EDUC 431 – October 3, 2019 – REFLECTION

Of course I did… a selfie with Sally Song from SD36 (Surrey). Thank you for being patient with our technical difficulties on our end of this, but I was so glad that you were willing and able to spend some time with my EDUC 431 class to talk about your EdTech journey as a NEW TEACHER. I can’t believe I said that!!! You’ve been teaching for 7-years and you’ve just finished your Masters in Imaginative Education. Congratulations!!! You are a busy person. I think we first met online via Twitter in your first year of teaching and met soon after face-to-face at an EdCamp. I just think it’s incredible that you were willing to share your EdTech journey as a new educator and why you have made the choices that you have. Although you would have been willing to present on your use of FreshGrade, you were aware that our next presenter in EDUC 431 is talking about FreshGrade and you could still talk about Office 365. I love your flexibility, reflexivity, and generosity. You really embody the virtues and expectations of the BC Teacher Standards. I have to say, that might be my HIDDEN CURRICULUM for EDUC 431… connecting with AMAZING BC EDUCATORS!!! Thank you so much!

I loved your real approach to EdTech and how you described your enthusiasm for EdTech and finding as many ways as you could to embed EdTech into your classroom. However, by doing that, you realized that this was too time consuming and you had to make a decision as to what’s important to you, your students, and what would benefit student learning. Tough questions as educators are grappling with that all of the time and you were doing that with respect to EdTech. I loved your messages of creating professional boundaries, what is a good balance between tech and no tech, and taking the time to figure out what works for you and your students. That takes time and it’s a learning process. I really appreciated how you’ve highlighted some applications you use in your school district for Office 365 and how you use the app REMIND. What dawned on me was to have Office 365 to operate like Google Docs, your school district interconnects student and teacher accounts to make that happen. I love Google Docs and co-constructing LIVE with other people without being in the same room. A powerful application and I can only imagine what Office 365 would be like for you and your students.

THANK YOU SALLY for sharing what EdTech is like for you, your school district, and your students. I love your positive outlook on teaching and learning.