I can’t believe its the end of semester it went by so fast. During this semester I chose to do baking as my free inquiry project. I made so many yummy treats throughout the semester that I would love to make again.
I really liked this type of project because I probably would not have been baking every week without it. It was also something I really wanted to learn and I was motivated to do it.
Throughout my technology class this year I have learned so much about ways to incorporate technology into the classroom as a tool. Here are some of my takeaways from the semester!
This class taught me about changes we need to make to the education system in order to prepare students for future jobs. It is important to have students learning the material rather than memorizing it because they are stressed about getting an A.
This class taught me about how we can have equity in classrooms. Rich discussed having pre work before the class that students can do if they do not feel confident in the material. I did the pre work throughout the semster because I did not feel confident in with the material and it helped me feel less anxious and more prepared for classes.
I used to be so scared of using chat gpt in my university classes however I have learned that it can be a very helpful tool if you are using it correctly. I know use it for help with lesson plans and many other things that can save time.
This class was a little out of my comfort zone because I have never done 3D printing before. Although I found it a little difficult it was really fun and I think having more practice would be good.
Assistive technology is important for many students to have. It can be a great tool for students for example using text to speech can help students who have troubles with reading. Overall, this helps with equity for students.
I am not an artistic person so I have never thought out sketch noting before. Rich explained the studies that show how drawing sketches can help students remember more than typing which I thought was really interesting. This is something I will try to do in the future when studying for exams.
Smart phones and tablets are not helpful for students in grades K-3. According to Canadian guidelines kids 5-17 should not receive more than 2 hours a day of screentime. As teachers we have no idea how much screentime these students are receiving at home which is why using these devices in school can be very damaging to young students. Phones have also been banned in schools depending on the district in Canada. Phones can be distracting in classrooms and used in inappropriate ways.
When using the science journal app, I believe it can be extremely useful. However, I think I would make modifications to ensure the students get the best learning experience. When working with elementary level students I would be worried about students either being on their phones and having it be a distraction or not having enough resources to have chrome books in the classroom. I also think some of these would be too difficult for them to do on their own or in groups. The activity I found discusses motion, and I think the best way to do this experiment is as a class because we will stay on task and hit all the main learning objectives.
This week we were very lucky to have Brittany Johnson a K-12 french teacher teach us about classroom management techniques.
I love how she talked about routine and how this really helps younger kids. I think for any age group routine and expectations are a very important part of classroom management. She discussed how her students know what to do when they come in in the morning and after lunch because she has established this routine. It can bring down stress levels of students, allow for less unnecessary explanation and have students know what is expected of them.
I also loved her point about classroom decoration. She talked about how her classroom walls are empty when students come in and she has the students work fill the walls. She explained how must kids will not care unless they contributed to it which I thought was really cool.
Overall, I think everyone will find their own unique ways of teaching and routine but as a new teacher I love to learn new ways to help students learning and growth.
This week in class we learned about coding and computational learning. Computational learning can help students break down and understand complex problems. Many people use computational learning in their daily lives such as finances like budgeting, problem solving and cooking. It is important that students learn this so they can be successful in the future.
There are many non-math related coding and computational learning opportunities for children. For example, you can use coding in a literature subject by having students work with interactive stories that allow them to change the plot. There is a game called episode that allows children to do this.
For next weeks recipe I will be making chocolate chip oat cookies! I am very excited to make these because they will be great for bringing to school for a snack! This is the recipe I will be making https://preppykitchen.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
The reason I picked this recipe is because it had great reviews and I liked how it is digitally accessible for everyone because of the photos it adds. This can help people who maybe struggle to read visualize the recipe and follow along that way
This week I made soft pretzels with a cream cheese dip.
To start I made a pretzel dough which was not to difficult and required few ingredients. I then let it rise for about an hour until I could start shaping the pretzels.
Yeast Mixture
Dough Before Rising
Once the dough had risen I started shaping. This took a lot of time and some pretzels did not look perfect. It was harder than I thought but I looked at online tutorials and did my best.
After the pretzels were shaped I dunked them in boiling water with baking soda for about 10 seconds then transferred them onto a baking sheet and sprinkled some salt.
Then I put them into the oven and made the cream cheese dip while I waited for them to brown!
Finished Product
Overall, these were so yummy and an inexpensive snack. I gave some to my roommates and everyone enjoyed them.
In todays class we learned about sketch note and did our own. I thought that sketch note is a great way to make notes and retain information. There is a lot of research that proves this which I thought was cool to learn. One thing that I found difficult about sketch noting is that I am not very artistic and found it difficult to not make my sketches perfect. Overall, I think this is a great tool for students.
SAMR
Using SAMR can be very helpful in the classroom. It is important to focus on whether the technology will merely replace existing methods or enhance learning experiences for students. Overall, it is important to use this as a tool to maximize learning for students.
