It is hard to believe this class has come to an end. I have learned so much over the past month when it comes to online and blended learning. This course did an excellent job of breaking down the different components of creating an online/blended prototype and provided us with the opportunity to engage with the intricate process. After careful consideration, I opted to create a blended course prototype for this class that could support what we learn in class and hopefully push my students to further their learning in French while providing them with different activities that will explore different concepts we learn in French Language Arts. When we had to pick a topic to center our course prototype around, I knew I wanted to create a resource I could use in my classroom with my kiddos and I figured French is a huge component in the Grade 2 curriculum in French Immersion that would allow me some flexibility and variety when creating my lessons.

The ADDIE template was an incredibly helpful tool that really helped me out with the development of my course prototype that allowed me to plan and organize the course content, assessment tools, and course layout. This template encouraged me to consider the reasons a blended prototype of this nature would be beneficial to my students and it encouraged me to link clear outcomes with my course objective. It was definitely a helpful tool in the development stage of my blended course prototype.

Choosing an LMS (Learning Management System) was a little tricky due to all the different options that were available to choose from. Among some of the different choices for different learning management systems we could choose from were the following: Microsoft Teams, Blackboard, Google Classroom, Canvas, and Moodle just to name a few. Seeing as I wanted to create a blended course prototype that I could use with my students in the fall, I opted for an LMS that is supported by my division that I would have access to and the kids would as well. Google Classroom turned out to be a great choice for an LMS for my blended course. It is incredibly user-friendly and this LMS has allowed me to organize my course content efficiently while making it accessible to my students. I like that there is a Google Meet link assigned to our course in case we ever need to meet online as well as a class code that will help students gain access to the Google Classroom. Classwork was super easy to set up and organize; you could easily create different topics and add assignments, quizzes, and material, or even reuse a previous post. Once my assignment – Module 1 – was created, I was able to effortlessly upload videos, activities, google slides, boom cards, Quizizz/Quizlet activities, and even Flip activities. Another nice feature was being able to write prompts for your assignments where you could provide students with additional information and instructions. I really love that we can add other teachers to our Google Classroom which is a nice feature in case you plan to work with other staff when planning the course material. I plan on adding my LRT (Learning Resource Teacher) and Administration Team so they can be aware of what we are studying now.

Having the opportunity to create interactive videos was another fun feature we learned to use in this class. I was not familiar with Lumi and did not know how to make videos interactive before this course. I was happy to have learned about this program because my pre-recorded lessons were a little long and I was looking for ways to keep my students engaged when having to watch a 20-minute lesson. Lumi allowed me to insert different activities throughout my pre-recorded lesson that I chose to use as checkpoints with my students by including some true and false questions, multiple choice questions, and links to a couple of activities on Quizizz. I am really looking forward to playing around with this tool and finding other ways to make my activities and lesson interactive.

Getting a chance to meet with our classmates and receive feedback was incredibly useful. I loved getting to see all the different courses and how everyone’s prototype was different and unique. One of my classmates used Microsoft Teams, while the others used Canvas and Blackboard. Two of us in our breakout room opted for using Google Classroom – but I loved how we each set it up in our own way to match the needs and vision of our blended course. It was super informative to get a walkthrough of all these different learning management systems. I was happy to hear from my group members that they enjoyed the Flip activity I included for my kiddos and that my course was easy to follow (so fingers crossed that my students think the same thing in the fall haha); I have made a mental note to continue incorporating Flip activities in my following modules after our group discussion and if my students end up liking them, we could plan for two or more Flip activities within each module. Looking forward to “going live” in September!

Here is a link to my course prototype walkthrough: Course walkthrough

And here is a link to my Summary of Learning for this semester: Summary of Learning – EC&I 834

Building a sense of community and belonging is important in both online and in-person classrooms. Teaching is a profession that is rooted in communication and fostering relationships with one another. Furthermore, it is these two key concepts that are fundamental to building a sense of classroom community. More importantly, “establishing community helps a group of learners bond and work together [which] is particularly important in online courses given the potential for students to feel isolated and alone” (6 Strategies for Building Community in Online Courses, Barkley).

In a blended classroom setting, teachers are fortunate because we have time with our students in class and face-to-face to work on establishing a strong classroom community that can then trickle into the online component of our blended course. Educators take time in planning well-thought-out lessons and hand-picking activities that will not only let them meet curricular objectives but also help students connect while strengthening the classroom community. Lessons and activities are well-organized and have a purpose. Teachers provide opportunities for meaningful discussions to take place where students can ask for clarification, learn from one another, interact with each other, and further their learning. Moreover, Bates emphasizes that “discussions need to be well organized by the teacher, and the teacher needs to provide the necessary support to enable the development of ideas and the construction of new knowledge for the students” (Teaching in a Digital Age). Additionally, Bates references appropriate technology, clear guidelines for student online behaviour, student orientation/preparation, clear goals, appropriate topics, appropriate “tone”/requirements for discussions, monitoring/responding accordingly, and instructor presence as principles that can lead to successful online discussions.

