My Educator Blog

My name is Philippe Joseph Cédric. I am an English Teacher/Educator, and have been working in this sector for 4 years now. I am currently following an BEd in English, and this blog has been created for one module in this course, named 'Bringing Technological Innovation in the Classroom'. On this blog, I will post about what I have learnt in this module, which is mainly about the application of technology in teaching as well as in the classroom.

[cedricphil]

What's left of your life when you remove your ezperiences and the memories? What is the 'weight' of your existence?

[cedricphil]

About life: while pursuing happiness, be sure not to leave anything important behind and be mindful of what you do... There is ... a bigger picture, and someone greater...

[cedricphil]

Using Technology in Education (inside and outside the classroom)

Imagine having all your notes, resources and activities available in just a few clicks; where you can access all the required materials for your different lessons, or even additional materials like videos, PowerPoints and activities (websites exercises, quizzes, games...) - well all this, and even more is possible through the use of technology.

Google Classroom:

As I have posted before, you can create all the topics you are expected to teach with the different relevant materials in an organised fashion there. With your mobile phone, you can access these anywhere and anytime simply by logging in the app (android), or using a web browser. It can be used for you to plan lessons, add resources, deliver lessons and for external resources (load videos/PowerPoints as teaching aid). Everything else (Quizziz, Kahoot, Hotpotatoes, diigo bookmarks, educational videos, open educational resources) can be added on it.

Personally, I created a google classroom where I am uploading my notes, explanations, syllabus and those mentioned above to help me with my teaching. I have also created a google classroom for my students, where they can access the notes, videos and resources for the different topics (covered in class) as a revision, for practice or to consolidate their own knowledge.

I am very optimistic about the prospect of using technology to teach and think that I have just scratched the surface... I will be learning more and will update my progress.

[cedricphil]

Video Editing Software

In one lesson, we were introduced to some free video editing tools which can be used to modify/edit/embellish educational videos. It was a very interesting lesson, and I was very interested in it.

Lately, we had to do some video assignments and what I was taught in our IT module (Bringing Technological Innovation in the Classroom) was very helpful.

I have used OpenShot video editor, which is a free Open Source software which provides a lot of features which can be used to edit and optimize videos.

It's user interface is nice and very user friendly (Easy to add and edit videos, with handy options like drag and drop and keyboard shortcuts) and it is also very easy to use. It was very helpful for our project. Need a reliable free video editing software? Use OpenShot, you won't regret this choice.

Here is a link to the website, and a good tutorial video to get you started:

OpenShot is an award-winning free and open-source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Create videos with exciting video effects, title

[cedricphil]

Google Classroom

I have started a new project with google classroom. I have created a virtual classroom for my students who are in Grade 9, and have uploaded a lot of materials and activities there. They were very eager to use it, and like the platform.

It is definitely a powerful tool which can be used by the students to revise or recap if they have missed something. It just tooktime and effort to get started and to design everything, but once everything is done, I was very satisfied with the results.

For the Educators and Teachers, who have not started to use this platform, I highly recommend this to you. All you need is a google account (email address), and some time (To learn the different features, create the classroom, gather/create the different educational resources).

Below is the link:

[misspink94]

Quiziz to make English class interesting

when we te

achers do quiz in our class,  some students find it interesting and some find it boring. So let me tell you that quizes can be done online too now. Today I have learned about a new online tool called Quiziz. It is very easy, you just have to create quiz that is some questions, you can add answers also. Students can have access easily and do the quiz. They can even do it several times and also check their answers.

When students do interesting things like this, teaching becomes easier.

[cedricphil]

I know a colleague who has used this at work. He asked for authorisation, brought the students to the computer lab and did some quizzes with them using Quizziz. The students LOVED it a lot. I'll probably give it a try too.

[cedricphil]

Week 12: Creating Educational Videos using MS PowerPoint

Before, I have mentioned that there is a lot of Educational Videos out there for a wide range of topics but sometimes, such videos may not match what you have in mind, the specific objectives you have for a lesson or the level of your students. Creating your own Educational Videos is a very good solution in such cases.

Last week, we have learned how to use Ms PowerPoint (Office 365) to create educational videos, and truth be told, it was very easy- not not as easy as I thought it would be.

To create videos using PowerPoint, you simply have to create the slides, organise them well (with notes, visual aids...) then hit record under the Recording tab. Following this, you can record audio (explanations...) for each individual slide before compiling it into a video. For me, this was the trickiest part, and it took a lot of attempts to be able to generate an educational video with - 8 slides only (very short!), but it is a skill that I have been very glad to learn as an educator. As the adage says, practice makes perfect, so, I can only get better at it in the future.

For all the educators who are merging online teaching with face to face teaching, or, who for some reasons have to teach online, I recommend the use of MS PowerPoint to create Educational videos!

As for my first educational video, it still needs some work before it can be posted, but I'm working on it!

Collaborate for free with online versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Save documents, workbooks, and presentations on

[cedricphil]

Audio Editing Softwares

Around two weeks ago, we learned about some free software which can be used to edit audio.

