For the month of October I chose to do a mid month reflection and one final reflection on the month where as for the month of November I decided to only do one reflection at the end of the month. I wanted to do this to see if it had an impact on maintaining and staying with my goals or not. What I noticed was that with my mid month reflection it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my progress and potentially make changes to the things I was doing to achieve my goals. Where as when I waited until the end of the month I didn’t give myself as much of an opportunity to hold myself accountable. This also made it a bit harder to reach my goals as I did not have time to reflect and see if there was a better way of reaching these goals. I think that having mid month reflections for myself is the best route of tracking as it makes my resolutions feel more intentional. I think weekly reflections could help even more, but perhaps this could look like a checklist of some sort as opposed to an entire written reflection. For the month of December I may try out a weekly checklist to keep track of my resolutions and see how it works alongside my bi-weekly and end of month reflections.
Author: Juno (Page 1 of 3)
I am choosing to do my final reflection as an overall course reflection of Education Technology. When this course first started I was not too sure what to expect. My only experience with learning about technology was really only from what I had learnt throughout a process of successes and failures living in an online world. For example my social media platforms were always public in my teenage years and early 20’s until I remember looking my name up on google images and seeing photos I had posted on facebook shared publically. At that moment I changed all of my privacy settings with the hopes of this not happening again. This was a learning opportunity for me, however I hope for my students that they understand these platforms better to limit these type of situations to occur. In ed tech we talked alot about privacy, online learning and digital literacy as a whole. The word digital literacy was not really in my vocabulary and I did not quite understand what that word fully meant. After learning more about what digital literacy is (see week #5 blog post) and what it means I see the value of teaching students to become digitally literate and become well versed myself in how to navigate digital technology. I think as our society continues to expand online and digital technology becomes more apart of our day to day lives, safety and privacy online is something that is really important to teach students about so they can have positive experiences online.
One of my favourite speakers we had in was Cari Wilson who shared with us a fantastic presentation on artificial intelligence and digital technology. I did a weekly blog post (#4) that links some of the resources she shared with the class. A resource she shared was the Focus website which has a section on teaching students about AI. Their are lesson plans, slideshows, and activity recommendations provided for different age groups. I also really like something she touched on which was if we as teachers are using AI for our lesson plans but we are saying to students its unacceptable to use it, that goes against a lot of what most teachers strive to be which is honest, trustworthy, and fair. I think transperency with students is important on the topic of AI, and it doesn’t really seem fair if us teachers can use it but students are expected to not be able to. I think this is where the AI assesment tool could be helpful for classrooms to establish clear expecations and guidelines for teacher and student on appropriateness of using AI.
Overall this class has been much different than what I expected, which is a great thing! I have learnt more about how to be digitally literate, how to incorporate AI, and all of the complexities that come with classroom vs online teaching. I am also really happy and suprised at how many amazing useable resources I am leaving this course with! The lesson plans that Cari provided with the Focus resource are going to be extremely helpful moving forward, and all of the websites, documents and articles Valerie has shared throughout the course are going to be a huge asset as I develop my skills as a classroom teacher.
5 finger breathing is a tool used to help regulate your nervous system and bring you back to a more grounded state. This is a great tool to teach children about for when they are feeling overwhelmed and need help resetting. A really fun craft that you can do with your students to teach them about the 5 finger breathing method is to get them to make their own hand! Students can decorate it and keep it in their desk to use whenever. You can encorporate this with teaching students about the zones of regulation, encouraging them to use the 5 finger breathing when they are in the red, blue or yellow zone.
This video is a step by step on how to create your own hand for five finger breathing
This is a great video that shows children how to do the five finger breathing with their own hand
As teachers in the 21st century, we are faced with challenges and opportunities that technology provides. One of which is the importance of digital literacy. Not only is this something that is important to teach our students about, but it is especially important as teachers that we are well versed in how to be digitally literate. But what does digital literacy mean? Well in The BC’s Digital Literacy Framework document, digital literacy is defined as “the interest, attitude and ability of individuals to use digital technology and communication tools appropriately to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, and create and communicate with others.” (Government of BC, n.d.). In other words, it is the aquired knowledge of knowing how to use technology and the internet appropriately and safely. This encompasses many things but some examples are; social media platforms, video chatting platforms like zoom, AI platforms, blogs and websites.
