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/