TT 8: Infographics

March 3, 2018

What's an infographic? Its quite simple really, and the answer is in the name. Infographics are visual representations for information, and often are organized around and accompanied with images to help a person to remember that info better. It makes sense really, since providing a person with the same information in different ways will give them extra schemas to relate to, and will assist them in transferring that information into their long term memory. For students, this is something they will initially struggle with, and so providing them with an orderly and aesthetically appealing means of getting that info would be a huge help. I think that they can be used in the classroom as either a means of summing up a topic and to be used as review, or even to be used to introduce a new topic since it can have a ton of information on it in an organized manner. They can also be used as handouts or put up as a poster in the classroom. There's actually so many infographics that exist out on the world wide web already, but there's also many free websites and programs that can be used to make your own. I'll add a few that I came across while doing a bit of research, and like you can see infographics can vary from serious to funny, and useful to unnecessary.

Here is an infographic on infographics!

https://www.questionpro.com/blog/how-to-create-a-story-from-an-infographic/

 



Here is one that I might actually use in my classroom as a poster on the wall.

https://www.health24.com/Medical/Tests-and-procedures/How-to-spot-bad-science-20140911

 

And here is one that I might include as a handout for a biology class.

 



 

http://freedesignfile.com/65281-creative-biology-with-medicine-infographic-vector-10/

 

You can also find some infographics that are outrageous, but give a good sense of what an infographic can look like with data and images together.

http://www.hmxearthscience.com/videos_images_files/tag-infographic.html

 

 

So the second task for this assignment was to create our own infographic. I decided to try using Piktochart for this, since it was suggested, but it looked like there was a ton of different (and partially free) sites and programs which can help you making one. Once I was able to figure out a topic, it was quite easy to use the site to make my infographic even though it didn't like me doing so on my tablet. There was a short tutorial video that it suggests you to watch before starting, and it was great to see some of the features and capabilities of the website. I feel like having your students create an infographic would be a great project for them, and a much better and more interactive way than the typical poster project. For my infographic I made up a quick one that includes a few tips on reducing your carbon footprint, a topic I may be talking with my class about in the next few weeks. Nothing too fancy for a first try but trying it out as great. It is definitely something that could be super useful I think. I will have to make sure to keep this idea in the back of my mind to use in the future.

 



- B

Weekly Blog Post #7

February 27, 2018

Dean Shareski, a community builder for Discovery Education and author of "Embracing the Culture of Joy" was our special presenter this week, and provided us with a lot of really useful information to consider when moving forward into our careers. I will highlight some of what he had to say.

Making relationships with your students is more important now than ever. Teachers now need to really be addressing, recognizing, and understanding that the lives of students are more complex and multifaceted than ever. It is key for being able to help students to learn the material you are trying to provide for them that you are able to understand this. Students need to find the joy of learning, rather than just worrying about satisfying all of the quantifiable aspects that school tries to measure. Students should have a sense of wonder and curiosity if their learning is going to be authentic and if they are going to be engaged in the lessons. This also goes for teachers themselves, who need a sense of playfulness and curiosity when trying out new things in the classroom to see if they can find anything that can bring in extra value to the classroom.

The second part of the presentation that Dean discussed was that teachers need to be critical of the questions they are asking, and even making the point of asking questions that don't have concrete or easy answers. This has been brought up before in other classes, which shows its importance. I tried this out even during my last student teaching placement, and I got my students to try answering some "essential questions" that I created rather than having them complete a final test for the unit. I think that it worked well, but the assignment needs to be tweaked if I try doing something similar again. Getting students to work through problems such as this will help promote lifelong learning within them and actually will allow them to learn new perspectives they may have never considered before. It will help them to foster their own curiosity, and to challenge the world around themselves rather than becoming complacent with the world around them. Aspects of mindfulness should be taught and practiced by our students, where they need to slow down and work through the process intentionally, especially since their own worlds become increasingly more busy as they grow up.

Community is the last aspect that was discussed during our presentation. "Learning is inherently a social experience" according to Dean, and it makes complete sense. Many of the "facts" and key information that the curriculum asks us as teachers to get the students to learn can be figured out on their own with enough work, since all of that information is available online now. But, when students are able to take advantage of the other people in the room with them, the depth of learning for everyone will be enhanced. Multiple needs to be able to contribute should be available in order to take advantage of the knowledge and insights from everyone in the classroom. Everyone learns in a different way, and sometimes learning is that much more impactful when students can bring their own strengths into the room. Sometimes teaching someone else something helps students to learn it even better themselves. Celebrate those students and their interests and expertise. Collaborate and grow together. The shared community feeling that can be created really can help everyone involved feel part of the larger group, and really enhance the possible levels of joy for their own learning.

