Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, Math, Professional Learning and Growth

Building Thinking Classrooms – The Ice Cream Problem

This year, my colleague and I have had the chance to participate in professional development from our Math Department around Building Thinking Classrooms. We’re learning about the 14 teaching practices for enhancing learning and working with teachers at our school on implementing the practices in junior classrooms. My colleague and I shared our learning around the first three practices and as a junior team, we agreed to work on the Ice Cream Problem – found on page 96 of the book – with students. In this post, I’m sharing a little about the first three practices and what I noticed when students worked through this problem. 

Types of Tasks

When it comes to building thinking classrooms, the goal is to give students thinking tasks. Thinking tasks require students to problem-solve. When we consider the Mathematical Processes in the Ontario Math Curriculum, to solve problems, students must: draw on their prior knowledge; try out different strategies; make connections; and reach conclusions. Building Thinking Classrooms suggests that we begin with engaging in non-curricular tasks and move into curricular tasks, as the culture of thinking begins to develop. I struggle a little with the categorization of some tasks being non-curricular because I often see mathematical thinking – particularly in the area of numeracy – in tasks that have been labelled non-curricular.

In the classes that I partner with, I’m absolutely amazed by the way that students are demonstrating their thinking as they have been working on solving the Ice Cream Problem. While the problem asks students to consider the combinations with 10 flavours, we started off with 5 and our first extension was to move into 6 flavours. I’ve seen different strategies used and I have also seen students reflecting on what they have done in the past when given an extension to the problem. I have one class that is particularly excited to come down to the library to solve problems that they see as different. It’s neat to see how excited they are to talk through and work through the problems in their groups. 

Looking for non-curricular tasks? Diana Hong has curated a number. There’s also a spreadsheet of curricular tasks and a site curated by Kyle Webb that you might find of use. 

Randomized Groups

On pages 44 and 45 of Building Thinking Classrooms, we learn about the benefits of randomized groupings based on what was noticed over time:

  • Willingness to collaborate – open to working with anyone they were placed with.
  • Elimination of social barriers – learning from and with other people allowed for the crossing of social boundaries and a greater awareness of others.
  • Increased knowledge mobility – sharing of ideas with others.
  • Increased enthusiasm for Math learning – as social barriers decreased, there was an increase in enthusiasm around Math in this type of way.
  • Reduced social stress – in the selecting of groups both for students who do and who do not have strong social bonds. 

Students know when they are being grouped by readiness or for any other reason. In order for students to believe in the randomness of groups, the groups have to be visibly random.  Using cards, popsicle sticks or Flippity, randomized groups are easy to create. Also, when students know what group they are in and where to meet their group, transitions are more easily facilitated. 

Groups of 3 are ideal in the junior classroom. I created simple emoji cards that I shuffle and hand out to students. Once they have their cards, they find the matching emoji at their workstations and get going on their task. I have been so impressed by how students just find their groups and get to work. Rarely have I had students comment on not wanting to be in a particular group or not wanting to work with someone. This could in part be because they know that groups are always changing and that they will most likely be working with someone else the next time they are given a task. 

Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces

Off and on, over the years I’ve used Wipebooks and the windows in our classroom as vertical non-permanent surfaces for students to work on. Whether or not I understood the “science” behind it, I noticed that students enjoyed seeing their work or solutions up on the wall and I also noticed that it helped students share their ideas or strategies with others more easily. It was up and visible to all. Also, as a teacher, I could literally see how students were working just by glancing around the classroom.

On pages 58 to 61 of the book we learn a little more about the findings based on using vertical non-permanent surfaces:

  • When students work on whiteboards, they can quickly erase any errors, which, for them, reduces the risk of trying something. 
  • Standing necessitates a better posture, which has been linked to improvements in mood and increases in energy. 
  • Having students work vertically makes their work visible to everyone in the room, thereby increasing the porosity between groups and heightening the possibility that ideas will move between groups.

