The Loft

2016

Learning in The LOFT: A Teacher's Reflection

08:37

Learning in The LOFT: A Teacher's Reflection

posted on behalf of Bridget Rigg-Anderson

The Loft is truly inspires teachers and students to be curious, innovative and reflective learners.

BreakoutEDU - In September I attended the BreakoutEDU PD offered by the creators of BreakoutEDU. During that PD, in collaboration with Keith Ferrell, the G3 Tech Coach, we wrote our own Breakout focused on paragraph writing. All G3 teachers used our Breakout with their classes. The class offered by the LOFT gave me the opportunity to refine our Breakout. I am now in the process of planning a second one using Google Maps for the G3 Village Called Earth social studies unit being taught second semester.

Minecraft - This session gave me "street-cred" with my students as I can now speak a tiny smidgen of Minecraft. As far as using Minecraft to help the students write, nope, it isn't going to happen. I’m sure that teachers can turn Minecraft into a valuable writing teaching tool, but I’m just not that teacher.

Sheets: Part 2 - I have been able to apply some of the shortcuts that I learned to my spreadsheets. I can now colorcode cells and use the basic averaging formula. I still need a lot more of guided practice using the formulas to effectively use Sheets. I don’t yet speak Sheets.

Coding - Thanks for sharing different learning to code sites for students. My homeroom students and I thoroughly enjoy the challenges of coding. Even when frustrated, no one wants to stop. Six of my math students were able to achieve "Coding Certificates" during the Hour of Code this year. I'm contemplating offering a Coding EASA next school year. I figured it would be a win-win situation where I would be both a facilitator and a learner.

Virtual Reality - The LOFT class on VR was my second exposure to this very interesting technology. I plan on using VR in the upcoming Village Called Earth Unit. I hope to take my students on journeys to arid landscapes, inside schools, and to hospitals to reflect on how people meet their basic needs.

*Screencasting - Although I didn't officially attend this class, my darling husband, James, shared with me what he learned. I have since made a screencast to help my students transfer their NF books in Google Drive to pdfs to upload in Flipsnack. The kids loved the screencast and I loved not having to repeat the same directions multiple times.

Reflection

17:31

Break Out

This was a most fascinating session as I experienced what it was like to experience the DSLO’s firsthand! We had to communicate our ideas and listen to those of others. Additionally, we had to collaborate and build on each others ideas in order to unlock keys. Critical thinking was important as we had to use use clues to get us to the next level.

I did not expect to be that engaged and vested in this session as I did. I enjoyed taking risks - sharing my thinking with the other participants - as we all were struggling to unlock a key.

I tremendously enjoyed thinking ‘outside the box’ and having to test my ideas. This is a type of thinking that is not often practiced in a school setting, so this was very refreshing!

This type of activity might seem challenging for the kids who are not comfortable taking, however, with the support of the group, the students might learn the intrinsic joy that comes with getting a step closer to unlocking a lock!

Data Spreadsheets

This was an amazing session in that it gave me great many tools to use for my current spreadsheets. These tools included how to:

Split contents of a cell into columns (I used to re-write them simply because I had no other idea how to do it).

Enter specific data via Data Validation. I now have a drop down menu from which to chose data from.

Freezing columns and rows was another ‘ah ha’ moment as I often scrolled up and over to see what the columns/rows header was!

Getting more advanced in the power of the spreadsheet, I learned to apply a formula: sum and average to calculate just that! Adding “(iferror (xyz), “ “) was another great tidbit of valuable information.

I am planning on using these tools in the spreadsheets I am currently working with in grade 5. Mariel and I make them to help us determine what group they belong into and I think I can use the tools learned today to help me achieve this goal.

Coding

Another session that combined hands-on experiences with fun. Using Sphero, we had to program the sphere to follow a pre-designed course. It was in the programming where I had to be a ‘computational thinker’ and program the sphere to roll in a certain direction, with a certain speed for a certain time. I quickly learned to manipulate one of these variables to get from the starting line to the first base. I also had to work with angles by telling the sphere to move in a certain direction in a certain angle. It was a trial and error experience. Luckily, I made it back to homebase!

I could see this activity being a high-interest one to use in the classroom. Students would learn the value of only manipulating one variable at a time, thus reinforcing the science concept of ‘fair testing.’ Additionally, kids learn about angles, time and speed.

Furthermore, I could see this coding toy being used to have groups of kids maneuver an obstacle courses and having competitions with other groups. The skill of collaboration would be important as kids work on navigating the course as a team.