Final Project

Rebecca Rink and I worked with Paula White and her Grade 5 class in Crozet. It was difficult to get going on this collaborative project, and slowly but surely, we were underway. Throughout February and March, I was in contact with Ms.White via e-mail as we were deciding just what to do as a project. She suggested several things we could work with, and decided that we should Skype to ensure everything was in place before we started. Several attempts were made at having this Skype call, but we had no success. We continued e-mailing until she sent us the links to two of her students' wikis. Rebecca and I explored these Wiki's, and soon learned that they were working on Google Lit Trips to take them on a virtual online adventure to visit spots in which these books were set. Prior to this project, I had really never heard of a Lit Trip, and I learned just how fascinating this is! Often times, students find it hard to really get into a book that seems unrealistic, but by visiting these places online, students are able to get a sense of what it is really like to be there, and relate more to the characters within the story. Ms.White suggested we post resources to a Wiki that she had set up for Rebecca and I that could help students learn to use Google Earth to create a virtual tour similar to Lit Trips. She sent us the titles of the books her students have been working on, and I researched these books a bit to get a sense of where they may be at. Although I have done some work on Wikispaces before, I had never actually had the opportunity to set one up to be used by students. This was a great learning experience for me, as I did a lot of "Googling" and asking around to figure out exactly how to do what I needed to. After watching Ellyse's March Teach Us, I fell in love with Glogs, and made one to get Ms.White's students started on learning Google Earth.
When Ms.White first suggested to me that we take them on a tour of Google Earth, I decided that perhaps we should try Google Maps first, to get a sense of online tours. I skyped with one of her students, and realized he was already quite familliar with how to use Google Maps, and I believe I learned a lot more than he did in this experience. (Especially since I've never operated a Mac before, and was trying to give him directions) Following this experience, I started doing a little more research on these books, and loaded up this wiki with resources. I think that this project was a great idea for students to experience books in an entirely different way than I could as a grade 5 student.
I did a lot of research on Google Earth, and in the interest of saving time, I provided links for Paula's students to youtube clips that I figured would be more help than what I could give in learning how to use these. I provided the students with contact information so they may contact Rebecca or I if they wish to ask any questions, or learn more about these Tours together, after this semester is finished.
Overall I found this to be a great learning experience, and I hope that Paula's students got as much learning out of this as I did. =)

Once again, here is the link for our Wiki

I am embarassed but...

Well... I realized I never did end up posting my introductory video on anywhere but youtube.... *blushes* Here it is!

My reflection

Ecmp 455 was a great experience for me. I had the opportunity to use tools that I had learned to use in 355, and apply them to other projects, and get more practice with them in 455. I was introduced to many new tools that are free to use, that will contribute to my future students’ learning processes. Tools such as Diigo, and others similar to, have helped me become more organized and eco-friendly, and many of these tools I have found are very useful for my other classes. Prior to this class, I found it extremely difficult to not handwrite my thoughts out, but I’m slowly starting to break that habit. I often found myself writing little notes everywhere after hearing a great quote, or finding a website, and now that I use twitter, I am able to not only keep track of my own findings, but share them with others with similar interests! Collaboration is awesome for education, especially when it comes to educating for education. :)

Prior to this class, I thought Twitter was only used for celebrities, and people who really just liked advertising themselves to others. I know see the value in creating social relationships with professionals, and sharing resources with one other. I am very glad I had the opportunity to connect with others via Twitter, and I believe it is great that I will have the opportunity to keep in touch with these contacts so I may continue on with this collaborative learning process.

This semester I had a class on both Tuesday and Wednesday night, and was therefore not able to attend many online sessions at all. I agree with Dean, that in this kind of class, it is extremely helpful to have synchronized meeting times. I found that in 355, where I was able to attend every session, I could keep on top of everything much more easily, and felt more involved in the class. Although I did watch each Elluminate session after I returned from my other classes, I felt frustrated at times that I wasn’t able to contribute in real time. I could have blogged about the thoughts that came to mind, but I didn’t feel as though my comments were important enough to write an entire blog post about.

In my 455 class, I have learned to accept the fact that there are some programs that I simply do not like, and will most likely not use. I have practically eliminated Delicious from my regular sites, and replaced it with Diigo. Perhaps this is just because I did a lot of research on Diigo, and know how to effectively use it, where as in Delicious, I never really got into it.

I found it difficult to get into blogging again, as I did last semester as well. When I write papers for school, I spend a lot of time proofreading, and editing. Without this process, I tend to ramble on, with very little organization. I also seem to get off topic quickly, and when I’m writing from the heart, I write exactly how I would talk. I therefore found it difficult to make a point to blog every other day or so, because I’m sure nobody really wants to hear my unprofessional ramblings. Additionally, since I felt this way, I procrastinated when it came to posting anything because it felt like I was expected to write 3-4 papers a week for this class.

