Presentation by Alec Couros

This past week we had the pleasure of having Alec Couros speak to our class. Alec Couros is a professor of educational technology and media in the Faculty of Education and the University of Regina. Once again this class began with me witnessing yet another amazing communication tool available on the internet! Alec spoke to us through Adobe Connect. We did experience a few problems with the microphone where he would occasionally cut out, but overall I think this tool is great! We were part of a private group where we could not only listen to him speak, but also see and follow his presentation on the screen and contribute to a group chat (which was great to let him know when we were having trouble hearing him!).

I really enjoyed listening to Alec's presentation. He spoke about different tools to use in the classroom, such as Edmodo, polleverywhere, remind101, etc. Then he discussed the movement of technology into the classroom. As for the rest of the talk.. well he summed up his ideas very well! He focused on teaching us to: 

1. Embrace technology tools,

2. Experiment with new forms of Expression,

3. Teach digital citizenship,

4. Connect and learn via social networks, and

5. Make learning visible

Two things I'd like to weigh in on:

1. As Alec mentioned in his presentation, kids are becoming increasingly familiar with all kinds of electronic devices and online social media. Even kids under the age of 13 have facebook accounts. By age 11 many kids have smartphones. Alec briefly discussed how many schools are moving towards the BYOD motto; ie. Bring Your Own Device. Students will bring smartphones, tablets, iPads, laptops, etc. to class. This seems crazy to me. Don't get me wrong - crazy in a good way! I remember when I was in high school.. "no cellphones allowed in class!" is what I would hear from every teacher. Nevermind the idea of bringing in a laptop or an ipad. And that was only 6 years ago! Come to think of it... I didn't even own a cell phone until I was 16 (Imagine that!), nor did I have a laptop until I entered University. Nowadays kids are getting tablets at age 5 and cell phones at age 11!
But complaining and jealousy aside... this is a good thing, in terms of the educational opportunities it creates. There might be negative aspects as well, but for the most part I think the movement towards electronic devices in the classroom is a great idea. There is so much learning that can be done using these devices. Sure, there is the worry that students will be spending their time on Facebook or texting their friends during class. There is also the importance of using the internet to share and learn in an appropriate and respectful way. But the way I see it, it's more rewarding to embrace it; not fight it! Teach and model digital citizenship and appropriate classroom behaviour. From there, it's nothing but quality learning!

                              Hooray for change!

2. "It's no longer enough to do powerful work if no one sees it" - Chris Lehmann

This is a quote Alec shared with us to highlight his point that learning needs to be made visible. If you do amazing work, share it with the world! Alec really got me thinking about the aspect of give and take involved in social networking. It is important to remember that you should share just as much as you receive. This got me thinking about my own online sharing. I find a lot of useful information and fantastic resources online, but how much do I actually share?
So what did I take away from this? Online learning is a two way street; I need to give back just as much as I take. But the best thing I took away from it... a new goal! - Share, share, share!

Thanks for presenting Alec!

Oh and on a side note: another special thanks to Alec for introducing me to Kid Snippets. Should I be embarrassed that I had never head of/seen these videos?! I love them. These videos are hilarious, and so creative. A script written and spoken by kids, acted out by adults; enough said, right? If you are like me and have never heard of these videos (but have now!), I highly suggest watching them. My favourite so far: Driver's Ed