Podcast SE3EP1 : The Power of Live It Earth with Angela Stott, District Principal of Pedagogy
This is a great episode for any teachers curious about how to integrate Live It Earth into the classroom.
Blue highlights Live It Earth's dedication to providing valuable resources for teachers. The episode features Angela Stott, the district principal of pedagogy in Gold Trail School District 74, British Columbia.
The conversation delves into various topics, including the role of technology in education, the shift in pedagogy during the pandemic, and the benefits of Live It Earth's platform in promoting inclusivity, personalized learning, and interdisciplinary engagement. Angela shares personal stories of success from teachers and students using Live It Earth, demonstrating the platform's positive impact on both teaching and learning.
Hi, my name is Blue. And I'm the host of this new podcast, the 21st century teacher with Live It Earth, and my job is to ensure that our teachers and students get the most out of our programs.
This new podcast series is just one of the ways I'm going to be supporting our community of educators, with a monthly conversation with a special guest educator discussing a different aspect of 21st century teaching and learning.
A reminder that if you're a teacher in British Columbia, thanks to Focused Education resources, you now have access to our blended learning library for K to 7 teachers. If you'd like more information about our programs, please visit our website liveit.earth
Today I'm talking with Angela Stott, the district principal of pedagogy in Gold Trail School District 74. In British Columbia, Angela has been teaching learning and leading in schools throughout British Columbia, first as a teacher librarian, and later as a school leader striving for real engagement that results in deeper learning. She sees platforms like Live It Earth as a jumping-off point for more curiosity, more wonder, or more Canada, in our local schools. In this episode, Angela shares the reflections of teachers in her district and the impact Live It Earth is having on classrooms, and how these teachers are integrating the resources and utilizing the platform. We cover topics such as inclusivity, inter-curricular learning, and equity.
So before we start today, I would like to do a land acknowledgment. And I'm here in the Slocan Valley, just north of Nelson BC in the southeast corner of the province. And this is actually the traditional unceded territory of the Sinix(t), the Syilx and the K’tanaxa. As well, there are around 5000 from the Metis nation that live here as well. So I just want to share that I'm incredibly grateful to be able to work live and play here. I'm also raising my three sons here as well. And I'm very mindful to make sure that they have an understanding and appreciation of the first peoples that will before us on this land here. So now without further ado, I would like to welcome Angela, to the podcast, Angela Stott. I'm really excited to have Angela on the show today. Angela, welcome. And thank you for being on the podcast.
Thanks so much Blue, I would like to quickly acknowledge that I am on the traditional territory of the Secwepemc peoples today. And typically, it's the desert and it is raining. And for that I am very grateful we need water.
Right. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. And I would like to just share to the listeners that we have worked in the past together. And I was really excited. I think it was last the beginning of last summer where I got to introduce the Live It Earth platform to you and excited that in your district, which is SD 74, in British Columbia, teachers are using the Live It Earth platform, and we've been getting some great feedback. And I know you've been a huge fan, you've become a huge fan of the platform. And so this felt like a really good opportunity to ask you for some feedback. You know, how is the platform being integrated successfully into the classroom? And to hear some of the feedback you've been getting from teachers. So why is this resource particularly a good one? So first of all, I'd like to jump into this question because you're the district principal with pedagogy. Yeah. How has pedagogy shifted in the wake of the pandemic? And with also the advances in technology?
That's a big question. I think that Well, there are two pieces, the pandemic and then advances with technology and access to tech resources in schools. So I think we can start with the pandemic. I think during the pandemic, we had an opportunity to be at home. And that meant that a lot of innovators and creators were working from home and reimagining their work.
At the same time we had parents, caregivers, students at home, reimagining their lives on a daily basis. So we had this combination of people creating things and a test audience at home at the same time.
We certainly wouldn't be having a zoom conversation now if we would not have experienced what we were catapulted into in 2020. So once we came back to school, in some form, into our bricks-and-mortar schools, we were almost inundated with tap opportunities to share with our students. And it has become a matter of sifting through what things might be best and might serve our students best in terms of strong, reliable resources, good pedagogy, supportive tools, and real passion behind the platform. So I think when we talk about tech and pandemic, we see
a perfect storm of creation, and then of an innovation and then use. Make sense?
. Yeah, and you just mentioned the pedagogy. So I'm interested, what are some of the key elements of 21st Century Learning pedagogy? Has anything changed?
