Planning for a Balanced Diet Lesson Plan
View here. Lesson Plan Overview Grade: Four Length: 40 min. Subject: Health Education & Mathematics Content: Students make healthy food choices by building a grocery list and are challenged to stay within a set budget.
Toppling Text Books Lesson Plan
View here. Lesson Plan Overview Grade: Three Length: 45 min. Subject: Science Content: Students will assess structures and materials by observing what is the strongest shape to support weight.
ACKNOWLEDGING AND BATTLING THE UNCERTAINTY OF TEACHING
In Chapter 3 of Kevin Kumashiro’s (2006), Against Common Sense Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, Kumashiro discusses that teachers teach in a state of uncertainty. What does teaching in uncertainty mean? According to Kumashiro, teaching in uncertainty means that teachers do not know the hidden lessons they are teaching their students, and therefore do not know what their students are really learning from their lessons. In the chapter, Kumashiro discusses an example involving two different teachers. He then recounts how his own students speculated what these teachers’ students were learning from the way that the teachers taught. The speculations of Kumashiro’s students…
CURRICULUM AS LITERACY
How My Upbringing Taught Me To ‘Read The World‘ My upbringing and schooling heavily reflected a colonized western society. When I was a child, we lived in North Central Regina. Considering the high crime rate of that area and my parents’ own biases, my parents did not allow me to play outside alone or with other children in the neighborhood (especially Indigenous children). They also sent me to a babysitter that lived in a much nicer area (primarily white families lived there) and I went to an elementary school that was close to my babysitter’s. At my elementary school, there…
REINHABITATION & DECOLONIZATION
Originally posted July 28, 2020. The concept of reinhabitation and decolonization is rooted in the fact that Indigenous people share a deep connection with the land and their culture. “Learning from Place: A Return to Traditional Mushkegowuk Ways of Knowing” is a research project completed by Jean-Paul Restoule, Sheila Gruner, and Edmund Metatawabin. In the project, they worked to discover the ins and outs of reinhabitation and decolonization. They did so by creating an audio documentary about taking a trip down the Albany River which served as a, “decolonizing process of re-membering as younger generations were re-introduced to traditional ways…
HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT WE TEACH?
Originally posted July 20, 2020. An important question to consider as an educator is ‘What do we teach and why?’. This is an important question because it allows a teacher to critically analyze the implications of what they teach and how they teach it. For this same reason, it is also important to consider how school curriculum is decided. How is school curricula decided? Curriculum is a complicated concept that involves multiple factors. These factors also play a role in how curriculum is both decided and implemented. Understanding curriculum begins with understanding it’s basic principles, “Most curricula are organized around…
DANCE PARTY PLAYLIST CREATION
Originally posted November 12, 2020. My Artistic Process For my third Process Journal, I chose to create an Eco-Art inspired dance party playlist. I wanted to create a playlist that had both variety and songs featuring Indigenous artists. The playlist is as follows: The Playlist “Landback” – A Tribe Called Red, Boogey the Beat, Northern Voice “Landback” was created to support the Wet’suwe’ten nation in their conflict with the Canadian government. It is a reflection of the Wet’suwe’ten nation’s connection to land and nature. I chose this song because it emphasizes the importance of our connection to land. 2. “Radioactive” –…
Sound Map Creation
Originally posted October 16, 2020. For my second process journal, I decided to create a sound map based on the sounds I heard outside. My Process My sound map is inspired by the sounds I heard in our yard. I chose to use fall colors because when outside it feels and looks exactly like the middle of fall: Brown: The brown squiggles represent my conversation with Raya. Our conversation was random and occurred in small spurts. Orange: The orange dashed curves represent the sound of the cars driving on the highway. It was quiet and then there would be a ‘whoosh’ as…
JUNK ART CREATION
Originally posted October 15, 2020. For my first process journal, I chose to practice land-based arts education by creating a piece using junk. My Artistic Process I am currently watching my boyfriend’s eight-year-old sister because she is sick and cannot be at school. So, I decided that we could both make our own land-based art. We began by walking around outside and we talked about what we saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted. When we were outside I noticed that there were a lot of leaves in the yard and most of the trees were empty. I also saw that…
ONLINE ARTS PROJECT
