In the future, I expect schools to see more students with behavioural and learning challenges; however, I hope there will be enough additional support and funding that these students will have the tools they need to succeed. I hope that with the advancements in technology that students can have access to virtual support when resources are lacking in schools such as demonstrated in the video of Khan Academy creator using AI to support learning math. Although I am still uncertain about AI, I am optimistic that with time, it will become an integral part of education. I think about my experiences learning math and the difficulties I had, resulting in my parents paying for a math tutor once a week. I despised math tutoring because I was forced to go to an unfamiliar space with a person I did not know and spend an hour learning something I hated. I think about how, with AI, and its potential to be a “tutor”, all students can have equal opportunity for success at no additional cost! I can also see these tools being useful in the classroom. For instance, I imagine a classroom of 30 students with diverse learning needs and one educator teaching a lesson and then giving students a worksheet. Students will have questions, need further explanation, but with only one teacher, some students will not get the support they need. So now I write this and I imagine how impactful it would be for students to have additional support on demand! Students will need the proper training to know how to use these tools, and these systems still need to be developed, but I hope it is coming.
Category: EDCI 336 (Page 1 of 2)
This is a category for the EdTech course. Please add this category in addition to the relevant edtech assignment category(ies).
EDCI 336 was a really informative class, structured significantly differently from other courses I have taken. While studying psychology throughout my undergrad, I became very familiar with the structure of the courses and what was required to do well in a course. I could prepare a really well-written essay in as little as a day, knew how to do well on exams and understood how to follow a rubric to create good projects. Being in this class and many of the others in the post-degree program, I was thrown by the idea of a pass/fail course. I didn’t exactly understand what it meant, what it looked like and how I could “do well”. Additionally, I had never had the opportunity to pursue projects that interested me or to present my findings in ways that make sense to me. UDL is really cool! I feel I learn better when I am actually passionate about what I am doing! Getting to complete this inquiry project was originally quite daunting. No firm deadlines, open to any topic and getting to share our journey creatively was unlike anything I had done in school before. Although I was originally a bit anxious about this project and honestly, the whole tech course, it quickly became one of my favourites! Working on this project was fun and engaging, and getting to share my progress was really cool. I enjoyed getting to share the process rather than just the final project. It is cool to look back on the inspiration phase and compare it to my final project.
This was a really cool project and one that inspired me to continue with crocheting, but also to continue pursuing my passions and the things that interest me. In my career as a teacher, I hope to implement different ideas from this course in my own classroom and hopefully inspire students to pursue their interests. UDL is such a powerful tool, and getting to experience some of its aspects has encouraged me to do more research and discover methods to include in my teaching practice.Â
After sewing my squares together and adding the handle, i have finally finished my granny square purse!
here it is:
I am really happy with how it turned out and I am excited to use it!
After my research, i decided to use the invisble stitch method to attach my granny squares:
here I have attached all three granny squares and can finally see my purse coming together!
Next step is to attach the handle and then my project will be complete!
Now that I have finished my granny squares, I need to sew them together to form my purse. I have never done a project like this so I had to do some research to figure out how to sew the pieces together.
From my research there are different ways you can join the squares together:
- The invisible seam stitch:
- A quick way to join granny squares with a crochet needle.
- It leaves you with a flat seam and gives a fused at the edges look.
- Single crochet and slip stitch method:
- Leaves you with a lacey, seamless edge on both sides of your project.
- Use a crochet hook not a needle.
- Join-as-you-go method
- Seamless look and less ends to weave in
- Better for making larger projects such as blankets or throws.
In this class, we discussed artificial intelligence and its impacts on education. AI and platforms suhc as ChatGPT are increasing in popularity and are likely to impact education both positively and negatively. I think a big concern is that AI will complete work for students, resulting in a lack of learning, such as the ability to write an essay or reflection.
ChatGPT is so easy to use, for example, I put in a prompt to write me a reflection on a lecture on AI in education and this is what it gave me:
Reflection on AI in Education Lecture
Today’s lecture on artificial intelligence (AI) in education was an eye-opener, and it left me with a lot to think about. I’ve always heard about AI being used in industries like healthcare, finance, and technology, but I never really considered its impact on education until now. The lecture highlighted how AI is slowly transforming the way we approach teaching and learning, and it’s exciting, yet a little overwhelming to think about.
One of the most interesting points was the idea of personalized learning. The lecturer explained how AI systems can analyze a student’s learning style, strengths, and weaknesses to tailor lessons that suit individual needs. I can imagine how powerful this could be for students who struggle to keep up with the pace of a class or for those who excel and need more challenging material. This kind of customization could make learning more engaging and less frustrating. It also made me think about the future of teachers—how will their role change when AI can handle some of the more repetitive tasks like grading or providing instant feedback? Will educators be more like facilitators, guiding students through complex topics rather than traditional lecturers?