About a month ago, I started twittering a lot more regularly. For whatever reason, it encouraged me to get more involved in the class Ning, and I started contributing a lot more. I wish I had found this motivation a lot earlier in the semester, because I have learned so much in the last month of this class. The first months of this class, I was a selfish shellfish, and took a lot more from the class than I contributed. Like many of my classmates have stated in their reflections, I was sceptical to voice my opinions at first, because I felt that others were more knowledgeable than I was in particular areas.

During the face to face session tonight, I listened to what others had learned from the Teach Us assignments. I honestly dreaded these presentations, and did not feel comfortable in them whatsoever. During my passion presentation, I felt comfortable teaching, but I hated the fact that I could not see the people who I was teaching. I am reminded of elementary school when I was first starting to learn to write essays. I hated the process, and had no desire to ever write one again. I knew, however, that this process would be crucial for the rest of my educational career. The more I would practice writing techniques, outlines, and such, the easier they were and I was more likely to use them. I feel that this is very similar to using online teaching programs such as elluminate. Although I may hate using it now, the more I use it (because I very well may have to use it one day) the more I may learn an appreciation for its benefits.

Tonight, Danielle mentioned that she didn’t notice the Forum tab on our Ning, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, since I hadn’t noticed the Groups page (and what they all contained) until a few days ago. Once again, I’m not sure how I missed it, but I suppose I wasn’t really looking for it.

Overall, I am very glad I enrolled in ECMP 455, as I feel that I have made tremendous progress in my personal learning. Although most of this came about at the very end of the semester, I am very proud of what I have accomplished. Whether or not this progress is evident, I am not sure, but I intend to continue my learning through the programs I currently use, and sharing that information in my blog. Thank you to Dean, and my fellow classmates for everything. It has been a great semester, and I have enjoyed learning with all of you. Much love.

Post-Skype for Collaborative Project

This morning I met a student of Paula White's via Skype. She and I had discussed what I would work on with her student, and I had somewhat of a plan written up as to what I would take him through to show him around Google Maps. I was extremely excited to begin this process, as I thought this would certainly help him out in regards to understanding his book project more after viewing Street views of the locations in these books.
I very much enjoyed this Skype call, as I don't often get the opportunity to use the program. We started off well, as Paula introduced me to some of her students. I then had the opportunity to work with the one student I have been gathering resources for for our Wiki. I started out by asking him to open up a program to start my lesson. He informed me that he was using a Mac, and therefore didn't have the program. After I was informed of this, my entire lesson was pretty much shot. This is when my own learning began. Throughout my entire lesson, I had multiple windows open as I searched "How to ______ on a mac" repeatedly. I feel like I know so much more about Mac computers now, (although its likely that I will never actually be able to afford one :))
Unfortunately, he was having some technical difficulties on his end, so our time was limited to only 45 minutes. I really hope my lesson helped his comprehension of the books he has been reading in class, and I look forward to helping him further.

My digital footprint

Last Wednesday our ECMP class focussed on our Digital Footprint. Additionally, Amy added a discussion on the forums on our class Ning that sparked a lot of thought about what I have made as my own digital footprint. I have been hearing a lot about the dangers of Facebook in regards to professionalism and the beginning teacher. Although I didn't really have anything on Facebook that could get me in any trouble, I took extra precautions to ensure that nothing can be interpreted as unprofessional.

Professionalism is a word that is used very frequently, and in many ways there is a lot of freedom within the nature of being professional in a number of occupations. Education however, leaves very little room for freedom in a teacher’s life. Teachers are constantly in the spotlight because of their potential for role modelling to youth. In many ways, teachers must act more ethical and more carefully than anyone in another other career. This is ironic in a way, for those who are expected to act so much more professionally are not necessarily considered to be professionals.

For example, professionalism for a server can entail something as simple as not being outright rude to a customer. In that type of industry, that is mostly all we are taught about ethical behaviour. A server in the food and beverage industry is by no means a professional, nor are they considered to be an employee of an essential service. However, coming from this type of industry, I have heard the term professionalism used very often. It is ideally what an employer would strive for, but there is usually a large degree of unethical behaviour is overlooked because of the type of work they are in.

