Weekly Blog #7 - Let's Have Fun! Those who know me well will say I'm not a very serious person. I'm a pretty goofy guy, and I like it that way. I think that may be one of the reasons people tend to underestimate my age (but I like to think it's because of my flawless good looks 😀). I could be wrong, but I get the feeling some people think I need to "grow up". But I pose this question, what is the point of growing up if you can't have fun? If growing up means not having fun, I think I'll stay where I am. This brings me to this week's presenter, Dean Shareski. I feel like Dean and myself share a lot of the same qualities. I really think that Dean is a great example of a teacher I want to be. He was engaging and super fun. I bet that the students in Dean's class learn a ton and have a great time doing it. There are a few points he made that I really connected with. The first point was this idea that as we get older, things become less...
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Weekly Blog #6 - Learning From Afar Our seminar this week featured two people from Manitoba Education, Chris Fredrickson and Shannon Magee. The discussion was centered around remote learning, and what that means for Manitoba Education. We talked about synchronous vs. asynchronous classes, the flipped classroom model, and things you could do to help with your remote learning planning in the future. I found it interesting to kind of compare remote and asynchronous learning for students in secondary school to us students in University. I wonder if they hate asynchronous learning as much as I do 😂. I would much prefer to learn in a classroom or even online than to try and learn on my own. I find I'm much more engaged when I'm learning with others rather than learning on my own. I feel like there are probably lots of students who feel the same way. To help with that, here are some awesome remote learning resources to help you create engaging online lessons. One thing in their sem...
Tech Task #2 - Let's Get Connected Technology is one of those things that is always changing. When I was younger, I spent lots of time in front of a computer (back before there were smartphones). I had thought to myself "I'm always going to be in the know when it comes to technology, how hard will it be". Turns out, it's a bit harder than I thought it was going to be. Turns out, in the world of technology, things develop fast. Like, REALLY fast. I remember buying a map to go to a conference at Red River Community College at a gas station because at the time I only had a flip phone (Nokia master-race) and I didn't know how to get to the college. Approximately two years later, I had my first smartphone, and suddenly I wasn't able to just call and text, but I had a mini-computer in my pocket. I think it was at this point in time where I went from being a tech wizard to just treading water. What I didn't realize is that as you get used to the way things a...
Tech Task #9 - The Information Highway Infographics are a way to show information in a more visual form than just plain text. They usually involve a small amount of text and using different types of charts and imagery, display it in an easy-to-understand way. I love infographics as I feel like it's a really simple way to get a lot of information. Here is a great one on five things you can do to help the environment. They can also be a great way to show information in a funny way but still make a great point. I really like this one for McDonald's. It's very accurate and true. Every time I go to McDonald's, I hate myself, but then in about a month, I am somehow craving it again. Seems fishy. I could definitely see myself using them in the classroom because I feel like it is a fun and creative way to get information across. They usually catch the eye very easily and draw you in, and don't just flood you with text. I think the first one I posted would be great to get ki...
Weekly Blog #5 - Mining Into the Future This week, we had Matteo Di Muro speak to us about computational thinking and gamification of the classroom. This is something that really excites me as I'm a gamer myself. I think I could provide a lot of coaching in the future if the school I teach at has an esports team. Or maybe it will be up to me to start an esports team! Whichever it is, I'm all for it. I think gaming can teach students a lot about teamwork, fine motor skills, and decision making. If the GameStop stock has taught us anything recently, it's that gaming is on the rise 😂. Matteo specifically talked more in-depth about teaching students to code and using games like Minecraft to do that. Minecraft has a specific education version that can be found here . What's awesome about this is that they have a few activities to do in the classroom that come with complete lesson plans on how to implement them. It also includes what curricular outcomes it relates to, and w...
Tech Task #7 - Talking with the Stars Hi folks, for those that don't know me that well, I really like math and physics. I'm also a huge nerd. I'm a big fan of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Marvel, and the like. I'm always looking for excuses to bring those subjects into the classroom. Luckily for me, there is a man out there who also shares the same interests (and is a heck of a lot smarter than me). The man I'm speaking of is Neil deGrasse Tyson, and his podcast Startalk ! I have listened to Startalk on and off for about 6 years. It's a podcast where Neil and his co-hosts talk about physics, space, and science as it relates to everyday life and pop culture. He has had a few co-hosts since he started, but they tend to be comedian friends of his, which creates some awesome banter. This creates a podcast that is interesting, informative, and usually quite funny and entertaining. I could see myself using this in the classroom to try and bring some fu...
Tech Task #8 - Tweet the Deets! I think I may have been one of the original Twitter users. Well, after some brief research it came out in 2006 and I've only had it since 2012, but still, a long time. As social media has changed, I have found Twitter is the one that has seemed to stay the truest to itself. Remember back in the day when the only thing you could put on Facebook was Jeremy Short is...? Pepperidge Farm remembers. The one thing I've always liked about Twitter is that everything is short, sweet, and to the point. This is what I think makes it a great tool for professional social media! I think that is one thing that will make it great to use as an educator. Working in the education field can be pretty hectic, so it's nice to be able to hop on Twitter for a few minutes every day and to get a good update. There are lots of good people out there in the Education field to follow and get great resources from. Even just following classmates has been a positive experien...