And the Moral of the Blog is...

            Another semester is rapidly coming to an end, but this one means so much more than the others. Next school year I finish is my last year in the Concurrent Education program…which means next year I am going to Teacher’s Education (or Teacher’s College as some of you may still call it)! In the past year I have met a many people and have had a number of courses that have helped shape and inspire my philosophy of teaching and learning, as well as my future endeavors in the Education world. In this final blog for my course, I will be discussing some of the blogs I have followed and how these educators have inspired me in my planning for future teachings, along with a other lessons.

In my last blog post: The World is OUR Oyster, I mentioned listening into an OSSEMOOC webinar called "Teachers as Researchers", discussed by Dean Shareski. Following that discussion I was intrigued to read his blog and see what else he has to say about teachers, education and the world of learning. In this OSSEMOOC talk, he related sharing and reflecting on lessons to the education network online to being a researcher and sharing your findings. Both educators and researchers do the same thing in its simplest form: learn and share. Heck, I am a ‘researcher’ as I reflect on my thoughts and ideas from past experiences, through school courses and the little teaching experience I have so far through this blog! Every teacher is a researcher without even knowing it, they share what they see, learn, know, explore and discover, even their failures!

            In Shareski’s blog (Ideas and Thoughts), he blogs on a variety of topics and ideas; and what I find quite useful is that after every post, he included related posts from the past blogs he had written. One post that caught my attention was “What's Your Unfair Advantage?”. I did not understand the title and so it drew me to read the post further. Now I may not be able to answer this question since I have not truly taught in a classroom yet, so I will continue to reflect on this question next year during my teaching placements. He proposed this question based on a business podcast he was listening to, but it still can relate to educators. A great teacher keeps their students engaged in the lessons, and is typically one that students remember years down the road after graduating. I can think of a few of my teachers and what their unfair advantage was (i.e. the compassion one teacher had for us students and the respect we felt for her). I leave this point with what Shareski left off with in this post:

Good teachers look for what makes their students unique. They want to know their interests to help them learn and connect with them. I wonder if students were asked “What makes Mr./Mrs/Ms ___________ special?” about all the teachers in your school, what would they say? What would they say about you? What is your unfair advantage?

            The next blog I followed was from a Canadian HPE teacher named Andy Vasily (PYP PE with Andy), teaching in an IB school in China. He was awarded Best PE Teacher Blog in 2013, and a Top Physical Ed Contributor in 2014. How could I, a HPE student not follow him! Vasily’s goal in his website (blog, workshops, etc.) is “all about 'inspiring learners to find their flow' in a pursuit of mastery within their role as an educator”. Although he is a Physical Educator, many of his posts can be related to any subject a teacher is instructing. He believes that in order to be the best that educators can be, we must be willing to connect, share, learn, and grow both personally and professionally. He says being great educators requires hard work and a commitment to lifelong learning. These are points that have been constantly promoted in my Education class (EDUC 4P29). My peers in that class are not all HPE majors, most are completely opposite to what I am studying, but through this course we have been able to share and relate so many important points and teaching moments.

Taken by me in during video chat

            Now I could go on and on about the HPE lessons and advice Andy has provided in his blog, but my focus for this final blog is to point out the huge benefits of blogging, sharing, and helping fellow educators through the use of technology. Andy Vasily is actually online friends and peers with a PEKN professor of mine, Tim Fletcher, and through this connection my “Reflections in Physical Education” class was able to have a video chat with Vasily on the importance of reflective practice. Vasily tells us that a teacher should reflect through thinking, writing and conversations (i.e. Twitter chats, etc.). Blogging and through the use of Twitter often chat and share thoughts, lessons, ideas, etc. He noted that with a blog, we can write about anything that is inspiring; positive or negative experiences, Ted-Talks or even a single quote, can be meaningful and worth blogging about! For example, he blogged about an Ed Sheeran concert he and his family went to and how just as musicians perform their art, educators are also artists in their own way; for teaching is truly an art, and we should embrace our art and what makes us distinctly different. My professor encouraged us to contact him after this video chat with our questions and comments. I have already emailed him and am looking forward to hearing back with what he has to say further about HPE, reflective practice and the 21^st Century Skills within the classroom – for HPE and other subjects.

            The last blog I will discuss is one that I have mentioned many times; so don’t worry I won’t go in too much detail as I have already raved about him Jarrod Robinson’s blog/website The PE Geek has so much to offer – with relation to HPE and technology in particular. Robinson posts his blogs through writing and in podcast form with various videos along the way. I have already noted some of the great lessons and apps he has encouraged us to use in the classroom, and discussed how I would use it in my future lessons. But, here is my last one – and it is something any teacher (HPE focused or not) can use! Last week I discussed QR Codes, now the latest craze is Augmented Reality (AR).

