Category: Weekly Reflections (Page 1 of 2)

Wow, the last reflection already? It feels like just yesterday I was walking into MAC D211, waiting to see what the tech world would have waiting for me.

In honour of this being the final reflection, I thought I would hand out some “End of Term EDCI 336” awards to highlight my learning. For my last post, I present to you, The Tecchies, hosted by me.

So, here we go…

Best Blogging Platform: WordPress

I thoroughly enjoyed my time on WordPress. I found it very intuitive, and a great platform for expressing my thoughts. When I am a teacher, I will strongly consider having my students set up WordPress blogs of their own! They are a great, modern way for students to flexibly convey their thinking.

Best Screencast Platform: Screenplay

One of my fondest memories from the course was creating my screencast on Screenplay. It was a way of communicating information that I had never thought about before, but I found it super engaging. When I am a teacher, I may consider making tutorials with Screenplay that I could then post on a class website. Great tech!

Worst Screencasters: Most of my classmates

I notice most of my peers have not yet completed their screencasts. A bit disappointing, but I understand things come up.

Most Concerning Moment: When I got pwned!

This class certainly opened my eyes to some of the dangers of the online world, including when I learned that I was pwned and my data was breached. This course taught me to a bit more careful with my online footprint, and to be more conscious of understanding Terms and Conditions (another great website!)

Most Prolific Commenter: Ashley P. Hall

Thank you to Ashley for commenting on so many of my posts. It really kept me going as the term progressed!

Most Disturbing Website: Craiyon

While I sure loved learning about AI and its impact on society, I am not sure the good people at Craiyon are giving it their best efforts in terms of AI image generation. The content I produced on Craiyon was mostly quite alarming. However, I will do my best to become better at using prompts. Maybe I am the problem. after all.

Best Life Lesson: Be a curator, not a dumper

When thinking about how we generate content in the online space, I realized in this course how important it is to curate your information and resources, and to not just “dump” everything. Teaching is such a resource heavy profession; we need to make sure we are curating only our best.

Best Note Taking Platform: Obsidian

Even though it declared war on my Mac, I enjoyed using Obsidian to create clear, well laid out notes. In the classroom, I wonder if I could use it to create notes and/or handouts. Something I will definitely explore a bit more!

Best Ed Tech Presentation Discovery: Free Rice

I loved learning more about freerice.com during my group presentation. It was a great way to blend lots of our course topics together: gamification, accessible learning, and technology. It’s not a perfect resource — it doesn’t go super deep on the intricacies of learning English — but it sure is fun!

Best Ed Tech Pod: Pod #4

It was a pleasure to talk Ed Tech with Teegs, Annette, and Silver throughout the term. It showed me that, ironically, you really need other people around you to get the most out of technology. These guys are the best!

Best Inclusive Education Resource: SETBC

I enjoyed exploring SETBC very much, as someone with a keen interest in Inclusive Education. It has a lot of great information and resources that I can use in my practice and use to support students and families.

Best EDCI 336 Instructor: Andrew MacLean

Andrew MacLean did a great job of making this a flexible, engaging, and rich learning experience. Thanks, Andrew!

Biggest Warning: Use LinkedIn the right way

I keenly remember a guest speaker warning us to not get caught up in LinkedIn bragging and nonsense. What a great warning. Social media is not just something kids and teens need to be careful, but we as professionals need to as well. I will use LinkedIn to grow my PLN, certainly, but will not use it to flex on my peers.

Biggest Change In Perspective: ChatGPT

I will admit to being a ChatGPT hater. My good friend Max would try and convince me otherwise, but could never change my mind. All that changed in EDCI 336. If you use the write prompts (and cross reference information!), it can make your information-seeking journeys so much easier. What a crazy world we live in where we have this resource. I no longer think ChatGPT is goofy and not really helpful — it’s amazing for curating info!

Best Readers: All of you!

Thank you for your all your support throughout the term! You sure made this blogger’s heart happy.