Originally posted October 9, 2020. For my Online Arts Project, I chose to use Scratch to create a short animation. What is Scratch? Scratch is a program that teaches kids the basics of coding. The program uses ‘Block Coding’, which is the most simplest form of code and is based off of Java Script. Usually when children are learning the basics of coding they begin with Block Coding and then progress to Java Script. With Scratch you can be infinitely creative and explore your creativity by creating video games or animations. How did I find Scratch and Why did I choose to…
EXPLORING TRAUMA
Originally posted December 16, 2020. In Chapters 15-17 of In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier, the protagonist April Raintree is forced to face her lifetime filled with traumatic experiences. Below are my connections for these chapters: Text to Self In Search of April Raintree is challenging to read because of its close relationship to reality. When reading April Raintree I was reminded of many hardships that I have faced in my life and the hardships that those I love have faced as well. I drew this picture to represent what April is going through in the final chapters of novel. The…
EXPLORING IDENTITY & SENSE OF SELF
Originally posted December 11, 2020. In Chapters 8-14 of In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier, the protagonist April Raintree experiences adulthood and searches for her identity. Below are my connections for these chapters: Text to Self When reading Chapters 8-14 of In Search of April Raintree, I was reminded of the struggles of young adulthood. As a young adult myself, I know how complicated it can be trying to figure out your identity. Personally, trying to understand who I am and what I want in life is a goal of mine at the moment. One of the largest struggles April faces…
EXPLORING CHILDHOOD & ADOLESCENCE
Originally posted December 10, 2020. In Chapters 1-7 of In Search of April Raintree, the reader experiences childhood and adolescence from the viewpoint of the protagonist April Raintree. Below are my connections to In Search of April Raintree: Text to Self When reading In Search of April Raintree, I found myself admiring April and Cheryl’s relationship. Their relationship reminded me a lot of my relationship with my sisters. As the oldest sibling, I find my self assuming a protector role and it is often a joke in my family that I am my sisters’ second Mom. In this way, I identified a lot…
REFLECTING ON KOHLBERG’S & GILLIGAN’S THEORIES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Originally posted October 12, 2020. We all make mistakes, and as we age and gain more experiences we learn how to make morally guided decisions. Two major contributors to the theories on how we develop morality are Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan. Kohlberg contributed to moral development theory by: Proposing three levels and six stages of moral development. These levels and stages are the following: Level I: Preconventional Morality Stage I: Punishment-Avoidance and Obedience Stage II: Exchange of Favours Level II: Conventional Morality Stage III: Good Boy/Good Girl Stage IV: Law and Order Level III: Postconventional Morality Stage V: Social Contract Stage VI: Universal Ethical Principle (Ormod et al., 2010,…
DEVELOPING SELF-ESTEEM, SELF-EFFICACY & A SELF-CONCEPT
Originally posted October 6, 2020. An incredible aspect of being human is having an immense awareness of one’s self. We define ourselves based on various characteristics and beliefs to separate who we are from the surrounding world. In Principles of Educational Psychology, Ormod, Saklofske, and Schwean discuss how students develop a sense of self. In the text, there are three main concepts involved in the development of sense of self: self-concept, self-esteem, and Self-Efficacy. Self Concept: One’s perceptions of, and beliefs about oneself. Self-Esteem: Judgements and beliefs about one’s own general value and worth. Self-Efficacy: The belief that one is capable of executing certain behaviours or reaching…
REFLECTING ON VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF LEARNING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Originally posted September 23, 2020. An important part of learning is to develop new skills that can help us solve problems and become active participating members of society that are capable of sharing ideas and invoking positive change in the world. Lev Vygotsky’s theoretical perspective of learning and cognitive development pays close attention to the social perspective of developing new skills. Vygotsky suggests that learning from more competent individuals is an essential part of cognitive development. So, how can we apply Vygotsky’s theory to our own experiences? Time for a Story I would like to share with you a time in…
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE, PLACE-CONSCIOUSNESS, AND RESPECT FOR PLACE
