Review of Tech Class #3

This week I really enjoyed learning about TED talks, especially the one that we watched today The Child-Driven Education by Sugatra Mita. This presentation was centered around self-organizational models of education in developing, isolated and troubled areas for children who need the most help.


This then feeds into my Genius Hour question. I have lived and worked throughout Labrador, Canada for the past four years as a vision rehabilitation therapist and have recognized the need for good teachers in remote communities. Oftentimes teachers will not stay long or will not want to work in such an isolated part of the country which makes retention especially difficult.


I am interested in how the child-driven educational model would benefit children in these communities, and how an educational model incorporating more self-organizational models of education would function. It would also be beneficial to understand what may not work with this model and most importantly the thoughts and feelings of the students who have completed the experiment.


Next I need to complete research on educational models, and which countries have proven to have the most effective educational systems. I would then need to research to better understand education in Canada and where we fit on the worldwide spectrum. I will then compile my data and to identify what we are doing right or wrong (in my opinion) and how we can incorporate aspects of other successful educational strategies into our schools.

As I have begun my research, I have decided that it is important to look at the top 5 countries on the Social Progress Index (SPI) in terms of education. I have identified that the top 5 countries are; South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Finland. Canada is #7 on this scale.

I am also looking at what makes each country unique and why their educational models are so great. I am learning. Next week I will elaborate more on each country, highlighting their educational accomplishments.

Cheers till next week!


Ashley

Review of Tech Class #2

 Another day and another new way to learn how to incorporate technology into my lessons. I am learning new and interesting free websites that I can use to make my lessons fun and interactive. I especially appreciate learning how to successfully implement Genius Hour into the classroom. I believe that passion is imperative to learning and that children not only attend school to learn a curriculum, they also learn to find their passions and happiness in life.


  I really enjoyed learning to use Powtoon. It is fun to use and something that I think my students could utilize successfully to create presentations of their own. Being as my students would be younger I would alter the lesson by providing brief guidelines for choosing images, objects, themes etc. and brief explanations of each. I would never want to restrict their creativity, rather my goal would be to gently guide them to a full understanding of how the site works and how to apply all setting properly.


 I really like how we have to come up with our own Genius Hour assignments and presentations. I think that learning through doing is essential to education and that this will help me understand hurdles, thoughts and the process that my future students may go through. My Genius Hour question is centered around educational models and which ones are most successful around the world. I wonder why they are most effective? How does Canada compare? Also what could I potentially take from this assignment and apply to my method of teaching? I'm excited for what I will discover while completing my research and I will keep my blog updated as I go.


Cheers!


Ashley

A Review of Tech Class #1 A Welcome Review

My first day of tech class!

With both eyes open, I have leapt into the world of technology and technological innovation in the classroom. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with what I am learning in class. Prior to today I never considered myself a highly technological person. With this being said, in the span of three hours I have created a Google account, Twitter account and learned how to create a blog.

The part I have enjoyed most of all during today's class was learning about the concept and practice of Genius Hour in the classroom. The reason why I have chosen to attend Teachers College is because I want to learn how to be a teacher who can help children find their passions and happiness in life. I believe that education extends far beyond a textbook or classroom. I also believe that as educators,  it is our role to help facilitate the process of teaching a child how to find intrinsic motivation and to develop a passion for learning.

I'm also interested in learning innovative technology that I can utilize in the classroom. Through this class, I know that I will be able to implement lessons using technology and programs that will make my lessons multifaceted and engaging for learners.

Check out this awesome video about Genius Hour and how it works.

Cheers!


Ashley

Copyright and Why You Should Care 

What is copyright and why should you care?

Read below for my comprehension on what Copyright is and why it is imperative to teach to your students the fundamentals of copyright law.

Original, tangible work is protected by copyright laws in North America and many other countries. Copyright notices are not required, the simple act of creating the work enables the copyright which ensures that only the author of the original work has the right to use it and all others must obtain permission.

What does this mean for teachers? This means that teachers may not show a video in class without acquiring public performance rights. In order to use the video, a teacher must have a CC (Creative Common license that allows distribution). A standard Youtube license will not suffice.

Teachers must also know that distribution or the use of copied documents in class is not allowed. This can only be done if payment is made to the copyright owners (often done through Copibec).  

There is a need for access to open educational resources for educators and students to readily make available and share digital media on the Internet. Creative Commons was founded by the Center for the Public Domain, in order to address the need for copyright licenses that promote open sharing of creative work.

Creative Commons set out six licenses that allow authors to declare how their creations or products can be used. Below you can find four types of copyright. Some of these types can be combined to form six:

Attrition: Letting others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work, and derivative works based upon it, but only if they give credit the way that the creator requests.

Share Alike: The creator allows others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs the creators’ work.

Non-Commercial: The creator allows others to copy, distribute, display, and perform their work as well as derivative works based upon it. It can only be used for non-commercial purposes only.

No Derivative Works: The creator allows others to copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of his/her work, not derivative works based upon it.

How to Teach Students About Copyright

It is very important to teach students about copyright laws because the availability of digital tools to students at home and at school means that they are able to take media from the Internet on a daily basis with the purpose of uploading and sharing. This would then infringe on copyright laws. Students must learn what basic copyright law means. Copyright law means that all rights are reserved (copying, distributing, performing, displaying, or adapting of digital media found online are prohibited).

The best way to demonstrate to students the importance of following copyright is to encourage them to make their own images and apply Creative Commons license, and if they must use other images, they must use images with Creative Commons license or a clear identifiable license.

With this being said, students will have to learn how to create their own graphics and be shown how to search the Internet for images with the proper license (attribution or no conditions only). Students would also benefit from learning to create their own music using online tools and programs such as Soundcloud or GarageBand.

Students w also benefit from learning how to properly use an image created by someone else, and how to locate creators who provide Creative Commons licenses on their products. Students should also learn how to determine if a video clip or image can be legally used. Proper use of citation of sources and copyright, should be an essential part of every assignment, especially when students are incorporating digital media.

A works cited page is also a great way for teachers to encourage students to collect information and to organize those sources in an effective manner.



Cheers until next week!

Ashley

 Reference:

Figg, Candace: Copyright for Tech-Enhanced Teaching
 http://www.handy4class.com/tpack-teacher-game/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Copyright-2013c1.pdf 
 
 

Imanka, An Open Book [Online Image]
Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/31331191@N07/6774007012/



Immsm. (2011, Oct 11). More Fun [Online Image]

Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/immsm/6241451699/