I wish you all a great rest of the term, and hope to join all your PLNs in the near future. Please let me know your personal picks for The Tecchies in the comment!

Yours In Tech,

Markus (Host of The Tecchies)

It was an interesting start to this week’s class, as many of my classmates struggled to get on to the Zoom platform. For a tech class, I found it kind of amusing, but I was impressed how we all worked together to make it successful!

I appreciated hearing about the pros and cons of games in the classroom. Some people shared how games can be such a force for engagement (and this has been my experience, mostly). However, other classmates shared some downsides — parents might complain that it’s not “real work”, and some kids might get too bored with non-game work if there is too much emphasis on them. I think, like with most thing, it’s all about balance. Games can be amazing for engagement, but perhaps should not be the only tool. Like Joanna shared with our guest speaker, online games can be a great hobby, but should be balanced with other things like tennis. For me, the important thing is to avoid dogma one way or the other. Video games are not perfect, no, but they are also not evil.

I realized I was able to make a connection between our EdCamp last week, and this week’s class. One of the EdCamp topics was about unstructured play and we talked about it mostly in the context of playgrounds and the outdoors. However, this class showed me that we can do unstructured play in the classroom, with games! Maybe we could have game centres with different board games or curricular games, for example. I appreciated broadening my perspective in this way.

Finally, it was also interesting to hear about how gamification is more than just games — it can be rewards, leaderboards, or any kind of competition. It goes beyond just traditional games. As I move forward in my teacher education, I want to explore diverse ways to gamify the classroom. This week was a great launching pad for this exploration!

In honour of games week, I wanted to share some of my favourite educational games!

• Esti-mystery
• Oy! Cards (below is a great video on how to play with Oy! cards)

• Math Yahtzee!
• Boggle

I would love to hear about games that my readers enjoy playing, both in and out of the classroom!

YIT,

Markus

Wow, this class sure had a little bit of everything in it. From new tech tools, to rich discussions around all sorts of education topics, I feel like I learned so much in Week #10.

First of all, a quick reflection on the use of Miro in the classroom. I personally enjoyed the tool — it was pretty neat to see everyone’s ideas pop up. While I could see it going off the rails (particularly with middle schoolers, who might see it as an opportunity to put inappropriate comments), I kind of appreciated the anonymity. It might help people open up a bit more, particularly those who are a bit more shy. However, more than the tool, I loved the process. Having one person sort the comments, and then having a class discussion around the sorting, was such an interesting experience. I could see kids having really rich discussions about which topic should go in which category, and being opened up to a bunch of new perspectives as a result. It was such an enriching use of Ed Tech!

This could be a good resource for people new to Miro:

The whole EduCamp process was super interesting, as well. I think it’s a good way to blend structure and choice — two things that are super crucial for positive development. Here are some of my favourite insights from EduCamp discussions:

• My classmate Rick raised a good point in our conversation about unstructured play — there is a difference between risk and hazard. We should promote healthy risk taking, but avoid hazards, which can actively cause harm.
• We had an interesting conversation about ELL resources in the classroom. My classmate Rylee mentioned that one student she met had to bring their own language materials to school. This did not seem right to me!
• In the ELL group, we talked about the different functionalities of Google Translate. For instance, it apparently has a camera translation function. It sure has come a long way!

A couple other little notes from the class: The Five Why’s thing was interesting to me, because I think I could use it as both an intellectual tool (to deepen thinking), but also a de-escalation tactic in a SEL context (getting to the root of conflicts, for instance). Also, Edulinqs seems like a good tool, but I want to learn more about what makes it different than say, Link Tree. I would be curious to hear about any insights my classmates may have on that front!

Sometimes I wonder in class what the technology connection of a particular topic is. However, I then remind myself that the course is called Technology and Innovation in education, and I so value the innovative approaches we are being introduced to!