Originally posted May 24, 2020. The Importance of Place The idea that place is of importance is not a new concept to me. As a child, the importance of place was taught to me by my family. This value was introduced to me through our experiences at the family farm. My family’s farm is a place that means a lot to me. In the mid-1920s, my great-great-grandparents bought the land after immigrating to Canada from Norway, and right now, the farm is owned by my Aunt and Uncle. When I think about the farm, I think about how amazing it…
REUSING MATERIALS AND IDEAS
Originally posted June 10, 2020. I decided to make a heart shape using dead grass I found in the pasture. Originally, I wanted to braid it into a heart shape, but that did not work very well. My grandma came up with the idea to tie it together with some twine instead and it worked really well! Since my grandma helped me make this, I thought a lot about how much crafting I would do with her as a young child. My grandma is an artist and for that reason she loved to craft with me when I was young.…
FOOD JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: A VARIED PERSPECTIVE
Originally posted June 10, 2020. Clean Water Access in Canada for Indigenous Communities I knew that some Indigenous communities did not have access to clean water and other basic necessities that other Canadians do not consider to be a luxury. However, I did not know that Indigenous communities as far south as Shoal Lake 40 experienced this injustice as well. Prior to watching Vice Canada’s video on the waterless communities in Canada, I assumed that only far northern communities experienced this. I found Vice Canada’s video to be shocking considering how close the community could be to having clean water, and how hard they…
YOU LEARNT…
Originally posted July 17, 2020. NOTE: The use of ‘learnt’ is meant to be ironic and enhance the message of the video. In ESCI 302: Environmental Education, we were asked to create a Manifesto based off of an environmental issue we are passionate about. For my Manifesto, I chose to discuss the injustice of poor water quality on First Nations Reserves in Canada. My Manifesto is inspired by Vice Canada’s documentary on the Shoal Lake 40 water crisis.
GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS
Originally posted May 25, 2020. This week my goal was to bake something that I am familiar with to adequately gage my current skills set. The first thing that came to mind was to make my great-grandma’s apple pie. My Inspiration While growing up, every August the women in my family would go to the farm for the weekend to make pies and do some canning. It was always a really special experience for me and I hold onto those memories. In the weekend we would make about 120 apple pies because those were everyone’s favorite. When we were done…
IS TWITTER SAFE TO USE AS A CLASSROOM TOOL?
Originally posted May 25, 2020. I have fairly limited experience with Twitter and have not used it much. In high school, I managed the SRC Twitter account, but that is as far as my experience goes prior to being a part of EDTC 300. Twitter in The Classroom Prior to this class, I never considered Twitter to be useful as a classroom tool. However, after using it as a resource for this class I have reconsidered. After a class discussion, I went to everyone’s best friend google and searched “Twitter as a classroom tool”. One of the first results to…
LEARNING FROM THE PRO
This week my goal was to bake something with an experienced baker. The best baker/cook I know is my mother-in-law. I texted her and we planned a day for me to come visit her. When I asked her what her favorite thing to make is, she said carrot cake; so we made carrot cake! Recipe Cake Ingredients 2 Cups Brown Sugar (Packed) 4 Eggs 2 Cups Flour 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder 1 1/2 Cups Canola Oil 3 Cups Raw Grated Carrots 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon (Heaping) Instructions Combine oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at…
MMM… COOKIES
Originally posted June 4, 2020. This week I wanted to bake a recipe that was popularized by the internet. After doing a quick google search I found Bon Appetit’s recipe for Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread. Recipe Ingredients 2 1/4 Sticks Cold Salted Butter (Cut into 1/2 in.pieces) 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar 1/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour 6 Ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Demerara Sugar (for rolling) Flaky Sea Salt Instructions Using an electric mixer and a medium bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown…
Challenge Accepted
Originally posted June 4, 2020. This week I wanted to bake something that was beyond my skill set. After some internet searching, I came across this video on how to make a checkerboard cake. I decided to take some liberty in a few things in order to work with the ingredients I already had. Recipe Cake I used Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix. I only used one box. Ingredients 1 Cup Water (I used almond milk instead because my mother-in-law said it tastes really good) 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil 3 Large Egg Whites Cake Mix Instructions Prep: PREHEAT oven to 350°F (180°C)…
HOW CAN TEACHERS CAPITALIZE OFF OF PARTICIPATORY CULTURE?
