The day started off quite early for a Saturday morning with dreary, dark, grey skies and pockets of rain. This was quickly replaced with warm smiles, high energy and enthusiastic chatter as soon as I entered Richmond Green S.S. in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Kimberly Pollishuke and Jennifer Giffen, along with their @YRDSBdlrt EdTechCamp committee thought of everything! Greeters everywhere! iPads on the ready to greet and register guests who hacked their badges and then made their way to the photo booth! The cafeteria was set-up in the EdTEchCamp colours from signs to table top decor, stickers and more!
It was wonderful to connect with educators and students face-to-face that I have been following and learning from via Twitter! As well as reconnecting with educators & friends who I haven't seen in quite some time. A shoutout to all the TDSB presenters and guests who were there today!
Keynote Speaker Kevin Brookhouser captured our attention with a question "How do we motivate students to be problem solvers?" Focussing on the importance of providing students with opportunities to train their brain to overcome Functional Fixedness by instilling Autonomy, Mastery (not a grade) & Purpose. For students to learn beyond impressing their teachers and pleasing their parents! Creating a class community where students share bad ideas and fail... learning to work through their struggles and really be creative with their thinking. Kevin shared how he embeds Google inspired 20% time; doing passion work. Taking the culture of learning experiences from Teacher Centered to Student Centered to Audience Centered.
@brookhouser training our brain to overcome: Functional fixedness. Provide Ss with challenges 2 try; fail; succeed repeat #YRDSBinnov8 pic.twitter.com/QISPZCH5se— Zelia (@ZeliaMCT) October 14, 2017
Then I had the utmost privilege to co-present with three of my former Grade 6 students: Student Voice via ePortfolios using Google Sites! A visual representation of students achievements, reflections and learning goals. Part of creating a pathway to success is to provide students opportunities and time in class for students to reflect on their learning, struggles and successes. This needs to be built within the classroom culture. Taking this path in an online digital environment that is organized, interactive, easy to build upon and accessible to students Google Drive tasks. Taking my students on a reflective journey and making learning transparent is important. Students have access to online manipulatives, video clips and various teacher/student generated challenges to discuss, share, document and provide descriptive feedback within Google apps (such as Google Docs & Sheets) and then reflecting on their learning goals in Google Sites ePortfolio.
ePortfolio Guiding Questions:
* What was the focus of the learning/task?
** What new learning did you gain and how would you use this new learning?
*** How might you further build upon your ideas or overcome challenges you encountered?
Students need to consider assessment for/as learning more valuable than assessment of learning; that learning doesn't end after a test, exam or culminating task.
Students own their ePortfolio!
Students build their digital presence beyond the classroom!
According to SociaLeadia author Jennifer Casa-Todd, by the end of high school, students should be able to google their name: “If I google search your name, what will I learn about you?” It is important for educators to model, guide and promote positive digital citizenship and responsibility.
Thank you @YRDSBdlrt for providing this forum for my students to share about their learning experiences!!!
Thank you to my students for presenting at the #YRDSBinnov8 #EdTechCamp17 session today focus: Student Voice: ePortfolios using Google Sites pic.twitter.com/Vfek9npfkK— Zelia (@ZeliaMCT) October 14, 2017
I tinkered with arduino being provided with very much needed support from Richmond Green S.S. student leaders and Mr Alexander Laserson. This was followed by attending Austin Gagnier’s session on Coding K-8 where I finally had the opportunity to see him in action! More importantly, he introduced me to Coding with Chrome extension that I can use on my Chromebooks… thus allowing more students to code, test and then sync with our Sphero’s with less wait time!
The day wrapped up with a talented crew of educators competing in a DEMO SLAM for a year's worth of bragging rights. True entertainment, knowledge sharing and just a great time for laughs!
Congratulations Kimberly, Jennifer and the @YRDSBdlrt EdTechCamp committee for a great day!
THANK YOU #EdtechCamp17 #YRDSBinnov8 for a wonderful day of learning, sharing & building PLN... & just having fun! pic.twitter.com/gxEFhTDwKB— Zelia (@ZeliaMCT) October 14, 2017
