Tag: class

EDCI 336 Final Class

December 2, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

Final Class reflection

For our last class we discussed games in education and did a bit of a wrap up for the course.

I was especially interested in the topic today because it ties in so closely to my free inquiry. I was actually inspired to play Minecraft for my inquiry because it is part of a program for the summer camp I worked for last summer. I was working as a sub for that camp so I didn’t need to know anything about Minecraft but it made me want to try it out. I suppose I was just blown away by the idea that a game this popular could be educational. I wish we could have had the chance to connect with the teacher from Colquitz who runs a Minecraft lab. From what I heard in class they are doing some really interesting stuff with the game.

We also got together in Google docs to brainstorm games that we have seen and/or experienced in classrooms before. When it was pointed out that these were mostly math games I felt a bit silly for not noticing this before. It makes sense because math (at elementary levels) is an undisputed topic, and probably easy for game companies to deal with translation, internationalization, and localization of these types of game so they can find a larger audience (because profit).

I like the video that was included in the slides about Minecraft being the ultimate educational tool

I really think that games in the classroom is going to become more and more common, especially seeing large companies like Google and Microsoft making pushes to get into schools.

However I do agree with what was said in class about how games are currently used as reflection, review, or practice and maybe not as a teaching tool. There is much more to this topic than what we covered in class and there is a part of me that thinks this will be changing quite a bit during my teaching career. Games in classrooms is definitely something I will be keeping my eye on during my degree and once I start teaching.

Week 11: Distributed Learning Discussion Blog Post

November 24, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

This week in class we talked about blended, online, and multi-access learning environments. Last March when classes went online I was very concerned about being able to maintain focus in a distance education environment. I have been in a distance ed situation before and was extremely frustrated by it the first time, but I am happy to report that as rocky as the midterm transition was it ended up being okay. In fact, I completely attribute being able to complete four summer courses to the fact that everything was online. The course load was so condensed that I basically woke up, did school work, ate sometimes, then went to bed. That being said, I still prefer face-to-face classes. Lets plot out the pros and cons:

Pros:

Being able to take on more courses than should be humanly possible

With no commute and asynchronous classes there is more flexibility in scheduling

Studying and attending class at home

I have a dog with severe separation anxiety so being able to stay with him all day helps his mental and physical wellbeing (he will chew on walls/doors/metal door handles when left alone so the lower vet bills have been nice)

Spending less money on food/coffee

Since there is no travel to class or staying late at school to study overall cost of dining out has gone down.

Breakout rooms

I get a chance to talk to more variety of classmates

Working on Docs

Since we are all on computers already it is easier to share a doc and work collaboratively

Cons:

Feeling like it school work never ends

There is less of a separation between “school time” and “relaxation time” because the physical space is the same for both activities and there is always more work you can put into an assignment.

Constant headaches

Between my eyes being on a screen and my headphones clamping onto my tiny head I have been getting headaches daily at this point in the term.

Focus is easily lost

My mind easily wonders in Zoom classes so I’ve gotten a supply of squishy balls/other shapes to keep more focused during classes.

Forgetting to go outside

There are days that I just park myself at a computer and stay there for hours. Thankfully I have a dog that needs walks, so I get reminders but I still miss going out some days.

Missed connections

There is less chance to make connections with people over Zoom, this goes for fellow students, teachers, and guest speakers.

Less chance to ask for clarification

I find that there are fewer chances to ask for clarification and have more voices in class discussion. There are people who are just less likely to speak up over Zoom. As someone who likes to ask and hear others questions on a subject I am really missing those interactions.

We also touched on Synchronous and Asynchronous learning

For me, and the cost of education, I really like the idea of watching recorded lectures and meeting as a class for more discussion and theory about subjects. I think it is reasonable to ask students to watch a lecture and attend a synchronous class, especially if the lecture and class are manageable time lengths (say 60-90 minutes).

Overall, I am still not a huge fan of online classes. However I do see how some subjects can still be taught effectively over platforms like Zoom. I really hope that in Fall 2021 we are back to face-to-face, or at least a mix.

Also, the robot person thing looked really cool and I wish we could have seen that in person.

Until next time!

Seventh week reflection

October 28, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

For this week’s class, a large amount of class time was spent in discussion groups. The groups were created using topic suggestions from students and then a vote to see which 5 subjects had the most interest. We were encouraged to change rooms and get involved in the conversation which was a bit awkward because I had to ask to change rooms but I’m happy that I was able to move around as much as I did. It was interesting to see how many people gravitate to certain topics. I was in a room with 8 people at one point, and the next room I went into only has 2 other people in it. I don’t often participate in a situation where there is a free flow between groups so you are free to visit any of the groups at any time. It was a really great exercise and since each group made a list of points that were discussed the class has a document to reference and some resource suggestions from Michael. One resource lead me to Trevor Mackenzie’s website where I read several of his posts about implementing inquiry and a Google slide presentation that made some good points on parts of the inquiry process. For example, in the slides Trevor points out that when you are using inquiry with a class students come up with questions about their inquiry project but teachers need to find ways to tie those questions to curriculum and learning standards.
We had some great take aways from this weeks class, but I find myself saying that for all the classes I am in right now.

