Raine-drops Falling on My Head

 Disclaimer: Nope, this blog post was not written by AI, just the pea brain of Raine. Following the department's conversations on ChatGPT, I find myself reading up on the many AI tools out there (and thanks to the power of social media), I started browsing random AI tools hack for productivity as recommended by some IT guy I follow. Here is an example of the list of tools he consolidated (an older version which I've saved previously): Originally, I had hoped to find a coding AI that can help me overcome challenges faced in updating school website efficiently. (Alas, that is still a search in progress, since GitHub Copilot that I've tried is not free at all grrr). Something else that caught my attention was Tome AI , which helps you generate presentation slides. I thought this would be useful for my Sec 3s who are working on their research on SG Tourism. Here is what I generated on my own just to see how it works (in less than 10 min): random piece of research on Marina Bay ...

Learning should be challenging . Communicate clear expectations. Provide learning support Learning should be inclusive . Learning should be owned. Empower students to set their own goals. Creating the need to know (bring relevance to the content) Facilitate demonstration of learning

 Sharing a series of screengrabs from the presenter's sharing, just to give an idea of how the GI was constructed. CoSpaces allows students to upload 360 environment photos and then drag and drop characters/elements to create 'scenes'. Presenter's suggestion to adapt CoSpaces project into assessment rubrics What have I learnt from this sharing session? The greatest takeaway from the sharing is the introduction of the apps Google Tour Creator and CoSpaces EDU .  Google Tour Creator  allows the students to create their own 360 photos (though presenter did warn that stable and patient camera skills are paramount to getting a good 360 view), while  CoSpaces EDU  allows the kids to upload 360 photos to create their own virtual 'scenes', before making use of their creativity to modify these scenes using character/item templates and annotations of their own.  The use of these 2 apps definitely provides a valuable opportunity for students to enliven their presenta...

The Synopsis:  WiREAD+ is a web-based, computer-supported collaborative reading and learning diagnostics environment. WiREAD+ was conceptualised with the objectives of developing critical reading skills, promoting self-directed learning and deepening student engagement with multi-modal texts. Aligned with the Learning Outcomes of the English Language Syllabus 2010, WiREAD+ was designed to provide students with the opportunity to engage with texts in a social environment, which would allow greater participation, critical thinking and engagement within a class. The ‘critical lens’ and collaborative talk’ prompts guide the students’ critical thinking process. They receive instant responses from their teachers and peers during the sessions. Student, peer and teacher interactions are tracked via the learning analytics function. Teachers are able to view student interactions through social learning maps and manage discussions. The students’ use of the ‘critical lenses’ and ‘collaborative...

 The speaker spoke of 4 types of thinking: 1. Computational Thinking 2. Design Thinking 3. Data Thinking, and 4. Hybrid media thinking (Curate, Create, Connect) According to her, teaching is Design Science that is focused on user experience and almost always collaborative in nature. This resonates with our continued discussions on the use of PS2.0 and STP to help guide our design considerations for the learners. There is so much richness in the data world today. Instead of becoming desensitised to the information we receive each day, how can we make use of these multi-modal texts to further enrich our learning and understanding of the texts? E.g. it is no longer a must for students to read a hardcopy textbook or head down to the library to conduct research. They have the options of e-books, visual media (YouTube tutorials, etc.) that may even encourage more immersive learning experiences (through AR/VR, etc.). It encourages learners today not to just be consumers of information, bu...

Source: https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/how-to-make-learning-relevant/ Emotions may be automatic responses to situations, but we need to "learn how to feel". Strangely enough, I can actually connect to the analogy she gave when she shared on how her daughter had written a song for her brother, putting together her drawing, writing and song-writing skills to present this gift to her brother, because of her love for her brother. I see the same thing happening at home. - My child K1 is fascinated with marine creatures and marine biology nowadays having watched Octonauts on Netflix. He was able to use his love for the cartoon to extend reading and information search on his own to find out more about marine creatures he learnt about from the show (thanks to the Google Home mini in the living room). - He was also able to combine his love for drawing and his love for the cartoon to transform them into 'character hats'. He basically used his free play time a...

What were the main things I learned today, and how will these be useful to my work in 2021?  Today, we revisited the Pedagogical Scaffold 2.0 and spent some time to discuss about designing different LEs for a similar content area. Click here for details of each Learning Experiences on the PDLP website. To me, this process is no much different from our traditional roles as classroom teachers. Why do I say so? We are still planning for students' learning in a mindful way, from outlining the learning outcomes, to designing the activities suitable in scaffolding the students' learning. Akin to teachers with varied teaching styles, those of us who have tried designing LEs tend to have our preferred LEs (e.g. my preferred is Acquisition , because it is the most predictable way for me to organise my lesson stimuli and lead the students towards the intended lesson objectives). For 2021, I would definitely want to go beyond my comfort zone and opt for Inquiry  and Discussion  LEs...

What have I done well this year in Teaching and Learning? Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, I was able to help students bridge their learning gaps (I feel). One good thing that came out of FHBL is that I was forced to move many things online. 1. I became better in marking work submitted in soft copy (via Whatsapp or online modes). It also prompted me to be more active in scanning students' work for learning artefacts' showcase. Instead of waiting for me to articulate their learning, they could easily access the class drive for samples of their peers' work. In order to bridge learning gaps, I make use of varied levels of work to clarify with them what teachers look out for in order for them to reach the higher levels, for example. 2. Besides more varied assessments to check for learning, the learning checklists allowed individuals to easily tick off and check their understanding in a more tangible manner. 3. The use of conceptual teaching and continued sharing o...