I thought it was really fun to do this comic strip but it was a lot harder than I thought. The actual site and design was easy but coming up with a funny joke or limerick of some kind was much harder than I had originally thought. I used the ToonDoo site to make my comic strip. My emphasis is in English so I did my comic on a pun, which in itself is already funny (ha). I think the kids will love this and it doesn't always have to be funny. As an English teacher, or teacher in general, you could use this to make a story, practice sequencing, and for fun! I think it would be something the students would love and the students could be really creative with it. I think this could be a creative writing project that would be really popular with the students and there are so many different sites to use to make a comic strip!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Podcast Reflection #12 K-12 Online: Primary Online Portfolios
Kathy Cassidy introduced us to a way that students can share their work and incorporate technology in the classroom. As a first grade teacher from Canada, she and her students each set up a blog page that allowed them to post their work and share with others like their parents. This is a great way for students to share what they have been learning with their families. Ms. Cassidy had 4 students discuss their portfolios. Two of the students were present students and two of them were former students. Carson, Sabrina, Braeden, and Dalton each told us things they like about their blog. Carson explained to us that it is nice to use a Blog or digital portfolio because it shows your improvement, especially in writing. He also pointed out that you can use videos, pictures, writing, and many more things on your portfolio. His favorite project was his clay project that he made and he likes that it can be accessible at anytime. Dalton and Carson told us about three different resources they used in the classroom for their digital portfolios:
Each of these websites do something different but they used these on their blogs by recording their voices, writing and designing a story, and by videotaping themselves doing an art project or just drawing. I think it is great to use all the resources possible in the classroom especially if they are FREE! They students seemed really excited about using the digital portfolios and the other resources listed above. Sabrina and Braeden said they liked using the digital portfolio to post their four patters project. They could show their parents what they had designed and learned. The students explained that you have to stay safe online so there are two things to make sure NOT to do: 1) Do not use your last name 2) Do not use a personal photo of yourself. When you become an adult it is then your own choice whether to change those or not. Sabrina and Braeden also told us how to know if people have viewed your portfolio or not. They said every time someone views it it will tell you that ______ reads and it will have comments as well if someone left a comment. Sabrina said she has 128 reads! The students were allowed to choose what they put on the portfolio and all four students said it was better using the portfolios than using paper. They all agreed that more people could see your work and progress if it was online.
I thought this was a great video to watch and it is something that I think any classroom teacher could use as long as thetechnology was available. I think it is amazing that FIRST GRADERS were doing this. It just shows how well students learn and how technologically advanced this generation is. Students would love to do this and I think the parents would enjoy it and support it so they could monitor their child's progress.
Ms. Cassidy has shared her Wiki on primary portfolios:
http://primaryportfolios.wikispaces.com/
Each of these websites do something different but they used these on their blogs by recording their voices, writing and designing a story, and by videotaping themselves doing an art project or just drawing. I think it is great to use all the resources possible in the classroom especially if they are FREE! They students seemed really excited about using the digital portfolios and the other resources listed above. Sabrina and Braeden said they liked using the digital portfolio to post their four patters project. They could show their parents what they had designed and learned. The students explained that you have to stay safe online so there are two things to make sure NOT to do: 1) Do not use your last name 2) Do not use a personal photo of yourself. When you become an adult it is then your own choice whether to change those or not. Sabrina and Braeden also told us how to know if people have viewed your portfolio or not. They said every time someone views it it will tell you that ______ reads and it will have comments as well if someone left a comment. Sabrina said she has 128 reads! The students were allowed to choose what they put on the portfolio and all four students said it was better using the portfolios than using paper. They all agreed that more people could see your work and progress if it was online.
I thought this was a great video to watch and it is something that I think any classroom teacher could use as long as the
Ms. Cassidy has shared her Wiki on primary portfolios:
http://primaryportfolios.wikispaces.com/
Podcast Reflection #11: 0079.5 TCT CyberMonday!
This podcast was a short heads up about a couple things the TechChiks are now offering to its viewers. The first thing that they informed us about was they now have a Facebook page! All you have to do is get on Facebook and search for The Tech Chiks. If you LIKE them you will be able to view the profile and get updates about when they will have the new podcast posted! The next thing that the TechChiks talked about were the CyberMonday Deals. Mark, from gamez4touch.com is offering codes for a few games to the listeners of The Tech Chiks. There are five games that he will offer these codes for and the offer is only out for a week (which has already expired). The best thing about it is after you have used the code then you have the app just like you would have any other you paid for, forever! Its updates are done the same way as well. After you have entered the code for the app it will automatically download it to your computer, iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. The five games if offers are TouchPhysics, TouchPhysics2, TouchPhysicsHD, Play With Your Peas, and Musical Lights. The TouchPhysics series is great for students and teachers which allows you to play games and study the subject of Physics. The TouchPhysicsHD is designed specifically for the iPad and it is really neat. Play with Your Peas is strictly a game that is not quite as educational. It does encourage critical thinking and improves the critical thinking skills. The Musical Lights game is geared toward Christmas and it allows you to upload a photo and then add a Christmas light border. It has many features and can even have blinking lights!
This podcast was really interesting and it is nice to have a place where you can get the latest apps for your iPad or iTunes so that educators can download educational games. Everyone knows that students love to play games and use technology and what a better way to combine them both to be educational. Many of the classrooms around the United States are improving their technology so it is important to exercise our options for the benefit of our students. Even little games like Play with Your Peas may seem like only fun and no educational value on the outside but it is important to have games like this that exercise our critical thinking, even if it isn't about Physics or History.
