LiveBinders in the Classroom

I have discovered a wonderful online tool/resource called LiveBinders.  I learned about this through a casual comment from one of my instructors at Brock University, and I visited www.livebinders.com to learn more.  What I found was a great way consolidate online resources and my class material.  I was so enamored with LiveBinders, that I prepared 2 different workshop presentations about it for my fellow teacher candidates and I use this site for all my classes.

In a nutshell, LiveBinders allows you to create a virtual 3-ring binder/e-binder to organize your information.  This information can be different websites, YouTube videos, or any files you want to upload.  This tool can be used in a few ways which I have outlined below.

Search for Resources 

I like to go to the LiveBinders site to search for resources compiled by other authors (you do NOT need to register in the site to do this.) I find that the search engine on the site is not too good, but if your keep your search terms quite broad and general, you should be able to find what you are looking for.  I think that since we are so used to Google giving us thousands of results for a vague search term, we have become accustomed to making our search terms quite specific.  Do not do this when you search LiveBinders!  For example, instead of searching “SCH3U”, search “Chemistry”.  I typed “technology in the classroom” into the LiveBinders search and it gave me 397 LiveBinders on this subject!  Each binder is organized into tabs and is an amazing resource!

Organize/"Bookmark" Websites 

I also use LiveBinders to “bookmark” information I find on the Internet.  For example, as a teacher candidate, I conducted countless Internet searches for a variety of different ideas while planning my lessons.  Before LiveBinders, I would either print the information I found (not eco-friendly!) or bookmark the site.  This led to many bookmarks and too much random paper!  I then registered for a free account with LiveBinders and created an e-binder with these resources.  I am able to add virtual “dividers” (tabs), label them as I wish and sort them in whatever order I want.  Under each tab, I can enter a URL and that website will display within my LiveBinder.  This avoids my having to navigate to other sites and open up many different browser windows.  So, LiveBinders literally brings the Internet into your binder!  This can be used to organize your online resources for lessons, Ministry of Education resources or even recipes!

Class LiveBinders 

For my last teaching placement, I used LiveBinders as my class website.  I created a different LiveBinder for each of my classes and each lesson had a separate tab, titled with the date and lesson topic.  Within each tab I uploaded my PowerPoint lessons, the lesson worksheets, YouTube videos and other online resources.  I kept all the organized by using the “add sub tab” feature.  For any lessons that may have been on the chalkboard or overhead projector, I typed out the notes directly into the LiveBinder tab (text layout).  I provided the link to the class LiveBinder to all the students (I posted it on my Google site) and the students were to check the LiveBinder regularly for the daily lessons.  My students loved this!  If they missed a class, all the lesson details were still available to them.  Some of my students brought their iPads/laptops to class and logged onto the LiveBinder during class to follow along with the PowerPoint slides or to access their class worksheets.  I also posted podcasts and video lessons on the same topic so that the students could learn the content from a different source. 

The LiveBinders I created are public and accessible to all and are listed below.  

1. SCH 3U (Gr. 11 University Chemistry)
2. SNC 1P (Gr. 9 Applied Science)
3. SNC 1D (Gr. 9 Academic Science)
4. Implementing Technology in the Classroom Workshop (at Brock University)

Overall, LiveBinders are an amazing resource.  They can also be used by your colleagues or students to consolidate lesson plans or internet research.  The collaborator option in LiveBinders allows multiple people to add to the same binder.

Check out this amazing tool at www.livebinders.com!

"Teachers have it so easy...."

Throughout my journey as a Teacher Candidate, I have learned many valuable lessons but perhaps one of the most striking is how MUCH teachers actually do!  I am consistently in awe of how much there is to actually DO!

"Teachers have it easy.  Their hours are 9am-3pm and they get lots of holidays (Christmas & March Break), plus they get summers off."  How many times have you heard (or even said) the above statement?  Well, let me tell you, it does not do justice to the amount of work teachers do!  Let me illustrate with my schedule from the past few days.

Last Friday, I gave 2 of my classes a quiz, 1 class a test and I collected their labs from the week.  Not a bad day  in class - pretty low key and great for a Friday of a busy week.  As I packed my things to take home, it struck me - now I have to MARK all these items!!!  53 quizzes, 60 labs + 17 tests - WOW!  This was going to take a nice chunk out of my weekend!

