Voyage Coetail

What is changing because of technology: education or the educators? This week’s prompt gives me a lot to reflect on! That’s another good thing about Coetail: the reflection part! Reflecting on our learning is already a change in education and it is even more visible and doable because of technology. Obviously, I’ve always reflected on my teaching but not as much as I do now. I’ve never blogged about it. [caption id="attachment_420" align="aligncenter" width="300"] flickr photo by omran.jamal https://flickr.com/photos/62855773@N08/10757491534 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license[/caption] Reflection is, I think, part of the growth mindset and if we want changes to happen, don’t we, educators, need to have a growth mindset? Easy to say when we know how scary tech integration can be sometimes. Carol Dweck, author of “ Mindset ” explained in Recognizing and overcoming false growth mindset We have come to realize that every one of us is a mixture of bo...

One of the most important concepts in teaching is creating opportunities to make thinking visible. When teachers can really see the thinking of their students, they can provide these students with the support and encouragement they need to be successful. I truly believe in this statement regardless of learning strategies educators are willing to use. Tech integration is just a tool to support the students’ Learning. Games, game-based and gamification As I teach K1 and K2, I cannot see my classroom without games. First of all games are fun! Then learning is fun. Thus games have a place in my classroom. I know however that games tend to be less present in my older grades, French classes. [caption id="attachment_407" align="aligncenter" width="300"] flickr photo by Christos Tsoumplekas (Back again!) https://flickr.com/photos/tsoumplekas/4989423482 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license[/caption] I find that just so easy to play with the youngest. Ev...

What I like the most with Coetail is that I have valid reasons to try new things!! As this week is about project-based learning, problem-based learning, challenge based learning….I jumped in and introduced a Genius Hour-like to my Grade 5. (To be honest, the idea came after I attended Marcello Mongardi session at Learning 2) …More on that later… [caption id="attachment_392" align="aligncenter" width="300"] flickr photo by Prairiekittin https://flickr.com/photos/prairiekittin/5951368139 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-ND) license[/caption] The philosophy behind PBL, CBL, PBL… Projects: I like doing projects with my students but at the same time, just the thought of organizing a project gave me goose bump! As yes, it’s always fun to start a project, I find also always difficult to finish it on time, to manage the unforeseen…. That’s why I’ve always kept it simple, kept it analog and more like a wrap-up of what has been learnt in the unit. Maybe it’s no...

Tech integration in a French classroom Have I already told you that I teach French? I believe that teaching language is all about bringing authenticity in the classroom. Because learning and acquiring a new language must be a need. That’s where technology integration fits into my language classroom because it brings authentic materials and I can create “authentic “tasks.   Technology also changes the way teachers teach, offering educators effective ways to reach different types of learners and assess student understanding through multiple means. It also enhances the relationship between teacher and student. When technology is effectively integrated into subject areas, teachers grow into roles of adviser, content expert, and coach. Technology helps make teaching and learning more meaningful and fun. This quote from Edutopia , yet wrote 8 years ago summarizes perfectly my definition of technology integration. #learning 2 I just attended the first ever Learning 2.0 Europe in Milan. An...