The Genius behind Genius Hour

              Genius Hour is a part of a new culture of learning and incorporates twenty-first century skills such as communication, collaborative teamwork, creation and more. When this innovative project called a Genius Hour was first mentioned in class, I think that everyone was a tad bit confused and intimidated by the concept of one. I know that I was. I believe that it was natural for me to feel confused and intimidated by something so new, unknown and something that seemingly could not be explained. These feelings only intensified as the date for Genius Hour approached; however, once my group members and I decided on a topic and a focus of our exploration, which was Skype, these feelings settled and changed. While I will not expand on what my group's Genius Hour was about because it had to do with something that I have already wrote about in one of my previous blog posts, I will say that, overall, I think that the mixed thoughts about this project were understandable and necessary for us to have in order to meet one of the objectives of this course, which is to be open to change and engaged in our learning.

Source: http://marinasandoval.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/0/9/26098974/7230242_orig.png

               As 4P19 comes to an end, I feel that Genius Hour will be something that I really take away from this course and I never would have expected that without being subjected to the full experience of this project. At first, I struggled to see the point of Genius Hour. I thought that it wouldn't be useful to me, but I was wrong. Genius Hour made me more open to the idea of openness itself. Less structured activities is not something that I am used to or comfortable with given that most university assignments have strict guidelines and as students we are not always encouraged to follow our own interests. Not only that, but I believe that this student-centered inquiry will have a positive impact on how I deliver any future oral presentations. Maybe it was the fact that it was only five minutes long and ultimately the fact that no one could present on the wrong thing, per say, because the point of Genius Hour is for it to be an open exploration, that contributed to me feeling more comfortable than usual with presenting in front of the class despite feeling less prepared. Rather than relying on detailed notes, I felt secure enough to just refer to our PowerPoint presentation and add in supplementary material as it popped into my head.

                In general, it was fantastic to see  how different groups approached education and incorporated things that they were passionate about or interested in into their presentations. I think that we all got a better sense of what drives us and our peers to be better educators.

                I would like to conclude this blog with something that is a little unrelated to what I have previously reflected on. It is especially difficult as a student, and I imagine as a professor too, to find the motivation and energy to complete or mark assignments and prepare for final exams during this chaotic time of year. Have no fear though because Kid President is here to give a pep talk. He stars in one of my favourite videos, which I think captures the difficulties of reaching this point in the semester, but also of engaging the twenty-first century learner and how, as long as we do not quit, it will all be worth it in the end. I find that sometimes it is the little reminders that really keep you going, so I dedicate this to everyone that is struggling to make it through the home stretch of the semester or still struggle with the concept of twenty-first century education. Here is some encouragement. Watch, enjoy, keep blogging and don't forget to be awesome. Until next time...

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o

 

The Twenty-First-Century Teacher

            The final chapter of our course text reflects on what it means to be a twenty-first-century educator and sums up exactly what being one consists of. As prospective teachers, we really need to consider how this framework will affect how we identify ourselves in the classroom.

            It is evident that although progressive change is occurring, complete education reform has yet to take place. One of my worries as I approach the end of the Concurrent Education program is that, as a teacher, I will be stuck in this transition. It will be difficult to navigate through this division as the old model has not been eliminated completely, but the new model is not in full effect either. I fear becoming what the texts calls a living contradiction. I know that there are ways to avoid and combat this, such as focusing on caring about students, striving to improve and develop professionally and being a risk taker, but it is a possibility for all of us that we may fall into this trap, even unknowingly.

            The general consensus is that teachers teach the way that they were taught, although this notion is being challenged by twenty-first-century education. I believe that throughout my education I have encountered a variety of different teaching styles that will impact how I teach my students; however, upon further reflection, this may not be entirely a bad thing as I have increasingly been taught with twenty-first-century methods. After reading this summary of what being a twenty-first-century teacher entails, I was struck by how many similarities there were between what this type of educator ideally projects, stands for and exemplifies and my previous high school teachers, especially one in particular. Before I even had a full understanding of what a twenty-first-century teacher is, I was exposed to one and experienced what it was like to learn from one. It is said that twenty-first-century educators "open their classrooms to the world; they often have a class website accessible to parents -- indeed, to anyone" (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2014). My grade eleven French teacher created a website for his students in order to remind us of our homework, able us to access additional listening activities and practice sheets, lead us toward helpful material and resources, reminders and more. Eventually this became a collaboration with the whole modern languages department. Therefore, his individual efforts influenced his colleagues and soon other teachers were aiming to improve their pedagogical practices and get their students to advance their French skills as well. He went beyond what was expected of him and by doing so he encouraged my classmates and I to strive for more than what we expected of ourselves as French speakers.

Source: http://www.edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/networked-teacher.jpg

            Technology has been a recurring topic throughout the semester and duration of EDUC 4P19 and that fact in itself highlights its importance. I notice that a lot of my current or recent professors struggle to operate technology, yet they really want to implement it and rely on it in their classrooms. I feel that we have an advantage as prospective teachers when it comes to technology because we are familiar with it and grew up in a digital age. We are digital natives, as opposed to digital immigrants like some of the teachers in previous generations. While technology has been a big part of my post-secondary education, I did not realize how much it was being employed in high school classrooms until I started to attend my placement for my other EDUC 8P19 class. I returned to the high school that I graduated from to complete my placement. Therefore, I can make a much better comparison based on my past experiences in regards to how technology has changed the dynamic of the classroom. When I attended this school, there were clear polices in place against the use of technology, meaning cell phones, laptops, I-Pads, I-Pods, etc. The only time that technology was used and encouraged was during a presentation when students would provide their classmates with information on a PowerPoint or teachers would use the projector to show us a film or a video clip. While I was observing a grade eleven English class, some students delivered an oral presentation, but they did not just read from their notes. Rather than PowerPoint, they used presentation software known as Prezi. Instead of struggling to read from the projector behind them and address the class at the same time, two students used their personal I-Pads to bring up their Prezi document and present, so that they were actually facing the audience rather than having their backs to them while presenting. Also, as a group activity, they created an online trivia game, rather than just giving the class important details on a handout or something of the sort, which probably would have been something that I would have been encouraged to do in high school. I also observed a grade twelve English class and the teacher was the same one that I once had when I was in grade twelve. When we studied Shakespeare, we would typically take turns reading lines or the teacher would read it out to us, but instead she used an online resource where other people read the play aloud and the students listened and followed along. At first I was concerned whether or not this method would be effective or not because being able to read Shakespeare individually and aloud is valuable, but I would say or hope that by grade twelve, especially in preparation for university, they would have a solid understanding of how to read Shakespeare as they have come across it since grade nine. In this case, I believe that using technology and having a Shakespearean play delivered almost as a music track is helpful for students to get a feel for the emotion and meaning behind the language. I wish that it would have been an experience that I was subjected to in high school, rather than coming across it on my own in university. Nonetheless, it is apparent that how course content and presentations are being delivered has definitely changed and even though it is unusual for me to watch because it is so unlike how it was when I attended high school, it is refreshing to see that classrooms are more accepting of this new culture of learning as technology is something that can no longer be avoided in our world today. 

References 

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom

assessment: Engaging the 21st-century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.