The framework provided by the government of BC breaks down what key things students should learn to become digitally literate by age. This is a great framework to reflect on as it shows the progression students should aim to achieve when learning how to use digital technology.
Due to how much technology is apart of our world it is of great importance that we as teachers emphasize creating classrooms that are digitally literate. Social media is a huge part of most peoples lives and many young children get access to things like tik tok, instagram and snapchat in their middle school years. Instead of waiting to teach children about safe and appropriate usage of these platforms, we should start introducing these concepts prior to them obtaining accounts on the platform. This is where following the digital literacy framework and encorporating it into your classroom can be of a huge advantage to your students lives as they continue to grow with technology.
Artificial Intelligence is not going away anytime soon, if anything it is going to become more apart of our day to day lives as we advance further with technology. As teachers, this is a new challenge that we must learn how to navigate. Many teachers are against AI use in the classroom, and for good reason as it can lead to plagirism, and a decreased level of creativity with students work. However, instead of working against AI, we should teach our students how to use it responsibly and safely. Their has been recent stories in the news about teens using AI as a councellor of sorts, which resulted in poor advice and sadly even a passing of a student. This is why it is more important than ever to teach students about AI, how to use it, and when to use it.
In my Education Technology class we recently had a guest speaker, Cari Wilson, the current District VP of Innovation and Technology in West Vancouver. She spoke with us about AI usage in the classroom and provided us with some resources.
One of the resources she shared is from the Focued Education Resource site and it is a list of lesson materials for teaching students ages K-12 about AI. The materials are broken down into age groups, I looked at the booklet for ages K-3 and some of the topics touched on were teaching students how to identify natural vs artifial materials, how we learn, and understanding what artificial intelligence is. Each booklet provides teachers with a variety of lesson plans, instructional videos, slideshows, and recommended activites. This is a fabulous resource to use that is backed with great research and information for students.
Cari also has a public blog she created that shares current information and resources on Artificial Intelligence and technology resources. A really interesting blog post I read recently by her was “Do Addiction & Distraction Live In Your Classroom?”. This post touches on phone addiction and how it can create a major distraction in your classroom, especially for highschool students. She provided some recommended tips and ways to monitor this in your class and help create an environment of more engaged learning.
Google Gemini was another recommended resource from Cari for teachers. This can help with lesson planning, content creation, tracking students progress, and personalize learning. One thing to note about AI usage is privacy, and it is vital that we protect our students privacy. Sites like Chat GPT share the data that you input into its site, so student identities, like name and age must never be shared in sites like this. With Google Classroom it is a secure platform similar to Google Workplace, so none of the information inputted will be shared and is protected. With that being said, it is still important to be careful with what you upload onto the internet and into AI sites about your students. Personal information like a students address, school address or photos of the student should never be shared on any platform.
Overall AI has provided teachers with its challenges, but it has also given teachers an area of opportunity. It is important that we teach our students how to use AI responsibly to set them up for a digitally literate life.
More resources shared from Cari Wilson’s talk:
December 21st is the official start of winter with Winter Solstice signifying the beginning. I may not love the weather that comes with it, but I do enjoy the cozy ways of living during the winter. I like to use the winter season as a time to reflect on the year and take extra time to care for myself. I actually stumbled upon an article written by CBC that talks about the importance of the winter season for Indigenous Peoples. The content of the article really resonated with me and so for my November Resolutions I am creating goals based off of the suggested practices for the winter season.
- Practice Mindfulness and Caring for Mental Health: With the shorter, darker days, Winter can be a challenging time. Many people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and so with that it is especially important to care for yourself in this season. This month I want to make an effort to practice mindfulness and gratitude, I have a journal called “The Five Minute Journal” and at the beginning and end of your day you write three things your grateful for, three things that would make today and a daily affirmation. At the end of the day you write three highlights from the day and what you learnt. I used to use this book a lot and stopped writing in it a couple years back. My goal is to try using this book again every day and at the end of the month I want to see how it has impacted me, if any!
