My Personal Learning Philosophy

As part of the requirements for an online course I am taking in instructional design, I had to create an introductory video that utilized a Web 2.0 tool to help explore my learning philosophy. I don't get to play around in GoAnimate as much as I would like so I picked that tool to create my video.

I have included it in this post in case you are interested in watching it.

Building an interactive WWI timeline as a collaborative for History 20

During our study of World War I, my Grade 11 History students were intrigued by a number of the stories and battles that we were reading about. Out of this grew a project where each student picked an event that took place during the war and then produced a video or presentation to tell its story. The best place to collect these stories seemed to be a timeline. Students independently researched, wrote about and produced a video or presentation in the format of their choice and then we assembled them together on an interactive timeline, using Time Toast. Some of the tools that the students used to create their videos or presentations included Prezi, YouTube Video Editor, Wideo and the trailer feature on the iMovie App for the iPad.

Students were also asked to create multiple choice questions that their classmates could answer while watching their video that we assembled into Socrative. Students then presented their projects and while we were viewing the videos, we responded to their multiple choice quizzes.  A great way for students to stay engaged while watching numerous presentations.

Please check out our interactive timeline: Histoire 20 Collaborative WW1 Timeline

Incorporating Video into the Classroom

Since becoming a YouTube Star Teacher in 2011, I have worked to incorporate more video into my classroom and I use my YouTube Channel to share and organize videos that I use in my classroom through playlists.

I use a lot of videos to help my students discover and better understand the content they need to know. My favourite way to engage my students is to allow them to demonstrate their understanding of a concept or topic that we are studying by making a video. Working at a new school with new students can be a challenge and I have experienced mixed success with this tool in my classroom. Most students have embraced the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through video rather than simply writing a paper or a test. But there are always students who don't put as much effort into their projects as others and that is something we are working on. I find that they haven't had much opportunity to create masterpiece videos and we are all working together to become better videographers. Here are some of the projects my students and I have been working on over the past few months based on small or large inquiry group projects:

Francophonie 30 - Qu'est-ce que c'est la Francophonie?


Sciences Humaines 9 - Explorateurs vs Premiers Nations (Our understanding of World View)


Sciences 10 - Explorer 3 cycles en Biologie - l'azote, carbone ou nutritif

Integrating QR Codes and Video Across the Curriculum, 2012 IT Summit Presentation

Here is my presentation that I gave at the 2012 Saskatchewan IT Summit.

Update: to be able to read QR codes on a PC desktop or PC laptop using your webcam, try QuickMark QR Code Reader.

Integrating qr codes and video

View more presentations from Joanna Sanders.

Virtual Science Fair

Inspired by the Google Science Fair, I decided to challenge my Grade 6-8 students to explore their own scientific question by holding our own virtual science fair. The main outcome of this activity was to have students use the scientific method to solve their question and be able to present their research and experiment using scientific language.

We spent a lot of time exploring potential scientific questions and ideas as I wanted to ensure my students chose challenging bigger questions that required deeper thinking. In the end, those students who chose their questions carefully were much more successful in their projects than those who pursued a question based entirely on a simple experiment. In order to think big, I wanted my students to challenge themselves to find a larger question that they would only be able to solve in part. Like real scientists who spend their lives trying to answer one huge question, such as how to cure cancer, how to reverse global warming or how to find evidence of life on another planet.

Students presented their findings in the form of a Google website. I gave them the required basic template to follow and they made it their own after that. They were encouraged to take photos and to include video on their websites. They were also allowed to chose if they wanted to work by themselves or with a partner to build the website. Because they had a required off-line component involving research, were marked individually on their presentations and on their ability to answer questions after the presentation and on their blogs, it was relatively easy for me to give final individual grades that reflected individual efforts and understanding of the scientific method. Figuring out how to give individual marks that reflect individual efforts is often a challenge in a group project.