For my blended course prototype, I thought long and hard about what I could provide for my kiddos to engage in building online interactions and discussions. Grade 2 and Grade 3 students are not always the most fluent and capable of expressing themselves in French. The language and lack of vocabulary can make online interactions (writing activities) a daunting task for some students. At this grade level in French Immersion, it is much easier at times, and given the content, to express themselves orally rather than in writing. For this reason, I chose to incorporate weekly Flip activities for my students to encourage online interactions/discussions. I enjoy Flip as a tool to organize, facilitate, and monitor discussions with my students for various reasons that coordinate with Bates’ principles for successful online discussions. For starters, I love that I can provide my prompt through a video as well as in writing; the video option works really well for my students that might be struggling with reading/writing because they can just listen to me read and explain the weekly prompt (it also works well if I want to provide examples). When preparing the prompt, I can make sure I have picked relevant/appropriate topics and I can make sure that I have explained the requirements for these online interactions with my students. Students can comment on classmates’ posts/submissions and provide little reactions in the form of an “Emoji” if they are not able to write a response; I can also comment on students’ submissions and provide feedback. Moreover, I need to approve all posts and comments before they become visible on our class forum which allows me to monitor our discussions and respond accordingly. I believe Flip to be an excellent tool to use with our younger students that allows them to build an online presence as well as an online classroom community in a safe and structured environment.

Following this week’s lecture, I started reflecting on the topic of accessibility and equity in online and blended courses. Bates mentions that student demographics, accessibility, and differences in how students learn should be considered when choosing media and technology to use with our students (Teaching in a Digital Age). Furthermore, Bates states that “of all the criteria in determining choice of technology, [access] is perhaps the most discriminating” (Teaching in a Digital Age). It is incredibly difficult to ensure students have the same tools at home to access different learning materials online. Educators are not able to confirm if all students have access to the internet, computer, or tablet at home to view online content and we honestly can not demand our students have all these appropriate tools to access online content when we are not fully aware of the restrictions that may prohibit their accessibility. “Another important factor to consider is access for students with disabilities. This [could be for example] providing textual or audio options for deaf and visually impaired students” (Teaching in a Digital Age).

In any learning context, I believe it is imperative that we take the time to get to know our students and thus become aware of their instructional and educational needs. Each student is unique with their own set of needs and preferences to help them achieve success within the classroom. It is important for educators to get to know their students so that they can identify what they need to be able to complete a variety of tasks – especially when we are wanting to integrate technology into their learning repertoire. By talking with families or students we might be able to determine if they require any additional information, tools, or guidance to partake in online and blended classroom initiatives. In these types of interactions, we might come to find out that perhaps some of our families do not have technology at home that their child could access to complete components from an online or blended course; we could then approach the school and explore the possibility of letting some families borrow some technology so their child can partake in an online or blended learning initiative. It is also through these discussions that a teacher might find out their student has a hearing difficulty and could start planning to use subtitles or voice typing programs to include in online lessons so that all students can follow along. Moreover, we also discussed instances where our students’ religious or cultural beliefs might impede them from partaking in online or blended classroom initiatives which prompted many of us to consider what would be the optimal way to proceed; the majority of us agreed that we would not ask families to use any tool that went against their religious or cultural beliefs and that given this type of situation, we would find alternate solutions for students to complete the course work such as providing a paper copy of PowerPoint Presentations and printing off hard copies of activities for these students.

I feel that there are indeed some aspects of my blended course that considers accessibility for all my students. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have included pre-recorded lessons that contain content in French and translations in English for my second-language learners to follow along. Additionally, I have included PowerPoint slides to go along with my pre-recorded lessons for there to be a visual component as well to help students follow along which is essential in any language course. However, there are areas where I can tweak a few things to make it more accessible to students. Following our lecture, I contemplated including some tools to help students with auditory disabilities where I could perhaps add subtitles to my pre-recorded lessons or use some type of “Speech-to-text” program. For example, when uploading videos to YouTube, there is an option to add subtitles in various languages and it will even provide graphs of the most commonly spoken languages in the world; the “Accessibility Toolkit” is a great resource to use for additional information, tools, and tips. Chris Hawkins’ article “The best dictation software in 2023” provides different “Speech-to-text” apps that are available as well. What I plan to do before starting my blended course with my students in the fall is to get to know them and discuss their needs before I start assigning modules. I will provide them with detailed walkthroughs of every program/app we plan to use for our blended course. I plan to also set some time aside with each student individually so we can address their questions or concerns before we start our blended course and I will be contacting families as well as asking them to communicate any needs they might have before we begin. These interactions with students and their families will be a key component to ensuring our blended course runs smoothly and that the students get the most out of this instructional initiative.

