Okay, this is really fun! I found a Voicethread that showed how to construct a congruent line segment using the Promethean software. This has so much potential - it is very simple. The alphabet book by the first graders was super cute and I really like having a sample to be able to show teachers how easy it is. Again, students can take ownership. Everyone can give their opinion or instruction on a picture or video. We can use it to create simple instructional videos for teachers using technology. Teachers can use it to create curriculum instruction. This is going to be something that I want to show teachers on my campuses - especially those non-title I campuses that don't get all the "cool stuff." These are the type of tools that only require the computers we have on campuses and that everyone can use! Two thumbs up for Voicethread!
Constructing a Congruent Line Segment by Sandra Goldman
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thing #18
Youtube and Teachertube are definitely addicting! I found everything on Youtube from Promethean demonstrations to technology inspiration for the classroom. I included Technology in the 21st Century here and posted Hope for Technology in the Sandbox. My favorite how-to video is one by Johnny Lee that shows how to make an interactive whiteboard using a Wii remote. Just for fun, I also found one on how to crochet a hackey sack. My sons would love it (although they probably wouldn't make one themselves). :-)
I thought it was pretty funny when I typed "technology in the classroom" as a search for videos and the 2nd one that came up was the "Walkthroughs and Learning Objectives" done by Mesquite ISD! This is a great lesson in being careful what you let people video! You never know where it is going to turn up! I also found more technology inspiration videos for the classroom. In addition I found one on how to create groups in Teachertube.
Both of these sites can be a great resource in the classroom from finding inspiration for teachers and students to showing them how to do a task. I like the idea of creating groups for classroom videos. Videos and links can be embedded into presentations. (Although, I believe that Youtube is blocked with our district filter - not sure about Teachertube - so this could cause a problem with linking to them). Another idea that would really appeal to students would be to create their own video to post to one of these sites (although district guidelines must be followed before posting students online). Lots of topics could be covered this way and again, you're meeting students where they are and using technology that they use at home!
Technology in the 21st Century by abby1drew
I thought it was pretty funny when I typed "technology in the classroom" as a search for videos and the 2nd one that came up was the "Walkthroughs and Learning Objectives" done by Mesquite ISD! This is a great lesson in being careful what you let people video! You never know where it is going to turn up! I also found more technology inspiration videos for the classroom. In addition I found one on how to create groups in Teachertube.
Both of these sites can be a great resource in the classroom from finding inspiration for teachers and students to showing them how to do a task. I like the idea of creating groups for classroom videos. Videos and links can be embedded into presentations. (Although, I believe that Youtube is blocked with our district filter - not sure about Teachertube - so this could cause a problem with linking to them). Another idea that would really appeal to students would be to create their own video to post to one of these sites (although district guidelines must be followed before posting students online). Lots of topics could be covered this way and again, you're meeting students where they are and using technology that they use at home!
Technology in the 21st Century by abby1drew
Thing #17
I listened to several podcasts and found some interesting things. The ones that I was first interested in (TechPodZone and Geek!ed!) had some topics that I really wanted to hear. However, each of these was 30-40 minutes long and consisted of people sitting around chatting and joking, etc. I listened to about 7-8 minutes of each of them before I got totally annoyed because there was no "meat," yet. I don't think teachers are going to kill 40 minutes on something that should take 10 minutes. However, I also listened to Grammar Girl's Quidk and Dirty Tips as well as 60 Second Science and really liked the fact that they got to the point. I'm sure the other 2 had great information in them, but I really wanted to hear it and not wait for it (and this is summer when I'm not nearly as busy).
After listening to these, I had a better idea of what I like in a professional podcast. I searched Education Podcast Network and found one called Mac Tips Daily. These are short podcasts with cool tips on using the features of your Mac. I have downloaded podcasts for a year or so using iTunes. They actually have a great search feature and you can search virtually any topic and cost (I look for free ones). Promethean Planet puts out ActivTips to show new features of ActivStudio and ActivInspire. These are actually screencasts so there is a visual of the computer screen as well as audio. I use podcasts personally to listen to different Bible studies in the mornings while I get dressed. My oldest son is a counselor at Pine Cove Christian Camp this summer and they posted podcasts online for the counselors in the spring to prepare them and raise their enthusiasm for camp.
