Cluster 1871

Innovation in Collaboration

Richard Roberts Group 2, Participant Post ,

There are three grade 1 classrooms in our school. At the beginning of each unit and throughout the unit, we meet to exchange ideas, resources and materials. This ensures that our units don’t become static. We are making changes and adding something new and interesting each year.

We recently completed a unit on Canadian Bears. The children worked in groups and came up with questions about bears and what they wanted to learn. We also frontloaded a few questions of our own that may have been missed. The children listened to informational books about bears and read their own books looking for answers to their questions.
We found some short You Tube videos of bears in their natural habitat so that the children could see what a grizzly bear, black bear and polar bear’s den looked like and where they built it. The children had an opportunity to roleplay and pretend they were a bear building a den and hibernating. We watched short You Tube videos of actual wild bears looking for food and learned how climate change affects their ability to find food. Again groups of children had an opportunity to roleplay being a bear and looking for food, while the rest of the class had to guess what type of bear they were depicting. We printed pictures of the different types of food bears eat and had the children sort the food using a Venn diagram. This year, one of our colleagues borrowed an actual bear fur pelt from the Living Prairie Museum and each class had an opportunity to examine it up close. Once most of our research was complete, and the children had their information recorded on their rough copy sheets, they transferred this information onto a publisher template on computers. They typed their information, drew their bear’s habitat and added the clip art to support their writing. The children printed their work and created folders from their projects. See photos below.
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I don’t think our unit on bears would be as interesting and dynamic for the children, if it weren’t for how well all three classrooms collaborated with each other. When everyone is working together to share ideas and support one another great things are achieved.

Francesca Bova
Meadows West School
Cluster Group 1871

Innovation and asking why

Richard Roberts Group 2, Participant Post ,

As I process our discussions, from the first workshop with George, read The Innovator’s Mindset, read tweets, seek out contributors, and generally reflect on my practice as a teacher, a learner, and a member of a learning community, I have been thinking more and more about what innovation is, what it looks like, where to find it, and how I can get there.
For the last year or so, I have been trying to dig a little deeper into what I do as a teacher and learner, and question myself. I ask “why am I doing this thing, in this way?” When the answer is that it’s working and meeting my needs, I am happy. But, if I’m thinking of more innovating, I need to ask what can I do to make it better? When this answer is “because I have always done it this way”, I get worried. I think that this idea is the biggest jumping point and stumbling block for innovation. A practice/routine/system existing simply because it always has isn’t a good enough answer anymore.
I am challenging myself to look at what I do as a teacher and learner, and ask myself why. I am challenging myself to find those things that are no longer working for me and change them up. Maybe that makes me an innovator. Maybe not. But I do know, that doing things the way I always have because that’s the way I always have just isn’t good enough anymore.

More to come. . .

Michelle Wolfe
Lord Nelson School
Cluster 1871

A Learning Journey

scornwell Group 1, Participant Post ,

Reflection on March 23rd,  just after the first ITLL session:

Positive energy and optimism!  George Couros empowered a room full of teachers from the moment the day started, and the energy stayed high all day.  I’ve been in this same Room 106 so many times in my career but this was brand new – bigger than I could have anticipated, even after reading “The Innovator’s Mindset.”  I’m grateful to participate in #WinnipegSDITLL with this amazing, open-minded, and eager group of teachers.  It’s also refreshing to shed my reluctance to come on-board with social media after feeling restrained and annoyed by it.   I not only started tweeting, I gained followers today! There’s so much power in numbers, most of these tweeters were strangers and they’re suddenly important to me.  We share values and interests – we all want to empower our students – and we can help each other find answers to questions and inspire each other with ideas.  I’ll be testing this out.  I am invigorated and feeling ready for whatever any naysayers might throw my way, because I know my already strong powers as a learner and a teacher are growing, and becoming stronger as I think with artistry about what I am doing.  This isn’t just sustainable; it will grow and evolve as opportunities are created.  I’ll be starting with Google docs and forms and will explore the potential of these with my students and with colleagues.  I’m already considering possibilities for Family Studies and Guidance, and am keen to use them and offer them as tools for my inquiry learners.  I wonder how students’ll expand my understanding with their experimentation, and hope their freedom and playfulness with technology will stimulate creativity.

Over the last few weeks:

It’s been both inspiring and overwhelming.  I’ve connected to educators from all over the continent.  I’ve surveyed students on their social media journeys and we’ve wondered how to smooth out this bumpy transition from no personal electronic devices in the classroom to learning with them. My students are young mothers with a multitude of demands on them and they struggle to stay on course. Despite best intentions, some claim it’s too easy to waste time while others easily started integrating smart phones into their learning. One of my students complained that despite building prioritizing skills for inquiry, social media distractions grow bigger along with project challenges.  If an obstacle appears it’s always a relief to ignore the problem and have a completely unrelated connection and conversation on social media.  If anyone has a kind solution I’d love to hear about it. I have so much to learn! I have to remind myself that it’s one step at a time – go narrow and deep. This journey has not been the smooth sailing I’ve envisioned, but I feel like I’m in good company and I anticipate great things on the horizon.

