LIBE 477 - Final Vision Project: Learner Considerations

LIBE 477 - Final Vision Project: Learner Considerations

I know when I first began my training to become a teacher, one of my sponsor teachers passed along these wise words: “Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from others who have already figured it out?” 

There are so many seasoned teachers out there, why wouldn’t we ask them for help with resources, lesson planning, worksheets, methods of dealing with differentiation, and the list goes on? Now, with the advent of new technologies, the same holds true.  Ask those who “know”.  Several years back, technology was obviously becoming a focus in our district with the outfitting of iPads and Chromebooks into schools, district licencing of the G-Suites for education apps, and many professional development opportunities.  I felt nervous and overwhelmed in learning these new technologies, and I know I wasn’t the only one.  Fortunately for me, I have a tech-savvy husband who guided me through troubleshooting through my process of learning how to navigate some of this tech.  Over the years, I’ve taken several workshops on the use of technology but have often found that when I get back to my classroom, I forget about them or just don’t feel confident in using what I’ve learned.

So where am I going with this? For my future vision project, I want to share with my colleagues what I’ve learned so that they can learn.  I want to be a resource of knowledge for them. In the school I’m currently working at, there are many teachers who are at varying degrees of comfort with using technology in their classrooms.  As there is so much that can be done with technology, I’m narrowing my focus to the use of G-Suites as this is something our district has invested a lot of money into, all of our chromebooks use this platform, all students, teachers, and educational assistants have accounts that enable them to use the suites, and students and teachers can access them from school and home as a way to engage them in learning beyond the classroom walls.  

In my particular school, it is primarily the intermediate teachers who are using the chromebooks (while the primary teachers mainly use the iPads).  So I want to focus on providing tools that they can use to learn how to use the G-Suites in classrooms.  Right now, most of the intermediate teachers use the chromebooks and google docs for word processing purposes.  In my opinion, this is not the best use of this incredible tool.  With the sharing capabilities of the G-Suites, we can extend how we use the tools to enhance students’ learning through collaboration.  This is a large focus in developing 21st century learning. I want to share this with my intermediate teachers.

I’m going to start by making and/or sharing videos I’ve curated on how to use Google Docs, Slides, and Classroom in various ways to enhance collaboration with intermediate students.  Since teacher time is at a premium, I want to respect their time and create mini videos that are all on one platform for easy access. This platform (not sure whether it will be on Google Slides or Padlet yet) will be shared via a staff meeting or PLC. My colleagues won’t have to watch an hour-long presentation, nor will they have to go searching through different sites to find what they are looking for.  By clearly labelling what the videos are about, teachers can choose which one to start at depending on their comfort and what their goals are.  For instance, our grade 4 teachers may just want to focus on Google Docs to begin with.  They will be able to find videos that specifically pertain to only Google Docs in the platform. Whereas, our grade 7 teachers may feel ready to try Google Classroom and can find videos that specifically pertain to its use. In addition, after the information has been shared, my colleagues will have access to it whenever they need through a link that I email and/or post on our library blog.  I think this is the “secret sauce” to making it a useful tool.  We learn through practice and repetition, so having the ability to look back at the videos whenever needed, will hopefully greatly enhance my colleagues confidence in using these tools in the classroom.


So that my colleagues also see the value in this use of G-Suites, I will be sure to post the justification of using digital tools to promote collaboration in the classroom and how it benefits students as I outlined in my previous Reading Review Blog.  By having everything in one place, the teachers can also share the videos with other teachers and even with their classroom E.A.’s who may be using G-Suites to support the needs of their diverse learners. Some of the videos can also be used as a resource that teachers can share with students in showing them how to use the G-Suites to collaborate. Also, by having this on one platform, I can add new things to it as I learn more and as my colleagues become more comfortable using the tech.  For example, I can add how to use VoiceThread, Kidblog, Flipgrid, and/or Padlet as digital tools to promote collaboration.  Perhaps other teachers who have ideas of their own can add to the platform too. The possibilities are endless!  I’m excited to begin this project and share it with my colleagues.