Course Reflection
Class discussion May 7th, 2009
Over the last several weeks you have been exploring and learning about new emerging technologies to use with your students. Please reflect on what you have learned and the new tools you have used and answer the following questions in this post:
- Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement?
- How do you envision using these tools? If not, why?
- If you have used them with your students, what have been your successes, your failures?
- How did your students respond to using these tools?
- If you are not a classroom teacher how can you make these tools work for you?
- Can you provide any anecdotes of your experiences using these tools?
May 7th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
1. Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement?
Some of the tools are relevant for use in and out of the classroom. Given the inexorable advances in technology, applicable computer and media tools will be put to use. Ones which I think will stick for a time in my teaching until they are supplanted by the latest innovations include the following: Googledocs for submitting student work and doing on-line peer editing,student blogs for independent reading evaluation and analysis, a teacher blog for posting assignments, and Animoto or photostory for student presentations.
I can’t provide evidence that the tools create more student engagement with the learning process. The educational “Haves” used the tools to their advantage, but I have only a few examples of a higher level of critical thinking. The “Have nots” only used the technology sporadically.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
This class has given me a wealth of knowledge about a lot of things I never knew were there and I now have a better understanding about things that I knew were there but didn’t know how to use.
The blog has been one of the best things I have ever done. It was exciting in the beginning to have a place where my students could comment on things outside of the classroom but when it expanded to include strangers worldwide, I got very excited. The students are not as excited as they were in the beginning, but I am still giving extra credit for writing comments. Some students have created their own blogs after being inspired by the idea of blogging. I have linked to their blogs and check them periodically.
After creating my blog, I started looking for other French teacher blogs. I accidentally found my “twin” in France and we have forged a fantastic correspondence. Our kids have written to each other now back and forth and she and I email often. It’s nice to have someone I can just quickly ask “in France, how do you do this?” She has a co worker who also teaches English and through communicating with him, I was able to find 48 French speaking penpals for some of my 7th graders! That alone was worth my time in this class! When I go to France to visit a friend next year, I have every intention of finding this woman and visiting!
I love the google docs. I like their portability and I am about to use one for real to report to the bus company about our recent trip to Canada. My co coordinator will also be able to access it and add her two cents rather than just emailing it back and forth. I love it!
The photostory is another thing that I see tons of uses for in my classroom. I think teaching the kids how to use it will be very tricky and I am frustrated that I will have to take time out of teaching French to teach them how to create a photostory. I hope that the kids that I want to have use it will have learned it from someone else by the time I want them to use it. It’s a great tool and I love the narration part of it. 8th grade will be able to do this in French.
I finally created a flickr account and I’m actually using it to upload pictures that kids are sending me. Wow, what a great tool to organize!
I didn’t love the voicethread thing. I don’t really see a use for that in my classroom and I’m not sure why. I thought it was fun to use here in this class, but I don’t think I will use that.
I missed learning how to upload to teachertube but I am sure I can figure it out. I took a full flip of video in Quebec City and will create a little movie and then upload it shortly. I love the flip and wish I had won one earlier in the year. But, I would be dangerous, using it constantly to record my kids. I used the flip to have each of my kids in one class introduce themselves and talk about something they like. Then I made a little movie and created a CD and sent it to my friend in France to show her kids. This is something I will now do a often, as long as I can keep that flip out of the library! It was so simple!
This could be the most useful graduate course I’ve ever taken because I literally took these skills and put them to immediate use. I would highly recommend this to anyone who teaches. I feel like we must stay on top of technology to stay abreast of what kids are learning about and using but also to keep updating our teaching tools. No more overheads and book reports like the old days!
