https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc My reflections on technology and the role it plays in my life. en-us 2017-05-16 17:53:39 UTC 2025-11-21 04:07:31 UTC hello@padlet.com alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723015
FreshGrade! Coding! Scratch Jr! Applied Skill and Design! Core and Curricular Competencies! I came back to work in September 2016 after almost 2 years away and all the  items listed above were brand new to me. There was an expectation professionally to integrate them all into my practice in the 3 separate positions I had in a brand new school: Gr.1, Gr.5, Learning Support/ EAL. Oh, what a year of learning and "newbie-ism" it has been! It's been challenging, but powerful in terms of professional development. It has been a remarkable year professionally for me. I am going back to the classroom full time next year but because of so many varying and exciting experiences, including those with technology, I have fallen in love with teaching all over again.]]> 2017-05-19 03:41:06 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723015 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723093 What will be the online legacy of my tiny digital native?]]> 2017-05-19 03:42:31 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723093 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723150 Confused/Intrigued: The 2 states I often find myself in while attending Graduate school. And let's not forget the all important coffee in hand!]]> 2017-05-19 03:43:33 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723150 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723591 2017-05-19 03:49:58 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723591 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723700 I am new to twitter and feel a bit of information overload. The filters and "mute" features have been my saving grace! Attempting to avoid what I call the "digital junkfood" ie. celebrity posts and advertising. I'm an easy mark for such things!]]> 2017-05-19 03:51:53 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723700 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723873  My child can unlock my iPhone, log in to Netflix and start this movie up completely on her own. She is 2. What will the long term, life long effects be on the health and wellbeing of our littlest 'digital natives'?]]> 2017-05-19 03:54:49 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172723873 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172724029 2017-05-19 03:57:16 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172724029 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172724069 http://canadianart.ca/features/landmarks-2017-preview/]]> 2017-05-19 03:57:43 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172724069 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725120 The online world is fraught with danger for students of all ages but in particular in the K-12 setting. My school runs a program with outside funding called "iGuy" and "iGirl" which teaches online safety in an explicit way to students from Gr.5 on, but I think a format like this (age appropriate of course) should be taught as young as Kindergarten. We need to start addressing the elephant in the room. These kids are digital natives. We are not dealing with the same kids we were, I would argue, as little as 5 years ago when I first started teaching. Many students are entering the public system, not knowing how to print their name, but if you put an iPad in their hands....Well, you know the rest!

]]> 2017-05-19 04:10:06 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725120 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725458 2017-05-19 04:14:53 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725458 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725590 Always on my mind. How does anyone find the balance?]]> 2017-05-19 04:16:39 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172725590 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726000 While reading Bates' text online as it was recommended we do this week, I was struck by the fact that I was using pen and paper for note taking on this format. I wondered, am I a part of the "lagging" in technology in education that Bates is talking about? Never fear, however! Bates also says in Activty 6.1 that the pen is a "technological artifact" and so very important to the development of technology in its own right. Bates says, "Even though Socrates is reported to have railed against the use of writing, written forms of communication make analytic, lengthy chains of reasoning and argument much more accessible, reproducible without distortion, and thus more open to analysis and critique than the transient nature of speech." (6.2). Well, we all know, teachers can natter on, just like I have in this post, and as a working mom, I forget anything and everything that isn't scrawled down. So sorry, Socrates. I will take my pen and paper thank you very much!]]> 2017-05-19 04:21:51 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726000 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726118  ]]> 2017-05-19 04:23:43 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726118 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726138 Krajcik and Blumenfield (2006) as cited in Mouza and Lavigne say, "Educational research has demonstrated that deep understanding occurs when students actively construct knowledge for themselves by engaging in real world activities and by reflecting on their experiences" (p. 4, 2013). That's  what I think the new BC curriculum is trying to achieve with its language around applied design and technology. My Gr.1s have been coding with Tynker and Scratch Jr. this year and I am amazed at how powerful the learning is and how quickly they were able to pick up the skills needed to be successful. Coding has also helped them become quite reflexive in regards to their own learning. They can express frustration articulately, ask for support when needed, and explain their learning through the concrete parameters provided in each of the platforms. I have also observed the confidence and satisfaction they feel as learners when something they have thought of in their imagination comes to life in the virtual worlds they are creating. ]]> 2017-05-19 04:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726138 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726596 After reading the section from Bates' Open Textbook below, I experienced a powerful and reflexive
'stop moment' in relation to my teaching practice. Bates asks his readers in regards to online vs. what he calls 'face to face' learning, "What is best done face to face and what is done online and in what contexts?" This question hit me like a lightning bolt! We (as in students in MAELM and all online learners like us) are in fact the students he is talking about! Bates doesn't want us to just consider our students but ourselves as educators and as lifelong learners also. His questions at the end of each section are not meant for us to only consider our student's needs for learning but also how best we learn in different digital and real world environments.]]> 2017-05-19 04:32:02 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172726596 alexafay_charles https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172729431 Bates has some thoughts on the matter...]]> 2017-05-19 05:22:12 UTC https://padlet.com/alexafay_charles/zj9umrgug0tc/wish/172729431