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After the conference section of the class, the second half was witnessing the first few class presentations for their tech inquiry projects. I thought Val did a great job with only alotting 1 group per topic to be used as the rest of the class was able to learn new things from different topics rather than the same. A lot of these techniques/technology allowed me to gain valuable ideas and resources that I will hope to implement in my future years as a teacher.

1. Josh. This presentation was based on google apps and how you can use them to postively affect youth, and also how they could potentially be used as negatives.
2. Mikaela. This topic was the effect of technology on literacy and lagnuage and all the tools available online or technology itself that can help students develop language and literacy attributes.
3. Lauren, Leona, Maxie, & Conrad. The topic for this presentation was mindfulness apps in the classroom, how it plays a role in ones life and what does mindfulness mean. This was extremely helpful as they each provided an app that they thought would benefit the classroom experience or solely ones mental health. Apps included were; ‘Stop, Breath & Think Kids’, ‘Simple Habit’ and ‘Cosmic Kids’.
4. Jessica, Madi, Kayleigh & Jess. Topic for this was how to use technology to aid students with learning disabilities in the classroom. This group also provided useful apps and games to assist students and improve the classroom environment.

For today’s class, there was a mini field trip that we embarked in. We were able to walk over to the Cornett building to see the conference rooms that UVIC has to offer and the different (advanced) technology that is provided in these rooms. Originally there was supposed to be a guest speaker to teach this lesson, however, the video chat did not work so Val quickly took over and taught this for us. This was another favourite class of mine as it provided me again with a new perspective on learning. The majority of this lesson focused on multi-access which is having a computer and face-to-face course option. This was something Val was clearly passionate about since she revealed to us how she fought to have this at uvic. This option was extremely useful for those who have health conditions or live in rural areas where transportation would have been longer than the actual class lecture space. Inclusion is what stuck out most when Val discussed the benefits of having such technology/options. An example of a positive use of this would be if a student suffered from a severe health issue, and instead of opting out and missing their entire elementary/highs school experience they could use video chat through a robot that could still incorporate the student into social cues and friendship opportunities. As well as they would be able to get the education they deserve at the same price as the rest (minus the expense for the robot which is sometimes covered). Multimodality is a new and advanced way of progressing into the future of inclusion where each student will receive the opportunity to learn and grow.

Today’s class was one I was most eager about as I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. At first, I could not wrap my head around the idea that Minecraft could potentially be used positively in a classroom. However, after listening to the students who came in as guest speakers from Colquitz and Spectrum school, I have officially changed my mind. These children vouched for Minecraft in such a profound way, for example, one student told us how after playing Minecraft he discovered that in the future he hopes to become an architect. The teacher who also came into to discuss the topic mentioned how she uses Minecraft for math (patterns), socials, art, teamwork, and spelling. There are also specific controls that allow the teacher to keep track of the student’s games and progress, she even demonstrated with the class how she can freeze games. The pausing of games is a good use of keeping this game safe and educational. After playing the game I was able to see what the appeal was, it was very addictive and really tested your limits as you need to use critical thinking as to how to succeed or build in the game (depending on what the mode was put on). There was a clear message of collaboration being present as whenever the UVIC students didn’t know how to move their player etc, the middle school students would come over and assist us in any questions we had. My favourite part was how there were different modes that could be implemented in the game such as survival mode or free play. Overall this presentation was extremely informative as it provided me with a new perspective on technology in the classroom.

Rather than a guest speaker presentation in our regular classroom, the technology class embarked on a school visit in downtown Victoria, called the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. This school visit was unlike anything I have seen or experienced before, with the newest of technology surrounding every inch of the school and no paper insight I was intrigued to learn more. The school’s premise is based off the idea that students are in charge of their own learning, meaning they could advance to the next ‘grade’ or ‘level’ as fast or slow as they please. This even went as far as completing grade 12 early and beginning in online first year university courses. There is a main website each individual enrolled in the school gets which has a list of things that must be completed before you graduate, which I found interesting as you didn’t have to complete grade 8 math in order to progress to grade 9 math which is an foreign concept to me. Although I do find this new way of teaching to be fascinating, I also believe that there is no gradual release of responsibility. Instead it is a bombarding of responsibility at the beginning of ones high school education. Therefore, I believe there should be a balance between the traditional BC schools and this enhanced one. A fusion of pen and paper with a gradual release of responsibility AND the incorporation of ore inquiry based learning with technology being on the forefront.