One of the things that I have recently discovered about middle school students is that they are actually not excited about using computers. They see it as one more thing that they have to do and it’s not the wonder that it was when I was a student. Through my blog, I have discovered that kids don’t want to read through other people’s comments, they just want to leave their own. I have had some kids post on the blog under my watch and they see a lot of comments on a post and say “whoa, that’s too much to read” and they try to find one that has fewer comments or they just skip down and add their own comments. It disappoints me that using the internet is not refining and enhancing kids’ reading skills the way I imagined in was doing. Those kids who still don’t like to read or have trouble reading are the same kids that feel overwhelmed and get frustrated by text on a website. Those who love to read are the kids that are commenting like crazy and creating their own blogs. Don’t get me started about middle school students who are “non readers” in this district. But, those very kids are not going to move forward in this 21st century because they aren’t reading online or offline.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I have had limited success with the edublogs site because of a time issue. It will be very difficult for me to update this blog on a daily or weekly basis. I can see using the blog with long term goals and expectations for the class and if there are students who are absent and need to send me their work. I would like to try and have students set up their own blogs so that they can amil homework into their address and not be able to find any excuses for not completing assignments.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
As I think back on this class I think I use a lot more “gizmos”…I try hard not to overdo it. I have used many of the tools directly and indirectly into the class. I promoted my blog as a portal to other blogs or resources that my 10th graders (level 2) would never have accessed. It enabled them to use, among others, Mr. Peace’s blog which is a tremendous tools to review for their June MCAS.
I used RSS feeds for researching and preparing for my classes. We do not have the fortune to use workbooks so prepping for WK is a time-consuming must. I used “tiny urls” as an inspiration…but can’t use them “in house”.
I found my baby sister on Skype and have her surprise me from time to time…
I made a photo story from my freshman Marc-Andre’s first prom as the date to a junior… that i sent to my mother while she was visiting her brother in Florida.
My biggest find is by far “Google calendar”. It has help my family and soccer club tremendously. As I am exploring on my own and getting more adventurous by the minute I can see how some of these tools could be used at different levels of learning.
I hope to get more creative with some of it. In science there is a wealth of sites that already provide interaction and animation for some of the concepts.
I am reticent to use a wide spread blog with much interaction. I had a couple of comments that were less than stellar. Many students visit the blog regularly because they have come to expect me to post clues to quizzes or tests and to list answers for HW due. I do not make it easy to find those “bonuses” so I force them to explore the blog and by doing some of the games they learn despite themselves.
My biggest fun has been coming up with the avatar with my husband. We have set our goals on coming up with our kids’ avatars. We want their input and capture their essence. Their are certainly active and smart so if we get it right they could use these for an “alternate self” on the web.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Given that most students have access to web based media it stands to reason that we as teachers should seek out ways to use this resource to reach our students. There are many sites that have interactive pages that allow students to work on their math skills. This is one area that I hope to develop further using some of the new tools I have been introduced to on the course. In particular I think I can use Jing to make my SmartBoard notes available to students. I can talk the students through the classwork. I may try to record actual introductions to my classes live in class.
There are some practical applications that I am developing. I have set up the “Dolphin Math” site so that I can post pages that provide students with classwork and homework worksheets. I also see options for linking to web sites so that I can direct students in ways that allow for differentiating the work based on students interest, ability and need.
I have set up a number of Google calendars that cover areas of interest. I want to link these to my blog page so that I can use them as a planning tool to replace my current paper diaries and notes.
I am interested in using ANIMATO to present and demonstrate step by step methods (algorithms) for doing basic mathematical problems. It may be of benefit to all students and particularly those who are visual learners.
Before taking this course I was unclear as to ways that web 2 technologies could be used in the teaching of math. I am now interested in developing the insights that I have gotten and introducing my students to by blog site.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I have used the site to set up a number of links to get the students pointed in the “right” direction. This was especially helpful with my Mock Trial class to steer the students away from the laborious law school websites with very long briefs on court cases.
My experience with Flickr was frustrating and the pictures I found were not very helpful. The potential is incredible but I had rpoblems and had greater success with Google and Yahoo images and cut and pasting from Wikipedia.
I think the SKYPE site has great potential for me because my daughter will going to college in the fall. Hopefully, we can set up a site this summer to stay in touch (visually) while she is away.
