A blog by Mr. Michaluk

Here is a podcast of my class participation for EC & I 832.

 http://michaluk.edublogs.org/files/2007/04/eci832participationsummarypodcast.mp3

Steve

Here is a sample stop frame animation I created for the poem “Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes.  I hope you enjoy it!

 highwaymanmovie.wmv

Grade 8’s – Here is the link to the wiki you will be working in on our solutions unit.  I hope this will be a useful study guide for each of you.  Remember, you have to edit the wiki at least two times!  Let me know what you think of this tool on the comments section of the blog.  Some questions to answer may be

a) Did the wiki help your learning? Explain. 

b) Is it easy or difficult to use? Why or why not? 

 http://smichaluk.wikispaces.com/Grade+8+Science+-+Solutions

Good luck,

Mr. Michaluk

Grade Eights: As part of our unit on solutions you will be learning about solutions and mixtures.  When we look at these topics we will be studying matter.  You will discover that matter is made up of atoms.  To learn more about atoms I would like you to try the atom builder activity from the following website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/atom/#

You will need to do some reading from this website prior to embarking on the journey to build your own atom.  I will provide you with a worksheet to guide your reading and learning.  Have fun!

Mr. Michaluk

I recently viewed an online presentation on the concept of connectivism, a theory on how knowledge is created, where it is stored, and how people learn.  The presentation was given by George Siemens who is currently working out of the University of Manitoba.  In his presentation he promoted a networked approach to learning where knowledge is flowing, dynamic, complex, stored in many places within a network, and “alive”.  He challenged the traditional educational setting where the teacher is the dispenser of knowledge and the students receive this knowledge.  His criticism of the traditional educational setting was that courses do not adapt rapidly enough to keep pace with the changing knowledge.  He said that the greatest value is not the learning of content, but rather in making the connection to the source of the content.  It appears that his goal is to have people stay current with knowledge by making connections to be able to locate the most up to date accurate sources of information.

His presentation on connectivism can be viewed at: http://www.elearnspace.org/media/Connectivism_IOC/player.html

Bye for now,  

Steve

Do you feel left behind by technology?  Are you interested in a snapshot of the latest and greatest?  Then check this out!

I have recently been introduced to the idea of podcasting.  It hasn’t taken long to sell me on the fact that this may be a valuable tool.  A couple of days ago I attended our teacher’s convention.  There were a number of sessions offered and, as you can imagine, I was unable to be at two places at the same time…until podcasting.  I attended my first session of choice in person and was able to attend a second session after the fact through the podcast!  The second session proved to be well worth my time as I was brought up to speed on some new gadgets and websites that might prove valuable to educators.  The session was run by Dean Shareski of the Prairie South School Division.  Check out the podcast, I will guarantee you will find at least one or maybe even 43 things to try.  I did!

Check it out at http://ideasandthoughts.org/2007/02/20/podcast-24-43-things/.

Steve

Yesterday I attended the Prairie South School Division’s teacher convention.  Maurice O’Callaghan was the keynote speaker that addressed us in the morning.  It was interesting to listen to his presentation as he talked about how to deal with changes in a positive way.  This was a very timely topic as educators in this area are currently being bombarded with change.  We are experiencing government initiatives such as school division amalgamation, the continuous improvement framework, the implementation of School Community Councils, and assessment for learning initiatives that include the provincial math and reading assessments. 

I connected with him on a few ideas that I felt were very important.  His message was to remain positive throughout the course of change.  One of his stories focussed on the idea of control.  He reminded us not to worry about the things that are out of our control. Spending time worrying about things like this waste time and have a negative impact on our lives.  He also reminded us not to worry about the things that are in our control.  For if we can control these things there should be nothing to worry about!  I felt that this was an important reminder for educators in our school division.   We must focus our energy on the things we have in our control.  Specifically, our classrooms and the students with whom we work.

A second idea I tool away from Maurice’s presentation was the idea that “everyday contains diamonds and stones”.  He reminded us in a friendly, fun way that it is more worth our while to search for the diamonds each day than to worry about all of the stones in the way.  What a wonderful, simple way of trying to carry a positive outlook on life. 

 I would encourage you to visit and add to my wiki on the positives of school division amalgamation at http://smichaluk.wikispaces.com/.  I had started this wiki before this conference as a way of trying to remain positive during this period of change.  So this entry and my wiki are totally not “jumping on a band wagon”.  Please share, please be positive!

 Steve

Hey check out and add to my wiki at:

 http://smichaluk.wikispaces.com/

See you there!

Check out my podcasts at the link below.  Enjoy!

http://smichaluk.podomatic.com/

Over the past few weeks I have been experimenting with blogs.  I have had the opportunity to read about blogging, view many blogs and create my own.  Also, I have learned about subscribing to blogs through an RSS feed.  During this time I have been reflecting on advantages of blogging in education.  To me, a huge advantage of blogging is connecting.  Blogs provide a forum, other than the classroom, for learners to get together and share ideas.  In a sense, a blog extends the classroom.  Even though the classroom is closed for the night, the blog remains open for ideas, thoughts, and sharing at any time of day.  Along with the time being extended, the size of the classroom becomes larger.  Blogging provides the opportunity to invite many more people into your class discussions from anywhere in the world.  The grade 1/2 teacher in my school has been blogging with her class and been able to connect with families, students in another country, and a class at the U of R!  Their blog can be viewed at http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337.  Being connected through blogs is a wonderful advantage.

 Another advantage is the motivation factor a blog may provide.  After talking with my students about blogs, many were interested to see what blogs were all about.  After diving in to our class blog, they were eager and willing ot share their thoughts or ideas through our blog.  They were also excited to see that some of their comments had been published!  Our blog provided the opportunity for students to share their ideas even if they were apprenhensive to speak up in class.   

A third advantage to using a blog in education is for the professional development of educators.  Blogs provide a forum to share, reflect, and debate ideas on education.  I recently found an interesting blog developed by an in-school administrator that deals with a variety of topics.  The URL for the blog is http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/.  My interest peaked as I discovered that the writer grew up in my hometown.  In fact, I remember taking the bus to school with this writer!  Another blog that I “sampled” was created and maintained by a curriculum consultant within our school division.  He has been blogging for a couple of years and has brought a number of other educators from our division into the “blog loop”.  His blog can be viewed at http://ideasandthoughts.org/.  Many of his posts deal with technology in education.

 These are three of the many wonderful opportunities blogging can provide for people in the educational setting.  In the future I hope to remain connected and take advantage of the power of blogging!

Steve M.