Vegetable Friend

I placed See/Think/Wonder in the centre, along with inquiry-based learning. I think that inquiry-based education is so empowering for students, and I took it as my launching-off point. I think that I mostly moved from the top left clockwise through, as that is what seemed like the logical flow to me.

The active learning exercise would be the creation of a professional-ISH sounding podcast, or song, or audio file of any kind. Actually, I’m wondering now if group work might be a better way of proceeding with an evaluation of this project. That way, students could engage with each other in a conversation, and record it and submit it. I think that, especially starting out, I would allow group work. Some students (like myself) would benefit more from having to do it by themselves, as I would let someone else do all the learning and coast, but lots of people collaborate and learn well together.

I’ll imagine that groups or individuals will both be welcome for evaluation. Anyway, the breakdown is:

Active learning activity: learners are tasked with the creation of a high quality audio file using Reaper, utilizing the steps and resources I have furnished the learner with. It can be on any topic that they like, but should demonstrate evidence of some editing, have even volume levels, and a clear and (reasonably) polished audio file.

Evaluation: each learner would submit an audio file that I would listen to and provide feedback on. I would open each file up in Reaper, and take a peek at the tools and methods used. I would furnish students with a rubric detailing what proficiency looks like (clear and even audio file, minimal editing, good clean sound), and how to get extending: numerous audio files, evidence of editing and balancing, as well as additional sound effects or instrumentation.

I will evaluate for the following objectives, based on the ones provided in the lesson plan in 2A:

I) Students have downloaded and opened reaper.
II) They have created a new project, and added vocal tracks for recording.
III) Students have recorded audio onto a track.
IV) The track has minimal evidence of editing: some panning left and right, or the volume has been brought up or down.
V) The track has been rendered into a listenable file type (wav, mp3) and exported for easy listening.
VI) Students would submit both the rendered file and the original reaper file.

Alright, here we go. I begin with the ‘why‘, as it seems to me the most natural place to begin. I am a little weary to be doing this as a lesson, as it has a lot of component pieces, and is beginning to seem like a big undertaking. However, I think that if I make a video of recording an audio file, I’ll be learning two things at once, and both of these are useful insofar as the goal here is to furnish learners with platforms whereby they are empowered to demonstrate their inquiry-based learning. A video or audio file lets them provide an educator with something tangible and professional, that is totally within their creative control, and yet provides criteria for evaluation and meaningful feedback.

The fishing hook for my classmates is, I think, the beauty of inquiry-based learning that was captured in the video we watched today on differentiated instruction: basically, getting students to do their best work can be done without YOU having to do additional work. Instead of wasting your time and energy trying to get a kid to do their math worksheet, find a way for them to demonstrate the learning in a way that is meaningful to them!

THE LESSON PLAN: 2A

Goal: learners will be able to utilize Reaper software to record an audio file, which supports the demonstration of inquiry-based learning in a variety of ways. For example, learners could record and produce a podcast wherein they share learnings on a new topic, or engage an expert/enthusiast in a conversation on a topic of inquiry.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
I) Download and open Reaper
II) Open a new project, and arm a track
III) Record an audio file
IV) Edit (mix volume levels, pan left/right) their audio file
V) Export an audio file in a useable format  

I would like to create this lesson, as I think that it affords learners with a valuable way of proceeding with inquiry-based learning.

I have pulled out numerous learning technologies, which I included in the learning objectives. There are numerous videos, templates, audio files, and public forums that contain an enormous amount of information that pertains to recording songs and podcasts.

Prior Learning & Learning Profile:

The students are in my cohort, and have a familiarity with basic technological processes. They will need to know how to access the internet, and how to download and launch a program on their laptops/ipads. As well, a quiet-ish space to record themselves speaking would be beneficial! Bonus points for bringing in a microphone for higher-quality audio capture.

Delivery and evaluation will be available on tomorrow’s blog post, 2B!

So I couldn’t make today’s class, and boy oh boy did I feel the difference between guided learning when you don’t know anything about a topic, vs. doing it on your own early in the morning. My 3D designs are basically a disaster. I’m not sure what the class did, but I’ll rework (restart?) them next week. However, tinkering around with Tinkercad was still fun! Kind of hard at first, but once I understood a bit more about how it would create shapes, and the ways it manipulated them, it got a little easier to work with.

SO, cross curricular activities with 3D design and printing. I imagine that it would be extremely versatile in this capacity! We did a unit on simple machines in my practicum – designing and printing these machines, and seeing how they function as a tangible 3D object, seems like a great idea. I didn’t find it, but I imagine you can get Tinkercad to work with specific guidelines/parameters? For example, if you want a line to be 4 feet long, and there exists a way to program this information, then you could pretty much combine Math and Design with whatever other units you are working on. As well, it seems to present an interesting dimension when considering inquiry-led learning, as students have the ability to potentially design and build things to augment their inquiry.

I think that for something like language revitalization, the example you provided is a great way to use technology and design in revitalization. For me, I find the potential for using manipulatives in building words as you become familiar with them would be fun and something younger grades would enjoy. I know that, were it my practicum class, I could do a work of the day and put it on the overhead, and the students would love getting up and creating it from 3D cut letters. I like that you mentioned that the DSC didn’t have permission to print/provide the lək̓ʷəŋən letters, as this is something that would have to be carefully considered – on your own, and then in whichever district you are working in. Get permission first!