This has been quite the informative week in EC&I 834! It has been so much fun creating all my material and setting up my module to use with my students in the fall! It is always so refreshing to take the information we cover in class and apply it to our teaching which is what I focussed on doing this week when I got to explore Lumi to later on incorporate into my module with the hope that it would help engage my students with their online grammar lesson in French.

My first module focuses on sentence structure. Seeing as my kiddos will be in Grade 2 and Grade 3, we are focussing on proper sentence composition. We are also concentrating on identifying the subject (le sujet), the verb (le verbe), and the object (le complément) in sentences. Like with most lessons in a French Immersion classroom, exposure to different vocabulary is key to widening our students’ database in French, and we are always translating and providing new vocabulary throughout our lessons when we can.

As I mentioned in my course profile to ensure consistency throughout the school year each of my modules will have the following:

• PowerPoint Presentation of the new concept
• Pre-recorded lesson of PowerPoint Presentation in French (with English translation included to help all students understand/follow along)
• Both interactive and paper worksheets/workbooks (to be completed at home or in school if needing extra help/time)
• Boom Cards
• Quizlet or Quizizz activities
• Flip video
• Formal evaluation – Quiz (summative assessment) to be completed in class as a whole group.

The first thing I proceeded to do when setting up my module, was take the PowerPoint presentation for my lesson and I recorded a video of the slides. This video provided lots of translation throughout its entirety to make sure my students would be able to follow along when accessing it from home. I used Screencastify to record this video and it was very user-friendly while also making it easy to “export” my video. I did feel like the video was a bit long and worried if it would be able to keep my students engaged (especially when they will most likely be working from home without me around to “help them focus” haha).

I then went on to take my pre-recorded lesson and make it interactive with Lumi. In my opinion, Lumi was the perfect tool to help me insert pauses throughout my video and have my students review different concepts at precise times throughout the lesson. I explored a few of the different interactive activities and selected a true and false question, a multiple-choice question, and a summary task to include in my presentation. I also went on to create two different Quizizzes for this lesson and added two different links to the interactive video that takes students straight to our mini quiz. It was pretty easy to use but I do wish we had more options to add audio to prompts/interactive activities (if anyone knows how or has figured this out, please let me know ). I did have to play around with inserting my interactive activities correctly and at precise moments throughout the lesson; I would hope that as I get more comfortable using this tool, I will not need as much time adding the interactive activities correctly.

From that point on, I went on to prepare worksheets on Google Slides that students could submit back to me for review and went to select BOOM cards that I would also include in my module. I also prepared a video that walks students through both the Google Slide worksheets and BOOM cards activity where I translate a good chunk of the content for students to help them complete these assignments. Additionally, I provided one extra Quizizz for students who were wanting some extra practice.

I also created a Flip prompt/activity to go along with this module where I ask students to come up with a few of their own sentences, write them out at home, and then record themselves sharing their sentences with me. I emphasized that when they share each sentence with me, they need to also identify the subject, the verb, and the object in the sentence. This not only helps the kids review what they learned but also provides them with the opportunity to practice speaking in French. I do plan on using the kiddos’ Flip responses as a formative assessment to track their progress.

Lastly, once I had all my material prepped and ready to go, I went into my Google Classroom and set up the module for my students. I wrote up a prompt that provided instructions – this was done in English for parents to understand what to do in case they are helping their child. Adding the activities to Google Classroom was quick and efficient; we are able to add different media, videos, and links to our assignments in Google Classroom which makes it easy for the kids to locate all the activities and have access to them in one place.

Moreover, I think it is important to consider that younger students will need help gaining access to their Google accounts and log-in information. More precisely, teachers will need to walk their students through step by step all the different activities and components of their blended course before allowing them to have access. In previous years, I have set up times for whole-group instruction to take place when I am introducing a new tool, application, or website. I like to project my computer screen on the whiteboard and have students follow along on either an iPad on Chromebook depending on what is available for them to use. For example, when we started using Kahoots, we practiced how to type in the correct address in the URL bar, insert class code correctly, choose names properly, and submit answers correctly. With any new tool – especially relating to technology – it is essential to walk children through all the steps to access and use it correctly. I anticipate setting a couple of weeks aside where I walk my students through Google Classroom, BOOM cards, Quizlet, Quizizz, and Flip so we can do a couple of practice activities together before starting our modules for our blended course. Additionally, at the beginning of each module, I will be explaining all the activities so the kids know how to access all their resources on Google Classroom and feel confident completing the assignments for me from home.

Here is the link to my interactive lesson “La structure de la phrase” (sentence structure). I am excited to see what everyone else has set up!

Welcome to my blended course prototype for French Language Arts – 2e et 3e année!

