Ben's Blog

  Coding is something that I am almost entirely unfamiliar with. In our society, coding is made out to be a big, scary endeavor which only professionals and technology experts have access to. However, since coding and technology are becoming more and more important in students lives, and in the Education system, it is imperative that we teach students the basics when they are young so that they do not fear coding, but instead have an understanding of it.  Scratch has proven to be a fantastic avenue for young coders, it allows students to understand the basic of coding without the intimidating aspects that come with complex programs. I have created a basic lesson that allows for the introduction of coding to be made easy in an elementary classroom, and gives students an opportunity to see how and why coding is so important. Lesson Plan Link here!

  This week, we focused on creating a lesson plan that focuses on digitally connecting with our natural world. I took this as an opportunity for students to take technology outside the classroom and use it for inquiry and research purposes in the Small crawling and flying animals unit. My lesson plan can be read here! I plan to use technology like this in the future, not only because tech is becoming so prevalent in young students lives, but also because students should be able to see the benefits of using technology for research instead of using it for games, or as a class distraction. I really think that the application of technologies in the classroom have unlimited potential for creating engaging, and meaningful lessons that foster skills for students to use in later grades, as well as in their personal lives.

  My virtual field trip takes place in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine. I chose to use this location as an example of how I can use virtual field trips in my future practice.       As we are well aware by this point, field trips are becoming more difficult to plan. This is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the inability to visit public places in large groups. Virtual field tips such as these are extremely handy as teachers, as we can plan out specific points of interest that we can educate students with. The great thing about these points of interest is the also allow students to explore the surrounding areas, and make observations about the areas presented.      In my example, students would be able to see three key areas surrounding the Chernobyl blast zone without any risk of radiation, and can also view more areas within the city of Pripyat. Not only is it beneficial to students in that they can visually explore these areas, b...

  Link to our Lesson Plan  and Slides What Worked? Creating the lesson over Kahoot was a breeze, it was so intuitive and user friendly that I think I could even throw a quiz together in class and have it ready for students within 15 minutes. However, one thing that did not work because I did not troubleshoot it was the actual link to the Kahoot. I was able to have students join in, although they weren't able to see the questions or answers for some reason. Just another online-teaching mishap that I get the benefit of learning from though! Any challenges I encountered? I encountered problems mostly with the format of the app. Students had used Kahoot before and so they were familiar with how it was supposed to work, unfortunately when I tried to have them play through a pre-made Kahoot, they apparently could not see the questions or the answers so they had to completely guess what the correct answer was. I think I need to spend a bit more time with the app to fully grasp its fu...