Hello! Welcome to my corner of the internet where I get to share some thoughts and ideas about my new learning, progression in my technology and innovation course, as well as a bit about myself.

A little bit about myself and my journey of becoming a teacher:

My name is Allie, and I am currently in the elementary education program as a teacher candidate! I was born and raised in a small-ish city in BC where I spent the majority of my life. I then moved to the beautiful Vancouver Island to pursue my post-secondary education, which was one of the best decisions of my life! The island has brought so many friends, times of exploration, hikes, learning, and everything in between. Some of my favourite things to spend my time doing, besides being with children in the classroom, involve anything outdoors. I am currently trying to learn how to sail with a couple friends, which has been a blast. This summer I also tried wake surfing, but I wasn’t very good at it so it will sure take some getting used to! My acoustic guitar is a little dusty currently, but I do love to play it when my life slows down here and there. Most of my time is spent adventuring with friends on the island, or hanging out with family when I’m back on the mainland. As for my teaching part of my life, I am excited to be heading into a season where I can learn from other practicing teachers on how to effectively support children in navigating the world around them! My dad is also a teacher, and was the one who instilled the love of teaching into me. I don’t know whether I’ll end up teaching grade two, grade six, or anywhere in between, and I also don’t know if I’ll stay here to teach or go abroad! Either way, I can not wait!

A little bit about my first thoughts on this course:

As for this class, I am excited to start learning more about ways in which technology can impact my life, as well as my future students. The first day of this course was interesting, and I enjoyed being able to get a good look at the overview of some things we will learn. I am specifically excited to learn about newer ways to adapt technology into the classroom, like how video editing projects can sharpen many important skills. Or how videos and games can be utilized within a classroom setting in an appropriate way. On the other hand, learning about bullying and issues that arise in the classroom from a practicing teacher is bound to be insanely helpful! Even by the first day in this class, it was easy to see how influence technology is in a classroom. From the mood charts using pictures, to the videos incorporated to keep students engaged, technology can be considerately supportive to the learning of students. This is the twenty first century and things are not the same as they were fifty, or even ten, years ago. Technological advances are apart of our every day lives, and our schooling should follow this same direction. We can’t be teaching students the same way we did ten years ago, since the world is nothing like it was ten years ago. Students not only need the fluency in technology to pursue a job or more schooling, but it is also needed in order to better manage a classroom and their learning goals. With this in mind, I am excited to start this course and see what it has to offer a young teacher candidate like me!