want our students to be in a safe environment that promotes mental and physical well being. A tool we want to be well equipped with, is the knowledge to pass down to our students about balancing such a fast paced life, and what it means to slow down, perhaps practicing gratitude, and meditation practices.I find this topic area very interesting and would like to be further educated in it so I too can develop skills that will improve my whole class.  

Here’s a video I found, by Shelley Moore who talks about the evolution of inclusion in the classroom: