Cluster 1965

Slow Starter

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Weeks leading up to the PD with George Couros, my Vice-Principal approached me about an opportunity. I consider myself an open-minded person that is confident in what I do but I lack in my integration of technology within the classroom.  With that in mind, he thought I would be a perfect candidate for Mr. Couros and I agreed.

During the first session with George I was trying to wrap my head around how would I use twitter in my classroom. I knew very little about twitter and it’s capabilities before the session. I was a little reluctant during the session to sign up for twitter because I just couldn’t figure out if this was a gimmick or something that would benefit me. I am also the individual that has an old cell phone that can’t even access the internet from it. I really enjoyed George’s presentation and it made me really think about my own teaching. Later that week, I decided to sign up for twitter and added co-workers, friends and professional people that I thought would be interesting to follow. I immediately saw the benefit that twitter provided. Every time I signed in, I was able to see a lot of great ideas in teaching Math (I teach Math and follow people involved in the Math world). I didn’t even have to search for anything, the ideas were there on my homepage.

Within my classroom, I feel that I do a lot of hands on activities that makes learners really think and grasp concepts that are presented. Students seem to be engaged and excited about Math. For example, students would estimate how much candy rockets would fit into a three dimensional object and then go and find the actual volume using water and a graduated cylinder. We also compared our findings with the formula calculation. As a class, we were then able to discuss our findings. Is this lesson innovation?

I will be the first person to say that I am a beginner on the journey of innovation and technology within the classroom. However, I am constantly growing and looking for ways to make the material more current to the culture of today’s society. I already see the benefit that twitter can have in getting ideas for me in teaching and I know I am just scratching the surface in terms of what twitter can do in the classroom.

 

 

Tim Holfeld

River Heights School

1965 Cluster

Innovation

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Innovation is one of those words that gets thrown around in all circles, though its true definition is highly dependent on the person using it. It seems as though it’s relatively large in terms of a concept in education, but to me it’s about creativity, forward thinking, and impactful, purposeful actions.

Before our first session with George in March, I thought a lot about what innovation actually meant to me, and what kind of implications it would have on my students and in my classroom. I also thought a lot about how it could affect the school on a larger scale, involving everyone in our building as well as those in our community. To be honest with you, my mind was inundated with ideas and possibilities, but they were all over the place.

After the session, I found George’s insight very helpful to help me focus my ideas and determine practical ways to implement them going forward. It also opened up all kinds of new possibilities and ideas of things I wouldn’t have thought about before. The idea of using Twitter as an educational and professional development resource was honestly not something I would have considered. Who knew it wasn’t just for news about the NHL?

The fact that today’s world is different than it was for us as students, and it continues to change, speaks to the importance of looking at the way things work in our schools. It’s an exciting prospect to think of   all the possibilities to help us tap into potential of our students, and help us grow as educators. As we continue through this journey, I am looking forward to continuing the process of delving into those possibilities and exploring some important changes toward the traditional thinking of schools and education.

 

Colin Jones

École Laura Secord School

Cluster 1965

Innovation

scornwell Group 2 ,

When you hear the word “innovation”, it can come across as something intimidating, something scary or something exciting. Many people will have different perspectives when it comes to change. Some will see it as good; others may not feel the same way. Change is inevitable, and as we are seeing more and more that technology is huge part of this upcoming change. We have already made numerous modifications within our classrooms, as well as the school, which reflect the influx of technology in society. We use computers for research, instead of relying solely on books and we use email to send newsletters, rather than printing on thousands of pieces of paper each month, etc. The changes that have been made already have been great, and the list will only continue to grow from here.

The first session with George Couros left me thinking how I can start applying some of his suggestions to my daily teaching. Technology is something that has become a huge part of society. Some students in our classrooms have more knowledge about technology than teachers do. If we could incorporate the use of technology, such as twitter into our classroom, some students may become more engaged and eager to learn in this new “style”. I have the privilege of working with all students in the school, and am blown away by their level of knowledge when it comes to anything related to technology.  As teachers, there is so much we can learn from our students. The results we are trying to achieve within our classrooms as well as our schools, is something that is not going to happen overnight.

There are so many questions that come to mind when thinking about how I will make this “transformation”, not only in my classroom but within the school. What is a reasonable starting point? What does this look like realistically? Are the goals and ideas achievable? The list of questions can go on. None the less, I am looking forward to being part of ITLL team and being a part of these positive changes that are ahead.

Brittanie Haworth

Laura Secord School

Cluster 1965

Our Day with George Couros

scornwell Group 2 ,

Our day with George Couros on March 22 was a day fraught with an equal mix of fear and excitement of the projects to come.  George is right.  It is scary to move out of your comfort zone whatever that might be for each person.

We understand that learning is personal and every student learns in his or her own unique way.  And so do we.  That became evident during that March 22nd day.  Each adult was at a different place in their own personal learning process.  And that was okay.

As we listened to the anecdotes, stories and watched the videos one resounding fact was evident.

