Cindy

**September 18, 2012 -** **Journal Reflection on __How Technology Can Improve Learner Centered Teaching__**
====In this article, it states that if you are trying to create a learner-centered environment, there will be " a few bumps in the road". The article goes on to say there will be students who aren’t used to being active participants in th eir learning. ==== ==== In my earlier years of teaching, I would have thought it was ridiculous for this to happen - how can you NOT be an active participant in your own learning ? Now that I have completed several CAE courses and have had the opportunity to reflect on what I have learned, I have a clearer understanding of what this means and I now agree that some students are not used to being active participants in their own learning. ==== ==== I teach in the Early Childhood Education department so our students will often use technology for doing research, linking to online child developmental videos, completing assignments as well as communicating with each other away from class. We make use of a Virtual Child program to simulate a child's growth/changes through the years and for analyzing their "Virtual" child's development. We try to offer as many hands-on experiences for the students as possible - many of these can be enhanced by the use of technology. ==== ==== Once they have graduated from our program and are in the workplace, however - the majority of an ECE's day is spent caring for infant or preschool aged children. Although technology has a place in their work spaces, it is not as prevailant as in some other vocations, because of the nature of their work and the human interaction component. ====

**September 25, 2012 - Journal Reflection on __The Flipped Classroom - Increasing Instructional Effectiveness in Higher Education with Blended Learning Technology.__**
====This article explains that a flipped classroom is a learning experience where it blends online lectures and in-class learning. Students view the lecture online before they arrive in the classroom, so they are ready to immediately discuss the topic or begin a small group project when they come to class. The instructor's recorded lectures are essential for the flipped classroom. The lecture is easily accessed by the student from any device with an internet connection. The student can also access the recording again to re-watch the lecture if necessary.====

====One of the benefits to a flipped classroom is that it makes optimal use of the instuctor and student time. The instructor has increased time to discuss complex topics and to work with students - either one-on-one or in the classroom.====

====In a traditional classroom, a student must be present for every session to hear the lecture, and then work on assignments outside of the classroom. This can often present problems, especially if the student has a part time or even a full time job.====

In a flipped classroom, instructors are making education worth a student's investment of time and money by ensuring the classrom experience is productive and meaningful.
====After reading this article, I feel like this would be a wonderfui learning experience to explore further, especially in the area of the province where I teach. This would be a way of connecting the students from the surrounding communities together. Right now our Workplace students are in class full days on Thursdays and Fridays. The one issue we have is that some students have to travel nearly two hours to attend class. During the winter months, the roads aren't always ideal and the temperatures are very cold for travelling. In a flipped classroom experience, the students wouldn't have to travel so often because they could watch the lectuire portion at home. This would save the students both time and money. This is a concept worth looking into for sure .....====

Article obtained on September 30, 2012 from website: www.centerdigitaled.com/paper/The Flipped Clasroom.html
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(Ruth) Cindy - hi and sorry I didn't respond sooner to your concern about no sound on the video. I am wondering because it is an internal video (ie. stored on an internal source here at the college is the reason why you can't hear it). I'm sorry about that, because it really is a good little video. I shall see what I can do to get a sound copy up.

(Michele) As we both teach in an ECe workplace program, and from your reply to me, I can certainly see how effective a Flipped classroom would be for us. I also have students travelling 1 to 2 hours to class and last week's bad weather had many students absent from class. How great it would have been if they could have kept up with the work through instrctor videos of the course content. This concept as lots of food for thought; perhaps an idea that could be explored at the next curriculm review.

__**October 9, 2012 - FINDING A BLOG**__
[] ECE Blogspot found on October 9, 2012

__**October 9, 2012 POPPLET**__

 * Popplet made by Ruth, Michele, Melanie and Cindy:**

__**October 16, 2012 - WEBQUEST ASSIGNMENT**__
A webquest I would like to make for my students would be on the topic of Professional Development. Near the end of the second year of the Eary Childhood Education program, the students take a course called __Professionalism__ which covers some of the professional opportunities after they graduate and suggests ways to keep current in the field of Early Childhood throughout their careers, even after they have received their diploma. It also covers how to search for a job, resume making. portfolios, job interviews, etc. Because we live in a rural area of the province, it is sometimes more difficult for our students to identify with some of the professional organizations associated with ECE because they are most often located in Winnipeg. The purpose of this WebQuest would be to have students research websites for the professional organizations available to them. I would want them to become familiar with what services each organization provides and what the benefits would be to becoming a member, etc.

