Post #1: Introduction
About Me
Hello everyone! My name is Sarah and I am a secondary Science and Math teacher in Eastern Ontario. I am a long time UOIT student starting in 2006 when I began my concurrent B.Sc/B.Ed degree which concluded in 2011. When I started with my school board as an occasional teacher in 2012 I decided to pursue a master's degree on the side. Little did I know I would be teaching full time only months after I began my first masters course. The completion of my masters became more of a challenge than I had originally expected but has been very rewarding so far. This is my 8th course in the M.Ed program and I look forward to learning with you all!
Why Blogger?
I have only made one blog previously (using Blogger) for a another M.Ed course. As much as I enjoy learning new technologies I would prefer to become more proficient in one blogging platform rather than learning how to use a new one. I also like how Blogger is a google product and is convenient to access along with other google services such as gmail and google docs. As I become more experienced with blogging I hope to explore some other blogging technologies.
Why EDUC 5105?
Constructivist learning theory is a concept that I first became familiar with in my B.Ed. Throughout the past four years of teaching the idea of inquiry based learning has been one that I have tried to incorporate into my pedagogy. I feel that technology is a very important piece of constructivism and inquiry based learning as it allows students to easily collect and gather new information. I'm interested in exploring different digital tools that I can incorporate into my teaching practice to support the aforementioned instructional strategies.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteGood point about moving around to different blogging platforms. I have my students set up on blogger, which they find quite manageable. I was using Wix for my teaching resume/portfolio but then decided to try Weebly for this class. Moving all over the place definitely takes time but I am confident that Weebly has been my easiest transition thus far.
Looking forward to working with you!
Aynsley
Hi Sarah! Look forward to working with you on this course. Sounds like we are about in the same place in the program, as I'm working on my 8th and 9th course this semester. I too connect with the Constructivist theory whereby learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas based upon their current/past knowledge. Leveraging learners' experiences in the classroom and building upon those experiences can have very positive results for all the learners.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! Look forward to working with you on this course. Sounds like we are about in the same place in the program, as I'm working on my 8th and 9th course this semester. I too connect with the Constructivist theory whereby learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas based upon their current/past knowledge. Leveraging learners' experiences in the classroom and building upon those experiences can have very positive results for all the learners.
ReplyDeleteHi Janet,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I feel that teachers or people who have experienced first hand the power of constructivist learning theory are more likely to see it as a valuable theory and work to incorporate it into their practice. It is interesting that we are both in a similar place in the program but have very different professional backgrounds. I didn't realize BMO had their own Corporate University! Would the students all be current employees of BMO who are taking part in training? I too have just got on board with the adult colouring trend (I recieved a colouring book and new markers from my mom for Christmas). I look forward to learning with you this semester and best of luck with your other course as well; I can't imagine doing 2 courses at the same time while working full time!
Hi Aynsley,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to hear from somebody who has tried a few different blogging platforms and which ones they like best. I like the look and format of the weebly blog (that I see you have used). I am very envious of the technology that you have available to you at your school! My school has one set of ipads (however a set is 15 and some classes have 30 students) and a set of 15 chromebooks. The school board I work for is also moving forward with the BYOD (device) model and slowly encouraging the use of personal mobile devices for supporting learning. I look forward to learning with you throughout the course!