- Learn a New Skill: I love candles, and I spend so much money on buying new candles because I burn through them like crazy! For December I want to learn how to make my own candles! I’m really excited for this one because with Christmas coming up it will make great gifts for my friends and family (if all goes well haha!).
- Make Soups: Soups in the winter are a staple, and I would love to learn how to make more soups! This will help with my previous goal of proper nutrition as well as I can easily freeze or meal prep soups that I can grab and heat up quickly. A soup i’m interested in making is the “Three Sisters Soup” which uses corn, beans, and squash, three foods that are a staple in Indigenous diets and carry medicinal and cultural teaching properties.
The month of November was extremely busy! School is coming to an end and with that comes due dates and a list of assignments to complete. My work was also very busy and so it resulted in me working a full time job while going to school. But with that being said – I did it! The goal setting for me this month was crucial and I think it actually helped me from burning out. Keeping myself accountable for my personal well being and reminding myself to take time, rest and take care of my physical health was an integral part of getting through this month.
Get 8 hours of sleep every night: I’ve learnt a lot about the effects of sleep on your mental and physical well being and so my goal this month was to ensure I was getting the sleep that I needed!
Successes…
- I reduced some of my hours at work to ensure that I was getting home and getting to sleep on time. Although their were still some late nights, this really helped with managing my sleep and making sure I was resting enough.
Areas for improvement…
- I have a bad habit of when I get home from work scrolling on my phone to wind down. This ends up causing me to stay up even later than I should be and have a harder time falling asleep! I do think after work I need a moment to wind down before hopping right into bed – what I’ve been trying to do instead is colour or read a bit of my book to allow my body to slow down and understand that it’s time to rest.
Take care of my physical health: With the increased workload I expected for November I knew my physical health could take a turn with the added stress so I really wanted to ensure I was properly caring for myself.
Successes…
- I went to a naturopath for the first time and it was amazing! I learnt so much about myself and how to view my health more holistically. I was given a health plan and a list of vitamins to take to help boost my immune system. The naturopath I went to was at Advanced Womens Health in Victoria, I would highly recommend them to anyone!
Areas for improvement…
- I did fall ill a few times in the month of November, which is expected this time of the year. My naturopath visit was also closer to the end of the month so I learnt I wasn’t taking the right vitamins I probably should have been this month! But going into December I’m looking forward to starting on this new health journey and seeing where it takes me!
Schedule down time: With being busy it is very easy to get a bit lost in that and forget about how important it is to nurture yourself! I really wanted to focus on scheduling time on my own or with family and friends to recharge.
Successes…
- I had a couple weekends away with family which were so restorative. One weekend we went up to Port Renfrew and stayed in a cabin, roasted marshmellows on the fire and made really nice home cooked meals. This was such a great time and it was really nice breaking up the screen time with so much studying to a bit of nature time with family.
- Another weekend away was a recent one with my partner in Vancouver. We stayed at the Fairmont Pacific Rim for one night for my partners birthday, got massages at the spa, went through a nordic spa circut, ate some delicious food and got to enjoy some rest while checking out the city! At the nordic spa I did 5 minutes in the 8 degree cold plunge and 1 minute in the ice bath that was supposedly 4 degrees so that was a major win for me!
Areas for improvement…
- Sometimes I find it hard to fully disconnect and recharge at home. There are so many distractions whether thats being able to easily access my computer to do school work or notice that something needs tidying and so I will start doing that. I think it’s important for me moving forward to ensure that I allow myself to fully recharge and enjoy the stillness of being at home with a movie or book.
Overall November was a major success, although it was busy and I felt at times overwhelmed I really noticed how having a monthly goal really impacted my mental and physical well being.
Looking ahead at the month of November I see a very busy month. Managing school full time as well as work will have its challenges and so I want to prepare myself for the month to come. Due to my current job and trying to structure it around school, I often work very late hours which results in a loss of sleep. For the month of November I want to try and focus on sleep quality, managing my physical health and make an effort to give myself down time to recharge. Instead of doing a mid month reflection like I did for October I will be doing a beginning goal setting (this post) and a end of month reflection. I would like to compare both methods to see the pro’s and con’s of doing a mid month reflection!