Although I was satisfied with the final demonstration of learning and I am confident that my students have a better understanding of the scientific method, I think that if I were to do this project again, I would provide more support to ensure all students had good visuals on their websites. Perhaps we would devote a bit more time to producing videos that demonstrate the different steps of the process or to allow for the students to record their explanations and thinking during the length of the project. I would also set minimums for length of text required for each page as some students put more effort into the writing component of the website than others.

Here are some examples of the websites produced during our virtual science fair:

Grade 8:

 

Howard and Lane: L'énergie des fruits

Zara and Erin: Pourquoi le ciel est bleu? 

Grade 7:

Ella and Brianna: L'électricité apartir de la nourriture

Hannah, Elizabeth and Victoria: Pousser les plantes avec des aimants

 Grade 6:

Daisi, Jenna et Maija: L'énergie éolienne

Matthew and Hudson: Est-ce que les robots peuvent prendre charge de la Terre?

How video in the classroom helps digitally-savvy students learn

Article from the Toronto Star
September 8, 2011 13:09:00
by Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press

Zara Cruickshank’s Grade 8 science class is a little different from those of yesteryear. Students regularly make mini films or podcasts for class projects, reams of notes are a thing of the past and video is an important part of learning.

As the new school year begins, a number of Canadian classrooms are increasingly implementing video as an educational tool to keep their digitally savvy students engaged and interested.

“It’s just easy to focus when it’s visual,” says Cruickshank. “You can be creative and have fun doing it because you’re putting your ideas together to make something for school, to make school easier.”

The 13-year-old at Regina’s Ecole Wilfrid Walker is talking specifically about Joanna Sanders Bobiash’s classroom.

Bobiash — who travelled to Seattle’s Google Teacher Academy this summer to brush up on her web and video skills at the first ever YouTube Teacher Studio — plans to use video a lot more extensively in her classroom this year.

“Everyone has different learning styles, they learn best in different ways,” she says. “Video provides the opportunity to almost deliver both (visuals and text) at the same time. You have visual, you could have written and you have audio at the same time and students can refer to them at their own pace.”

The days of classroom video consisting of a TV and VCR rolled in for a lengthy film students could zone out on are over. Bobiash, who teaches science and social studies, uses digital video to deliver information in short, interactive bursts and encourages students to make their own films for projects which can later be posted online through her YouTube channel.

“Before they could only express themselves in the written form, but now they can express themselves in different ways,” said the 35-year-old teacher. “They’re really drawn to video when doing research, it helps blend different learning styles better than just reading a bunch of text online.”
A concept that really struck her during her time at the Google Teacher Academy was what’s being referred to as “flip teaching.”

It’s when teachers film themselves explaining a concept, or assign an educational video and have the student watch it for homework so they’re actively thinking about the subject before it’s explored in class the following day.

Bobiash plans to implement more flip teaching at the start of her subject units because she finds students really benefit from the visual component.

“They’re not just being given text to memorize,” she says. “I would say they’re retaining the information better because they have to understand it.”

When that understanding is later demonstrated through class projects, Bobiash says her students often blow her away.

“They really get into what they want to know about and their ability to communicate that is phenomenal,” she says, adding that her students often produce videos she would have expected to see at a high-school level.

“It’s a big change in how education is being delivered,” she says of the video component. “It’s an actual shift in how we perceive education itself ... that more in-depth thinking is coming out in the curriculum more.”

Shelly Wright knows what Bobiash is talking about.

The high school teacher at Cornerstone Christian School in Moose Jaw, Sask., plans to use flip teaching in her classroom more extensively this year and says students respond remarkably well to video as part of their learning.

“My students really love it,” says Wright, adding that video really helps cater to multiple learning paces.

“You have kids who need to go over different pieces over and over, and for those kids, they can watch the video three or four times, they can stop it where it doesn’t make sense ... for students like that flip teaching is really powerful.”

This year, for the first time, her students will also have the option to hand in video labs in place of paper-based lab reports — the outlining of the hypothesis, process and evaluation will remain the same, but students can convey them via film if they want.

