| A New Paradigm |
So after talking with my PL I came across the idea that Katimavik might not be the time or place for DOING every new thing I want but rather a time to REALIZE what it is I want to do.
This adds a whole new element to my thinking and I'm not too sure I'll be able to accept it wholly but it's definitely something big to think about.
As of this point I've been thinking of things my group can do together so we can all benefit from new experiences but there's things I would like to do that I know for sure no one else would agree with. For example, throwing myself onto the streets of Toronto for a few nights and see how I fare. I wasn't able to do it now, during Katimavik but should I still feel that way in a few months, I'll be able to do it without the inhibitions set in place by the program.
But with the new idea, I'll have to think of plausible activities and save the radical ones for later.
Anyway, it's just something new to think about.
I'll put together something much more elaborate for my trip to Toronto during this trimester's 72 hour break but I'm pressed for time and can't do it now.
...but it's coming. |
posted by Tomas P. @ 7:30 PM  |
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| Chalk? What?! |
I don't anticipate this post will be a real long one. It's more of an observation I guess; a sort of realization from the "real" world.
I graduated from highschool last year, and having come from a school district that put a huge emphasis on technology, I find it rather weird to be working on a school that uses traditional methods. I went through highschool with 3 available computer labs, a smartboard in every classroom and overhead speaker systems for the kids who are hard of hearing, although they were used mostly for presentations and movies and such.
 Being at Mazo, I'm placed a good 4-5 years in the past as far as classroom equipment goes. The school itself owns 3 smartboards but very few people know what they are, let alone being able to setup, implement and use them. They told me the very first day I went there that one of the big projects they want me to work on is to train a few of the students to troubleshoot the smartboards and put together a few lessons and activities to show the teachers how to use the smartboards in their classes.
I spent a bit of time over the past few days at the school just observing how things are done and noticed that every teacher in the school uses chalk boards to write on and VCR players to show movies. I knew that every other school in the region back home didn't have smartboards and I always thought that it was just too bad for them but I hadn't really seen how much of a difference it makes. Chalk is so archaic. I got chills when I heard the chalk scraping the chalk board and realized that was the first time in a few years I heard that noise.
I consider myself very lucky to have been able to use smartboards, video cameras, professional recording equipment, overhead speaker systems and fully equiped computer systems all through highschool. I found the potential for all these things early on and found my calling. I taught myself the ins and outs of computers and became one of the student tech leads in the school. I taught the Digital Technology teacher a lot of what she knows today and helped give a presentaion at Wilfred Laurier University on implementing technology into the classrooms.
I've gotten so used to working with all these tools that seeing all these old techniques is weirding me out. It's cool in a respect to see how things are going down and as an eye-opener, a new experience for me that most likely would not have come about if I wasn't in Katimavik.
My work has been set out for me though. I have to teach a lot of new faces how to play a VCR and use a smartboard.
Oh boy. |
| posted by Tomas P. @ 1:31 PM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Tomas P.
Home: Miramichi, NB, Canada
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