Personally, I prefer Studio One 5 Pro. It is a powerful, well rounded studio grade software which can be used to record, edit and create music (composer mode - create music using scores...). Though I have paid for this software, a free version of the software with a lot of audio editing tools is also available.

Studio One 5 Prime | PreSonus Shop

Your free download of Studio One Prime begins with a 30-day free demo of Studio One Professional, no credit card required. After your demo p

It is a very powerful tool which can be used to do whatever you may want with audio (noise reduction/removal, adding effects, converting the audio format...

It's user interface is very user friendly, and if you want to go further in the music sphere, it can be your best ally in all the steps of the way.

That's my logical choice as audio editor on my quest to create educational videos.

[cedricphil]

Week 11 (2): Videos for Teaching and Learning

I have used a lot of educational videos from YouTube as teaching material for my Google Classroom. They are very useful for explaining difficult topics, to introduce new topics, for revision and to consolidate students' pre-existing knowledge.

Educational videos are not only very important for online sessions in the absence of face to face teaching/interaction, but can also be used as valuable teaching material in educational settings (i.e in the classroom). They often include visual aids like video segments, pictures, graphs and are well balanced with clear and concise explanations with examples (if you find the right videos). Below are some of the videos I have used which I have found particularly useful:

Topic 10): Parts of speech

Video used(Link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Dna4Tl_YlA

This video gives a very good, clear, concise and simple explanation for this topic. It gives very good explanations on the 9 parts of speech (in the English language - grammar) combined with examples, visual aids (in the form of notes) and exercises with practice to apply what has been explained. This video is perfect as an introduction for the different parts of speech and can be included in lessons on this topic.

Topic 1): Nouns

Video used (Link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sBYpxaDOPo

This video gives a very good introduction to the topic (nouns). It also elaborates on the different types of nouns in a simple and concise manner with examples.

There are many other videos which have been included to my Google classroom because of the added value they bring to the topics which are dealt with in it.

By the end of the day, one must still do the strict minimum of planning their google classrooms/lessons carefully and review the videos carefully (are they accurate? Do they match with your lesson objectives...). There are many very good educational videos out there to be used, it is up to us educators to do our due diligence to explore them and use them when possible/necessary.

[cedricphil]

Week 11: Using videos in Google classroom: Why reinvent the wheel?

Why reinvent the wheel by creating your videos for explanations on different topics for online teaching i.e through google classroom?

Videos are very useful as teaching materials for online classes. They can compensate to some extent for the lack of face to face explanations, are easy to follow along (at least simpler than reading). Nowadays, there are thousands of educational videos which are available on some platforms like YouTube which provides quality materials and explanations (with visual aids like video footage, graphs, pictures).

Instead of spending a lot of time and resources for creating your own videos, why not spend your time wisely by looking for good videos which explains the topic you want to teach (if they exist). TBC

[cedricphil]

Classroom Management Tool: Classroom Dojo

I always thought that all dojos were made to teach martial arts, but this one is different. Class Dojo is very different from traditional ones - it is a very useful tool which can be used manage online classes by giving to teachers (and parents) to monitor students' device activity and progress along with a wide range of features (sharing messages and resouces, create and use quizzes...).

Along with these interesting features is an easy to use user interface, and 0 cost (can be used for free).

[cedricphil]

Week 9: Classroom Management Tools

One of the advantages face to face teaching has over online teaching is the capacity to supervise, monitor and manage students' progress/work rate. I was just introduced to classroom management tools which can help to address this issue for online teaching, with some of the tools giving to teachers more advanced features, such as the addition of parents on the platform which can give the latter ways to get more involved in their children's education.

I have just signed up for a free classroom management tool named class dojo. I'll create a class for my students (I intend to use it along with my google classroom).

[cedricphil]

On your marks, get set, ready, Quiziz!

Find and create gamified quizzes, lessons, presentations, and flashcards for students, employees, and everyone else. Get started for free!

[cedricphil]

Diigo - A powerful asset in academia

Writing a research proposal? Compiling and organising websites for specific purposes (i.e to share with friends or to teach a topic)?

A fast and efficient way to do it is diigo. Organise, edit and modify different types of content (bookmarks, pdfs, photos and notes). There's no way you can suffer losses from it, and whatever you save (i.e in outliner) can be accessed anywhere and anytime, you just need a browser and an internet connection!

Link:

Diigo is a powerful research tool and a knowledge-sharing community

[cedricphil]

Just created an account on diigo. This social bookmarking tool is awesome. It can be used to share links of websites with others (with the option to annotate these websites, adding notes, questions...) as well as pdfs, photos and notes...

I'll create a group to share some educational content and interesting websites/articles with my colleagues. 100% recommend it!

[cedricphil]

My google classroom. This will the prototype for many others to come.

[cedricphil]

Using kahoot for teaching and learning

Just learnt how to use kahoot. I think that it is a very interesting 'game- based learning platform'' which gives teachers a quick and efficient way to assess students (mainly formative but also summative assessments).

It is easy to use and can be used for free. Pictures and videos can be added, which will make it even more fun and interesting for students to use. Has a lot of advantages over jquiz (hotpotatoes). It can be used with google classroom for online teaching and learning.

I am creating my first 'kahoot', will add the link to my google classroom.'I think they will work great together.