Students respond more enthusiastically to video for homework than reading a textbook, says Wright.

“You could have essentially world class experts teaching your kids, which is one of the exciting things about the flip classroom,” says the chemistry and biology teacher, adding that video also allows her to show students unstable experiments she wouldn’t be able to demonstrate in the classroom.

That’s not to say teachers are assigning videos for homework every night.

“You use it for very specific purposes and you don’t use it all the time,” Wright says. “Then you can take your time in class to do hands-on stuff so it actually makes sense to them.”

For Wright, video, when used in the right way, helps hone her students’ problem solving and negotiating skills as they grapple with concepts on their own.

“Video is the medium of the future,” she says. “With all the stuff there is today, there is the opportunity for school to be really exciting in ways that it hasn’t been in the past.”

The Flipped Classroom

Here is an interesting infographic that explains what a "Flipped Classroom" looks like. The statistics are American, but I think the message is just as relevant in a Canadian classroom as it would be south of the border. What do you think of the concept? Have you considered using it in your own classroom?


Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

YouTube Teacher Studio

I've arrived at Google!

Today, I had the honour of participating in the first ever YouTube Teacher Studio and can now proudly call myself a "YouTube Star Teacher".

Our sessions were held at the Google Offices in Kincaid. Just being inside the Google buildings was an experience in itself. Google treats their employees really well to ensure that they are the most productive they can be. As guests, we also got to experience some of their many perks. I can't go into much detail, but I do have to say that all the teachers were very envious of the cafeteria and the readily available snacks and beverages available throughout the day. We thought that we would be very productive educators if we could enjoy some of these many perks in our staff lounges.

During our day, our small group of 15 educators was treated to a number of presentations and  smaller workshops. We learned so much I can't share it all in one blog post! I know I will be posting more about what we learned in more detail as I start to apply and use what I learned in my practice.

New Tools from YouTube

To start our day, we were lucky enough to receive three wonderful gifts, a YouTube Flip HD pocket video camera, a mini tripod and a Bamboo tablet. All these tools will help us produce our future videos that we will be hosting on our channels on YouTube.

During our first session with history teacher James Sanders, we learned about how to use the power of  YouTube in the classroom to support instruction and engage students. We were saw numerous examples of how Sanders uses video to support his students and to differentiate instruction. One idea shared that particularly resonated with me was how to help students to dig deeper into concepts by providing them with YouTube playlists that support what they are learning to watch when they are done their assignments in class. Students who are done earlier than everyone else are often a challenge to keep engaged and busy in a classroom so I thought that this was a great idea to deepen their understanding and let them go further. I also really liked the idea of having a YouTube center where students watch videos made by the teacher that gives them the content they need and administers an assignment or quiz through the use of Google Forms. The other students are then working in a smaller group with the Teacher answering questions and getting further explanation and practice.

During our next session with chemistry teacher, Ramsey Musllam, we learned all about screencasting and the power of capturing direct instruction and assigning it as homework. This approach is know as flip teaching. Musllam demonstrated how to make screencasts of his explanations in chemistry and gave us examples of how he uses them in his classroom. His website, flipteaching.com has wonderful examples and resources anyone could use to try flip teaching in their classroom. This is an approach I plan to explore further in my classroom this year. We also got some hands on experience with our new Bamboo tablets and experimented with screencasting.

Our final presenter was Jim Sill who used to work in the TV and movie industry and is now a video production teacher. He showed us the basics of video production and gave us some simple techniques to ensure we are making quality videos. We also later had a hands on component where we got to practice what he had shown us and make short videos using our new Flip cameras.

The whole day was a fantastic experience to share with other educators how we are already using video in our classrooms, learn so new techniques and to brainstorm new ideas about how we will use video in the future. There is a lot more to come on this topic so please come back to read more about my adventures with YouTube. I'm so excited about the future possibilities of this new adventure.