Course Overview

This course will be a blended course prototype that will align itself with French Language Arts class in a Grade 2/Grade 3 French Immersion split class setting and it will be ongoing all year long, with new lessons and activities being uploaded on Google Classroom weekly/bi-weekly depending on the needs of students. The main focus will be literacy development in French (i.e. reading, writing, and speaking) and course content will include pre-recorded lessons in French with some translation in English to ensure all students/families can follow along. Editable worksheets and interactive activities will be available to students to further their learning and help them improve their literacy skills. Furthermore, this course will complement our in-class lessons and will review the concepts we cover in French class which will assist students in improving their overall literacy skills in French. Moreover, this course prototype will also be set up so that if students were absent, missed a concept being taught, or are just needing to review they could access the lessons and course content on their own time and be able to complete the activities from home. Class instruction will take place in person (face to face) during class time in a synchronous setting and the online component provided on Google Classroom will be asynchronous and allow more flexibility to students when completing the different lessons/topics from home.

Course Rationale

French Immersion is centered around the goal of ensuring second language learners/students that have enrolled in the program from Kindergarten to Grade 12, will graduate from high school being fully bilingual in English and French; the program also emphasizes that students learn to appreciate the cultural aspects linked to French culture (Government of Saskatchewan, Bonjour Saskatchewan, 2023). All instruction at school from Kindergarten to Grade 2 is solely executed in French and English Language Arts is not introduced as a subject at school until Grade 3. From this point on, instruction is still carried out in French except for English Language Arts and once students move on to high school the required time of instruction in French decreases to accommodate instruction of additional subjects and electives. The end goal is incredibly rewarding and inspiring when you see students in Grade 12 fully capable of communicating in French and being able to carry out a number of tasks in both official languages.

As one can imagine, it can be challenging at times to ensure students receive all their instruction in French (with minimal translation) and that they are fully able to grasp the concepts being taught in class in an additional language. French Immersion Teachers are met with the task of providing instruction to their students that fits their needs and matches their language competencies in French. Students progress at their own pace and it is difficult to plan accordingly to all students’ language competency levels in French; some students pick up the content taught quickly while others require additional time to review and understand different topics. Therefore, an online course component where we can provide a blended learning opportunity for our French Immersion students could be beneficial to students encountering success within the program.

Additionally, Grade 2 and Grade 3 instruction is heavily rooted in literacy development in the areas of reading, writing, and oral competencies in French. Exposure to phonemic awareness, daily modeling (i.e. proper sentence structure, proper pronunciation, reading strategies, decoding skills, etc.), and opportunities to practice new concepts are crucial in the development of an additional language. Moreover, French materials and resources are incredibly difficult to come across for second-language learners in Saskatchewan. Thus, an online component to accompany in-person class instruction allows French Immersion Teachers to set up a learning management system that can include resources, additional interactive activities, learning material, and assessment tools all in one place that all their students can access asynchronously on their own time to review concepts covered in class as well as allow students who are absent the opportunity to review missed concepts to help them become successful in their learning journeys in French Immersion.

Target Student Population and Demographics

This course is geared toward Grade 2 and Grade 3 French Immersion students in a split classroom setting. All students are second language learners and would have started the French Immersion program in Kindergarten and in some cases Grade 1. Level of competency in French varies from student to student and the needs of each child will also vary according to their skill set. Various students have adaptations in place and ROA’s (Record Of Adaptations) to help them find success in the classroom. Diversity is present as is with many classrooms in Regina Public Schools and this should be taken into consideration when planning (i.e. Socio-economic status – access to technology/internet; etc).

There are different expectations and different curriculums used for these two grade levels that also need to be considered:

Grade 2:

• Grade 2 French Immersion uses the Interdisciplinary Curriculum for instruction that is split up into 3 major components that guide teachers’ planning (eight possible authentic questions and Contexts, 49 outcomes, and 358 indicators); this curriculum focuses immensely on literacy development in French.
• By the end of Grade 2, students are expected to be reading at a level 12 (GB+ testing – equivalent to Fountas and Pinnell testing in English).
• All instruction is carried out in French; English Language Arts has not been introduced.

Grade 3:

• The Grade 3 French Immersion curriculum follows a more “traditional” format that divides outcomes and indicators into common subjects (i.e. French Language Arts, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Health, Phys. Ed, etc.).
• By the end of Grade 3, students are expected to be reading at a level 18 (GB+ testing – equivalent to Fountas and Pinnell testing in English).
• All instruction is carried out in French except for English Language Arts; First time that English Language Arts is being taught to students in French Immersion.

Course Format

This course will take on a blended format where there will be instances that class instruction will take place in person (face to face) during class time in a synchronous setting and there will also be an online component provided on Google Classroom that will be asynchronous in nature and allow more flexibility to students when completing the different lessons/topics from home.

As mentioned previously in the “Course Overview” section, this blended course prototype is meant to create opportunities for French second language learners in French Immersion to review and practice different topics taught in French class. This could also be used in instances where students are absent and miss instruction on a given topic in French class and then access the course content later on Google Classroom to review concepts they missed from home or in their spare time.

Course Toolset

For this course, my “Major Platform/Learning Management System” will be Google Classroom.