- B

TT 10: Show and Tell

February 24, 2018

Last semester in our Science Methods course, Dr. Murray introduced us to an app which we were asked to become familiar with and to use it for our own science experiments. That is the app that I am going to be discussing here for this Show and Tell post, so some of you reading this may already know about this app and will be reminded of better days when we were driving remote control cars in the hallways instead of worrying about deadlines. Apologies about that.

The app I am referring to is called "Google Science Journal", and as the name suggests it can be an extremely useful tool for the science classroom. What is so special about this app other than being free is that it takes advantage of sensors already in the smartphone, and allows you to use that technology to do your own science experiments. It is also really quite easy to record your own thoughts and to make notes right on top of the charts and graphs that can be created, and options for adding or taking photos right on the app also exist.
 
 I think that this is just great, since it is using existing technology to give students the chance to figure out scientific answers for questions they may have. Students can be tasked with coming up with their own scientific experiments like we were asked to do with RC cars in Science Methods, or they can just be using the app to complete the experiments that have been designed for them. Obviously being created by a company such as Google, I have no doubt that the app itself will only continue to be updated and to get even better, and will likely include more features and more sensor options in the future. There are a few suggested activities included in the program, but the beauty in an app like this is that there is just so much potential for what it could actually be used for. I don't know for sure what I would do exactly with an app like this, but it is one that needs to be remembered for the future.

Google Science Journal

                                                         https://youtu.be/9m1h9AVXuf4

- B

TT 9: TED-Ed

February 24, 2018

So there are so many great resources out there on the Internet that a teacher can make use of in their classroom and for their own professional development, that it was tough to decide what to go over in more detail. But after I seen a few of my choices were already talked about by others, that I decided to discuss TED-Ed videos. These videos differ from typical TED talks since they aren't always delivered as a symposium discussion, but rather they are usually animated videos which accompany and help explain an educators lessons. They may also just be selected videos, so they won't always be animated like that. The YouTube channel has all of the videos, or they also have a website which includes additional options. These features are what makes it so useful for educators, since usually it provides additional options to think and answer some questions, or even engage in discussion. Apparently there has been 286, 471 lessons created on that website to date, and 18, 916, 307 questions answered. So chances are that if you are wondering about a certain topic, that there is a TED-Ed video that's related and that could help you in figuring it out. I'll link in a few of the most viewed videos below, and share a link to the website: https://ed.ted.com/ 

How Simple Ideas Lead to Scientific Discoveries - Adam Savage

 

The Chemistry of Cookies - Stephanie Warren

 

To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan

I think that since there are so many videos are lessons that have been created on the site and on the YouTube channel, that you can find a video to fit in with almost any lesson. There are pre-built discussion questions built into the lessons as well which a teacher may wish to take advantage of. Also, these videos could be used as activators before a new topic or lesson, as review after a lesson has been delivered or to break up the flow of the presentation, or even just as a separate lesson. It is definitely a resource that can assist a teacher, but shouldn't be viewed at all as being a replacement for developing your own lessons. These videos aren't meant to teach the content, but to supplement it and help with understanding. Whenever you are able to provide multiple ways for getting information for your students, it will benefit them all and make it much easier for them to be able to understand the content in a meaningful way. Personally, I try to include videos whenever applicable since many students benefit the most from watching and listening to a well constructed video such as these ones are.

- B

TT 7: Edublogger

February 22, 2018

I had a difficult time deciding on an Edublogger that I wanted to follow, since many that I came across just didn't really jump out for me. I finally ended up deciding on one however, and then later that week, that same blog was brought up in a different class which made me feel even better about my decision.

So the Edublog that I decided to follow is called "The Cult of Pedagogy". I think one of the main aspects of the blog that stood out to me was that it included the perspective of more than one author, even though many of the articles and videos are from the same person. With that being said, there is still an editor in chief (or head teacher nerd) and supporting staff who work to keep bringing information and encouragement for teachers. The editor in chief is Jennifer Gonzalez, who is a previous classroom teacher and professor that taught prospective teacher candidates that now focuses her time on this project. Many of the articles and videos are authored by Jennifer herself.

You can follow the link below if you want to check it out, which I suggest you all to do. The articles and podcasts are super informative and presented in a way that makes the information easy to understand and digest. The fact that there are podcast versions of many of the articles was actually something that made me more interested in this Edublog, since that makes the information way more accessible. In terms of the rest of the actual blog though, there is so many articles and great information that is all collected and organized within the actual website. Its almost overwhelming looking at the list of possible topics that have resources available for them. The articles themselves are really aesthetically pleasing, while being full of useful info for a teacher to consider. They also seem to have great suggestions for resources within the articles that relate to whatever topic you would be reading up on. From the few recent articles that I did read through, I enjoyed the Curator or Dumper article, as well as the one on Restorative Justice measures being done in schools. These articles got me thinking more about my own practices, and had me think about what I should try to strive for in the future. I will continue to follow up with this website and blogger as I move through my career.

