Click on the icons to connect to the Digital Human Library Click on the icons to connect to A Kids' Guide to Canada
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This is one of the image tweets that I created for A Kids’ Guide to Canada (AKGTCanada). I followed a specific format, but had the artistic freedom to also make the images my own. I selected pictures that I felt were reflective of the words and phrases that embodied AKGTCanada the most. While this simple image in itself provides AKGTCanada with practically nothing but a single tweet that will get lost in the hundreds of other tweets being sent out, it is symbolic of the fantastic new opportunities coming Canada’s way. It represents not only the values of AKGTCanada, but also it represents my own personal learning. Prior to this internship I had never worked with digital tools, nevertheless heard of websites like Canva. However, I went through a process of investigating the AKGTCanada website, picking out every single important detail I could possibly find, make tweets out of the information (I did not know that tweets were only 140 characters, so needless to say, my first tweets were quite lengthy), and find images that I felt embodied the tweets the best. I got to play with how I wanted the images to look and experimented with many different layouts, filters, texts and designs. In a way, my creating of picture tweets is much like the writing process: prewrite, write, revise, edit, publish. And it was a fun learning experience at that. Furthermore, this is just one image that I have taken the time to create. It also resembles the time I’ve spent figuring out how to use social media (twitter, Flickr, Instagram) and websites such as Canva to develop my digital artistic skills.
Taking the time to create this, and others like it has taught me that I will need to be patient with my students as they learn to use different digital and technological tools. If it took me, a 23-year-old millennial, a few hours to figure out a website at user-friendly as Canva, then it might take young learners a little bit of time too. I now know that I will have to build “tinker time” into my lessons to ensure that all of my students are able to understand the potential of the digital tool that they are using in that exact moment. As well, I want them to be able to play so that they can get a hang of how to use tools like Canva and explore the numerous possibilities of how to create image and text in a variety of ways. Digital technologies are like instruments. You can’t put an instrument in front of a student and tell them not to play it while you teach. Every fibre in their body wants to touch it. Let students play. Play leads to inquiry, comprehension, understanding, learning, and enjoyment. Like anything else, students need time to explore the digital tools they use before masterpieces can be created. I do not have a strong background in digital technology or social media. I have to admit, and am a little embarrassed to say, that I do not offer all too many skills to this internship (especially for a Millennial). However, I am a quick, motivated, and dedicated learner. I want to be of as much assistance as possible to DHL and AKGTCanada as I stand behind these organizations missions, visions, and goals and am thrilled to be working with Leigh and Cathy. This class and internship has been, and will continue to be, a fantastic learning experience for me. One unique skill that I will be contributing to this project is my American Sign Language. Although I am not fluent yet, American Sign language is one of my biggest passions. Cathy and I are in the midst of discussing how I can interpret the promotional videos for AKGTCanada, which will be a challenging and exciting component to this internship. And yes, I love gross things like worms. Also my sibling. I love my sibling.