Another aspect that caught my attention was the use of AI in automating administrative tasks. The idea that AI could help schools manage everything from attendance to resource allocation efficiently seems like a big time-saver. It made me realize that, while much of the focus in education is on students, there’s also a huge potential for AI to support teachers and school administrators, allowing them to spend more time on what really matters—helping students learn.
However, the lecture also addressed some of the potential drawbacks of using AI in education. The ethical concerns around data privacy, for instance, stood out to me. How can we ensure that AI systems are secure and that student data is protected? And what about bias in AI algorithms? If AI is trained on data that reflects societal biases, could it perpetuate those biases in the classroom? These are important issues that need to be addressed before we can fully embrace AI in education.
Lastly, I found the discussion on AI’s role in bridging gaps in education to be thought-provoking. The lecturer mentioned how AI-powered tools could make high-quality learning resources more accessible to students in remote or underprivileged areas. This idea of leveling the playing field for all students really resonated with me, especially given the current inequalities in education. If done right, AI has the potential to make education more inclusive and equitable.
In conclusion, I walked away from the lecture with a greater understanding of both the potential and challenges of AI in education. While AI could certainly revolutionize how we learn and teach, it’s clear that we must tread carefully to avoid ethical pitfalls and ensure that the technology is used to benefit all students, not just a select few. I’m excited to see how AI will continue to evolve in this space, but I also feel a sense of responsibility to think critically about its implications.
In as little as 2 minutes, ChatGPT has written a pretty good reflection. This is both concerning but also interesting. This is a tool that has many benefits, but when not used correctly for the right purposes, it poses a lot of risk. Reflecting on my future in teaching, I think it is important that we as educators take the time to teach our students about the risks and benefits and how to navigate these platforms responsibly. ChatGpt and other AI technologies can be great ressources and as technology continues to transform, we need to be prepared to help students navigate these systems,
Reflecting on our “Zoom” class we had a few weeks ago, I am starting to realize how impactful it is to offer different opportunities and methods to learning, for all my classes, other than this one, it is expected that students commute to campus and attend class in person. Although I understand the benefits to being in person such as building community and connections, I think the flexibility of offering classes on Zoom could be very beneficial. Life is busy sometimes and making it to campus for an hour course doesn’t always make sense. If all classes had the option to take even just 3 classes on Zoom, I believe the flexibility would increase student participation, interest and attendance.
Additionally, Zoom is a great resource for having guest speakers present in classes from wherever they are in the world. I think it is fascinating how much education has changed and the increase in methods, and resources that are now available.Â
I have now finished all 8 granny squares!
 Looking at my inspiration pictures, I think I would like to make a smaller purse as opposed to a tote bag. With the 8 granny squares, a tote bag could be possible, however, it would be smaller than I would want. So, I think I will try making a smaller bag, something similar to this:Â
the last step before I can sew my pieces together is to make a strap. As I am not following a specific pattern for this project, I decided to make the strap with the skills i have already learned. To do this, I started by chaining 45 then doing 2 rows of half double crochet stitches. For the last row, I did a slip stitch to make the edge the same as the first row. Here’s how it turned out:
Next step will be sewing it all together!
In our last class, we were broken up into groups to discuss topics we were interested in learning more about. The discussion I chose to participate in discussed how to build a class on a budget. This is something that interested me as I feel there is a lot of pressure to be an “aesthetic” teacher. This could include teacher outfits, classroom decor for each season, materials for students and an overall aesthetically pleasing classroom. I follow multiple teachers on TikTok who show their classroom and the colour coordinated decor, and do daily teacher “fit checks”. I find these videos intriguing and I often imagine how I would structure my classroom and the fun “teacher outfits” I would want to wear. Although I think these videos provide inspiration and foster idea generation, I cannot understand how a new teacher affords all these things. It’s my understanding that teachers receive a small budget from the school for classroom materials, however, in my Link2Practice, my mentor teacher explained that this money they receive is not nearly enough to cover the expenses for the whole year.
After our group discussion, I feel better knowing that most of us new teachers feel the same way and have come up with ways to limit cost. For example, thrift stores are a great place to start building your classroom library. They often have new or lightly used books at a low price. Additionally, in terms of the classroom decor such as letters of the alphabet, number lines and posters, I think we could use platforms such as Canva or powerpoint.Â
Here is used an image of strawberries from Pintrest and found a letter on Canva that allows you to replace the background with any image. I think this would be a great way to add character to your classroom without spending any additional money!
My yarn order has arrived and I am now able to begin my project!
Following the granny square tutorial linked in a previous post, I started making granny squares with my new yarn.
Here I have completed the fisrt set of stiches
Here is a video of me completing second section of stitches:
to complete the rest of the square, you follow the same pattern switching colours each round. here is my first completed granny square!
