Digital Curation

Digital curation is the process of selecting, preserving, maintaining, collecting, and archiving digital assets. It involves collecting, organizing, categorizing, and maintaining digital resources to ensure their accessibility for present and future use. As well as presenting items/concepts in the way one wants them to be perceived.

Beluga Check-in

Earlier in the term (week 4) we did a visual check using the squirrel scale to relate a current state of feeling to, this week we were met with a Star Wars themed beluga check-in. (adorable).

Using animals, which are often perceived as non-judgmental and comforting, can make it easier for people to open up about their feelings. This method can be particularly beneficial for those who struggle to articulate their emotions verbally.

Sharing these feelings can foster a sense of connection and understanding, helping individuals realize that they are not alone in their experiences. This can reduce feelings of isolation and promote emotional well-being. As well as giving the teacher a sense of their class and how they are feeling; this being important as understanding your class will provide deeper relationships and effects how might the day be structured.

Organizing and Curating Teaching Materials

It’s essential to have a dedicated space for all your teaching resources, as well as growing a network around/from it. Do not do all the work yourself! There is likely someone who already did it!

Categorize your teaching materials and resources (people, resources, things sent, and plans), helping to quickly find what you need and building a network. Using clear and descriptive file names that include what the file relates to and the full date also assists in quickly identifying and retrieving files when needed. As well as keeping desktops clutter-free and displaying only essential information and materials that need to be readily accessible.

Digital resources are easier to update and share. Ensure that your sources are in an editable format like a Word document (some programs now can edit PDF) to facilitate easy modifications and sharing. Stacks of physical books and resources can get disorganized and hard to find, however, nice to have to be able to physically see/use. By updating and keeping a digital copies of your materials, you can avoid losing important information, maintain relevance, and have everything in one place.

Digital tools for personal knowledge management.

What ever works for you as long as you have intentionality and a plan, as well as starting early (a love letter for your future self if you will).

• OneNote (integrate various formats and can provide narrative)
• Notion (can link pages to other pages)
• GoodNotes (great for digital note taking)
• WordPress (a platform for blogging and organizing content)
• Keep (sticky note tool – capture ideas in the world)
• Obsidian (advanced note-taking and linking ideas.)

As well as…

• Taking screenshots to include when other method are incompatible.
• Dictating discussions to reflect on later, noting where/who the information came from to grow your network.
• Podcasts are a powerful tool for both student and teacher access to information.

EdCamp Experience

An EdCamp is a learning design model used and created by teachers, of whom being frustrated with professional development not meeting their student’s needs. It is a user generated conference (an ‘unconference’) in which ideas for collaboration and conversation are participant driven and comes from interest and topics important to participants and then discussed about. This can be used with any number of people and age.

Discussion ideas are generated and put forth (ours were written on paper of which we stuck to the wall to see more clearly – shown below), then voted upon to decide which ones are going to be covered.

Voting dots, also known as a dotmocracy, can be used in schools to:

• This method gives students a sense of choice and ownership in decision making processes, encouraging active participation.
• Students can vote on classroom activities, project topics, or even classroom rules.
• Ideas can be prioritized, allocating dots to identify and address ideas deemed most important, valuable, popular, or relevant.
• Feedback and reflections can be gathered from a dotmocracy, gathering perspectives and experiences, allowing for adjustments of situations/teaching/policies.

One does no need to be an expert to put a topic out; it might be something you want to give attention to or are interested, confused, or see a problem with.

In the activity participants can move around and find space anywhere that works for discussion and collaboration, as well as being able to switch between groups

Here is a video that explains a EdCamp in a brief overview of the 1st EdCampVic that occurred on Feb.28th 2015:

Our Conversation – Field trips

When to do field trips, the beginning or the end? At the end of the unit is generally a solid choice, however, if possible, doing both is the best approach. Having a field trip at the beginning of the unit can spark interest and build context for the topic. At the end of a unit ties everything together, connects/demonstrates/applies knowledges gained, and as a reward/incentive.

Allow students to explore and foster meaningful connections and not putting barriers between their engagement. When a trip’s activity is more direct let them just absorb, where as an open-ended place may need more structure or coupled with more guided instruction. As an example, worksheets have to be open-ended if used; not ask a task to complete, rather a guide to lead them through the experience on a more meaningful level (eg. scavenger hunts or questions with various interpretations).

Another important engagement concept is to allow students some form of choice in their experience (Like open ended questions). An option/idea is having activities/trips where students participate in a choose your own adventure (not just following a tour guide or teacher micro-managing).

We then discussed where we would take students if barriers were not a problem (permission slips, busses, supervision, car seats, money, etc.). We are all under the ideal to take them places they not normally go with their families, as well as the importance of having them be immersive, contextual, relationship, and relevant.

Themes revolving around Indigenous and cultural immersion experiences, histories and current, and fun (outdoor) activities. Teachers can also use current events, not necessarily class related, but greater world related; emphasizing how it effects us and how we might use/think about, and how it came to be that way.

As well as alternative opportunities. It is hard to do field trips when needing to apply for grants before you can get to know your students and/or develop discussions and interests. Thus we need to look at what is more valuable and how things can work, as well as creating our own field trip like activities; thematic days and virtual reality (The Royal BC Museum has VR views of their exibits).

Field trips that are interactive are incredibly powerful as they immerse students in the experience, helping them build connections beyond their usual social circles. These trips can spark interest and provide the motivation students need to persevere through school.

Reflections After