Podcast reflection #6: Web 2.0 Tools Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative

            This week I listened to K12 Online Conference.  On the 2008 conference schedule I listened to Web 2.0 Tools to Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative.  This was a presentation by Jackie Gerstein.  Jackie is an elementary teacher that teaches gifted students.  Her podcast presentation described projects for upper elementary students to use technology to collaborate, create, network, and think.  These projects are rooted in social constructivism which means students create their own understanding through collaboration with other students and teachers. 

            In her podcast Jackie showed short clips of many tools that her students are using, and projects that they are working on in their classroom.  I am only going to discuss some of my favorites.  Scratch is the first resource that I found interesting.  On Scratch 9 to 16 year old kids can design and create their own computer games and then share them with other kids!  This encourages creativity, collaboration, problem solving, and reasoning.  Because this tool is geared toward 9 to 16 year olds, it is safe and non-violent for kids.  And, as far as I know, it is free! 

            Another really cool resource that Jackie briefly talked about was called ThinkQuest.  She didn’t go into too much detail in her podcast, so I decided to go to the website to find out more for myself.  I took the online tour of the website.  The more I looked, the more I liked it.  ThinkQuest has been created so students and entire classrooms can collaborate and share their ideas with other students and classrooms around the world. 

In this page, students can create their own personal pages about anything they want.  They can choose if they want just their school to be able to see it, or the entire world.  The best thing about this site is teachers can monitor what students are putting on their pages.  It is like having students websites inside a school website.  Classes can also start collaborative projects on ThinkQuest.  They can choose who can participate in the project and who can see the project.  For example, a 1^st grade class could start a project called “Our Community” and ask 1st graders from Asia and Australia to participate with them.  In doing this students could learn from other students instead of from a textbook. 

Jackie also talked about her class uses Skype to collaborate with other classrooms around the world.  I also think Skype could be used to bring experts into your classroom.  Another website that Jackie talked about is called Kids Click.  This website allows kids to search by categories to find information on all kinds of topics.  This site was created by librarians and generates “kid friendly” results.

 I really enjoyed listening to all of the resources that Jackie had.  Her main goal is to promote social constructivism, which is something that I really believe in.  I think kids learn best when they are working with their hands and with other students just like them. 

Reflection: Animoto in my Classroom

            When I was a senior in high school I remember putting together my senior slide show.  I wish I would have known about Animoto!  Animoto is so easy to use.  All you have to do is choose a background, upload photos, and pick your music.  Animoto does the rest.  It puts in appropriate transitions and even changes the picture to the tempo of the music!  The end result is a very professional looking video.  To make a 30 second video it is free.  For longer videos, however, there is a small monthly fee.  Animoto has several different backgrounds.  Anything from water and earth to fire and color squares.  Also if you don’t have any music of your own to put in, Animoto has many selections from all different genres that can be used . 

            I think I could definitely use Animoto in my future classroom.  It would be a good way to introduce a new topic.  For examples in my curriculum based Animoto that I make I introduced a science topic: solids, liquids, and gases.  I used the Animoto “add text” feature to put the headings: solids, liquids, and gases with written examples of each.  Then I uploaded pictures of each process.  Using this video to introduce a new topic will create a “need to know” for students and get them excited about learning the new information. 

            Animoto could also be used as a culminating experience for students.  I could have each of my students make their own Animoto video showing what they learned from a unit.  I could also have my students make their own video at the beginning of the year.  By my students making these “All About Me” videos I can get to know them better. 

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Podcast Reflection #5: Tech Chicks Tips- TCEA 2011

            For my fifth podcast reflection I listened to Tech Chicks Tips.  On their website I listened to podcast 81: TCEA 2011 toward the top of the page.  In the podcast Helen and Anna talked about their time at the Texas Computer Educators Association conference.  This podcast was packed full of online resources (free and with a fee).  There is no way that I can talk about everything that Helen and Anna mentioned.  So if you are interested just go check it out! 

