Yippie!!! Almost done!
1. Favortive Tools -
So my favorite by far are the tools that help students create digital stories. See students using this for many presentations. However, I would have to put rules on where the photos can come from. It would really be an indepth learning activity if the students just use google images to find photos. I think I would required that the majority be their own photos. I am going to add creating digital stories into my Middle Ages and/or Renaissance units.
2. Transformed Thinking -
I see that even though I now how use all these programs and I can talk to the students when they talk about some of these programs, I DON'T USE THEM!! And I should be using them. So my thinking transformed. I am definitely going to incorporate more technology and tools into my classroom.
3. Unexpected Outcomes -
It was easier to set up a blog then I thought it would be.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tool #11 Digital Citizenship
As students use the internet especially in class and as part of school projects, there is so much that look out for.
First, I want students to know that they should report to me if anyone in the school community or non school community, communicates with them in a way that make them feel uncomfortable (beyond just challenging their thoughts), illegal, or any other level of inappropriateness.
Second, students need to remember that what is posted on the internet is forever on the internet no matter how many times you hit delete or remove post. Something students don't understand is that what they post lasts forever and the way they word their thoughts, opinions, reactions, etc can be interpreted in many ways so they need to be careful.
Third, as when writing in class, it is just as important to give their sources credit. PLAGIARISM, whether on purpose or accidental must be watched and avoided.
First, I want students to know that they should report to me if anyone in the school community or non school community, communicates with them in a way that make them feel uncomfortable (beyond just challenging their thoughts), illegal, or any other level of inappropriateness.
Second, students need to remember that what is posted on the internet is forever on the internet no matter how many times you hit delete or remove post. Something students don't understand is that what they post lasts forever and the way they word their thoughts, opinions, reactions, etc can be interpreted in many ways so they need to be careful.
Third, as when writing in class, it is just as important to give their sources credit. PLAGIARISM, whether on purpose or accidental must be watched and avoided.
Tool #10 Mobile Tech & Applications
Let me start off my saying that I teach high school history. Also I spent almost two months this past school year working partly with another teacher to try to figure out a unique way to use mobile devices in my classroom that was different from using a laptop.
And I discovered that for my classroom, laptops trump mobile devices.
I know that there are tons of applications out there now that can help make the classroom more interactive but almost all the same programs can be run on a laptop at a higher speed. I found a few that would relate to my classroom but they took forever to load.
I found one that took you on a tour of Renaissance art with sidenotes at the Lourve in Parise but each painting took about 5+ minutes to load. I also found an application showing 1st hand accounts of WWI veterans but it was limited in what you could do.
Not to say that I am against mobile devices and applications. At the high school level, I think they are great for helping individual students to organize themselves and to look up information quickly.
I have actually talked to my students about how we could use school's ITouches in the classroom. Maybe if we were doing a scavenger hunt of some kind around the school or wanted to go sit outside in the nice weathere, they would be nice. But the school puts limits on where you can take them. And right now you can only use them in the library.
And I discovered that for my classroom, laptops trump mobile devices.
I know that there are tons of applications out there now that can help make the classroom more interactive but almost all the same programs can be run on a laptop at a higher speed. I found a few that would relate to my classroom but they took forever to load.
I found one that took you on a tour of Renaissance art with sidenotes at the Lourve in Parise but each painting took about 5+ minutes to load. I also found an application showing 1st hand accounts of WWI veterans but it was limited in what you could do.
Not to say that I am against mobile devices and applications. At the high school level, I think they are great for helping individual students to organize themselves and to look up information quickly.
I have actually talked to my students about how we could use school's ITouches in the classroom. Maybe if we were doing a scavenger hunt of some kind around the school or wanted to go sit outside in the nice weathere, they would be nice. But the school puts limits on where you can take them. And right now you can only use them in the library.
Tool #9 Skype & Jing
1. Screencast: I like the idea of screencast because students can share and get almost instant feedback whether they are sharing inside the school community or with a larger community. It also helps with giving students ownership of their work.
2. Skype: Skype is awesome for building an international community. I like how you can find communities or individuals with similar interests if you don't know anyone on skype at first. I like the idea of using it in the classroom where students talk to other students in other countries or just in other cities. Especially for history, students can see different viewpoints on different historical and current events.
2. Skype: Skype is awesome for building an international community. I like how you can find communities or individuals with similar interests if you don't know anyone on skype at first. I like the idea of using it in the classroom where students talk to other students in other countries or just in other cities. Especially for history, students can see different viewpoints on different historical and current events.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tool #8 Video Streaming
Source: YouTube
World Religions
Spread of Religions Map from 3000 bc to today 2m
6 Major World Religions student made, chronological 10 m
Byzantine Empire
After 476 AD Summary, student made slide show w music 5m
Using videos, full or segments, in the classroom is very important to supplementing instruction. I think students respond to videos even small clips from youtube. Students especially like the student made video clips from youtube and other sites. Videos also help students see a topic from a different point of view.