YIT,

Markus

I was kind of disappointed to have to miss this week’s class, because it seems like it was such a rich learning experience! In some ways, it gave me an interesting perspective on online learning! (For the record, I much prefer being in class with my classmates and Andrew! Revisiting after the fact is way less engaging).

The discussion on the pros and cons of online education was interesting. As someone who lives in Sooke and commutes out to UVIC, I can certainly appreciate the gas-saving benefits of online learning. However, I think there are huge drawbacks in terms of human connection. In my undergrad, my department (Child and Youth Care) moved almost all classes online, even post-COVID, and it severely limited people’s opportunity to form social connections. While my understanding is that it was an economic decision — fair enough — I do think that in an already hyper-individualized world, online school could have devastating and corrosive effects on how people, especially children and adolescents, learn to socialize, and I just don’t think that’s a fair tradeoff when weighed against wearing pajama pants while learning.

On a very similar note, the SFU research that was shared seemed kind of pointless to me. It reads to me as more of an example of overthinking than anything else. What, exactly, is the point, of having goofy avatars in a Sims-esque classroom? I guess I get the concept, but I highly question the value-add versus a Zoom classroom, and I appreciated Andrew pointing out that fundamentally, it’s a rebrand more than it is bringing anything new or valuable to the table.

When thinking about the best mode of online learning, I would definitely opt for asynchronous vs synchronous. Synchronous learning takes all the bad parts of online learning — too much screen time, not enough in-person connection — while asynchronous at least allows for truly self-paced learning, where people can adapt their schedules as needed. One thing that I do enjoy about our current model of education — where we have in-person learning with asynchronous components through Brightspaces — is that all the materials are still available after the course ends. I have relied heavily on my undergrad course materials for my inquiry, it’s fantastic!

I am curious what my peers have experienced in their online learning journeys, and what they enjoyed and did not enjoy. I am looking forward to seeing everyone (in-person) this Friday!

Markus

This week’s class was fascinating — and tied to my inquiry blog! I loved hearing from our guest speaker about how VISII makes their school inclusive. In fact, one thing Simone said that stood out to me was that inquiry is, in and of itself, inclusive education. What a fascinating thought. It totally makes sense — inquiry can be scaffolded so easily to account for all academic levels, and can be completed and represented in so many different ways. I will definitely keep this in mind as I head into the field. My only question/concern from the presentation was that it seems like this model of education would not translate so well if it were open to all students and had bigger class sizes. Part of what seems to make it so successful, from my perspective, is that it is a bit self-selecting — parents who think their kids will succeed in a less-structured environment sign them up for it. But how well would it translate if put forth as an equally funded alternative to traditional public education? I am curious to hear from my readers about any thoughts they might have on this possible dilemma.

I also really appreciated our discussion on adaptive technology, whether that be voice-to-text, text-to-voice, or speech devices. It is so important that we are not viewing tech as a nice little treat, or a “nice to have”, but a foundational element of making technology accessible for everyone. One tool that was talked about a bit was Continuum — Simone seemed to speak very highly of it as an assessment tool, so I will do some more research into the website.

Finally, the websites shared with us at the end seem amazing! I loved exploring BCEDACCESS and SETBC seem like tremendous resources. It was hard to not just spend the rest of the class time looking at them! I will definitely refer back to them in my practicum.

I wanted to close this post with a quote from my classmate, Rick: “Conversation a human’s most powerful technology”. I have been thinking about this quote ever since the class, and overall, it reminds me that a healthy mix of all learning styles — technology or not — are key to an effective education system.

Thanks for reading!

