We made it!! Wow, this semester has been a huge learning curve for both Tessa and I. We learned so much from Alec and all of our peers. We are so grateful to have learned so many tips and tricks that we will take with us into our teaching practice. We will never look at Blended and Online Learning the same and we are so grateful to have had this amazing experience and opportunity to work alongside all of you in EC&I 834.
We tried to cram as much of our learning into 10 minutes as we possibly could. We had so much fun creating this We Video together! Hope you all enjoy!
We have reached the finish line of our course! We could not be more excited, but also proud of the course we have created. Our goal was to create a course that could be ready to implement for Grade ½ teachers for a blended learning experience in their classroom. Looking at our course we know we have achieved that. We can also take this course and apply it to our remote learning teaching and learning experiences.
Overview:
HERE IS THE LINK TO OUR VIDEO TO UNDERSTAND AND NAVIGATE OUR COURSE
For our home page we wanted to keep it simple and straightforward. So we have the class code as well as our flipgrid classroom code for assignments.
Classwork Page:
In our classwork page we have our 3 units which have 2-3 lessons per unit. Each lesson is broken down into a framework that we believe is best practices for 21st century teaching and learning. The framework is a gradual release of responsibility with the 3 components of: “I DO, YOU DO, WE DO”. We both use this framework within our own classrooms because it allows us to give explicit instruction to the students and allows for scaffolding to take place. Giving them the foundational concepts, language and knowledge that they need to then explore their learning and finally show us what they know through a gradual release to learning model.
We found that a blended model to learning worked amazing with this framework and we were able to create interactive, collaborative experiences and content for students using online tools. An example is that we were able to create WE DO lessons using various online platforms and tools such as Jamboard, Flipgid, Padlet, Geoboards, and Seesaw. After reading and writing about the importance of collaboration it became our mission to create as many online collaborative experiences for our students as possible. This way we are setting them up for their older grades when they become even more familiar with online learning experiences.
I DO Lessons
The one area of our course we struggled with creating was the “I DO” lessons. Feedback from our peers allowed us to think about our “I DO” differently and to come back to a blended model of learning. Some of the “I DO’ lessons have a quick engagement video for students as suggested by our peers (read this blog post for more information).
Our peers also suggested to focus on the blended piece of learning and not just online content. Therefore we have lesson plans for teachers that they will have the flexibility to teach those lessons in person, on video or recorded.
Exploring New Online Tools
We were able to incorporate new online learning tools we had never explored before until our experience in EC&I 834. We used Nearpod in some of our lessons after learning about how amazing the tool was. We were blown away with all of the resources and programs that are out there for kids to enhance their learning.
Check out Tessa’s blog post for how you could use it in your classroom!
After getting my feet wet with WeVideo, I started to create little projects and those little projects turned into bigger ones which include some of my grad studies presentations. I know I still have a ways to go with this learning and knowing all of the features of the program but I am certainly proud of myself for learning about a brand new program in the middle of this pandemic. The program is quite fascinating and I know any group of students or even my peer classmates will respond well to it. I am looking forward to continuing to challenge myself with this program and many others in my near future as an educator.
Assessment
We wanted our course to be as accessible as possible for students and teachers. As a teacher, assessment can be a very tricky task. Reflecting on (I think it was Dions post) and his question with challenges on assessment we both felt the same way. We are used to a classroom environment where we are constantly monitoring our students progress through formative assessment tasks. Therefore we wanted to create an experience/environment where teachers could still collect the formative assessment pieces through “WE DO” lessons to monitor individual student understanding. We also wanted to create interactive summative assessments for students to show their learning through interactive activities that allow us to see their full understanding of our target outcomes. All of the “I DO” activities are linked to a interactive game board that gives students the opportunity to select tasks and show their understanding of the learning outcomes in various ways.
The gameboard is still something we will continue to work on. The underlined titles are all of the activities we have creative for summative assessments so far. We will continue to work on this piece of our course so that we can create even more interactive students tasks to give students more opportunities to show their understanding over one standard unit test.
Teacher Assessment Guide
We also created a teacher assessment guide for each unit that allows teachers to see the outcomes each unit is targeted to. We included both Grade 1 and 2 outcomes. We then attached the assessments for student assessments to the guide so that teachers can view the tasks the students will complete to show their understanding of those outcomes. Followed by the assessment tasks are rubrics for teachers to use for those assessments.
Check out our course profile blog to see how we started planning our course. If you want to see our final product here is a link to our course!