I think that's a hard one to answer. Because I'd argue that the vast majority of teachers now their careers have been in the 21st century. So to compare it to something other is sort of counterintuitive. And then we also have in British Columbia, a really, really innovative forward-thinking curriculum, further catapulted in this coming fall with the BC reporting policy coming into full action, I think the underpinning is relationship, strong curriculum, and responsive teaching. And responsive teaching really is looking at the learners you have in your room,
serving them from where they're at, and pushing them forward. And we're in a very privileged position in British Columbia. In that we are not driven by standardized tests, or a cycle of more of summative assessments that are mandatory. So we have a lot of freedom to meet our students where they're at, and move them forward, still maintaining high expectations of ourselves and high standards for our students.
So that's gonna lead me into some questions I have around Live It Earth and how successfully teachers can integrate it into the classroom to take some of those boxes in terms of relationships and being responsive. So what are in St 74? In your experience, what are the benefits of integrating technology, any technology into the classroom,
I'm gonna cheat a little bit Blue, and not just talk about Gold Trail, which is school district 74, but just my experience, generally, free Live IT Earth, if you'll allow me. The value of integrating technology is really the opportunity to bring the world that our children, our students, don't see into our context. So it is very important to ground ourselves in the place we live and the context in which we play, and work and learn. However, it is very important as well to see what's going on in the rest of the world. And so platforms like Live It Earth, for me, like National Film Board, campus films, like other platforms that allow us to see into other parts of the world, they really enrich our students learning and help them to better understand that they are part of a global community, of citizens who need to make efforts daily, to keep the earth viable for ourselves and for generations to come. So I think that technology, in terms of engaging in the world is essential. I'm not answering the question about learning how to type or communicate.
So this is good. This is a good response. I like this. I completely agree. And I love the idea of, you know, learners feeling connected to a, you know, a global community of learners, if you like.
I still think it can be challenging though, because truthfully, the world is not equitable in terms of access to technology, so many listeners in British Columbia who live in or around a mountain range, will appreciate that we cannot chit chat on our phones while driving from place to place because we dropped service. And so the access to the internet is still a barrier to 100% integration of tech platforms into the learning environment. So I would argue that when I go into buildings and into schools and into teachers' classrooms and say, checkout Live it,
the first question they have is, am I guaranteed that this will stream when I want it to stream?
Right? So that's the biggest challenge to sing in technology in the classroom is, is the equity and the access? Yeah, yeah.
So as district principle of pedagogy, fantastic title, how can you support teachers in their adoption, or adaptation of new tech?
Yeah, I think the things that we have done really well in Gold Trail is provided multiple entry points for educators to access a platform like Live It Earth. So blue, you know, you and your colleagues presented limit Earth to myself and my district principal colleague, Nikki, last spring, as in like the spring of 2022. And then we sort of just sat on it, we gave, then in the fall, we gave an opportunity for all teachers to access you and an overview of the platform through 45 minute after-school session called a learning lab that was hosted through our district. And we are really grateful for you doing that. And then there was a lot of individual conversations about
the ability to take the Live It tools, and use some of it, but maybe not all of it. And that you don't have to follow the schedule that they send out monthly, you can, but you don't need to. So there was there's a combination of a flexibility from the Live It platform end of things, as well as this
important message that to say to teachers, you don't need to use it all. It's not a it's not a unit plan. It's a flexible number of tools, experiences and activities that can be grabbed from it's not a package deal. Although for some, it arguably could be a package deal. So really taking it slow and celebrating successes, and then talking about “what are you doing? Are you doing things and celebrating when you find out that somebody has done something and asking them about it”. So I felt really privileged to be able to hear from three of the teachers who have used Live It in this past school year. They weren't willing to come and talk to you Blue, they just don't know how fun you are. And, and, and they gave me some answers to some questions. So I want to share what their voices reveal about their experience with Live It.
That's great. So let's jump in with that first question that I'd sent out to those teachers, which is, how do you see Live It Earth contributing to deepening equity and enriching learning in rural schools?
So Blue I talked to or I received answers from three teachers, like I said before, so Elisa is in the primary grade at Cayoosh Elementary School. Keri Rempel is a teacher's grade three-four class also at Cayoosh. And then we have Lisa, who responded to some of the questions as well. And she teaches in a four-five class in George Emery school. So two different schools.