Education is an essential service, for education is now more important than ever in our culture. There has been such an overwhelming increase in the post-secondary enrolment, and is difficult to attain a job in today’s society without some form of post-secondary schooling. Education is therefore an essential service, thus making educators, themselves, essential to society. Since this is the case, teachers are viewed as critical beings, and are respected as such. Teachers must maintain this respect by our actions. With this comes a great deal of responsibility and honour in which teachers must keep so we may be viewed positively in the community. Holding the position as an educator comes with a vow of social commitment. One therefore must hold a great understanding of the sacrifices he or she must make in order to honour this social commitment. The importance of this has the potential to actually end one’s career in the teaching field and is therefore should not be taken frivolously. This can be a very intimidating thing for new teachers, as even now, it may feel as though we are walking on eggshells when out in public, or what may result from an online search. Perhaps this is just the case for those of us pre-service teachers who have not had much of an opportunity to learn much about teacher ethics as of yet.

What comes to mind when reading about professionalism and the code of ethics of educators in Canada, is not as simple as I initially had thought. Teachers are consistently in the spotlight in social situations because they have had the opportunity to meet so many people throughout their careers. Coming from a small town, I have personally witnessed someone entering a licensed establishment, and having the majority of the other patrons recognize and comment on their presence there. In a small town like Yorkton, for example, where everybody knows everybody, this can get awkward for people in positions of authority. In practice, this may require a teacher to exit a facility where he or she may be uncomfortable frequenting if his or her students, or their parents are observing that teacher. There have also been cases where these authority figures, like teachers, have abused their power in abuse cases which seem to come out more frequently now than ever before. One may think that this would be common sense for teachers, but apparently this is not the case for all individuals. This becomes a case of general morality, but professionalism in the teaching field requires much more than this. Additionally, it is extremely important to be aware of any documentation of any “unprofessionalism”. Photographs on Social Networking Sites may seem harmless, but can have a huge effect on one’s teaching career. (Or, lack thereof, if measures are taken following these postings)

As I begin teaching, I will be taking a very careful approach to my own personal professionalism and digital footprint.

Following Wednesday’s session, I immediately visited my Facebook page, and started deleting pictures and comments. I really do wish I could get rid of Facebook altogether because of all of the negative rap it has been getting in the world of Education, but there are so many resources on this social networking site that can benefit educators. It is a great tool to connect with others around the world, and many pages offer great resources for teaching. There have been many schools and classes that have used Facebook as a primary tool for groupwork.
Its suggested that educators "Google" themselves every so often to ensure we know exactly what information about ourselves can be accessed by the public. I googled myself after the last Elluminate session, and didn't find too terribly much. On the discussion post, many of my classmates stated that because of their common name, they were gathering a lot more information from others with the same name. To my knowledge, I am the only "Christa Schmelinsky" with internet access, so it is very likely that all search results for my name are the real me. A lot of Twitter links come up, as well as Facebook, ECMP, and Music Education. I don’t see this as being problematic in the future, but I’d love to know exactly where the line is drawn between being professional, and being over sensitive to my digital footprint.

Collaborative Project Update

Rebecca and I have been speaking with Paula White for the past month or so and working with her students in their English class. Over the last month Rebecca and I have been researching the novels they have been studying in order to give them different resources for projects. They keep track of their learning on a Wiki page, in which each student has set up for themselves. We have been specifically working with two students, and helping them along. Tomorrow morning, I have set up a time where I will be Skyping with one student and teaching him how to use Google Maps as a tour, as they have recently been focusing on the locations spoken about within their novels. They have found several photographs on the internet of these places which they have posted on their Wiki's. Paula asked us to give them tips on using Google Earth to take a virtual tour of these different locations, but neither of us are too familiar with this program. I e-mailed Paula suggesting that Google Maps would serve as a great alternative, and I am more comfortable with using it. This evening I e-mailed Paula that I was thinking of perhaps posting somewhat of a tutorial on how to use Google maps as an interactive tour of the locations specified ie: Copley Square. I've noticed on Wiley's Wiki, under the 39 Clues portion that he has posted photos of these locations, and I think it may be beneficial to "walk around" these locations, so to speak, to get a better sense of the location as a whole. She thought this was a great idea, and we agreed for me to Skype this student. I'm very much looking forward to this! Later Days.

Jens Magnussen

Just thought I'd post a quick article that I find very inspiring. This was written two years ago for the Newspaper in Selkirk, Manitoba, my Stepfather's hometown. This man is my Mom and Dad's contractor, and I find him to be one of the most amazing individuals I have ever met. Please take the time to read this. My mother has since sent me this as well, also worth a read. Pictured is Jens hard at work at our home in Springside. He gave my Mom and step-Father quite the workout, as he often wouldn't finish working until 3:30 in the morning. My Mother would have to convince him that it was time to finish up for the night, and start again in the morning.