With some guidance from Michael I have been looking more into using OBS and Twitch as a solution to streaming the charity event on Nov 7. After doing a bit more research I think OBS will be the best for having the video, audio, and customization I am looking for. I did a quick set up to see how much time it would take to set up and it was fairly easy. Now I have to create some templates for the different scenes I will be switching between during the stream. I will be using PhotoShop to make those templates but that is a story for another day.

Until next time!

Music Blog #1

October 24, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

In my EDCI 306 class each person is tasked with learning a new instrument. For beginners the professor suggested to try the recorder, ukulele, or guitar. I tried playing a friends acoustic guitar and it felt really large and clumsy for me so I tried strumming my partner’s electric guitar and that felt a bit easier to handle. I decided to email my prof to see if I would be able to use the electric guitar instead, after I got the green light from them I was ready to go!
First I started looking at chord charts and lists of songs for beginner players. I also started playing the guitar using the game Rocksmith which was a bit overwhelming but had some great lessons on tuning, chords, picking/strumming, shifting and basic things like how to hold or sit with your guitar. I was really excited to learn guitar so it was easy to fit in the 10-20 mins each day for the first week, then things started to fall apart a little.

After the first week or so I was becoming more and more frustrated with my guitar practice. I was sure that I had tuned the guitar well, or well enough for my purpose, but when I went to play a chord or tried shifting it just didn’t sound good. I would start my practice sessions by going through my chord chart trying to place my fingers on the right frets and strumming a few times before switching to another chord. I liked to end my practice time by trying the “play a song” mode in Rocksmith. I would only be playing a small amount of the notes in the song, but it seemed like a fun way to get familiar with the instrument. While the “play a song” was supposed to be a fun ending I would often get really frustrated because the game would often tell me I was using the wrong fret so I would make adjustments within the fret and would still be missing chords or notes in a song. The combination of having the beginning of my practice time with the chords and shifting sounding off, and the Rocksmith game telling me I wasn’t playing notes/chords properly really started to wear on me. Eventually I started to dread playing the guitar and was feeling pretty hopeless about the goals I had set for myself.

One fateful Thursday night I was practicing because I knew I was going to be meeting with some fellow students who were also learning the guitar the next day. As I was strumming I heard, and felt, something weird. Next I felt a combination of confusion directly followed by horrible realization, as my stomach dropped to the floor as I saw that I had just broken the high E string on the guitar. So it was 11 pm, my guitar was useless, and I needed it for a 1 pm class the next day. After taking some time to decide if this just sounded like a made up excuse I elected to email my prof to let them know what had happened. I was a little worried that this would come across as a “the dog ate my homework” situation but I was feeling so discouraged that sending the email seemed like the only thing left to do.

My next post I’ll be writing about the email I got on Friday morning, and the turn my musicianship journey has taken.

Until next time!

Photo of tree in field — Photo Taken By Carla Scott

Third week reflection

October 1, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

Photo Taken By Carla Scott

This week we took a break from a typical class and had guest speaker Jesse Miller join us. Their presentation was about social media in education, and safety concerts around that. Miller was also speaking to broader digital identity, rights, and literacy among students and school staff members.

It was a great presentation partially because I had never really spent time to really think about topics they brought up, like how schools handle cell phone policies. I supposed I aged myself a bit by saying that, but when I was in secondary school students having cell phones was very rare. Having never been on the receiving end of this debate the idea of cell phones being confined to bags all class never bothered me. When Miller talked about teachers including a phone break in class it made me think of all the times when I’m feeling stuck, or can’t focus so I check my phone or watch a couple quick YouTube videos to have a sort of brain break. There are also times where I am on a roll and head down for long periods of time, but I think using timed breaks can really help maintain focus. There have been many times where I am dreading the start of a project because I foresee it taking X amount of time and its really daunting, or I don’t even know where to start. When starting is the hardest part I try thinking “I’ll just try for 20 mins and then take a break” I’m not sure why the promise of a break has this effect on me but it can be really amazing what is produced in that time. That was a bit of a long explanation but I think what I am trying to say is the promise of “free time”, even 5 or 10 minutes, can be really motivating.
I was also really interested in the conversation about boundaries and expectations being a way to empower students. I think this is a great idea and I’ve used a similar technique at summer camps with children. We set up “camp rules” that we make as a group so everyone has a say in what we want to put into and see from campers and leaders. This activity always results in more community accountability as the children seem to feel more like they are an important member and decision maker rather than a person that has to follow a list of boring rules made up by the leaders.
Now, I’m off to play some more Minecraft!

Second week reflection

September 27, 2020 / Carla / 0 Comments

I know it is only the second week of this course, and third week for some other courses, but I have to say that I am already finding due dates to be an issue for me. I suppose it is more about the amount of assignments and keeping track of which is due when, or when which assignment’s due date changes and then recording the new due date. This is definitely gearing me up for a high level of organizational skills.
This week we looked at copyright and open education resources which was really exciting! I think it is pretty amazing that teachers freely share lessons and activities with others, there are some sites where a contributor can price their content and that is totally understandable. I was also impressed with how much (free or priced) lesson content for teachers is available. I suppose I had always thought of lesson planning as a job teachers did outside of class on their own or maybe with a fellow staff member or two. Knowing that there are collections available is a bit of a relief and gives an almost collaborative feel to the lesson planning process. Even just seeing what is being used in classrooms at different levels is intriguing.