I have had some success with photostory3 especially with students who are reluctant to present to the class. This site allows them to work on their own, record their voice and complete the assignment without having to stand in front of the class. I think that this has helped to increase the productivity level as now more students are willing to, at least, try to complete the task.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I love learning about new technology. I have used the blog in my classroom with success. I posted questions and had students respond to them. The video technologies (Animoto) can be easily incorporated into my science classroom. Students going out into the field can take pictures and use Animoto to present their images. I also like Voice Thread and see where that can easily be incorporated into a fun science lesson. Students could add their voice to a picture of an cell describing each feature. This would help them remember what each organelle does and be fun at the same time. The Delicious site has caused me to throw away the notebook I use to have full of website URL’s . The Google account we set up with all those RSS feeds has kept me well informed! And, I enjoyed the practice sessions where we were able to ask questions and work on different sites. Thanks for helping us learn all these new sites, wish we had time for more.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
1. Relevance: Yes.
2. I would use googledocs for student work/editing; teacher blog for posting assignments; I would choose to use Animoto and Photostory for student presentations, if in-house technology issues could be resolved. With the small size of next year’s 8th graders, I plan to introduce my blog at the beginning of the year. Another ambitious project (for the summer) is to create a video highlighting class rules, homework/class guidelines (my rendition of how to survive 8th grade ELA that is responsible for laryngitis that first week) It would be
great to have the opportunity to audit this class
as a refresher course next fall…hint…hint….Lory
3. While I did not use them this year with my students, each Friday following our Web 2.0 class, I returned to Wixon and gave one ELA class a snapshot of what I learned that week. See responses below.
4. In response to the classroom blog, my students thought it was a viable option to use in class; that even with no computer at home, students find a way to use a school or friend’s computer to complete their responses. GoogleDocs: One comment was that this was a “green” solution to the hundreds of papers I sift through each week. They liked the idea of saving a few more trees. (Call me jaded, but I seriously doubt that many trees would be saved.)Another comment was that the initial email address set-up could be onerous, that students might lose their usernames and passwords. (Ah, the joys of middle school kids!)Many students liked the idea of getting each week’s vocabulary words and other past homework directly from the blog versus going through GradeQuick, which very few of them use.
By far, their most positive comments were regarding sharing thoughts/ideas regarding the assigned reading. Several said that they would put more thought into their comments if their classmates were reading what they wrote.
By far, the most intense Friday discussion was in
regard to the various software: Photostory,Vimeo,
Animoto and the website, SchoolTube. Students stated
that it was great that teachers could have access to
these programs to enhance learning in the classroom. However, when we discussed student use to create projects, videos, podcasts, etc to share, they said
that watching a teacher use it in a classroom, then
waiting until they had Computer Class was not
practical; that they would forget specific
instructions, etc. Better that they could have access
to the Computer Lab and watch a how-to lesson (led by the teacher on a SB in the Computer Lab) on Vimeo or Animoto, for example, then try it on their own with the teacher there to assist and answer questions. (I say this is a good idea, made better if the Computer teacher is also there to assist… I can dream, can’t I?)They asked about having a reference sheet on every new program (like a short how-to guide)to refer to for help. (Not a bad idea for us teachers, as well) Students also said it would be
nice to have an after-school club to work on projects
like this. (Yes, in a perfect world where a level-funded budget doesn’t exist)
5. No stories yet…stay tuned….
May 7th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
These technologies are absolutely relevant. As a novice, I am still very much in the throes of learning as well as determining which technology will work best with my teaching style and student abilities. There is no question in my mind that some of my students will engage better through the use of their computers. For now, I must confess that while I am fascinated with all the tools you have exposed us to, I am primarily married to my blog for the communication I can have with students and parents.
On the blog, visitors can access my Google Calendar for important due dates. They can also download handouts during units of study. I like this because providing second and third copies annoys me and puts the responsibility on the students’ shoulders and I waste less paper. Additionally, all can access my course expectations and revisit the site when a reminder of my grade policy is needed. Each week I post the in-class work and the homework assignments. Freshmen teachers meet often with worried parents and my blog is an easy stop for parents to get a clear idea of what is going on in class. I have added websites to my blogroll that can aid students when we are reading. For example, I provided sites for students to visit while we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I wanted them to be aware of the Great Depression and the deep seated segregation/racism of the times. I was able o expose them to the Jim Crow Laws and read personal accouts of racism.
For Romeo and Juliet, I need to explore more, but students can get assistance reading the play and learning about the Elizabethan Period-its writers, artists and historical events.
Next year, I intend to provide sites for online reading and then post some questions for students to respond to.
Embedding the Google Calendar has been terrific and I intend to keep that intact.
Other tools I envision employing are PB Wiki, Skype, Photo Story and Jing.