On top of this mountain of marking, I needed to plan my lessons in 3 different classes this week.  Because I like to prepare in advance, I try to prep the entire week's lessons on the weekend.  What does this entail?  Researching creative methods & strategies of instruction (not just lecturing!), creating PowerPoint presentations, creating student worksheets and uploading and organizing all info on my website & Live Binder.  On top of all this, since I have never taught 2 out of my 3 classes before, I needed to research & learn new material, what the curriculum expectations are and ways to make the classes "fun".  Weekend? WHAT weekend??  I must confess that I did get sidetracked with family obligations and didn't get around to any of the marking this weekend.  I did, however, plan all my lessons for this week.

Monday morning - I'm feeling great that I have a fun plan for this week's lessons.  Yes, I do have a 75 min prep period + lunch hour, however these fly by with conferencing with other teachers who teach the same courses that I do (our material must match), setting up labs, printing and photocopying worksheets and providing students with extra help.  I usually manage to inhale a quick lunch 10 minutes before my period 3 class.  Monday evening - oh yeah, I need to complete that marking!  Sigh...I tackle some of it, but only put a dent in the pile.

Tuesday's school day is much like Monday, except we have a unit test in one class and a lab in another...more marking!!  On top of this, my plans for an activity for one of my lessons on Wed need to be changed due to weird circumstances so now I need to re-plan a lesson as well (this involved some creative problem-solving and a last minute tip to the dollar store!)  I was determined to finish my marking and I did it the majority of it last night + planned my lesson - mission accomplished!!  How many hours did I sleep?  Just under 4 hours.

I finished the rest of my marking this evening, logged in student marks, made notes about who needs extra help and who is struggling and prepped tomorrow's labs.  It is 8:30pm and I am still at school!

This is just a snapshot of what a teacher's schedule looks like.  Granted, I am a new teacher and I do not have the benefit of having taught this material before.  This part (lesson planning) will get easier as I teach more - I hope!  The marking will never go away and it keeps coming...I think of it as ocean waves that continually crash onto the beach in a specific rhythm.  Just as one wave pulls away, another comes in - that is what marking is like.  I have not yet mentioned the struggles of classroom management and the challenge of incorporating innovative, student-centred teaching strategies in each lesson as well as the need to meet the needs of all the different learners in my classroom.  As well, teachers get involved in a variety of extra-curricular activities to contribute to the school community  - we'll save that for another blog post!

So the next time you hear someone talking about how easy a job teaching is, think of me still sitting here at school on this fine Wednesday evening.  And why do I do it?  Why do any teachers do this?  Its a passion for learning and connecting with students to make a positive impact on their lives.  Some people skydive or go bungee jumping for thrills - I stand in front of a class, teaching chemistry/biology/science, and get the thrill of imparting knowledge, engaging students and helping them learn.  It truly is a thrill!

Technology Domino Effect!

So I have officially come full circle. I started out my year at Brock with excitement (I'm going to be a teacher!) and anxiety (how am I going to balance student-life and home-life?) [Side Note: It seems that I approach every major thing in my life with these two feelings - excitement + anxiety...hmmm]

I recall feeling extremes of both these emotions when it came to my registering in the optional "technology" course. I was super excited that I was going to learn new things and become "tech-savvy" but I also had major anxiety regarding adding more work to an already heavy workload. I actually expressed this anxiety in my blog (here), however, upon completion of the course, I realized how much I had learned and reflected on this too in my blog (here).

Now here I am - about to start my last practicum. In preparation for my lessons this week, I've created my powerpoint presentations - pretty standard - AND I have added my "tech-savvy" touch...without thinking twice. What have I done? Well, each of my lessons + worksheets and resources have all been uploaded to a LiveBinder - one LiveBinder for each class. As well, I wrote out the solutions to tomorrow's chemistry worksheet using my LiveScribe pen. This allows me to "talk through" my solutions and explain how I am solving each question. I feel that this will be a great resource for my students to use when they work on their homework.

When I completed my interactive solutions, I attempted to upload them to my LiveBinder, only to discover that the interactive part does not work! Now it was time to troubleshoot - I had taken the time to write out and talk through all my solutions, so I need to make them accessible to my students! I contacted my colleague and fellow "techie", Iain, and asked his advice. He mentioned that he uploads his LiveScribe files to his Google site...

