Spencer Wilson- educator in training

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. -Anatole France

Category: Weekly Blogs

Free Inquiry #4: Learning the basics of crochet

November 25, 2019 / / 0 Comments

These past few weeks I have been working on the basic techniques of crochet, and the experience has allowed me to reflect on the needs of learners in the classroom environment. When first learning how to hold the hook and to create a chain stitch I had to look at several text-based and video guides. Some of the methods of instruction just didn’t make sense to me; I had to look at 4 different sources until I truly understood how to make a chain stitch. As much as the videos made sense, I had to practice each step myself until I was comfortable.

figuring out hook position-“knife style”

figuring out hook position-“pencil style”

This aspect of my inquiry related to classroom learning: when presenting a topic in class I need to take time to explain things in multiple ways, some methods may just not make as much sense to learners as another.  I have also realized that no matter how well something is conveyed or demonstrated learners will need to practice and apply what  they have been taught in order to  make sense of it and understand how to apply it.  I was eventually able to make sense of the chain stitch, but there were still many nuances to understand before I could crochet effectively. Things like hand/finger positioning, tension of the yarn, tension of the knot and how to effectively hook the yarn had to be learned independently. The resources I used did not even touch on these nuances; they only covered the basics. For this reason I am going to be sure to incorporate time in my classes for students to actually practice and apply what they have learned; simply memorizing the concept is not enough to really understand.

I am currently able to make a chain stitch(ch in crochet lingo), but still have work to do on the single crochet(sc). Pictured below is my chain, check back soon to see my progress on the single crochet!

Reflections on my place in the digital landscape

October 8, 2019 / / 0 Comments

obtained from https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1444327

The first few weeks of the secondary PDP program have altered my perceptions of literacy and the different modalities that can be utilized by both educators and learners to strengthen literacy. I have found myself reflecting on what my current roles are within multimodal landscapes, and what I contribute to the communities I engage with. I am a regular user of instagram, reddit, and facebook, but rarely post content to any of the platforms. For all intents and purposes, I am a consumer of digital media, not a producer. This habit of not contributing to communities is often referred to as “lurking.”

My rationale towards being a lurker has been that I believed aspects of my life are not worth sharing, or that I lack the skills/knowledge to provide worthwhile content. Throughout my reflection I realized a good proportion of the content I engage with is “everyday” content, which, in theory, I am capable of producing.  

Despite my reservations, I want to be a contributor.This feeling is particularly strong for Reddit. Reddit, also known as “the front page of the internet”, is essentially a peer-supported collection of forums and communities. Each community(subreddit), is run by users who have stepped up to the role of moderators. As a regular user of Reddit, I feel that I have a responsibility to contribute. More information on how  Reddit works can be found at https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/what-is-reddit/.

As my program proceeds I will continue to look for ways to engage and contribute to these communities using a variety of modalities. I believe that there will be some really interesting ways to integrate my growth as an educator with my increased presence in online communities. I will also seek new platforms that I will able to utilize and contribute to.

The Value of Technology Workshops

October 6, 2019 / / 0 Comments

I recently attended an “introduction to 3D printing workshop that was hosted through the University of Victoria libraries.  I previously had no idea that workshops were offered through the libraries, but there are workshops on coding, movie editing, data visualization, and a host of other things.

The 3D printing workshop itself was awesome. Not only did the educator provide the necessary information for learning how to make our own 3D models, they connected us to many useful resources, and how to use the printers at UVic for our own projects. I am really interested in the open-source aspect of being able to share different schematics. I feel like there is great value in the creative and utilitarian aspects of this. Humanity has made leaps and bounds through the creation of certain tools, and I see the creative aspect of 3D printing to be conducive in generating of new types of tools, even though they may not exactly “reinvent the wheel”.