For our Ice Cream Problem, I saw all three points in action. Students wrote, erased, re-wrote and organized their ideas with confidence. Groups that were stuck glanced around the room and got ideas from others to get them started or help them consider a different way of organizing their solutions. Students have really loved working on the Wipebooks and are often shocked by how quickly time flies when solving problems in their groups. 

This year we are on a journey to support students in their enjoyment of Math. Stay tuned as I’ll continue to share more about what I’m noticing in the coming months.

Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, Technology, The Arts

ETFO’s ICT Conference

This month I had the honour of facilitating a workshop at ETFO’s ICT Conference. This year the conference was offered through ETFO’s Women’s Programs and it was a great couple of days learning from and with teachers across Ontario. This conference has always been near and dear to my heart because it was the first ETFO conference that I presented at years ago. In this post, I’m sharing a little about my session and some ideas you might consider trying with students In this post, I’m sharing a little about my session and some ideas you might consider trying with students.

Creating Art with Google Drawings!

My session was entitled: Creating Art with Google Drawings! The goal was to offer teachers the opportunity to play with Drawings, to share ideas with one another, and to consider what they might take back to their classrooms to try with students. 

I started off the session with an overview of Google Drawings and its features. I shared a cheat sheet that could be used to further familiarize oneself with the tool. From there, we jumped into using Drawings and had some fun with it.

Creating a Picture Using Shapes

Math is all around us and why not learn about shapes while working on art? After all, shape is one of the elements of art. I shared a few books that I have used over the years to help students learn about and identify shapes in the real world:

From there, participants were tasked with using 3 or more shapes to create a picture. They were also asked to label the shapes in their picture. I created a simple landscape but it was really incredible to see how creative participants were and the images they created.

This video shares how you can make a colour block landscape if you are interested in trying out a similar activity with students. 

Creating a Mosaic

Mosaics are found all around the world. From mosques and murals to stairs and fountains, mosaics have served as a means to beautify a space and also to tell stories. I shared a few with participants to get us thinking about mosaics around the world.

  • Vietnam – The Ceramic Mosaic Mural
  • Iran – Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine
  • Switzerland – Mosaik Brunnen
  • Brazil – Selarón Steps 
  • South Africa – Piazza Mosaic

It was no easy feat and yet participants were ready to go and worked towards creating their own mosaics. Some chose birds and flowers while others chose rainbows and butterflies. Zooming in and becoming very familiar with Polyline, participants worked their way to creating incredible masterpieces. Here’s a video that walks you through the process if you are interested in trying it out for yourself or working on mosaics with students. 

Google Drawings is the ultimate blank canvas and an incredible tool for creation. During the conference, I had a great time working with incredible teachers and creating masterpieces using Drawings. If you haven’t attended in the past, please look out for next year’s ICT conference. It’s hands-on, and lots of fun, and hopefully, you walk away with a few things to try with students. Even though I was facilitating this year, our discussions led me to consider other ideas for creation with students.

Arianna Lambert Modern Learning, Music, Science, Technology

Infusing Tech in Music & Science

Computer Science Education Week is a little over a month away – December 4th to 10th, 2023. During this week, teachers around the world hope to inspire students to learn about Computer Science. While the learning is not limited to this week alone, many take advantage of some of the newer activities released around this time to create a buzz in their classrooms around computer science and coding in particular. In this post, I’m sharing about 2 applications that I’m considering using with students that infuse tech in some of the subject areas that I teach. I’m not sure how new they are but they’re new to me. 

Project Beats

I’m teaching a bit of everything this year, which includes music. I’m always interested in considering how I might incorporate tech into the music class and was really excited when I came across Project Beats. As part of Code.org’s incubator, Project Beats is a program that allows people to mix, remix and perform music with code. The incubator is where you get the chance to try new things inside Code.org, and while there are sometimes glitches, I’m pretty excited about the possibilities of this one. One issue is that in order to save my work, I have to be signed into my account. Using a third-party app has its challenges in terms of privacy but I would really love to test it out with students and see what they might like to create, even if we can’t save our work online. Perhaps part of our learning would be to note our code so that in a subsequent class, we might be able to pick up where we left off. 