I would divide the Webquest into Six Parts:

1) __Introduction__ - I would intrroduce the WebQuest by identifying the Learning Outcomes from the Professionalism course which apply to this assignment - so the student is clear on why it will be useful and how they can apply it in their future career. I would also provide a written description of why it is important to be professional in their career and in the field of Early Childhood Education.

2) __Task__ - The task would be to search several websites from professional organizations and learn why they are an important and valuable source of information / peer support for Early Childhood Educators. I would try to outline their task(s) as clearly as possible in a logical order so the student has a high chance of success in this assignment.

3) __Information Sources__ - Websites I would have them explore would be:
 * [|www.mccahouse.org] Manitoba Child Care Association
 * [|www.naeyc.org] National Association for the education of Young Children
 * [|www.cayc.ca] Canadian Association for Young Children
 * [|www.cccf-fcsge.ca] Canadian Child Care Federation

During the WebQuest, I would also have them research the following blogsites:
 * [|http://canadianece.ca] This is a blog about learning outdoors, children and nature, play activities, etc.
 * [|http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.ca] This is a blog about natural outdoor spaces
 * [|http://play-basedclassroom.blogspot.ca] This is a blog with ideas for ECE's to use for a play-based curriculum

4) __Description of Process__ - I would give specific questions the students had to answer so they would have a sense of direction once they begin the WebQuest. For example - they might need to go to the Manitoba Child Care Association website and explore the information provided to answer the following questions: a) What are the benefits of being a member of the MCCA? b) What the Annual Provincial MCCA Conference, when/where is it held, what workshops are provided, etc. c) What other professional training opportunities does the MCCA provide? (such as Ethics Training, etc.) d) What other support services are provided by the MCCA ?(insurance benefits to ECE's, publications, salary scale information, etc.)

5) __Guidance__ - I would provide any suggestions/tips/hints that might assist the student in locating the information from the website - especally if the website is a large or complicated one. I might suggest which areas to "click" on to lead the student in the right direction. I would try to leave it as open ended as possible - so there are many opportunities for the student to be as self-directed as possible.

6) __Conclusion__ - I would conclude by briefly reviewing the tasks required by the student to successfully complete their Webquest. I would also request feedback from the student so I can make adjustments as necessary for the assignment to make it as user-friendly as possible. I would also welcome any suggestions the students had for topics for future WebQuests in other courses.

=__**Comments on Individual Student Presentations**__= =__**on Learner-Centered Approaches**__:=

**__October 16, 2012__**

 * __Kyle__** - K-W-L, Scaffolding, Role Playing - lots of interesting ideas presented Kyle ! I like how you said the K-W-L gives the students a sense of control if they know what they need to know, etc. Also - that the roleplaying in "Sales" helps students to gain insight into their own understanding and helps to reveal their strenghts and weaknesses.


 * __Melanie__** - I enjoyed your presentation about how you can incorporate discovery learning, graphic organizers and cooperative learning in your teaching in Early Childhood Education. I really thought the "Drive By Religion" presentations were a great idea to give the students a general idea of the many religions they may encounter with the families of their centres.


 * __Danya__** - your presentation was very informative ! It was nice to hear that you are using these learner-centered approaches already. Your use of Cooperative Learning, Learning Centres and Discovery Learning sounds like you have your students actively engaged and therefore they wil most likely be more productive and have a higher level of learning happening.

Great presentation Rob !
 * __Rob__** - you gave good examples of how you use clicker technology, webquests, and also cooperative learning in your classes. You provided great examples so we could all see exactly how you go about this in your classroom.


 * __Bitia__** - I liked how you explained the use of Role Playing in your classes - scenarios with the technologist, doctor and patient, etc. to be used for problem solving, and which allows for students to use crictical thinking skills. Also - the use of journals in class sounds like a wonderful opportunity for the students to ask questions and have them answered.


 * __Carol__** - very clear presentation - you were easy to understand and you provided lots of information. I found it very interesting how you use Role Playing in your class for learning about the use of restraints. I liked how you shared an example with the class and told us how sometimes your students will say "Gee - I never knew it felt this way", etc. Excellent teaching tool to have them develop empathy towards their patients, etc. Great job !!

__**Darrell**__ - wonderful presentation to our class ! You explained how you could use Cooperative learning, Simulation and Role Playing in your teaching for the DART service, etc. . The roleplaying for fare disputes was something I had never even thought about before. I think everyone got a real "eye opener" after watching the video you provided about the bus driver being beaten - what a crazy world we live in at times !! I can see now that bus drivers would need to be prepared for anything - so it's great that you expose them to several scenarios that could happen in the future.


 * __Andrew__** - Your ideas were presented in a very clear way, and easy to understand. Your Journalling idea is a great way for students to see their growth over the duration of the course. Also - the Role Playing is an excellent learning tool for practice in real-life scenarios your students may encounter once they are in the work force. Nice job !

**__October 23, 2012__**

 * __Aaron__** - I like how you did your presentation "live" over the phone as a remote student. It was great to hear a live voice during the presentation . I think I will try that next time for mine. I liked how you said your students will remember better by using one of the learner-centered approaches, rather than falling alseep watching a powerpoint. I also found it interesting when you said you would have your students in the Engine-Building course diagnose the engine problems, disaaemble the engine and then rebuild the engine. Very hands-on for their occupation.


 * __Don__** - Cool diagrams for your presentation ! Your presentation to our class was very clear and easy to understand even though I was previously not familiar with the electrical terms, etc. You made it easy to see how you would approach the teaching to make it learner-centered. I liked how you said you would insert "faults" for the students and have them correct the problem. Great for troubleshooting, etc.


 * __Harry__** - I enjoyed your presentation. I thought your practical trouble-shooting /scenario ideas were great - and having the students come up with a credible job plan would be such useful practice for their future occupations. I also found your ideas interesting about having the students role-play situations where the students would handle customer complaints. I'm sure the students would find this very practical in their careers. It could also prevent many mis-handled customer relations and make for a smoother interaction between everyone if the students know what they "might" be up against in the future when dealing with the public.


 * __Stephen__** - graphic arts instructor - such an intersting variety of students - brand new immigrants, young/older students, tsudents taking the course for personal development or just to further their learning, photography students, ESL students, etc. This must present a challenge at times to teach everyone at once. You seem like you are very positive about the challenge - and interested in "keeping more experiences students engaged". Lots of great ideas on how you will change the courses you teach and make them learner-centered. Excellent !


 * __Johanna__** - You kept everyone interested throughout your presentation - very interesting ! You brougt up things people wouldn't usually think of - e.g. how hair color formulas are unique for each person depending on various factors - medications they take, etc. Wonderful ideas on how to use role-playing in your teaching - to help students "practise" situations that arise with client/consultant relationships. Lots of practical groupwork in your teaching - great cooperative learning idea with the color wheel.


 * __Ruth__** - I LOVED your webquest for your ECE students !! It is so straightforward and yet covers lots of information and has many learning opportunities for the student. Perfect learner-centered approach for today's student. Plus - it looks SO fun to do !! Itwould keep the student engaged and also allow them to work at their own pace. Wonderful !


 * __Derek__**- Great presentation - you said you like to call your simulations "fun time" - so very true - students do tend to "have fun" when they are doing hands-on activities that they find useful. You explained the subjects you teach well. Great to have the students do troubleshooting ladder diagrams, design flaws, etc. It's great that you let the students know it's fine to make mistakes - that's how we learn. I really liked when you said you tell your students "to ask their questions now" - not wait until they are on the job.


 * __Scott__** - You presented some very interesting information Scott ! I liked how you covered so many learner -centered approaches. Also - that your students are in a consequence-free environment - it's okay to make mistakes - there's many learning opportunities as we work through mistakes. I thought you had a great idea with your activity called 'Scott, let me explain to you what a motor starter is_" What a brilliant idea to add some fun when finding out what students know. It's a simple idea - but I bet it's a memorable assignment for the students.

__**Michele**__ - you had an excellent presentation which I found especially interesting because as you know, I teach in Early Childhood Education as well. I absolutely LOVED your diorama assignment - how cool is that ?? I bet your students absolutely love doing that activity !! So much more realistic and hands-on than just a floor plan ! I am interested in trying something like that the next time I teach Design The Children's Setting to our students. They would learn so much more that way for sure !! Fantastic presentation Michele !!


 * __Cindy Streifel__**** - My Learner-Centered Approaches Oct. 23 presentation - Part One (Animoto)

[] My Learner-Centered Approach presentation - Part Two (Animoto) []

=__**Comments on PBL Learning Poject Student Presentations:**__= =**__October 30, 2012__**= =**__November 6, 2012__**= I have enjoyed listening to fiddle music for years - but I now have a deeper appreciation of how much work it would be to actually learn to play. Great presentation !
 * __Ruth__** - what an interesting presentation on skipping !! Very informative about all the techniques and the benefits of skipping - loved the actual demonstrations - it looked like a lot of fun !!
 * __Derek/Scott__** - I did not know how much groundwork is involved in choosing/purchasing windows..... it was a real eye-opener as to how much research should be done ahead of time !
 * __Michele__** - what an beautiful finished project - and something you'll have as a keepsake for a long time ! You really described the steps well and the photographs really added to the presentation - it really gave all of us a wonderful visual !!
 * __Rob/Bitia__** - Very inspiring - I would never have been "brave enough" to try painting - but you definitely made it look fun and your finished product was so beautiful !! Maybe some day I'll give it a try..... loved the paintings you both did !
 * __Melanie__** - What a beautiful & informative presentation ! You provided insight to a topic many of us have never had experience with, but most likely will at some point in our lives. This is obviously a difficult time for you and your family but you are showing your love and resilience by moving forward and being a tremendous support to your mother in law and taking things one day at a time. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience with our class.
 * __Don__** - your presentation was so entertaining !! I totally loved the horse-riding scene !! Too funny !! It was awesome - I'm sure you will be making more videos in the weeks to come !!
 * __Carol__** - I admit I have never tried sushi - mainly because it isn't available in our area - but you made it look so tasty - I think I will definitely be trying it the first chance I get ! Good for you to actually learn to make your own !
 * __Harry__** - Geocaching sounds so fun ! I know you said you didn't actually "find' your geocache, but keep trying and I'm sure you will !! It looks like an excellent hobby and fun family activity I'd like to try someday !
 * __Steven__** - Good for you for learning how to sew !! It looks like you did a wonderful job for your first try and you made an item you can actually use !! Great job !!
 * __Johanna__** - Johanna - great presentation on 'How to Cook Lasagna " - as I mentioned in the chat - it actually made me hungry watching your presentation - haha..... good for you - looks like you were successful !! :)
 * __Danya__** - what a unique idea for a project ! I can't wait to see your video - I've been so interested in trying a similar project - because as you said - it can be very hard to "Pay it Forward" without people knowing - so you have encouraged me to keep trying "without getting caught" ..... great job !
 * __Kyle__** - I can tell you spent so much time on this project - I am so "not technical" so I could never begin do this :) but I found your presentation so interesting - good for you for taking on such a lengthly project !!
 * __Darrell/Andrew__ -** this was so informative and interesting - I had no idea there was so much involved in playing the fiddle.
 * __Aaron__ -** Wow - I learned so much from listening to your presentation on your cloning project !! I found the "necessity for cleanliness" the most surprising of all - as you said - it's like preparing for a surgery - but on a plant .... how cool is that !!

[|http://prezi.com/281mmkr8w_ue/pbl-project-inquiry-based-learning/]
 * __Cindy Streifel__**** - My PBL Project on "How To Operate a Jackhammer" (Oct. 30 presentation):

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