This podcast was really interesting and it is nice to have a place where you can get the latest apps for your iPad or iTunes so that educators can download educational games. Everyone knows that students love to play games and use technology and what a better way to combine them both to be educational. Many of the classrooms around the United States are improving their technology so it is important to exercise our options for the benefit of our students. Even little games like Play with Your Peas may seem like only fun and no educational value on the outside but it is important to have games like this that exercise our critical thinking, even if it isn't about Physics or History.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Podcast Reflection #10 Salman Khan: Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education
WOW! This video was so innovative and interesting. I think it is great that they are doing something like this and especially for Math. Math is a complex subject that some students just do not understand and it is important as teachers to make sure that the students that do not get it, get the extra help they need. Math builds off of simple concepts into complex ideas that are not possible to grasp without the basic math skills. As educators, it is hard to move on when a student or students are behind as well as other students who understand the concepts very easily. The use of these videos in the classroom is a great idea because it allows the teacher to work more closely with students and the best thing about it is students can work at their own pace that way you are not moving to quickly/slowly for your class. They mentioned having the students watch the lectures for homework and the homework or math problems they would normally do at home will be done in the classroom with the help of peers and the teacher. In educational psychology it is said that the student that teachers or describes the concept or idea understands it best. This is a great way to get the peers working together and able to teach the concepts to each other. It is also a great way that parents can get involved in their students school work. The students can show the parents what they are learning, you can recommend certain videos to have the parents monitor them as they watch them, you can even allow the parents to see the students progress throughout the year. As Salman discussed its benefits one thing that really caught my eye was the idea of teachers being able to monitor student progress even from the years before. For example, if Tommy is struggling in you Algebra class especially with fractions. You know that is something they should have covered the year before, so you can pull up his results and progress and see from the year before whether he understood it, where he struggled, when he began to struggle, or even if he struggled or not and may just need some refreshing lectures to bring it all back. I am extremely impressed with this use of video in education and I think it is great for all ages and learners. It is great for this generation as well because most students spend a great deal of time on the computer daily anyways.
One inspirational thing that I would like to end with was when Salman was discussing the words he received from an Autistic boy's mother. She said that he has struggled with math for years and have tried basically everything and up until trying this nothing worked. She said now he understands math and is right where he needs to be, no more falling behind. I think this is great to know that it could benefit students that are gifted, autistic, have learning disabilities, etc. I am so impressed and would like to see this in action to see how the teachers and students respond!
One inspirational thing that I would like to end with was when Salman was discussing the words he received from an Autistic boy's mother. She said that he has struggled with math for years and have tried basically everything and up until trying this nothing worked. She said now he understands math and is right where he needs to be, no more falling behind. I think this is great to know that it could benefit students that are gifted, autistic, have learning disabilities, etc. I am so impressed and would like to see this in action to see how the teachers and students respond!
Podcast Reflection #9: 0071 TCT Sparking Their Creativity
This podcast was a great pick because it was full of internet resources and things you can do in the classroom to spark the creativity of your students. They started off by talking about how a young student was encouraged to spark his creativity by using different words, rather than the ordinary words. For example, instead of using the word old he used ancient. His teacher was proud of him for doing this so he asked him to read his story over the intercom at school to the principal. The student ended by thanking him (his teacher) and all other teachers who help students "find their spark, make their mark, and encourage them to dream big." This was the main inspiration behind the podcast and they discussed how this is something that should inspire teachers everywhere and that the mission of teachers should be to help students Find Spark, Make a Mark, and Dream Big! I think this is the best mission I have heard and it gives me great inspiration as a future educator to know that doing those three things can change a students life forever.
The TechChiks shared quite a few resources that I think will be great for the classroom. The first one is called Media College and it can be used for numerous projects but especially for film production. It has a number of tutorials to assist you in editing and making a video. The best part about this website is its FREE! The next website the ladies told about was Aviary which is a PhotoShop website that is also FREE! It allows you to edit photos, do touch-ups, add graphics and images, etc. It is something that could be used in the classroom for all students because it is easy and they will not have to pay at all! Next, the TechChiks talked about WebNote that allows you to take notes on your computer and add as a bookmark, that way if you want to share it you can. There is a drawback to this and that is there is no sign in name which means it is not secure. Our Courts could be one of my favorite resources I have discovered this year! It is a Civics website that was designed and created by Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner. It allows individuals, groups, or classes to play games and take test on Civics. Below I have listed four other resources that were talked about during the podcast. I think they are all worth looking at as I have explored all of them and they will be something I keep in mind when usingtechnology in the classroom.
The TechChiks also discussed their two favorite iPhone apps of the week. One was called Flashcard Touch that allows you to search Quizlet and download the flashcards made there right to your phone! The other app was called GorillaCam which gives you a number of tools for your built in camera on your iPhone.
The TechChiks shared quite a few resources that I think will be great for the classroom. The first one is called Media College and it can be used for numerous projects but especially for film production. It has a number of tutorials to assist you in editing and making a video. The best part about this website is its FREE! The next website the ladies told about was Aviary which is a PhotoShop website that is also FREE! It allows you to edit photos, do touch-ups, add graphics and images, etc. It is something that could be used in the classroom for all students because it is easy and they will not have to pay at all! Next, the TechChiks talked about WebNote that allows you to take notes on your computer and add as a bookmark, that way if you want to share it you can. There is a drawback to this and that is there is no sign in name which means it is not secure. Our Courts could be one of my favorite resources I have discovered this year! It is a Civics website that was designed and created by Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner. It allows individuals, groups, or classes to play games and take test on Civics. Below I have listed four other resources that were talked about during the podcast. I think they are all worth looking at as I have explored all of them and they will be something I keep in mind when using
The TechChiks also discussed their two favorite iPhone apps of the week. One was called Flashcard Touch that allows you to search Quizlet and download the flashcards made there right to your phone! The other app was called GorillaCam which gives you a number of tools for your built in camera on your iPhone.
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