There are so many uses for podcasting in the classroom. I have taught some teachers how to use them in the classroom. They have done readers' theaters with their students, taught math problems, created short interviews with students playing famous leaders, and even had students podcast campaign speeches for campus elections. Just about any subject can be podcast. I have even heard of teachers using podcasts to over material for students that are out. If you have never seen the class webpage of Mr. Coley who is a teacher in California, then visit and check out the studycasts and other things that are done by his students. I was fascinated and very excited about the possibilities of using these ideas in a classroom. Again, the students have ownership of the webpage and therefore take responsibility for their learning! Yea, Mr. Coley!
After listening to these, I had a better idea of what I like in a professional podcast. I searched Education Podcast Network and found one called Mac Tips Daily. These are short podcasts with cool tips on using the features of your Mac. I have downloaded podcasts for a year or so using iTunes. They actually have a great search feature and you can search virtually any topic and cost (I look for free ones). Promethean Planet puts out ActivTips to show new features of ActivStudio and ActivInspire. These are actually screencasts so there is a visual of the computer screen as well as audio. I use podcasts personally to listen to different Bible studies in the mornings while I get dressed. My oldest son is a counselor at Pine Cove Christian Camp this summer and they posted podcasts online for the counselors in the spring to prepare them and raise their enthusiasm for camp.
There are so many uses for podcasting in the classroom. I have taught some teachers how to use them in the classroom. They have done readers' theaters with their students, taught math problems, created short interviews with students playing famous leaders, and even had students podcast campaign speeches for campus elections. Just about any subject can be podcast. I have even heard of teachers using podcasts to over material for students that are out. If you have never seen the class webpage of Mr. Coley who is a teacher in California, then visit and check out the studycasts and other things that are done by his students. I was fascinated and very excited about the possibilities of using these ideas in a classroom. Again, the students have ownership of the webpage and therefore take responsibility for their learning! Yea, Mr. Coley!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thing #16
I could spend all day here! And I probably will when I finish this course! This would be a great place to set up a class group for students to share ideas about books or do book studies. A group similar to the 50 Book Challenge would be a great motivator in the classroom! I could spend hours in the group section - found several lively discussions that I could easily join. Best of all, this would be a great place to catalog a classroom, professional, or personal library. When I was in the classroom, I tried to have my books in themes or categories but so many of them could go in more than one. This is a great way to be able to pull your books by tags for each topic. On a more personal note, I am in charge of my church library and we are constantly getting books to catalog (not one of my best subjects in library school). Most of the time I can get everything I need from Library of Congress but they don't always have the Dewey Decimal number for the book and I am left to figure it out the best I can. Many of the books here have cataloging info - yea! Another resource to check before I "make it up!" As a librarian in a tech job, this has been one of my favorite 23 Things so far! Librarians rock!
Thing #15
Okay, this one was way too fun! I could have spent lots more time adding things to my wiki page (which I will probably do when I get a few more Things under my belt). Creating the page was actually pretty intuitive - nothing I ran across that was very tricky. I did have a little trouble creating the table of contents so I actually had to go back and READ the directions (I was only putting 1 bracket instead of double brackets). There were plenty of instructions available which was very helpful if I got stuck. At first I had trouble thinking of my favorite things and then suddenly I had lists popping in my head all morning. The burning questions were lots of fun and would probably be a really fun tool for kids to add to a blog - would personalize it and would really make kids think (you know, that higher order thinking thing)!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thing #14
I must start out by saying that Vicki Davis' Wiki Wiki Teaching post got me pretty excited! How many times have I heard in my teaching career that it's all about making students responsible for their own learning. We must make it relevant and exciting for them. This teacher gave students ownership and they ran with it! And she didn't do it with paper and pencil tasks (yes, I know, my soapbox again)!