The following learning material will be available/posted on Google Classroom:

• Powerpoint Presentation of concept
• Pre-recorded lesson of PowerPoint Presentation in French (with English translation included to help all students understand/follow along): will be created with Screencast-O-Matic and Lumi
• Both interactive and paper worksheets/workbooks (to be completed at home or in school if needing extra help/time):  created with both Word and Google Slides/Google Docs
• Boom Cards: created on BOOM Cards
• Quizlet activities: created on Quizlet
• Flip video: prompt available on Flip

• Formal evaluation – Quiz (summative assessment) to be

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, learners will:

• Have made improvements in reading in French
• Have made improvements in writing in French
• Have broadened their vocabulary in French
• Have improved their comprehension skills in French
• Be able to understand and reproduce (orally and in writing) simple and complex sentences in French
• Understand a variety of French content
• Be able to understand grammar rules and use grammar structure in French

(more precise definition and explanation of these outcomes are mentioned below with a link to the online curriculum in French; I have provided a brief translation/explanation of these outcomes in English)

Grade 2: Les programme d’études de la Saskatchewan – 2e année (2023)

Acquérir les connaissances linguistiques et les référents socioculturels 

Résultats d’apprentissage :

AP-AC.1

Utilise :

• les indices visuels;
• la morphologie;
• la syntaxe;
• la segmentation de la phrase;
• les syllabes;
• la graphophonétique;
• la sémantique pour négocier le sens et pour s’exprimer.

AP-AC.2

Utilise des organisateurs graphiques et textuels et des outils de référence pour négocier le sens d’un message et pour s’exprimer.

AP-AC.3

Utilise le vocabulaire de l’interaction et celui de ses activités quotidiennes pour exprimer ses sentiments et ses émotions.

AP-AC.4

Enrichit ses phrases simples déclaratives en démontrant un répertoire croissant de vocabulaire et d’expressions courantes ou idiomatiques.

AP-AC.5

Utilise une représentation visuelle du message pour l’aider dans son processus de négociation de sens et d’expression.

AP-AC.6

Se crée des modèles et des généralisations qu’il ou elle valide et ajuste pour découvrir les règles de la langue.

AP-AC.7

Démontre que les temps des verbes véhiculent une signification d’actions, de pensées et d’évènements dans le temps présent, passé et futur.

AP-AC.9

Distingue et utilise les règles de communication de base, y compris le vous pluriel et le tu singulier.

Grade 3: Les programmes d’études de la Saskatchewan – 3e année

Compréhension écrite 

Résultats d’apprentissage :

3.CÉ.1

Dégager le contenu de divers textes :

• le message dans une communication écrite illustrée de cause à effet, de problèmes-solutions et d’énumération;
• les éléments dans une histoire illustrée permettant de répondre aux questions suivantes : Qui? Où? Quand? Quoi? Comment? Pourquoi?;
• le sens global d’un court texte simple sans illustrations.

3.CÉ.2

Utiliser divers moyens (stratégies, conventions linguistiques et entrées en lecture) avant, pendant et après, avec l’aide de l’enseignant ou de l’enseignante, pour :

• se préparer à la période de lecture silencieuse personnelle;
• sélectionner un texte;
• comprendre un message ou un texte :
  • faire des prédictions;
  • établir des liens entre les éléments du texte et son expérience;
  • consulter des ouvrages de référence;
  • appliquer ses connaissances des conventions linguistiques;
• réagir à un texte à caractère narratif ou poétique / ludique en faisant part de ses gouts et de ses opinions personnelles;
• réfléchir sur son processus de lecture.

Production écrite

Résultats d’apprentissage :

3.PÉ.1

Rédiger :

• plusieurs phrases pour exprimer ses gouts et ses préférences, ou décrire un environnement ou un évènement;
• un court texte narratif dont les personnages, le lieu, le temps et la situation initiale sont présentés.

3.PÉ.2

Se servir du processus d’écriture, avant, pendant et après, avec l’aide de l’enseignant ou de l’enseignante, pour :

• établir les paramètres de son projet d’écriture, y compris l’intention d’écriture, la structure et les composantes du texte;
• produire un message;
• vérifier le contenu de son message;
• appliquer les conventions linguistiques à son écrit;
• planifier la présentation finale de son projet d’écriture;
• réfléchir à ce qu’il ou elle a produit.

Course Content

This course will be set up to support our French Language Arts class and it will be ongoing throughout the school year. There are 14 different topics that will be split up into 14 individual modules with some wiggle room regarding the time length we take to complete each module. Some modules may take a week or two to complete whereas other concepts that are a bit more complicated to grasp could take a few weeks to complete.

Each module will consist of the following setup:

• PowerPoint Presentation of the new concept
• Pre-recorded lesson of PowerPoint Presentation in French (with English translation included to help all students understand/follow along)
• Both interactive and paper worksheets/workbooks (to be completed at home or in school if needing extra help/time)
• Boom Cards
• Quizlet activities
• Flip video
• Formal evaluation – Quiz (summative assessment) to be completed in class as a whole group.

