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Enhancing and Supporting the Writing Process with WordQ and Inspiration In this session we had the opportunity to explore two programs that would be beneficial across all curriculum subjects that require students to read and write. WordQ is a tool that assists students with their writing by having Heather (the virtual voice) read back to them what they have typed (or spoke into a microphone) in any word processor (such as Microsoft word). When the students hear Heather read their work back to them, they are able to tell if they have made a mistake based on the audio. If there is a mistake, Heather offers a list of options to correct the word. This program amazed me. During the presentation, all I could think about is how much this would benefit the students I encountered during my first block. These students had amazing ideas, but they would get so caught up in the spelling and technicality of writing, that they would not put their ideas on paper. Inspiration was also a great tool that we have been exposed to in class that allows students to organize their thoughts and ideas before getting down to the writing process. Overall this workshop got me very excited about how I could use technology to help every student be successful in my class.

Support and Enhance the Writing Process Using WordQ and Inspiration Attending the Technology Showcase was a great experience. The workshops provided a lot of valuable information that is very applicable to the classroom, and a lot of great tips for teachers. One workshop that I found to be very valuable was the “Support and Enhance the Writing Process Using WordQ and Inspiration”. I chose this workshop as it involved programs that I was not familiar with and wanted to learn more about. This workshop promoted the use of th e tools WordQ, SpeakQ and Inspiration in the classroom, and I found all three tools to be very great resources. WordQ and SpeakQ are great tools for students that may struggle with spelling, writing or communicating their thoughts and I found both to be extremely fascinating and very useful for the classroom. With WordQ, students are able to type their thoughts and use the prediction system and read-aloud tool to ensure they have proper spelling. SpeakQ allows students to dictate their thoughts as the program inputs it into the computer. Many students struggle to communicate their ideas, and this often hinders their success in the classroom. Both of these programs would be very beneficial for students who may struggle with written communication and I will incorporate them both into my future classroom to ensure that students are able to be successful.

Breanne Richardson SMART Education Solutions - This session showed us the many advantages that can be found from the use of a smart board within your classroom. We were shown the ways that this tool can be used to facilitate your teaching, and help to involve the students in creating a student centered classroom within the use of the smart board. The most interesting tool that we had a chance to explore was the student remotes that could be used instantly to answer questions, such as multiple choice, and upon completion, create a pie chart based on the answers. This can be a very handy tool in the classroom since it is a fast way to find out if the students are on track, or need more time on a specific subject. A helpful resource that was shared with us was exchange.smarttech.com where other teachers have posted their smart board lessons that can be shared and used for our own classrooms as well.



Ashley Demmery SMART Education Solutions This session was based on the integration and the use of a SMART board within the classroom. The information session was helpful in that it explained the basic applications and advantages the smart board can have. A recommendation that was given for teachers and teacher candidates was to participate in a training session regarding the SMART board. The session can be held both online and through the visual aid of watching quick movies that would explain certain tasks. These session would provide an expansion on the boards capabilities so that we are using the board to our advantage and as effectively as possible. In addition, once teachers have become SMART board savvy they have the advantage of posting and sharing their resources and lesson on exchange.smarttech.com These resources can be used in the classroom and be passed along. Overall, the session gave a great overview of the technology and it will be interesting to see if my next placement will give me the opportunity to try it out!

Jasper Schouten

This session was my first ever session with SMART technolgy. Some of things I learned were as follows. First, I was surprised at the price of the boards and the software. I thought they would be alot more but they were quite reasonable. Secondly, the presenter explained that any alterations or configuration of other hardware in conjunction with SMART software is illegal. Therefore, I learned that the value of SMART technolgy is in the software and not so much the physical board. (Some people have seen youtube clips of people using a Wii and a white board with SMART software). I think SMART boards have some value to the classroom, but they aren't the "saviour" of our schools. To use them effectively the teacher needs to be very familiar with the software, which requires training, and the school needs the money to purchase this equipment. The argument of whether technology will create an unequal balance of opportunity is very valid. Therefore, I not in support of offering this SMART technology to some schools/students and not to others. The ministry and school boards needs to step up and either make it equally excessable or not.



Melanie Mengia SMART Education Solution\ This session was about how to incorporate smart boards into the classroom. I found it very interesting to see how much a smart board can do and how valuable they can be within the education system. It promotes higher order thinking and creative ways to learn the material in a hands manner. I personally would love to use a smart board in my classroom and feel much more confident in incorporating it into my lesson plans. I would love to attend more session about the smart and different ways to use it. I really enjoyed the presentation and they extensions brought in to help understand the full capabilities of all the SMART technology available for the classroom. I will definitely be promoting the parent council to fundraise for this addition to the classroom.

Jenn Manuge Support and Enhance the Writing Process using WordQ and Inspiration In the second presentation, the program WordQ was highlighted. This program can be used in the classroom for students who may have processing problems because it helps with word choice and says the words out loud to students. It can be used with a variety of programs in the Windows system. I really wanted to attend this workshop because I had heard of the WordQ program, but had no idea how it worked. This was a fantastic presentation!

Amanda Harris The seminar that I attended at the Technology Showcase was entitled, ‘SMART Education Solutions’. This was a very interesting seminar and focused on the use of SMART boards in a classroom setting. Everything that the instructor did was interactive with the smart board and I found that very useful because he showed us everything that we could do with a SMART board. I decided to attend this session because I was not very familiar with SMART boards and I thought by attending this session I would become more familiar with them and thus feel more comfortable using them in the classroom. I feel as though SMART boards will become more common in the classroom and I do believe that there is a use for them in the classroom because it is very interactive and the students will be able to have a more hands on approach to learning and also be able to interact with the SMART board as well.

