Category: EDCI 336

This week we talked about distributed learning. I think this was a very appropriate topic due to our current circumstances. We talked about the differences between asynchronous and synchronous classes. We also talked about how online learning has affected us but also how we have benefited from it. Personally, I hated online school at first. I thought it was super ineffective and that I would not feel the same motivation as I would get from actually attending real classes. However, I was proved wrong. Even though I have never met most of the people in my cohort, I feel comfortable conversing with them. I know everyone’s names, and can recognize their faces! It is amazing how much the breakout rooms allowed/ forced us to get to know each other. Another thing was that online school has allowed me so much more time to work and go to the gym. I have class everyday, work four days a week and go to the gym 5 days a week for at least 1.5 hours. This would not have been possible if school was in person this year. I was really able to get on track with my diet, and healthy lifestyle which I am so happy about!

This week we had a speaker, Chantelle, join us to talk about how kids with disabilities access technology and how important it is that we help to adapt to their learning styles. I found it really interesting that Chantelle opened up about her own life as a mother, she descried what sorts of learning challenges her two sons faced and how she helped them overcome these challenges through technology. She mentioned that both of them had very messy handwriting due to being uncoordinated, therefore using a keyboard so they could type or using voice to text was something that she found helped her kids greatly. Personally, I see that their are quite a few students in my observation class that are not as quick as the other students, have trouble reading at the right level and find writing difficult and tiresome. So after hearing about Chantelle’s students I started to think about how it must be like for those students in my class that always need an extra boost of support. What kind of strategies and supports has my mentor teacher integrated into their learning to help them learn better? I know that some of them use Chromebooks to help them type,  and use voice to text to write. However, are there other better solutions for them? My inquiry for 250 is based on how one to one support between a struggling students and a teacher is very important so I think that kids who are struggling really benefit from having that one on one time with their teacher. It is very difficult for a teacher to find time to help every students that is having trouble in math, or writing etc. So  I was thinking that maybe there is some sort of online tutoring platform that can be accessed through iPads or Chromebooks and gives students step by step support on any subjects they are having issues with. With this, they can move at their own pace and the teacher could also keep track of their progress and really see where the students weaknesses lie and are able to double up on support for that area. Overall I found her presentation really informative and interesting! It was really great getting to hear what my peers thought about the topics as well.

This week Michael took a different approach in how we ran our zoom class. Instead of informing and educating us on resources and technological aspects of learning he placed into Ed Camp sessions. We had the freedom to create and choose our own topics of interest that were related to education which was really great. I chose to join a group that talked about the effectiveness of inquiry based learning. I thought this was a very interesting and relevant topic because of all the inquiry assignments were are completing in our classes currently. I noticed that when I was talking to the other students before this class about the inquiry projects they said that they have never done a project on inquiry before. Many of them has said “in my 12 years of schooling I have never heard of the term inquiry used in the classroom”.

Personally I did two inquiry project in grades 6 for science and 7 for a social studies lesson but have had no experience with it other than that. So then the question arose, why are we suddenly doing so many inquiry projects now when we had never done them in grade school? We talked about how the freedom of this type of learning is almost to the point where there are not enough structural guidelines to keep moving forward. Traditionally school is where the teachers gives the students clear instructions and expectations and the students work within these boundaries, but with inquiry this all goes out the window. Many of us said we prefer the more instructional approach to learning so that the kids know exactly what is expected of them and always feel that their learning is being supported  by their teacher. However, inquiry is great in that it allows students to delve into what they think is important, relevant and interesting. Thich is extremely important because it means the students are venturing out on their own and exploring topics that really entice them. We also talked about how inquiry may be learning style that is more effective for older students in grades 6 and up who are able to create questions and make connections on their own.

Overall this lesson was very interactive and allowed me to hear my fellow classmates thoughts and ideas around learning through inquiry. I hope we can do this type of session again one day!