When I think of a wiki the first thing that comes to mind is collaboration. Some of the wiki examples could have just been webpages. The Holocaust Wiki Project was a real disappointment for me. I was looking forward to seeing some great student work about this topic. Instead, I found a site that was only a place for the teacher to post the assignment. This was a high school AP class, too! How frustrating that their best and brightest were not given the opportunity to really make use of this 21st century tool!
Another wiki I saw was the Kindergarten Counting Book. Each of the numbers had a picture posted next to it with the same number of objects in the picture. It's really hard to say if there was any collaboration - I'm hoping the students were at least able to take the pictures and help the teacher upload them to the wiki. I didn't see any responses (yes, kindergarteners can respond) and I only saw editing done by the teacher.
I did like the Schools in the Past wiki. This was done by a 1st grade class and students interviewed parents and grandparents about their school experience. The adults were then asked to post their answers online under the correct section. This was obviously done by multiple people because of the different writing styles (some had no capitalization) and grammar. So, even though the students did not do the actual typing, they participated by asking the questions and being part of the collaboration process. What a great way to get started! That teacher could then build from there and eventually get those students to log on themselves and respond to questions! Students are capable of doing just about anything we expect them to be able to do! And they're usually a lot better at catching on to technology than we are!
When I think of a wiki the first thing that comes to mind is collaboration. Some of the wiki examples could have just been webpages. The Holocaust Wiki Project was a real disappointment for me. I was looking forward to seeing some great student work about this topic. Instead, I found a site that was only a place for the teacher to post the assignment. This was a high school AP class, too! How frustrating that their best and brightest were not given the opportunity to really make use of this 21st century tool!
Another wiki I saw was the Kindergarten Counting Book. Each of the numbers had a picture posted next to it with the same number of objects in the picture. It's really hard to say if there was any collaboration - I'm hoping the students were at least able to take the pictures and help the teacher upload them to the wiki. I didn't see any responses (yes, kindergarteners can respond) and I only saw editing done by the teacher.
I did like the Schools in the Past wiki. This was done by a 1st grade class and students interviewed parents and grandparents about their school experience. The adults were then asked to post their answers online under the correct section. This was obviously done by multiple people because of the different writing styles (some had no capitalization) and grammar. So, even though the students did not do the actual typing, they participated by asking the questions and being part of the collaboration process. What a great way to get started! That teacher could then build from there and eventually get those students to log on themselves and respond to questions! Students are capable of doing just about anything we expect them to be able to do! And they're usually a lot better at catching on to technology than we are!
Thing #13 (Corrected)
I have been using my Delicious account for about a year and a half now. It seemed very overwhelming when I first learned about it with all the tags, etc. But then I realized that tags were just descriptors. I didn't know previously about clicking on the magic blue box to find other people - pretty fun! I really like the feature of being able to share articles with others (and others sharing with me). We do this in our department occasionally and it really comes in handy. I would love to be able to help teachers on my campuses set up Delicious accounts and share articles with them as well as show them how to share articles with each other. If students also had Delicious accounts, then teachers could share articles/websites with them and they could also share with each other. There are, of course, issues that come about when we have students sign up for accounts like that and we are unable to monitor them. Parents would have to be made aware so they could monitor those.
I have started using Delicious more often since I found an application called Stumble Upon in which you choose topics of interest and hit the Stumble Upon button and it randomly brings up websites in those categories. Sometimes they are really awesome and I want to save them. I was bookmarking them at first and now have an absurdly horrible bookmark list (which is why I don't want to export those, yet - need to get them organized). Then I started using Delicious for the ones I desperately wanted to keep. It is a really great way to keep me organized!
I have started using Delicious more often since I found an application called Stumble Upon in which you choose topics of interest and hit the Stumble Upon button and it randomly brings up websites in those categories. Sometimes they are really awesome and I want to save them. I was bookmarking them at first and now have an absurdly horrible bookmark list (which is why I don't want to export those, yet - need to get them organized). Then I started using Delicious for the ones I desperately wanted to keep. It is a really great way to keep me organized!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
