EDUC 431 – September 24, 2019 – REFLECTION

There is nothing I like more than student engagement. THANK YOU Noelle Pepin from SD57 (Prince George) for leading learning in my EDUC 431 EdTech Class from the UNBC Teacher Education Program. Here is another person I’ve met virtually on Twitter as part of my PLN and one of the first people I’ve met since coming to Prince George to teach at UNBC. We have been inseparable ever since… and I’m grateful. We’ve connected for FNESC (First Nations Education Steering Committee) Math Teachers Resource Guide and BEADED TWEETS (@beaded_tweets) at the Two River Gallery in Prince George. I love that we can learn together. It’s super fun. But wait… What’s more fun??? OZOBOTS.

I was so happy that Noelle agreed to present to EDUC 431, but also to host this learning experience at Nusdeh Yoh School in Prince George where they embrace the Maker Space mindset. I love the idea of learning “in-place.” These little robots can be programmed using coloured felt pens or iPads with drag-and-drop coding. Tonight, we coded using felt pens. Coding with Ozobots was a very intuitive and engaging learning activity for EDUC 431 students. They listened carefully to the ground rules of using Ozobots and how one would help students learn the social responsibility of using Ozobots and how that could be scaffolded. The class then divided themselves into groups of 3 before resuming into an incredible EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING experience. They were learning by doing. Very little instructions were given and in groups of 3, they were figuring things out. There were lots of laughs, lots of engagement, and lots of dialogue. I was so impressed that students were able to make connections to coding with their grade level and curricular areas.

Although we took time to commute to Nusdeh Yoh school, it was worth the trip. You know that things are going well when our job as instructors or facilitators was minimal. Students were learning what they were suppose to be learning without being teacher led. Certainly, Noelle and I were circulating the room and checking in to see how things are going, but students were learning from experience. They were joyful and why can’t learning BE FUN? Today was a fun day. Students were very respectful with the equipment, orderly in putting things away and reflecting on what they have learned, and very engaged in the learning experience.

THANK YOU NOELLE… and thank you for the Ozobots Certificates too!!!