Riiight - my Google site...the one I made up and used during my first practicum and have not touched since. So I proceeded to update my entire Google Site with new tabs that contain all my LiveBinders as well as my LiveScribe notes. While I'm at it, I should update my "About me" page....oh right, and my blog too.... 

How interesting! I started out implementing ONE technology for my classes and, due to a "domino effect" have now added so much more.  I must say, that this all has taken LOTS of time and LOTS of patience! However, when I give my students the link to my Google site tomorrow, it will all be worth it!

Some Insight into Learning Disabilities

This week, in Special Education class we were introduced to learning disabilities (LD). I didn’t know much about LD initially, but I did manage to read the assigned reading before class. After reading the chapter, I thought I knew what LDs were. However, it was after this week’s class that I realized that I had only understood the technical definitions of LD, not what an LD student actually experiences. This was courtesy of our incredible instructor and Richard Lavoie’s F.A.T. City Workshop video. Its incredible that this video, although almost 30 years old, is still relevant and accurate today!

Through this week’s class I experienced LD firsthand. I watched in shock as Richard Lavoie started his workshop class with fast-paced, rapid-fire questioning of his students, expecting an answer to his question while students barely had time to process the question. I witnessed him “move on” to the next person after obtaining a correct answer and ridicule the incorrect answers. Overall, this was bad teaching practice, however, it was the rapid-fire pace of his questioning that disturbed me. I could barely keep up with his questions and then realized – this is what LD students experience every day! What seems to be a “regular” pace to everyone else is too fast for LD students due to issues with processing auditory information! WOW!

Lavoie then proceeded to demonstrate the difference between vision and perception, that is, seeing something versus actually perceiving it. I could try to explain the activity in detail, but my explanation would not do it justice. I must say that this was very enlightening for me and it really demonstrates the different ways people perceive things. You can check out that part of the workshop here:




Another activity that was eye-opening was participating in a round-robin story. We were asked to each say a sentence in order to form an interesting story…easy enough, and actually kind-of fun! We were then asked to repeat this, but our instructor started us off with “I am going to the bank to get some money”. Oh, and one more key point – we were told that we were not allowed to use any word with the letter “N”. May I suggest that you try this exact exercise with a few friends? It’s hard!! Each person participating in the game had to think carefully about every word they said, and they hesitated after every word. As I sat and listened, I truly had a “light bulb” moment. Some students with LD, must think about every word in a sentence and this results in hesitation and staccato-type sentences. Again, WOW!

I looked up Richard Lavoie on YouTube and found another class of his in which he explains reading issues that LD students, especially dyslexic ones, have. Once again, it was mind-blowing to see/hear his activities & explanations. You can view this class here:



Overall, Richard Lavoie’s techniques in teaching us what its like to have a learning disability are eye-opening. I highly recommend that you look up his videos on YouTube for an amazing insight into learning disabilities. My challenge now will be to learn how to effectively teach these students in a way that they understand and are engaged. Our textbook, “Special Education in Ontario Schools” (Bennet, Dworet & Weber) suggests a variety of in-class strategies including differentiated instruction, empathy and understanding and giving positive, frequent feedback. As well, a consistent systematic approach is important along with graphic/visual support, help in sequencing, help in dealing with print, and awareness of time constraints. Lastly, they suggest helping LD students with time management, making allowances for them and simplifying their environment. Overall, optimism, encouragement and trust are imperative.

I have yet to work with LD students and will most likely get this chance in a few weeks when I start my second teaching placement. I need to figure out how to put this newfound knowledge into actual effective teaching practices during my lessons. Should you have any tips or suggestions, please share! Thank you!!

New Year, New Resolutions

Every New Year, I evaluate my goals and resolve to accomplish certain ones that year – yes, “New Year Resolutions”. While I never formally write them down, I do reflect on these resolutions and make a concerted effort to achieve them. This year I thought that I should share my thought process with you and take the daring step of actually sharing my resolutions. Oh boy, once I write anything out, I am accountable for it…that should help me follow through this year!!