- Get 8 hours of sleep every night: This one is going to be a hard one to achieve as my work hours sometimes do not allow me to have a full 8 hours of sleep.
- Take care of my physical health: Other than excercise and nutrition I would like to learn about other ways I can take care of my body, whether that’s vitamins, or specific types of food, but things that will help my body feel its best.
I’m using the articles I referenced in my October Resolutions about women’s health to help achieve my health goals and needs
- Schedule down time: This will be the most important one I think. Because of how busy November looks, it will be very important that I schedule time for myself to recharge in order to manage the busy period!
It is the end of October so it is time to reflect on my resolution’s I created for myself this month. My resolutions are in detail here October Resolution, but I will go through them individually to reflect on my successes and area’s of improvement.
Time Management: this month I really wanted to focus on my time management specifically in terms of school. I think this is an important skill that I master before becoming a full teacher as teaching requires a high level of time management skills.
Successes…
- I started to use my apple calendar and reminders app to schedule in time slots of when I need to work on different assignments and tasks. This has helped with budgeting my time better!
Areas for improvement…
- I am on the hunt for a better app that I can use simultaneously with my apple calendar, because now with scheduling in specific time slots for school, it looks a bit overwhelming with so many events happening in a day. My thought is to have my apple calendar be my personal calendar and find another app for school specific. This could be useful for work in the future as well.
- Although I have found that I’ve been able to get ahead of my coursework, my school/work/life balance has suffered a bit. Because I have been so focused on getting ahead, even when it’s not necessary, I have lacked on spending time with my friends, family or putting aside personal time for myself.
Excercise: my goal for this month was to take 20 classes in the month of October at Lagree to hit my fitness goals and hopefully win some of the fun prizes they are giving away this month!
Successes…
- I hit 20 classes today! I feel so much stronger than I did at the beginning of the month and am feeling very proud of myself for sticking with it!
- Although classes tend to be a bit more expensive than having a gym membership, I find signing up for a class and paying for it holds me accountable to show up and do the work!
Area’s for improvement…
- Taking 20 classes in one month was quite a lot, not so much on my physical body, more so just with managing my time. It did force me to do something for myself 5 times a week but I think for November I will probably go down to 8-10 classes a month. I work on top of going to school, so often I don’t get much downtime. I found in October I really didn’t have much extra time at all because of how busy I was keeping with work, school and then fitness classes on top of that. In the future I would love to get back to going 15-20 times a month but I think it’s important I give myself a bit more free time right now so I don’t burn out.
Proper Nutrition: I think as many people going to university may feel, it can be challenging ensuring that you are getting proper nutrition. My goal for this month was to try and meal prep and cook at eat at home as much as I could!
Successes…
- I started making protein smoothies in the morning and tried to add extra greens and vitamins in it to get some extra nutrition. I noticed this helped with my energy through the day!
- I made a concious effort of when eating out to try and go for healthy options. (One thing to note on this is that eating healthy out is expensive! It makes sense why students have poor nutrition as a salad is 3x the price of a slice of pizza!)
Area’s for improvement…
- I definitely did not hit my goals of meal prepping and eating at home like I wanted to. I notice that I am always running out the door whether that’s to school or work so it would be good to have high protein, healthy foods that I can quickly grab. Some ideas for this are turkey pepperoni, protein smoothies, veggie’s and hummus, and meal prepped salads! A continuing goal will be ensuring that I am focusing on getting proper nutrition in and having quick meals I can grab easily!
This book bundle is listed on the Strong Nations website, it is a bundle that features books, artwork, cards and stuffies all related to Indigenous outdoor education. Althought the bundle is quite expensive, you can buy individual parts of the bundle, or you could try and source them at your school library. Outdoor education and learning about the land is a great way to bring Indigenous ways of knowing into your classroom. It can be very holistic, encorporating the mind, body and spirit through exploration of the outdoor world.
Classroom Ideas:
One of the book included in this bundle talks about the four seasons, this could be a great resource for talking to the students about weather and change of seasons!