Originally posted June 9, 2020. If you were to walk into a grade 8 classroom today, you would be greeted with thirty pre-teens doing TikTok dances at what seems to be random and inappropriate moments. What you might not know is that this is a product of participatory culture. As a result of the internet becoming a central component of our lives, a new type of culture has arisen: participatory culture. In Michael Welsch’s lecture, “An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube”, Wesch discusses how instead of the general public strictly being consumers of media, now the general public are active in producing new media for…
EDTC 400 Mentoring
In EDTC 400 I was responsible fore mentoring a few students from EDTC 300. Overall this experience was very interesting and gave me some insight of what it would be like to teach high school or university students. From this process I was given some insight on what it might be like to teach an online class and I found that it definitely could be challenging and isolating. I feel as though if I were able to meet my mentees in person it would have enabled me to help them more because I could ease my anxiety about talking to…
The Great EdTech Debate: Promoting Social Justice on Social Media & Cell Phones in Classrooms
For our fourth Great EdTech Debate we discussed two topics: Educators have a responsibility to use technology and social media to promote social justice and fight oppression. Cellphones should be banned in the classroom. Here are some of my opinions: Educators have a responsibility to use technology and social media to promote social justice and fight oppression I agree that educators have a responsibility to use technology to promote social justice. Why educators have a responsibility to use technology and social media to promote social justice and fight oppression As educators, we shape the future of the world by the…
The Great EdTech Debate: OERs Yay or Nay?
For our third Great EdTech Debate we discussed whether educators should share lessons, resources, and other materials that they have created openly online. I agree that educators should share resources openly online and here is why: The main argument for why Teacher’s should share the resources openly is that the foundation of Education is the principle of sharing knowledge. In David Wiley’s Ted Talk, he speaks about how sharing knowledge is not competitive, but it is courteous and provides space for innovation. The purpose of knowledge is to share with others so that new knowledge and ideas can be created…
Talking About Gender Diversity & Education
It is not often that I find a text book prescribed to me by the University to be super foundational to my learning and highlighting some biases I carry. However, in ECE 325 our textbook Anti-Bias Education for Young Children & Ourselves has done this for me. Recently in ECE 325, we were given the opportunity to explore a variety of social justice education issues over a course of a few weeks. Each week we were tasked with reading a chapter from Anti-Bias Education and exploring it as a group through a series of discussion questions. For this blog post, I would like to…
The Great Edtech Debate: Social Media & Surveillance of Students
For our second Great EdTech Debate we discussed two topics: Social media is ruining childhood The surveillance of student data and online activities by school systems is necessary to ensure student safety Here are some of my opinions: Social Media is Ruining Childhood I disagree. I think that if social media is used in a way that uplifts community and individuals it enhances childhood and learning experiences. Why social media is not ruining childhood The most significant argument that comes to mind as to why social media is not ruining childhood is that it provides a broad amount of resources…
The Great EdTech Debate: Technology in Classrooms & Teaching Googlable Facts
For our first Great EdTech Debate we discussed two topics: Technology in classrooms enhances learning Schools should stop teaching ‘googlable’ facts and information For both of these topics I landed on the agree side and here is why: Technology in Classrooms Enhances Learning Why Technology in Classrooms Enhances Learning The most significant argument for why technology enhances learning in classrooms is that technology provides an abundance of educational resources. The implementation of technology in classrooms creates endless opportunity for creativity, interaction, and learning. These ideas are present in Sarah Kessler’s article “8 Ways Technology is Improving Education”. Kessler argues that…
Talking About Different Abilities & Education
