Guess who!? After ANOTHER hiatus I am jumping back into the blogging game 🙂 My blogging adventure has undergone many different chapters in my evolution as an educator; from my exploration as an education student (in my previous blog, Miss L’s Whole Brain Teaching), to getting my first teaching position and sharing the adventures of our classroom, to starting my Masters and sharing my learning, to now…. a M.Ed graduate and mommy to two! Here are some snapshots of the amazing milestones I’ve experienced since my last posts earlier this year: Master of Education – Curriculum & PedagogyBrandon… Read More
Summative Annotated Bibliography
The following is an annotated bibliography I created as part of my Graduate Summative Seminar course (I had previously shared my Graduate Portfolio here). This bibliography includes 20 entries that have been especially significant to me throughout my M.Ed journey. *I apologize for some of the formatting glitches that appear below in the embedded version. This issue should be resolved by viewing the document through Google Docs directly here.
Graduate Portfolio!
   After 21 years of formal education I am reaching the end of my current learning journey: my Masters degree! While I truly believe that education is a lifelong experience; I am very excited to celebrate this accomplishment! I know that I will begin another degree in the future (distant future; when my babies are in high school maybe) but for the time being I am concluding my journey at B.U. I have officially started my LAST class of my M.Ed, Graduate Summative Seminar, and have begun compiling evidence of my learning through this experience. This has perhaps been… Read More
Encouraging Student Voice Through Social Media
The following is an IGNITE-style presentation I created for my Internet for Teachers course. We were tasked with selecting a topic of our choice related to education and technology that could be presented within the framework of an IGNITE presentation. If you are not familiar with what an IGNITE presentation is, speakers are essentially asked to discuss a topic within a 5 minute time frame using a series of visuals that automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is fast-paced presentation that “ignites” the audiences’ thinking while requiring the speaker to think critically about their topic… Read More
Using Social Media for Online Learning
The following is a newsletter I created for my Introduction to Educational Administration course regarding the significance of social media and how it can be used by educators (specifically administrators) as a professional learning tool.
Reflecting on my Professional Learning Network (PLN)
When asked to reflect on my Professional Learning Network (PLN) for our Internet for Teachers course I must admit… I was frustrated and a little stuck on where to start. As someone who very purposefully began developing their PLN while in their undergrad degree I see my online networks as simply regular aspects of my life…. it was like asking me to reflect on the value of conversing with my colleagues while at work. So I started delving back into my blog posts to see how my PLN developed over the years and how my experiences… Read More
Internet for Teachers – Summary of Learning
The following is the summative project I created for my Internet for Teachers class. This narrative briefly summarizes some of the discussions we had throughout the course as well as highlights various tech tools that were shared through the semester. I can’t believe that the semester is already over as it seems like only last week I was sharing my thoughts on the beginning of the semester. What I enjoyed most about this course was being able to discuss the purpose behind educational technology and analyze aspects such as appropriate pedagogy, purpose, and affects. When I eventually complete my Masters… Read More
Why I Replaced Myself With A Machine
*This post has been written as part of my journey through my Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Planning through Brandon University This week our Internet for Teachers (#BU755) class looked at four different readings, two of which got me thinking about a recent change in my own classroom: JoolaLMS. (2017). Top experts predict what will transform elearning in 2017. Retrieved on November 21, 2017 from https://www.joomlalms.com/media/com_html5flippingbook/top_experts_predict_what_will_transform_elearning_2017.pdf New Media Consortium. (2017). NMC/CoSN horizon report > 2017 K-12 edition. Retrieved on November 21, 2017 from https://www.nmc.org/publication/nmccosn-horizon-report-2017-k-12-edition/ The first article identifies predictions from 14 different “ed tech” experts who share their… Read More
Internet for Teachers – Ed Tech “Meme”
Ed Tech Meme. (2017). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: https://fishbowlteaching.com//2017/11/internet-for-teachers-ed-tech-meme.html Source Picture: Kirsten Thompson (Oct 12, 2017). Source Quote: Erben, T., Ban, R., & Castañeda, M. E. (2009). Teaching English language learners through technology. New York: Routledge Quote Justification: I chose this quote because I strongly believe that technology is capable of providing learning opportunities for students that were previously unavailable. Whether that is as simple as “hooking” a disengaged student, establishing cross-curricular applications, collaborating with others, or sharing original content. Image Justification: This is an original image taken from my Grade 7 Social Studies classroom. Students were using… Read More
Principals on Social Media: Why Should You Get Online?
Schools can no longer be autonomous organizations that operate behind closed doors. Schools are held accountable by a wide spectrum of diverse stakeholders that includes everyone from student family’s and community members to divisional administration and governmental departments. As the leader of their building it is one of the principal’s primary objectives to communicate school information clearly and concisely with all stakeholders (Farrell, 1999, Parents & Community chapter, para. 7) (Ferriter, Ramsden, & Sheninger, 2011, p. 20) (Waxman, Boriack, Lee, & MacNeil, 2013, p. 191). One indicator of a principal’s managerial effectiveness relates to their ability to select… Read More