Markus

I think this may have been my favourite class yet! I have obviously heard so much about AI and ChatGPT (and all their wacky variants), but had not actually spent that much time researching or using these tools. I had so much fun playing with AI tools, and decided to use ChatGPT to create paragraphs about the topics that caught my interest this week. I appreciated having the opportunity to learn about these important tools, and had a great time doing it! I have included my prompts below:

Prompt: Write a paragraph explaining the difference between generative and predictive AI

Generative AI and predictive AI are two different approaches in artificial intelligence. Generative AI focuses on creating new data or content, such as images, text, or music, based on patterns it has learned from a dataset. This type of AI is often used in creative applications, like generating realistic images from textual descriptions or composing music. On the other hand, predictive AI aims to forecast future outcomes or behaviors based on historical data. It analyzes patterns in the data to make predictions about what is likely to happen next, such as forecasting stock prices, predicting customer behavior, or diagnosing medical conditions. While generative AI creates new content, predictive AI focuses on forecasting future events or behaviors.

Prompt: Write a paragraph about the Miro whiteboard tool

Miro is a versatile online whiteboard tool designed for collaboration and visualization. It offers a digital canvas where teams can collaborate in real-time, regardless of their physical location. With Miro, users can create and share various types of content, including sticky notes, drawings, diagrams, and images, making it ideal for brainstorming sessions, project planning, and remote meetings. Its intuitive interface allows for easy organization and customization of content, with features like drag-and-drop functionality and infinite canvas space. Miro also integrates with popular collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Drive, enhancing its usability within existing workflows. Overall, Miro facilitates seamless collaboration and ideation, empowering teams to work together effectively and creatively in both remote and in-person settings.

Prompt: Write a paragraph about the difference between computer generated and computer assisted AI

The distinction between computer-generated AI and computer-assisted AI lies in the level of autonomy and involvement of human input. Computer-generated AI refers to systems where artificial intelligence operates independently to generate outcomes or content without direct human intervention once it has been programmed and trained. These systems rely on algorithms and data to make decisions or produce outputs, such as generating images, texts, or music. Conversely, computer-assisted AI involves human input in conjunction with AI algorithms to enhance or streamline tasks. In this approach, humans and AI work together, with AI providing suggestions, predictions, or automated assistance to augment human decision-making or productivity. Examples include AI-powered recommendation systems in e-commerce or AI-driven tools aiding in medical diagnoses. While both types leverage AI technology, computer-generated AI operates autonomously, while computer-assisted AI integrates human input to enhance performance and accuracy.

Prompt: Write a paragraph about the company Timely Grader and then another about the pros and cons of AI doing grading

Timely Grader is an emerging educational technology company dedicated to transforming the grading experience for educators. With a focus on efficiency and accuracy, Timely Grader provides innovative AI-powered solutions designed to streamline grading processes and enhance educational outcomes. Their platform leverages advanced algorithms to automate grading tasks, allowing teachers to save time and focus on delivering personalized feedback to students. By offering intuitive interfaces and customizable features, Timely Grader empowers educators to efficiently manage grading workflows while providing meaningful insights into student performance.

AI grading systems offer several advantages in terms of efficiency, consistency, and scalability. Firstly, AI can process and evaluate large volumes of assignments rapidly, saving educators significant time and effort. Additionally, AI grading ensures consistency in evaluation, eliminating human bias and providing fair and objective feedback to students. Furthermore, AI grading systems can scale effortlessly to accommodate increasing numbers of students or assessments. However, there are also notable drawbacks to AI grading. One concern is the potential for inaccuracies or errors in the evaluation process, particularly with assignments that require subjective judgment or contextual understanding. Moreover, some critics argue that AI grading lacks the nuance and depth of human feedback, potentially limiting students’ learning experiences. Additionally, there are ethical considerations regarding student data privacy and the transparency of AI algorithms in grading practices. Despite these challenges, AI grading systems continue to evolve, offering promising opportunities to enhance educational efficiency and effectiveness while addressing potential concerns through ongoing refinement and ethical considerations.

Wow, that was efficient! I wanted to finish off this blog post by showcasing some art of my friends from class that I made on craiyon.com — while the quality is highly questionable on this website, it sure was fun! I also enjoyed making my picture on Canvas (see the top of the post), but it was much more time consuming. I am curious what people think of my digital art and what tools they have used to make such products themselves!

Happy reading break to all my loyal readers!

