What an adventure

Well... this is it. My last mandatory post on this blog.

These past 9 weeks have absolutely flown by... Not too fast to get bombarded by a LOT of awesome information though, from Mike, fellow classmates, and guess presenters.

So without further delay, here is my summative presentation.

The future

I believe the future of education will be in the hands of technology, even more than it is now. Seeing how many school divisions are focused on improving their use of technology in the school and classroom is great. There is so much more that can be done in a classroom if using technology than can be if not.
The information students are able to retrieve is exponentially better as well. It is easier for them to get information, there is more information for the students to choose from, and in this way, they get to learn how to pull out the good information from all the bad that is around it. 

Link

With all the focus on technology, I wouldn't doubt to see a shift where there isn't a single textbook used in any school. This will obviously take time, and probably won't be true for at least another five years. However, I do believe that transfer will happen, and it will be for the best. 

Reading The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition was very overwhelming, and I am still not sure if I agree with everything that is written in it. 

Cloud computing is the first one mentioned. When I saw this, all I thought about was storage. Who would've thought there was more to cloud than storage?! (probably everyone BUT me, but that's not my point) 

This was great to read about. I learned that there are three different parts to the cloud universe: 

1. Cloud-based applications - applications hosted in the cloud

2. Platforms to create cloud-based applications 

3. Computing resources (ie. storage)

It is no wonder that schools are making the switch to the cloud. Considering how much expense a Division could cut by using the cloud, it would be a no-brainer. There are however some downfalls to it.

1. Internet - To access anything on the cloud you would need an internet connection. In this day and age an internet connection is not hard to come by, but if there is an issue with the connection, you cannot retrieve any of the information, programs, etc. 

2. Provider - What happens if the cloud provider you are currently using goes under? or decides it is time to quit? All of your belongings you have stored there are gone too. 

Mobiles will continue to grow with time as well. If you think about it, who do you know that doesn't have at least one smart device (ie. smart phone, tablet, ipod, etc)? Most people can stop thinking at smart phone because they are so widespread now. It seems anyone who can make use of their vast applications (and even some who can't) have one... Except this guy!

I continue to use my 'dumbphone' simply because I have a phone that works and my contract expires at the end of summer 2013, so with looking for a job and all, who knows where I will even be! But rest assured, next phone... will be a smart phone.

For the people who do not even know what a 'dumbphone' is

Video in the Classroom...

The first video I want to talk about isn't necessarily online (for free anyways), but is an excellent resource to use in the Phys Ed curriculum. The title is talhotblond. This is a documentary about an online relationship that turns into a love triangle between two coworkers and a female (aka talhotblond). It ends up taking a turn for the worse and there are life changing events that occur. I can't say too much more without spoiling it for anyone who has not seen it.

I would use this video for the Healthy Relationships unit. After the video is done, students would fill out a questionnaire regarding what happened in the video in regards to healthy relationships and effective communication. Then, as a class, discuss what may have been different if certain scenarios played out differently. 

The second video I would use is an episode of Seinfeld. It is episode 9 of season 2 titled "The Deal." It is an episode that deals with a relationship between two friends (Jerry and Elaine) and how they want to be able to keep their friendship the same, but become sexually active with each other. It goes through them talking about it, Jerry talking to one of his friends (George) about it, and then other issues that arise from it. 

This video would be used again in the Phys Ed curriculum under the Healthy Relationships unit. 

I believe video can be a very useful tool in the classroom for both the teacher and the students. It can benefit the students by giving them options for presentations. Some students may not be able to speak extremely well in front of their peers, so instead of 'embarrassing themselves' they can make a recording prior to that day and present the video instead. It can also give students a look at a topic from different perspectives which will increase the chance of them understanding the concept being taught.

Teachers can also benefit from video because it decreases the time they actually have to teach. Just making sure you are actually reading this :) ! But on a more serious note, teachers can make a concept stick with their students that much more by incorporating  multimedia into their lessons. It will keep the students more engaged and they will be able to focus better. 