So the first question about deepening equity and enriching learning in remote or rural school. I think Keri really exemplifies or I think Keri gives a really clear answer for our demographic, and that was offering. It offers multiple perspectives and diversity. So kids see themselves and the richness of the nation in which we live, but specifically, the indigenous content, it was topical and showcase people that students could see themselves represented in so we always are mindful in in our district to ensure that we do have as much access to indigenous content as we can get. And we really appreciate the commitment that Live It has made in their reconciliatory work to showcase stories that are representative of the British Columbian landscape and recognize the value and contributions of Indigenous peoples here. And that the kids really notice when they see themselves reflected in the media that they watch and learn from.
That's great. That's really good feedback to hear. So, delivered programs allow for inclusivity and personalized learning.
So, Elisa, watch the prescribed burn series. And the prescribed burns series actually has footage from within our district, from Lillooet at First Nations bands. So in that program, Raymond James is interviewed. And he's actually related to some of the students at Cayoosh. So that really personalizes learning like it was fortuitous, but just know that when platforms like live it go out into the country and the communities within the country that we live in, that it is really exciting to see somebody who you're related to, or you even share a last name with,on screen to know that, wow, there's there's media out there, there's their stuff online that is about me, loosely, even. So, also in that prescribed burn program, elders were interviewed, and really, the whole program exemplified value and cultural practices. And that was really important to our students in Cayoosh, because of that connection, that direct connection, so that personalized learning, and then Terry's answer is so different to the same question, which was C used, took inclusivity and personalized learning and looked at it through an inclusion or a learning lens, and really appreciated the connection in that first season that you did to Epic books that allowed for differentiation with tech sets. So Keri was able to have every student reading about narwhal that was the program she focused on in the fall. She had every student really about narwhals at a level that worked for them. So when we talk about personalization, and we talk about inclusivity, when you have access to a tech set, that every child in the class can access, at some level, that that speaks volumes to meeting kids where they're at moving them forward and being particularly responsive to the learning needs of the kids in our room.
And then Lisa, who teaches the older kids, she that we're talking about, she talked about the videos really made the content accessible to all students and engage all learners regardless of the ability so when reading is challenging for children, videos are obviously an option. She has some struggling readers in our class and they were able to participate in all of the activities because of the access to multiple video clips in each section of the program. So there you go, huge, long answer about inclusivity and personalized learning but so important in the Live It platform that we reach all learners and wisdom forward and keep them engaged and interested under the sun.
That was fantastic. So what feedback can you offer about the experience of interdisciplinary learning around a story versus a unit topic in terms of learner engagement and relevance? You know, when we talk about inquiry and motivation
So Lisa reports and I've seen it because I was in a few classrooms where live it was being used at the same time that the platform because of its many aspects within each of the programs sorry, that we that the students were really engaged that they were excited about the what neck of the program. And then Harry talks about within the program features throughout the entire week schedule in a cross-curricular manner. So you're not just doing your 40 minutes a narwhal at the end of the day on Thursday for social studies. You're weaving in through each subject area, and really immerse yourself in that program across the curriculum. And then Lisa talks about engagement as well, and how the interdisciplinary learning helps all learners find an entry point in a personal way. And that the creative challenges allow students to showcase their learning in a way that best highlights their strengths. So again, linking back to the BC curriculum, the BC curriculum is strength-based. So having opportunities to choose
and make decisions based on personal strength allows children to shine.
I love that. So here's something I'm curious about. And I'm coming at this from a somewhat from a parent perspective, I have a one year old, who is not into Live It, as yet, but I'm a four year old, who has become really enthralled, particularly with the salmon program, and then my nine year old, any of the programs, he just loves it all. And so I really enjoy being in the home setting, and being able to work through the platform through the stories in any of the programs, with my kids at home, that just sort of like learning together if you like. So I'm curious as if you did you have you had any feedback from the teachers in terms of the learning that happens, that the collaboration between the teachers and the students and or even just between the students themselves as well. So it's not just one child looking at the screen or involved in a particular challenge, but they're actually collaborating? Have we seen that in the classroom?
I don't think any of the teachers that use limit are used it in in a silo like on its own. So Keri reached out, went into epic books. And beyond epic books, she also printed out the slideshow, and then split it between students, who then worked in teams to summarize and share out the information with the class. So that's that collaborative, not teacher-driven, not screen-driven pieces of paper at a table group. Poll creating summary statements or summaries to share with the rest of the class. Elisa, hold in the resident elder who works in the school to actually watch the video with the class and then be that expert in the row to talk about her knowledge of harvesting plants after a forest fire. So those extensions were naturally created by the teacher to draw on the strengths of an Elisa situation of the people in the school that she has access to. And for Keri, just a strength of student collaboration in deepening their understanding of and love for narwhal.
