ClassTools.net
This site is tremendous! I love all the functionality of this site. There are so many options available in this site. I especially like the games that can be created. They are so easy to create and the students would be so engaged. It would be such a great tool for remediation, reinforcement of concepts, and assessment of material. I think I will get a great deal of use out of this site.
There are a lot of applications out there to use when creating video and other multi-media, but most of them must be purchased. The free tools that are out there normally have to be downloaded and have limitations. The application Vuvox, on the other hand, is a very powerful tool that really captures the essence of expression.
Vuvox is actually three tools in one with the ability to create a fast gallery, a more customized presentation or a completely interactive panorama. After I signed up for an account I immediately tackled the most difficult option, but was able to perform basic tasks without much instruction. It is user friendly and does a good job of explaining what to do.
The panorama option just screamed high school student to me (watch the video below for a demonstration). In an age where students are all about media and technology, this application allows them to integrate everything they do into one flowing application. In fact, it made me think that PowerPoint was some old tool from decades ago, because this tool just makes information look so much cooler.
I can imagine using this for a number of different things, but it would best be served as a culminating project at the end of a unit or the year. Students would be able to add various resources to support whatever statement they are making about the content. They can add pictures, music, words, websites, etc. to defend their stance on the topic.
Then, students could post them on a website so other students and parents could see the projects. I really think it takes PowerPoint to the next level and makes presenting information relevant to this generation of students. The look and feel of the application and end product has youth written all over it, and its interactive features allow for much more immersive opportunities.
The website Bubbl.us is a brainstorming application. Unlike other similar applications, this one is pretty straight forward, making it perfect for students. Some may question why a student would need to use an online visual outline when they can just do it on paper, but I say it helps make the process more hands-on.
Students often struggle with the thinking process and when they get stuck they give up. By having students create bubble charts online, if they get stuck they can easily re-arrange the bubbles to spark new connections and ideas. The application would best be served for a lengthy piece of curriculum like dissecting a book or preparing for an essay.
While students can use the charts for anything, I think it’s best use would come from teachers. I can see myself using this application when creating unit outlines or breaking down any information. As mentioned before, it is very user friendly and allows much more movement and manipulation than Lucidchart. The overall process from creation to saving the file to sharing the file is extremely easy.
Although I have never given my students a formal brainstorming assignment, I do require them to do it before their timed writing. I think I will have them utilize this application when we finish our unit on short story. My vision is that they will be able to link characters and themes and be able to recognize similarities across stories.
I also would like to use it for To Kill a Mockingbird to show the relationship between the different themes in the book. This process is important for visual learners because they can easily see where the information is divided and where it intersects.
Even thought the site is simple (I’ve said that a couple of times) it is meaningful and underlines an important process that I am guilty of often overlooking. Too often I assume students can sort through their thinking in their head, when they really need the opportunity to get it down on paper or in some visual format so that they may manipulate it. It is the interaction that helps them make the jump from spark to finish product.
The site Screentoaster.com is similar to ScreenFlow, however it is free to use. The application allows you to record your entire screen or to select a specific section. While most web 2.0 tools are about hands-on student activities, I think it’s important to remember students need good clear directions when beginning those activities.
Screentoaster allows for a good introduction to any concept or tool being used. The ability for the teacher to create a video for their students to watch is often times more effective than simply telling them what to do. Being able to access a demonstration whenever need be, is an important learning tool for students. It gives them the opportunity to review material at their own pace and compare their work to a specified rubric.
This year, I created a ScreenFlow for my English students, showing them how to set up their essays in MLA format. They are able to go back to that video each time an essay is due and review it to ensure they have setup their paper properly. In years past, I have constantly been asked to repeat directions, but I have already seen the video instruction cut that number significantly.
Screentoaster is a nice alternative, if teachers do not want to purchase a program like ScreenFlow. Although the application doesn’t have as many editing options, it gets the job done. Exporting a saved file is also a little tricky, but an easy option is to save the video in the Screentoaster site and email the URL to students. You can lock your video so only those with the URL can access it, giving you some privacy. You can also embed the html code (like I have done with this blog).
Students could also use Screentoaster as almost a show and tell. One idea I have is to have students research a certain topic and record a site that they think is appropriate for research use. They can add a voice over as they explain why the site is credible by pointing out examples as they explore. The process of recording content and speaking about it, forces students to analyze their own thinking and go through the process of determining what is academic and what isn’t. That is an important skill to develop and one that screen recording can really be utilized for because it takes a passive essay and turns it into an active dialogue.
After looking through various lesson ideas for incorporating Flickr into the classroom I realized that by using Flickr we are supporting the arts. Too often, it is the arts programs that get cut first in schools and teachers often don’t have time to focus on the creative side of their curriculum because they are too busy teaching to a test.
The saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” also kept running through my head as I did some research on Flickr. As an English teacher, I always want my students to write more and be more descriptive. Using pictures is a great prompt to ignite that idea. Many lessons plans centered on the concept of taking a photo and interpreting it by posting a response, questions or creating a story.
Another popular idea was to use Flickr as a prior knowledge-building tool. For instance, when I teach To Kill a Mockingbird, students can find images that help show the setting of the 1930s to help students visualize where the story is taking place. This activity can be done for any piece of work. I do a similar version of the lesson when I teach symbolism; this year I may incorporate Flickr.
The reason I like Flickr is why I like most web 2.0 tools. They allow for an organized storage system, in which students can later access material. I also like that students have the ability to comment on other pictures, which reinforces their communication skills. The idea of having students create tags also requires them to do some critical thinking by analyzing what message they are trying to convey.
Tagging the photos was actually a popular lesson that many teachers currently use. Some are elaborate, printing out pictures and tags separate and having students try to figure out which match up. I think any tagging lesson can be taken to great depths by having students place as many tags as possible. Students like to stay on the surface and not dig any deeper in their thinking. I would like to see Flickr used to really get students to think beyond the obvious and make connections they may not normally make. I would also like to see lessons on analyzing why some tags are poorly chosen, with good explanations to back it up.
Flickr's most popular all time tags
Absolutely love this site. I am always looking for ways to make grammar a little more interesting and this is one. Students love playing games and I like how this site uses the same information it just "packs" it differently for different levels. The repetition of the same information will help them retain it. Most websites don't do this, they go onto a different set of content. Thanks for finding this, I will use it!
For your general music classroom, it would be fun to allow students to blog on their favorite current music. As they discuss what they like and don't like, you could chime in and explain musical aspects that you want them to be studying. I think letting them dig into the music they listen to would really be beneficial, because they would buy into it. It's like tricking them into learning what you want them to know.
I would let them go "wild" for two weeks, then have them review the blog posts of others and start making connections. For instance, if a lot students liked a certain artist, make them examine why. Is it the lyrics, the beat, etc. At the same time, they would be practicing their communication skills. They could even post picture and maybe sound clips.
Good luck with it and have fun!
I have been introduced to course management systems before, and have been intrigued, but leery to their reputation. While I have seen the benefits, I have heard the arguments against it (ranging from lack of computers at students’ homes to taking too much time to maintain). Our school district adopted a very limited course management system that really acts like an email center, calendar, grade book and teacher web page archive. While the system can be manipulated into acting like a course management system, it really isn’t.
I have played around with various systems in the past because I understand that extending the classroom beyond the traditional walls is crucial to really reach students. About a month ago, I came back to the site Moodle, primarily because it is the system our district uses for our teacher development workshops. The site is completely free and has options such as: forums, blogs, wikis, archived lessons, file downloads, quizzes, calendars, the ability to upload work, grade books, etc. The site can be utilized as a hybrid or online course. In fact, there is a school in our district that is testing it as a hybrid course this year, with two days on campus and three off.
This current course has validated my interest in course management systems to the point where I have added it to the agenda for our monthly meetings for next year’s curriculum development brainstorm sessions. My vision is that I can roll out a Moodle site for my English class next year, and then the following year the entire ninth grade team can operate in Moodle. The small learning community I teach in at my school has a technology focus, so this application would work perfectly for it. The end goal would be that our students would operate in Moodle their entire high school career and perhaps include some hybrid or online courses.
With the popularity of online courses, I really feel that public schools will also begin to seriously consider utilizing them. Today, distance education holds just as much credibility as traditional, but allows for a wide variety of ease and opportunities; this masters program is an example of that. While the lure of online courses will probably be a reduced overhead cost for schools, the winners will be the students. It will give them the flexibility to work at their own pace, get differentiated instruction, allow them to retrieve archived lectures, lessons and work, and operate in a virtual world they are accustomed to.
Here's a link to find out more information on Moodle: http://www.k12hsn.org/calaxy/
The site is specifically for California, but I'm not sure if Moodle is offered in other states.
The video below is a brief demonstration of Moodle.
I have been looking for a website in which my students can communicate with other students, whether that be another city, state or country. The obvious issue is safety; I needed a site that I wouldn’t have to monitor 24/7. The site epals.com fit my needs.
The site is designed with the classroom in mind. It is divided into content sections as well as having areas in which you can search for the type of connection you want to make. It is very interesting to search through the classroom descriptions and read about classrooms around the world.
I would use this site as a means to improve my students’ communications skills. By leveraging blogs and forums, I would be able to get students to really take audience into consideration. My action research project is actually on this very topic, and I will most likely use this application in some form to further my findings.
Using social networks to improve writing is crucial, especially for students whose first language is not English. One tool that the epals site uses is the ability to translate languages. Currently, the site can translate in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean and Spanish. What’s nice is that students will also be improving their foreign language skills at the same time, so the site lends itself with cross-curriculum lessons.
