As Genius Hour Comes to a Close

Genius Hour is coming to a close soon and I am very sad! This means that within the next week I will be preparing for my TedTalk style video. This 5-8 minute video will demonstrate what I have learned in American Sign Language (ASL) over my Genius Hour time as well as difficulties that arose and implications for my research. Over the next week, I will have to compile my research of what signs and sentences I have learned, and present them to my viewers! I already began to look up tips for giving TedTalk style presentations and this website outlines what makes a TedTalk unique. As Kaye (2016) states, TedTalks are different from other presentations because they arise from something that is personal, a passion or something someone really cares about. This fits perfectly with Genius Hour because it is also personal and passion based! Another characteristic that defines a TedTalk is that it takes the viewers on a journey, where they started and the process that brought them to where they are now. These few points have helped me conceptualize what my TedTalk video will look like and it will help me formulate it when I get to the stage of making it. I feel confident that I have gained the skills from Tech class to successfully complete this video.

urban_data (2013, April 2). TED talk [photograph].
Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2eV6HQC

My views surrounding the use of educational technology have definitely improved as a result of taking this course. I learned new mediums through which to educate through, as well as online resources and tools that will assist with education. As a teacher, immersing yourself in technology is one of the best preparations that one can take. As children grow up in an increasingly technological world, teachers must adapt and transform their pedagogy to foster curiosity and safe use of technology. Not using technology in a present-day classroom would only hinder the students' learning. My development throughout the course has been mostly positive...there were some times where I got stuck or did not know how to do something but I tried different ways, asked my colleagues and eventually made it through! I have learned that I am capable of being technological savvy, it just takes time and effort, but I know that I am able to do it now. This course has provided me with the tools and resources to continue my professional development with technology in the classroom. 

Each day that passes as a Teacher Candidate I am both more prepared and definitely more nervous to begin my Placement Block #1 and continue on as a teacher into the 'real world'! Nothing like some teaching humour to make you laugh! 

http://memes.com/15-memes-that-perfectly-sum-up-the-nightmare-of-being-a-teacher

References

Kaye, J. (2016). Giving a Ted Style Talk? Here's how they differ from business presentations [web log comment]. Retreived from http://speakupforsuccess.com/how-are-ted-talks-and-business-presentations-different/

Genius Hour Progress

Words & Sentences from: Vicars, W. (n.d.). ASL: 1 Lesson: 3. Retrieved from http://www.lifeprint.com/index.htm *

I am only three lessons into my ASL journey, and Genius Hour is coming to a close very soon! I will still continue to learn ASL and continue with the lessons when Genius Hour is over. Genius Hour provided me with the time and foundation to learn a great new language, which I am very excited to continue working at.

As I have expressed through my last progress posts, I still have a long way to go. Although I find myself slightly improving each week, I still need to practice on refining my hand shapes. This means that after I learn a set of words or sentences, I need to ensure that I am going back and reviewing them. Having someone to practice signing with would definitely be helpful! Another difficulty that I have encountered have been that it is easy to learn the signs however making the video is quite time consuming, however it does make it easier to see the progress I have made!

My goal for next week is to go over all the signs and sentences I have learned so far as well as to work on the fourth lesson! 

*Note: the purpose of this video is to demonstrate my progress of learning American Sign Language, not to serve as a lesson for learning ASL. Visit  ASL University to view the lessons that I learned from.

Educational Technologies

Today in Tech class we explored many new technological tools and resources that can be used and integrated in the classroom. We worked in jigsaw cooperative learning groups to be able to explore a large variety of resources, and highlight the ones with our groups that we really liked. I enjoyed this activity because we were able to explore resources on our own, share with our group what we liked, and then break off into separate groups where we highlighted the best resources that we found. Some resources that I found especially interesting were ToonDoo, Google Sites, Word Clouds, Coggle, Storybird, Padlet, Popplet and Easlly. Each of these resources are free, or have a good free component, which is something that I love! These tools are very versatile because they could be used by a teacher to aid in instruction or by students to demonstrate the learning and growth that they have experienced in the form of diagnostic, formative or summative tasks.

I have experimented with a few of these tools and have found that they would be great additions in my classroom. Today I created an infographic on Easlly (see below) about my Genius Hour project. I used a template that they provided on the website and then changed the information and organization of it to suit what I wanted to depict. The information I used for this infographic came from The World Federation of the Deaf, pages Sign Language and FAQ. Infographics are a great way for students to represent the work they have completed in a simplistic form, such as depicting information found through research. A teacher can also use an infographic to highlight main facts to the class about a topic, or introduce them to something in a quick, easy way.

The World Federation of the Deaf: https://wfdeaf.org/

I have also used Word Clouds to create a sample of how it could be used in the classroom. A teacher could use this to introduce words for a unit that students would need to know; for example, I based my Word Cloud around temperature, and made it in the shape of a cloud to relate it to weather. Students can also use Word Clouds to make a list of new words that they found the definition of through research, or compile new words they learned by the end of a unit. A neat idea would be to compile all the word clouds from each unit into a binder so the student has a quick reference of the words they learned! Printing large word clouds for each unit and hanging them around the room would also be a creative substitution for the traditional word wall!