Similar to other block-based coding applications, in order to create a song, you simply add blocks to the “when run” block and the possibilities are endless. Choose from a variety of beats to either play on their own, together or sequentially. You can also add drums or play notes from a piano, bass or synthesizer. 

While we might start out exploring the application, I think it might be a great way for students to create for a specific audience. Perhaps they can use the music they create to describe the specific feeling or mood in a story or book. I haven’t figured out yet how we might use it but I’m certain it will come to me the closer we get to December.

 

Minecraft Education – Reinventing Cities

For the last number of years, Minecraft Education has released an Hour of Code challenge around CSEd Week. I haven’t seen one as of yet but while looking through the different challenges, I came across the Reinventing Cities Challenge and it got me thinking about one of the projects that I am helping out with, in a grade 5/6 classroom for their Science unit. The class is a part of a Design Challenge based on sustainability. The students have started to create sustainable homes and will be working towards creating a sustainable town. Basically, they’re creating a physical version of a similar project that students around the world are doing virtually in Minecraft – Reinventing Cities. I think it would be really neat to see what this class might create given the chance to use a tech tool like Minecraft Education. 

Teachers can access a downloadable toolkit that supports learning about their particular region and ways in which to build sustainably. While the project might go on a little longer than we may have planned, I think there will be some students who will really jump on it and may possibly work towards creating during their own time. 

These are just a couple of ideas I have for infusing tech in Music and Science, both for CSEd Week and beyond. In what ways might you be celebrating CSEd week this year?

Arianna Lambert Digital Citizenship, Literacy, Media Literacy, Technology

Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship Resources

I love it when a good plan comes together. I’m currently taking my Teacher-Librarian AQ and was recently tasked with creating a Digital Toolkit with resources for Digital Literacy. Considering October marks Media Literacy Week and Digital Citizenship Day, I thought it was serendipitous as it gave me the opportunity to reflect on past tools that I have used with students and consider what else I might use. In this post, I’m sharing the resource and a few other ideas that we might use with students. 

My Digital Toolkit

By no means is this an extensive list. I tried to get a few different types of resources to include in the toolkit – digital, books and a video. I also tried to include information for teachers and students. Click on the image below and you will be able to access a PDF version of the file. The links are live and will take you to the resource. 

Additional Resources

Listed below are a few other resources that I found particularly helpful when reflecting on activities I wanted to try with my students. Please check them out!

TDSB’s Digital Citizenship and Cyber Safety Guide – Resources for different panels of students and educators. Many include resources we have access to through the TDSB Virtual Library.

Lego Build and Talk – Great conversation starters for families around Digital Citizenship.  Lego Gloom Busters is an online activity to help children learn about online safety. Lego Doom the Gloom is an interactive experience to build online safety skills.  Lego Smart Dash is an online game to teach children how to make the internet a safer place.

PBS Learning Media – Digital Citizenship Lessons for a variety of grades

Media Smarts – Media Literacy 101 – Simple videos that support students in learning the key concepts of Media Literacy. Videos include a question or challenge at the end for students to consider what they have learned and/or a real-life application. 

While we’re close to saying goodbye to October, there’s an ongoing need for students to further develop their Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship skills. I hope that you may have found something new or useful to use with your students.

Arianna Lambert STEM, The Global Competencies

The Global Competencies Through STEM

As I was starting this post, I started cracking up. “On the Road Again” came to mind so I had to stop and figure out whose song it was. I don’t think that I have ever heard the entire song by Willie Nelson but the words immediately came to mind. I’m at a new school and in a new role once again! I’m continuing the work that I’ve done in the past as a STEM teacher but Library has also been added to my timetable which is a new experience for me. I’m excited for the opportunity to partner with junior teachers at my school to support students in STEM learning. 

For many of my classes, I started off with an introduction to STEM and an explanation of the TDSB’s Global Competencies, particularly since they are prominently displayed in our Library Learning Commons. For those who may not be familiar, the Global Competencies are a set of attitudes, skills and knowledge that we support students in developing over time that allow students to be able to navigate the world effectively. Through the development of these skills, we hope that they support students in contributing positively to society. 

