Christine Gorman

I have been having an experience as many of my Cohort 21 members.  Although my blog has been somewhat neglected it is not from a lack of technology in my classroom- in fact it is due to the overwhelming amount of work I have been doing; much of which has been adding technology to my classrooms.

As if somehow knowing that I needed a personalized action plan, our school has recently launched a new website.  Alongside this website, teachers have also been given a portal where they can upload any resources, create online quizzes and discussions, maintain a classroom calendar etc.

This portal has become magical to me as I am entering a unit that is FULL of original ideas, homework and assignments (therefore, creating a lot of paper).  Instead, I can simply upload the work and the students can have access to it at all times.  Moreover, I have uploaded rubrics, as well, so that if they happen to lose theirs or do not have it at home while working on a project they can simply log on via their portal to see find what they are missing.

In addition, I wanted to change something in both my grade nine and ten classes.  For the nines, my plan is to conclude the year with an independent novel study.  What I didn’t want was for them to simply complete content questions but instead to engage in the book and discuss it (in french) among one another.  In order to accomplish this, my plan is to create (when I have a spare minute of course!) reading response prompts and have the students log into their portals to answer.  Once everyone has answered the students will have to reply/comment on their peers’ responses creating a thread of discussion.

As for my grade ten course, they will be doing a research project on the Phantom of the Opera as well as Paris and its tourism industry.  Being given time in our computer lab and in the library my intention is to introduce Diigo into their lives.  I know many of them will find this a very useful tool and they will be excited for the introduction to something new on the web!

This sentence is one I hear over and over.  With eight classes to attend and only one knapsack it is no wonder something gets left behind.  On top of that, textbooks add the most weight to the load and so I can hardly blame them for leaving them behind.  While perusing articles about technology in the classroom I cam across a Maclean’s magazine article about the use of iPads and eReaders in the classroom.  These lightweight, one stop devices make it simple for students to always have their textbooks handy.  They lighten the load and ease the organization.  I would love nothing more than for high schools to go this route as well.

You know what’s incredible?  Standing in front of a smartboard in the middle of a lesson and having no idea how to escape from a certain program which you have just made full screen.  Then, from the back of the room, you hear a little voice that sends you some technical support.  It amazes me how much my students know about technology and I am eternally grateful for their knowledge as it often saves me and teaches me all at the same time!

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Cohort 21 is a unique professional development opportunity open to teachers and school leaders who are seeking to build a learning network amongst CIS Ontario member schools. The Cohort 21 community will be built on a foundation of collaboration and innovation and together, will investigate and refine 21st century teaching and learning best practices through the rich experience of “learning by doing”.