Valerie’s presentation on multi-access learning gave me a lot to think about. I think she did a great job breaking down face to face, online, blended, and multi-access classrooms. Through this thorough break down, one could see the benefits to a multi-access classroom. My biggest take-aways from Valerie were not necessarily the multi-learning paradigm itself, but instead the importance of promoting inclusive learning environments, personalizing options for students, and being a flexible educator not stuck in your ways, or in your modality bias.

The importance of inclusive classrooms should really speak for itself. Not only will inclusive environments benefit learners, but the more choice we are able to offer students, the more engaged they will be in what they are doing. Valerie presented a means to promote this inclusive, engaging learning environment.

I will definitely head Valerie’s words, but it does not mean that I am without my reservations. While this might have just been for myself, I could not help but feel a sense of irony about the presentation. I felt less engaged, and more disconnected during the presentation done via video chat than I do during a presentation with a live speaker. Some of it had to do with the technological restraints of UNBC, which kind of also highlights another reservation I have about the idea of a fully realized multi-access classroom – if UNBC doesn’t have the tech, will a public school? While I am not sure if a multi-access classroom can authentically adhere to UNBC’s School of Education’s themes of people, place, and land, I think there are still a lot of takeaways which can be derived from Valerie’s work. I would love to hear more from her.

I had absolutely no idea what Ozobots were when we arrived at Nusdeh Yoh Elementary for our session with Noelle Peppin. The best way I can describe them are: there are small robots with a diameter of about a toonie. These robots follow black lines, and can read basic commands along the lines through colour codes.

I had a lot of fun working with my colleagues, making machine bend to our will.

Noelle touched briefly on the scaffolding for students that would transpire to allow them to go from barely sharing school supplies, to being able to work together to create paths with commands for their Ozobots. She showed us how the Ozobots could be connected to story, as opposed to the mathematical and logical thinking concepts one would assume adhere to this activity. In our short session I was exposed not only to this new technology, but also how to tie activities to them to Core Competencies and cross-curricular content and competencies.

I think the Ozobots are a great access point for younger children to promote teamwork, community building, problem solving skills, and much more. A critique of them may be that they are simply a carrot to get children engaged and working together. My response to that critique would simply be: who cares? If the children are actually engaged and working together collaboratively and respectfully, shouldn’t we encourage things that provide a means to an easy access point to this?

The guest speaker for this week was Sandra McAualy, who discussed the integration of technology into classrooms. Her focus was on how to use technology (iPads) to help students both access and demonstrate their learning.

I really like the ideas she presented of using iPads in the classroom not only to keep classrooms up with the technological age we live in, but also as a means to promote inclusive education. It wasn’t so much that this was an “AHA!” moment for me, as I had used technology such as iPads over my first practicum for students with exceptionalities, but Sandra really probed my thinking as to other ways this inclusive practice can be accomplished.

I think Sandra’s presentation really compliment Ian Landy’s, on e-portfolios, from earlier in the week. Ian commented on the lack of iPads in schools, and then Sandra came in the following day to discuss iPads in the classroom. In conversion, as well as in her presentation, Sandra brought up the importance of e-portfolios. It was nice to have some natural continuity.

I hope I am fortunate enough to work in an environment that has embraced technology like Sandra’s.

Having heard Ian Landy speak to our EDUC 431 class, I learned a new perspective on the importance of e-portfolios. This new perspective shed a lot of light not only on the impacts that can have as a professional communication tool for teachers, but also as a means for students to demonstrate their learning journeys. Perhaps it’s just my own narcissism that only had me thinking of e-portfolios as a means for myself to communicate my learning, but I honestly had not really given any thought as to the applications these tools could have for students communicating their learning as well.

I think this is important for a number of reasons. Any tool that will help a student communicate their learning better than their teaching slapping an arbitrary letter grade on their report card is a win in my books. I really like the idea of these e-portfolios being something that teachers can model for their students as well.

I think the idea of an e-portfolio for a student that extends beyond a single assignment, course, or grade level would be really cool. I think this could look like something that shows growth in all areas over a longer period of time, or even a single, long-term inquiry that would change and grow, as the student did the same. With the flexibility of BC’s curriculum, teachers could make sure that contributions to this long term inquiry adhered to Big Ideas, Curricular Competencies, and Curricular Content.

E-portfolios for future students, as a means to communicate their learning and growth, is something I will definitely keep in mind during my upcoming practicums, as well as my future practice.