If I Could be a Student for One Semester...

-
Today I decided that I want to go back to high school so that I can take some tech classes. I spent the day with a group of communication technology teachers who were meeting to share and learn about some of the toys and tools available to them. My role today was to support the teachers' introduction to GAFE by providing login support and demonstrating a few of the tools (forms, Classroom, docs). Easy, right? Nope. I has some serious competition.

Representatives from Canon were on hand to demonstrated some of the features of their XA camcorder. The demonstration of the functionality of this camera made me seriously consider whether I had something I needed to make a documentary about right now. For instance, maybe I need to show people how to use GAFE on their smartphones whilst rollerskating on the waterfront trail. That might be useful, right?

The TriCaster was another gorgeous piece of equipment on display. I had never been exposed to this type of equipment before, and the possibilities it offered for broadcasting events were mind-blowing. Wouldn't it be great to cover a school event and intersperse the live feed with live or pre-recorded interviews (shot in front of a green screen, of course), commercials (made by me ahead of time), colour commentary, participant bios, and shots of the audience? Mindblowing.

The granddaddy of technology show-and-tell items today was a GoPro camera attached to a drone. It was like something out of a James Bond movie. It is flown with a remote control, knows how to return 'home' if it runs low on power, and has terrific image stabilization. Is this a gadget that everyone needs? No. Is this a gadget that inspires people to think big? Absolutely.

Today I am left thinking about what I would do if I were in high school right now. Tech seems like the place to be for anyone with a creative streak. The tools at students' fingers allow them to realize a larger artistic vision than students in the past were able to. So, what would I be creating if I was a student in Comm Tech right now? Only a secondment from my secondment would let me answer that question. I wonder if my bosses would let me go back to school for just one semester...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Unit Gradeless in 12U Chem, Part 2

-
Image
OK, so it has been about a week since the last brain dump ...time for another. Lots of turkey between then and now. :) I hope everyone had a restful weekend. Last time, I left off explaining that my grade 12 students and I were going to come to a consensus about a grade that represents their learning in the first chemistry unit. For this to happen, the students and I each had some homework to do first: Students completed a self-assessment based on the overall learning goals for the unit, assigning themselves a level (1-4) for each item. After that, they had the option of assigning themselves a grade or grade range) that they felt represented their learning so far. Using my data (from product, conversation, and observation) I assigned each student a grade range based on their progress (75-80, 80-85, etc.)  Students submitted their self-assessments to me so that I had time to read their comments. The majority of students in my two classes have submitted their self-assessments f
Read more

First Unit Gradeless in 12U Chem, Part 1

-
Image
I would love to write a very long blog post right now, but just don't have the time, so I'm going to try to share what's been happening in a few 'shorter' posts (they won't actually be short, because I don't have time this week to edit them down to their essences...so I hope you don't mind if it feels more like a train of thought). Student Point of View so Far At the end of last week my grade 12 students had come to the 'end' of their electrochemistry unit having not received a single grade. I used single point rubrics to give feedback on their lab reports and written & verbal feedback for our quick quizzes and the unit test. On Friday my students were asked to complete a very brief survey with a single question. Question: What are your reflections about our gradeless classroom so far? Be honest and open. This survey is anonymous. I currently have about 50 students in this course, and the responses from students varied. Here are som
Read more

Midterm Reflections: #BIT17, PD Day, Midterms, Student Feedback, and Tracking Observations

-
Image
I've got an hour to spare and need to get caught up on this blog (not a little bit, a 'lotta' bit, as my daughter would say)...it is hard to express how busy October and November have been, personally and professionally, but I am determined to remain committed to writing about (and reflecting on) my teaching and learning this year. (In other words, WAY too early in the year to fall off the blogging bandwagon!) This post contains: #BIT17, PD Day, Midterms, Student Feedback, and Tracking Observations/Conversations Scroll down to the part you want to read...it's a very long post! :)  November 9-10 at #BIT17 Conference It was wonderful to return to BIT this year, but so different than the last three years because I was leaving my classroom. Preparing for the conference while planning for my absence had my mind spinning a bit. I was presenting on work that I had done in the last two years as STEAM coordinator on the Program and Innovation team. This work was ver
Read more