Reflecting is an important part of extending. I am finding that I am changing a little bit every day because of this process, because of being part of OntarioExtend. If I don’t occasionally look back, I could miss that. I am becoming a bit more open, through my experiences and through the ideas and perspectives of my ExtendWest my cohort and PLN. This experimenting and practicing out loud is becoming a habit.
My first Daily Extend, my first experiment in extending was on April 26, 2018. I have been extending for just over a month. In that time, I have done 42 daily extends. You can see my work on the Daily Extend Leaderboard. I am proud to say that, at the moment, I am in the Top 10 of all time Daily Extenders!
Through the Dailies, I have:
- found creative common resources to share
- learned to take some of my own photos creating some original content
- wrote some poetry and a story
- made a gif, a video, a meme, an infographic, a poster and a superhero
- tried free and interesting online services
I also got over my fear of tweeting, found some fellow educators to connect with and have become a part of a community that extends beyond Ontario.
Some of the tools I used:
- Snagit by Techsmith
- YouTube with Advanced Search
- Giphy
- Marvel SuperHero Creator
- Open Culture website
- The Noun Project
- Randomness Story Generator Widget
- Imgflip Meme Generator
- FlipGrid
Not every experiment went well. Sometimes, I made spelling mistakes. Sometimes, I posted in the middle of the night and no one noticed. And while that is okay, it is nice when someone likes your tweet. My first gif was rough and looked a little odd. A couple of my pictures were out of focus. And while these things may or may not be noticeable, I don’t think I would change it because it is part of my process of learning and extending. I have the privilege of failing, nothing bad is going to happen.
I will keep experimenting through the Dailies and through the Extend Modules. It feels uncomfortable at times but that is part of extending, stretching and growing. But I will be aware what I have learned so far and work to improve my dailies, my extend activities and my blog. I will also look to be inspired by some of my experimenting to find ways to incorporate what I am doing here for myself to benefit my students and my institution.
If you have not yet tried the Daily Extend or any of the modules, I invite you to join us. It is unlike any other professional development opportunity you are likely to experience this summer!
Featured Image Photo by Rebecca Oliver on Unsplash
