Post #2

As I was reading Schrum, Levin, and Richardson, it really got me thinking about my classroom, and some long and short term goals I have for myself.  Thanks to the skills I am developing in this class, I am trying to implement a wiki and blogging into my classroom.  While I am trying to implement it, it is a slow and steady process as it is not really part of my Language Arts curriculum, and I am trying to apply it within the curriculum and within the time constraints upon which I am placed to complete each unit.  As noted in Schrum’s text, “Students use technology far more outside of school than within the school environment, where it is often still seen as an ‘addition’ rather than a part of the curriculum” (66).  Unfortunately, although we have very limited ‘free’ or flexible time as educators, I gained many ideas throughout these texts of technology that I would love to implement over the next few years, if the technology is at my disposal.  Although there are many tools I learned about and would love to implement, during this post I am going to focus primarily on tools pertaining to video. 

First, as Dr. Boling discussed in her video, I would love to incorporate Animoto, where I would be able to make a video to introduce myself to my students and allow them to do the same.  As Richardson references, Flickr could help with this endeavor as well.  Students need to get to know about one another in order to feel comfortable enough to participate and share in a classroom.  As I work in a very diverse school district, I love the idea of uploading images and information about their respective cultures so we can work to learn about one another and truly become a cohesive community of learners (105). As mentioned by Schrum, if I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a whiteboard (there are a few in our district!), that tool even has software where the teacher can “keep notes and annotations as an electronic file for later distribution, either on paper or through a number of electronic formats . . .[or] record instruction their instruction as digital video files and post the material on the Internet for review by students at a later time” (66).   I would love to have access to technology like this, as I feel it would be so helpful!  First, it would help students who are absent, as they would have access to any lesson they miss so that they do not fall too far behind with class.  Additionally, students who may struggle with note-taking would have the ability to review a lesson at their leisure.  Lastly, I have many parents who want to help their children study or review but are uncertain of the material; parents could access the material/lesson to aid their children.  There are so many benefits with a tool that does not seem too difficult to implement!

Another tool Schrum reviews is digital still and video cameras (67).  As a Language Arts teacher, I think this would be very applicable with my curriculum.  The Thinkfinity lesson that I recently reviewed was with students using wordless picture books to generate their own stories.  How much more powerful would this lesson be if the students could use their own images and videos to develop their writing!  I can only imagine how excited my students would be if they were empowered to capture their own photos or videos about which they could write.  I suspect this would make them much more vested in their own learning!

Lastly, a more long-term goal for my class would be to use video publishing.  I think I would have so many more students engaged in their books if they knew at the end, they would have the opportunity to record a video book review, movie trailer, or shoot a scene from the book.  They would still be learning critical literacy skills, but they would have more control and creativity in demonstrating their understanding and mastery.  See an example of a student-made movie trailer at the bottom of my blog.

Does anyone else have any first-hand experience with these tools or suggestions or ideas for implementation?  Thanks all!

Kate

References

Boling, Erica.  Video Discussion on Facebook and Social Networking. Fall 2011. 

Hernandez-Ramos P.  (2005).  If not here, where? Understanding teachers’ use of technology in Silicon Valley Schools.  Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(1), 35 – 46.

Richardson, W. (2010).  Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Schrum, L. M., & Levin, B. B. (2009). Leading 21^st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.