I taught my practicum at grade 4/5, and there are definitely pros and cons. The cons are that I will loose a lot of my students to goofing around on the screens. I wouldn’t be able to be everywhere at once, and it would happen. As well, for those who aren’t as tech literate, it might be fairly onerous for them, as I found it pretty difficult to get started.
The pros, I think, outweigh this: for those students who do engage, they’ll have a start with a tool and resource that they can benefit from for the rest of their lives. It would benefit them for the rest of their education, and then potentially afterward as well, be it for professional or artistic/creative avenues. One of my neighbors does lots of 3D modeling, and has printed new parts for his vacuums in his shop space. This surprised me, but it is cool. There is no denying having the potential to create parts for specific needs is very cool indeed.

Here are my disastrous 3d images. Yikes. This video was no substitute for classtime, but it is nice that it exists.

I really like the idea of launching an inquiry using See, Think, and Wonder. I especially like this as you could use an image of, say, the Salish Sea. Have students identify the different things they saw, thought, and wondered, and then have them launch independent (or in groups!) inquiries that all pertain to a larger topic area. This way, creativity and wondering can be fostered, while as a teacher you can develop and work towards a culminating goal with the input of your whole student body.

This is an image I had copilot create, which I am basically delighted with. It looks like claymation! I also had it create the image on the top, which doesn’t really resemble Hal from 2001, but it got the message across. To wit: technology doing homework. The image below has no function or raison d’etre other than being very obviously deeply cool if you are fantasy inclined. Who is this dwarf? What is his story? Where did he get such a cooool crown/helmet? Is he worried about the skeletal behemoth lurking in the background? NOPE

I think that, in order to avoid creating inequities, I would like to utilize a spectrum of assignment types and resources. For example, I might begin by having students handwrite the beginning of a project. I know that it will be slow and laborious, but I want to ensure that they are able to get the bulk writing portion done independently. Then, moving onward, we might move into some typed drafts, and eventually culminate in a final draft. Like we did in this class, I think I would create a rubric of allowed AI, and ask for citations. My hope is that, having done a hand-written first draft, I would have a sense of the direction of the project, and could detect if it suddenly shifted in tone or tenor.

UVic, linked above, asks that NO AI be used unless specified by the prof. The challenge here, I think, is that the prof is now tasked with identifying or detecting potential plagiarism. I’m not sure what a solution is, but I imagine that prof’s lives will be made easier by allowing the use of some AI, within defined parameters. I remember during my first degree that, during a midterm, we would write an essay out by hand – probably 800-1200 words, in one sitting. I’m not sure if this sort of thing happens anymore, but it is a good indication of where your comprehension and writing levels are at, without any potential internet aid. If you find that a student can’t put a coherent argument together on paper, and is then submitting some serious work concerning free-will in the context of a multi-verse, maybe your alarm bells are ringing. In one universe they are, fir shir.

The next question is about whether AI might short-circuit learning objectives. I think that this could happen, it totally could. (a study on whether AI might impact cognitive function! More research is needed!) But I think that this is true of a great many tools and inventions: I imagine back when all carpentry was done by hand, and hand tools were utilized, there was probably some concern with the coming of band-saws and table-saws. Almost certainly, some skill and finesse was lost, but then new skills and finesse(s?) would have followed. I think that, for educators, thinking of AI as a tool to be used (and abused, sure!) is a better framework than banning it, or trying to fight it, or whatever. It is most likely here to stay, and understanding it as a tool, with strengths and weaknesses, will probably best set you up for success in the field.

I imagine that AI has some huge potential for language revitalization. Firstly, it can be taught, which should mean that language is sort of digitally *remembered* even if it is not being spoken that much. Then, hopefully, interested learners can engage with AI to attempt to learn, instead of having to potentially move or relocate their lives in order to have opportunities to speak this language. Of course, it wouldn’t substitute for speaking with an actual person, and the amount of nuance and context that you can read from body language and tone. However, as a tool, it seems like a good one to have in the toolkit in the preservation and revitalization of languages.

I seem to be saying tool alot. I am today thinking of AI as a tool to be used.

The exercise we did today asking AI about something we are knowledge about was interesting, as it did take a while to ferret out exactly what it was saying, and what was true. Also, I pointed something out to it and it admitted making a mistake, even though I am not sure it did – I think the language I used might have not been clear enough. But I imagine doing some of these sorts of checks as a class might be an enjoyable way of showing that AI, while a useful TOOL, is very capable of making mistakes. The onus is, and has to be, on the student to check the information and ensure that they are being diligent in their studies and assignments.

I asked Copilot to create the cutest image ever created, and it gave me four nightmare cats in crowns standing in front of a rainbow with flowers. So, that’s a place to leave a blog post.

This thing drinks souls, man, it is *scary* not *cute*

This topic only barely concerns goats. What animal intelligence gleans in their ungulate eyes? Is it friendly, or… malevolent? If you’ve seen Robert Eggers’ The VVitch (2015), you know well the answer.