Here are the 14 modules we will cover in this course:

• La structure de la phrase (Sentence structure)
• La ponctuation (Punctuation)
• Les noms communs (Common Nouns)
• Masculin et féminin (Gender of the word – masculin or feminin)
• Les déterminants (Determiners)
• Singulier ou pluriel (Singular or plural)
• Les noms propres (Proper nouns)
• Les noms personnels (Personal pronouns)
• Être au présent (To be in the present tense)
• Avoir au présent (To have in the present tense)
• Les verbes au présent (Verbs in the present tense)
• Les adjectifs (Adjectives)
• Les prépositions (Prepositions)
• Les adverbes (Adverbs)

Assessment strategies

This course will use both formative and summative assessments throughout the year to monitor student progress:

Formative assessments:

• Worksheets/workbooks
• Boom Cards
• Quizlet activities
• Flip video response (will vary according to the prompt that goes with the topic)

Summative assessments:

• Formal evaluation – Quiz (summative assessment) to be completed in class as a whole group.

Considerations/Common Concerns

My class next year will be made up of a group of about 28-30 second language learners in Grade 2 and Grade 3 French Immersion. Each student will have their own level of competency in French and will therefore have their own needs. Some students may need to review certain concepts more times than others, while others will be ready to move on to additional activities after in-person lessons in class. In this type of setting, students will be able to work at their own pace and find a balance that works for them and determine their schedule to work from home. However, it is important to consider that in French Immersion – especially in the earlier years of the program – teachers are often translating to facilitate the comprehension of their students as well as broaden their vocabulary in French. Students could potentially encounter language barriers when completing their work at home on Google Classroom. Thus, it is essential that teachers planning to provide this type of blended instruction for a language class need to have certain tools in place – such as online dictionaries, pre-recorded lessons, etc. – to help their students navigate possible language barriers they might come across. It would also be a good idea to set some time aside throughout the school week, where students could come to check in with their teacher and seek guidance if needed in this type of instructional setting.

More precisely, teachers need to consider that in this type of setting, students will need a tablet, laptop, or computer with internet accessibility to log on to Google Classroom where they can access course material and complete interactive activities. Therefore, ensuring all students have access to the technology required to complete course content will be important seeing as we want equal opportunities for all students and if a household does not have access to a personal device at home, arrangements could be made through the school for them to borrow a school device (i.e. iPad, Chromebook) to use at home or additional time could be provided at school during moments of free time where they could access course content and complete activities.

 LINK TO ADDIE TEMPLATE

After having watched our ADDIE lecture, I started reflecting on my course prototype, what I wanted it to look like, and what purpose I wanted it to serve in my teaching. As I mentioned before in my introduction, I am a French Immersion Teacher and will be teaching a Grade 2/Grade 3 split classroom this year. I anticipate using what I prepare for this class with my future students and hopefully seamlessly integrate this content into my teaching in the fall.

I should start by explaining that French Immersion is centered around the goal of ensuring second language learners/students that have enrolled in the program from Kindergarten to Grade 12, will graduate from high school being fully bilingual in English as well as French; the program also emphasizes that students learn to appreciate the cultural aspects linked to French culture and other cultures (Government of Saskatchewan – Bonjour Saskatchewan, 2023). All instruction at school from Kindergarten to Grade 2 is solely executed in French and English Language Arts is not introduced as a subject at school until Grade 3. From this point on, instruction is still carried out in French except for English Language Arts. As you can imagine, it can be challenging at times to ensure students receive all their instruction in French (with minimal translation) but the end goal is incredibly rewarding and inspiring when you see students in Grade 12 that are fully bilingual and can carry out a number of tasks in both official languages.

Therefore, I am wanting to develop a course prototype for this assignment that aligns with our French Language Arts class/Literacy focussed lessons. I plan to use Google Classroom as my learning management system because it is used throughout my school division and students will have accounts set up that can be accessed at school as well as from home. The main focus will be literacy development in French (i.e. reading, writing, and speaking) and course content will include pre-recorded lessons in French with some translation in English to ensure all students/families can follow along. I have already envisioned adding editable worksheets and interactive activities students can engage with to further their learning and that will help them advance in their literacy skills. I foresee this course complimenting our in-class lessons so I believe this will be considered a blended course because it will essentially reinforce the material we cover in class which is essential in the success of our students mastering the French language and improving their overall literacy skills in French. I also hope to set up this course in a way that I can provide material to my students/families in French to help students become more literate in French; it is a challenge to gain access to material in French and most of our parents/families do not speak French themselves so a prototype of this sort can provide additional resources/material in French for them. However, this course prototype will also be set up so that if students were absent, missed a concept being taught, or are just needing to review they could access the lessons and activities/course content at their own time and be able to complete the activities on their own.

