Being Organised Promotes Professional and Personal Success - Jenniel Taylor-Samuel

During the 12FALL semester, I had the opportunity to attend the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) and as someone with no formal experience, I was apprehensive about taking a course on teaching. The idea of delivering three 10-minute lessons (to my peers) filled me with such trepidation that I almost bowed out. Thankfully I did not, as this turned out to be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I`ve ever had.

So what is the ISW all about?

The workshop is built on the BOPPPS model and was conducted over a four day period.

Founded in 1978/79, the workshop required participants to prepare and teach three, 10-minute mini lessons spanning the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Following each lesson, participants were given positive and constructive feedback in both verbal and written formats. Each teaching session was also videotaped, so participants could later review their instructional techniques and make adjustments or improvements where necessary.

The BOPPPS model utilises five steps when formatting a lesson plan:

Bridge-in:      Used to gain the learner’s attention and can serve as an introduction to the lesson

Objectives:    States what the learner should know by the end of the session

Pre Assessment:      Surveys what the learner already knows about the topic

Participatory Learning:    Learners have the opportunity to get actively involved in the learning process and this forms the lesson body

Post Assessment:    Survey to assess the learner’s knowledge and understanding of the information delivered

Summary:    Period of reflection, closure of the learning cycle

I have always been interested in teaching/presenting, facilitating workshops etc, but I just did not know where to start and how to build a lesson. Well thanks to the ISW training, that is no longer a problem. The workshop manual contained easy to follow guidelines, useful information and this was supplemented by real life experiences from fellow participants and instructors.

You might be wondering, what can this course teach someone who already has years of teaching experience. Well, nine of the 11 participants in this workshop were experienced instructors and based on their feedback, these seasoned instructors commented that they took with them a model that would assist in planning and delivering more effective lessons.

In addition, the model provided a guide to help them to remain focused from the preparation stage to delivery. Also, as a result of improved organisation there was increased confidence and thus improved effectiveness of the content that was delivered. Over the four day period, it was clear to see growth and development in all the participants as we explored, utilised and adapted the BOPPPS model to suit the different domains.

Of all the great features of this workshop, I found the main advantage of the model was the clear direction it provided for developing an objective and thus building the lesson plan to achieve it. Using the model helped me to stay on topic and even when questions or suggestions were raised, because my objective was at the forefront of my mind, there was little danger of going ‘off script’.

I would encourage anyone interested in developing their teaching skills to attend this workshop with an open mind. There are so many nuggets of information available; you may only need one or two applicable ideas to compliment or improve the way you work.

Why not give it a try?

Happy Teaching….

Webinar Summary: Bringing Humanness into Online Learning with Video - Jennifer Tzanakos

The history of online education is built on text-centric learning, but instructors who rely only on text-based discussion boards have difficulty building communities and creating a feeling of humanness. The online program at BYU-Hawaii has pioneered the use of asynchronous video as a mechanism for student assignments, discussions and teacher feedback. A majority of students in the program have consistently reported that they feel connected to and learn from other students, and feel a close connection to their teacher. Many students also say that their connections in courses using asynchronous video as a central communication method were superior to those formed in face-to-face classes. (from the webinar)

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As someone who has not had considerable experience with online learning, this webinar gave me insight into the potential for creating meaningful learning via asynchronous video. Using Canvas as the learning platform, students and their instructor first created video introductions to develop relationships with one another. Conversations began as students created video responses to posted videos. Many assignments were handled in a similar manner, with students producing video presentations and then having the opportunity to respond to each other’s work. In the end, students said they felt a stronger connection with their online instructor and peers than they had in previous traditional classrooms. For the student who is perhaps too shy to raise his hand in class, video can provide a safe space for giving voice to his ideas.

In terms of presentation, the webinar could have been much more dynamic through the use of stronger visuals and opportunities for viewer participation.

Software mentioned in the presentation which might be of interest:

Canvas
Kaltura
Crocodoc
Screencast-o-matic

The webinar can be viewed here: http://help.instructure.com/entries/21409919-webinar-bringing-humanness-into-online-learning-with-video

Reaching High School Students Before They Drop Out

The All in for Youth Model

 The Centre for Excellence in Foundational Learning is piloting a project with United Way of Calgary and Area and the St. Anne Academic Centre (http://www.cssd.ab.ca/stanne/).  As part of the United Way's All in for Youth initiative the department has started with four students this term with plans to extend this to 15 students per term.

There are several exciting dimensions to this project:

1. We will learn how to intervene with students before they drop out and encourage uninterupted learning.
2. We are piloting a true "dual credit" model where the student will gain credits within both the College and high school.  United Way picks up the College tuition and materials for these students.
3. We can develop a relationship with a funder who is interested in tackling educational policy with an eye to reducing drop out rates and the resulting social issues that often follow such a decision e.g., low paid work, social assistance requirements, etc.