The videos that I embedded above are short clips that add to the student learning because they provide intructional variety. Plus I sometimes think that students like to hear information from a source other than the textbook and myself and other common sources.
World Religions
Spread of Religions Map from 3000 bc to today 2m
6 Major World Religions student made, chronological 10 m
Byzantine Empire
After 476 AD Summary, student made slide show w music 5m
Using videos, full or segments, in the classroom is very important to supplementing instruction. I think students respond to videos even small clips from youtube. Students especially like the student made video clips from youtube and other sites. Videos also help students see a topic from a different point of view.
The videos that I embedded above are short clips that add to the student learning because they provide intructional variety. Plus I sometimes think that students like to hear information from a source other than the textbook and myself and other common sources.
Tool #7 Photostory
Could NOT upload my PhotoStory!!
I talked to a few others and they had the same problem.
My photostory met all the requirements.
I think using photostory and other digital storytelling programs is a good idea. It takes students away from the standand powerpoint and posterboard and make a presentation more interactive. I especially like how students can narrate their story for those students that have issues speaking infront of a class.
I see myself using digital storytelling as an option in the projects where I give students a selection of activities that they can do (MENU projects).
I talked to a few others and they had the same problem.
My photostory met all the requirements.
I think using photostory and other digital storytelling programs is a good idea. It takes students away from the standand powerpoint and posterboard and make a presentation more interactive. I especially like how students can narrate their story for those students that have issues speaking infront of a class.
I see myself using digital storytelling as an option in the projects where I give students a selection of activities that they can do (MENU projects).
Tool #6 Wiki
So, I viewed all the different sites that showed different uses for and different formats of wikis. When I first started looking at different wikis, I didn't like that there was not a lot of control and that anyone can add items to the wiki. This is why wikipedia has such a bad reputation as a souce in the classroom. But this is becuase students like to use wikis as know alls. However, I do like wikis as sites for planning or keeping in touch. I like Google Sites because the maker can control what and under which subjects people add information. So if you are a club, a departments, or planning a long term project, you can keep in touch and see different upcoming events.
I think if would be nice if my department, even my school as a whole for the faculty, had a wiki so that we could stay more informed and keep each other up to date. I see it being very useful. I also like the idea of using a wiki as a classroom website. I wish that our school website had elements of a wiki where we could allow students to add upcoming events.
I really wish I could just have 1 teacher website that had elements of a blog and a wiki instead of using 3 different sites (blog, wiki, school site).
I think if would be nice if my department, even my school as a whole for the faculty, had a wiki so that we could stay more informed and keep each other up to date. I see it being very useful. I also like the idea of using a wiki as a classroom website. I wish that our school website had elements of a wiki where we could allow students to add upcoming events.
I really wish I could just have 1 teacher website that had elements of a blog and a wiki instead of using 3 different sites (blog, wiki, school site).
Friday, July 9, 2010
Tool #5 Social Bookmarking
I joined Delicious and searched around. I really like this site. I used tags such as world history, history timeline, tok, and other tags related to what I teach to search for websites.
I found a lot of sources including:
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
This site offers a detailed timeline. You can click on the point in time that you want more information on and it pulls up a summary of the time and additional resources. I like it because it is super detailed and will be a really good site for students when they are doing research or when they need to review.
The following site, http://www.amyscott.com/theory_of_knowledge.htm, is a good site for my Theory of Knowledge class. It is headed by an experienced teacher and very detailed.
Social bookmarking for sure is going to help me keep my bookmarks organized. I just lost all my bookmarks from the past 2 years because my school computer got a virus. So I love that their is a website that can keep track of my bookmarks so that even if I switch computers or my computer dies they will still be there. I also love the tagging which just increases my organization.
For students, I think that social bookmarking can help them keep track of websites that they visited and why they liked them. It will increase their organization just like it will increase mine.
I found a lot of sources including:
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
This site offers a detailed timeline. You can click on the point in time that you want more information on and it pulls up a summary of the time and additional resources. I like it because it is super detailed and will be a really good site for students when they are doing research or when they need to review.
The following site, http://www.amyscott.com/theory_of_knowledge.htm, is a good site for my Theory of Knowledge class. It is headed by an experienced teacher and very detailed.
Social bookmarking for sure is going to help me keep my bookmarks organized. I just lost all my bookmarks from the past 2 years because my school computer got a virus. So I love that their is a website that can keep track of my bookmarks so that even if I switch computers or my computer dies they will still be there. I also love the tagging which just increases my organization.
For students, I think that social bookmarking can help them keep track of websites that they visited and why they liked them. It will increase their organization just like it will increase mine.
Tool #4 Google Docs & Reader
1. I set up a google docs and brainstormed how I could use it in the classroom in the doc. I shared it with a co-workers and people I trained with this summer.