My Google Adventure

Last month, I applied to be part of the Google Teacher Academy (GTA) taking place in Seattle, WA. Google received over 4,000 applications from around the world and only 50 were accepted. I'm excited to say that I was one of the few chosen to participate in this exciting one-day professional development event. After I'm done, I will be a Google Certified Teacher.

Here is the video that I made as a part of my application to GTA:


After learning we were chosen to participate in GTA, the 50 participants were asked to apply for the first ever YouTube Teacher's Studio. Only 15 spots were available for this event that is taking place the day before GTA. I'm excited to say that I got chosen to attend this event as well. YouTube and Google all in one week! Wow!

I'm very overwhelmed to be part of this fantastic group of educators and can't wait for this adventure to begin. I leave tomorrow for Seattle and will be writing posts about my adventure while I'm there. Thanks to the power of social media, namely Twitter and Google+, I have had the chance to chat and connect with my fellow participants over the past few weeks. What a powerful way to get to know some of the other people that will be participating. Gone are the days where you show up in a room of strangers and have to begin making small talk to get to know each other. We have already broken the ice and are ready to learn!

One Day On Earth

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from Joanna Sanders Bobiash on Vimeo.

Last fall, my students and I participated in this wonderful project with people from around the world called "One Day on Earth". My Grade 6, 7 and 8 students all captured a short portion of their lives with still cameras and video cameras on October 10, 2010. They edited their footage into short documentaries of their own and shared them with the class. A number of my 68 students decided to contribute their footage, along with my own, to the main project and were delighted to hear that some of their footage had been selected to be included in the final documentary. We are not sure what exactly has been included in the final version of this film, but we were very excited to be included. Please check out the trailer for this project and consider contributing towards the final production costs. Seeing the pride and excitement in my students' by participating in this project made it a very worthwhile venture. I hope to participate in this type of project again in the future. Not many students can say that they contributed footage to a Hollywood documentary in middle school!

Can one video make a difference?

Saskatchewan Teachers have been without a contract since August 30, 2010. Negotiations have been going on longer than that. We've taught almost a whole school year without it being settled. After years of settling for little to no increase in our wages, this spring, teachers voted 95% in favour of taking job action to help settle their contract.

You see, our province is experiencing rapid growth and unprecedented wealth. They are constantly promoting the fact that our province is booming. Is it not time to pay back the workers who took a hit in the 1990s when the province was not doing so well by rewarding them with fair wages and recognition of an increased cost of living in our province?  What are Saskatchewan's Teachers asking for? They are asking for our province to pay them what they are worth. They want to be recognized for their valuable contributions to our communities. They want to ensure future generations enter the teaching profession because it will be a rewarding career and a wise financial decision. For more information on the contract negotiations, please visit the STF website: Saskatchewan Teachers Federation

On May 5th, 2011, teachers across the province walked off the job for the first time in 78 years. Job action like this had never been seen on a province-wide level by teachers. Teachers participated in study sessions, rallies and discussions. They finished the day feeling unified and determined to reach a fair deal with the School Board Association. The following day, teachers were invited back to the bargaining table.

Unfortunately, talks broke down not long after they started, and a second round of sanctions days were announced for May 25th and 26th. In preparation for these two days, the Regina Public School Teachers Association decided to organize a rally and march from the Provincial Legislature to downtown Regina. We wanted to invite other teachers from across the province to join us so we decided to make a video invitation and post it on You Tube. But how can one little video make a difference?



We expected teachers from Regina Public and perhaps Regina Catholic and Prairie Valley School Divisions to join us. As word spread, through the power of social media, our little video got thousands of hits.You see, during the month of May, Saskatchewan's teachers had been signing up for Twitter and had been connecting on Facebook. New networks and alliances were being formed and the video was shared and re-tweeted hundreds of times. By the time the rally and march took place, our the little video had been seen more than 3,000 times. You only have to listen to RPSTA President, Pat Maze's remarks at the rally to understand the enthusiasm and excitement generated by the video and the cause:



As a result of this video, the May 26th rally and march was one of the biggest demonstrations in our province's recent history. (Regina Leader Post) The police working during the march estimated the crowd of teachers and supporters to be approximately 4,000 people. This showed the provincial government that teachers were unified and strong in their resolve to obtain a fair contract. Thousands of people showing up on the government's doorstep took them by surprise. (Regina Leader Post)

I made a short video to document May 26th's events and posted it on the RPSTA's YouTube Channel. I encourage everyone to check out our channel and to subscribe. Even after this contract is eventually resolved, we hope to post more videos celebrating and demonstrating the importance of teaching as a profession. You never know what one little video and the power of social media can do to affect your profession.