Markus

Attribution (not sure if this is correct): craiyon.com, created by Markus Meyer (me)(

I used the following prompts to create this art:

• Hannah: “young lady eating a wrap”
• Tegan: “young lady playing basketball”
• Silver: “young lady doing pottery”
• Annette: “young woman holding a monkey”
• Sinead: “lady drinking a can of Diet Coke”
• Max: “guy going surfing”

NOTE: Click download to read my full reflection!

Okay, now that I see how my Obsidian talk translated to pdf, I am officially a fan! That looks way nicer than I anticipated! I will continue to explore this fascinating tool, and I am curious if anyone else tried it out in class! Also, please let me know if anyone is interested in formally joining my Professional Learning Network!

“The information highway”

This rang so true for me. The internet these days is so vast. It provides both a lot of opportunity, and a lot of danger for us as educators. In fact, after today, I would say mostly danger — or at least more danger than I had thought.

I found it interesting that the speaker told us that addiction had to include being willing to commit a crime when refuting that social media can be addicting. This is not my understanding, after taking some coursework in addictions, and it does not appear to be reflected in the DSM-5. In fact, after a quick search, I cannot seem to find any evidence for this statement (albeit, my search was not totally comprehensive). This does not seem like the type of statement to be throwing around lightly. Not everyone who has an addiction, in my experience, is willing to commit a crime to sustain it. I feel like there were ways to push back on social media addictions without speaking in a way that, at best, stretches what addiction actually is.

It also doesn’t seem all that fair to me that our personal social media are under such scrutiny. Not that I don’t get it. We are entrusted with young people, the most vulnerable population in our society. But it seems a bit absurd that we need to be so on guard all the time, just because some parents are unreasonable. Yes, we obviously shouldn’t put our class pictures on Tinder, but you can’t hold a beer in an Instagram photo? Really? We’re professionals, not children, and it’s completely unreasonable in my view that 1. Our districts/admin would feel the need to babysit us to this extent and 2. That any parent would be upset that a fully grown adult shared a picture with a glass of wine. If it’s not on the job, it shouldn’t be a problem. Is the Prime Minister even held to such a standard? I am obviously not advocating for teachers to post photos getting smashed, but I think there are limits, and it just seems like part of the message was “Your only identity is as a teacher, and if you want to share any other part of yourself online, you are walking the thinnest possible line'”. This is not at all an indictment of the speaker, but rather the way our society views teachers as needing to be 100% all in on their work at all times.

I appreciated him raising the point that when you take phones, we’re then in charge of thousands of dollars of personal property. That’s a good point, and one we should carefully consider as teachers. I know I don’t want to open myself up to this kind of liability, so if I need to enforce phone policies, I am going to want to be very careful about how I do so. I wonder how tools such as cellphone holders (see above) fit into this discussion.

Finally, I appreciated him talking (and warning) about LinkedIn. I am slightly familiar with it, but appreciated him explaining that it can be both useful and extremely fluffy and misleading.

This was definitely a highly engaging and useful presentation, and I appreciated the wisdom! I would be curious what other people think about classroom cellphone policies or if they see social media as addicting or not. Thank you to my loyal readers!

February 6, 2024 Update: Screen recording completed!

After a bit of time not remembering to complete it, I have finally completed my screen recording! I used the app Screenplay on my phone that was recommended to us, and honestly, it was pretty straightforward. I simply downloaded the app, created an account quickly (through my Apple account), and hit the record button. The only part that tripped me up a bit was trying to upload. It did not appear to let me simply download a video file; instead, it is making me link to Screenplay and have people watch my video from there. This is not a big deal, but it was a bit different than I expected. Maybe this process would go differently if I paid for the premium version. Overall, a nice experience (and very similar to just screen recording on an iPhone)!

My video is not that exciting — I mostly just wanted to try it out. You will see me visit my blog and play a bit of my favourite daily puzzle game, Puckdoku! You can find my screencast here.