PBwiki appeals to me, especially for my honors students. In grade nine, students take honors level English within the level 2 classroom. They must complete all level 2 work and any projects I assign outside of class. Sometimes students who meet different periods during the day are collaborating on an honors project. For example, my honors students are currently collaborating on a newspaper that will outline the entirety of Romeo and Juliet. They are expected to report on all events sequentially, but with creativity. It would be terrific to turn them loose on PBwiki to collaborate on this assignment. Having said that, I feel I need more expertise, because I am not finding that my students are versed in Web 2.0 tools and the use of them will require some teaching on my part.
Skype has been a toy for me so far-chatting with friends. I’d like to see if I could connect my students with other classrooms who are perhaps engaged in the same unit of study and hold a shring of views about literature-online book club.
Jing fascinates me. As I become more proficient with the Smart Board, I could have students go through the writing process and demonstrate brainstorming, planning (graphic organizers, etc.) writing and editing proofreading. Jing would allow me to post a demonstartion of process writing on my blog. I would also like to provide samples of students figuring out grammar exercises, such as labeling parts of speech, parts of sentences, practicing sentence combining skills, etc. and post this on my blog, as well.
The Google Reader and RSS in general is a work in progress for me, as well. I have mostly pursued this by tapping into personal interests. However, I envision establishing the use of RSS feed with my students (tell me where) as they research, so that they can enjoy updates in areas that they need for projects.
Flickr is a site I will use both professionally and personally. I intend to become more active with photography. I still use the old vhs cameras to record my students oral presentations and it’s time to go digital and record oral presentations and get them posted. Wouldn’t it be great to let students get feedback from each other-not just me- about their growth as public speakers? Hope the Flip Camera offer will come around again, or I can borrow from fellow teachers.
Flickr and photo story will serve multiple purposes. Students can create presentations with these tools. I can present programs about our classroom endeavors, and I can also find, download, and create brief presentations about the authors, their works and times.
I appreciated your assistance with Google Docs and I intend to encourage students to submit work next year through Google Docs. Level 2 freshmen (as do I) require patient handling. When I posted some questions about To Kill a Mockingbird, I found the student response disappointing, Only 30 out of about 70 students responded to the assignment and the quality of writing and depth of thought were not as strong as I’d hoped. I am trying to buy into the belief that if a student is aware that his writing is being posted online, then s/he will put more time and effort into the response. However, my attempt at posting is so limited, that I have to work way more at creating posts that stimulate thought and better responses as well as a conversation amongst my students.
I think students will respond, but I feel that I need to be more confident in the use of the technology before I create assignments around it. Interestingly, some of my students said they would rather put pen to paper than work on a blog. they are perhaps the novices that I am.
I am a work in progress. Thanks for all your patient assistance.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Howell Part II
1. Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement?
See previous post.
2. How do you envision using these tools? If not, why?
I have now switched over to using Microsoft Word 2003 to answer these questions. Why? Because too many of student blogs got chewed up after an hour of typing on Wordpress edublogs, leaving them in such frustration that they will never or only against their will return to submitting work on-line in such a way.
Would I be so foolish as to type this in Microsoft Vista? An allegedly updated program that cannot even communicate with earlier versions of its own company’s software. Soon enough, I will, but for now I’ll hold up with the effective and useful technology of 2003, while working in 2009. As a former Apple person, I must note that all the tools I currently use on Microsoft 2003—tables, mail merge, spell check, formatting—were available on my Macintosh in 1986.
To answer question 2, I respond I will use the commonly used tools available to the majority of my students or available on a room’s worth of classroom computers that, in some ways improves their ease of learning the material. The gains in student performance thanks to computer word processing have not improved measurably since the 1980’s.
The much-hyped RSS quickly confounds the actual way that humans experience time. We mere organic beings have a series of consecutive moments strung together in a finite amount of time each day. I have spent many a lunch time pouring over my RSS, particularly in the field of studying the ongoing crisis in Darfur, Sudan, but that was only one excellent blog. The other excellent blogs I have run into my feeder remain unread. Nevermind, my negligence of the all-too-human act of talking with my colleagues at lunch.
I must compare it to one of the superlative learning experiences of my life: the required reading of the New York Times in a collegiate poli sci class. That one semester’s reading of the fairly old form of communication taught me more than my remaining classes combined. Not incidentally, the advent and promulgation of RSS and free news access on the web have brought an end to this much more reliable information aggregator—the newspaper staff and editorial board—and will soon bring an end to the venerable Boston Globe. And maybe even the New York Times.
