Wow!

Today’s class on open resources was so helpful. Maybe I have been living under a rock, but I

actually had no idea that there was anything other than copyright. Not only did this class open up a world of resources that would be easily accessible and guilt-free to use, but it also showed me that we have to knowingly label our work as creative commons in order to contribute.

When I was teaching in Indonesia, I used a lot of internet resources to get information, inspiration or sometimes just to add a picture to my work. I would say I pulled at least two things of the internet per day. Teachers are always trying to rework and improve their lessons and one way to do that is by building on or taking from other sources. It is simply natural that teachers should have a network to freely share their work.

There were so many resources mentioned in class today and I don’t think I could possibly remember them all, so instead, here is a link back to the course website. I hope to be

able to explore some of these sources later. I have already made a point of changing my search settings on google to find pictures and information that can be freely used!

I would also suggest visiting Rich McCue’s website as he has some really interesting links related to open resources. One of the links is to a documentary called RIP a Remix Manifesto. It was made by a Vancouver Islander and is about copyright. It makes some really interesting points and is definitely worth a watch.

The movies ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ and the TED talk by Jeff Hopkins reminded me of the animation of  Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk on ‘Changing Education Paradigms’.

I was shown this video while taking part in an International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Year Program (MYP) conference. IB is a program that aims to institutionalize  concept based teaching with a focus on student inquiry and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. The program also discourages standardized tests and conventional class set ups in favor of project based assessments. It’s not a perfect program, but it provided me with my first look at concept based teaching and this has been a big influence in the formation of my personal pedagogy.

Re-structuring the entire education system will not happen over night. Teachers. parents and students are all used to standardized classes and testing. We are used to going to class and being spoon-fed information. Change is uncomfortable, especially when that change must have a cascading effect. For instance, if we change how K-12 students learn and are assessed, universities will also have to restructure their admission procedures and potentially their own teaching set ups.

Scaling it down a bit though, the application of conceptual based teaching can be easily accomplished in today’s classrooms, especially with the new version of the BC curriculum which includes ‘Big Ideas’ and the skill sets categorized as ‘Core Competencies’.

Here is a video I found that gives a good idea of how conceptual based teaching and learning can be applied in the classroom.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

The first class of 336 was today and I can’t rightly say how I am feeling. I know that I am definitely a supporter of the use of technology in classrooms, but I am also painfully aware of how ridiculously behind I am in terms of modern tools and even how to apply older technology tools. Having just come back from living and working in Indonesia as a middle school teacher, a rather large majority of the platforms and programs mentioned in class today were completely new to me. In Indonesia I was considered one of the technologically savvy teachers simply for being able to add some animation and colours into my PowerPoint presentations. Knowing how to source and make use of images or resources online commanded the respect of some of my less computer literate colleagues but hardly stretched my knowledge of technology into the realm of what is currently possible. So, now I am left feeling like a messy cloud of excitement to learn and anxiety about how to organize and acquire this new knowledge. In an attempt to regain a feeling of control I am going to read through the course outline and assigned readings slowly and try to begin considering topics for the first two assignments. Hopefully this confusion will eventually lead me down a road from which I can gain a clearer picture of the technologies now available and how they can be used to jazz up my future classrooms!