Thought provoking video from New Brunswick

I came across this video thanks to a tweet from @Nunavut_Teacher tonight that included this list of "12 videos to spark educators' thinking". The post is located on a blog called Dangerously Irrelevant by Scott McLeod and contains an interesting list of videos. McLeod is the co-creator of the popular "Did You Know? Shift Happens" video that is now in its 4th edition. He and Karl Fisch definitely got everyone talking with their video a few years ago about reforms required in education to meet the needs of today's learners.

Most of the videos on this list I have seen before and highly recommend taking the time to watch them if you haven't seen them already and to share them with others.

One video in particular on this list I hadn't seen yet from the Government of New Brunswick. I think it would be a great conversation starter for any PLN or staff meeting. I hope that it is something that is shared across Canada in all provinces as we discuss education reforms.

TEDxSaskatoon

I can't think of a better way to spend my Sunday evening on the day after Christmas (aka Boxing Day here in Canada) then watching TED videos on my new laptop. Lucky for me, all the videos from TEDxSakatoon (held November 13, 2010) have been uploaded to You Tube so I had a lot of great presentations to watch. Hopefully I will be able to go to a TED event sometime in the future. I sure wish I had been able to go to this one. Here's a playlist of all of the TEDxSaskatoon presentations for your viewing pleasure:

Project Based Learning Explained - Common Craft Style

I couldn't resist sharing this video. I love the Common Craft Style video and use them often in my classes. Here's a new one from the Buck Institute for Education that does a great job explaining the concept of Project Based Learning.

Some Reading and Viewing to add to your To Do List

I have had these tabs open in my Firefox for awhile (actually since the summer - yikes!) and have been meaning to post them on my blog for others to check out. Here are some interesting blogs and videos to check out when you have a spare moment. If you have others to share, please do!! Post your links in my comments.

8 Must Read Ed Tech Posts from SimpleK12:

• Elizabeth talks about Jing, PLN's, Classroom Blogs, Firefox, Evernote, Empowering Students, Learning Styles and Online Communities. What more could you want?? Take a minute to check out her list.

Top 10 TED Videos for Educators (via Parentella):

• I love TED videos. I could watch them all day if I had the time. Here are a few any educator can appreciate. Maybe you will be inspired too. This list was generated by the blog Parentella. If you have other suggestions or ideas for a Top 10 TED video list for educators, please comment. Maybe we can make our own list!

7 Videos all Educators should watch (via Free Tech for Teachers):

• Some of these videos I've posted about before but I had to include this in my list of things to watch when you have time. Richard Byrne has done a great job compiling videos that I've seen in different venues or on different blogs around the web. Here they all are in a handy collection. Do you have one you would like to add to the mix?

A new year and a new role

The new school year has begun. Students have been back at school for two weeks now and Teachers for a few more days than that. This year is a new adventure for me as my role in my school has been redesigned. I'm now serving as half-time Teacher Librarian and half-time Social Studies and Science Teacher for 6/7/8. I'm thankful to still be in charge of my inquiry studio where I deliver my classes for Social Studies and Science. I'm hoping that my new role will compliment my teaching and give me more opportunities to work and share with other colleagues.

