Nicole's Teaching Blog

This week in our Ed Tech class we explored video conferencing for remote accessing classes. I am happy we had this class as I did not realize how popular this  tool was.  Since this technology is only increasing in popularity, I am happy that I was able to become familiar with it now. I could very easily see myself leading a online course in the future as I love that it can make education accessible for students from any location.  I think I would need to do more research into exactly the type of technology I would need to facilitate an online course. However, I look forward to  giving it a try in the future.

This week in our EdTech class we had the opportunity to be shown the applications for Minecraft within a classroom from a teacher and students from Colquitz Middle School. I thought it was really neat to be exposed to the educational uses in Minecraft that could be applied to different areas. For example, checking out the different biomes for a class on biology or creating an ancient civilization for a social studies class.  I think Minecraft has been super successful in this teacher’s classroom as she clearly has a passion for it and loves doing it with her students. Personally, I do not know if it would ever be a tool that I would seek out to enhance classroom learning as I do not have the knowledge or passion about it. However, if a student came to me and asked if they could do a project in Minecraft, I would be open to hearing and accommodating their ideas.

This week in our EDtech class we held our own Edcamp! People from our class got to submit their ideas for group conversations, then, as a class we got to vote for the topics we were most interested in.  The topic that I choose to go to was about student wellness in the classroom.  As a group we got to talk about different ways to promote student wellness within the classroom. Some of the topics included mindfulness and providing snacks and treats for your students. I really liked being part of a group setting where we were all on equal footing and no one was the “teacher” of the group. We all had different experiences that we could contribute to the conversation in order to further each others’ knowledge. Overall, it made for a very successful group discussion where we all learned a lot.

This week we learned how to use power point in order to complete simple graphic designs. I thought this was a really cool trick. I am very familiar with power point, but had never thought about using it for purposes other than just making slides. As someone who is not very comfortable with Photoshop and other graphic editing software, this is definitely a tool I can see myself using. I think that it would be perfect to create and edit some simple pictures that I may want to include in my future lessons.

This week we had the privilege of going to the Pacific School for Innovation and Inquiry. This visit was very eye opening as their teaching structure was very different than what I was used to seeing.  Their inquiry process was so amazing to see and experience.

They had a flow chart that students get to follow while making their inquiry’s to help guide their progress.  I really liked that students are able to investigate what they are interested in.  For example, the students who like video games can dive into learning more about how and where they are created. Also, it is amazing that students have the opportunities to start their own business as part of their schooling, with the support of their teachers.