Meet Ken!
Hi, my name is Ken. I am a proud husband, and father to twin boys. I enjoy cartooning, hockey, hiking, and cooking (although I cannot claim to be any good at any of those things - just ask my family who have to tolerate what I put in front of them at the dinner table). I have been an educator for over 17 years, and have taught every grade from one through eight.
I am currently two weeks away from completing my Master of Education degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). My academic pursuits are in the areas of critical thinking and media education. I believe strongly in the need to equip students with the skills necessary for navigating through the complex, complicated, and often confusing messages that are conveyed through an ever-expanding array of media. Students need to question their world in order to better understand it. Of course, some questions will deepen thinking better than others, so it is our role, as teachers, to foster the natural inquisitiveness and curiosity of students.
I have embraced what it means to be a life-long learner. Since completing my initial teacher training in 1996, I have taken twenty-one additional qualification and graduate studies courses to enhance my practice and support the learning of my students. After the birth of my sons, I needed to find a way to continue enriching my own learning, while balancing new priorities in my life. I turned to online learning...and have never turned back. While I had previously thought that face-to-face learning was more authentic and that I was settling for online learning, I quickly learned that nothing could be further from the truth. Admittedly, my initial reason for engaging in online learning was for the convenience it offered. However, the more I have engaged in online learning, the more I have realized just how far my learning has been extended because my learning style and approach has been valued and supported. I used to get frustrated in face-to-face classes where certain voices dominated conversations - whether their comments added value to the conversation or not - and when time limited the ability of a group to fully process and consolidate thinking. I am the type of learner who needs to take some time to process what I have heard, viewed, or read. I need to mull the ideas around a bit in my head before I construct a response. But when I am ready, I have valuable contributions to make to group discussion, and eager to jump into a conversation. I found my voice in online learning, and I enjoy the pace at which I can engage in a course.
Just like face-to-face learning, online learning has its benefits and its struggles. Online learning that simply attempts to mimic face-to-face learning can be dull and labourious. In my experience, the best online courses I have taken - those with the greatest impact on me professionally and personally - are those that embrace new literacies and technologies, and which equipped me with the knowledge and skills necessary for integrating these new concepts into my practice. Online learning can seem daunting at first. It certainly is a lot of work...perhaps even more work than in a face-to-face course. However, with practice, some time-saving tips, and a clarity of purpose, the experience can be fully rewarding and enriching. Check out the great resources made available on our site to help you determine whether online learning is right for you.
I am currently two weeks away from completing my Master of Education degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). My academic pursuits are in the areas of critical thinking and media education. I believe strongly in the need to equip students with the skills necessary for navigating through the complex, complicated, and often confusing messages that are conveyed through an ever-expanding array of media. Students need to question their world in order to better understand it. Of course, some questions will deepen thinking better than others, so it is our role, as teachers, to foster the natural inquisitiveness and curiosity of students.
I have embraced what it means to be a life-long learner. Since completing my initial teacher training in 1996, I have taken twenty-one additional qualification and graduate studies courses to enhance my practice and support the learning of my students. After the birth of my sons, I needed to find a way to continue enriching my own learning, while balancing new priorities in my life. I turned to online learning...and have never turned back. While I had previously thought that face-to-face learning was more authentic and that I was settling for online learning, I quickly learned that nothing could be further from the truth. Admittedly, my initial reason for engaging in online learning was for the convenience it offered. However, the more I have engaged in online learning, the more I have realized just how far my learning has been extended because my learning style and approach has been valued and supported. I used to get frustrated in face-to-face classes where certain voices dominated conversations - whether their comments added value to the conversation or not - and when time limited the ability of a group to fully process and consolidate thinking. I am the type of learner who needs to take some time to process what I have heard, viewed, or read. I need to mull the ideas around a bit in my head before I construct a response. But when I am ready, I have valuable contributions to make to group discussion, and eager to jump into a conversation. I found my voice in online learning, and I enjoy the pace at which I can engage in a course.
Just like face-to-face learning, online learning has its benefits and its struggles. Online learning that simply attempts to mimic face-to-face learning can be dull and labourious. In my experience, the best online courses I have taken - those with the greatest impact on me professionally and personally - are those that embrace new literacies and technologies, and which equipped me with the knowledge and skills necessary for integrating these new concepts into my practice. Online learning can seem daunting at first. It certainly is a lot of work...perhaps even more work than in a face-to-face course. However, with practice, some time-saving tips, and a clarity of purpose, the experience can be fully rewarding and enriching. Check out the great resources made available on our site to help you determine whether online learning is right for you.
Online Learning for the Uber Expert
While the title "Uber Expert" may be a bit exaggerated, I do feel very comfortable with technology, and pick up on new technologies rather quickly through exploration and experimentation. You might think that online learning could be frustrating when the learning management system (LMS) won't quite do all of the things you would like it to do. However, in my experience, I learned to appreciate that I am being put into the shoes of many students who are just learning how to navigate such technologies. This affords me the opportunities to consider what I might do in my own classroom to support learners with diverse abilities and needs. I consider how online learning can be made meaningful and rewarding for all learners. For example, in this particular course, we were given multiple opportunities to develop and extend our learning through the creation of various media forms of communication (e.g. a blog, chat logs, collaborative web sites, independent web sites). Each learner can enter the process of media creation at his or her level. The final product is an expression of his or her learning. So, while the products may differ in their depth, their content, their design and display, each is the result of learning that has met the needs of the learner engaged in the creation process.