It is not often that I find a text book prescribed to me by the University to be super foundational to my learning and highlighting some biases I carry. However, in ECE 325 our textbook Anti-Bias Education for Young Children & Ourselves has done this for me. Recently in ECE 325, we were given the opportunity to explore a variety of social justice education issues over a course of a few weeks. Each week we were tasked with reading a chapter from Anti-Bias Education and exploring it as a group through a series of discussion questions. For this blog post, I would like to…
Reflecting on our Mini-Lesson
In EDTC 400 we were given the task of planning and teaching a mini-lesson to our peers that is orientated around digital citizenship and/or digital literacy. For my mini-lesson, Stevie Marshak and I formed a team to tackle the topic of Digital Commerce (otherwise known as E-Commerce). We chose to take on this topic after reviewing the Saskatchewan Digital Citizenship Continuum. Under the Digital Commerce section of the document it says that for Grades 3 to 5 a topic to discuss is in-app purchases and online advertisements. As such, we decided that we would settle on a Grade 4 lesson…
Winter Count – Summary
Winter Count – Week One Discussing the Complexities of Identity View here. Winter Count – Week Two Breaking Through Institutional Barriers View here. Winter Count – Week 3 The Divide Created by Colonization in Educational Contexts View here. Winter Count – Week Four The Significance of Place and Identity View here. Winter Count – Week Five Incorporating Indigenous Knowledges into all Subjects View here. Winter Count – Week Six The Creation and Original Spirit and Intent of Treaties View here. Winter Count – Week Seven Reforming Treaty Education View here. Winter Count – Week Eight New Resources and Information View…
Winter Count: Week 9
In week nine, we discussed the interwoven issues between racialization, education and treaties. After reading “Multiculturalism, colonialism and racialization: Conceptual starting points”, I gained a more detailed understanding of the myth of multiculturalism in Canada and its relation to education. This winter count symbol is two people of different colour with a heart in between them to represent that we are all the same inside. I drew this symbol to represent the true unity that is needed among people. This week I learned that in order to achieve the true form of multiculturalism that we are seeking in Canada is…
Winter Count – Week 8
In week eight, we attended an Office of The Treaty Commissioner Treaty Workshop. For this week’s symbol I drew a book and a person speaking to represent the wealth of knowledge the workshop provided me with. I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop and found it very valuable to my professional development because of all the resources we were provided with. This week we were also tasked with reading a document from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. I really connected with this resource because of my experience working with First Nations and Metis Services in Saskatchewan in which the mission…
Winter Count – Week 7
In week seven we discussed the importance of teaching treaty in schools and analyzed the Saskatchewan Treaty Education Curriculum. For this winter count symbol I drew a school house in the center of a medicine wheel to show the needed integration between education, indigenous knowledges and the shared history of Canada. In Tupper and Capello’s “Teaching treaties as (un) usual narratives: Disrupting the curricular commonsense” the importance of treaty education is a main topic. However, they discuss the untold stories of treaty. Often in treaty education there is a simple formula that is followed that is orientated around the western…
Talking About Economic Class & Education
It is not often that I find a text book prescribed to me by the University to be super foundational to my learning and highlighting some biases I carry. However, in ECE 325 our textbook Anti-Bias Education for Young Children & Ourselves has done this for me. Recently in ECE 325, we were given the opportunity to explore a variety of social justice education issues over a course of a few weeks. Each week we were tasked with reading a chapter from Anti-Bias Education and exploring it as a group through a series of discussion questions. For this blog post,…
Winter Count – Week 6
In week six we discussed the creation and meaning of treaties. This symbol is to represent the true spirit and intent of treaties which was to come to living and non-expirable agreements that benefited all. This week I learned that initially the treaties were a representation of a merging of cultures that had the desire to coexist peacefully. However, these agreements soon became a way of Europeans gaining manipulative power over the First Nations people. These learnings came from Chelsea Vowel’s “Treaty Talk” in Indigenous Writes.
