PQP Reflection Portfolio

Assignment Presentations  

Below are a number of class shared presentations from the July 2014 OISE PQP cohort. The class used Google Drive to share content and resources. Within a number of these presentations are links to useful, current and relevant information.  A number of presentations used the Capacity Building Series published by the Ministry of Education. These resources are generally 5-6 pages long and contain both research as well as teaching strategies for educators.  It was a resource that I found very useful and can serve administrators well as it can be used for PD sessions. Another resource that I found useful is the edugains.ca website which also contains useful information. 

 Reflection on the use of technology 

I choose the Master of Education with a focus on Information and Communications Technologies for 2 reasons: 1. technology will only continue to influence education and 2. in case  I was going to leave education this degree focus seemed like the most marketable one to get.  Doing this degree was both an incredible challenge but at the same time forced me to learn a lot about technology but more importantly how to apply it to my job.  

The following applications have been consistently used both in this PQP course and my current job: 

1. Blackboard or Moodle (Learning Management System) 

2. Google Applications (Shared Drive-  Cloud Computing) 

3. E-mail both a private and University of Toronto e-mail 

The following issues with technology continue to be relevant  in both situations: 

1. People don't like to look "stupid" and technology always puts everyone to some degree on a beginner playing field 

2. There are strengths and limitations to all technologies and as you are working with them you begin to realize what they are...you are never going to get an manual...plus who reads them anyway! 

3. Inter generational issues to technology- how does each generation use technology- especially as we have Baby Boomer, Gen X and Gen Ys working with technologies for at least another 4-7 years.

How does all of this apply?  People working in groups will always produce much more diverse content and it always, in my opinion a shame, when it just ends up in someone's e-mail rather than out on the web to use it, see it, show it or reuse it! I suppose this is my efficiency teacher gene at play here. I want to keep it some how because there is always some parts of some presentation that I want to use again.   I always like to showcase work and connect different mediums such as text, pictures, slide images, and videos.   After each course, especially if I want to continue on the PQP route it can be project to continue to add to.