3. If you have used them with your students, what have been your successes, your failures?
Success came when I carved out the time to force the students to interact on-line. The intellectual Haves took to this like swallows flying back to Capistrano, their work rendering sellable moments proving the efficacy of technology in education. (See http://shawndemartino.edublogs.org/page/3/ for wonderful evidence.) The Have Nots struggled to get their password straighten out. Or didn’t have an email accessible from school. Or gave up after typing in stuff then not being able to format it correctly. Or didn’t do it because they straight up don’t do any work here, you teacher, you fool.
4. How did your students respond to using these tools?
Here are some responses from Have’s:
Filed under: Uncategorized — frenchy07 @ 4:33 pm and
So I just wrote an entire blog on the damn swine flu going around the world, killing millions and billions and trillions and infitillions of people. But because every teacher now insists that everything should ‘go green’ and be done through the computer, my wonderful blog got deleted and munched down by the cyberspace monsters. Great. So now I have to bs something really quickly in a rushed attempt to write something as good as the HOUR LONG blog I just wrote (yes, I spent an hour doing english homework).
And
AH! computer says i logged out, false. shdfg it’s getting late and the rest of my blog was deleted and sorry i have no energy to keep going
basically it was something on the lines of: ….
The Have Not’s, for the most part, did not get to the starting line.
5. If you are not a classroom teacher how can you make these tools work for you?
I am a classroom teacher.
6. Can you provide any anecdotes of your experiences using these tools?
I shall leave on a positive note.
One of the best uses of student blogs, rather than paper and pen reading logs, came to life as I would show student samples of work that could serve as models for their peers. What I ask my students to do in homework is to attempt to write in the most stylistically advanced level of writing that they can muster. However, explaining in a lecture writing style or trying to instill a drive in my students to pick apart the complexities and implication of a text is pointless. The necessary Tell-Show-Try-Do of the learning cycle is heavily dependent on Show and Try when it comes to sophisticated literary exposition and stylistic analysis.
In that area, time well-spent with technology involved specially selected students reading their blogs aloud as the writing was projected on the white board.
I had other Gee-Whiz moments as media adept students pulled off remarkable achievement that may provide the reader with Gee-Whiz feelings of happiness about technology in education. Nonetheless, I still stand by what I wrote in 1998 when I started my career at DY and faced the technology in education essay requirement. To wit:
Given the rapid advancement in education, the best purpose of technology use in education is to prepare students for the frustration of using new technologies, even as those new technologies will be obsolete when they reach the work force.
The End.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Technology has allowed new ways to communicate with my students. They willingly respond and ask for help. I have used the edublog for all my classes. I provide math links corresponding to the content, hours where I am available for students to ask for extra help and informational posts. I have found wiggio, through another co-worker, which provides an easier way to communicate with the students. So I will now use the blog for more informational site. I want to use the voice thread,jing and delicious on a regular basis and need time to get better at and more experienced at using these sites. I have used Jing- I do not have the experience using the sites to be quick and timely as I would like. Animoto and Photo story are two sites that I have tried and need more time discovering how to implement them with the students.
My students- those that have used the sites are more open on the sites. I have students complaining that they are not getting my text messages from Wiggio! 78% of my students would rather receive a text rather than an email. With Wiggio I can let them know h/w or new post to the blog site. I want to much more proficient and ready to go at the beginning of the next school year. wiki skype flicker more things that I want to work more with.
Thank you so much for the great class. I have learned so much and am looking forward to using and learning more!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I have the igoogle calendar in use for our whole department. I had 4 of us with the ability to add to the calendar or make changes (me, School Psychologist, Dept. Chair and our secretary). All of us are able to access the calendar to see what meetings are coming up and when. Our previous calendar was only accessible from our school computers, so if I wanted to check from home, what I had the next day for meetings, I would not be able to. Also, teachers in the department were unable to access the calendar at all.
I set up an igoogle page for my start up page. It includes the igoogle calendar along with other gadgets that I would use in school:clock, birthday list, To do list, area codes, weather, google map search, zipcode search and wikipedia.