Lois Friesen

Adolescent Parent Centre (WAEC program)

Cluster 1871

Old School to New School

Richard Roberts Group 2, Participant Post ,

After listening to George Couros speak it became ever so clear to my work colleague and I that the students are evolving faster than we give them credit for. After school hours there is a tremendous amount of learning going on through the internet, games, and applications to only name a few. As a technological world we are extremely fortunate to have inclusive applications that can bring learning to life for all types of learners. No longer are we only communicating with peers in our class but learners from all over the world are just a click away.
Mr. Couros is a prime example of how learning can be extended from not only classroom to classroom but from schools and scholars around the world. Learning is no longer stagnant to the community and environment in which we live but it is dynamic in the sense that it never stops moving forward.
If we fail to modify our learning goals as educators we will be stuck in the “old school” generation; without adaptation our “new school” students may be stuck teaching us more than learning from us!

Scott Smoke
Prairie Rose Elementary Team
Clulster 1871

Empowerment – The Missing Piece of the Learning Puzzle

Richard Roberts Group 2, Participant Post ,

Walking into the March session with George Couros, I really didn’t have a clear idea of what innovative practice meant.  Throughout the day, I began to understand this concept and realize how innovation in the classroom (and school wide) allows students to feel empowered in learning.  As educators, we focus strongly on engaging students.  I still believe this remains a crucial part of the learning puzzle, but empowerment seems to be the missing piece.  Students need to become more invested in their education through practice and to effectively transfer new knowledge outside of the classroom in real life situations.
 
To help students further explore concepts introduced within the classroom, we need to provide them with the means to think critically, ask questions and seek answers.  Communication is key – allowing opportunities for students to converse with their peers and teachers promotes a safe environment where they feel comfortable taking charge of learning.  Conversations may even begin via social media sites.  Students can be resourceful by sending their questions out to the virtual world as learning happens everywhere.  Students can gain independence and build connections through doing so.
 
I think introducing the use of Twitter in the classroom is a cool way to safely expose students to the benefits of social media sites for educational purposes.  Being new to Twitter, I am looking forward to discovering ways to make use of the tool in the classroom.  I am willing to take on a ‘growth mindset’ as we continue forward with the sessions in this professional learning series.

Jillian Chaykowski
École Lansdowne
Cluster 1971

My reflection on the first session

Richard Roberts Group 2 ,

I believe it was Bill Gates who once said that, “technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” This is how I view the use of technology. While I try to use technology as much as possible because it is, and should be a part of the daily learning of our kids in the 21st century, I try to motivate and engage the kids, not only with technology, but with fun and innovative activities that interest them; including hands on learning, inquiry projects, and things that I know I would have fun doing myself.

I don’t want to use technology just for the sake of using it. I want it to be a means to an end, and not an end in itself. When I was told ahead of time by my admin that at our session with George we would be signing up for Twitter, I was a little skeptical that this would be one of those times that I would be doing something just for the sake of doing it. My experience with divisional PDs has possibly made me a bit skeptical, as for the most part, they are just training sessions on a new assessment tool. I was skeptical that these sessions wouldn’t necessarily have any benefits for my kids’ learning. I’m glad that I was totally wrong.

In our first session I asked George the question, “How is me signing up for Twitter going to help my students, of 8 and 9 years old, learn?” George had some good answers. For example, I could show them how to safely use and understand this tool because they will certainly be using something of the sorts when they get older (whether it’s Twitter or not). He also explained that I could set up a classroom account and the kids could participate with the account by making posts that I can put online myself. This could be a great tool to share what is happening in our classroom with parents and other teachers. I thought this was a pretty cool idea. I was surprisingly unaware that teachers were using Twitter for their classrooms, as I always thought Twitter was too much of an “unfiltered” environment for an educational setting.

However, what really struck me as the major benefit of signing up for Twitter was that I could learn and get new ideas from other teachers similar to myself. In fact, the very minute that I signed up for Twitter, I followed another Grade 3 French Immersion Teacher; someone who I do not know, and otherwise would not have connected with, but whose ideas I immediately resonated with me. I immediately saw a picture of her kids doing an experiment in science that I would love to do with my kids; an activity which I think would engage them immensely. Right away, within 5 minutes, Twitter provided me with a 21st century solution to some of the problems of collaboration by helping me follow people with similar interests to myself.

In the end, after this first session with George, I now realize the benefits of using Twitter. It will certainly help me connect with other teachers, and to give me new and interesting ideas to be innovative in the classroom. It will also be a great place to share what is happening in my classroom with the outside community.

Ari Sarbit
Ecole Lansdowne
Cluster 1871

ITLL Innovation Blog Post

Richard Roberts Group 2 ,

The Winnipeg Fire Department – Fire Hall 17, has been working with the students at our school. Through this program, they have been building positive relationships and helping students connect with their community. Captain Jack and his crew come in to do presentations that enrich learning outcomes in science, math, health and safety and provide engaging hands on experiences for the students.