I love that that's great. And I really Yeah, that's a really good reminder that, yeah, we don't have to stay on the screen, we can print off all the material and get away from the screens, which I love. I really like the idea that anchored around a featured show that is super engaging. And when you can see your uncle on there as well as I really liked that.
Yeah, exactly.
So you have already shared some of the feedback from the classrooms. But are there any personal stories, maybe from the teachers even about using Live in the classroom, any particular success stories?
So I think, yeah, I think you're right, blue. I've shared some successes. I think getting the resident elder into the classroom is a huge success in our really authentic, meaningful way. But I think one thing that Keri shares is really this, this makes hearts happy for teachers. So she writes after doing the narwhal series in the fall, students demonstrated a sustained interest in whales throughout the year. Even in the spring, when they came across a book, they would say, hey, this has narwhals in it. This level of engagement was different than the standard unit I taught. So she did the Norwell program. And then she did other stuff. But it's the narwhal. Like it's the whales that the kids are remembering, not the other things that she did so it really speaks to the power or strength of the platform that sort of stays with the kids in their brains for longer, which is just interesting. And it'll be interesting to see if Keri get two programs under her belt next year with the platform.
Now Lisa, Lisa used two of the programs as part of a bigger ,huge… I don't know if it's a unit but the culminating activity was the celebration of learning that or exhibition of learning that the whole school was involved in, and it was called “stand like a pine”. So she used the old growth forest program and the fungi forest program to supplement her term project. She writes that they were great jumping off points. But we also returned to the videos in PowerPoint several times over the term. So that longevity piece, she writes, the students are really connected to the Indigenous content, they visited the local community forest, and that students were able to compare old growth forests to second growth forest. She's already excited about what she's going to do next year. So if we think in terms of success, from your point of view, or from my point of view, that we have teachers already planning about what programs they want to use and engage in next year, especially in blended classroom or combined class situations where Lisa can't easily redo “Stand like a pine”, that term project, she will have many of the same learners in our classroom next year. So she is now looking at perhaps exploring the farming and food security along with the salmon community resources, blending those together, and then linking out to community where salmon is very important. And farming and food security is also important in the area of Lillooet. So I think those are success stories when we see students remembering the content. And we see teachers excited about the what neck already, or at this time of the year.
Yeah, that's great to hear. Because I know how burnt-out teachers can be at this time of year too. So to be looking forward to something and using a resources span. Yeah, that feels like a big win. So we're probably circling around the sort of same question away, which is, you know, just the integration of Live It and how it's been successful, but like, what are the benefits of Live it? Just, broadly speaking, being used in the classroom? And I think you've already mentioned a bunch of them. But do we have any other points that came up?
Yes, I have one, very enthusiastically, prior to being a district principal, and before I was a school leader, I was a teacher librarian and Teacher Librarians work really hard to ensure we have really good resources in the hands of teachers and Live It provides that videos that are made, you know in house, and are, as I like to say, are lean. So they are ad-free, they are appropriate for the grade level, they are engaging, and they are organized. And that is a benefit to the platform Live It Earth, and that there are lots of optional activities to supplement and we've talked around that a little bit. But definitely there's bridging off points or jumping off points for teachers to build on. Another benefit is really pragmatic. And that is that the suggested activities are teacher-friendly, and there's very little prep. And for teachers, that is a great benefit, and that they are made in British Columbia, by people knowledgeable about the BC curriculum makes it particularly appealing to those of us in this province. And finally, just to build on that, it's the Canadian content. So we're always looking for really strong Canadian content whenever we vet resources. And Live It is Canadian. And that does make a difference for our teachers and our students.
That was great, dropped the mic at that point.
Cool. Angela, thank you so much for joining me today. It was really great actually, to hear some of that feedback. I think some of it we may be aware of sometimes, but until you actually hear directly back from the teachers who are using it in the classroom. Yeah, it's hard to know. And I think hopefully this has been useful for other teachers that are listening, or even district leads and knowing you know how useful this resource can be.
I think it's great. And I look forward to seeing the exponential growth in use of the platform, and a hope that we see more kids proud of seeing themselves and their communities highlighted in Live it Earth programs.
Yeah, no, I agree. Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you.
Thanks for joining us on the 21st century teacher, and we look forward to seeing you next time. Please do subscribe so you don't miss out our next show and also don't forget to check out our fantastic online learning platform which is liveit.earth. Thanks again and we'll see you soon
