Final Thoughts

   It is hard to believe the semester is over!  What a great experience this course has been!  I have learned about so many great tools that I hopefully will be able to incorporate into my classroom next year.  I created a screencast using Jing (another first for me!) that talks about everything I have learned in this course and hope to use in my classroom.  You can check it out here. Thank you for following me throughout my semester and please share any of your final thoughts with me!

Technology and the 6 C's of Motivation

   For my Web of Wonders Project, I chose to create a Prezi that describes how technology can be incorporated into the 6 C's of Motivation.  The 6 C's are: choice, challenge, control, collaboration, constructing meaning and consequences.  Research has shown that when these are present in a lesson, students are motivated and more engaged in what they are learning.  Technology is a motivator too and it can be used along with the 6 C's to further motivate and engage students. 

   I chose to create my project in Prezi because I think it is a unique way to present a topic.  Prezi is a like a slideshow where you zoom in on each "slide."  You can create the pathway that the presentation takes from slide to slide.  It brings slideshows up a level so they are more engaging.  Check out the screenshot of my prezi below and look at the full presentation by going to this link.

My Website!

     Another requirement for this course was to develop our own personal website.  I chose to use Weebly and found that it is so easy use!  I could add the pages that wanted as well as images, text and videos without any trouble.  I have different pages for my philosophy on technology, course assignments, professional organizations, my favorite technology tools and educational links.  Please take a look at my site, let me know what you think and try it for yourself!

Digital Storytelling

   Digital storytelling is becoming a common trend in classrooms now as a way integrate reading and writing with technology.  With digital stories, students are more engaged in the process of reading and writing because they can use a wide range of technological resources to make their story come to life.  I have seen firsthand at my school the power of digital stories and how they have transformed learning in a classroom.  The school had a display in the lobby to showcase the various digital stories of the students as well as highlighting them on the school's website.  I enjoyed reading Helen Barrett's presentation on Digital Storytelling to see how the process works.  I liked how she clearly demonstrates the connection between theory and practical application of it in the classroom.  Digital stories seem to be a great way to get students excited about reading and writing.  And there are so many tools that can be used to create them!

Check out Helen Barrett's presentation here.

Khan Academy & The Flipped Classroom

    The concept of a "flipped classroom" is a new, innovative idea where students view the lectures at home and then complete the homework assignments in class the next day.  Khan says that flipped classrooms get rid of the "one size fits all lecture from the classroom," but I think he underestimates the power of many teachers.  There are many teachers who do not use just lecture and chalk-and-talk methods in the classroom anymore.  As teachers, we need to differentiate the lessons to meet the needs of students so lectures do not just work.  Then he says that classrooms right now have students learn "with their fingers on their lips and not interacting with each other."  I do not agree with that statement at all.  I know at my school that there are very few classrooms where the students are silent and not interacting with their peers.  The other thing I feel Khan is assuming is that students will be motivated to watch the lectures.  I know that for many of my students, they would not watch the lectures.  Most of my students do not have access to computers at their home so I do not know if a flipped classroom can be done in some areas where technology is not accessible for everyone.  I feel as though Khan's flipped classroom can work in an ideal classroom where students are motivated to learn, willing to learn on their own and can do so with little help from the teacher.  While I appreciate and enjoy using technology to supplement my lessons, I do not think it should take the place of a teacher's role in the classroom.

Check out the video below and share your thoughts!

Digital Footprints: Google Search Stories

   Today was my first experience using Google Search Stories to search for my "digital footprints."  It is amazing how quick you can create a 40 second video using this tool!  All I had to do was type in up to seven search queries and it will create the video.  The hardest part for me was finding me in the search results.  So many unrelated things came up when I searched my name so I needed to be more specific.  You can also pick where Google searches for you so for example, I did a "blog search" instead of a web search to find the link for this blog.  Once you have the search queries, you can choose the music to go along with the video.  Then you can preview it and then it uploads to YouTube in minutes!  It was very easy to use and may be useful for short projects in the classroom.  Check out mine here and let me know what you think!

Live Binders

  
       Today I explored the site Live Binders for the first time.  The first binder I looked at was for the math Common Core Standards for middle school.  You can check it out here.  I thought it was very well done and had a lot of resources for the Common Core.  It looked like the teacher had taken a great deal of time to put it together.  The other binder I looked at is Online Math Games.  The binder was nicely organized by topic so you can search the topic and then find a game that goes along with it.  I think Live Binders may be helpful, but to be honest, I am not sure I will make much use of it myself.  I will probably look at binders created by other people, but most likely I will not put one together myself.  I prefer keeping my resources by folder on my flashdrive and keeping binders on a bookshelf in my classroom.