I believe workshops offered through communities and libraries have immense value. New technology can feel like an immense burden to some, but workshops provide an opportunity to learn in a low-pressure environment alongside an experienced educator. They have the ability to increase the technological literacy of people through developing skill sets.  Considering how valuable my experience with the 3D printing workshop was, I am going to make an effort to attend a variety of technology-based workshops in the future.

If you are interested in this type of workshop I strongly encourage you  to reach out to a library near you to see what they offer. Here are  links to the Greater Victoria Public Library and the University of Victoria’s event page below, as well as a website called Eventbrite, which a third-party source for all types of events and community workshops. It can be used for a number of cities across Canada, so check it out.

On the Presence of Robotic Students In Schools

October 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Earlier this week I was unable to attend class for medical reasons, but in-turn had the opportunity to attend one of my classes via robot. It’s not everyday that one gets to pilot a robot, so I more than happy to sign up.  After downloading an app and connecting to UVic’s server, I was able to the 3-hour lecture from home via a Beam Telepresence Robot. This robot gave me the ability to  communicate with my instructor and peers via webcam and to move freely around the classroom using my keyboard.  My face was displayed also on a small screen, which allowed for visual communication both ways.

This opportunity allowed  me to reflect on the benefits and caveats of using this type of technology in schools. The largest benefit I felt was the social aspect of being able to communicate with my peers and the educators. That in itself was much more valuable than covering the material by myself.  I could usually hear the what the educator was saying, but noises in the environment clipped a fair bit, especially during work periods.  A higher quality microphone could reduce the loss of clarity in speech.  On a similar note, I could see people clearly, but could not read text from the projector. As a result, learners should have access to class material if they use a telelpresence robot.  My professor anticipated this issue, and sent the material beforehand. If educators were to use smart boards, or similar technology, it could be helpful to use an app that allows desktop video to be remotely shared. That could allow learners using the robot to keep pace with their peers more easily.

My biggest concern regarding the efficacy of telepresence robots is the quality of internet connection that learners and educational institutions have. I am fortunate to have a strong connection, but when I opened additional tabs in my browser there was a noticeable drop in the quality of my video and audio streams. Learners with poor connections, or schools with a heavy load on their connection might have quality issues when if the robots are used in any volume. Families without internet access could also have difficulty using beam technology, which would disadvantage their children if they missed school.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience with a Beam Telepresence Robot. While their use is limited in some ways, the technology is fairly new and will likely improve over time.  I believe they have value in allowing learners to connect socially with their peers and educator, and can help to keep them up to speed.  There could be some interesting uses for the technology, schools across the world could coordinate “facetime pen-pals” or a similar programs as a way to practice languages or to just connect with different people.

The view my classmates had when communicating with me.

“Most Likely To Succeed”: Alternative Education in the Public School System

September 24, 2019 / / 0 Comments

I recently had the pleasure of watching a film titled “Most Likely To Succeed”. It provided an in-depth look into an alternative education school in California called High Tech High. High Tech High is a public school that attempts to deviate from the current style of education, which the film makers argue has remained unchanged for more than a century, by shifting the focus from content-based learning to inquiry-based group work and critical thinking. In doing so, the educators at High Tech High hope to better prepare their learners to deal with real problems that arise from real-life situations. There are no formalized subjects, and all students work to present a  year-end project to their educators, classmates, family, and friends.

The part of Most Likely To Succeed that resonated with me the most was the way educators chose to interact with their learners. There was no formal lecturing, and when conversing they ebbed passion and understanding. They guided students when needed, but in a way that promoted the learner to find the solution themselves. At the end of the year the educators were visibly moved by the growth of their learners throughout their period together.  I felt it was clear the learners grew socially, emotionally, and mentally. 

As I progress through my teaching program, developing my own teaching philosophy and relationships with learners, I hope to keep the educator-learner relationships in “Most Likely to Succeed” in mind.

The official website for the film is https://teddintersmith.com/mltsfilm/ , check it out if you have the time!

 

 

 

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