Debby Medeiros
Shaughnessy Park School
Cluster 1871

ITLL Blog Post

Richard Roberts Group 2 ,

As I sat in the session on March 23 listening to George Couros, my initial reaction was to be overwhelmed by the endless opportunities that technology provides us to innovate as educators. In my experience this feeling often leads to inaction. I feel that I don’t know where to start and am much more comfortable with sticking with what I know and so as amazing as innovative teaching could be, I don’t engage it fully.

I made a decision, though, that even though there was only one day left before Spring Break, my best chance for stepping out again into the ocean of innovation and technology was to act on some of the inspiration I received from George the very next day. So, with a bunch of over-excited grade 8 math students on the day before Spring Break, we jumped into using Office 365 to develop a community board in One Note to display pictures of what the 3 different models of fractions look like.

The focus in the room was quite extraordinary considering that we were at the end of our spirit week and were scheduled to have a school-wide gym blast in the afternoon. I found that they were excited to engage in the learning task and even helped me as I navigated a new way of teaching, learning and presenting learning. I found that students were up out of their chairs helping each other when they came to problems much more readily than they do during my normal math class. There was a real spirit of collaboration in the class with me just being one of the learners along with them. Since the break we have continued to push into the use of this program and others. I am working to communicate with them electronically and found one student in particular who has trouble engaging in my math class has sent me more messages from her phone than she has asked verbal questions in class.

So, I continue to grow as an educator, we must do so. Although the risk and seemingly infinite opportunities have the potential to incapacitate and overwhelm me, I will continue to choose to embrace at least one small innovating teaching practice each week in order to grow as a learner and to engage with my students more effectively.

Sincerely,
Steve Nikkel
Isaac Newton School
Math/Science Teacher

ITLL Blog Post

Richard Roberts Group 2, Participant Post ,

Innovation. It’s the new buzz word, and it could change your whole teaching life. The way I see it, innovation is a way of thinking. By definition, innovation is something new or different introduced. This really is open to interpretation. In my teaching practice innovation is incorporating choice and freedom into learning. Letting students be able to take control of their learning so that it encompasses and guides them. I see it in lots of places already; their choice of topics in an extreme weather project, their choice of science fair focus or the book they read & way they present a book report. But HOW do you make innovation a daily practice? I wonder about the chaos…how do we make sure that everyone is on task? How do I accommodate those that are not focused and able to stay on their chosen topic task? It’s scary. When everyone is doing the same task in the classroom, there’s a great sense of comfort in knowing where everyone is and what they’re doing. They’re engaged.
But innovation. Engagement is not the same as empowerment. How do we empower the students without losing those in the class that are the most susceptible to loss? How do I deliver a sense of empowerment in education to those students that find it tough to attend on a regular basis? That find school a challenge? OR…. Are they the ones most needing of empowerment? Stay tuned.

Torrie Vicklund
Stanley Knowles School
Cluster 1871

Inquiry Innovation

scornwell Group 1, Participant Post ,

About 7 years ago I volunteered to participate in an Inquiry Project with the division.   Under the incorrect heading of ICT, I jumped into a program which I didn’t know anything about and it ended up changing my life. I soon realized I deeply believed in the philosophy of an inquiry-based classroom.

Student voice?

Student engagement?

Student ownership

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I’m beginning to feel like this ITLL Project will have the same impact.

DISRUPT YOUR ROUTINE

I was the first person at my former school to get a Smartboard. It was my job to learn, play and then teach other teachers. I used (use) the software daily, hourly.  My students’ made digital portfolios.  We used software like Photo Story to share our learning. My students learned Powerpoint.  We used really cool editing software to make our photos into posters.  I thought I was doing ok with this technology thing.

Then I joined this program and realized that somewhere along the way I had stopped “updating.”

Sure, I had twitter – to follow my favourite wrestlers.  Instagram? Yep, how many cat pictures do you want to see?  I even have my own website about teaching inquiry (which my students know about but have never seen and I have NOT shared with other teachers). I have a digital resume. I LIKE technology. I make Photostories about my garden on my own time. So why have I stopped updating tech in my classroom?

I can give the usual reasons: time, fear of the unknown.  But listening to George, joining Twitter as a professional and hearing from others, I realize it’s too important to stand still.  Innovation gives students that same voice, engagement and ownership that I fell in love with in inquiry.  They SHOULD go together.

I’m now excited to try these new things.  I’ve already used google docs and forms with my students and am developing something to share with parents.  We use IMovie and Windows Live Movie Maker to share our Lego Stories. My class is going to be Video Pals with students in another school. I want to learn about coding. Our makerspace bought Lego Robotics.  I want to take the IPAD cart as much as possible. I want more.

Before George I didn’t think networking was for me – I’m shy and didn’t want to “brag” about things I’m doing. I now see the possibilities of learning and sharing. I’m excited to see what comes next!

(I still have a personal twitter to follow my wrestlers, of course).

Jaymie McLure

Garden Grove School

Cluster 1871