On Swimming and the Miscellaneous

On Swimming

I can’t swim.  It is one my biggest regrets in life.  I have tried to take lessons as an adult and I am now an adequate floater and can thrash around quite a bit to move around but I am not a graceful swimmer with elegant strokes that cut through the water.  But here in ETMOOC, I have had to dive into the deep end.  Not just a small dive with knees tucked, but an ugly belly flop with my eyes tightly closed.  But by diving right in, I have been forced to navigate through a sea of blog posts, twitter comments, and Blackboard Collaborate sessions.  I have to admit, I might not be graceful in swimming through this sea but I am starting to enjoy it.  My favourite thing so far is the Blackboard Collaborate sessions.  I love hearing the speakers and being able to see everyone’s ideas on the whiteboard.  The topics have been thought provoking and make my head hurt in a good way. 

On Sharing

This week’s session with Dean Shareski (@shareski) left me with many key points to ponder.  The one that I took back to my classroom with me and immediately shared with my Grade 6’s was that sharing is a responsibility in learning.  Even though we have touched on this topic may times in the class, some students still feel that others look at their work to “copy.”  We discussed sharing versus copyright of original materials and how all good ideas begin by a spark from someone else’s idea. 

On Accountability

One idea that has not left my mind is that in Finnish, there is no word for “accountability” and instead the word “responsibility” is used.  This made me think about the mandatory FSA (Foundation Skills Assessment) Tests that are being administered this week at my school.  Hmmm… Who are we holding accountable with this kind of test and what are the results supposed to lead us to?  These tests, given to the grade fours and sevens, also block off any computer and iPad time from being used by any other classes in the entire school.  We are discouraged from using the internet during these two weeks because it will slow the server down for the testing.  So, we put some of our teaching on hold.  Who is being accountable or responsible for the missed learning here? 

My Goal

I am a lurker.  I have been lurking on Twitter without being a true contributer.  I have been absorbing other people’s ideas.  But now I would like to grow and to contribute.  I am on the edge about to change from the lurker to contributer. 

Like the video “Ordinary to You, Amazing to Others”, I, too, feel my ideas are just ordinary, since I am in the company of so many people whose starting point of knowledge in the educational technology world far surpasses mine.  I am so far behind in the starting line that I can’t even see their shadowy figures in the distance.  But, since I will only get out what I put into ETMOOC, I will try to contribute. 

What do I want to get out of ETMOOC?  Learn some new tools to use for digital storytelling, increase my PLN and basically absorb everyone’s ideas and they may lead me to some new goals.  

Wow.  Those are more goals than I thought I had.  Well, I better keep on thrashing through the sea of ETMOOC if I am to achieve any of those goals.  Maybe I will meet you somewhere out there in the great blue beyond.  

Making My Learning Visible

After quite a whirlwind of a week, I feel like I can finally take a breath.  There were many challenges to overcome before I could answer the question, "How do I make my learning visible?"  Actually let me rephrase that...There was much learning I had to do before I could share it with the world.

I learned about Blackboard Collaborate.  I learned I cannot use it with Windows 8 and I cannot use it with my MacBook Pro OSX because I use Chrome, but I can access it on my iPad.

I learned that even if I miss a Blackboard Collaborate session, I can access it on the ETMOOC archives.

I learned a lot about other teachers around the world by reading and viewing their introductions.  I learned about Google+ and Google Circles. By learning about other teachers, I learned about ways to digitally share information.  I decided to explore some of these ways.  I was intrigued by Haiku Deck and decided to play with it.

Here is my HaikuDeck about my learning journey.
(I hope this link works :)

My Learning Journey


Haiku Deck is the best application for creating presentations on iPad

My First Post Ever! Introduction for ETMOOC

My Rambling Intro:

     Wow!  I never thought I would get this far.  It has been such a journey for me to be able to be here, where I am introducing myself in my own blogpost (!) for a MOOC.  My name is Jas and I am a newbie, a newbie to technology use in my classroom that is.  That almost sounds like a confession to my own ears, but it is the truth.  Just four short months ago, I did not have a website for my classroom to communicate with parents.  I attended one workshop in August at Hillcrest Elementary which turned my teaching upside down.  I was introduced to this wonderful world of educators and new ideas on Twitter.  Now Twitter just introduced me to ETMOOC just last night.  At that time I wondered to myself, "What the heck is a MOOC?"  After a quick search on the topic, I knew I had to be part of ETMOOC and learn from other educators.  So here I am, posting an introduction to my very own blog!

My Short and Sweet Intro:

     I am an elementary school teacher who job shares in two classes.  Most of my week is spent with a wonderful class of Grade 6 students and on my Fridays I am with an energetic Kindergarten class.  I take care of two classes at school, two rambunctious boys at home and I love learning new things and meeting new people.

ETMOOC Tasks

I look forward to an interesting learning journey through ETMOOC.  I see the list of things I need to accomplish to be a part of this learning community and I am trying to check all the boxes to complete all of the tasks.  They seem daunting and I feel like I face a steep learning curve but I am excited as well.  I have already missed the Welcome and Orientation and will be teaching during the repeat session, but I hope to catch up soon.

Deep breath.  I can do it.