Teaching About Balance Between the Digital & Non-Digital Worlds
Currently, children and adults spend a record amount of time in the digital world. According to Kardefelt-Winther, Livingstone, and Rees 2020 study on children’s internet use, the average child spends approximately 15-20 hours a week online. So what does this mean for educators? It means that there is an enormous and growing need for Teachers to begin educating their students on how to create a balance between their digital and non-digital lives. The first step to doing this is to begin by teaching Digital Citizenship at an early age, and continue this throughout a student’s education. If we provide students…
Digital Commerce Lesson Plan
View here. Lesson Plan Overview Grade: Four Length: 40 min. Subject: English Language Arts and Health Content: Students will learn about the consequences of online advertising and in-app purchases through a digital lesson format.
Unit Plan: Sharing & Honouring Relationships and Agreements as Treaty People
View here. Unit Plan Overview Grade: One Length: 3 Days (45 min/day) Subject: Treaty Education, Arts Education, English Language Arts, Health, Science and Social Studies Content: Students will examine how sharing contributes to treaty relationships.
Winter Count – Week 5
In week five Karen West (an Indigenous Curriculum Consultant) spoke to our class about indigenous knowledges and the connections we can make to curriculum using different ways of knowing. For this week’s symbol, I drew a beaker to represent science and an outline of a medicine wheel to represent Indigenous knowledges. Prior to hearing West speak in our class, I struggled to see the connections that can be made to Indigenous knowledge and teaching science. What I have learned from this week is there are many deep and interwoven connections between both concepts.
Winter Count – Week 4
In week four we completed our place stories. I wrote my place story on my family farm. From this assignment, I learned that no matter one’s heritage we all have a connection to land and place. For this week’s symbol, I drew Saskatchewan with wheat to symbolize my connection to the land of the province.
How has play changed?
To address the topic of how play has changed, I began by asking my Mom a few questions about her play experiences. My Mom was born in 1983 and her sister was born in 1985 for context. Listen to the Mini-Interview below: What image of the child did the way my Mom play promote? I would argue that the type of play experiences my Mom participated in promoted the image of the child that is competent and capable because of the freedom of play she was granted with. When my mom was a child, her play was not censored by…
Twitter and Professional Development
Recently in my EDTC 400 class we participated in a Thursday night SaskEd Chat. SaskEd Chat occurs about once a week and provides an opportunity for Saskatchewan teachers to network with each other and discuss engaging and relevant education topics. I participate in the SaskEd chat once every couple months and it is a great opportunity for networking and learning more about teaching as a pre-service teacher. My Relationship with Twitter My relationship with Twitter started out rocky. In the beginning I did not know how to use it or how to use it in a way that benefitted me…
Winter Count – Week 3
In week three we read Dwayne Donald’s “Forts, Curriculum, and Indigenous Metissage: Imagining Decolonization of Aboriginal-Canadian Relations in Educational Contexts”. The thing that stuck out to me most from this reading was the separation between Indigenous peoples and Euro-Canadian people in education. This symbol is to represents the divide between the two socio-cultural groups. The crown represents the Euro-Canadians and the Leaf represents Indigenous peoples.
Checking in With my Digital Identity
For EDTC 400 we were tasked with checking in on our digital identities. What digital platforms am I present on? I began this process by looking at what digital platforms I am active on or have previously been active on. I found that I am most active on Twitter and my Blog. I think that this is because I am not an avid user of Social Media and since taking EDTC 300 my interactions online have focused on developing a professional identity as a pre-service teacher. I also found that I am present on Facebook and Pinterest. I know that…
Winter Count – Week 2
In Week 2 we had a guest speaker discuss with us her experiences with racism in education and how she fights as a Metis educator for respect in the profession. We also had discussions about how she fights for her Indigenous students. This symbol represents the exclusion that is present in education. This week I began to develop questions about how to move towards inclusive education. I considered what I can do to empower those who are oppressed by the education system such as First Nations, Inuit, and Metis persons.