            Although AR came out in 2010, it has yet to be utilized in the classroom. Robinson posted a few podcasts and blogs about AR, and even found an anatomy app called 4D Anatomy and discussed how this app can be utilized in the classroom when teaching Anatomy (in Exercise Science, or even in Biology!) I was quite intrigued with this blog post, and the app itself, so I downloaded it (it is Free!) and will be showing my peers what it can do in my next class discussion. I am sure there are AR apps that can be used for a variety of purposes, so any subject can use it, but I have yet to find “The One” that is perfect.

            I know this blog has a large focus on technology, and even though Technological (and Media) Literacy is one of the 21^st Century Literacies, it is not the only one I have learned about in class. However, us educators must become familiar with technology, and other literacies such has Critical Literacy, Mental Health Literacy and Multicultural Literacy before teaching them to our students. The apps, questions and blogs all encourage and promote 21^st Century skills such as Inquiry, Collaboration, and Problem Solving; amongst teachers and students! We educators must embrace the 21^st century skills and knowledge, too. How can we possibly teach and incorporate these literacies and skills into lessons for the students if we do not even know what they mean or what they can provide ourselves!

            So my fellow educators go out there and learn! But, do not forget to share this learning and all the experiences you gain along the way. Make every moment meaningful for you and your educational journey!

Google Image from:
http://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/seen-in-saratoga-education-is-a-journey-not-a-destination/

 

3D Printers and QR Codes used in "gym class"?

Step 1: Scan the QR code…

(or take the easy way out and click on this to visit the site: 3D Printing & Physical Education?). Now read the blog and watch the included video.  

Step 2: Well I hope you were as amazed as I was when I went on this site and saw what the power of a 3D printer can do for the physical education program and a school as a whole! 

Before watching this video I knew that 3D printers were very expensive, and rare to have, but I did not realize the huge power of the ideas and the equipment that could be created with this printer! On the news channels they advertise that a 3D printer could create a figurine, or help engineers or car factories with their creations and inventions, but never do they publicize what a 3D printer can do for a school (HPE specific examples…) – print out real working whistles, golf clubs, balls, and more! Now, I do not know how a History or English teacher could use this printer, but even with Science as my second teachable I can already think that a 3D printer could help create models of the human body, systems, models of cells and organisms, etc. HPE teachers are no longer bound to a minimum order for certain equipment; if a teacher needs only one left handed golf club, this printer can provide you with one. As the blog itself states, “HPE teachers will have the ability to make total customizations to the equipment they have in their schools. Have some smaller students who cannot control the full sized cricket bat? Easy done, change the scale and print a smaller one. The Sky’s the limit!” It is quite atrocious that something so expensive can create items for pennies, but it does seem like a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately not all schools or programs have the means (money) to simply purchase one of the 3D printers tomorrow, but I am not discussing this in my blog. However it does seem the world can be your oyster and the ideas can be endless through using a 3D printer in schools.

Now, moving on…technological literacy is one of the main 21^st century skills students should be taught in schools – no matter the grade level or subject area. However, after one of the recent education classes, I realize that the teachers need to further develop their own knowledge in technological literacy before teaching it to their students. In a presentation by one of the co-founders of the site Cube for Teachers, my peers and I almost seemed like a deer in highlights from all of the technological and Internet knowledge and support that is available for teachers, as well as for us to use with our students. While being a member of the ‘next generation of teachers’, I felt like I was from the stone-age, as this woman showed us one website after another! One of the sites she showed us used QR codes for instructions for students with a disability, or as a scavenger hunt for students, no matter the subject. The use of QR codes really intrigued me. For one being a little nervous of the idea of having students BYOD (Bring your own device) to class, incorporating QR codes into a lesson was something I am intrigued about and would like more information on. 

Luckily, one of the blogs I follow by Jarrod Robinson (The PE Geek) posted a podcast/blog on QR codes and Physical Education (Click here to go to the blog post). QR codes were originally used in the 1990s in Japan for vehicle tracking. He explained how QR codes could be used in a number of ways inside the classroom and outside. This is something teachers should be implementing into their lessons. A QR code does not need to display a video or URL every time either, it can provide a link to text or information you want to tell your students. A few ways Jarrod used QR codes in his lessons included the use of a scavenger hunt (inside the school, local community, etc.) that delivered a practical test method, instead of the basic written test students must perform. Students had to answer questions, watch videos, and learn all while being active! Kind of like an Amazing Race within the Internet! One of the examples using QR codes that I liked the most, was using it in the Weight Room as a way to provide information on the safety procedures and how to properly use each machine/perform each exercise, through scanning the specific QR code. However, this can be a student-driven and not teacher-directed instruction. Your class can create the videos, and produce the QR codes for the exercises/machines for the year’s HPE classes, or for the following school year’s students as their final assignment…the ideas are purely endless.  