I am looking forward to sharing my learning journey with everyone and am excited to see what others are preparing for their course prototypes. Happy planning everyone!

Hi everyone!

My name is Valeska and I am a French Immersion Teacher for Regina Public Schools. I have worked for Regina Public Schools since I convocated from the U of R where I obtained my Baccalauréat en éducation française. Over the past 10 years, I have taught Grade 1 at École Wilfrid Walker School, Grade 2 at École Centennial School and I will be teaching Grade 2 and 3 at École Wascana Plains School this upcoming fall. I have always looked for ways to integrate technology into my teaching – even back when I was an intern, I made a huge effort to look for different bilingual apps and programs that would not only engage my students in their learning but also support the different topics we were covering in class. Once I started teaching, my passion to bring technology into the classroom only increased and I gained experience with different technology tools such as Smartboards, Mimios, iPads, and various other software/equipment. Throughout my grad studies, I have been fortunate enough to take two other Educational Technology courses (EC&I 830 and EC&I 833) with this current course being my third class relating to technology. Educators need to consider that “technology lets us better serve the diverse learning styles of our students and educate them for a wider range of intelligence” (Turkmen, 2006).

My first experience with online learning in the classroom was when we had to shift to online learning during the pandemic. This was the first time I had to familiarize myself with programs such as Google Classroom and embrace the idea of teaching my kiddos virtually. Having always taught early elementary students, I never really needed to set up a Google Classroom or set up login information for my students. Very quickly, I had to get accustomed to the idea of setting up virtual meetings/virtual lessons on Zoom and started preparing pre-recorded lessons and instructions with digital video editing programs (i.e. Screencast-O-Matic). I also had to quickly adapt and prepare digital worksheets that my students could access on their devices and then submit back to me to review. Additionally, many French Immersion Teachers went looking for online educational applications that students could access from home that provided reading material and promoted language development in French (i.e. Je lis je lis, Boukili, Boom Cards, etc.).

When we shifted to online learning during the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges that I encountered was related to my students’ competency levels in French. One of the key elements in the success of the French Immersion program is that students need to be immersed in the language in order to attain a high level of competency in French. Students need to hear and be exposed to French in different settings throughout the school day and this needs to happen regularly as well as consistently for them to grasp the language. Unfortunately, our virtual meetings did not provide our students with sufficient exposure to the French language for them to improve or even just maintain their level of French throughout those months when we switched to online learning. Another challenge I encountered during those months of online learning was when I prepared pre-recorded lessons and virtual instructions for worksheets. Trying to anticipate questions students might have relating to the work was very tricky and it was nearly impossible to create a pre-recorded video that would answer all my students’ questions. Ensuring students understood the different concepts they were being taught also became a difficult task to achieve because, unlike the classroom, we were not there with them to answer their questions while they were completing their work.

Nonetheless, there were also many opportunities for professional growth and collaboration with colleagues during these times as well. As much work as it was to learn how to maneuver all these different tools and programs, I feel this new knowledge made me a more complete teacher. Online teaching forced me to step out of my comfort zone and research new methods, resources, and strategies to help my students in their learning journeys. I felt like I was pushed to be innovative and try new teaching techniques that I probably would not have tried in the “traditional” classroom setting (i.e. Kahoots, Flip, etc.). Moreover, I loved how online teaching created a sense of community among colleagues when we were all learning together and encouraging one another. There was lots of sharing that took place during these months as well and every time we came across new applications or created a resource, we would share it with one another immediately.

I hope to be able to use the new knowledge I acquire through this course in my teaching with my students to engage them at school and enhance their learning. I believe it is important for us as educators to stay relevant with the various resources that are available to us and that we stay up to date with all the different technology that is continually evolving. I want to be the best possible teacher I can be for my students and staying current with technology will help me attain this goal. Furthermore, I align myself with John Dewey when he stated,

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday we rob our children of tomorrow”.

This semester has just flown by and it is hard to believe our journey in EC&I 830 is coming to an end. With the conclusion of my second Ed Tech class in my graduate program, I am excited to see how this newly acquired information will guide me in my teaching. I am always impressed with the new information I acquire in each one of my graduate courses and EC&I 830 did not disappoint in encouraging me to think outside of the box when considering the variety of educational technology available to educators and furthermore, pushing me outside of my comfort zone when being asked to consider the new technology that is continuously being released onto the market. More importantly, I am leaving this course with a spark being ignited that is asking me to question what new technology I am willing to bring into my classroom in the future and what rewards my students will reap from my newfound knowledge.

I decided to set up a virtual classroom to share my Summary of Learning with everyone. I started playing around with the concept of a virtual classroom during the pandemic and have recently become interested in setting them up again to help enhance my students’ learning. To get started, please “start the slideshow”. Afterwards, locate my Bitmoji on each slide and click on it. Once you have clicked on my Bitmoji, you will be redirected to a video presentation. Once you reach Slide 7, there will be slides for each of the six debates covered in class along with links to the resources provided by the participants; click on laptop icons for videos and click on notebooks icons for reading materials.