I will begin with the pros of video creation: firstly, I think kids will love it. They are so used to tuning into screens, and with a minimum of flash, I think you could really make a topic – language revitalization – very engaging for them, in a way that might not be possible on the old blackboard.

To make it engaging, I think that including a kahoot afterward will get them excited about the words, and the way that they might come up on a virtual quiz after. Kahoot is a pretty low-stakes way of getting a little competitive spirit in something that could otherwise be easily understood as boring learning material. As well, in a video, you can create natural pauses and places of emphasis that could later set up a mini-quiz question.

Alright so you don’t even need to rely on Kahoot, because with this H5P tool, you can build a quiz or prompts right into your video. I wrote that kahoot bit before but now that I’ve been into the future, I know that there are better alternatives.

For an edited video on language revitalization, one potential strategy I imagine would involve cutting between the way that the word is written, a recording of myself (or whoever is educating) talking about the word and its significance, and cutting to a clip or recording of the word being pronounced slowly and correctly by someone who is able to speak the language and can share that knowledge. You could do a recording of how to say a sentence, for example, and through the video break down the different component pieces and their significance. As well, you can do visual break-downs of the parts of the word, for those students who are etymologically inclined. Making a video is an opportunity to control the aspects of your lesson, wherein you can make it funny and visually attractive to kids, but I think that the fact it is appearing on a screen lends significance to it in their young screen-loving eyes.

A big con that comes up is the amount of time that you will invest in each video – but, hopefully as you continue to make videos, they will become faster and the process more streamlined. As well, imagine if you had a sub coming in one day of the week, and you had a video of yourself running a component of the lesson! Or, even mini-videos of you asking students politely to be respectful of the space. (ha)

Also if, as an educator, you are already tired of being on a screen, creating videos is gonna be draining. If that is the case, you should probably huck yer wearied bones outside. Behold a sunset or bird singing or somesuch, and feel strength and resolve returneth unto ye.

Then make the video. For the children!

Behold, ye viewer: a highland coo

Behold, ye viewer: cuteness incarnate

And, my sketchbook: a wee bit of Scots Gaelic

Alright, Learning Plan vs. Lesson Plan: I believe that a learning plan is more individual and bespoke, whereas when I think of lesson plan, I imagine something tailored to a larger grouping of individuals. We as educators are responsible for bringing lesson plans with us, as we prepare to teach twenty-odd youth the myriad joys and tribulations of, say, math. However, in my class, I had a student who needed much more of a challenge in math than my lesson could offer; for this student, we had more of a learning plan: he was required to participate when we did worksheets/class sharing to demonstrate curricular proficiency. Other than that, he was allowed to curate his own learning, touching base with me and let me know where he was heading, and why. I think that the benefit of a learning plan is the greater potential more meaningful engagement with the topic of interest.

When I was a student, I hated music class. I was in band in Jr. High, playing trumpet, and did the bare minimum required to survive the experience. I cannot recall a single note, or song, or anything that we did really, other than that “G” is sounded without keys, and the third octave was hard for me to access. Now, later, I am a musician, and I play guitar every day. However, I never learn other people’s songs, or do covers, or any of that. Music on a lesson plan basically instantly pushes me away, as I am not interested. When I am allowed to creatively explore guitar in my own way, I eventually reach a place where I want to learn scales and theory because it allows me more creative freedom that not knowing. As well, jamming with other people is made much easier when you have a familiarity with scales and theory – and, when I reached this knowing on my own, I wanted to learn them because it was relevant for me and the benefit was tangible.

I also relate to the experience of students in Carpentry wanting to learn math and geometry because it was necessary for their own projects. And, having to learn it because it was relevant for them, meant that they would engage with it more intentionally, and remember it later so that they could re-apply those concepts in future projects.

Potential drawbacks exist! For one, I think that this will often be successful with older learners. I have a hard time imagining the project I would have been doing in grade three or four that would get me learning about math or science in a very meaningful way… But, maybe with good guidance/mentorship, I could have been steered toward desirable curricular-aligning outcomes.

STORY: I love teaching with stories! My brain is one of those brains that loves a story to latch onto. I think that a big benefit of teaching by story is that it allows different brains to engage with different aspects of the story. As well, what has meaning and import will depend on who tells the story, how it is received, the context it was given/received in, etc – and this can change with successive retellings. Probably good here to differentiate between an oral story and a written one: a big advantage of a story being told orally is the potential on-the-fly adaptability that the teller possesses. Things can be altered and changed, even minutely, to address needs that have arisen in specific contexts.

As well, my brain is much more likely to remember detail when it exists in a specific context than in a vacuum. In Dungeons and Dragons each week, we start with a recap of the session previous. Hearing all of the different information that we each remember, and how and why we stored that information, is always very entertaining. We remember much more if our character was engaged (and therefore WE were engaged) than if we were not participating. As well, we describe things a bit differently, as it takes place in the theatre of the mind, and yet we all agree on the sequencing and ordering of events. I remember more of DnD each week than I do most of my lessons/classes, and I think it is because it is anchored in a storyline that I am invested and participate in.