I think students making their own videos is a great idea, however putting them online (ie YouTube) is a different story. I would not personally put any videos created in my classroom onto YouTube unless it was a private account where only the students' parents were able to see it. It would be much safer to have a password protected website to post videos to if I was wanting to share them with parents. 

Podcast

Welcome to VCE PE Hub. This is a physical education website I found. It contains everything from a forum, a blog, online tests, and podcasts. I chose to listen to the podcast on Training adaptations.

This podcast talked about three of the body's systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, and muscular. It goes through each of the systems in detail, as well as other useful information.

For the respiratory system, it talks about how the total volume (each breathe you take), plus the respiration rate (the number of breathes), equals the ventilation. It also talks about how the oxygen follows through the lungs into the blood vessels, to the heart, and to the capillaries. It is very detailed and gives a great, in-depth description on how the entire system works, as well as each individual aspect involved.
Further into the podcast, it talks about muscular adaptations. Starting with slow twitch fibers, it looks at more aerobic activities which will increase oxygen flow,and how this is maintained. The fast twitch fibers focus more on activity that increases lactic acid (anaerobic activities).
This entire podcast would be great for an anatomy or physiology unit.

This could be a great resource to use in a physical education setting. For health, students could do a similar podcast that talks about a certain body system and how to make sure that system is working at maximum efficiency, as well as how to make that possible.
They could also talk about nutrition and include the number of servings of each food group needed per day, as well as any changes to those numbers that may result from increased physical activity.
On the activity side of the curriculum, students may choose to do a podcast on a certain activity or sport and include all rules and procedures to follow. They could also do a sports broadcast type performance where they act as announcers for a sporting event at their school. After the game is over, they can post it as a podcast for others to listen to who may not have watched the game.

Infographics

Do I think these could be useful in my classroom?
Well, I'm sure anything, if used properly, can be useful! It is just learning how to use it properly that is the tricky part sometimes. The same goes for an infographic. Let's first look at the quick infographic i created...
http://infogr.am/Snowmobile-Statistics/

It was (somewhat) fun to create my own infogram, but I am still on the fence about how useful this could be in the classroom.
It IS a neat way to show information.
It IS a visually appealing presentation tool.
It IS all around a cool resource.
However, it ISN'T quick or easy to use. It would end up eating up a lot of class time to complete, or students would have to do it at home (which probably wouldn't get done).

I guess I'll give it another shot when I get a chance and see if I change my mind.

Show & Tell: Screencast-O-Matic

The online application I chose to do my show and tell on is screencast-o-matic.com. I chose this because it is a site that I have used before, and I have actually recommended it to others in #I4Ed.

Screencast-O-Matic is a screencast site that is very simple to use. It allows you to capture what you are doing on your screen, as well as your voice from a microphone, all at the same time and without having to join the 2 files afterwards.

Here's a short tutorial of how to use it...

My digital footprint...

Having a digital footprint is very important for me being a pre-service teacher that will soon be on the hunt for a job. If a principal or administrator looks me up on the internet, they should be able to get a good idea of who I am as a person and a professional from what they find about me. With that being said, I (and all other pre-service teachers) need to ensure that what they will find about us is what we want them to see... a high-achieving professional, not an immature 'hooligan'.

Now... let's see what we can find about me!

Google: At the very bottom of page 1 is a link to my Twitter account, and on page 2 I am mentioned in an obituary. Under Google Images, nothing comes up.

Dogpile: On page 1 I found 2 posts I had made on a snowmobile forum, that is all.

Yahoo: Page 1 I had a post a made to a snowmobile forum, that is all.


So what did I learn from doing this? Well, I learned a lot in a very little.
I learned that there is next to nothing about me on the internet when you search my name (and nothing of relevance).
I learned my Gido (grandpa) Steve Melnyk who is 97 YEARS OLD has more about him on the internet than I do (since he has a house in Brandon and it is listed on Canada411 and other sites).

In these next few months I have a lot of work to do to get my online presence to the point I want it to be. If I keep building up my PLN, I'm sure that will make it that much easier.