While we see that delivering personalized learning plays out differently from student to student, from classroom to classroom, from school to school we also see that technology plays a central role.

“To start, change one thing, not everything”     George Couros

On the first Monday back after Spring Break this statement was whirling around in my mind.  Just like any other procrastinator I came back to discover that we had only 2 days to prepare for our school assembly.  Also I was informed that I would be moving out of my classroom Tuesday night as the floors were going to be retiled.

We held a class meeting to discuss our Assembly theme of Earth Day.  As we brainstormed ideas and format the discussion went from making posters (static) to taking pictures and doing a powerpoint to making an imovie.  The students just flew with the idea and took ownership.  We were able to film, insert music, find props, narrate and complete our project over the next 2 days.  It was so fantastic to see the excitement and learning that took place.  I let go and ran with it.  The kids designed the learning and directed where it would go.  I followed.

It was such a whirlwind that the class saw the completed movie at the assembly for the first time along with everyone else.  My satisfaction came by watching their faces.  It really was a collaborative, meaningful, and exciting project.

I’m glad the students and I were able to “step out of the box” together.

Looking forward to other adventures.

 

Debbie Gapka and Tim Evason

River Elm School

 

Innovative Teaching and Learning Leaders Reflection

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Let’s talk about moving from “pockets of innovation” to a “culture of innovation.”  An interesting statement.  My initial thoughts when I was asked to attend the ITLL sessions was fear of the unknown mixed with the new challenge of learning more.  I teach EAL to senior high students who are often on a tight timeline to finish their high school education by age 21.  I often feel that I don’t have time to do anything except the meat and potatoes of the course.  I appreciated the workshop with George Couros on March 22nd because it helped me to realize that using innovative strategies in the classroom and the school community is much easier and more beneficial that I first thought. The videos that were shared during the session were informative and interesting.   I really enjoyed the video of the students speaking to the senior online.  It was emotional to see how the students and seniors became so important to each other.  What a wonderful way to share. Thanks.

 

Jill Stefanyshyn

Gordon Bell School

Cluster 1965

ITLL Blog Post

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Prior to taking part in a presentation by George Couros I was very “green under the collar” so to speak about the term “Innovative Teaching.”  What is innovation in the realm of education? What does innovative teaching look like? How would innovative teaching benefit the early year’s classes I work with in Phys. Ed?  How would I introduce innovative teaching to students and other staff I work with? Most importantly, with our society transferring so rapidly into a digital world full of technological advances and internet usage, what steps must I take to ensure the students I am teaching are not leaving me behind if they haven’t already done so?

So like any person would do I decided to login to the laptop, open up google and try to answer the questions that were making this term “innovative technology” so foggy.  It didn’t take long to find an answer to my first question, which was the root of all other questions I had. Innovation is creating new and improved ways of thinking and doing that inspire and empower learners ~©Winnipeg School Division.  

Reading and re-reading the definition of innovation, I couldn’t help but think of myself as being an innovative learner.  I empowered myself to use technology to research questions that were blocking my path from moving forward.  Therefore, if I can be an innovative learner, surely the students I teach have the ability to do so as well, providing they have a positive model to follow.  To go even further they would see how technology is used as a positive tool rather than a tool where we watch them under a microscope to prevent poor choices such as cyber bullying etc.

So where do I go from here?  I have a theoretical understanding of innovation and how innovative technology can be so beneficial to education, but in a practical sense how do I apply innovative technology within the parameters of Early Years Physical Education.  I guess being a life-long learner has never been more important than it is right now.  Let the learning continue.

Chris Yaremkiewich

George V School

Cluster 1965

Innovation in Small Steps

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

My problem is thinking too big.  To the point of being unrealistic in my expectations of what I might accomplish.  That’s a bit frustrating…feeling hugely inspired but at the same time not knowing where to start.  I think one of the reasons that The Innovator’s Mindset resonated with me was that it did inspire me greatly, but also reminded me to find a practical starting point for myself.  So that’s what I did.  Halfway through George Couros’ book I signed up for Twitter.  I started looking at what fellow educators are doing differently.  I decided to redesign the classroom that I get to spend my days in, and enlisted my students’ help.  I asked colleagues for input and received numerous articles via Twitter relating to classroom design.  Together, the students and I made changes that allow for more choice throughout the day, and demands students to take responsibility for their learning.  Not to mention that our room just feels better and more inviting, and the community has been strengthened even more.  I’ve also had a couple of students making stop-motion videos with their own devices (something they are very passionate about).  As well, students have been using our classroom ipad to record themselves presenting projects, and then using the recordings to self-assess their work.  They can re-record as many times as they want before submitting their final product.  When they have all submitted their recorded presentations (it’s taking time!), we will hold a learning celebration and project their recordings onto the SmartBoard.  I’m looking forward to surprising the students with a trailer I am creating using Movie Maker…it will be fun to hype up the celebration!  These have been the small, innovative steps I have made in the past month or so.  Looking back, they don’t seem so small!

