Category: Weekly Reflections

I think the future of education belongs in nature. I made this AI image with that in mind and I really like it. It reminds me of an image pulled right out of a storybook, it’s a magical scene.

It’s important to remember how magical education is, and by bringing nature into the curriculum we can reinvigorate our classroom.

There is a quote I heard once and have never forgotten. This quote guides my learning and what type of teacher I want to be, and I would like to leave this class with this in mind.

“We teach you the rules, so you can break them properly”

anonymous

I feel way out of my depth when it comes to coding. I was hoping that our lecture today would show me how I can incorporate coding into my classroom, but I still don’t feel like I could. There is so much lingo and information that I felt lost.

Often, when there is a large topic I really don’t understand, I look to see if Crash Course has a video or playlist available, and in this case, I’m right!

The only time I have done any coding is with Twine. About a month and a half ago in my Multiliteracies class, I was introduced to Twine. Twine is a platform that uses simple coding to create a choose-your-adventure style story. During that workshop, I started to write a story featuring a Dungeons and Dragons character I play named Wilco. When I could use coding in a minimal way, and create a story about a character already love, it made it much more accessible. I’ve added to the story and attached the link to the Twine here.

http://twinery.org/2/#/stories/7e69ea92-d9e1-4d61-8bc0-d4bf0852160d/play

All in all, I think I need to become more comfortable with coding before I can think to bring it into a French class. So I better get started on that playlist now. 😉

P.S. If you want to learn more about world-building, check out my post on World Anvil in my Free Inquiry category.

Today in class we were fortunate to have Chantelle Morvay zoom in to talk to us about technology and accessibility in schools. She is the secretary for BC EdAccess, a volunteer-run organization that supports learners and the parents of learners with learning disabilities and exceptionalities. As of now, they have over 5000 members all across BC.

One part that really stuck out to me from the presentation was the discussion of accessing supports for students. She mentioned the challenge of getting psycho-educational assessments for students. Either they need to cross their fingers and hope they are chosen from the school or cough up the 3000 dollars to have it done themselves.

I was also shocked to hear about how many ways and how frequently students with disabilities are excluded from school. It seems so insane that in this day and age somehow schools and districts are able to get away with overt discrimination based on ability. In particular, because of some of the ways students are excluded seems to be an easy fix. But even if it wasn’t, it is part of the Professional Standards for BC Educators that we “respect and value the diversity in (our) their classrooms, schools, and communities.” So I do not understand how parents are not provided with the information necessary to ensure their child is safe at school. Or that a student could be excluded from a class because the materials are not adapted.

With all that said, I am excited to see how we as new teachers can ensure everyone under our care is receiving inclusive education. Below is a Ted Talk by Shelley Moore called “The Importance of Assuming Competence”. She also has several shorter videos about inclusive education that are linked below.

At work, I tutor international students who are learning English while completing the IB program. Despite the fact I have been learning a second language since I was 12, I have gained a new appreciation for how challenging language learning is. The students I tutor complete all of their classes in English, so they are doing twice the work in every class. So I think it is important to remind them that learning a new language doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can open you up to new cultures, stories, and worlds.

In my undergraduate degree I completed a minor in Film Studies, and I plan to use film and TV regularly in my classroom. I think it is a fantastic way to bring different dialects, and cultures into the language classroom. But one problem that comes up is what language to put the subtitles in. If I use subtitles in the students’ first language, students will simply read that and not be able to make the connection between the two languages. On the other hand, if it is in the same language as the film, they may not understand the film. That’s where Language Reactor, a Chrome extension comes into play.

Language Reactor will pop up in Netflix and provide both the translation language (language the viewer speaks fluently) and the Netflix subtitle language (the language the viewer is learning) simultaneously. This allows the viewer to make direct connections between both languages while still understanding what is happening. But Language Reactor is so much more powerful that than. The viewer can also click on any word and get a direct translation, hear it out loud, and save it for later.

Here is a video that shows this awesome resource in action.

And here is the link to the extension.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/language-reactor/hoombieeljmmljlkjmnheibnpciblicm

I am currently working as a tutor for a school that has many international students. Although I help them with any homework they may have, we mostly work on their English. This past weekend I was working with a student on a Science 10 assignment about force. Now I like to think I remember my Science 10 fairly well, but I’d be lying if I said I needed a bit of a refresher. What was so fantastic about this assignment is that it was supported by an online simulator. This was so helpful because we didn’t need to have a shared language to understand. The clear representation of force made the assignment more accessible to her.

Here is the link to the force simulator. https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/forces-and-motion-basics/latest/forces-and-motion-basics_en.html

This ties into today’s discussion in class about the multimedia learning hypothesis. My teachable is French, and one technique for language learning is to reduce as much of the students’ first language as possible. One way this can be achieved is by showing images instead of translation. For example, if a student asks what fromage means, we can show them an image of cheese, instead of saying cheese.

Here is a vocabulary sheet I made on Canva to help with vocabulary about travel!

Today we discussed digital curation which made me think about how many resources I have gathered over the past two months, that are all simply written down in my notebooks. For this week’s reflection, I am going to compile a list of all the resources and ideas I have been given so far. Ideally, I will continue to add to it as I go through the program.

Language Learning Resources

• https://livenupyourlanguageclass.weebly.com/
  • A website filled with games for language learning.
• https://www.languagereactor.com/
• https://www.maniemusicale.info/
  • https://www.youtube.com/user/swetlikoenero/playlists?app=desktop
• https://www.shareedbc.ca/
  • I will only have access to this once I have a district email.
• Shauna Néro: “Francophone music resources”
  • https://create.kahoot.it/profiles/cea2b03a-715c-4619-8859-c276540b88c1
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VxAaWtS2Qan9rBPQpeILQgge1t1CUMnX/view?usp=sharing
• Rome Lavrencic: “How to get your students to parlez-vous en français.”
  • https://www.bctf.ca/classroom-resources/details/enigmas-(en-fran%C3%A7ais)
• BCTF Classroom Resources
  • https://www.bctf.ca/classroom-resources/professional-development-teaching-resources-search?subject=core-french

Classroom Resources

• https://www.commonsense.org/

This is what I have for now, looking forward to adding more as I go!

Today in class we discussed EdCamps, which introduced me to a new format I had never thought about before! Below is a video that explains how it works.

I particularly enjoyed this format because it gives the students the power to discuss what they want, and what is important to them. I’ve discovered that I like teaching methods that are very hands-off, and give the students as much freedom as possible, while still staying on task.

I can see this used in French class by discussing different Francophone countries or cultures. I also thought this would make a good format for a review day. For example, if we had an upcoming test on verb tenses, students could decide what was most important for them to review. Then they could work together to study or even answer problems provided by the teacher.

I also appreciate how Michael demonstrated how the EdCamp method could be used in class, by having us participate in an EdCamp!

I have used Canva for the past few years, and over the summer I used it extensively to create posters for the school I EA for. I love Canva since it is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. I plan to use Canva to create posters to decorate my classroom. Below is a series of alphabet posters I made for a French class, that shows how to pronounce each letter in French. I have also attached an activity I did in my methods class where we needed to make a worksheet, and I chose to use Canva. As I create more resources on Canva, I will continue to add them here.

I can’t wait to keep creating more and more for the future classrooms I will work in!