Creating a Glogster Account 

Visit Glogster, to begin to create your account.

The page should look like this:

In the 'Educator/School' code feed enter: 6FGFCC

Make your 'Nickname' begin with your initials, followed by anything (THAT IS APPROPRIATE).

ie) KSstudent4lyfe

Before exiting this screen, come and record your name and password on the master sheet that I will have, in case you forget!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

We [Westerners] Aren't the World!

A former colleague of mine posted a really interesting read on Facebook recently titled 'We Aren't the World'. The tagline reads: Joe Henrich and his colleagues are shaking the foundations of psychology and economics—and hoping to change the way social scientists think about human behavior and culture.

First off, I would like you to consider this (scary fact…) while reading my little excerpt:

A 2008 survey of the top six psychology journals dramatically shows how common that assumption was: more than 96 percent of the subjects tested in psychological studies from 2003 to 2007 were Westerners—with nearly 70 percent from the United States alone. Put another way: 96 percent of human subjects in these studies came from countries that represent only 12 percent of the world’s population.

Some of the highlight of the article include:

The Muller-Lyer Illusion showed that where you grew up would determine to what degree you would fall prey to the illusion that these two lines are different in length:

The Muller-Lyer Illusion

  

Researchers found that Americans perceive the line with the ends feathered outward (B) as being longer than the line with the arrow tips (A). San foragers of the Kalahari, on the other hand, were more likely to see the lines as they are: equal in length. Subjects from more than a dozen cultures were tested, and Americans were at the far end of the distribution—seeing the illusion more dramatically than all others.

As Heine, Norenzayan, and Henrich furthered their search, they began to find research suggesting wide cultural differences almost everywhere they looked: in spatial reasoning, the way we infer the motivations of others, categorization, moral reasoning, the boundaries between the self and others, and other arenas. These differences, they believed, were not genetic. The distinct ways Americans and Machiguengans played the ultimatum game, for instance, wasn’t because they had differently evolved brains. Rather, Americans, without fully realizing it, were manifesting a psychological tendency shared with people in other industrialized countries that had been refined and handed down through thousands of generations in ever more complex market economies. When people are constantly doing business with strangers, it helps when they have the desire to go out of their way (with a lawsuit, a call to the Better Business Bureau, or a bad Yelp review) when they feel cheated. Because Machiguengan culture had a different history, their gut feeling about what was fair was distinctly their own. In the small-scale societies with a strong culture of gift-giving, yet another conception of fairness prevailed. There, generous financial offers were turned down because people’s minds had been shaped by a cultural norm that taught them that the acceptance of generous gifts brought burdensome obligations. Our economies hadn’t been shaped by our sense of fairness; it was the other way around.

Here is the link to the article. 

Enjoy!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

Canadian Persons Research Assignment

Miss Iantorno's Grade 8's:

Prior to just doing a Google search about your assignment person, check out the following websites for information:

• www.biography.com
• http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/
• https://multcolib.org/homework-center/biographies
• http://www.canadians.ca/index.html

Don't forget you can also check your history textbook. Be patient as you look for information and don't give up! Come find me if you are really stuck.

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

Using voice recordings with QR codes

I’ve recently come across the fantastic idea of attaching a voice recording to a QR code and using it on tests and assignments so students who need help receiving print information can listen to a pre-recorded message of their teacher reading the test or assignment. Students should listen to the recording on their own device so they can control their own learning, by being able to pause it at their own pace.

You will need a microphone or some sort of other recording device to do this!

Visit the vocaroo website and record your audio (ie. of you reading through a test).

Copy the image of the QR code that the website generates and put it on your test or assignment that will be printed out or posted on the web for your students to access.

Voila! 

For more information you can refer to the following YouTube video.

PROS of vocaroo:

• very fast and easy
• audio quality is decent

CONS of vocaroo:

• Your data is on their site
• Longer recordings may have dropouts according to their FAQs
• Students would need internet connection outside of the school network
• file wont be hosted forever (although you can download and save it to your computer) 

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott  

What is a MOOC?

I recently was speaking with a friend of mine, Kathleen, and she mentioned a website she had came across that offered a list of a number of certificate (and the like) courses from Canadian and American Universities...for free. PARDON? But why?...

A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aiming at large scale-participation and open access via the web. MOOCs are a recent development in distance education. They are similar to college courses, but typically do not offer academic credit, and instead often offer a statement of accomplishment.

I was in. I love to learn, and being able to self-direct my learning so much in this way really excited me. The website that she referred me to was Coursera, check it our for yourself! There are a number of courses offered in a wide range of topics.