These are sometimes big themes for little people to conceptualize in a concrete way so we’ve been working on challenges and explicitly talking about how we might use and work on improving on these skills as we work. And the skills aren’t happening in isolation. As part of our cup stacking challenge, students were reminded of the importance of problem-solving in their groups. For some of the challenges, they quickly realized that they had to flip their cups and that it would require them to effectively communicate with one another. In some instances, groups chose to take turns selecting a person who would be the leader, making sure that there was one person who was directing their collaboration. Some groups got creative in how they maneuvered the cup flips or taller stacks. Along the way, we continued to reinforce the fact that these were the skills that we were working on.

At the end of our challenges, we’ve been asking groups to reflect on the skill that they thought they did the best in and the skill that they feel the need to work on during our next challenge. The students have been so reflective! They are learning that part of effective communication is not only in the way they speak to one another but how we also listen. They are learning that being a leader doesn’t mean doing everything but also knowing how to communicate with your team in order to ensure that everyone is doing their part. As they work to problem solve, they’re learning that there isn’t just one way that works but that we can solve problems in a variety of ways. We’re failing and learning that the process and how we worked on these skills is more important than what the finished product may look like.

Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, self reflection

All Good Things…

We’ve all heard the saying, “All good things must come to an end”.  Blogging for the Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning has been an honour and a learning experience. Starting in 2017, I wasn’t sure what I was walking into and yet, here we are in 2023 and I can honestly say that I have learned a great deal. This is my last year blogging for the Heart and Art and in this post, I will share some of what I have learned.

Black Women’s Voices Are Needed in Education

The title alone should suffice and really needs no explanation but I’m happy to go a little more in-depth. In June 2020, I wrote a post about Crazy Hair Day. In it, I shared personally about my hair journey and the number of Black women who reached out to share similar experiences and feelings around the day was shocking. Not because I saw myself as being the only one who experienced trauma in school related to hair but because there were so many and that in 2020, we still felt as though our voices and objections to these days were not being and continue to not be heard.

Black women have a lot to say in the world of education based on our lived experiences as students of the system and also as we navigate it as teachers. I believe that our experiences are unique and as we continue to have conversations related to equity, those experiences need to be heard and change needs to happen. While that post was written over 3 years ago and there were many conversations in schools happening around spirit days, I wonder what has changed. And that’s just one area that needs to be interrogated. How are Black women and their experiences in education being valued? There are certainly a number of policies that have been created and I’m interested in how that leads to action. 

Growing a Thicker Skin

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about work that I have done in the classroom. When I look back, it’s sometimes shocking to see what I have done in the past and how it’s no longer a practice that I would consider doing today. I’ve grown as an educator because of conversations I’ve had, books I’ve read and opportunities to reflect. 

Over the last couple of years, there have been people who have chosen to critique my work in public rather than having a conversation directly with me. While I know that my work is public and open to scrutiny as I post it, there are moments when it doesn’t sit right with me. It’s in times like these that I am learning to grow a thicker skin. It’s not that I’m above reproach but if you’re really interested in making me a better teacher, reach out. Share your incredible strategies and work with me. Comment on my post and let’s have a conversation. I sometimes find it interesting whose work gets critiqued and this is probably another reason why we might need to continue to listen to the voices of Black women.

Reflection in Practice is Essential

I mentioned before that there are some things that I have written about in the past that wouldn’t make the cut now. Blogging has etched these in my educational journey and I’m so grateful for it. I’ve seen ways in which I have grown over the years through reflection and it excites me. Taking time to be reflective and understanding ways in which I’ve needed to change my thoughts or actions has made me a better teacher. Teaching is a practice. In the words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” We have so many opportunities to learn and grow in education. Let’s work towards doing better.

I look forward to what this year will bring in my blogging adventures. To those whom my work has impacted and whom I’ve had the privilege of meeting on this journey, thank you. Let’s have a great year!

