Hello again! Thank you for returning to my blog. I am finally getting around to posting about my second day at Ed Innovation 2016. The second day was another day of discovery, sharing, and tons of Tweets :) Read below for the rest of my reflections: Our keynote speaker for Day 2 was John Bailey from Google Expeditions. He led us on an incredible journey in Space using our newest tool- Google Cardboard. This cardboard device allows students to immerse themselves in the virtual world. They can move around the Space Station or swim the Great Barrier Reef. My AT and I were imagining all the possibilities of introducing this to our students. Everyone in the gymnasium was buzzing with excitement over this amazing tool. You can take your class on a field trip from the comfort of their own desk. Google Cardboard opens up a whole world of opportunity and exploration for our students. You can see my AT and I were having a great time exploring the Space Station :) My first workshop of the day was App-Smashing where we were immersed in the world of Green Screen animation. This new technology will allow for more differentiated learning in the classroom. It was especially fun to play with the filters and backgrounds. Again, I was imagining all the ways to introduce a Green Screen into my class. I am so impressed with the way classroom technology is developing! As you can see, I was also able to take a trip to Space! ![]() My second workshop was Google Tour Builder. This amazing tool allows for students to take a virtual field trip from their Chromebooks or laptop devices. The tool allows for students to search various locations around the world and create a story. The presenter was explaining how this tool could change the way students even complete book reports. Instead of having students write the events of a narrative, have them create a Google Tour showing the different settings of the story. This was something I had never thought of before. Google Tour builder could also allow students to talk about summer vacations stories, or talk about current events. It was a tool with many possibilities. My third workshop of the day was Hapara. This tool allows teachers to share content, assess, and chat with students about work progress. This tool makes it easier for teachers to share class material with students. Rather than making a dozen photocopies,Hapara send the worksheets to the students' Google Drives. This also saves the teachers lots of assessing time and chasing down students to hand in assignments. Hapara is constantly updating and changing to meet the needs of the students and teachers. I will definitely use this tool in future practice. The final workshop of the day was The Maker Mindset. This workshop was led by one of my previous professors, Professor Michelle S. Hagerman. She was discussing with us the possibilities of creating a maker mindset in the classroom. She told us the story of her Father, who would have thrived from a maker classroom. In a maker classroom, the students would complete hands-on activities and participate in rich discussions. We would give the students the tool they need, and allow them to discover, tinker, wonder, and achieve on their own. In my future practice, I want my class to shift to student-led from a teacher-led approach. The students would find a project that inspires them, work hard at it, and share their success, or failure, with the class. These kinds of projects help students become risk-takers in their educational journey. I was very moved by Michelle's words. It inspired me to do something different with my students than how I was traditionally taught. ![]() Overall, Ed Innovation was such an amazing experience for me. I walked away with tons of tips, tricks, ideas, and goals to give my future students the best classroom experience. I was also able to purchase an autographed copy of Chris Hadfield's The Darkest Dark. I am still fan-girling over that! I want to extend my deepest thanks to Ed Innovation, all the speakers, presenters, volunteers, and, especially, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Education program for allowing us to attend this amazing summit! Please comment below with any stories from Ed Innovation! And, as always, the shameless plug portion of the blog. You can follow me on Twitter @cstar012 for more updates and future blog posts!! Thanks for stopping by, Miss. Starkey :)
1 Comment
10/25/2016 12:51:47 pm
We were so pleased to have participants from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa with us! Thanks for attending, and sharing... next year.... presenting?
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AuthorCaitlin Starkey is a Teacher Candidate from the University of Ottawa. She loves to read, watch movies, and drink lots of hot chocolate. These blog posts are a glance at her lesson plans, personal reflections, and ramblings about everyday observations. Archives
February 2017
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