Overall, this course learning experience has been one that has brought many learnings for the both of us. Initially, we started with the feelings of discomfort because of the many unknowns that come with not feeling confident with engaging students with online learning. Since we have been able to work together, the collaborative efforts have been outstanding and our professional growth has made many strides. As we go back to remote learning, we feel that this course has set us up for success for not only the instruction and it’s delivery, but also with the various ways we have learned to engage our students with online learning. We are hopeful that our gameboard will get LOTS of use during our future remote learning experiences and we already have new ideas to add to the game board!
Thanks for not only reading our blog post but also for checking out the many pieces that went into the process and the construction of our course! We have appreciated your support throughout this learning experience.
Tessa, I have so much gratitude for you and all of the hard work you have put into the creation of our course. I could not have asked for a better partner to tag along with me on this learning adventure!
Thanks again to everyone in #eci834, you are all ROCKSTARS and because of EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, we are confident our course will FLOURISH for all!
It has been exactly a year since our school division decided to move to remote learning during the time of the pandemic. At the beginning there were so many unknowns and I was constantly spinning my tires trying to figure out how to navigate the transformation.
Some of the questions running through my mind were:
how long are we going to be using this learning framework?
how do I engage my primary grade ones and twos using Seesaw?
how can I increase participation and engagement?
what does instruction look like?
As time went on, collaborative practice with my colleagues became something that supported my instruction and because of the strong bonds, I started to gain an understanding of remote learning. After reading the article Bates wrote, I learned about the term “online collaborative learning” known as OCL. During and after reading the chapter, I reflected upon my practice and it feels good to know that I have been offering my students many opportunities to collaborate and explore content together. One of the practices I do daily and throughout all subject areas is ‘think-pair-share’. It is not only a scaffolded practice but when the students get to have learning conversations with their peers, their little faces light up! I also love how my role as the educator transitions to more of an observer/ facilitator one, as the students get to own their learning and have authentic conversations with their peers. Of course this practice allows for the students to be given opportunities both independent and then with a buddy before having the confidence to share with the larger group.
HOW WILL I ENGAGE MY STUDENTS IN AN ONLINE COLLABORATIVE FRAMEWORK?
As Tessa noted in her weekly blog, we feel we are on the right track with our course that we are developing. We have established various activities from a variety of programs and I am sure the students will LOVE the change. Seesaw is wonderful to use as a student profile while having documentation and photos of the authentic learning organized in folders. NearPod is fantastic because it is completely new to us and it will allow the students to take part in the fun activities and games that are included with the program. JamBoard is another excellent spot where students can collaborate and share their ideas while also using the different tools and features to enhance their personal learning experiences.
MY GOAL
My goal for online collaborative practice for my grade ones and twos is to figure out a way for them to interact with one another similar to ‘break out groups’ on zoom. I understand it would be challenging for this age group but I am wondering if caregivers could help support this practice in order for them to get a glimpse into the powerful learning experience. What are your thoughts? Do any of you have suggestions as to how Tessa and I could go about this for our course?
While I was surfing the internet hoping to come across not only something that interests me but also something that is relevant to my teaching context – I found an excellent blog written by Susie Boss on Edutopia. The blog’s title “Engage Parents as Partners to Close the Digital Divide” automatically caught my attention and within seconds of me reading I was engaged with the literature. The blog spoke to how a Superintendent named Dr. Darryl Adams took on the leadership to bring his school division and staff together while ensuring that each student had the best education possible. While each student received an I-Pad, the parents/ caregivers became the center of attention. Dr. Darryl Adam’s and his team began the pilot with ensuring that 80% of their parents/ caregivers were going to receive the necessary training for the devices. This goal was quickly reached and shortly after, the entire school population of caregivers were trained.
The following challenges were faced by the team, but with the end in mind, they persevered and did everything they could to provide not only the technology to the students but also the necessary training for the parents and guardians
CHALLENGES:.
parents were working two jobs and did not have the time nor energy
While reflecting upon my context and teaching practice, I teach at a community school in the city and having parent/caregiver partnerships is something I strongly believe in. Parent engagement is a huge piece of the puzzle and it is very important that we show we value their ideas, thoughts and support. As I continue my adventures of learning to navigate online learning platforms, I will certainly take the time and energy to construct ‘how to’ videos. By doing this, I am confident, my families will appreciate it and they will want to support their child in any way, shape or form. It is my goal to see the outcome that this school division did. This is just ONE of the ways we can work to transform our school cultures and to show our families we appreciate and value them!
What are your thoughts? What is the situation for you, the staff and students at your schools? Would it not be AMAZING for all of our students to have an I-Pad and for the entire school population of our caregivers to have this kind of training? We have lots of work to do but I am certain we can head in this direction while providing our students with the most effective and best teaching and learning practices for 21st century education.
