Summary of Learning

Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to learn what I felt was important.  Early in the semester Alec told us that this course was going to be about what we want to make it.  I have had the opportunity to learn many different things and become much more present and capable with social media, online presence, and learning how to utilize a variety of tools that are at our disposal at any given moment.  It has also taught me to sit back and remember to take in what is right in front of me, take the time to view, think, and create on my own before running to my iPhone for the answer.  I have truly enjoyed this class and I want to share with you my summary of learning.   

This will likely be my last post within the context of EC & I 831 but it certainly will not be my last post ever.  I will start a fresh new blog in the context of something such as trials and tribulations of a middle years teacher... or something catchy.  This is my Summary of Learning post.  I have put down a few words and then added an 8 minute video which incorporates a variety of things.  It is all done through screencasting because I was unable to get extended access to a Mac where I was hoping to play around with iMovie Trailer app.  I used the VideoScribe tool which was very fun and I can see how it can be used if you are very creative.  

Twitter/Tweetdeck

At the start of the class I was aware of twitter but unaware of its powerful uses.  I haven't been a creator much within twitter but when I needed an answer I was able to find one quickly.

Maker Movement

Makey Makey is amazing.  I was so enthralled with Sylvia Martinez and the experience of her session, that I have ordered 2 sets for my school which should be arriving very soon.  It was not just the tools she shared with us, but the understanding that students/people need to take time to be creators.  People need a chance to play and explore not just find the answer. 

Digital Citizenship

This is one of the most important aspects of the class for me as I am in a grade 7/8 classroom that continually deals with citizenship issues and online bullying.  The 21 Things 4 Students website has been an amazing tool that I am utilizing on a weekly if not daily basis for students to improve on their digital citizenship.  The best thing about digital citizenship is that it is no different than real life. 

Blogging has been an awesome experience.  I know my page does not look the best and it may not be the best writing but it has been an amazing outlet to express how I have felt about each class and what is going on with my projects. I have felt myself shifting my page to more of a personal blog about how things are affecting me in my life/profession and I am very excited to continue on with my blogging.

Networked Connected Learning

This is an area that has expanded for me and I have learned from others posts, blogs and links through our Google+ community, Twitter, and in my own school/division how my connectedness has improved over the last four months.  I am a confident person who always needs that knock back to reality that there is always someone who knows more than I do. This class has helped me realize how true this is and that I CAN find those people.

Blended Classroom

This is the biggest and most life changing thing I have done and I attribute it all to this class.  Thank you Alec and Katia for giving us the opportunity to go and learn about something new to use and change our ways.  My blended classroom has opened doors and windows and knocked holes in the metaphoric walls of my teaching.  Changing my classroom in this way has given me the opportunity to play around with almost every aspect of this class week to week.  I have the opportunity to utilize the tools you have given me to make my blended classroom better.  Sorry that sounded so much like an acceptance speech but if you want to know more please check out my Major Digital Project post and screencast to see what I am talking about.

Thank you again to Alec and Katia.  This has been my favorite learning experience so far in my entire education.  You have set the bar for the rest of my masters classes not only on amount learned but also in enjoyment recieved from a class.

All the best.

Kyle DuMont

Major Digital Project

So here is my Major Digital Project

As the semester began with EC&I 831 I was unsure of what to do for a major digital project but as the weeks went on and my knowledge was rapidly expanding I continued to shape what I wanted to do.  Near the end of September I had decided on flipping my classroom.  Initially my struggles were in the start up.  Trying to find a site that would fit my personal and classroom needs.  After searching a variety of online sites I found many were unusable for me.  I had asked Alec for his opinion and he led me to Edmodo. This is where my journey truly began.

