Presentation, Publishing, and Multimedia Applications

The list of multimedia and presentation applications seems to go on and on. However, I found two today that I find I can use on a fairly regular basis as an elementary computer teacher. The first application is called Smore. Smore is an application that allows you to create digital flyers. I like this application and have already signed up for it when I stumbled upon a great, visually appealing flyer on technology tools. As an elementary computer teacher who likes to share information with students through my blog, I think this app is a great way to spruce up blog posts. Here is one a great example of how to use this app as a teacher...Digital Storytelling using Smore

Another app I found very useful for me as a computer teacher was WeVideo.  WeVideo is
a free video editing program. One of the major
benefits of WeVideo is that it can be used by
practically any device. Being that my school has
some iPads, many laptops, and limited students
with personal devices, WeVideo makes video
creation and sharing possible for everyone.
As a teacher, I will use this program to create and edit my own screencasts to be posted on my
website. I will also allow students to experiment
with WeVideo for alternative ways of presenting, creating, and sharing ideas across the curriculum.

Collaboration and Creative Thinking

One collaboration tool I feel teachers should utilize for themselves and with their students is Drop Box. Drop Box makes sharing, collecting, and organizing documents and files easy. One of the great benefits of Drop Box is its accessibility. I love the fact that all my files can be accessed from any place with Internet connection. You can pull up your stored files from Drop Box simply by going to the website. Their is a Drop Box app as well making this application even more convenient. I would use Drop Box in my class as a computer teacher by having my students save their projects. This is useful since it would allow my students to continue working at home as oppose to saving on our school drive. I will also utilize Drop Box to save my lesson plans, share with colleagues, and compile my lesson material for each year.

Another application I found useful was Wordle. Worlde is an application used to create artistic word clouds. It can be used with any subject, topic, or theme. This application is very appealing to students of all ages. You simply type in a word list, hit create, and the program rearranges the words in a word cloud display. I like that you have the option to personalize your cloud with different colors and fonts. I would use Wordle in my class to reinforce typing skills. I can give them a word list and see how fast they can type them accurately. Then, as a reward they can see the displayed word cloud. I can also use this to teach vocabulary. We can create a word list from computer vocabulary such as monitor, desktop, mouse, etc. Then, type them up in Wordle. I like both of these applications because they are user friendly, which is a big concern when working with technology in education. Each of these applications can be easily navigated and applied in classrooms of all ages.

Connecting and Collecting Applications

There are many connecting applications that I have worked with in the past. Some of my favorites include Evernote and Remind 101. However, duirng this class I had the opportunity to use Wikispaces, an appplication I had touched upon in the past but never took the time to explore really in depth. I enjoyed using this application because it opens the opportunity for student collaboration on projects and distant learning. During our class wiki assignment, we were able to communicate through the commenting feature, make and see who made edits, and build upon one piece as a group. I also appreciated that it was user friendly, which is always a concern for me as a teacher. After using it for a couple of weeks, navigation became easy. I would use this application to replace some of the traditional group projects in the past, such as those done with PowerPoint/Prezi. Wikispaces opens up more options and room for creativity with options to post and share links, videos, text, pictures, and more.


After reviewing this list of collecting applications, I found it difficult to choose just one to discuss in this post being that there were countless ones I found applicable to my everyday teaching. However the one I know I will be walking away from this class and applying next school year is Padlet. Padlet is a virtual wall where one can create a space full of as much or as little information as you like. You can create your own account and save any virtual walls you create. Educators can use this to create virtual walls on review information from a chapter, clips that cover a current event, or even have students post a "virtual" answer to a Do Now. I like this because as a technology teacher sometimes I am looking for a quick way to get a lot of student feedback without a big hassle. Padlet is a great way to do just that!

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

As a technology teacher, this is an argument I have heard again and again. Is Google making us stupid? Have students' attention spans deteriorated? What happened to the days when people enjoyed a good book? I feel myself secretly observing my students as they work thinking about these issues, and what kind of long term effects we will see through the "net generation". Although it is tempting to assume the worst, as Carr would lead us to believe, I can't agree that the Internet is making us any less smart. Is it changing the way we once learned, think, or even approach new information? Yes, however, I truly believe there is still learning occurring, just different than we have ever experienced.  We are multitasking better than ever, skimming information, pulling out ideas, and these are all skills that shouldn't be negated as negative.

However, I believe the amount of options, endless resources at our fingertips is the true culprit. Is that we cannot concentrate for long periods of time, or that we cannot ignore the impulse to look at the other countless options we know are right there in front of us.  Almost as if it's a "grass is greener" technology syndrome. This article is good, but there's probably a better, more interesting one I can be reading right now! It is teaching 101. Any experienced teacher would tell you, don't give them too many options, your afternoon will be shot. Give them three or four to pick from. Well, as a technology teacher I have to adhere to this. While doing a research project, I always give my students suggested web sties, no more than five, to gather their information from. Other wise, I find 45 minutes haves gone by, and my students have one sentence. However, I feel the focus should be on a common theme we've been discussing throughout this course; how we, as educators should and can adapt our teaching to our students' learning environment. Check out this great article for more information!

Kids, Tech and Those Shrinking Attention Spans

"instead of lamenting the changes that technology has wrought upon the brains of our children, perhaps it's time to ask how the environment our kids learn in (i.e., school) can adapt to the world they live in.."

