Weekly Reflection

Friday January 16th 2026

These first two classes of Technology have been very insightful and full packed with information. There are two main forms of communication this course uses, which are MatterMost and OpenETC. I have never used either of these tools before and I was quite intrigued by them, as I am not the most tech-savvy person. However, with the guidance of Mike, I slowly started to understand the nuances, in’s and out’s, as well as the appeal of these tools. I am still feeling nervous about this course as a whole, and I feel that I am going to have a lot of questions and require an abundance of guidance to be successful.  

In today’s class I was very excited to hear that we would be using Paddlet, an online tool I really enjoy using. I remember when I first started using this tool I found it quite confusing, and honestly a little stupid, as there are many other means of communication that could take place, physically in a classroom. I had a shift in my opinion of this tool when my schooling went online for COVID. We used this tool frequently and I started to understand the appeal. It is low pressure for students, as you can respond anonymously, and it includes your peers’ responses; so if you need a little guidance you can lean on your classmates. 

In choosing a topic for my inquiry project, I found myself deciding between two main ideas. The first option is to create a series of hand-designed puzzles, each made using a different artistic medium. The second option is to design and create a recipe box filled with recipes collected from my family, friends, and myself. My plan was to reflect on these two ideas and then consult with Mike to gain his perspective on which project would be both successful and useful, particularly in relation to my future teaching practice. Mike made an impactful point about the importance of creating a project that I would genuinely want to use in a classroom setting. With that advice in mind, I made my final decision.  I decided to focus my inquiry project on creating and designing a recipe box, as it is a multi-faceted assignment that could easily be incorporated into a classroom. The key distinction between my two ideas was that cooking and baking really brings people together and builds community, something I value greatly.

Friday Jan 23rd 2026

Today our class focus was on artificial intelligence in education, as well as a presentation from a guest lecturer. Our visiting lecturer was Darcy Mcnee, a Saanich district teacher leader for curriculum.  She gave a great example for a technology solution, as it was something I had definitely done in the past as well. Her daughter did not know the difference between whatsapp and iphone/imessage and while communicating with a friend located in Ireland, she racked up quite a phone bill. Mcnee also shared that using green screens to make magic happen, it allows them to visualize themselves in different scenarios and allow them to gain perspective. For example, if you were doing a unit about creative writing, imagining you are in the rainforest. Most students will struggle to create depth in their writing because they had never experienced the rainforest and couldn’t imagine themselves there. That is when a green screen would be phenomenal, you could use it to put up a rainforest scene, then play forest sounds/music to get the students to visualize themselves in that setting. Darcy also shared that she is an avid user on the online tool read and write, a tool that I had some previous knowledge about. When I was in grade 10 I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and worked with a team at my high school to create a collection of resources to help me be a successful learner. Google read and write was one of the tools I really appreciated and used almost daily, as it made processing information easier because it could read the read out loud for me. 

I also want to mention that at the beginning of the class we went over our assignment one and two rubrics/criteria. This was a very important way to start the class because I was a bit worried about my inquiry project, that it may have been a bit too general and not related to the course. However, after we went through the rubric I realized that my project can easily translate into the classroom. 

Friday Jan 30th 2026

Half of our class was on a field trip today, which I had to miss out on due to an appointment. The group of my classmates on the field trip were given a tour of Pacific School of Innovation & Inquiry. The students who could not attend, attended a zoom meeting where they viewed a presentation, presented by Josh Barks. He shared the importance of equipping our students with tools to safely and successfully use technology. One thing that stood out to me was his constant reminders of making sure the educators have the consent of the students and/or parents before using online tools to assist them. Many teachers have been using AI tools to help write and edit report cards, but Josh shared that personal information would be uploaded so it is important to analyze what we are going to input before we actually do. He provided us with some helpful online tools like Co-Pilot, School AI, Gemini and Magic school. Barks also mentioned the term Mosaic effect, which I had never heard been referred to or associated with AI.

Mike created a list of educational videos that relate to the Pacific School of Innovation & Inquiry, as we are currently focusing on our own Inquiry projects. Mike often refers to his interest and respect for this program and it began to be something I was interested in too. The video I found most striking was the “Tour of the Pacific School for Innovation & Inquiry for EDCI 336” by Jeff Hopkins as the layout of the space was striking, and slightly resembled my high school. Right away, my mind took me back to my highschool’s resource room/office, as I spent a lot of time in this space. I had an adapted school plan due to some health concerns, and I now understand that with my adapted plan, many teachers instructed me to do an inquiry project.   

Friday Feb 6th 2026

Friday February 27h 2026

Try out Classroomscreen for yourself! https://classroomscreen.com

Friday March 6th 2026

If I am being honest, at the beginning of this course I was quite worried about incorporating technology into classrooms as I had mostly negative connotations to rely on. However, it was after this class today that I had an “A-Ha” moment; that it can enhance learning. We had a guest lecturer Kara Dawson, the Lead Information Technology teacher from district 71 who walked us through the many wonderful things Minecraft Education. I was completely mind blown by the innovative ways Minecraft was able to create engaging lessons that allow students to learn new material while playing a game they enjoy.

Alongside looking at Minecraft Education, we also explored the online tool called Scratch. I had heard of this coding tool before but I had never explored or attempted to create anything with it. Mike walked us through how to use this digital tool, and allowed us about ten minutes to explore the different commands and codes we could apply to our sprite (the icon we are applying the code to). That was the quickest ten minutes as I was having so much fun applying different commands to my sprite. After the class was finished I took some time to play around with Scratch even more and I created a short scene. It was quite humbling to see how much work and time it took me to create a list of commands, as the movements of my sprite were minimal. I think this is a great tool to introduce coding to students as it is easy to navigate, and is equipped with a walk through guide (an AI tool that explains how to use the commands). What age would be the best to use this tool with? Is it too complicated for elementary aged students? Would it be better to let the students explore the tool on their own, or have me (the teacher) explain it?

Wednesday March 11th 2026

March 20th 2026