Blog post #30 Reflection of semester 1, 2016

As the semester comes to an end….I just wanted to reflect on the positive moments and the many things I have learned in a nutshell.

I have really enjoyed creating and developing a wordpress site and engaging in reading and writing thoughtful blog posts in relation to the course. I feel that it was necessary as future teachers we need to learn to be more reflective and keep up to date with the ICT’s that are available in this day and age. When teachers reflect on their teaching and learning it challenges them to evaluate and improve teaching practices to help students achieve goals.

There are elements from this course that I will use when integrating ICT into my teaching. It has helped me better understand how to evaluate effective ICT resources and endless possibilities it creates for effective learning and teaching in classrooms today.

Wish everyone good luck in completing this course, it was nice sharing information, ideas and conversations with you all.

🙂 Emma

My Grade

After reading janeledwards  post on Modelling your grade. I thought that this would be something I should reflect on. I have already reached past 50% in this unit so far which I am extremely happy about and successful on my prac! However much like other students I’m struggling to get this assignment completed due to exams preparation. I was also absent during my professional placement and that has added more stress and time management issues. 

Im so glad that the semester is coming to an end I’m tired, exhausted, sick …however its been such a great expereince and I have learned so much! I too would also like to wish everyone good luck for getting this assessment done!

Lets all hang in there! Not long to go!

Digital storybook

After reading janeledwards post on the success of her book creator she used in her classroom. I decided to reflect on my own similar expereince as it also too was successful.

During prac I used the Little story creator application for students to create their own class digital story that related to a story book they had been focusing on. Due to the diverse needs of the class, the students did this in small groups. Students used the microphone to read their story and include their picture. When it came to presenting it to the class, the students were so excited to listen to each others story and view the pictures that they had drawn. They were immensely proud of themselves and this showed as they watched their digital story book.

Digital storybooks are great for students to present their ideas in a fun and creative way.  It is also useful for teachers to include as assessment or evidence base against the curriculum outcomes/ goals.

here is a link to a list of free applications and webpages to create digital storybooks

Ipad apps for teachers

As I mentioned in my previous post about thinking of different ways to incorporate ICT into the classroom. I really enjoyed using the iPads. At first I was reluctant to use the ipads, because I felt that they were going to be so basic. Turns out there are so many cool apps you can use to structure learning around. I was looking at a link : 25 awesome apps for teachers, recommended by teachers and there are some really good ways of using these applications in the classroom. I encourage you to have a look as they would be really good for math, literacy and assessment.

🙂

Thinking outside the box

Whilst on prac, my mentor was focusing heavily on positional language for mathematics. I decided that I did not want to simply just choose an application and let the application teach the students (in other words a replacement). I wanted to be able to scaffold and transform their understanding of positions using ICT. Scaffolding students learning was a strategy that my teacher used in order to cater for the different types of learners.

Thinking outside of the box…..I came across the ‘Play school art maker’ application. Here usually students will create pictures – however I used it to transform students understanding of positional language – This learning expereince opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of many different applications. Whilst many applications on the iPad are subject specific for example math and literacy. However there are many other apps in which teachers can use that they can tailor to meet the specific needs or curriculum goals.

Challenging behaviours on prac

Reflecting on  lesleydonohoe’s Post’s about prac focus being about ‘behaviour management’. I too have learned so much about behaviour management through my mentor and SEP teacher (they are amazing). I have found it difficult to understand different behaviours and determining boundaries for students within the class, as majority of students are verified with disabilities. The students have consistency and routine – therefore when routine is out of place then chaos arises. I am trying my best to observe and model similar behaviour management strategies with the students in the classroom. Although I feel like I’m not doing such a great job at it, I cant be to harsh on myself. After all our mentors have had lots of expereince and know the students behaviour traits very well. As students we can only try and learn.
Reflecting back on my previous prac I never really had seen too much challenging behaviour so I feel in some way privileged to learn new techniques and strategies. 

 

 

Tech Fails: What’s your plan B?

I really enjoyed reading   beeHappy4life’s  Post about technology braking. I was in a similar panic state where the teacher was attending to a behavioural issue and gave me full control of the class using the IWB  , it was the first time I was setting it up alone, however after a few minutes of just fiddling around with it it worked! Technology is funny that way!

When I had finished the activity and the teacher was still attending to another child and so luckily I had my trusty USB! I used a powerpoint game on positional language that I was able to do with the students and they absolutely loved it and were so engaged! In this case if technology fails use a plan B or if your lesson finishes much earlier than expected – have a plan B for another activity.

Technology is always bound to fail at some point. I felt that it was good to have a plan B even for when your lesson goes more quickly than expected!

 

Planning ICT lessons

Embedding ICT into the learning is tougher than it seems, however I find myself constantly evaluating against the RAT framework and TIP model by reflecting on the following questions:
– Is this technology going to transform their understanding?
– Can this expereince be replaced?
– Is it necessary to use the ICT resource?

I guess it is a good thing that I am wanting purpose and outcomes from the digital resources that I am using in my lessons.
While videos and songs are fun, interesting and good to introduce concepts, I feel that they do not completely transform understanding. With ICT comes a great deal of scaffolding, especially for diverse classrooms. During my lesson planning I have been reflecting on the ZPD by Vygotsky. It has helped me in planning as I look at what the learners can already do and plan to scaffold what they need support with to then be able to use devices and resources on their own.

Reflection Wk 1

I felt extremely overwhelmed the very first day at my prac, however by the end of week 1 I felt very welcomed and got to know my students better. I have never come across such a diverse class with only 14 children whom mostly have a verified disability and 2 ESL students.

I kept just thinking to myself that this is just going to be such a great expereince. My mentor/s are lovely teachers with lots of expereince and knowledge.

In my first week it was challenging to embed ICT into the learning expereince as there was a great deal of differentiation to consider as students are all working at different levels.

I found this article/ video: Inclusion in the 21-st century classroom: Differentiating with technology

It discusses using technology to differentiate learning for a range of diverse learners. I found this helpful and interesting as it talks about teachers having a better understanding of their learners needs and selecting tools and resources for integrating ICT into the learning for diverse learners including those with disabilities.

I am aiming to better understand my group of learners to select resources that can be modified during the teaching process to suit the individual learner and transform their understandings.

Such a wonderful expereince!

My Placement!

I was reading everyone’s posts from EDC3100, like Nicole and Miss W‘s about how they are preparing for their Professional Placement and I just sat patiently and anxiously waiting. I just got news about my prac! Like many I am so excited, yet nervous. I contacted my mentor straight away to hopefully get some information about my classroom and the type of resources that I will be able to access before commencing on Monday.  I will be teaching in a year 1/ year 2 composite class. I have previously done prac in a composite class before so I have some insight however it will be interesting to see how this particular classroom is organised. Working with 2 different curricular learning outcomes for the students is challenging, but it can be done!

So excited – however its going to be a busy busy time for me with much less preparation time!