I am working as an intern for the Digital Human Library (DHL) and A Kids’ Guide to Canada. I had never heard of these organizations previously, but wow, am I glad to have the opportunity to work intimately and directly with them. DHL offers some incredible opportunities for both students and teachers to connect to hundreds of experts anywhere in the world, regardless of the subject being taught. Teaching about outer space? Find an expert on Mars who will speak to your students on DHL. Teaching about science? Find an expert on light and sound through DHL. I had never heard of anything like it. I love that it is a free resource for connecting teachers, educators, and experts anywhere in the world. Furthermore, DHL has the largest collection of educational multimedia virtual tours on the web. This means that teachers are able to immerse their students in all kinds of new experiences with the click of a button. This resource is user friendly. Therefore, teachers who are inexperienced with technology or are technophobic will be able to maneuver around this site easily. I spent some time tinkering and exploring myself and ended up watching giraffes on a live zoo feed. It was great. The possibilities really are endless. What a great way to engage students in whatever topic they are curious about and enhance all your lessons. Technology such as this hones in on inquiry-based learning. Although physically stepping foot outdoors and taking students on field trips is exciting (and beneficial for students), this program gives teachers the option to just add an extra, fun, and engaging component onto their lesson. Just think about it, they don’t have the hassle of taking a day off, organizing a field trip, sending out forms for parents to sign, etc. It takes zero funding or budget and a very small amount of effort to make a big impact in your classroom. Moving forward, I will be telling all my peers, friends, family, and any educators I know (and eventually my colleagues) about this resource. I hope to be able to use it in my classroom on placement, or in the very least, inform my associate teachers about it. When I am a certified teacher I will most certainly include DHL in and throughout my unit plans. At the beginning of every week I have an idea that I will ask my students what they are interested in and then base my lessons (and DHL usage) off of their interests and curiosities. This gives students a sense of ownership and they get to learn about what fascinates them most. While creating lesson plans in Professional Year, I plan to researching and find interesting and lesson appropriate DHL connections to either videos or human experts. This is purely for my own benefit and practice of maneuvering the website. I can’t wait to see what else they have in store! A Kid’s Guide to Canada (AKGTCanada) is an unincorporated Canadian association that was first piloted in the winter of 2015 by Cathy Beach, a recently retired elementary teacher. It was first submitted as a National Signature Initiative for Canada 150 under the sponsorship of the Canadian Education Association, CEA. When no word came after a year, and the CEA felt it was too late to pursue a national project, Cathy Beach decided to take on the project with support from teachers across Canada who had already indicated strong support in the project. AKGTCanada established their web presence in March 2016 and began to attract educators from across the country. Supports wanted to take a leadership role in each province and territory and at the national organizing level. The project has attracted over $250,000 of in-kind support from a group of Canadian educational organizations and small businesses, which have built the accomplishments you see today. A Kids' Guide to Canada (AKGTCanada) seeks to “provide an authentic opportunity for all Canadian elementary students to use their voice…, connect elementary teachers and students of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds for the purpose of learning…, foster a culture of mutual understanding, empathy, respect, and collaboration amongst Canada’s youngest citizens…, [and] support Canadian teachers learning to implement new pedagogies for connected learning, and new cultural skills needed for teaching effectively in a global classroom” (Goals page). AKGTCanada is coming January of 2017. It is a teacher-led initiative with a focus on connecting students all around Canada including marginalized, remote, minority language, and indigenous communities. It is the first multilingual interactive guide to Canada where children have the opportunity to show who and what their local communities are and what they represent, all in their native language. It encourages students from all over Canada’s vast and multicultural landscape to investigate, honour, and introduce the land and people of their local school communities. Students are taking the reins in creating peer-to-peer connections with the five million children that live in and around Canada. What’s more, is that this project celebrates Canada’s 150th birthday. What better way to celebrate than to have young Canadian, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Nation students collaborate and help to create a multilingual, engaging, creative, and interactive guide to Canada. Furthermore, this program contributes to a new culture of mutual understanding, empathy, and respect. It is made by children and it is for children. AKGTCanada targets both students in and teachers of Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 classrooms. It is also meant to include the extended family and friends of students and teachers, and the Canadian public at large.
After asking Cathy Beach what she believes some areas for growth are and what future direction she wants AKGTCanada to grow in, she responded with: “to reach every single elementary class in Canada, create other activities to occur online throughout the project to support both educational and social change in Canada, and create activities to continue after the official Kids’ Guide Project is ended June 30th." For any teachers who don't know about it. It is truly a beautiful organization that has the potential to create a bridge between the topographical restrictions for children who live in Canada. As an intern, I have sat in on all of the weekly meetings in which AKGTCanada and all of its ambassadors come together to discuss further growth and make sure that this pilot project is ready to launch. And I must say that I have never seen a group of such honest people. This organization is transparent. There are no bad intentions behind this project. Every teacher in support of this organization is incredible, dedicated, hard working, and BUSY! But even in their busy lives, they still take time out of their day to work on AKGTCanada because it is such a worthwhile organization. I am so lucky to have been placed as an intern for this organization and I ENCOURAGE ALL TEACHERS to take part in this ever-growing organization. Join the connectivity and give your students insight into other children's lives across Canada. Here's How. |
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