Although my role has changed, my interest and passion for integrating technology into my teaching has not. This week, my library will open up to students for the first time to do book exchanges. Instead of preparing a formal presentation on the dos and don'ts of the library, I made an orientation video. I was fortunate enough to work with a fellow teacher librarian, Terry Pon, five years ago on an orientation video for his library at the time. I revamped some of his video and made it current for my students and situation. (Thank you for the footage Terry!) Now that we are a French Immersion Centre, I had to make the video in French. I still need to find some copyright free music to re-edit the music track, but I will post if for now and replace it when I have a final version. I hope you enjoy the draft version of my video. Welcome to the Resource Centre at École Wilfrid Walker School.

Star Wars Stop Motion Story using LEGO

I can totally see some of my students wanting to work on a film like this. Maybe a tech club project for next year?

My Presentation at the Saskatchewan IT Summit 2010

Today I had the pleasure of presenting at the Saskatchewan IT Summit. The title was: What if dreams did come true? What to do when technology in the classroom is no longer a barrier.

Sask IT Summit 2010 Workshop Presentation from Joanna Sanders

I also created a wiki to use during my presentation: http://itsummit2010bobiash.wikispaces.com/

The theme of my presentation was collaborative learning. During my presentation, I shared the inquiry process my class used to develop its collaborative video and proposal that ended up winning one of 15 Best Buy's Best in Class Awards in 2009. Participants were then asked to collaborate themselves to come up with their own plans or ideas for incorporating new technology into their classrooms to improve student learning.

I decided to present at this conference because I have been asked by a number of people to share some of the methods and processes I use in my classroom to guide inquiry projects. I also decided to have an interactive portion to my presentation by asking the participants to engage in a discussion and envision how to spend a large amount of money on technological tools to improve student learning in their classrooms. When applying for grants and large prize amounts, it can be a bit overwhelming to envision how to spend large amounts of money and really justify how it will be impacting student learning. What better way to get ideas then to share experiences with other colleagues.

I hope the participants left with something new and I want to thank them for letting me share my story with them.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

With only 30 days to go, Olympic fever has been spreading rapidly through my classroom. We have been counting down the days to the openning ceremony since the first day of school. Students come to school on a regular basis and tell me about a story they heard about this athlete or that venu. We also adopted a former student who was named to the Canadian Olympic Long Track Speed Skating Team yesterday, Lucas Makowsky. We can't wait to follow his progress and cheer him on during the games. We have set-up a page on our website to track Lucas and to showcase some of the things we have done to support him thus far. Check it out at: http://wilfridwalker.rbe.sk.ca/makowsky

For the students that weren't as excited as the others, they have come on board and joined the band wagon. It helps that the Olympic Torch Relay passed through our city during the weekend giving most of us a more direct connection to the games. I made a video to document the torch's visit to our city over the weekend. You can check it out below. My appologies in advance for some of the shaky cinematography. I need to invest in a tripod. Here it is:

It also helps that my class started working on their online collaborative project on Monday.You can check out our progress over the next 6 weeks on the collaborative project wiki: http://2010olympics.wikispaces.com/

For us, it is a big deal that we are the host country for the Winter Olympic Games. It has been 22 years since we have last hosted such an event. I'm wondering if other people that aren't Canadians are as excited as we are about the start of the games? Or, if you are a Canadian Teacher, are you working on a special project? What are you doing to study the Olympics in your classroom?

2009 K12 Online Conference Begins

A fascinating and exciting learning opportunity is available now online all month during the K12 Online Conference. You can find out more by visiting the conference's NING or by checking out the schedule on the conference wiki. There are also announcements and news on the conference's blog: K12 Blog Whether you are an educator just starting out with technology integration or a veteran user, there is something for you. You can even check out archived sessions if the broadcast time is not conducive to your schedule.

I just finished watching Kim Cofino's pre-conference keynote: "Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence and the Future of Education" which you can watch here or in the embedded video below:



Kim's 10 years of experience teaching at 3 different International Schools around the world. Her exploration of culture shock as well as her inclusion of perspectives of educators and students from around the world at other International Schools is a great way to start off this online conference. Well done Kim!

Check out the sessions over the month. There is something for everyone.