Ultimately, the site’s greatest attribute is the fact that it can connect students to other students and make their voices relevant. Too often, students are mandated to simply write to the teacher and then receive limited feedback (of which is mostly negative). By allowing students the opportunity to participate in a social networking community like this it gives students validation that others support their ideas. It also gives them feedback from a source other than the teacher and is something different and fun. Whenever a lesson can be viewed as unique in students’ eyes, they will more than often, try harder because it isn’t the same old thing.
Visit epals at: http://www.epals.com/
The video below is a brief introduction to the website.
One web 2.0 application that I have been introduced to is the site Weebly.com. The site allows users to quickly create websites with a drag and drop feature. Although the formatting has limitations, it is effective if you want students to create a website quickly.
Being an English teacher, one of the most difficult things I have to teach is theme. Many students struggle over the concept and don’t see how one main idea can be intertwined into different subtopics within a novel. By having them create a website to highlight the theme of a book, students can move away from the rigid structure of an essay and explore visual interpretations of what they have read.
This year, I am going to use Weebly.com when we read To Kill a Mockingbird. I will have students create a museum website in which they highlight their top ten exhibits online. Each page would explain the exhibit in detail using pictures, music, video, etc. The exhibits would be arranged chronologically to support the idea of story sequence and students would have to explain how each exhibit builds on the previous one.
After all the websites are created, I will have students do a gallery walk, in which everyone will spend the period looking through other students’ websites. As a class, we will discuss similarities and begin to draft universal themes and concepts. Finally, students will use the activities as the beginnings of their response to literature essays for the novel.
When I played with the Weebly application, I was impressed by how easy it was to use. I have used many free web-building applications, but this one is by far the easiest one I have found. It doesn’t require any prior knowledge and a complete functioning website can be published within minutes. While it does have some options that require purchase, students can accomplish a lot with the free version.
The application really demonstrates what technology can do for the classroom. In this case, it takes a difficult lesson (teaching theme) and makes it fun. By allowing students to be creative and hands-on, they will internalize the information more. Also, by having them arrange things in sequence and thinking critically about connections between ideas, it accomplishes the act of brainstorming without a paper and a pen.
The following is a brief screenflow demonstrate of the Weebly site.
The greatest advantages to social bookmarking are the abilities to see them from any computer, and share them with anyone. The necessity to have to use the same computer to do all your work is eliminated with applications like Del.icio.us. Students are able to access the sites they need both at school and at home. Anytime the educational day can be expanded beyond the traditional school hours, a huge advantage has been made.
The ability to subscribe to other people’s bookmarks is also a great attribute of the application (Johnson 2007). It takes away the busy work of combing through research and allows students to focus more on the process of discerning information rather than hunting for it. The idea that it is more important to be able to retrieve and use information than to simply know where to find it (Educause, 2005) is a major movement in the information world.
Students can subscribe to other’s bookmarks through the concept of tagging items for searches. When others tag their bookmarks it benefits the entire interested community (McGillicuddy, 2006). It is very easy for students to feel overwhelmed when doing research online, so having the research find them is a nice bonus.
Del.icio.us can also be used for group projects or classes since you are not limited to a number of accounts and can share passwords. A group could gather resources for a specific topic and build up a library together. These research teams could do a lot of the prior knowledge building for any lesson or unit within any subject. When students can retrieve the content rather than it being given to them, true learning is taking place. This method also speaks to giving up some of the classroom control to students to create an environment that is more project-driven than lecture based.
Although the idea of organizing links and being sent information sounds simple enough, the advantage for students is that it allows time for them to actually synthesize what was found. Students lack the time management skills to both do thorough research and compile that research in an effective manner. Using social bookmarks isn’t a scapegoat, but rather a crucial tool for today’s student. In a world of instant gratification, students need to learn how to access and process information quickly. An application like social bookmarks allows that to happen.
Screenshot of how to subscribe to other peoples' bookmarks in Del.icio.us
References
Educause (2005). 7 things you should know about social bookmarking. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf
Johnson, D. (2007). Education world technology center: Doug Johnson: Free is good: It's delightful; it's del.icio.us. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson017.shtml
McGillicuddy, S. (2006). Social bookmarking tools pushing collaboration to the edge. Retrieved October 5, 2009 http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid182_gci1195182,00.html
Too often we fall into the mistaken mindset that all students learn the same way and that their learning can be measured using calculated, generic standards. The truth is Multiple Intelligences theory and Brain-Based Learning has proven these concepts wrong.
The Schools Out – Personal Learning Environments video outlines the glaring issues in education today. The system that was built for the Industrial Revolution was done so with the assumption that the teacher held the key to knowledge. However, information is now easily shared through the Internet, and students don’t necessarily need to only rely on their teachers.