Dillon McMahon

Lord Selkirk School

Cluster 1965

Coding Innovation

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Innovation in the classroom is not always comfortable. Taking educational risks requires us to justify doing things differently. We need to assess the learning and how it fits with provincial curriculum, divisional and administration’s expectations for learning.

My class this year has embarked on an exploration of coding and computer programming. We have spent time playing coding games on code.org and tynker.com.  I have encouraged them to do coding at home as well.  They are learning the value of using the technology available to them to create rather than consume. Why play a video game if you could create one for others to play?

We were lucky enough to have Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) lead a workshop in block coding where students were able to code Dash drones. This experience demonstrated some really powerful learning moments. They were collaborating, problem solving, and reading and writing code.  It challenged their logic and communication skills.

As an educator I feel a need to justify why I am doing things different in the classroom.  I need to explain how coding and drones have led to numerous writing prompts, developing research skills, working on logic and collaboration.

As an educator innovating and attempting to do things differently often is uncomfortable.  My administrators and support teachers have been supportive of this coding journey of learning in my classroom but I still feel a need to prove that what we are doing is worthwhile.

Recently, through discussions with my Inquiry Support Teacher Cheryl Zubrack, I have come to realize that this feeling of a need to justify the ‘why’ of what we are doing in the classroom has actually served me well.  Being a little uncomfortable doing this innovative journey with my students has forced me, at every step of the way, to consider students’ learning, making it less about what we are doing but more importantly how we are learning how to learn.

Derek Turnbull
Wellington School
Cluster 1965

ITLL Blog Post

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

The message sent to me at the Innovative Teaching and Learning PD with George Couros last March is that students need to share their learning to an audience, and we need to be up to date in the ways in which our students, and the rest of society communicate.  This was also the message I saw in George’s TedTalk video, which I recommend checking out.   Some examples of using technology and mediums to share and communicate ideas we saw that day were Google Forms, Twitter, Storify, and YouTube.

I teach mixed grade 7 and 8 English, social studies, and guitar classes.  I find myself now, probably like many of you, reflecting on every lesson, task, and project my students are participating in, and how to make these more innovative.  Some questions I ask myself as I’m delivering lessons, or helping students choose projects are:

In what ways can technology be used here?

What are some ways my students can share this?

What will be the challenges of using this medium for sharing?

How can I “catch up” and be more social media literate?

Speaking of social media – which was a big topic at our PD that day – and as a teacher who was hired in 2008 with an unofficial message being sent from many different parties within the education system at that time, I stayed off of social media as much as I could.  I have used a very basic Facebook account so I could keep organized with activities in my personal life such as schedules for band practice, baseball games, and social gatherings.  I barely posted status updates or pictures.  Now, I feel encouraged to change my thinking and start dipping my feet in the social media pond a bit more.

As for my development in embracing a larger innovative mindset, I’ll just start with a few simple ideas and grow from there.  Use a hashtag for #poetrycorner in ELA for students to share poems?  Use a blog site for students to publish and share their short stories?  Have students create videos for presentations instead of having them do it live in front of the classroom? Sharing songs they made on GarageBand through whatever medium they wish?  These sort of tasks are not very complicated, and could be an easy place to start for anyone feeling a little uncomfortable.

Just like we tell our students, don’t be afraid to take risks in your learning.  Try, look at your results, reflect, adjust, and try again.

 

Shane Barchuk

Gordon Bell High School

Cluster 1965

Reflections on “Innovative Practices”

scornwell Group 2, Participant Post ,

Many thoughts went through my mind as I was listening to George Couros’ presentation.  Quite honestly, I was intimidated, filled with fear, annoyed and a tad curious- all at the same time.  I have to admit, I’ve always been one of the skeptical people who felt there was so much negative related to social media.  All the bullying we hear about, and especially among young people.  There’s the over-sharing of so much unnecessary and not-at-all interesting trivial information people love to post.  For a private person such as myself, there just has never been any interest to become involved with any of this.

But wait a minute; I’m becoming illiterate if I’m not connected with the social media?  I don’t like the sound of that!  It is true; times have changed so much and yes, and even during my years of teaching!  Take a look back at history- from no phones, to party-line phones, now its cell phones… from a calculator being our only “device”, to all the many devices we use today.  Nothing stays the same.

Although all I’m hearing at the in-service is that “I need to be twittering”, that is not really what the message is.  Innovation.  Is that really new?  It has always been there.  And yes, even in my own classroom.  We don’t necessarily think of it that way, because we make changes without us consciously thinking, “I’m being innovative.  I’m changing.”

So for a non-risk taking person like myself, stepping out of my comfort zone, won’t mean, leaping out.  It will be small steps.  I need to feel safe.  As a colleague of mine said; “It still needs to feel safe and manageable.”  That is what I can do.  I can take small steps in becoming more literate with the social media.  I can learn to use it, and take advantage of it in my daily life and classroom.  How will that look?

J. Barkman

Glenelm School

Cluster group: 1965