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/ 

-B

Building a PLN

February 20, 2018

For this Tech Task, we were asked to construct a concept map showing what our PLN (or professional/personal learning network) might look like. For many of us, I think that as we continue through with our careers, that this network will evolve and become more professional in nature. We will actually have created more of a network around ourselves in terms of resources that we can make use, programs that can help us, and the community of other educators that we can learn from and share with. But for now, it is more personal. Many of the news stories that I get are through social media, or articles read through my Feedly account. I'm not super active in terms of making posts on my social media accounts, but following along and staying current with events, family, and friends is great. In the classroom, YouTube is a must in terms of helping me refresh myself on the topics, and to help explain concepts. There are many other great apps and programs that I still have limited experience with, but hope to make better use of in future teaching placements.

I used MindMeister to create this concept map, as well as the next one. This concept map is supposed to represent what a PLN may look like for a typical student, although this was quite challenging to try and do. Snapchat is still the biggest social media tool being used by younger generations, as well as picture sharing apps such as Instagram. YouTube, and YouTube Vloggers are also super influential for a great proportion of the younger generations. Students may also be involved in following and making posts on websites such as Reddit or Tumblr, although this isn't exclusively for younger ages. I'm also sure that I am super out of touch with the actual PLN of students today, and likely there are other programs and websites that are being used more than these.

I'd say that much of what we have already discussed in class regarding digital citizenship and media smarts, since the typical network is about collaboration and sharing, rather than simply receiving information. Students need to learn how to do this since they live in a world that is more connected now than ever. Being able to communicate effectively online, to be able to spot fake news, and to be safe online in general are all skills that students today need to be developing and learning more about. They also need to be learning how to appreciate themselves more and to not place such a high importance on getting likes on social media, just as another example.

-B

Weekly Blog Post #6

February 20, 2018

Another week, another presenter. With this presentation a teacher from Flin Flon School Division, Daniel Dillon, joined our class through video to discuss with us some of the practices that he uses. The main focus of this presentation is how he and the other staff members bring in digital tools to assist them with their teaching, with a special emphasis on project based learning. It should be noted before going much farther though, that these tools are not meant to be a replacement for strong pedagogy and teaching practices but a way to push the boundaries for the students to enhance their learning potential.

In his classroom, Daniel Dillon has adopted this idea of Big Picture Learning and Project Based Learning to enable his students to bring some of their own passions into the classroom. To get a better sense of where the inspiration for Daniel Dillon came from, watch the TEDx video below from Kevin Brookhouser about his 20 Percent Time Project, since he allows 20% of the students time (or one of the five school days) to work on whatever they want. This also has been known as a Passion Hour project in other areas. Students are tasked with fitting these passions into the curriculum of whichever class they are in, and students are asked to share their ideas and end projects with the larger community. Through these projects, students are authentically tasked with learning something new or creating something that serves a greater purpose in the grand scheme of things. Daniel Dillon was able to share some examples of some of the projects that he had been a part of and that were being completed in the community, which I thought were really quite remarkable. It really seemed like the students could go great places with some of their ideas, and develop skills and legacies that can last them a lifetime. Even bad ideas could lend themselves to some valuable learning opportunities for the students without even initially realizing it.

 

                                           Kevin Brookhouser - Don't Call it a Classroom
                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqG-bppvW7k

The second part of the presentation which was shared with us was around the idea of using Virtual Reality as another tool to help classroom teachers. It doesn't come as much of a surprise to hear, but being able to use a tool such as this would definitely help with student engagement. Although my experience with VR is still somewhat limited, being able to become fully immersed with anything such as this would only add to the excitement and level of learning for the students. If this is something that interests you, and that the school you are in has the funding and VR headsets available for you to use, the website SteamVR has plenty of great apps and programs to check out. It really is quite remarkable to experience VR if you haven't ever before.

In closing, I just wanted to speak about the implications of having students take the initiative and working through these Big Idea Projects. There is value in trying something new, and figuring it out as you go. Getting students to realize that having difficulties and possibly even failing at something before getting to the their desired end goal, if even, is just part of the overall process. Getting students to practice being resilient is a skill that they need to work on that will help them later in life. Reflecting on the process as they move through it helps them as well, and is another skill that they need to develop. The great part of these projects though, is how naturally they lend themselves for being authentic and how they can be developed with a purpose in mind. It gives them autonomy, mastery, and purpose, which fosters creativity and motivation, according the YouTube video above. For myself, if I am able to incorporate some Big Idea Projects or make use of VR to assist in lessons, I definitely think that I will.

-B