            One of the websites that they talked about was Google Art Project.  This takes advantage of Google street view, which takes pictures as you walk down the street.  Google Art Project allows anyone to take virtual tours through museums around the world. When you navigate to the site you can choose which museum you want to go to.  Then you can either walk through the museum or choose individual pieces of art to look at up close.  The individual pieces have such wonderful resolution that you can practically touch the paint.  In the classroom teachers could take their students on virtual tours of any museum, and it would not cost them a thing. 

            Another tool that I really liked was Google Body Browser.  This tool is also free.  The only thing that you need is a web browser that supports WebGL.  If you go to the Google Body Browser site it gives you links to WebGL browsers.  In Body Browser you can look at different layers of the human body.  This includes muscles, organs, and even bones.  This tool could be used in a science lesson to help students visualize and learn the different parts of the body and where they are.      

            Print, Cut, and Fold was another site that the ladies talked about in their podcast.  On this site you can download PowerPoints that have templates on them.  These templates can be printed, cut, and folded into many different things.  They have templates for mini-books, flap books, pyramids, dioramas, and many others.  Before printing kids can add in clip art and text to tell their own story.  These templates can be used to review writing topics or topics in other subjects.  

            A final site that I liked was called Qtopia.  This site contains thousands of educational and motivational games for kids, and it’s free!  For example one game is a racing game.  Students answer math questions in order to play for a certain amount of time.  When that time is up they have to answer another question to continue.  This game asked routine questions, but also more challenging questions and shows the students how to work them.  These questions are not multiple choice, so the student has to come up with his/her own answer. 

            These are just some of the interesting resources and sights that Helen and Anna talked about.  There are so many good resources on their site under podcast 81 that I really encourage everyone to check out.                 

Podcast Reflection #4: Facebook Talk

             Unlike some students my age I am not an hourly Facebook user.  I do usually check it once a day, but sometimes not even that.  Since I have started my education classes, I have learned about setting a positive digital footprint.  I also am more aware of cyber bullying.  That is why I listened to Facebook Talk from Driving Questions in Education 2011 on Kevin Honeycutt’s website. 

            Him and some of his colleagues: Jaime Hendricks and Chris Loch talked about how we need to help kids understand the ramifications of their actions on social networking sites like Facebook.  They talked about how kids live I the now.  They live in their own world, and do not realize that what they are posting can be seen by everyone and found months or years later.  Kevin talked about how we can’t take these sites away from kids because they will find other ways to use them anyway, so we have to try to make them more aware of their actions. 

            Jaime pointed out we need to help kids understand that it isn’t ok to post when they are angry.  As teachers we need to teach kids how to confront each other in person to deal with their problems.  It is better to talk things out in person, than to “air dirty laundry” on the Internet.  She pointed out how important it is for parents to have these conversations at home even before their kids start using these sites. 

            It is easy to say that we need to help kids understand how to behave on social networking sites, but how do we really do this?  Jaime, Chris, and Kevin said schools need to put on more workshops and professional development seminars for not only teachers, but also students and parents.  These workshops also need to be done several times a year. 

            These workshops could definitely help educate teachers and parents, but sometimes kids need more than someone speaking at them.  They need information that is personal to them.  That is why the group talked about using personal stories to help teach kids.  As teachers we could use positive and negative stories about social networking to help students understand that social networking is a good thing when used properly.

             I agree with everything that this group talked about in this podcast.  I do think that these social networking sites are important to our future.  We can’t leave kids in the dark because then we are not really preparing them for their future.  We do, however, need to find ways to help educate them before they make a mistake that will follow them for the rest of their lives. 

Podcast Reflection #3: Interactive White Boards

            For my secondary education I attended South Gray High School.  We were fortunate to have quite a bit of technology in our classrooms.  First, we had the one-to-one laptop initiative.  Each student in our high school had a MacBook that they could use in class and also take home with them.  Another piece of technology that we had in our classrooms were SMARTboards.  Because of this I decided to listen to a podcast that discussed SMARTboards in the elementary classroom.  I listened to It’s Elementary #43: “Interactive White Boards” on EdTechTalk. 