I want to thank Petya and Jenniel for their considerable efforts to integrate these students on very short notice.  As well, thanks to the instructors who accommodated to the delay that happened in getting the texts to the students.  I am appreciative of the efforts of our Registrar's Office to make some significant modifications to registration on short notice so that the students could be included this term.

Keith

10 Tools Challenge

Visual Text Cloud

Here we are a couple of weeks into the new term and we are already asking our learners to try new things, take new risks, and learn new skills. Well, now is a good time for us to also look at increasing our skill set professionally.

Through Twitter I came across the “10 Tools Challenge” that I’d like to pass along to you all. The idea is that as part of your professional development plan for 2013 you learn 10 new technology tools. At a rate of about one a month, this sounds like a challenge that will be both manageable and rewarding. There are hundreds of tools out there that are valuable to educators and, perhaps, that hardest part of this challenge will be choosing the tools that will be most valuable to you professionally. Below I’m providing a few examples of tools that may fit the bill, organized by category. (The original challenge post also has a great list of options.)


What are your favourite tech tools? Let us know in the comments section below.

1. Internet Search - how to get the most out of the web
1. Google - how well do you know how to search? Google now offers training for educators on how to search more productively
2. Twurdy - search websites according to readability level. If your learners are expected to read at a Grade 7 level, lead them to websites that aren’t written for first-year university students.
3. Symbolab - use math symbols to search for equations and formulas
2. Social Networking - creating a professional learning community
1. Twitter - share resources and connect with other educators (or celebrities) in 140 characters or less
2. LinkedIn - showcase your work and professional achievements and connect with others in your field
3. Google+ - share and connect with others
3. Presentation
1. Prezi - an alternative to slideshows, create zoomable, multi-media presentations
2. Easel.ly - create your own infographics
3. Timetoast - create timelines with notes and images
4. Blogging - publish information and opinions online and connect with your audience
1. Blogger
2. WordPress
3. Edublogs
5. Screen Capture - record your computer screen as images or videos
1. Jing
2. Screencast-o-matic
3. Screenr
6. Mindmapping - a visual form of planning or organizing ideas and information
1. Mindomo
2. Spicynodes
3. Spidescribe
7. Bookmarking - track all of your favourite websites online (so that you can access them from any computer) - some sites allow you to share with others
1. Pearltrees
2. Symbaloo
3. Pinterest
8. Office software - online versions of word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet applications
1. Google Drive
2. OpenOffice
9. Visual Text Clouds - visual way of presenting textual information
1. Wordle
2. Tagxedo
3. Tag Cloud Generator
10. Online Meeting software - meet even when you can’t all be in the same room
1. Adobe Connect (contact the TLE for an account)
2. TodaysMeet
3. AnyMeeting

Ac. Prep. Students Using Google Drive

This semester has brought an exciting opportunity for students in Writing 5 - TR3. Our class is working in a computer lab every day. Thus, technology is at our finger tips and so are many opportunities!

In writing, students are required to create compositions daily, and they are asked to share their writing with the instructor . In the past, I would have students save their work on either their USB or mine. A tedious task in many ways as sometimes students would forget their USB at home, or the USB drive would fail, not to mention the time this process would take. It was definitely not user friendly.

Thanks to all students having a myBVC (Google) account, they now have a very simple way of achieving this task. Students are using Google Drive. Though this may sound like a daunting expectation for students at this level, it was easily achieved by all students in my class during the first lesson.

After asking students to log in to their myBVC account, they opened "Drive" which is located at the top of the home page. To create a new document, they simply chose the red create icon. As students write, their work is saved automatically. This is a very helpful feature!  Once students have completed their work, it is time to share it with me.  This has a few steps, but it is quite straightforward.  They choose the "share" icon, change the privacy setting to "Anyone who has the link", add my email address, and choose "Can edit".   Finally, they choose "Share and Send".  I now have access to their document, and I can comment and edit their work.

Only two of my students were familiar with Google Drive before my first lesson, and the others were nervous about having to use this type of technology.  At the end of the first lesson, all of the students agreed that it was easy and user-friendly.  Now, having completed the first week of class, I find that my students are accessing their drive at home and working on their compositions.  I have never had students so motivated to write on their own time before. The energy and enthusiasm the students are displaying about using this platform is encouraging.

Our students have so many skills and talents that they use in their daily lives; it is great when these skills can be enhanced in the classroom.

Online Math Symposium - January 29, 2013 - for high school math teachers in Alberta

Be sure to attend the Online Math Symposium, Alberta’s first online professional development opportunity for High School math teachers!

"I would like to inform you of a wonderful learning opportunity that is available to all high school math teachers for FREE!  On January 29, 2013, the first Online Math Symposium will be offered to all high school math teachers in Alberta.  This unique learning opportunity allows teachers a chance to attend up to 4 sessions throughout the day all from the comfort of your own school!  Presenters include Alberta Education, Alberta Assessment Consortium and many classroom teachers!  Topics include Assessment, Puzzles and Games, 30-2 Research Project, Math Processes and so much more.    Registration will close on January 14th."  --Christine Somerville.

Click Here to Register