In class this week we talked about distributed learning. Distributed learning is what allows students and teachers to be online in different places while still learning the same content together, its the model of learning we have been doing throughout the pandemic. There are two different methods: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous learning is the type I am most familiar with as it is the method most of my professors have used, synchronous means that both teacher and students are online together at the same time: this is done over a tool scubas zoom. whereas asynchronous is when the teacher and students interact with the content at separate times, and in separate locations.

We discussed the positives and negatives of distributed learning and for me the biggest positive is the lack of commute or better the fact I can sleep in even later (I am not a morning person!), with this method of learning I am able to do my classes in my PJ’s with my morning coffee. On the other hand the largest negative for me would be how much time I spend staring at a screen because; all my classes are online, all the readings are online and all the assignments are done online, I spend a minimum of 20 hours a week on my computer just for school. I have endured more migraines over this past year than all previous put together.

This week in class we had another guest speaker, this time it was a lady named Tracey Humphries and she is from BCEd Access and she came to talk to us about inclusive education. This is a society run by mostly parents who want to supports kids with disabilities and diverse learning challenges reach full potential in school and in the world. Tracey talked about her own struggles with ADHD as well as the struggles that come with raising a child with a disability in the BC school system. She talked a lot about the lack of technology in the classrooms for teachers to use, and that what there is, is terribly outdated. I grew up with parents working with children with disabilities and spent time with them, I knew it was hard, however now as a future educator I see how truly hard it is to be a student with a disability in this school system. So what can we do? Read the IEP’s, talk to the families and advocate for your students.

In class tis week we discussed the use of educational videos and technology in the classroom. As our society becomes more digitalized we are finding more and more instances of teachers using technology as a tool in their classrooms. Especially now during the pandemic with online school teachers are teaching their classes using technology such as zoom or even just pre recording lectures. Education technology especially video can be extremely helpful for students as it provides them with both visuals and the ability to stop, play, rewind and skip through the video so they are able to retain as much of the information as possible.

Something as simple as GIF’s can also be a learning tool: this website has many examples of educational GIF’s

This week we had another guest speaker, this time it was a man named Jeff Hopkins. He is the founder of and principal of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. This school is an inquiry based, independent school in Victoria, BC. It doesn’t follow the traditional curriculum and students are able to choose inquires based on what interests they have. As this is an independent school students are not marked in a traditional sense rather they are marked based on their achievement of the goals they set for themselves.I like that students have the ability to look into what interests them rather then just following a set curriculum. I like the idea of assessment they have at PSII a lot more then how we asses students in more traditional schooling as I believe all students are individual and as education isn’t linear and instead is an individual process students should be marked as such.

Link to their website

In class this week we had a special guest Trevor Mackenzie come and speak to us about free inquiry. I had already had some prior experience with his ideas around free inquiry as I had the privilege of being in his English class as well as a creative writing class when I was in high school. I always loved how passionate he was about free inquiry and it was wonderful to see how much further he had gone in his inquiry into the Field of Inquiry Based Learning. One of the things that stood out to me throughout his presentation were the numerous visuals he used, more specifically a visual depicting a swimming pool with the various depths correlating to different steps for the progression of inquiry, it shows that when approaching inquiry you can’t just throw students into the deep end you must guide and support them until they are able to attempt full free inquiry.

Unfortunately I was unable to class when my peers were given a demonstration of the various ways you can use photoshop as my power went out due to high winds. Thankfully I was able to meet with my learning pods and review the slides and have grasped the concepts taught.

As I am not super adapt at technology I was a bit worried about the topic of photoshop and imagined it would be quite difficult however it is quite simple to use powerpoint as a great resource for photo manipulation as you can easily insert photos.

In class this week we covered the topics of the public domain along with the importance of copyright and FIPPA. and how we as future educators need to be aware. We spent time in class gong over different website resources that can be easily integrated into the classroom.

For example when we talked about FIPPA we discussed how it was a BC policy that makes sure teachers are being responsible wit students sensitive personal information. It mentioned that in order for teachers to be able to share personal photos of students they need written consent of the parents. We also discussed FIPPA in relation to social media.

During the discussion of the public domain we talked about open resources. Open resources are where Fair Dealings laws allow individuals to use a section of copyright-protected work without permission. Creative Commons is a great example of an open resource. Creative commons is where educators and students can access photos and resources.

Something I learned during this class is that within the public domain after 75 years from the time a resource is produced all copyright is removed and it becomes free to use.