I must admit this class must have been one of the most engaging. This could be because each word our speaker was saying made you think back to anytime liquor or bad decisions were present in any of my private social media accounts.

Through the talk, Jesse suggested technology be used in the classroom, but he warns that you should check with your admins. Jesse shows the class that children are using the internet and must learn how to navigate it, they must be able to distinguish between accurate sources from “fake news”. Safety is always a centerpiece of Jesse’s talk, he tells us not to be reactionary when we get news that a student confides in us, he asks how much our job/social media is worth as they will sometimes intermingle.

The talk ended on the question, is gaming a sport? Perhaps I shouldn’t gatekeep (make sport exclusive to physical) as they require a great level of competence that sport should be composed of. Maybe gaming can be something I allow in the classroom, at least I would be able to monitor the students, thus giving them a safer place.

Honestly, PSII seemed like an awesome inquiry-based school allowing for students in secondary grades to complete their high school careers following their various interests. There are few mentors that help guide pods of students, ensuring that all the core subjects are covered and that all the students are accounted for, as they are permitted to use facilities outside of the school for their inquiries. The school is simply amazing, though would be harder to follow in an elementary type setting as many basics much be learned and social behaviour must be heavily promoted. I would be very interested to incorporate certain aspects of the school to my classroom, such as, having children follow projects that they are interested in, and allowing students to make decisions as I feel like kids aren’t normally given that opportunity.

Ed camp: quite the experience, Ed camp is a way to engage teachers and people alike in discussions that they are interested. This seemed like a great way to break up groups and have in-depth conversations! The way it works is by allowing each person at the EdCamp some time to develop questions, that they will write on a board. After all topics are filled, people decide what they are interested in and finally they go have a conversation with other people that are interested in that specific topic.

– Matty