Arianna Lambert Technology, The Arts, Year End Activities

Pixel Art

As the final days of school wound down, junior students learned about pixels – minute areas of illumination on a display screen, together composing an image. Using a template, they created their own designs and also tried to create designs of popular images of characters and other imagery from video games they played. 

How It Works

The template is a Google Sheet that uses conditional formatting and has re-sized cells that appear as squares. Due to the conditional formatting, users can type a specific number into any of the square-shaped cells and depending on the value, the cell will change colour: 0 = gray; 1 = red; 2 = orange; 3 = yellow; 4 = green; 5 = blue; 6 = purple; 7 = pink; 8 = brown; and 9 = black. Alternatively, students can use the fill colour feature that allows them to pick the colour they would like for each cell. 

Taking Time & Planning

While the task seemed simple enough, it was interesting to see how many students had to reset or restart their designs because they failed to plan and jumped right in, quickly changing the colour of their “pixels” without truly mapping out how their image would unfold. Many said the task was so easy and yet when it came down to actually creating their design, they realized that some planning would be needed. Those who were most successful took time to plan their canvas considering the number of squares that they would need. Some students also quickly learned that they could also add columns and rows in order to fix sizing issues along the way.

Images as a Guide

A few students started looking up images created using pixel art to get ideas of what to make and decided to copy and paste them into their Google Sheet for reference as they began.  This caused quite the controversy as some students thought that others were cheating. We then had conversations about how we use information in the classroom to help in our learning and that using an image as a guide might be similar for many. We also had conversations around copywritten images and citing the sources of works of art, encouraging students to create their own works.

Proud to Showcase Our Work

The concentration and effort that went into creating designs were wonderful to watch. As students got down to work, there were moments when you could hear a pin drop in the room. They were focused. When it came time to share their work with others, it was incredible to see how proud students were to share what they had created. Some students were teaching others to create designs like theirs and walked them through the process. 

All-in-all pixel art was a great activity that got the creative juices flowing as we wound down the year.

Arianna Lambert Equity, Mindfulness, Teacher Wellness, Year End Reflection

June Reflection

I try to be an educator who continually reflects on my practice and experiences within education. As June signifies the end of the school year, I often consider it the perfect time to reflect not only on the year but also on my overall career in education. In this post, I’m sharing some of my recent reflections and maybe a few next steps as we roll into summer. 

Change Is Constant

Over the course of my career, I’ve somehow managed to have never been surplused.  That is until this year! I wasn’t expecting it and when it came, I was really unsure of what my next move would be. Having just arrived at my current school this year, I was looking forward to starting a STEM program that could be built upon for years to come. I guess that just wasn’t in the cards for me at this particular school. One thing that I’ve learned in education is that change is constant and flexibility is a must. Sometimes what we have in mind, isn’t possible. With this in mind, I got excited about what could be next, applied for jobs and I’m excited to be starting anew in September. 

Summer Is a Time to Breathe

In the summer, I find that I have more time to get out in nature and that I make the time to read. Often with more time in my schedule, I find that it gives me the opportunity to be more intentional about what I decide to do each day. This summer I have two books that I plan on reading and implementing and I’m excited. I’ve gone with two because it’s manageable and I really hope to dig deep into these reads. The first book is Black People Breathe by Zee Clarke. Years ago I found that I was heavily into mindfulness and breath work but over time, I somehow moved past this practice and got back into the hustle and bustle of life. I’m ready to get back into it. I picked this book because it is written by a Black woman. Not only does this book provide guidance on vital tools from an expert in mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork, but woven throughout are deeply personal stories highlighting the many systemic challenges that people of colour face. I’ve got a lot of experiences that have caused trauma to unpack and to work through and I am excited to begin my mindfulness journey again. 

