Reflections on Digital Learning and Teaching
My Development as a Teacher and Teacher-Librarian
Learning and Experimenting with Digital Tools
Over the past couple of months I've been reintroduced to digital tools such as blogs and webinars and given the opportunity to try out some new tools such as Digg and Symbaloo.
| (Brown) |
While I've created blogs before, I had never done anything more than insert a few pictures or links. Over the past few months I have learned how to embed videos and resize them using HTML coding. I learned how to tag and the importance of labeling blog posts in order to make them more searchable. While I don't think I would ever have the time to keep up with a blog, it is great that I now have more knowledge about how blogs work so that I can help my students should they choose to use a blog to demonstrate their learning.
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| (NSH, 2015) |
In the past I have attended a couple of webinars, but during this course I discovered that you can actually save the webinars to watch at a later date. While you can't participate in the discussion that follows a live webinar, it is still a valuable tool for professional development. I already have a couple of webinars saved that I would like to watch during my next pro-d day.
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| (Rahul, 2013) |
I have never used any type of bookmarking or RSS feed program before and, while I haven't spent too much time playing around with this particular tool, it has been an effective way of accessing the blogs of fellow classmates and commenting on each others' ideas. I would love to introduce this idea to students so that they are able to follow teacher websites and access them all in one place. I find it frustrating to continually update my class website when only a handful of students actually check it on a regular basis. By introducing this tool to my students, it will hopefully make my website more accessible to my students.
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| (Symbaloo Mobile App) |
I have also never used digital curation tools in the past; mostly because I didn't know they even existed. I am currently in the midst of experimenting with Symbaloo and Pearltrees to house websites, documents, and tools. I also like that the webmixes that I create can be easily shared with colleagues, because that is one of my goals that I would like to work towards.
Moving Forward as a Teacher and Teacher-Librarian
Over the past month I have enjoyed viewing my classmates' blogs and having other people view my posts and comment on them. I think as a teacher and teacher-librarian it is easy to isolate ourselves in these jobs because we don't always work in the same space with our co-workers. It is also difficult to find time outside of the work day to meet with other teachers at the same school, let alone teachers at other schools within the school district. As a teacher-librarian, it is important to encourage collaboration between teachers within the school and within the district. I would like to start reaching out to other teachers in order to share ideas and lesson plans. As I said in an earlier blog post, I find myself "borrowing" material from other teachers online, but I never return the favour. While I would like to start small by expanding my Personal Learning Network to include my school district, I would like to eventually start sharing my ideas with a broader audience, perhaps even online.
(Via, 2010)
Sharing Lessons and Ideas by Expanding My Personal Learning Network
Over the last 7 years of teaching I have created numerous lessons, assignments, and projects that I am proud of, and feel as thought it is important that I share these resources with other teachers. While I do share with other teachers in my department, and sometimes with other departments at my school, I feel like it is my duty to start sharing my resources with a broader audience. Using digital tools such as blogs, Twitter, or other social media sites could be one way to reach a wider audience of teachers. I also feel as though I am at the point where I would feel comfortable presenting some of my ideas at a professional development seminar. While I would definitely be stepping outside of my comfort zone by posting my work online or presenting in front of a group of my peers, this is the next step in becoming a leader in teaching and learning.
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| (Kincaid, 2015) |
Fostering a Positive Reading Culture
The topic that resonated with me the most is fostering a positive reading culture in my classroom and in the school. After reading the blogs of my fellow classmates, I compiled a list of ideas I would like to try out. The first one is having our staff create reading doors, or as another classmate suggested, a "Caught Reading" display, where teachers in every department would share the books they have read and enjoyed. While our library already has a "Staff Picks" section, having reading doors or displays around the school will receive attention from all students, not just those that use the library.
Another idea I gleaned from a fellow classmate is to look into virtual author presentation or webinars. While our school library already organizes at least one author visit a year, not all students are invited to attend because the library only has so many seats available. If the author visit was virtual, students could access the author presentation from their devices. Also, author visits are usually quite costly, so attending a virtual author presentations will keep costs down. After doing a bit of research into this topic, I discovered that Random House offers virtual author visits through Skype or other methods of video-conferencing (view the brochure here). As well, after visiting the Scholastic Book's website, I found information on Kate Messner, an author who advocates virtual author visits. Her website Authors Who Skype with Classes & Book Clubs provides a list of authors for students of all ages who will video conference with students for free. I haven't had a chance to browse through the authors, but have passed this list on to our current Teacher-Librarian to see if she is interested in organizing a virtual author visit.
Another idea I gleaned from a fellow classmate is to look into virtual author presentation or webinars. While our school library already organizes at least one author visit a year, not all students are invited to attend because the library only has so many seats available. If the author visit was virtual, students could access the author presentation from their devices. Also, author visits are usually quite costly, so attending a virtual author presentations will keep costs down. After doing a bit of research into this topic, I discovered that Random House offers virtual author visits through Skype or other methods of video-conferencing (view the brochure here). As well, after visiting the Scholastic Book's website, I found information on Kate Messner, an author who advocates virtual author visits. Her website Authors Who Skype with Classes & Book Clubs provides a list of authors for students of all ages who will video conference with students for free. I haven't had a chance to browse through the authors, but have passed this list on to our current Teacher-Librarian to see if she is interested in organizing a virtual author visit.
References
Brown, P. (n.d). Blog Icon. Retrieved 31 October 2015 from http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAMQjxxqFQoTCKSn0bTK7cgCFUPfYwodv_QGNQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpaulabrown.net%2Fblog-icon-png&bvm=bv.106379543,d.cGc&psig=AFQjCNF1 tvcFBEI7VQ9HoclLpazIw2jicA&ust=1446410815417832Kincaid, B. (2015). 4 Tips for Creating a Personal Learning Network. Retrieved 31 October 2015 from http://mad-learn.com/4-tips-for-creating-your-very-own-personal-learning-network/
National Society for Histotechnology. (2015). Get Connected: Live Webinar Series. Retrieved 31 October 2015 from http://www.histoconvention.org/index.cfm.
Rahul, R. (2013). Digg Reader App. Retrieved 31 October 2015 from http://www.techtree.com/content/news/4033/digg-reader-launching-week.html
Random House. (2011). How to Host a Virtual Author Visit. Retrieved 01 November 2015 from http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HowToVirtualVisit_Brochure _WEB1.pdf
Symbaloo Mobile App. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 October 2015 from http://mobile.symbaloo.com/press/
Via, S. (2010). Personal learning networks for educators. Retrieved 03 November 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6WVEFE-oZA