ONE GREAT THING LESSON PLAN
View here. Lesson Plan Overview Grade: Four Length: 4 Days (60 min/day) Subject: Arts Education (Visual Art and Literature Strand)/English Language Arts Content: Students will be able to practice their critical thinking skills while fostering creativity by creating a poem about one great thing and an illustration to symbolize the poem. We will be reading two books that have inspired the activity. This lesson focuses on the development and importance of creativity.
MINI-UNIT PLAN
View here. Unit Plan Overview Grade: Five Length: 5 Days (60 min/day) Subject: Arts Education, English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Treaty Education Content: This cross-curricular unit explores the essential question “The Circle of Life is traditionally thought to be a First Nation way of living and seeing the world. How can we connect to the Circle of Life and bring it into our daily classroom and education?” using a variety of instructional strategies.
HELLO EDTC 400!
Hi! My name is Jordan and I am a third-year Pre-K to Grade 5 education student. I like camping and spending time at the lake with my family. I also have a four-year-old Boxer named Gunner! You can connect with me on Twitter @jordanwenger1 Three goals I have for this course are: To improve on my participation in networking via Twitter, Slack, and blogging as this was a weak area for me in EDTC 300. Learn more about implementing educational technology into lessons and assignments. Gain more resources to add to my teacher toolbox.
BAKING WITH ADOBE PREMIERE RUSH
Originally posted June 11/20 This week I decided to document my learning project by video taping it. I knew that to do this I would need to find a video editing website or app, so, I searched on google “Best free video editing apps”. After a bit of trial and error I came across Adobe Premiere Rush. Getting Started My first task was to decide what I wanted to bake and video tape myself baking it. I decided that I wanted to try making chocolate chip cookies, so I went to Pinterest and looked up “Chocolate Chip Cookies”. In the end I chose to go…
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY: BEING AN ACTIVE CITIZEN
Originally posted June 12/20 Educators are asked to fill a very large role in society. They are expected to be leaders, caring, diplomatic, and intelligent. However, there are also unspoken expectations as well. Teachers are expected to please many people simultaneously, despite what they think is best. Teachers often live in fear of backlash from their communities for advocating social justice. However, I believe that teachers have a responsibility to be advocates of social change. Active Citizenship in Digital Spaces as a Teacher Teachers are notorious for inspiring social change and advocating for various movements. They often do the majority of…
Winter Count – Week 1
In Week One we discussed how individuals identify and how to have open and honest discussions about the complexity of identity. For this winter count symbol, I drew a person pointing to themselves to represent this discussion about identity. While reading Chelsea Vowel’s articles “Just Don’t Call Us Late for Supper: Names for Indigenous Peoples” and “Settling on a Name”, I began to think critically about my identity. I came to the conclusion that I identify as a Canadian that is a descendant of white settlers.
BEING AWARE OF DIGITAL IDENTITY
So, you met someone new and you really liked them. You thought, “I could be friends with this person.”, and when you go home you look them up on social media. From doing so, you are able to discover their hobbies, work experience, family members, and political views. By doing this, you are cyber sleuthing, whether you know it or not. In the digital age, it is normal for people to feel as if they have instant access to information. This also includes instant information to someone’s personal life. However, what you may not have considered is that what you find out…
IS CODING OUR FUTURE?
