Category: EDCI 336 (Page 1 of 2)

As this semester draws to a close, we are prompted with an open-ended question: “Where do you see yourself in the year 2055?” I have spent some time pondering this, and in the end, I have come up with two, equally likely options.

OPTION ONE: This is a world that continues its dive into conservatism, capitalism, and consumerism. War and famine plague the world, while the ill cannot afford to heal themselves. This a dystopia, where math is replaced by survival lessons and teachers are few and far between. Perhaps a nuclear winter or perhaps climate change has made the world too hot to touch… either way, outside is dangerous. Teaching is an important profession, lost to the world around it.

OPTION TWO: This is a much more positive view of the world. In this reality, the world moves forward and countries focus on socialism and peace. Teaching is evolved to incorporate technology and artificial intelligence, while still having a primary focus of outdoor education, nature restoration, and environmental issues. In this future, I have a boat. And I drive that boat to the elementary school that I teach at, as a teaching principal. In this reality, I have a BEd and a MEd and my PhD in outdoor education. I take on a principal role, but I can’t tear myself away from teaching and still teach a couple subjects to Grade 5s.

This is my final weekly reflection. I really hope that my future ends up similar to option two. I hope, either way, I at least get a boat. This course has been one of my favourites in education so far; I’ve learnt so much. I walk away from EDCI 336 with more knowledge and confidence in both using technology and teaching it. Most importantly, I walk away knowing how to make QR codes in any tab. This is genuinely the best thing I’ve learned in this whole programme. I don’t know how I didn’t know how to make QR codes before.

So, this is the end of EDCI 336 and the end of Emma’s Archive. Thank you all for reading and thank you, Michael, for the wonderful course.

xoxo Emma Turner

If outdoor education has 1 000 000 fans, I’m one of them. If outdoor education has 1 000 fans, I’m one of them. If outdoor education has 1 fan, it’s me. If outdoor education has 0 fans, I’m dead.

I love outdoor education. I want to get my master’s in outdoor education. I think that nature can teach kids about the world faster and more efficiently than a classroom ever could. Outdoor education reinforces physical health, improves mental health, increases focus and understanding, and all around, makes learning more engaging. Educating outside supplies real-world applications to all things science, math, history, and creates a connection between students and the land they reside on.

Additionally, the mental benefits of being outside are far superior than spending 7 hours sitting inside a box with fluorescent lights. Being outside exposes students to fresh air, vitamin D, and reduces sedentary behaviour. Time in nature also has a calming effect, reducing stress and anxiety, while boosting mood and self-esteem.

Lastly, spending time learning in nature fosters a deep connection with the environment, creating a sense of responsibility among students. This leads students to respect the land around them, picking up litter, taking care of plants and animals, and overall fighting for the environment. In the time we live in, this is more important than ever. The environment can’t fight for or fix itself; instead, we must protect the environment ourselves.

Feminism: the idea that everyone is entitled to freedom and equality, somehow seen as “controversial” among certain political groups. Feminism was born from the oppression of women as a homogenous group, although we see today that intersectionality plays a large role in this unequal power dynamic. In our contemporary society, gendered power is not equally distributed but experienced differently by each woman, shaped by various overlapping factors. This, my friends, is intersectionality.

The modern feminist understanding states that the struggles of women cannot be reduced to a single monolithic narrative, as factors including but not limited to class, race, gender identity, religion, and sexual orientation also play a role in privilege. For instance, a rich, white woman would experience more privilege than a woman of colour or a working-class woman, as she might have more access to resources, educational and work opportunities, and beneficial social networks. In order to create a truly equal society, a comprehensive feminist movement must address how these dimensions intersect to shape each woman’s life.

Gender itself is a made-up system which serves to maintain the structure of inequality. Dismantling these confining gender roles would challenge the sexist power structure established in our heavily-gendered society. The idea of gender functions as a mechanism of control, limiting individual freedoms and conforming people to narrow definitions of femininity and masculinity, reinforcing this inequality.

Advocating for the rights, freedoms, and equality of women means advocating for ALL women. Not just a niche, privileged version of the 4 billion women who walk this Earth every day.

When looking at the history of teaching, there are two places where teaching had to change and adapt completely: 1998 and 2023. 1998 marked the birth of Google, which meant that learning was no longer centred around learning through teaching. Classrooms and libraries were not the only place to learn now, you could find any information you wanted through the internet. Access to knowledge was free and it was everywhere. Rote memorization was abandoned, replaced with critical thinking and personalized learning. A new tool, originally frowned upon, was embraced in education, forever changing the way we think, learn, and teach.

A similar change began in 2023 with the introduction of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) chat bots, like ChatGPT. AI swept the world like a plague, getting faster and more accurate with each new user feeding it information on how to better replicate human scholars. Most notably, ChatGPT found its way into schooling, learning how to forge essays, plagiarize art, and answer an entire math test in approximately 5-10 seconds.

Believe it or not, I’m pro-AI. Well, pro-in-small-amounts. Like candy.

I believe that AI is tool, valuable for everyone, but notably for my future profession as an elementary teacher. It is a tool that can be taken advantage of, for sure, but when used correctly, AI is helpful. It is your own personal assistant, happy to do boring, tedious tasks, lowering workload and decreasing burnout. AI is a tool to be embraced, for it is here now, and it cannot be squished down and put out.

New technology faces backlash and skepticism, no matter what. The calculator was originally seen as a replacement for learning, wiping out teachers and mathematicians. People believed that calculators would lead to future students with no basic math skills… and look at schools now. Calculators are a tool, embraced in school, embraced in society.

AI can write essays and make “art” and answer 100 math questions in 10 seconds, sure. The rate it is advancing and growing is scary, yes. But we were scared of the calculator too. AI is a tool and once it is accepted as one, it will benefit everyone and every profession enormously.