I have made a blog (eganjm73.edublogs.org)for the department thinking that we might use it for discussions about meetings, students or SPED issues. I have added links to a variety of sites which are informational. After some discussion and thought, I realized that this is just an added site that teachers would have to check, in their already too busy day. Also, since we have conversations with Administration, guidance counselors, nurses, regular ed teachers, social workers, etc. I would need all staff to have access to my blog.
I have decided to do a blog as a website for the High School Special Education Department for staff and parents to access. So far, I plan to have the list of staff in the SPED Department and their titles (maybe photos), a link to DESE, the Parents’ Rights Brochure, links to individual teacher websites, links to informational sites on disabilities and ways to help their students. I will poll our department staff to get their input as to other types of things to add to the blog.
I have used Animoto and Photo Story 3 for personal use with my family. They loved seeing what I was learning in my class.
If I were to return to the special education English classroom, I could see myself teaching the students how to use several of the tools we’ve learned about in this course. Students today are more saavy with technology and even if they aren’t, they tend to pick up how to use it much faster than their elders. Tools like Photo Story 3, Animoto (for short, quick answers), for alternative assessments or creative writing. Blogs and Wikis could be used for essay writing and communication between the students and teacher. I would be using “Read Please”, NIMAC, Word Web, etc. for the students to be able to participate no matter their reading ability.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
It’s easiest for me to start at the beginning and remember that it was horrifying to admit how much I didn’t know. I still hate to admit my ignorance of these tools, but I’m catching on slowly.
The blog was the firt hurdle. But, for a while now, it’s been up and running as a classroom enhancement. I love to post a new “review” for the class, and get their comments. My disappointment is huge because the blogging assignments are still assignments ~ the students really don’t do them willingly, no matter how enticing my posts might be (ahem). The few responses I have gotten have not been stellar, but I’m still at it.
More blogging is done, in truth, on my personal blog ~ one on running. For ever, I’ve ruminated while running ~ thinking of all sorts of random things. Writing them down in a way that entices and inspires was always a goal. Now it’s happening on my blog. I’m a bit envious of the clustered cluster maps of Ms. Watson, who’s had hits from all over the world. Someday, that’ll be me.
The Wiki is promising in terms of student use. Initially, I wrote an entry and published it. The students were instructed to check it out, as it contained assignments for the topic of the week. The most interest was generated when the students were told that they might create their own entries on relevant topics. There was a flurry of activity, but nothing has been published by them. This is an extra credit option, so I’m anticipa ting completion…
My most fun endeavor has been getting intimate with Google ~ the many options available for users. I love Reader! My most favorite RSS is “The Big Picture” which sends me incredible photos of all the most timely events (Lately, it was the hats of the Kentucky Derby, Masked faces of Swine Flu and Obama as Spock!).
Google Docs, mentioned by Alan November, was another great tool. My students had apparently been using this (learned in computer classes), but I was thrilled to be able to use it to explore Medieval Cathedrals and to put together a slide show for my classes studying Medieval architecture.
Google Earth is incredible. Using it for virtual tours of places like the Sistine Chapel, the Renaissance cities of Florence or Venice is so much better than showing photos, or looking at the textbook. It’s wonderful for enticing young world travelers.
The usefulness of tools such as Jing and Skype in the classroom are still being explored. I’m using them myself (and my son even is “on” Skype, so that’s fun), but haven’t figured out curricular uses yet.
Animoto is my new favorite toy. I’m enjoying sending those little videos of my own photos to friends. This will make a challenging activity for students ~ whether they’re photographing a project or a skit. Of course, they’ll probably want to use photostory for a bit longer presentation. Good for them!
I’m actually sending my own “China Photostory” to Elena who’s going to teach in China this summer. My own memories will enhance her anticipation!
This is just the “tip of the iceberg.” I’m much more brave and (gulp) fearless. Thank you!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
*I can definitely see the relavance of using the tools that we have learned in the classroom. I have seen many of the tools used in Tina Andre’s class very successfully.
Using the tools I feel can really motivate the students and tap into many of their strengths-not just the intellectual strengths.