My greatest fear was that my students may not be able to become independent learners through technology, the  major hurdle would be the amount of online tomfoolery might be to distracting and disengaging for most if not all my students.  On the other hand I was very hopeful that flipping my classroom would end up being a saving grace and I would reach those poor attenders and previously disengaged students... Oops not quite how it worked out.  If this project has taught me one thing it is that one idea is never enough.  So by early November I had emailed Alec and Katia to say that I had basically failed at the idea of a Flipped Classroom, but instead I had morphed it into a blended classroom.  I was a little worried about what the response was going to be as I had/have this notion that something like this might affect my mark! Katia replied and simply put my worries at ease by letting me know that truly they are the same and what works for me, works for me as long as I am  moving forward keep going.  (Thanks Katia)

As the semester was moving I was sharing my experiences with my wife (who is a teacher) and my friends/colleagues in my school and around my division.  This then led to group of teachers sharing information and having two other grade 7/8 teachers jumping on my bandwagon.  We have tried to create a collaboration part where we can post an assignment and then we can all use it, but at this point we are unable to do so effectively.  What we have to do is become co-teachers in all our classes and that brings up the issue of having all the notifications from every student not just our own.  Through more research and emails with Edmodo I have found a solution to this.  I have sent requests to Edmodo to become a subdomain administrator so I can set up a "School" where we can migrate through each others classes and utilize each others resources without being a "co-teacher".

Here are a few of the sites that I have attempted to utilize within my online classroom and how they have worked for me and what I plan on doing to continue or change my use of each tool.

Google Drive
As part of my collaboration throughout this project I wanted to increase the capability of student collaboration within my online classroom.  Katia suggested that I utilize a Google Drive document for the students to work in.  I have attempted this a couple of different times and when I have a strong group who is willing to work this is fantastic.   On the other side I have some immature students who have gone in and deleted their groups work after school and I do not see until the next day which is more of an annoyance than anything, but since I do not have my students set up with their own Google Drive accounts I am unable to see who is doing what to the documents.  So until I have the Google IGo accounts set up I will stray away from this resource sharing tool.    

Prezi -
We have used Prezi as a different collaboration tool for our students to create presentations with within the Edmodo online class.  Some of these have worked out fantastic and the work done by my grade 8 students was amazing in my perspective.  I have already began to create my next collaboration/inquiry project for my students with the idea of Prezi being the mode of communication.

Evernote - This site is one that we will utilize in the near future as the students begin to develop their online learning library and we begin letting them explore a little more on their own now that their procedures are in place for what they are required and how they are to act as a good digital citizen during the school day.

My biggest SUCCESS(es)!
I would have to say that the best thing about the blended classroom that I have now developed is the amount of participation and engagement from my students.  Prior to I would have about a 50% completion rate with about 50% of those coming in a week after a due date.  The accountability that this has given each and every student is amazing.  They are able to check their progress, their parents can check on them daily as well.   During our parent teacher interviews the conversation around our blended classroom was all about how the parents enjoyed being able to see exactly what their child was doing in school.  Apparently all pre-teens tell their parents is "we didn't do anything in school".... Now the parents can go online and see what they have done and make sure they are getting things handed in.
Another joy about this is the ease of communication and feedback between learner and teacher.  I have been able to interact with each and every student each and every lesson.  Even if it is a quick little note telling them their work was done properly and I was proud of them for completing it so quickly.  Or on the other side when the student completely misses the  point I am able to send them a private message to show them that I am here to help and they can ask me via message or come talk to me so we can figure things out.
Lastly the other amazing aspect of our blended classroom that I have received a tonne of feedback about is the posting of the teachings. Especially in math.  So many parents admit their weaknesses in school and they are open about how they feel helpless when it comes to supporting and assisting their child.  So they are very happy and excited that I am posting recordings of how to do different tasks so they can learn with their child and help them through the tough classes. 

If you would like to take the time to watch my screencast about my blended classroom please watch it below. 

I hope you enjoyed checking out what my Edmodo classroom looked like.  If you are interested at all in joining me in my online classroom please comment or email me at kyle.dumont@rbe.sk.ca