My Canvas journey, it has come a long way from the beginning, but it is still not done…yet. I do not know if it will ever be done, not really. When thinking about the future of education and all the ramifications that this will involve, I know, and you know, that Canvas is just the beginning of the new evolution towards education. In particular, to online learning. How this is implemented, and how this will move forward is anyone’s guess, but it will definitely be moving forward, that I can tell you!
Words of wisdom, words of reflection.
Some last words are needed to pull this journey to a close. The whole purpose of this project was to see how to engage a student in a learning environment that otherwise did not engage them. I asked my students each week if their work could be showcased, never did I share something they were not aware of was being shared. There were successes and failures along the road, not all went as smoothly as anticipated, and others were knocked out of the park. My main goal in posting my assignments was to engage. Some had great success and others were dismal failures. When I approached each week I was hoping to take a subject matter and expand the ideas so that each subsequent task built upon the previous one. I wanted to have continuity so they would grow along with each one. My main Idea with each task was to engage and edify. Along with these elements, was the hope to develop a student with a learner profile towards a willingness to be a part of the Canvas community we were trying to create, and beyond our classroom, going beyond into the world outside our walls of security.
Processes – Did i succeed?
Some of the assignments required they go back, respond, and have conversations with one another. The main purpose here was to try and create a cohesive unit. Many of the kids were fully remote learners, thus have had no contact with any of their fellow students. This needed to be addressed. Isolation was real for many of them and the feeling of aloneness was a worry I had as some headed into a borderline towards anxiety and depression that needed to be alleviated. Many of the tasks that asked them to go back and respond to one another were not as well-received as I expected. Once or twice they would go in but with coercion on my part, and a little begging. However, some of them followed directions to a T and had no issues doing the requested work, while others moaned and groaned that I was asking too much from them. They especially remarked on how “I did not give them grades so why did they have to participate”? The conundrum did exist. I had those that worked under bribery, and others that just did it because I asked them to, or because they enjoyed the brain activity that happened with most of my BR’s and DB’s. Naturally, I had some stellar students who performed no matter what.
Roselyn when asked about having something old to give her advice, something that she kept since she was a young kid. One of my very engaged students, though sometimes late in posting, she always gave me insights into her situation that made us begin to have a relationship that will continue after she graduates. Some students do that. Let you in and when they do, it makes all the work worth it.
Challenges
My biggest challenges came from the desire to change it up every week. Each week I wanted to explore and enlarge the foundations we were building. I wanted to encourage the students to look around and notice the world around them. I hped they would see what was going on and why it was important. I searched out how could they be a part of their situations even remotely, and how they could evaluate what their world was doing. I was adamant in trying to force them to grow. Thinking about high school and beyond, my students as juniors and seniors should think beyond their proverbial borders, outside the box. This exploration into new ideas, new ways of thinking, getting them to acknowledge other thought processes, were all works in progress: every week we did a bell ringer (BR) or discussion board (DB). I spent hours trying to find programs, articles, music, YouTube videos, and games; not just to entertain but to magnify the educational landscape. I found inspirational, motivational, and entertaining applications to make them aware and to think. I wanted them to THINK more than anything, to USE their capable brains, to know I believed in them, and their abilities.
Showcasing the student – let them shine
To that end, I think there were successes. To that end, there were failures. But you might want to judge for yourself. Here are a few examples of work I did not showcase before but are worthy of a look-see. This was a look at what they thought about the concept of “Vulnerability” and what that meant. I gave them a link to a quick SoulSunday with Oprah and Brene Brown. As well, they had a link to another SoulSunday with Oprah and Maya Angelou where she gave them advice on forgiveness. I asked them to relay to me their feelings and what they thought of the two videos. I was pleased and proud, like a puffed-up peacock, at what they came away with. This concept of Vulnerability is a huge component of students that feel isolated and alone, and not worthy of help. I wanted them to know that even adults have issues with being vulnerable, and that by learning that everyone needs to know how to handle their own situations gives them freedom to express and be who they are.
Instructions followed by student responses
Ericka: always giving me more and willing to try and expand. She was not afraid to give it her all or to engage with her fellow students. Her goals are large, her abilities are there, and I was happy to see her grow with each subsequent assignment.
Just some “afterthoughts” from the kids themselves after reading my instructions to them. These are just a few responses, but enough to know they do reflect and know the value of retrospection– BR’s: coming to an end
Insights and Conclusion
Am I finished, no! I am just beginning. There are so many avenues yet to explore and share with my students. I have gained a lot of knowledge about my students as the weeks flew by. This was everything, and more, to help me achieve connections with them. Building relationships with each one was my goal. I achieved it with some, lost it with some, but mainly, succeeded beyond my dreams. I have, for the first time in many years, a solid connection to many of my students. I feel like they are my “family” and I care about each one; their successes and failures. When they share their hurt, I hurt. When they share their successes, I puff up and am pleased like a parent. When they fail, I pick them up, dust them off, and tell them it is okay, that failing forward is its own success. This journey has stretched them and they have stretched me. We have grown together, laughed, cried, and explored issues and themes that have given us each a perspective into each other and our lives. We have given it our all, and we have survived it. I could have asked for more than what they gave me, that will always be the case. In turn, they could ask more of me. This symbiotic relationship of student to teacher will always have a Catch-22 aspect to it. Moving into the future, I hope they all know I have enjoyed each and every one of these students. They are all different, and they all deserve a shout out. Life comes at you fast, and you need to know how to navigate. Well, they are learning and adjusting to all of the mess this pandemic has thrown their way. I am proud to say we have conquered some of it together.
The semester is drawing to a close and some of these students will not return to me and I will miss them. Some will come back, but they will be changed. Or that is my hope, that I have helped them succeed beyond even their dreams. Can anyone ask for more than that? I cannot.
Thank you again for allowing me to share this journey with you. Thank you for giving feedback and helping me to become a better support to my kids, for yes, they are my kids. Thank you.
And of course, all submissions are with permission. Photos are from Pixel, free, off of WordPress. Any and all mistakes, errors are mine, and mine alone. All submissions have not been corrected or adjusted in any way, these are their words, and theirs alone. They own them.
Older and Hopefully Wiser 