            In this podcast Maria Knee and Alice Mercer discussed several different kinds of interactive white boards, the differences between them, how they are or can transform a classroom, and some concerns they have.  Because my teachers only use the SMARTboard brand of interactive white boards I did not know about any other types.  Maria and Alice talked about a Promethean white board.  Instead of being touch sensitive, this type of white board uses special pens to write on the boards.  Alice said that she really liked the Promethean because teachers or students can write on the board by hand, and the board will convert that writing into type.  Maria also talked about how she really enjoys having this type of board in her classroom because of the age group of students she works with.  Younger children have to be able to manipulate objects on the boards with one hand while having their other hand also on the board for balance.  Because the Promethean is not touch sensitive the child’s other hand does not confuse the board.  However, a SMARTboard is touch sensitive so the child’s other hand does confuse the board. 

            Maria and Alice also talked a lot about how classrooms need to become more student centered.  Many teachers are afraid of using technology in their classrooms.  But these interactive white boards are so easy to use that after some professional development training teachers can use them successfully in their classrooms.  If these boards are used successfully they can help move a classroom from teacher centered to student centered.  Once teachers get used to using them they can gradually let the students manipulate and learn on them.  One of the major things that Maria cautioned teachers is to not spend too much time on the boards themselves, but let the students spend time on them as well.  She said that students should be at the boards more than teachers. 

            Unfortunately, in my high school our teachers did not take full advantage of the SMARTboards.  They mainly used them to show movies or a PowerPoint.  Hopefully now that they have had these tools for several years they are letting the students manipulate them more.  I think that interactive white boards could definitely transform a classroom.  They enable elementary kids to get out of their seats and start discovering for themselves.  They not only help kids get comfortable with technology, but also get some kids excited about learning again.  I hope to learn how to use these interactive white boards to their potential incase I have one in my classroom someday. 

Fun With Text

             I have never seen anything like Wordle  before!  It amazes me how I can type random words into the box, push go, and it automatically organizes them into attractive looking designs.  I especially like the randomize tool on Wordle.  Every time I click, it reorganizes the words to make a new design with different fonts and colors.  Another feature of Wordle that I found interesting was how I can copy and paste full articles or poems into the text box.  Wordle leaves out the meaningless words to make an interesting design.  As I was watching the "Introduction to Using Wordle" and  "Extending Wordle a Bit More" Tutorials I discovered how to put in the URL to a blog or any type of news feed.  Wordle then searches through and isolates important words to organize them into an artistic composition.  This is a great way to figure out some of the main topics of a news sight or blog without having to search through it too much. 

            As I was playing around with this application I started thinking about how I would use it in a classroom setting.  I think Wordle could be used with all grade levels of students.  For younger elementary students I could use it as a culminating experience to sum up a book that we have been reading.  I could ask the students to come up with words that described the main ideas in the story.  They could recall the setting, any problems, characters, climax, ect.  As they list these words I could put them into Wordle.  If I have a SMARTboard in my room, they could help me decide on the layout, font, and color scheme.  After the class has chosen the final Wordle, we could print it out and hang it in our classroom or on a bulletin board for others to see what books we have read.  

            An idea for upper elementary or early middle school students is to have them make a Wordle for every book they read throughout the school year.  This could be a type of short book report project for each book.  I could have a bulletin board in my classroom called “Reading Wall” that students could hang their book report Wordles on.  Eventually this bulletin board would include many books of all different genres.  When students don’t know what kind of book they want to read next they could refer to the “Reading Wall” for suggestions from other classmates. 

            A final idea for upper middle school or high school students could involve history.  As we talk about certain topics in history like different wars or civil rights, they could make Wordles to sum up important ideas from each incident.  In this case the Wordles could almost be used as an assessment tool for me as a teacher.  I could measure how much students understand or have learned by what words they put in their Wordles.

            I think this took and other like it could really liven up classroom instruction.  Students like fun tools like this one.  Using Wordle in my future classroom could even help a student that is unmotivated to get excited about learning again!