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Overall Reflection
The beginning of 2017 has been very busy and full of learning. The Innovative Pedagogies class has been informational and inspiring. I enjoyed Ed Campos' presentation on innovative learning spaces. As a result of that workshop, I have spent a few late nights in my classroom making changes and cleaning things out. I have been creating more access to the whiteboard space to allow for more collaboration and communication among my students. I have also learned more about how to best use my new TV display. My students have installed the Google Cast for Education app on their Chromebooks and were able to cast the Google drawings that they were working on to our large TV to show each other what they were creating and teach their peers how to use various tools and create shapes. They were thrilled to see their work on the big screen. I had one brave student cast the Google Doc for a paragraph that the students were writing. The class was able to provide feedback and the student made revisions while her classmates were watching. Going through this process with the whole class, and modeling how to revise and edit, made the 1:1 peer editing sessions much more productive. I look forward to more changes in my learning environment.
Google + Community
I loved being able to see my cohort members' learning spaces. It was exciting to see such a variety of styles and uses of materials. I realized that I have to clean a lot of clutter out of my classroom. It can be distracting to the students and cause them to lose focus. There was a lot of sharing in the IEC Google + community about resources for flexible seating and DIY projects to modify and adapt a learning space. Ed Campos shared a link to a documentary on Minimalism that I added to my Netflix cue. I look forward to watching it. I think minimalism applies to teaching because it forces us to focus on what is most important and essential. As educators, we need to critically evaluate the materials and tools we are using and the content we are teaching. Often less is more. When it comes to integrating tech into education, we often try to do too much and expose our students to too many tools and gadgets. We need to be very thoughtful about what tools we are using and determining if they are the best for the particular learning objective we are working towards. We can never lose sight of the fact that the technology is just the tools to facilitate student learning - it is not the learning outcome by itself.
While it was not within the Google+ community, I also participated in the IEC chat on twitter, and Ed Campos help in connecting me to other teachers on Twitter when I was looking for information about Dry Erase paint for a project in my classroom. I love that I am becoming more connected and it is becoming more natural for me to tweet and reach out to others for help and support. We are stronger and better together.
Project Update
I have working on my blog, Operation STEAM Lab. I haven't posted as much as I would have liked, but I have been doing a lot of research. I read the book, Worlds of Making, Best Practices for Establishing Makerspaces for Your School by Laura Fleming, @LFlemingEDU
The booked help me realize that the makerspace movement is not as much about the physical space as it is the mindset. In talking with my principal, as much as we would love to dedicate a room on campus for a Makerspace, we just do not have a room available. For the purpose of this IEC project, I am planning to blog about my experience bringing making into my classroom and sharing tips on how teachers can use their room and materials to provide these valuable opportunities for their students.
I posted a blog with my notes and takeaways from the Worlds of Making book, and a blog about my first steps in bringing 3D printing into my classroom.
Elective Status
I am about 1/3 of the way through my first elective, Differentiated Instruction with Technology. I have submitted lesson plans demonstrating differentiation with tech tools and have reached out to the instructor about my final project. The requirements call for the creation of a WebQuest, but my instructor approved the creation of a HyperDoc as my cumulative project instead. To be honest, I am feeling a bit frustrated with this elective. The book I was required to purchase and read was published in 2007, so many of the lessons and examples are outdated. GAFE, or G-Suite, is not mentioned in the book at all. I think these tools are HUGE in differentiating with technology. Some of our assignments require us to review resources listed in the book, but many of the resource links are no longer active, or the sites/tools are outdated, and new programs developed within the past few years are not mentioned. I am trying to keep an open mind and reach out to the instructor when I have ideas to demonstrate my understanding of the content using relevant technology.
What's Next?
I look forward to the upcoming module on Gaming and Gamification. I am planning to explore Breakout EDU. I did my first breakout with my students right before the winter break. It was a pre-made breakout on the Breakout EDU website called Reindeer Games. My students LOVED it. The collaboration that it inspired was awesome. I also loved the fact that the team that one was not the one your would have expected.
I would love to learn how to create my own breakout to fit into my Social Studies curriculum. I may attempt a Gold Rush theme breakout.
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