Rest Is Essential

At the beginning of my career, I somehow got the wild idea that I should be filling my summer with teaching or learning – basically work. I didn’t get that the time off during the summer was to rest and recharge. I found myself going, going, going until I was close to being burnt out. Years ago, I took a summer off completely – no work at all – and it changed the way that I thought about having the summer off. I realized the importance of taking time for myself. I learned about slowing down and being in the moment. I learned about enjoying moments rather than rushing to move on to the next thing that is on my to-do list. I find that I’m rushing again and not savouring or enjoying experiences to the fullest so it’s time to rest. This summer, I will be working on a couple of projects but in between I have carved out time for rest. As a practice, I will be using the Nap Ministry’s Rest Deck for some guidance on restful practice. I’ve also been gifted her book, Rest is Resistance and will be using that as a guide for learning to rest with more intention.

The year is over and I hope that you get a chance to congratulate yourself on what you accomplished. Wishing you a wonderful summer filled with rest, breath, and opportunities to consider what changes you might make this coming year.  Enjoy!

Arianna Lambert Literacy, Math, Outdoor Learning, physically active, Science, Year End Activities

Ideas for Learning in June

June is finally upon us. It might just be me but I sometimes find it hard to compete with the warm weather and the idea that summer is fast approaching. With cut-off dates for report cards set for early June in many boards across Ontario, keeping the learning going all month long can be challenging. In this post, I’m sharing some ideas that might make things a little easier as we work towards keeping learners engaged over the last few weeks of the school year.

Literacy – Podcasts

I’m a huge fan of listening to podcasts and over the years, I’ve seen first-hand how much students also enjoy listening to them. Here’s a list of some podcasts that I have listened to with students that have been a hit:

Six Minutes

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian

Podcast listening is great but you might be wondering what else you might do beyond listening. 

Here are a few ideas:

  1. Have students draw what they hear as they listen to an episode of a podcast. In some series, the podcast is describing the setting. Have students draw what they imagine the setting would look like. For example, Mars’ room or The Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station where Finn and his friends live. 
  2. Have students make predictions and explain why they made their predictions. When finished, ask them to compare what they thought would happen to what really happened.
  3. Have students consider one thing that they might change in an episode and share how that might affect future episodes or change the entire podcast.
  4. Have students compare themselves to a character. How are they similar? How are they different? 
  5. In most of the above podcasts, there’s some form of tech involved. Give students materials and have them build a prototype of the tech. What improvements would they add to solve a particular problem for one of the characters in the podcast?

The ideas are endless! Take a listen and see what you and your students might come up with!

Literacy – What’s Going On in This Picture?

I’ve been a long-time fan of The New York Times’ What’s Going on in This Picture? Simply put, this site is a compilation of interesting New York Times images that have been stripped of their captions, and an invitation to students to discuss them by answering 3 questions:

  1. What is going on in this picture?
  2. What do you see that makes you say that?
  3. What more can you find?

When I have done these with students in the past, I’ve found that in the beginning, students are quick to provide an answer without sharing much of the reasoning behind their answer but as time goes on, I have found that many students take the time to really analyze the picture so as to justify their responses. I found this simple activity a great way to get the day started and get students thinking about inferences. 

Numeracy – Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of math and love a great math talk. When students are able to share what they know or are able to justify their thinking, I get excited. Which One Doesn’t Belong offers a great opportunity for students to share their thinking around a variety of Math concepts, often leading to some rich conversations as they battle it out to ultimately prove, which one doesn’t belong. In the past, I have printed out images from the site and added them to chart paper or to the whiteboard for students to come up and add their thoughts and ideas. Because the only way to get a wrong answer is to not justify your thinking, I’ve found that some of my most reluctant mathematicians are eager to participate and are often the first to write out their stickie notes and add them to the image that doesn’t belong.   

Numeracy – Coding

There are so many resources out there for coding. From guided activities on Code.org to lessons in Minecraft, there are so many possibilities for helping students to solve problems and create computational representations of mathematical situations by writing and executing code.  Recently, I was working with a group of grade 5 students who were working through the Artemis: Rocket Build. While the Educator Guide was super helpful, it was really my students who were running the show and helping guide me through some of the builds. I currently have a group of grade 4/5 students who are working in Minecraft to build their own town based on the work that they are doing with their classroom teacher for Social Studies. Don’t have access to tech? No worries, Code.org has some great unplugged coding videos and activities that you can try with students. Check them out here. 

