This semester, I had the privilege of being placed in an amazing grade six class at RanchView in Cochrane. Through my five weeks, I had the honor to get to know all of the students, connect with each student, and connect to the classroom. These students made the largest impact on my life and my teaching experience. It was very hard to say goodbye, and I was disappointed that I was unable to stay longer, but I am so grateful for the time that I got.
I got to work with the amazing grade six-team, and experience the liveliness of the school and the staff. I love how the school focuses on outside learning, and I got to see how involved the school is with the staff and the students. With the school being fairly new, I also got to see how technology was incorporated more into the students learning experiences.
What did you learn or "take-away" from this course and how has your perspective about integrating technology into K to 6 education changed/grown throughout the course?
To be honest, when I first started with the class, I had this closed mind that technology is being used too much with this generation, and that is the reason why students have more anxiety and less social skills. After completing the class, and being placed in a school where technology is used more frequently, my attitude changed. I have realized that integration with technology is not only important but beneficial. I was able to so many different activities with the students because they all had access to a laptop, students were given opportunities to be involved in their own learning experiences, and students were engaged. As well, we used an online blueprint that allowed students to upload their different classwork to share with their parents.
How did the course help you answer your "burning" question about the use of digital technologies in K to 6 education?
At the beginning of the semester, I was interested to see how technology could be beneficial to students learning and to myself as a teacher. Now by seeing all the different educational websites and resources, I now understand the benefits. I was able to use Class Dojo as a tool for classroom management, we used different youtube videos and GoNoodle for movement breaks, and my mentor teacher showed me many different websites that were great for resources. Growing up, computers were never apart of our education, we used them for free time or learning to type, but now I can see how easy they are for students and how beneficial they are to use.
How did you contribute to the learning of others?
Throughout the course, I got the opportunity to work with a partner to teach another group Prodigy, and how it can be beneficial to use in a classroom. I also had the opportunity to teach a small group of peers in another class a website that I use for resources. In my practicum, I got to introduce the students to a new website, www.timestables.com, that they could use to strengthen their multiplication facts. As well, there are a variety of different games that are catered to multiplication and division facts.
What did I learn from others?
Through the course, I learned about so many different resources that I got to apply to my lessons and routines in my practicum. I also learned different resources from my mentor teacher and the students. I had a group of boys in my class that is obsessed with Scratch and they got to teach me how to use the different coding techniques. I also learned from my mentor teacher how to create an assignment on google classroom, and how I can utilize google slides for interactive activities.
Overall, I learned so much over this semester through my courses and my practicum. This is a semester that will truly stay with me through my teaching years, and one that I will cherish forever. I am already looking forward to my next practicum where I can continue expanding my resources.
