Reflection from class on September 24th

Beginning my placement in an elementary school has really shown me the value in learning technology for the 21^st century learners I will be teaching. I have started my placement in a grade 3 class at a brand new school that only opened this fall. Each classroom is equipped with a Smart Board, as well as my class has a full set of Netbook laptops!

I have only spent two full days in my classroom and already I can see how much the children love technology. Any lesson that incorporates the smart board or computers is really exciting for them. This past Wednesday during literacy, five different stations were set up. One station involved children listening to Robert Munsch books online, using the computers. The website that allows you hear these books can be found here! This was by far the most captivating, and sought after activity. Each child kept asking when it would be their turn to use the computers. During an afternoon geography lesson, an interactive map on the smartboard held every student’s attention, and having the chance to go up and use the touch screen encouraged children to participate. Many students who usually sit back and don’t raise their hands were eagerly awaiting their turn to be picked to go up and place a label on the map.

Through my observation I have realized the need for my teaching to incorporate technology in order to captivate my students. I am already thinking of ways to implement the different programs and sites I have learned about in my technology class. I think that using Powtoon, Google Slides, Google Draw, Ted Talks, or a QR code scanner would really enhance my lessons.

I have also spent a significant amount of time researching my genius hour question; can I introduce authentic outdoor education into an Ontario classroom without going on field trips?

Through an extensive search on Pinterest, I have found many different examples from teachers and educators who value outdoor education as much as I do! You can check out my new Pinterest board here! I have already complied over 50 different pins from various pinners. There seems to be a lot of people who creatively incorporate outdoor education into various subjects, including science, language, math and many others. In the coming weeks I hope to investigate Ontario documents and other official papers that may better guide my search according to the Ontario legislation.