My final thoughts – The sky is the limit for what we should and can do for our students and their families, especially in relation to the world of digital opportunities. We need to get creative and think outside of the box in order to transform education of today! In the meantime, Let’s continue to encourage family engagement as much as we can and hopefully we can pilot a training program similar to this in Saskatchewan.
WHO IS WITH ME?
Thanks for reading! I love learning with and from all of you in #eci834.
First off, we want to say, we are so lucky to have the amazing group of classmates that we do. The feedback we received from our peers was was so meaningful and constructive. In my group the feedback pieces came from Dylan, Daniel and Riley. I am grateful for their knowledge, compliments and suggestions they had for us on how we could make our course more enticing. Moving forward, Tessa and I plan to take the suggestions and ideas from each of our groups and implement them into our course.
We often hear the sayings “there is no ‘i’ in teamwork” and “we are better together” both of these have proven to aid in our professional development and practice throughout this course. We truly have a fantastic group in #eci834 and we have enjoyed each and every class learning alongside each of you!
It is so easy to brag about everyone in this course! In the beginning I felt like I was a forever sinking duck, as I was never one to be ‘tech savvy’. Now, thanks to your support on Discord along with the conversations we have had together in class, I can now say I am a duck swimming ABOVE the water! HATS OFF TO YOU ALL IN #ECI834 – YOU ARE THE DREAMTEAM!
For our online course we are following a Gradual Release Model for teaching called I Do, WE Do and YOU Do. Our biggest challenge with our online course this far has been the “I DO” lessons (teacher led). The simple reason for this is we are both new to the programs we have been learning to navigate and time management has been something we have been toiling with. For our course profile our original goal was to create a “blended learning” course. As we began creating our content we struggled with the “I Do” lessons. We started shifting and found ourselves creating more online teaching content, rather than a blended model to learning. We questioned if we should have recorded lessons? Or if we should include a teacher lesson plan so that the “I Do” portion of our course would fit the blended model of being delivered in the classroom and the rest of the content could take place online. After having conversations with our classmates, we now have more clarity of how to move forward with our course. We also got feedback in areas that we had not thought of before. Overall, our peers in both Tessa and Jillian’s groups were thrilled with the activities and lessons that the course currently offers and we are excited to add some of the suggested ideas.
Blended, Online and Hybrid- We discussed the differences between the three models. Hybrid is a mix of both, however it replaces the face to face all together, whereas blended, the learning initially happens in person and the online component allows students to go deeper. After having this conversation with our peers we decided to go back to our original course profile plan of a blended learning course. This meaning, that we will create lesson plans for the “I Do” portions of the lessons and plan for them to be in person. The “WE Do” and “YOU Do” will give students the opportunities to go deeper into the content. In addition, some of our peers in Jillian’s group thought it would be beneficial for the students and their parents to do a video going through how to navigate the course and each module. This piece of feedback is important and we will ensure this addition is made. Tessa’s group also discussed doing a quick 5 minute engagement video that could be shown in the classroom or online. They suggested checking out Amanda’s content to get more ideas!
Student Engagement Opportunities- Right now for our course the student engagement happens mostly on aJamboard or Flipgrid. In our conversations Curtis, Jackie, and Curtis recommended other student engagement opportunities such as Seesaw Blog,and Forums/ Discussion GroupsonGoogle Classroom.
Parent Engagement- Our peers suggested creating a section for parent information. In this section we could include content informing parents of the Gradual Release Mode for our lessons. We could also answer parent questions and give parents updates on daily learning. This is an excellent idea as it shows our parents we value them. Afterall, parents are their child’s first teacher and we need to support them in any way we can.
Finally, we are excited about the feedback we have received and it is our hope that once we implement the ideas into our course, it will:
be more user-friendly, especially for the parents of our students.
optimize student engagement
stretch our horizons with different resources and methods for teaching
go back to our original plan of our course being a blended approach
I could not finish this blog post without a little appreciation to Tessa. You have been an incredible partner throughout this project and I have enjoyed collaborating together! Thank you for your wealth of knowledge to come up with great ideas and for also making sure we were both on the same page. Your leadership is greatly appreciated!
Now to end this post, If anyone reading has additional feedback for our course, please comment!
Wow, well first off, this week has been a whirlwind of learnings for me, as everyone in EC&I834 has presented incredible websites/ programs and tools that will enhance my professional practice, as well as the world of education collectively. I enjoyed reading Kelly’s blog about Powtoon. It looks like she has put in the time and effort and is the road to success with it. I am excited to hear how the implementation goes for her and her students. On that note, Powtoon was one of the programs that I became intrigued with after having a brief introduction in our course last week. I chose not to dig deeper into Powtoon just yet, as for my kiddos being a much younger audience, I felt other programs would be more beneficial them.