2. I set up a google reader and am subscribed to the following blogs: Anya's Annotations, Blithe Blog, Bloogers, VTechStudents, & the 11 Tools of Arbuckle.
3. I have always like GoogleDocs though I have not used it in the classroom yet. However, this year in my World History class after the students completed a research project, I wished I had used GoogleDocs. For one, it is good for the environment and saves students from having to print out everything. It also saves me from having to carry stacks of papers. Second, I think that the student groups would have had a better time working together on one final product if each group member had access to the document at the same time.
For my other class, Theory of Knowledge, students have to do several presentations and also editing of sample essays. I played with googledocs to see how the editting would work. I still have to work on this.
GoogleReader is new to me. If students have to follow several blogs for different classes or if they have to follow their classmates' blogs in one class, google reader definitely helps organize the information so that you don't have to search each blog separately. I also like the search feature. If students are supposed to or want to respond on a specific topic, they can type the topic in the search bar and all the posts that mention the topic appear. This saves a lot of time. I think it will be appealing to my high school age students that like to complain that they have so much to read.
2. I set up a google reader and am subscribed to the following blogs: Anya's Annotations, Blithe Blog, Bloogers, VTechStudents, & the 11 Tools of Arbuckle.
3. I have always like GoogleDocs though I have not used it in the classroom yet. However, this year in my World History class after the students completed a research project, I wished I had used GoogleDocs. For one, it is good for the environment and saves students from having to print out everything. It also saves me from having to carry stacks of papers. Second, I think that the student groups would have had a better time working together on one final product if each group member had access to the document at the same time.
For my other class, Theory of Knowledge, students have to do several presentations and also editing of sample essays. I played with googledocs to see how the editting would work. I still have to work on this.
GoogleReader is new to me. If students have to follow several blogs for different classes or if they have to follow their classmates' blogs in one class, google reader definitely helps organize the information so that you don't have to search each blog separately. I also like the search feature. If students are supposed to or want to respond on a specific topic, they can type the topic in the search bar and all the posts that mention the topic appear. This saves a lot of time. I think it will be appealing to my high school age students that like to complain that they have so much to read.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tool #3 Generating of Fun
These two images above use personal photos but I see how they could be used to enhance the curriculum. I use the mosaic maker and the pop art generator for these photos. I also use the image mash up for the images in my right side bar. I also made a video using Animoto and am waiting for it to generate. I will post this later.
I see all of these programs as helping students enhance the visual part of their projects. I really just see the pop art as enhancing. With the mosaic maker in a history classroom, students could make a mosaic of important figures, places, or events related to a selected topic. Students could also take the mosaic a step further and put the photos in a spefic order, chronological or thematical.
With the image mash up, students could use this as a creative way to post questions or thoughts in general where the bachground must be related to the post.
With animoto, well, students could use animoto for an presentation instead of a powerpoint or poster. AND it can be posted on a blog. I am pretty convinced now that I am going to create a blog for each of my classes.
This was really a lot of fun.
Tool #2 PLNs for Brain Stimulation
- As I created a PLN by commenting on other blogs, I started to think. For some reason, I had this scary image of using blogs as part of the high school classroom. I think this in part came from my fears of releasing control and letting the students take control. But having the students take control of their learning is one of my main goals in the classroom so why not go beyond my four walls into the world with blogs. It’s crazy that I would see bloggings as a little scary considering that I recently finished by masters and a major part of all my classes was participating in a PLN. Completing Tool #2 made me remember how much I love being part of a PLN, commenting, and responding to comments. Blogging engages my brain in a way that is different from when I am in the classroom. It helps me process my thoughts and others’ thoughts as well as explain myself clearly and succinctly (I am still working on the succinctly part). And if it helps me, it will for sure help my students especially those students that due to whatever circumstances have trouble clearly expressing their thoughts in the classroom.
- Most importantly I think that it is important for post comments that allow for discussion either by asking open-ended questions or by showing humility. With showing humility, I think that this allows more people to relate to you and therefore invites more comments. In “10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog,” the author said that promoting controversy is something that she does not do. However, when I participated in PLNs as part of graduate school promoting controversy made a lot of the PLNs interesting. I am not saying that a person should disagree just to disagree. But if a person has a really good argument with strong supports for the opposite side of a discussion, they should post it because it makes people think, promotes brain activity, and may make others back up their opinions with more evidence or logic. I also think that when you are commenting, if you agree with a post it is still okay to disagree with it in your comment if you think the argument is flawed. In my opinion, part of commenting in a PLN that is fun and challenging for students is that others do not know their true opinions about a topic. Students can post opinions about a topic, regardless of whether they truly believe in them, as long as they support their opinions with evidence.
- I commented on:
vrhTechStudent
Blithe Blog
Anya's Annotations
The Tech-Teacher Experiment
Bloogers
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