Kristen's Learning Blog

A month of learning has come and gone. I have a few take-away points from this course that I would like to highlight. The first comes from Module 5. I had never heard of commonsense media before and I am so happy that I was exposed to this resource. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the information it had to offer on Google Classroom features- specifically the feature it had on how to create a collaborative document. Check out the video here . Furthermore, there was so much information on how to teach students about digital literacy that it is worth it for every teacher (and parent) to know about. A definite resource to checkout. The other takeaway I had was in regards to all the research I was able to do on resilience. I conducted an inquiry on resilience and was able to find a plethora of research articles and resilience apps  (many of which are featured on this mind-map)  which might be beneficial for students. I  was able to complete a blog post on my ...

As an educator, the issue of copyright has been addressed at my school in a little bit. We have posters above each of our photocopy machines. I  personally find these posters to have an impact. As I get ready to photocopy different materials I constantly find myself looking at this poster, its check boxes and making mental checks to see that I, myself am not doing anything illegal .  Additionally. presentations that are given at staff meetings, usually have citations on the slides for members to see.  However, in all honesty, I don't think the issue of copyright is something that is addressed/enforced at my school very much. Yes- we discuss plagiarism, quotations, paraphrasing and citations as educators (click here if you would like to see the MLA ppt I show to my Grade 11 English Class) but I think the overall topic is something that my school expects people to know and therefore, it isn't something that is discussed.  As teacher, I tell my students that...

The World Health Organization defines mental health as, "a state of well-begin in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community." As we can see from this definition when we speak of mental health, we are not just talking about mental illness or mental health problems. There has been an important shift in the focus of mental health and well-being in education. For me, my focus has been on building students resiliency in hopes that when they are confronted with stress, self-esteem issues or productivity problems they have a tool-kit that they can draw upon in order to help themselves bounce back from whatever life has thrown their way. I am trying to create a classroom environment where there is a focus on building skills , rather than addressing deficits. I think in order to do this, individuals must have practice recognizin...

I recognize there has been a movement of learning and integrating First Nations, Metis, Inuit (FNMI) studies into our classroom. This is not a new movement and has been an area of focus for Canada for sometime. I remember when I was completing my undergraduate degree in History, there were many required Canadian History courses needed to obtain my degree and two of them related to Canadian Aboriginal  Studies. I remember thinking, why do I need to take these courses, and it wasn't until I stepped into the classroom that I truly realized the roots of our beautiful country start with the FNMI. I was grateful to be a part of these courses because there was so much that was not referenced in High School. I'm glad to see that it has become embedded into our curriculum and I recognize that I need to be a part of incorporating FNMI into my own teaching practice, because as of right now, I have not been making FNMI a part of my teaching.  As a read some of the resources I ident...

After reading a few articles on cultural pedagogy, I have a few thoughts to share. I read the Ontario Ministry's information on Cultural Pedagogy ,   Learning Disabilities and Diversity: A Culturally Responsive Approach,   and watched a video on mindfulness and how it supports students. I am a SERT and teach Special Education so naturally that articles on learning disabilities (LDs) interested me.  I enjoyed the article for a number of reasons, the first being that when I was reading it, I felt like they were talking about a group of people themselves. It's interesting to be talking about background and different influences which shape students' knowledge of the world. I recognize and have encountered different perceptions on what an LD is, resistance to being  identified, and hearing both parents and students' say- I don't want to be labeled as different. What  I liked about  this article though, is it reminds me of an inclusive community. Where student...

As I reflect upon the 2016-2017 school year, I am relatively happy with my level of tech integration. There are a few things that I would like to highlight and give myself a hand for!  I experimented and perfected my Google Classroom. I was able to create a paperless classroom for the students that wanted it.  I exposed students to creating websites by using Google Sites I showed students  Pikotchart as we created infographics/graphic texts together  I experimented with student blogging I sent out a couple of tweets- like this one! Thinking ahead to the 2017-2018 school year, there are a few changes I wish to make. I'd like to incorporate more technology into my English classes. While I think I've done a great job in my Special Education classes, there are a lot of opportunities to get technology into the English classroom as well. I have already texted my co-teacher to ask her thoughts on using a variety of book chats into the class- both online...