Science – Scavenger Hunts

Create a simple scavenger hunt for your students with items found in the schoolyard or a local park and get students outside, checking out nature. I’ve done this with students from kindergarten to grade 5 and no matter the age, finding something out in nature and taking the time to explore it, is pretty cool. 

Science – Planting

The kindergarten students this year had a blast planting their Grass Heads. In classes around our school, students have been planting seeds and beans and have been recording observations and taking measurements. Some classes have been growing lettuce from existing lettuce heads while others have been doing experiments where plants are put in a variety of conditions to see what happens. Our kindergarten students have also been out planting in our garden with parent volunteers. Consider planting with students. Spring is a great time for planting as things are sprouting all around us. 

Physical Education – Student-Led Workout Circuits

Early in the pandemic, while teaching online, my students and I got really creative in designing our Physical Education classes. We were already used to student facilitators for our activities so when we went online, students were eager to create great lessons to keep the movement going from home. Students were asked to create short 15-minute workouts that they could challenge their peers with. The results were amazing. I haven’t taught Physical Education since we’ve been back in school but this is definitely one thing that I would incorporate if ever I teach Physical Education again.

French – Créez votre monstre

I recently facilitated a workshop for ETFO’s FSL Conference and shared this idea with teachers. Participants were asked to create their own monster using found materials and they had the opportunity to write 4 short sentences about their monster. From there, they used Adobe Express to create short videos about their monster. Half the fun was in building the monster and getting the opportunity to create. We used Adobe Express to create short videos but if you have access to tech, there are so many possibilities of what you might do. Some teachers mentioned using Flip while others considered recording short videos and including them in a Google Slides presentation. Why not create and have fun in the last month of your FSL program? 

I hope that there’s something here that might be of help as you navigate these last few weeks. Wishing you all the best for a wonderful end of the year!

Arianna Lambert Professional Learning and Growth, Technology

ETFO’s Summer Academy Is Coming Soon!

Summer is almost here! Well… we still have a month to go and yet, I’m hard at work thinking about my summer learning. Did you know that ETFO’s Summer Academy is happening once again this year? With over 30 in-person and virtual courses being offered this summer, there’s bound to be something that will pique your interest and might serve as an opportunity for some great professional learning. In the past, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating as well as supporting presenters as a Technology Moderator and this year is no different. 

In this post, I’m sharing a bit about what I have planned for participants in our 3-day course entitled: From Consumption to Creation: Tech Tools in the Classroom. From watching videos on Youtube to reading e-books online, technology is a major part of the lives of many students. And they love it! Why not provide students with the tools to move from being content consumers to content creators? Your students are ready and eager to create. From short films and infographics to portfolios and slide presentations, the possibilities are endless for real-world uses of technology within the classroom. In this session, participants will learn some of the tools that will inspire students to get creative. We will explore Adobe Spark, Scratch and Google Suite for Education Tools.

Day 1

We’re jumping into G-Suite Tools and thinking of fun ways to use the tools to create and collaborate. From Math Talks to choose your own adventure stories, participants will explore how they might support students in sharing their own thoughts and ideas in creative ways. 

Day 2

There’s so much that you can create using  Google Sites and Drawings. Day 2 is all about playing around and creating something new that can use used on the first day of school in September. While we might not be thinking that far ahead yet, participants will have the time to prepare and share ideas so that they can hit the ground running come September. 

Day 3

It’s all about coding in Scratch and creating short videos in Adobe Express. Participants will explore how to use these tools to help support students in coding and using their voices for change. 

Registration is opening soon and you don’t want to miss out on some exciting courses that will not only serve as great learning but can also serve as an opportunity to meet great educators – with similar interests – from across the province. I hope that you will be able to join this year’s Summer Academy! Wishing you all the best as you gear up for the last month of the school year.