I signed up for the following three in the upcoming weeks:

1. Aboriginal Worldviews and Education (University of Toronto)
2. Know Thyself (University of West Virginia)
3. "Pay Attention" ADHD Through the Lifespan (University of Pennsylvania) 

The Aboriginal Worldviews and Education one has just begun and I can already tell that I am going to really love it. This is a subject area that I am very unfamiliar with, and cannot wait to learn more about.

I look forward to recording my journey as I navigate these new online learning environments!

Happy thoughts,
Miss Scott

New New New - 2013 Update!

Hello everyone :)

This year has already been so busy, I cannot believe two months have already escaped me!

Applying for my Masters of Education has kept me busy the past few weeks, and now that the preparation is finally over...the waiting begins. I only ended up applying to Brock for September 2013, as my tardiness left me little other choice. One of these days I will learn...maybe. Not that I am not happy to have applied to Brock, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I love Brock University and would be honoured to spend another two years here, it just probably would have been a good idea to have more then one option. I applied within both the Teaching, Learning and Development and Social and Cultural Contexts of Education streams, and I am interested in studying within the field of science and environmental education.

Teachers college is coming to an end this week, and this Monday I officially start my second teaching block. I will be spending six weeks at St. Peters Catholic Elementary School in Milton, Ontario, and then spending two final weeks at the Norval Outdoor Education Centre run through Upper Canada College, in Norval, Ontario. Though I thoroughly enjoyed my twenty weeks of teachers college, I am really excited for the weeks ahead!

This weekend I have further training to be an Earth Day Canada EcoMentor! I am excited about using my training as an EcoMentor to facilitate workshops for students at my school in my upcoming block. To find out more about the EcoMentors Program click here. Look under the "events" tab for information on upcoming training!

It is a goal of mine to keep up my blog during my teaching blog, and I look forward to sharing more!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

Media Literacy - Ad Investigation

Hey Class!

Today in Language Arts, please visit all of the following links to various YouTube advertisements:
Old Navy: http://www.youtube.com/user/oldnavy?v=BhC3sViw2xs
Nike "No Excuses": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA
Nike Michael Jordan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCavIpRIZz0
Pepsi Shakira: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UbHIT1nue8
McDonalds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ajRIgTJNA
Axe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ds_HXfc4VE

While viewing, answer (in jot-notes) the following questions:

1. What can you see in this ad – describe it?

2. What is the ad for?

3. How do you know? Is it easy to tell?

4. Is the ad effective? What advertising techniques that we discussed did the ad use?

5. Does it make you want to buy this product or service? Why or why not?

Blog Reflection

Dear Parents and Students,

I have really enjoyed the experiences I've had in creating this Classroom Blog. I loved how it allowed for an open line of communication between the home and school environments, a factor that I believe has a large impact on student success. I acquired many technological skills myself through the creation of the various posts and other learning objects found on the blog, and I cannot wait to use them in my future classes.

In the future I plan on continuing to use a blog in my class largely for communication purposes, but I also really wish to continue to explore the various types of learning objects that we have been discussing in my technology class, and find ways to incorporate more of them in my posts! I know though that this will take time, and that that is okay! On that note, if any of the parents out there have any other really interesting or unique web applications that could be used to create a learning object PLEASE share your expertise with me :)

After my experiences, I believe that the use of a classroom blog would be great in all divisions, at any grade level, because there is no condition on the type of materials that one needs to include on it, so it can be completely manipulated for each teacher's/class's individual needs! I also believe that it would be useful for teachers teaching any discipline, for the same reasoning that the blogged material has almost limitless possibility.

Please comment on this post about what your thoughts and feelings were through the course of using this classroom blog! I look forward to continuing to use the blog for communication purposes.

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

Deforestation

Good afternoon Parents,

I hope all is well in your lives! I wanted to share with you that as part of our global warming and it's associated climate change unit, I will have students visiting the following website as an exploration activity into the topic of deforestation. I believe a great strength of this resource is that it provides the information in a written/textual format, a visual format (photographic evidence) and an auditory/visual format (a video dubbed with personal observations and factual information).  I am hoping that the visual impact of this website will help the students to realize the magnitude of some of the large issues surrounding the Earths’ natural resource before we formally discuss the topic.

The learning activities structured around the visit to the website will help cover the following overall Geography curriculum expectations:

• Describe how humans acquire, manage [lack thereof], and use natural resources;

• Describe positive and negative ways in which human activity can affect resource sustainability and the health of the planet;

As well as the following specific Geography curriculum expectations as students complete the classroom assignments associated with this website exploration:

• Describe ways in which technology has affected our use of natural resources (e.g., with respect to their discovery, management, extraction, processing, and marketing)

Let me know if you have any suggestions about how we could approach this topic!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

A New Unit...