*As a special education teacher I have had great success using two of these tools with one particular student. I have created a blog for him to use which has several fun math games that provide him with extra practice in the basic math skills that we work on. He looks forward to going onto the blog and it is nice to have all of the games in one place for him to choose from. I also used photo story with him to create a movie of him engaging in a cooking activity. He loved it! He loves having his picture taken and after I chose the pictures for the photo story he independently typed in the text for each photo. His text was so neat-they were his own words and his personality came out in the photo story. He was so proud of it and his mom actually came into school to see it as well. I am planning to do one more photo story with him before June using another cooking activity.
*I am so glad that I took this computer course. It really made me think and I worked hard each week. Many weeks I left with my head spinning. I found it really helpful to practice with the tool we had used the following day so it was fresh in my mind and I could experiment with it. My notes on how to do each tool really helped me too and I will have them to refer to. I am proud of myself for taking a course on something that is out of my comfort zone. I have not done that in a long time. I don’t know who my students will be next year but I really hope that I can make opportunities to use my blog and do some more photo stories. I would also like to find ways to use Flickr next year.
*Thank you Lory for giving me the encouragement to take this course. Charlene
May 7th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
It has been fun learning things! I guess that is exactly how students feel in school! Yes, I have been able to use many relevant tools to teach. Photo Story and my blog have been used in the classroom several times. I am not sure how much engagement I will have in the future…but the technology I have used so far has been exciting for the children.
Photo story will enhance my field trip to MFA, the children love seeing themselves on T.V.! Already it has been a great tool to get them excited.
Photo Story was not saved as a wmv. file…so I spent a lot of time loading and disappointed children.
They love movies so you can just imagine how much they enjoy these new tools I have learned.
As a specialists (art teacher) visual tools are right up my alley. I enjoy a challenge and these tools only add to my teaching. The students will listen and watch with more attention sometimes if it is a source other then moi!
Other than a former student commented on my blog I do not have any anecdotes.
Thank you for helping us!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
All of the tools that we have learned have relevance in the classroom. Some more than others depending on the subject and grade level that you teach. I clearly see how all of the web tools can provide for more engagement in the classroom. The only drawback is taking the time to set up the tools and to utilize them.
I have had success in the classroom with my students creating projects using jing and photo story. The students really enjoyed using these tools. It was great to see the group effort and comraderie. Their finished products showed clear understanding. The students needed no introduction as to how to use these tools. They navigated the set up modes without any questions.
My blog site is an excellent resource. The homework pages and comment site offer great ways to stay in touch and provide reinforcement. I need to work on the actual blogging aspect of the site. It would be great to get the students commenting on a regular basis. It would also be nice to have the blog site linked to our school website.
I envision regular and more consistent use of all of the tools. I will continue to work on google docs and the google tools to make the most of them as well.
Thank you for all of the great information and the opportunity to explore and create!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Checking out my new avitar!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? There are endless ideas that these tools can help promote. In the library especially there is such a wide range of curriculum. I see these as support for the areas the children now find a bit boring. I see these tools as an interaction fortifier.
Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement? My students enjoy learning new programs on the computer. For my kinesthetic learners this form of instruction helps them to shine. This is an area where they can use their special gift.
How do you envision using these tools? I plan on using a lot of these tools while teaching in China this summer. As part of instruction and social sharing between our two countries. I also plan on using them in my classroom as soon as I can get some of the technology to implement them. I see using these tools to teach teachers in my building.
If you have used them with your students, what have been your successes, your failures? Failures include technology not working as planned, having internet problems or programs blocked that I would need to implement my lesson. My students loved going onto my blog and using the resources there. I enjoyed helping some of the teachers in my school with using some of these tools.
How did your students respond to using these tools? They loved going on the computer and using these tools. They constantly asked to use them whenever we had class.
If you are not a classroom teacher how can you make these tools work for you? As I said in the beginning, my curriculum supports all areas of the curriculum so there are endless possibilities. I have thought about doing a tutorial movie for next year’s students on library use. Wouldn’t that be cool!
Can you provide any anecdotes of your experiences using these tools? Students have mostly gone on the blog and used it to support certain areas of the curriculum. They loved using the math and English sites and I was not about to tell them that they were learning…
May 7th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I have been able to immediately use many of these applications in my second grade classroom. The iGoogle page is filled with gadgets that support my students as they learn to tell time on analog clocks, identify phases of the moon and continents on the Earth. The blog keeps families informed of classroom activities as well as provides links to games and sites for students to extend their learning. Jing has allowed me to record math algorithms and embed them in the blog so students can review at home. We’ve used Googledocs in our PLC meetings to create power standards in math from the state frameworks. I was particularly surprised the how the class responded to using the wiki. They were so enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge of continents, they asked to do the same with their study of the planets. I didn’t have too many problems creating user accounts for them, although I keep a list of usernames and passwords on hand! The Jeopardylab site has been wonderful for reviewing content, although sometimes they get a little cut-throat with the competition! Thank you Lory!