In the video, Networked Student, the concept that Connectivism takes today’s Internet tools and allows the student to be in control of their own learning is explained. If the real problem in education today is the lack of relevance (as stated in Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance) then one solution is to allow students the opportunity to define what they consider relevant to their lives.
I believe that virtual learning environments are the answer because of their versatility. Using Web 2.0 tools and other technology can allow for easy differentiatation for students allowing them to work at their own pace, researching their own interests. In using a system like this, students would most likely do better because they have a voice in what they learn.
There still needs to be a teacher’s role, but it needs to be redefined as a facilitator of Personal Learning Environments, rather than a lecturer. Someone still needs to be there to guide students through processes and evaluate forward progress. Course management systems should also be leveraged to help students through their learning. I am currently building one through Moodle for next year. At my school, the ninth grade team within the ATM learning community will roll out course management systems in every class.
My perfect school would start with the gift of a laptop for every student. Students would also have at least one computer course a year in which all other curriculum would be tied to projects using whatever the current technology is at the time. I envision these computer courses to be the hands-on practice students need to prepare for the real world. The other classes would also incorporate technology through the use of personal learning environments with an emphasis on creating networks from around the world.
Obviously, a simply standardized test would not be a sufficient measuring stick, so a digital portfolio would need to be developed and evaluated by a panel of current, future and retired teachers, community leaders and other students from around the world via the Internet. This evaluation would be assessing pre-determined specific skills that would be deemed necessary for life after high school. The focus would be a demonstration of the knowledge acquired, not merely a comprehension check.
The five initial RSS feeds I chose to follow all center around technology and its relationship with the classroom. I am an English teacher, but have 4o computers in my room. I try to incorporate them in as many lesson plans as possible, but many times am hindered by firewalls. I am always intrigued with new technology as I am one of the loudest proponents of it at my school.
The feed Educational Technology is an almost informal conversation about technology and its many uses. While many of the posts pertain to web 2.0 tools, there are others about the political implications of technology. This feed will allow me to search for web 2.0 tools that I could use in my class.
Free Technology for Teachers is a feed that points teachers toward great opportunities. There are many examples of lesson plans and web 2.0 tool creations posted and explained. This feed will allow me to use what others have done as an inspiration. What’s nice is that it will also show me what applications they used to create them.
Moving at the Speed of Creativity is a feed that focuses on harnessing technology for creative purposes. The posts in this feed help explain how to use applications and other tools to create. While the other feeds are more about usage and how students could leverage the tools, this feed is all about creating end products. Many of the posts highlighted how to make teaching more entertaining by using the tools. This feed will help me to liven up my lectures, by demonstrating different ways to communicate my information.
Digital Education is a feed that focuses on the promotion of using technology to enrich education. It has many posts on how technology has been utilized to make gains in the educational system. This feed will help me justify the need for computers in other classes at my school and the need to develop updated computer class curriculums.
And finally, Lesson Planet Articles offers good-old-fashion lesson plans for teachers. There are posts for every subject and grade level. This feed will help me fine-tune my current lesson plans and show me different perspectives on teaching the same topic.
Because blogs are public, the feedback students would get is even greater. More discussions can be had and a system of networking can begin. Blogs can also offer assistance in the brainstorming process by posing questions and soliciting responses. They can also be used as a reflective piece. Students could post their reactions to topics and ideas and spark discussions that way.
Blogging best supports education through its ability to analyze persuasion. Most blogs are opinion-based, either forwarding an argument or making an attempt to convince the readers of something. Being able to state one’s stance on an issue and then carefully defend it is about as academic an endeavor there is. The back and forth posting that ensues after, lends itself to critical thinking and communication skills.
With everything that can be done with blogs, perhaps the best use for them is the idea that they are public. When students know there is an audience for their work, they will tend to have a little more pride when doing it. Going beyond the teacher-student relationship is important to demonstrate to students that their thinking is relevant in the world around them. In fact, it’s crucial to prove to them that they are relevant today, and that they are ready to begin contributing today, not years from now once they are done with school.
I am actually doing my action research project on the use of blogging to teach traditional writing. My hope is that by teaching students the structure and elements of blogs they can transfer those concepts into their essay writing. I want students to understand how who they are writing to influences how they should be writing. Audience Specific Voice Appropriate (ASVA) is my main focus.
1 comments:
I really liked the classtools.net site. Looking through the site, I thought the jigsaw diagram was very powerful. I could see creating a graphic organizer with it and scrambling the pieces and having students put the puzzle together. I also liked the lights out activity and could see it used as a review of sorts.
While I like the site, I don’t think I could use it in my high school classes because it feels like it is more geared toward kids. If I were to use it, I think I would have the students use the site to create lessons that they can teach the class. I let my students do a lot of teaching, and this site has many tools that can build visuals for that purpose.