Thank you to Alec and all of my classmates that have helped me to better understand various contemporary issues pertaining to educational technology through our debates as well as inspiring me to consider what I view my role as an educator to be when introducing the concept of technology to my students. Throughout our numerous discussions in class, I was able to gain perspective as to what I consider my role to be when bringing technology into the classroom. I leave this class not knowing everything there is to know about technology and the best practices to undertake when integrating technology in the classroom, but I have a better understanding of why I choose to use technology to enhance my teaching and I can value the contributions technology can make to our profession. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that our paths will cross again in the future!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-7XlvNiyj68N3nD6a7g5XjdGhnsWGRM96Sn3NLwdw68/edit?usp=sharing

If I look back at my experience with technology in school compared to the experience of today’s youth, it is completely different from one another. Technology has made huge advancements in the last 25 years and it seems that nowadays there is an endless amount of new applications, software, and platforms available for students and educators to use to further the learning experience at school. Artificial intelligence has become a powerful tool that we can incorporate into our teaching repertoire that provides a plethora of educational technology tools for both students and educators. Most importantly, “artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach” (Edutech Global, 2023). However, “the use of AI in education is valuable in some ways, but we must be hyper-vigilant in monitoring its development and its overall role in our world” (University of San Diego, 2023).

It is exciting to consider all the different possibilities and opportunities AI can offer in education. In the article entitled “43 Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Education”, the following five advantages are linked to the use of AI in the education field: 1) personalization; 2) tutoring; 3) grading; 4) feedback on course quality; and 5) meaningful and immediate feedback to students (2023). Another benefit associated with the use of AI tools relating to education was the mention that “much of the potential envisioned for AI in education centers on reducing time spent by teachers on tedious tasks to free up time for more meaningful ones” (University of San Diego, 2023). This pro is particularly interesting because educators have been stating for quite some time that we have limited time for all the tasks that are demanded of us in our profession. Having the possibility to free up some of our time from monotonous tasks and allow us to concentrate on teaching and connecting with our students is very appealing in my opinion. The concept of collaboration taking place between educators and AI tools is quite intriguing from an instructional perspective. “As AI educational solutions continue to mature, the hope is that AI can help fill needs gaps in learning and teaching and allow schools and teachers to do more than ever before… [and] by leveraging the best attributes of machines and teachers, the vision for AI in education is one where they work together for the best outcome for students” (Marr, 2021).  More precisely, we need to understand that “AI does not detract from classroom instruction but [can] enhance it in many ways” (University of San Diego, 2023).

As with most topics discussed in class this semester, the use of AI tools in education also brought forth some potential disadvantages. At the forefront of this discussion regarding the negative aspects of AI educational tools was the cost associated with developing and implementing these types of tools (Edutech Global, 2023). Whenever we discuss the topic of cost the question of equity comes to mind because it is hard to ensure that all schools would have the same resources at their disposition; it is very tricky to ensure that all schools would be able to invest in AI tools and have the same tools available to all students. There was also mention of a lack of human interaction and emotional support when we allow students to use AI educational tools in the classroom along with privacy and security concerns (Edutech Global, 2023). An interesting negative that was mentioned in a few articles was the fear educators had that they could be replaced by AI educational tools. It was stressed that AI educational tools did not have the objective to replace teachers, but they were meant to assist teachers in their work and allow their teaching to be more efficient (Edutech Global, 2023).

This week’s topic encouraged me to go and explore what we had available as AI educational tools on the market right now. As I started researching the concept of AI educational tools and what was available to educators, I was pleasantly surprised that I was using a couple without even realizing they were AI educational tools. I have used Quizlet for over a decade to help my students review what we have covered in class and most teachers that teach a different language at school other than English have become familiar with Duolingo as an engaging tool to use with their students to practice different languages. Through the use of AI, Duolingo lessons are paced and leveled for each student according to their performance. In addition, Quizlet offers a feature – Quizlet Learn – that is a smart study resource that provides adaptive plans and helps take the guesswork out of what to study (Whitfield, 2023). Furthermore, Chat GPT is one of the AI tools that has been discussed recently in the media and it has certainly caused insightful discussions at my school. When we first discussed Chat GPT in class, I remember going to work the following day and engaging in an insightful conversation with my principal regarding the use of AI educational tools. This was right around report card time and I know some colleagues who used this tool to generate the tedious and arduous task of writing up report card comments. One of the main ideas that emerged from our conversation was how educators should familiarize themselves with this new tool and see how they could benefit from incorporating this tool to enhance their teaching. It is crucial to understand that

“learning has [always] been a foundational part of humanity and thanks to AI [technologies] education is [becoming] more accessible and efficient than ever” (Whitfield, 2023).