-D.Graber

Casting

I've always been very interested in the idea of utilizing podcasts and screen casts in my classroom. Over the past couple of years, I've experimented a little with some tools, however, have not fully taken advantage of the vast benefits casting offers to the 21st Century educator. I envision using casting in my classroom for instructional and professional purposes. As an elementary technology teacher, I can apply casting to reinforce my instruction. Often throughout the year I have much time wasted to reviewing on how to use new programs that I want students to use to create final projects. I will use casting to record myself giving step by step directions to set up accounts such as Storybird, explaining basic features of programs we use in class such as Microsoft PowerPoint, and how to post on our class blog. This will save me an enormous amount of time repeating myself and prevent time from being taken away in class to work hands on with these programs. I also can use this professionally in a similar sense. As a technology representative in my schools, I am often sent to workshops on new programs and asked to turn key them to my staff. In the past, I would type up a guide and share it with my colleagues. I never thought of using casting to turn key workshops or review basic features of new programs on the professional level. This would save me the time from showing teachers during my prep, or theirs.


I can also enhance many of my lessons as a technology teacher. I can show castings I've created at home during class. This way, if some students are struggling they can go to the castings on their laptops for a quick review. This would work best since many of my students do not have access to computers at home. I can also upload my podcasts/screencasts to my website for students to watch and reflect on for homework assignments.


From the students' perspective, podcasts can be used to reinforce learning. I will have my students record their voices during our digital storytelling unit and insert it to their file. Afterwards, students can listen to each others stories in class or at home. Students can also use podcasts to give feedback. After watching a video or reading an essay, they may create a podcasts of their critiques. When it comes to screencasts, I love the idea of having students explain a math problem. They would have to plan, organize, and demonstrate each step of the process to solve the problem for their peers to see. Another way students can use screencasts is to review important facts from a chapter or an event. Students could do this in groups or pairs and later share as a class review.

Blogging and PLNs...Making the "Connection"

Many educators underestimate the true power of Personal Learning Networks. As we have discussed in previous weeks in this course, our students growing up in the 21st Century are already taking advantage of the endless amount of information at their fingertips. So, why wouldn't we, as educators? Today I was able to explore and join various new and innovative PLNs that will help me grow as an educator in the field of technology instruction. I spent much time on Classroom 2.0, The Innovative Eductor, and Education World.  What I liked about Education World and other sites like it, such as Edutopia, is that they keep me up to date and informed on what is new in the professional field of education. Whether it is new reforms to PARCC testing, tenure law, or evaluation systems, it is good to not only focus on your craft of teaching, but also to stay informed in your professional realm. I also liked how Classroom 2.0 included forums and articles organized by topic where teachers could share comments on techniques, post questions and seek answers from other teacher professionals, and join special interest groups. Finally, I plan to continue exploration on "The Innovative Classroom." I definitely plan on following Lisa Nielsen's section, "the hottest posts everyone's reading." It had numerous topics that were relevant to today's educator.

As a technology teacher, I already have had experience utilizing blogging in my classroom. However, I did pick up some new ways to incorporate blogging into my class that I want to start implementing in the next school year. In appreciated Lisi Gopin's article, "8 tips for Blogging with Students" as a starting point for teachers who want to launch blogging tools in their classroom. It is something I will pass on to my colleagues in the future. I think one of the key points Gopin stressed was modeling good, quality blogging before they do it. One way I will utilize blogging is on reflection. I really connected to the article, "High Tech Reflection Strategies Make Learning Stick". I will utilize blogging a new way not just by having students post on my class blogger page afterwards, but during the learning process. By posting my prompt such as, "what are some challenges you are facing during this project and how did you approach them?" I will open my students reflecting on their problem-solving skills. I will also implement blogging by allowing my students to post on outside blog sites, such as dogonews. This is a wonderful site that posts student friendly current even articles in which students can leave comments. It is also safe since it is regulary monitored and comments must be approved. This is a great way for students to connect with other students aroud the world on issues while vocalizing their own opinion on a global platform.

The Escape of "Death Valley"

I always loved school. As a young student myself, I was an eager learner, ready to take on what each year had in store for me. I looked up to my teachers as experts, intriguing individuals with fascinating personal experiences and passions for the subjects they taught. I remember Mr. Miller, my English teacher, who shared his personal struggle with schooling himself. How he didn't "get things" like others but worked twice as hard to complete his degree after serving in the military. Mr. Miller who recreated our class into the show "Survivor" with weekly competitions based off our latest Shakespeare novel. I never studied so hard as I did before those big competition days. I remember Mr. Connelly, an innovative Social Studies teacher who single handily proposed the new and only class in our district, "Civic Empowerment". The first class that required us students to study a real problem in our community, research, interview, question, and report back with proposed plans. There was no textbook in that class, but there sure was learning. As I work today in the very same school district, I see fewer and fewer of these learning experiences. Much of my day, faculty meetings, urgent emails are centered around one word - testing.


It is true, many of our schools are stuck in a "death valley". As Ken Robinson discussed, many may be going through the motions of "teaching" but that does not necessarily mean that learning is occurring.  This notion that if we find the perfect test, the perfect tool to assess our students, all will fall into place, is absurd. I agree, as Ken said, testing has its place-to assist and improve instruction. A better test does not result in better students, unless one uses it to influence and improve instruction. Yet year after year it seems all these state officials can talk about is testing. What about exploration? Art? Music? These are being cut instead of embraced as amazing learning platforms. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a teacher say, "Why am I going to teach that? It's not on the test." Honestly, at times I can't blame them, with the intense pressure administration holds these tests as a reflection of their teaching.


Another big concern today is the overwhelming classification of kids. The alarming amount of ADD and ADHD students has become a huge concern in schools. I read this article a couple weeks ago that discussed this very issue. It takes a comparative look at how the United States and France differ in this area. It highlights how currently, the US had around 10% diagnosed kids with ADD while France, less than .5%. Check out the full article yourself - Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD