New "Meet My Bride" Video

Notes Plus

It has been a long year, but teacher's college is finally over.  Though I have learned so much, it is nice to have a bit of a break.  In my last practicum, I was so lucky to be in the York Region District School Board.  This board has really embraced the idea of having technology in the classroom and has equipped its schools with some amazing technology.  In my last post I discussed teaching with the iPad.  In this post I would like to talk about one awesome app for students but even more for teachers.  Notes Plus is an incredible app that allows the user to mark-up pdf documents.  Since discovering this app, I have become almost paperless in my teaching.  The students simply send me a copy of their work and I use Notes Plus to mark.  You can change pen colours, highlight (awesome for note taking), and insert pictures.  Often, I will take a picture of a student's work such as the time I had them write text messages using 1920s slang.  Instead of collecting the work, I took a picture using my iPad, marked it and sent it back to the student.  That way, their creative work remains original without having pen marks all over it.

Teaching with the iPad

Using technology in the classroom is an invaluable tool that should be incorporated as much as possible into the 21st century classroom.  There is no denying that our students are interested in technology, be it tablets or gaming devices.  Over the course of my last practicum block, I managed to successfully use several different technologies to create an interactive, fun and inviting classroom.  Of course, we have to be sensitive to the socio-economic differences found in today's classrooms, but if we are careful and smart, technology can be made available to all students.  The first thing I like to do is to hand out an info card to students asking them about their access to technology.  The info card is kept private and does not ask for student's names.  I ask things like, "Do you have internet access at home?", "Do you have a cell phone?", "Would you feel comfortable using tech devices in the classroom?"  Fortunately in the 21st century classroom, most students respond yes to these questions.  For those who do not, I make sure to accommodate for them to participate in things like live polling by passing around an iPad, asking them to share or making sure I am doing my lesson in a computer lab.  One of my favourite tools over the course of my last block was my iPad.  One of my favourite apps is the splashtop whiteboard which allows me to use my iPad as an interactive, wireless, whiteboard.  As soon as the students see me marking up the screen wirelessly, they are instantly intrigued.  Having just finished a unit on WWI, I am upset I only found this app afterwards but cannot wait to use it in my next teaching experience. The app I am talking about is actually a game called "Sky Gamblers" which is a WWI air battle simulation.  I love simulations in the classroom whether they are done using technology or not but I think students would gain a lot of insight into how difficult it was to become an air ace in WWI by playing this game.  

Practicum...Round Two

I am now three weeks into my second practice teaching experience, and so far its been awesome.  I am very lucky to be working with an amazing associate and I am getting tons of support and excellent feedback.  I am teaching two courses that I am absolutely in love with and my students have been producing some really great work.  Practicums are a time to try new things.  I have been so fortunate to be able to use so many amazing technologies in my classroom and I think the students have really enjoyed it as well.  Polleverywhere, what an amazing tool for the classroom.  You put up a question or a statement and students vote or comment (anonymously) allowing you to create an incredible diagnostic assessment in seconds.

These polls were from a Human Rights course discussing the Holocaust and the grade 10 History course from a lesson on propaganda.

Another awesome tool I have started using is Bitstrips, which I blogged about several months ago.  I showed this to my grade 12s and I have never seen a class ask to do an assignment.  They are creating comics based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Tomorrow I am going to try my first digital storytelling in the classroom and I hope it goes well.

I cannot believe that tomorrow I will start my final week and then its just two months till I graduate and become a full fledged teacher.  This experience has been truly incredible and I cannot wait to get back into the classroom.

Our African Adventure

Happy new year everyone and welcome back from your winter holiday.  I have just returned from almost two weeks in my homeland of South Africa.  This was my first time back since I was eight years old and what an incredible trip.  Of course this journey was made even better as I got to share it with my incredible wife Michelle.  We started our trip with a quick stop in Atlanta and then a 14 hour flight to Johannesburg.  It had been a long day but our travelling continued as we took another flight to Cape Town.  We spent the next week in Cape Town taking in the absolutely incredible scenery, food and ambiance.  Every turn you take in Cape Town meets you with another spectacular view of the peaks surrounding the city.  We visited Table Mountain and quickly realized that we better make another new years resolution to hit the gym because there was no way we were walking up.  We drove down the coast on our way to Cape Point and watched ostriches search for food at the Cape of Good Hope.  We next travelled north up to Stellenbosch and the wine country to take in the magnificent vineyards and flavours that South Africa has to offer.  We ended our stay in Cape Town on the day after new years, which we had celebrated with our new friends having a braii (a bbq).  Cape Town is a spectacular city and I cannot wait to return.

After our stay in Cape Town, Michelle and I hopped on a flight heading to Hoedspruit where we then took a two hour car ride to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. We spent the next three days on safari where we met some incredible people both locals and tourists.  We have made some lifelong friends.  We stayed at the Arathusa Lodge and were treated like absolute royalty.  The accommodations, food and service was phenomenal.  Not to mention, the game drives, which happened twice a day, were amazing and our guide and tracker, Ryan and Debeer, were knowledgeable and friendly and made sure that we saw everything we wanted to.  

Our trip ended in Johannesburg where our experience was very different.  I was born in Johannesburg and moved to Canada at the tail end of the apartheid years.  Though we had learned so much on our trip already about the people, the food and the animals in South Africa, Johannesburg showed us some of the darker side of what is truly a beautiful country.  Apartheid ended in South Africa in 1991 and we were fortunate enough to visit the Apartheid Museum and learn about the history and how it shaped South Africa today.  I know it was especially significant to Michelle because growing up in Toronto, she had never experienced anything like apartheid.  The separation of everything from transportation, to park benches really hit home for her and me as well.  We learned so much from touring around Johannesburg and seeing the dichotomy that exists between the rich and the poor and we have both agreed that we would like to return to Africa one day and perhaps do our part to help those who are less fortunate.    

Overall our trip to South Africa was a really special and educational experience.  I went to South Africa to have a relaxing vacation and came back with so much more.  I cannot wait to share my experiences with my students and colleagues.