Now I encourage you to go online, search QR codes instructional ideas and lesson suggestions, create your own QR code for a lesson or blog you are about to create (I suggest using the site QRStuff when creating). Start to learn what you can do using QR codes.

A 3D printer may cost a lot of money before being able to use it in the classroom, but QR codes are free to use…what is your excuse now?

The World is OUR Oyster!

                                     - Google Image

 

            The World is Your Oyster…a saying many adults (including teachers) tell children. But this inspirational quote should not and does not exclude the adults! Teachers need to realize that they should be telling themselves that the world is their oyster – and it can all be through their fingerprints hitting the keyboard into technology! This is something I have truly recognized after spending hours on the internet, listening to podcasts and teacher talks, researching various Inquiry and Project-based schools, and more, just for one class assignment. With all this newfound information that has filled my brain to the brim, I am going to focus my blog post on just the tip of the iceberg of what I absorbed.

            First, teachers need to realize they are also researchers throughout their journey in the classroom. I watched a one hour “open mic” discussion through OSSEMOOC on professional learning with a focus on reflections from Dean Shareski’s presentation: Teachers as Researchers. As I began to watch the audience’s chat, and listen to what Shareski had to say, I went from bored and inattentive, to quite engaged and jotting down several notes to share with my class, and my blog! First, the concept of a teacher also a research seems quite crazy, however, this collaborative job role makes complete sense! A teacher creates lessons, reflects in-action and on-action based on how the lesson went, how the students performed, what needs to change, and how to further promote student learning. This as a whole is what a researcher does! Now I do not encourage teachers to make teaching students an experiment (I had this experience done by a high school teacher of mine for his Ph.D. and I completely hated the experience…) Students are not like mice in a lab; so you can just poke and prod at them just to see how they will react to a new teaching concept. HOWEVER…sharing this ‘research’ and reflections you have done through some lessons you have created and explored is what Shareski is referring to when he discusses Teachers as Researchers. Teachers should share what they see, learn, know, explored and failed at! He points out that many teachers share this information with their school colleagues in the staffroom, so why not share online, too? It can be shared through a blog, twitter account, Youtube channel, or simply joining a webinar like the ones OSSEMOOC offers, and share with fellow teachers who are also interested in sharing and helping one another out.

            The career of a teacher is universal, but so is teaching – share your experiences and lessons with the universal population of teachers! Contribute to the technological world of “The World is Our Oyster” for all teachers! 

            Project-based learning (watch PBL video), the latest instruction and teaching tool that is encouraged to be used in various subjects, such as Science, History, Math, English and Art. However, why not Health and Physical Education (HPE)? Schools and educational programs such as High Tech High, and Galileo Educational Network are based off of the PBL framework. They claim that it represents an effective pedagogy and helps students with various learning styles and academic experiences, by offering different entry-points for students to address the Essential Questions. PBL requires a lot of teacher design prior to the implementation, and reflections done by the students and teachers throughout the various projects. I found tonnes of examples for Science (click here for High School Science examples), Math, and various Humanities courses; but none of them included or even mentioned HPE! If I am being encouraged to include PBL into my future teachings, then how do I connect it with the HPE curriculum, and the physical activity aspect of the course? But, as I continued down this rabbit hole of PBL research, the last blog post my professor gave us the option to read was for HPE and its connection to PBL (Using Project Based Learning in Physical Education!) Of course I jumped at the chance to read it through the Buck Institute of Education (BIE) website, and find out what they recommend one doing to integrate PBL into the HPE curriculum and learning environment. First, it is key for a teacher to create a compelling problem or question; and no it cannot be to ‘create a healthy lifestyle plan’ in every grade level! HPE teachers must keep the task open ended, but ensure that physical activity and movement is still incorporated into the PBL lesson. The classroom is in the gymnasium, hence the necessity to not forget about having the students MOVE and stay ACTIVE!

            I apologize for such a long blog post, but all this research I did has truly inspired me as a future educator and has told me that the world IS my oyster and I can be the best teacher possible, to help promote the highest level of student learning and educational interest with the help of sharing with the education world, and incorporation of PBL!