Originally posted June 23/20. The world is in a state of constant digitization, and with that comes many changes. We refer to the modern age as the digital age, a age in which we live in a virtual world. In the past, when we move from one age to another, new jobs arise. Similar to the industrial age, new types of professions arise as technology advances. As technology continues to advance in the modern age, it is expected that Computer Programmers/Scientists will be in high demand. In my Educational Technology class, we were introduced to basic coding. We were asked to either do…
TEACHING DIGITAL LITERACY IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Originally posted June 24/20 The internet is an interesting place where we compile unfiltered information and discuss this information to no end. I was first introduced to the internet in first grade. My teacher had rented the single cart of MacBooks the school had and sent us to exploring the internet. She wrote a link on the white board to type into the search bar, and I was completely lost. As I grew older, computers and the internet became a larger part of my life. Now, in 2020, I carry a super computer in my pocket and most likely spend…
Semester Wrap-Up
Originally posted June 24/20. This Spring, my EDTC 300 class was one of the most challenging classes I have taken in University so far. It was not challenging like a typical University class is, but it was challenging in the way it changed my perspective of technology. In this class, I was pushed out of my comfort zone and forced to face my fear of Social Media and online strangers. I was re-introduced to Social Media in a professional manner and was able to see how useful developing an online Professional Learning Network can be. Below is a summary of…
Mission Accomplished
Originally posted June 24/20. For my learning project I decided to try to learn how to bake. I never really liked baking because I would usually get stressed out if what I made did not come out perfect. However, after giving it a shot over the past few weeks I have learnt to like it. Week One In the first week, my goal was to accurately gage where my baking skills were at. So, I decided to bake something with an experienced baker, and bake something that I was familiar with. I began by baking a Lemon Meringue Pie. Pie is…
DOMINANT NARRATIVES PRESENTATION
Originally posted March 2020. Below is the script I wrote for my FlipGrid video on my Dominant Narratives Presentation for ECS 110. The full video will be uploaded soon! Script Hello ECS 110! I hope you are all doing wonderful today and staying safe and healthy. My group’s dominant narrative is ‘That women are emotionally weaker than men’. In my portion of our presentation I will be introducing two counter-narratives to the dominant narrative. The first one is that women are just as emotionally strong as men and the second is that men are capable of expressing emotions. Unfortunately, the…
MY JOURNEY TOWARDS RECONCILIATION
Originally posted March 2020. For my Journey Towards Reconciliation project I was asked to do an aesthetic and written response. Aesthetic Response For my Aesthetic response I decided to do an acrylic painting. The white bird represents European colonizers and the red bird represents Indigenous people. The branch is the sociological divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada that has been put in place by colonial culture. In the painting the white bird is allowed to be free and achieve anything, they are careless and have no worries. The white bird also does not understand that the red bird…
Week Three
Originally posted March 2020 Mrs. Hadwen builds a very strong sense of community in her classroom by the way she addresses the students and the activities or lessons she plans for the class. She addresses the students by calling them her friends. In September and October, she focuses a lot of her time on building relationships between her and the students and she does so by doing ice breaker activities and having talking circles. A few times a week the class also sits in a gratitude circle. In the gratitude circle Mrs. Hadwen discusses the relationship to the medicine wheel…
Week Two
Originally posted March 2020 Over the lunch hour, I spilled something on my shirt and went to the washroom to clean myself up (both staff and students share washrooms at the school). When I went into the washroom, a Grade Eight girl was crying in one of the stalls. I asked her if she was okay, and she opened the door of the stall to see who I was. She said she and her boyfriend had just broken up and I told her that I was sorry for her. I then told her the story of how I broke up…
Week One
Originally posted March 2020 My first impression of Lumsden Elementary School was that the atmosphere was very welcoming and the school was designed really well. I was also really excited to experience a Grade 2 classroom first hand. LES is a fairly large school and they have quite a few staff members from many different backgrounds. For each grade there is a French Immersion class and an English class. They also have a few educational assistants, custodians, and administrative assistants. The surrounding community is very close-knit and active, I believe this is because Lumsden is a smaller town. When observing…
Final Reflection
Originally posted March 2020 My ECS 100 field experience was fantastic. I had the pleasure of working with a fellow classmate, Emily Logan, and Mrs. Glenda Hadwen at Ecole Lumsden Elementary School. Unfortunately, my field experience ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emily was a wonderful partner that helped to enhance my learning experience during our field placement. We had many discussions about social justice in a school setting and how the events we experienced in the day related to the content we learned in class. I was very thankful to have her as a partner because she offered…
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