Hello All!

Soon we will be beginning an integrated unit that has a theme based around global warming and it's associated climate change. I recommend this YouTube Video as an introduction to the topic for everyone.

I have asked in class already that everyone visit this URL from the National Geographic website at some point over the weekend before we formally begin the unit on Monday.

Investigating and discussing our experiences using this National Geographic website  will help begin to fulfill the following two overall Geography curriculum expectations:

1. Describe how humans acquire, manage, and use natural resources, and identify factors that affect the importance of those resources ;

3. Describe positive and negative ways in which human activity can affect resource sustainability and the health of the environment;

As well as the following specific Geography curriculum expectations as students complete the classroom assignments associated with this website exploration:

• Identify patterns in the distribution and use of natural resources throughout the world

• Produce a report on the factors that affect the future availability of natural resources
• Present and defend a point of view on how a resource should be used

Let me know if you have any suggestions about anything you think might be important to cover in this upcoming unit!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

Topic of the Week

Hello Parents and Students,

This post is regarding this week's TOPIC OF THE WEEK! This week's topic is...drum rolllllllllllll...EQAO Testing!

 The grade 7's in the class experienced grade 6 testing last year, but for many of you, "grade 6 EQAO testing" might be something you find yourself hearing and thinking a lot about for the first time. So, what is EQAO testing? EQAO testing was introduced in Ontario Legislation  in 1996 to help ensure that there is accountability between school boards and schools in the publicly funded system in Ontario.  Educators use the results of Ontario’s province-wide tests in combination with other important information, such as report cards and demographic information, to help improve student learning and achievement. If you want to learn more about what EQAO testing is, you can find more information here. 

EQAO testing has been subject to some controversy throughout its existence. My students know that I like to look at both sides of an issue, so I think it might be worthwhile to visit this website to read/watch a little bit of the 'other side of the story'.

Throughout some of our math and language arts periods this year you will find that we might take a minute or so to pause as a class at the end of a lesson and try and solidify (or pin-point) the major idea that we talked about in that lesson. I will create a big on-going list of these major topics and keep them posted in the classroom.  This way, everyone will be well aware of all of the big concepts that we have been working on throughout the year at any point. These big  concepts discussed over the year in math and language arts are the same big concepts that the EQUA test questions will focus on.

*Parents: I will be posting a picture of the on-going list at various stages (hopefully about once a month), so you are well aware of some of these major concepts as well.

Want to check out St. John's grade 3 and 6 results from the last school year (2011-2012)? Visit here.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me,

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

National Geographic (for Kids)

Hello Grade 6/7 Students,

Looking for an article for SITN?

One of the ongoing assignments for this year will be a weekly "science in the news" (SITN) report. The details of this assignment were provided to you in class this week, and a PDF outline of the assignment should be available on the blog by the weekend. As all of you know, I subscribe to both National Geographic and National Geographic for Kids, but both magazines are also available on-line, and I suggest both as possible resources for you to select an article from for this assignment.

When on the National Geographic for Kids website, select the "News" tab across the top, and explore any of the categories for related stories, and when on the National Geographic website, "Daily News" tab across the top and explore any of the categories .

You may find there is more variety of subject areas in the stories on the National Geographic website, but they might also be a bit more difficult to read and understand than the articles on the National Geographic for Kids.  Both resources are reliable sources of current news and information, and neither is a "better" choice to find an article on for the purpose of the SITN assignment.  A good indicator of a well written article is whether or not you are able to find out exactly who the author of the article is (who wrote it).  Try and keep this in mind if you decide to look elsewhere for an article on the internet.

As always, come to me with any questions you might have regarding any of the stories/subjects you come across, even if you do not end up selecting it for your SITN report!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott

P.S. Here is the link to a story I found on the National Geographic Site that really interested me! Give it a read if you have time... Evidence of water on Mars?

Welcome students and parents!

Hello students in Ms. Williams' 6/7 class,

Welcome to my Edublog! As you know, my name is Miss Scott, and I am a student teacher this semester with Ms. Williams. I could not be more excited to join you for the next few months. I hope this experience will be enriching for all of us! This year, this will be an on-line space that you can visit regularly to communicate with me. I would also like to welcome my students' parents; I hope you check this blog regularly to keep up to speed with what  your children will be doing in class.

Here, I will be posting regular updates and reminders for various class assignments, and class events! This might include calendars, instructions, homework, photographs, pdf versions of forms, etc. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, through Ms. Williams.

Cheers,

Miss Scott

P.S. I thought I would introduce to my class my doggy Mishe! She is a tweleve year old Shih Tzu.