MOVING ON AND FINDING WHAT WORKS BEST FOR MY STUDENTS AND I
WeVideo is an online cloud platform that originated in September, 2011. The program can be used to record various screens, produce video content and is a fantastic tool for students to become more creative with their learning. This platform is important for those educators who are wanting to deliver their course using an online framework, as it allows for lessons and activities to be done asynchronously.
WeVideo would be fantastic for E-Learning and making sure school is as close to the ‘norm’ as in-class learning is. To begin my exploration, I wanted to start small, as I always do with any new program I come across. I found this Beginner’s Guide on Youtube to help with the basics of getting the WeVideo started. My initial thoughts from WeVideo were that it was a much fancier and engaging platform than Microsoft PowerPoint and I saw pretty quickly how it could benefit any group of students. Catherine, as a peer in this course and a friend teaching together at Connaught gave Tessa and I a great idea. She replied to our course profile with the idea that we could use WeVideo with our students to be more interactive and this sparked interest for me. Where Tessa and I are using various teaching tools within our course, it was a smart idea to both become familiar with different ones. By doing this, we can share the knowledge gleaned from both and potentially we will become “experts” with each program. I am confident we can make learning more engaging and effective for our students by potentially using these two programs in the roll out of our course.
As a teacher, it’s often said … “Never reinvent the wheel”
I enjoyed how Tessa added how to create her NearPod account and for that, I will share with you how easy it is to sign up for WeVideo.
Our school division has made it so that we every educator and students in Regina Public Schools has access to the program. The steps are pretty simple:
Excellent form of formative and summative assessment.
My goal is to use this program within our course that we create for our blended learning class. We can use this to record ourselves using the manipulatives and it would be neat to see how the students can collaborate in groups this way, as the classroom practice is quite limited right now.
SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS I ALSO FOUND & I AM CURIOUS ABOUT:
With any site and new program, it takes time and energy to become familiar with it.
I found myself getting frustrated with moving the pieces within the presentation and then some how deleting my work.
Will WeVideo be as effective for my primary students to use?
Will all of my learners’ have access to WeVideo from home and will it be as effective?.. I guess time and practice will tell.
Overall, I am excited about looking more into WeVideo and starting to use it for my own academic purposes and also engaging my students in a new form of learning. The questions I ask myself with any new program implementation are: Will this be engaging for my students and will it open up more doors of opportunities for them to be creative and instill a love of learning? My hope is that WeVideo will do just that and MORE! I also see the benefits of introducing my young learners’ to the program now, as it could be the foundation they may need for their future in order to meet school success!
If you haven’t got a chance to look into WeVideo, please do. It is awesome! If you already have and are a pro with the program, please provide me with some feedback, tips and tricks so I can hopefully follow in your foot steps.
Here is a picture of me beginning my journey with this program… it’s not extravagant but it sure is a start!!!
Hello, my name is Jillian Ward and I am an enthusiastic grades 1 and 2 teacher with Regina Public Schools. In 2014 I graduated from St. Thomas University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The following year I continued on to complete my Bachelor of Education Degree at The University of New Brunswick. Now here I am, in the midst of a pandemic, closing off an incredible journey to my Masters of Education at the University of Regina.
Let’s not fast forward too much.. there is still lots of learning to be had. I am feeling both excited and confident about learning new tips and tricks to take back to my little beans. I am ready to begin my technological learning adventure with all of you this term.
Alongside of my career, my fiance and I own a small business called Hydro Force Water Services. After planting our roots in Saskatchewan, came the beliefs of teamwork and community partnership and from there, we have established a successful local business. Feel free to check out our website to learn more about the services we provide.
MY LEARNING GOALS FOR THIS TERM AND CLASS
BLOG – I want to become more familiar with the different tips and tricks that go along with a website and a blog. I have never done anything like this in my life and I have already encountered some struggles. I am happy that I have a start to this technological learning experience and I am looking forward to where it takes me.
RESOURCES – I am hopeful to gain different resources and tools to aid in my teaching toolbox. I enjoy Raz-Kids, Mathletics and Seesaw currently and am looking forward to learning about some others either through course material or my peer grad students.
DISCORD – I also have never used anything similar to Discord and I am excited about collaborating with my peers to learn about new content, resources and have general conversations that will aid in the success of my Masters Degree.
JILLIAN WARD 