I had the luxury of getting away for the holidays for some much-needed relaxation and family time. While enjoying myself on the beaches of sunny Ft. Lauderdale, I started to reflect on the many things I would like to accomplish in the upcoming New Year of 2012. I resolved that I needed to relax more, spend more time with my husband & children and schedule in more “me-time”. I was able to do all these things during our time away and I came back home feeling renewed, refreshed and optimistic. What a feeling!!

Then reality hit. Back to school and the craziness of being a full-time B.Ed. student while juggling being a mom & wife. What was I thinking?? Reality check: time to re-evaluate those dreamy resolutions! Here’s what I have come up with.

“Relax more” is not going to happen! However, I have resolved to get to bed most nights at a decent time, I am aiming for 11pm (as opposed 1am), since I am up at 6am every morning. In order to accomplish this, I need to work on my time-management so I am not completing assignments and lesson plans into the wee hours of the morning.

“Spend more time with my husband and children” – this is one that I definitely want to stick to, but I need to figure out how I can do this with my current schedule. What I have come up with is to spend more quality time with them. I will make time every day to actually play or read with my kids, even if its just for 10-15 min. I will also start scheduling “date night” so my husband & I can actually spend some special time together.

“More me-time” – I have the perfect solution for this one and it comes in the form of “me-time” at the gym! That way I sneak 2 resolutions into 1 – aren’t I clever?! I have the stereotypical, standard fitness resolutions and I’m scheduling in my workouts as if they were a class at school. Its working so far, but I’m not too sure how its going work when I’m in my 2nd teaching placement in mid-Feb…..

Ok, so that deals with my lofty resolutions dreamt up of at the beach. But that hardly covers it all! Back in class and in “teacher-mode” and I have some important professional goals as well. I have resolved to make a concerted effort to challenge myself to “think outside the box” and really apply different pedagogy to my teaching. I want my lessons to be more student-centred and inquiry-based. I want my students to experience inductive teaching strategies, experiential learning and indirect instruction. In my first teaching placement, I was focused on pure survival and I stuck to more traditional instructional strategies. For my next placement, I truly want to expand my teaching to incorporate the strategies listed above.

As well, I am determined to apply more technology to my teaching. For my next teaching placement, I want to set-up and maintain a class website and include use of some new technologies in the classroom such as Edmodo, Livebinder, Twitter, Facebook, LiveScribe, and/or Remind 101.

Whew! I dream big don’t I? Of course, I have more ideas and reflections that I could share with you but…..I don’t have time! Too much to do! 2012, here I come!

Bridging Classrooms and Cultures

Last week, I had the opportunity to join a few online sessions that were part of the Global Education Conference. I found these sessions to be quite informative and a convenient method of learning. The session used Elluminate, which allowed participants to view a common whiteboard as well as the speaker and a chat room.

One session that I attended was called “Bridging Classrooms and Cultures” hosted by Robin Dirkson, a teacher at Lead-Deadwood High School, Lead, South Dakota.

Robin spoke of a collaborative project that she is conducting with a school in Uganda. At Robin’s school, her students are collecting information about native plants and their competitors, and are applying treatments to reduce invasive species. They have called this the “Englewood Springs Botanical Area Project”. These students are also investigating the environmental requirements of many unusual native plants, in a groundwater dependent ecosystem. Using this information, they are creating a virtual herbarium online.

Robin has been able to establish a connection to a school in Uganda, in which students are also participating in the same project, calling theirs “Plants of the Gulu Region”. The students at the Lacor School, Uganda, are collecting images, tying the images to GPS coordinates and sharing what they know about the uses of their native plants, thus also constructing a virtual herbarium.

In true collaborative form, students at both schools are getting to know each other as pen pals and are sharing information about their lives and their data. Together they are investigating what plants they have in common, which ones are native vs. cultivated and what the plants are used for.

I was extremely impressed with this project! Robin has been able to integrate many different learning goals from biology, math, geography and information technology into one project while taking her students outside of the classroom to investigate and research the plants in their community. By collaborating with the students in Uganda, all the students involved are learning from each other and discovering another culture, making new friends and sharing their knowledge and learning experiences. This is possible via technology such as wiki sites, Skype and online platforms like Elluminate. What an amazing experience this must be for these students!

