We are very grateful for the partnership of several Faculty members and their students during and beyond this project!
Reflections of Marina Milner-Bolotin, Assistant Professor, EDCP 357:
The Camtasia video projects her students created with the help of our project team are available as open resources via her STEM Videos For All website and Youtube channel. We were extremely fortunate to be able to work with her in support of our project and found that the assignment developed collaboratively with Marina built naturally upon work she began as part of an earlier TLEF project she was awarded. “Making a big difference with very little: Creating a community resource for hands-on math and science activities on a “shoestring budget”
Summary of reflections from Christine Bridge, Sessional Instructor, LLED 361:
“I try to infuse technology into my own practice and very much value and appreciate how open Yvonne has been in being able to connect, bounce around ideas, and walk through new tools — not to mention all the support she offers students outside of class time” (Christine Bridge, testimonial)
In addition, Christine informed us that the feedback she received from her teacher candidates was always very positive, and she only wished her students had a longer amount of time to interact and engage with technology.She enjoyed our sessions so much that she repeatedly sought Yvonne’s guidance and support and felt that our engagement with the teacher candidates was so important that she would invite us again to her LLED classes for the following reasons:
- To help TC’s gain awareness of an array of technologies that might be implemented into their future practice
- To provide them with the opportunity to ‘test-drive’ new tools
- To highlight effective practice modelled in a comfortable setting, to brainstorm possibilities in a variety of subject areas, and to ask questions
- To engage in meaningful discussions about issues such as copyright, privacy, permissions, moderation, etc. that otherwise might not occur
- To facilitate pedagogical discussions surrounding the use of technology in educational settings
Reflections of Wendy Traas, Reference Librarian, Education Library UBC:
One important session we conducted during this project concerned Open Educational Resources (OER). For this topic, we held various workshops and collaborated with Jo-Anne Naslund and Wendy Traas, librarians in the Education library. Together we exposed teacher candidates to new technologies and resources available online and within the library promoting practical teaching practices and discussing ethical obligations as digital citizens. Reflecting back on her experience with this partnership and TLEF project, Wendy Traas found that she had grown as an educator and attained new pedagogical skills:
As a teaching librarian, these sessions have given me valuable opportunities to explore emerging conversations and tools around digital literacy and links to pedagogy. As a result of this project, I am more aware of tools such as makerspace kits, student response systems, open education repositories, and virtual and augmented reality. The project has inspired me to incorporate many of these into my branch to support student learning. (Wendy Traas, testimonial)
In addition, Wendy found that our project provided students with a means to develop their digital literacy and pedagogical approaches:
Digital literacy is an important topic for new teachers, requiring them to consider their own practices in addition to modelling them in the classroom with students. Given the rapid change of digital technologies, this project is a timely opportunity for students to learn new skills and develop critical thinking skills about the many pedagogical applications. By working within specific courses, the project allowed students to explore tools and strategies in an authentic and meaningful way. (Wendy Traas, testimonial)