On a different note, my Genius Hour research is still going well, and I will be coming out with another video of my progress soon! Time is running out to work on this as classes will be coming to a close in a few weeks. Next steps include creating two more progress videos, as well as beginning to work on my Genius Hour Ted-Style Talk...stay tuned!

Should we Teach Technology?

Today in Tech class, we were exploring articles on The Best of Ontario-Educators, what a great, relevant resource! The article that caught my eye was about The 4 Stages of Edtech Disruption. This seemed interesting to me because it made me think about something that I had not thought about before; scaffolding students with the use of technology in classrooms. I think that many teachers use technology without considering this aspect. Integrating technology in the classroom should be meaningful and purposeful. As the article states, scaffolding the use of technology allows students to eventually become independent with technology, which is very important in a now technology-based world.

This article also caught my eye because of the language it used; it talked about traditional classroom learning being 'disrupted' by technology. Disrupted has a negative connotation to me however in this article, they see technology disrupting traditional education as a good thing. The closer to stage four that students get, the more traditional learning is disrupted. This is because technology use is self-directed and the students can now learn on their own. This is a radial way of thinking compared to the education I experienced, however it is the direction in which education is headed. This type of learning fosters inquiry, student-centred learning, critical analysis, curiosity and self-directed learning. Many of these are already present on the current educational landscape, making the need to scaffold technology use even more prevalent. Furthermore, children are immersed in technology so early on in their lives, that it is important to take the time to educate them on the proper ways to go about using this technology.

Heick, T. (2014, December 5). 4 Stages: The Integration of Technological Learning [image]. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/4-stages-the-integration-of-technology-in-learning/

ASL Progress

Words & Sentences from: Vicars, W. (n.d.). ASL: 1 Lessson: 2. Retrieved from http://www.lifeprint.com/index.htm *

This past week I made another video of my Genius Hour project...learning American Sign Language (ASL)! I created both videos with iMovie on my Macbook Air; I have never used iMovie before so I am slowly getting better at navigating the app and figuring out how to get past the basic, as you can see between comparing the first and second video I made!

As far as the challenges I posed last week with video-taping my sign language, I think that I performed better this week. I was able to focus more on the body language and facial features of the sign language, however it still took me many tries to get the perfect one! I still need to work on refining my hand shapes with each sign, but this will come with more practice.

I have definitely learned a great deal about ASL so far; I know about 60 words and 40 sentences. I still need to work on grammar and fluidity of my sentences. Grammar is difficult because if you want to say "what is your dad's name" you have to sign "dad-name-what", which is difficult to think about in the moment when I am trying to sign. I originally had a misconception about ASL before I started learning it, that I would just speak English in my head and sign each word, however after I started learning ASL, I realized that this was not the case, and that it has a unique history, culture and grammar to it!

I have learned many things about myself throughout this process. I have learned that I am capable of learning sign language; at the beginning when I found out about ASL I was hesitant that I would not be able to accomplish it. I also learned that I need to make more time for something that I care about. Often, school work such as papers and tests take priority and I think that I don't have time for other work.

Overall, I am happy with my Genius Hour progress so far, and my next steps include continuing to learn more words and more sentences!

*Note: the purpose of this video is to demonstrate my progress of learning American Sign Language, not to serve as a lesson for learning ASL. Visit  ASL University to view the lessons that I learned from.

Making Progress!

My Genius Hour progress is still going fairly well! This week I explored a different way to demonstrate my progress; I decided to make a video of my Genius Hour project of learning sign language. However, I found a few difficulties with making a video. First, I noticed that when I was making the video, I was focused so much on remembering the sign, that I lost some important features of American Sign Language (ASL) such as some facial expressions as well as refined hand shapes. After watching the video back, I realized these issues and I can hopefully be able to address them in my next progress video and continue to improve the signs I already know. Another difficulty I have encountered while learning ASL is the different variations for each sign. For some particular signs, there could be from 1-3 variations. This is definitely confusing me as I'm not sure if I should be learning all of them or not!

Words & Sentences from: Vicars, W. (n.d.). ASL: 1 Lessson: 1. Retrieved from http://www.lifeprint.com/index.htm *

I see myself using Genius Hour in my classroom to emphasize my constructivist beliefs. Genius Hour is the finest example of student-centred learning! I love this quote from a high school student; the language she uses at the end...that the knowledge "takes root" really resonates with me because I want to provide learning for my students that is lifelong, and that's what I love about Genius Hour. 

Krebs, D. (2013, March 3). Genius Hour Quote [picture with quote].
Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/8525173755

Overall, my technological skills related to education are definitely growing everyday, most related to completing my Genius Hour project. I have become well versed with Blogging and being able to change and customize blog settings, making and editing videos to include text (which I taught myself how to do for the video above), use Google Forms, Google Draw, Google Slides, PowToon, and many more online tools. In the past 6 weeks I have learned all of these skills which makes me hopeful that in the next few years my skills will expand even more to help bring technology into my classroom in positive and productive ways! 

*note: the purpose of this video is to demonstrate my progress of learning American Sign Language, not to serve as a lesson for learning ASL. Visit  ASL University to view the lessons that I learned from.