I learned about a lot of new things and I deepened my knowledge of other concepts. Here's some of the ideas and/or concepts that I am thinking about:
It's all about the code
I learned a great deal more about coding-the how and why we should use coding programs in school.
Thanks to Peter McCash +Peter McAsh I learned that there are three parts to coding. Sequencing, repetition and if/then statements. These are great problem solving skills for kids to practice and so any of the great coding apps and websites out there like Hopscotch, Scratch, Tynker and Turtle Art will provide students with problem solving skills development. I got to see that kids can make small programs in Scratch, for example, which can be used with Makey Makey kits or with a Raspberry Pi. I forced myself to sit down and figure out how to get my banana to sound like a drum thanks to Cathy Beach @beachcat11.
This new knowledge has given me the courage to seek out others in my community that are also working on similar ideas. I have connected with the Innisfil Library's IdeaLab and I visited a Barrie hackerspace run by SimcoLabs. I am also going to attend the Toronto Mini MakerFaire later this month to see makers on a bigger scale. I think this is a great way to include the need and desire to make things in schools. We know that students need more opportunities to be creators rather than consumers in this media-driven world.
NFB rocks
I attended a brilliant session by the National Film Board @NFB_Education about their educational resources. I also learned about one of their apps the StopMo App. I can't wait to get in to a school to use it with a class! There are even more apps here! Ontario teachers have access to NFB Campus which allows teachers to see even more educational content and to curate films. Get your account here https://www.nfb.ca/member/my_campus There are thousands of English and French films that would support students as they learn about our Canadian identity.
Integrative Thinking
Heidi Siwak @HeidiSiwak a Hamilton Grade 6 teacher brilliantly presented Rotman's School of Business Integrative Thinking model. I took the most notes in her session and I think that my "deep learning" school might be able to use some of these ways of thinking when they build their lessons for kids. Her practical examples of how she incorporated IT really convinced my of the value of the framework. I think all teachers should be trained in integrative thinking!
Minecraft
I would like to thank the Gaming Edus +gamingedus team and especially my personal tour guide +Liam O'Donnell because I finally entered the world of Minecraft and built a few structures! I now understand the appeal of the game and I can see how it can be woven into our school day to assist students' learning. I am eager to assist teachers in my school district now to join the GamingEdus server and get launched!
There were many ah ha moments as concepts and tools bubbled up to my level of consciousness
but these were the big three ideas that I feel I am ready to support students and teachers in their implementation.
Another highlight of the ECOO conference was the "bringing together" of many talented educators. There were many conversations that generated new ideas that would never have happened in isolation. Although we can learn so much from our PLN on twitter it is really about the lateral conversations where the magic happens. My favourite example of synergy that I witnessed was how the Turtle Art designs were successfully printed in 3D because of the collaborative efforts of several educators.
A highlight for me was the chance to meet face-to-face with 5 people that I had only known previously via Twitter. In one situation the person was from my home town but I had never connected face-to-face until ECOO. In another case it felt like I was reconnecting with an old friend since we have known each other for more that 2 years.
I have already begun to implement some of my learning from ECOO into my work as a resource teacher. I look forward to the synergy that the teachers from my school district will build from the spark I received at ECOO this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment