LIBE 477- Inquiry Blog 2 Developing ICT skills

 Inquiry Blog Post 2- Developing ICT skills and Pedagogy

When thinking about my own ICT skills and pedagogy I will admit, there is lots more to learn. I am average in skill with word processing, database, internet and email use and use a range of technology such as PCs, laptops, chromebooks, tablets, iPads and smartphones.  So, to further develop my ICT skills and pedagogy, a good area to start would be to look at the Google G suite products being used by my school division right now.

As a sub, I’m not required to do any training with this range of products but need to use them often during the classes I cover. There is training available through my school board, however, and there is also information available on the internet.  I found two sources that were useful to get started, one is a slideshow on google docs from this site:

 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q7hM_Ibjj3eZrtCgGlPG5C3gPuf9OAxJY21wZ5uv6Oc/present?slide=id.p

 

The other was a video on google apps for education that had links that went into greater detail on each app.

 



 Doing a little bit of searching I was able to educate myself a bit on the Google G Suite program my school division is now using. The next thing to investigate is tools and apps that I could use in the classroom to help students develop their digital literacy. I teach at the elementary level so finding appropriate resources can sometimes be challenging. I found three different websites that listed free apps for elementary and even for kindergarten aged children, which can be difficult to find.

 https://elearningindustry.com/digital-education-tools-teachers-students

https://www.education.com/games/?msclkid=db3184329481106e7110e630772bdbb2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20Brand%20-%20BMM&utm_term=%2Beducation.com%20%2Bgames&utm_content=education.com%20games

 https://www.thetechedvocate.org/28-best-apps-kids-kindergarten/

 

Besides doing my own research online to keep up with the latest digital resources, networking and building relationships are also good ways to maintain my digital professional development. Teachers talk, and there is almost always a couple at each school who are technologically confident. Creating an unofficial mentorship situation with one of these kinds of teachers would be helpful to keeping abreast of new digital developments and develop a support network for my learning.

My school board also offers professional development from time to time that I can take advantage of, and during teachers' conventions there are often workshops on ICT, new tech, apps, and digital tools. These workshops also present an opportunity to network further within the school division with technologically minded teachers. These are ways that educators and professionals are sharing their learning within my school division which doesn’t have teacher librarians, but if they did this would be a good area to build a support group for sharing new digital resources as well.

 

 

Works Cited:

 

1.       Google Educator. (2017). G Suite for Education: The Absolute Basics. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q7hM_Ibjj3eZrtCgGlPG5C3gPuf9OAxJY21wZ5uv6Oc/present?slide=id.p

 

2.       Super Schoolhouse. (2019). Youtube- Google Apps for Education. Retrieved from https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrWq7nA4gJiBzQALQAWFQx.;_ylu=c2VjA3NlYXJjaAR2dGlkAw--;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcyMTA0NgRfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGNzcmNwdmlkA2lLYVd0VEV3TGpLYklEUzVYeGpCandBSE1qWXdOQUFBQUFDSWVobFUEZnIDbWNhZmVlBGZyMgNzYS1ncARncHJpZANWcVJnZ1gud1MxR1d0Nl9jcW5NZE1BBG5fcnNsdAM2MARuX3N1Z2cDMARvcmlnaW4DY2EudmlkZW8uc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMARwcXN0cgMEcHFzdHJsAwRxc3RybAM1MwRxdWVyeQNzdXBlciUyMHNjaG9vbGhvdXNlJTIwZ29vZ2xlJTIwYXBwcyUyMGZvciUyMGVkdWNhdGlvbgR0X3N0bXADMTY0NDM1NjMyMg--?p=super+schoolhouse+google+apps+for+education&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=mcafee&type=E210CA885G91650#id=1&vid=89e2dc6a2e9848f8a850318bb7b3b2e9&action=view

 

3.       Chauhan, Ashutosh. (2018). 11 Digital Education Tools for Teachers and Students. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/digital-education-tools-teachers-students

 

4.       Education.com. (2022). Learning Library- Online Games. Retrieved from https://www.education.com/games/?msclkid=db3184329481106e7110e630772bdbb2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20Brand%20-%20BMM&utm_term=%2Beducation.com%20%2Bgames&utm_content=education.com%20games

 

5.       Lynch, Matthew. (2022). 28 of the Best Apps for Kids in Kindergarten. Retrieved from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/28-best-apps-kids-kindergarten/

 

 

Comments

  1. Hi Charmagne,
    Our school district also uses Google. I have to admit, I do find it very convenient. There are two courses that are available in order to become a certified Google Educator. They might be of interest to you. I believe anyone can enroll. You can find more information about them at https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_ca/teacher-center/certifications/?modal_active=none.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a good post that outlines strategies for your further growth and learning. I agree that it is valuable to learn more about the tools that your board uses. Google has so many valuable tools for education. Heather has linked below an excellent resource. Seeking mentorship from others is another strong strategy for professional growth. In your next post, you may want to think about adding categories or labels. These can help your blog stay organized over time. Another consideration would be to explore ways to embed your hyperlinks within the text.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks like there are lots of resources available for honing your G suite skills and there is no doubt that it is an exceptional and handy tool to use in the classroom. It sounds like you are very proactive about making time to learn and expose yourself to how it can be used with your students when you are subbing, which is impressive. It's great to have colleagues to chat with that all offer something slightly different in the ways that they use it and to have as informal 'mentors'. I have only dabbled in it as a trial before my district decided not to make the purchase, but I enjoyed what I learned about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lindsey,
      I try to find find time to learn while working but I find it's the casual conversations with staff and seeing what a variety of other teachers are doing when I sub for them that put me on to some good ideas and things to try.

      Delete

Post a Comment