This may very well be a case of my teaching brain going into shutdown mode once the christmas decorations go up, but I’ve got no idea of what I want to do for my Course 5 project.
Nothing.
I had vague ideas of something that would collaborative, hopefully between schools.
There would be some blogging, videoing, visual literacy oh and digital citizenship thrown in for good measure.
It was going to be awesome.
And then….
Nothing.
Our next unit of inquiry into how human body systems keep us alive. An interesting and worthwhile topic, but perhaps not one that lends itself to covering all the bases of what we learned in COETAIL.
But then I realised something.
Perhaps I’m trying too hard.
If you were to come up to me at the start of the energy unit and tell me all the wonderful things my class did during the unit, I wouldn’t have believed you. Most of the unit was planned on the fly, in response to what the kids were doing with an eye on the enduring understandings of the unit. The technology fitted around the units and was used purposefully through the unit.
As an inquiry teacher I’m comfortable with the ‘I don’t know’ – that my units aren’t likely to be well planned at the start.
At the moment we have a central idea
Knowledge of our bodies empower us to make informed choices about our wellbeing
As well as the following lines of inquiry.
- The systems of the body (Function)
- Decisions we make impact our well being (Causation)
- How to prevent and respond to injuries (Responsibility)
In order for me to effectively integrate technology into this unit I will need to
Know my learners – Even with a semester with this group of children, there is still so much to learn about the children I teach. During the unit I will be watching and learning form the children – just as I will be on the watch for ‘teachable moments’ I will also be looking for opportunities for children to take the lead.
Know my curriculum – Not just the ‘what’ I am teaching, but more importantly why the concepts and content the children are learning is important to their lives.
Know my technology – I need to know what digital tools can enhance and transform learning. Technology is in just like any resource in the classroom – it is up to me as a teacher to know how to use it most effectively in the classroom. That includes not just only what devices/apps to use, but also how the devices will be cared and managed.
Within this unit I know that on a basic level children will be using technology to:
Document learning – from the initial thoughts through to the final reflection technology will be used to make learning visible to both the children and their families. Technology will be used to help document as, of and for learning.
Collaborate with others – it could be a person sitting in the same room or halfway across the world. But those interactions will need to be guided and modelled just as they are in real life.
Take action – what makes the PYP a special programme is that they need to take action as a result of their learning. With internet children can move beyond the traditional bake sale and posters up around the school and potentially influence the wider community.