I would love to be able to incorporate something like this in my class in the future. The use of Elluminate alone is revolutionary and is a great method of allowing global collaboration and communication in real-time. I have now participated in quite a few of these online discussions/presentations and am impressed with how easy they are to join and how they truly bridge the geographical gap between participants. It is quite amazing to be sharing ideas and chatting with people from around the world with such ease. As teachers, I feel that if we can incorporate this technology and collaborative projects such as this one in our classrooms, it would be very beneficial to our students and their learning.

Lessons Learned from My First Teaching Block - 11U Chemistry

I survived my first teaching block! What a rewarding, exhausting and amazing learning experience! I had intended to blog my progression through the teaching block, however I had not realized how busy I would be learning how to teach.

4 weeks ago I ventured into the teaching world into Gr. 11 University level Chemistry at Burlington Central High School. I was lucky enough to be mentored by a phenomenal associate teacher, Leigh Macklin. Leigh’s encouraging, positive and realistic attitude and teaching practices really helped me translate my ideas on paper to actual teaching in the classroom. Her patience and willingness to share her ideas and resources were invaluable to guiding my lessons. As well, Leigh was so incredibly organized in terms of her unit planning which gave me a base to work off of.

During my observation days, Leigh had given me the choice of teaching Gr. 11 U, Chemical Quantities Unit or Gr. 12U Heat Unit and I had chosen to teach the 11U class, thinking it would be easier. Boy was I wrong! So I embarked on the rollercoaster of teaching Chemical Quantities to Gr 11U students.

My first 2 weeks were quite exhausting as I adapted to commuting from Guelph to Burlington and as I created lesson plans from scratch. Being the perfectionist that I am, I agonized over each lesson plan and conducted extensive research on different pedagogy and instructional strategies for the different concepts that I was to teach. After hours of work on one lesson plan, I would bring it to class to review it with Leigh and she, very kindly, dissected my plans and basically taught me HOW to teach students. My theory was sound and I was taught about instructional strategies and pedagogy in my classes at Brock, however the actual "know-how" and realities of every day teaching was not something that I had. Thanks to Leigh, I feel like I have learned this "know-how" but still have lots to learn! I have also learned that a teacher really needs to know his/her class well and understand how they learn. Luckily, I was able to quickly develop a good rapport with my 11U students and identify with them and their learning styles.

A few lessons that I learned the hard way - previous knowledge and time management!! Even though Leigh pointed out that I need to remember where the students are coming from and what their current knowledge is, I still managed to make some incorrect assumptions that led to student confusion. For example, I introduced the concept of the "mole" and Avogadro's number = 6.02 x 10^23 without realizing that the students had not formally learned scientific notation and did not know of the EXP key on their calculators! I realized this at the end of the moles lesson and set out to make up a summary sheet and practice problems regarding scientific notation. In retrospect, I have learned that when teaching anything that involves math, these math concepts, however basic they seem to me, must be reviewed in an introductory lesson when starting the unit. For the unit that I taught, 11U Chemical Quantities, it would be well-advised to review scientific notation, rounding, significant digits as well as ratios and proportions. After reviewing these, I would provide an informal assessment such as an exit card or a quiz to ensure that all students understand these concepts. This would help ensure student success.

Another lesson learned was time management during class. I spent my first few lessons trying to teach many examples to the entire class and trying to ensure that every single student understood what I was talking about. This resulted in my teaching for the entire class time! However, I have learned the value of stopping my lesson after teaching the concept and showing one representative example thus allowing the students to try to apply the concepts by starting homework questions during class time. To get to this point, I had to literally talk through my lesson at home and time myself. I then doubled the time I took at home and used this as my guideline in my lesson plan. I found that it was much more effective to give students the time in class to start their homework and apply their newfound knowledge during class time. This built up their confidence, allowed them to collaborate and share ideas and allowed me to provide individual assistance to those students who required it.

Overall, my first teaching block was a resounding success. I learned so much and developed even more of an appreciation for all the work that teachers do. I met great students and enjoyed facilitating their learning during the four weeks that I taught them. It was hard to say good-bye to them on my last day and it was especially hard to say good-bye to Leigh. She taught me so much in four long weeks and I am so happy that I was paired with such a dynamic, effective teacher. Thank you to Leigh Macklin and her students at Burlington Central High School!