May 7th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
1. Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement? Since returning to the classroom after 8 years in support and part time work I’ve loved the opportunity to share my love of technology with students. So much has changed and when I began this course I felt completely overwhelmed and at times frustrated. Having the time to work on my blog and have my questions answered was crucial. I tried to use things immediately the next day even if only to demonstrate the site or application. My class loved the wordle site and we’ve used it many times since.
2. How do you envision using these tools? If not, why? My blog has been my greatest accomplishment with this class. I felt that I needed to “jump right in” and share it with my students while it was still a work in progress. I was able to post not only websites for my students to visit that were related to our curriculum I could also post directions for science projects and book reports. I envision using this more next year as I would like to have all of the class’ homework assignments posted. Ms. Gary the reading teacher and I tried out our new skills with students every Friday morning and the children looked forward to finding out what I learned. I envision using voice thread with students to share thoughts about the literature we read and google docs will be great for revising and editing.
3. If you have used them with your students, what have been your successes, your failures? My greatest success has certainly been my blog. While it is far from perfect it is the skill I use the most and now feel most comfortable. As far as failures go I can’t say. Things didn’t always go as planned but I wouldn’t call them failures just learning experiences.
4. How did your students respond to using these tools? The loved it. I was regularly greeting on Friday mornings with, “what did you learn last night?” I had a couple kids who really grabbed onto the idea of the blog and will post every chance they get.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Over the last several weeks you have been exploring and learning about new emerging technologies to use with your students. Please reflect on what you have learned and the new tools you have used and answer the following questions in this post:
1. Do you see relevance for their use in the classroom? Can they be used to enhance the learning environment for your students and provide more engagement?
I have computer lab on Friday afternoon, the day after our course, I have tried so many of the technologies the very next day beginning with Wordle. Wordle has been such a wonderful way to look at vocabulary in a different way. The children love it! They have a wonderful time watching the monitor as the fonts and styles change, all the while reading the words over and over. I love the exposure. My blog has really come along during this course. I use it in so many ways during the school day with the students as well as a tool to try to motivate them at home.
2. How do you envision using these tools? If not, why?
Having already used many of the tools as we have been learning about them I envision using them more next year as I grow more comfortable. I hope to grow with my blog. I loved the idea Maura used with Animoto as a way to communicate with other classrooms as a way to say thank you. My wheels began to turn with so many other ways to use it as well. It was like her idea was a springboard for me.
3. If you have used them with your students, what have been your successes, your failures?
My failures have been with time. Every time I plan a lesson using the technology it always takes me more time than I allow and then I have to wait for another lab time thus losing momentum. It drives me completely crazy. This is where I think becoming more comfortable with the technologies will make me more efficient with my time. I believe my Math Night Photostory has been my biggest success. It was very powerful for students K-3 to hear each other talk about math.
4. How did your students respond to using these tools?
They love anything technology. They are fresh to everything still. They loved wordle! It was their absolute favorite. We are creating an end-of-the-year celebration for parents and they have asked to do a photostory. We started last week putting all of our photos in order.
5. If you are not a classroom teacher how can you make these tools work for you?
6. Can you provide any anecdotes of your experiences using these tools?
May 11th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I enjoyed having the opportunity to expand on web applications I already had some experience with and learning many new ones. The most useful tool that my students have really started catching onto was the blog. Now that I spruced it up and streamlined it a bit, they are checking and commenting on it regularly. The wiki tools are interesting and I plan on implementing these more thoroughly next year with my general music classes at the middle school. Since a large part of my job is marketing, I plan to use some of the more flashy tools such as animoto, photostory, etc. for my recruitment presentations and parent information. I have collaborated with two teachers at M.E. Small to use photostory to present a piece of expository writing in which students describe how to assemble their instrument. This will be useful next year with my beginners.