Lori Synes-Taraba I attended the Assistive Devices tech workshop. We learned how to use different kinds of software in the classroom that can assist students with Special Needs feel like they were included in all aspects of learning in the classroom. Plus, some of the software like Co-Writer, can be used for integrating lessons for the whole class. We were also shown how to use other devices such as switches for children who may have mobility restrictions. They can also be hooked up to keyboards that you can make individual templates for them. But, we were reminded, that the software would also need to be adjusted so the templates could be used with the keyboard. It was a great demonstration, I have heard about these software additions to classrooms for a long time, but after a very thorough examination of each piece, I feel more confident to use them in my own classroom. A very good workshop I would recommend to anyone.

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Shelly Murphy Attending the workshop on Parents and The Community was extremely informative. Perhaps the biggest fear I have entering the teaching profession is dealing with parents who are not satisfied with their child’s achievement or question my motives for instruction. The instructor suggested it is absolutely crucial to provide evidence via assessment come report card time. It may also be a good idea to have student exemplars available for viewing to provide a comparison of where a child is versus where they are expected to be at grade level. If as instructor you have been very mindful in conducting various diagnostic, formative and summative assessments then a parent will be provided with plenty of proof. The workshop leader also suggested the importance of establishing a positive relationship with the guardians of your students and this may take the form of positive call homes, monthly newsletters or writing in the journal. The overall goal of communication is that the teacher is sending home a report card that the parents/guardians are well prepared for!

Katie Dubois Here is a picture of me at the Building Futures conference put on by the Ministry of Education. I also went to the tech showcase and learned about a number of valuable tools that are out there. This workshop was on communicating with parents, an essential skill for any educator. I related a lot of what our seminar leader was saying to experiences I had during my block. My associate teacher always prepared for interviews by collecting a selection of the student's work and all of her evaluation tools. She also tried to make sure that there were no surprises for parents when they read the reports or had their interview. Some of the ways she kept parents updated was phone calls home, chatting with parents who would pick their children up and inviting parents into the room to volunteer or observe. She also tried to let parents know about good things students were doing as instead of just the bad things. This speaker helped my summarize and reflect on a lot of the positive practices I saw my associate employing. The workshop definitely reinforced the importance of maintaining positive communication with parents and I will strive incorporate that into my future educational endeavors as much as possible.



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Kelly Merkley

During the workshop "getting under your skin: creative projects' we learned to use sound track to enhance a video. We analyzed the movies 'Jaws' and Psycho' and talked about how the music caused the audience to be suspensful and scared. We used a tool called Garage Band that was very neat to explore sounds from a variety of instruments. We did an activity where you picked an image and then attatched a sound to it for suspense. Overall, it was a great workshop and I look forward to using it in my career. Students love to explore this kind of tool and can have great opportunities to express their creativeness.

Rebecca Reid Getting Under Your Skin: Creative Projects across the Curriculum This presentation stressed the importance about copy right when creating a video. The instructor shared some students' work on how they created their own movie. Each of the movies included a suspence scene and a change that was done in an image. The students were able to take an image and add sound to it. Students were given examples when doing this assignment, such as ideas from the movie "Jaws" and "Psycho". In this session we were able to test out the program "Garage Bands" on our own Mac Books that were given to us. On this program we created music and recorded our voices. We were able to choose what our voices would sound like (helium, deep, soft, etc.), I think students would enjoy doing this activity. This workshop has taught me it is best to allow students to "do" something and let them explore on their own so they can flouish their own creativity.

Richard Borger

I attended the Free the Children workshop held here at Brock. I learned about several amazing programs - Me to We and Directors for Change. Both of these student led initiatives give youth a voice for social justice issues. The online programming allows for a diverse curricula with a large number of options for teachers to choose from to meet the needs of their students in the manner most appropriate.

Tabitha Anderson Aboriginal Education: Building Futures Workshop, Bethany Church Yvonne Morrison is an Education Officer for at the Aboriginal Education Office in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Yvonee is a certified teacher and is also Aboriginal herself. She is presenting ways in which we as teachers can incorporate Aboriginal styles of learning into our lessons without modifying the curriculum. We discussed, as well as participated in a peace circle and compared traditional Aboriginal names to nicknames in Canadian culture. Yvonne read a few traditional Aboriginal folk tales to the group and showed us ways that we could build strong and comprehensive lesson plans that could be used in any class. I learned a lot from this workshop and the tools and resources are definitely useful to me as a teacher. I am a strong supporter of Aboriginal Education and I believe that addressing Aboriginal styles of learning is a part of differentiated instruction. The Aboriginal population is the fastest growing population in Canada and that means that we will definitely be educating students with an Aboriginal background in our classes.



Lisa Mooney Occassional Teaching: Building Futures Worksho, Bethany Church

I was unable to attend the tech due to a prior committment to my son's school. However, I did attend the Building Futures PD Day on January 21, 2010.

I went to the occassional teaching conference at 9:30-10:30. The topic interested me as throughout this year we have been told that we will probably end up with an occassional teaching job rather than a contract. I thought the seminar would be about getting hired as an occassional teacher. However, it was not. Mr. Davey spoke about what to do and what you can expect as an occassional teacher. He had several interesting stories of scenarios that he went thorough as an occassional teacher. He did state that there has only been one time were he went into a classroom in which the teacher had no lesson/day/unit plans prepared for him. Because that may happen, he told us that we should have a bag of "tricks" that we keep with us. In his he had: 1.newspapers for a lesson on media studies 2. one novel and one children's book for interesting reading to class 3. logic puzzles and other like material. His philosophy is to expect the unexpected and you will be prepared for the majority of situations that come your way. Moreover, you will make good impressions which can hopefully lead to a full time job.