For This Generation.....Content is King

The digital shift over the past 15 years has created a unprecidented demand for content. The value of original and authentic content is evident in the current value of sports franchises, reality television, and app development. We live in a world of social media, on-demand digital access, and 24/7 connectivity. This type of network demands content.

With this new demand creates opportunity. Opportunity exists for our students to develop communication skills, literacy skills, and content knowledge that will allow them the opportunity to be contributors in the content era rather than passive consumers.

How do we provide our students with the skills necessary to be valuable "content contributors"? How do we prepare them to navigate, manage and authenticate the content available to them?

We start by exposure to multiple mediums across content areas. For example, a mathematics teacher considers a variety mediums for content delivery and assessment of knowledge such as  direct instruction, video tutorials, case studies, or online discussions.  Teachers may provide students with a repository of resources utilizing a learning management system. 

When we provide students with opportunities to publish and share their thoughts, opinions and final products we begin their journey towards a contribution to global content. It is at this juncture that we should encourage them to publish and to accept and reflect on criticism, commenting and peer review. By developing both their confidence to share and refining their craft of writing and critical thinking we develop the next generation of "content creators".

Student publishing is accomplished in a variety of ways. The shift from writing for your teacher to writing for an audience may be stressful for some. Through exposure, positive support, and authentic feedback students may develop a comfort with sharing publicly.

Teachers may abandon paper based journals for blogs. Class discussions my transition between the classroom and threaded discussions. Student writing may be shared electronically for peer review. Teachers may connect their students with classrooms around the world or content area experts. These connections might involve collaborative blogging, collaborative authoring, peer view,online discussions, or video conferencing.

Having students comment on public blogs, newspapers or writing book reviews on Amazon present authentic opportunities to hone their craft as well.

Common Core Sharing

Now that we have established and committed to the Common Core Standards we have a common expectation. We have a framework that will be used to assess our students based on curriculum aligned to these standards. While the implementation of common assessment vehicles is beginning to unfold there remains skepticism and concerns regarding the focus on testing, logistics and value of high stakes assessment.

One advantage of national common standards is the unity of our educators around the country. By providing common standards we simplify the process of making connections between educators of the same content area. Teachers across the country who have common core aligned curriculum are sourcing and developing instructional materials and resources that are aligned to these standards. By standardizing what we teach we open up the opportunity to crowd source the content, materials and plans we implement in our classroom. The breadth of sharing escalates when we align all of our teachers.

The Learning Registry, www.learningregistry.org was developed to connect the thousands of pre-qualified resources being utilized by teachers around the country. The Learning Registry is a portal where educators may find standard aligned digital content. Educators may simplify their searching of the registry by using the site http://free.ed.gov.  

This is a start in the right direction. As the web continues to grow the resources for educators grow with it. The common core standards has standardized "what" educators need to explore with students. Together we can vet the digital content aligned to these standards and share it with our peers. I hope to see more sites like the learning registry simplify this process.

Improve Student Writing Through Electronic Conferencing

A new app available within Google Drive allows for the insertion of Voice Comments into Google Docs. The app is free and easy to use.  The tutorial below will demonstrate how to install it and begin using it.

This tool allows teachers to provide specific feedback to students regarding their writing using verbal expression. It can also be used for students to provide peer review. In the past I have connected my students with other students around the world to conduct peer review of writing using the comments features. This allows the students to gain the benefits of expressive verbal language. It's also really cool!

 

 

Reading..Connectivity..Technology and Attention

I have been the owner of an Apple IPad since they were released. I have found it to be my go to technology tool for consuming information such as emails, news, web searches, blogs, and audio and video content. I have utilized services such as Pocket and Delicious to tag and categorize resources that I discover online. Flipboard and Zite curate news and information from my most trusted sources and provide a simple and dynamic reading experience.  Checking emails, sharing content and conducting web searches are efficient and productive when using a tablet like the IPAD.

The long standing argument regarding tablets is that they are devices designed to consume content. While this may be a strength it is by far not the only use of the device. The ability to link text, embed videos and audio, link to discussion and commenting features, annotate text, and share are interactive features that allow for active consumption. An example of this is the app Subtext which allows for the creation of social community within the pages of a text. The app allows the teacher to layer in enrichment materials, quizzes and assignments as well.

The opportunity to take a passive act of reading and integrate interactivity, multiple means of representation of information and social collaboration extends learning, differentiates, and provides peer sharing and learning opportunities. This has be referred to as "social reading"

21st century information texts cross a variety of platforms. Many of which are social. News is no longer confined to newspapers, magazines and your nightly news anchor. Current events are delivered and discussed on social media using Twitter hash tags, blogs,  video sharing, and various social apps.   Information that is shared online is typically written in hyperlinking form, sometimes referred to 3 dimensional writing. The new information literacy skill requires students to validate text, navigate the hyperlinking trail of information that is contained in published content, curate and evaluate relevant information, make connections, draw conclusions and develop further questions.

Social and interactive reading is not just a required skill, but contributes to student engagement. Utilizing web-based literature circles, book clubs, discussion forums or embedded chatting features in documents and apps provide a collaborative learning environment with 24 hour access.

The development and sharing of podcasts or video tutorials provides a differentiated approach to content delivery and assessment. Students create such content to demonstrate understanding while providing an instructional resource for student who require additional modes of representation of course content.

While a tablet provides a number of advantages with regards to teaching and learning it does pose a problem. Students must learn to maintain attention and focus while  viewing active content.  Justin Reich (Contributor for Mindshift)  cited the work of Howard Rheingold ,by discussing the need for students to to remember their core purpose of reading and not get lost in the network of hyperlinked text.  Teachers, students and parents must employ focus and attention strategies and decide when focused reading or connected reading should be the goal.

 

 

Student Podcasts - "This I Believe" Essays

Student's is Ms. McCabe's English 9 classes in Chatham High School have published their "This I Believe" essays as podcasts. Ms. McCabe wanted to have an opportunity for her students to publish their writing for a audience outside of the walls of their classroom.  Students refined their writing with the goal of sharing for a global audience.  This authentic practice resulted in increased student engagement and cultivated their 21st Century digital literacy skills. It was also a lot of fun! Students utilized Audacity to record their narration and our  Schoolwires website to publish them.

Below is an excerpt from Ms. McCabe's website describing the project:

From 1951 to 1955, Edward R. Murrow hosted This I Believe, a daily radio program that reached 39 million listeners. On this broadcast, Americans — both well known and unknown — read five-minute essays about their personal philosophy of life. They shared insights about individual values that shaped their daily actions. A first volume of This I Believe essays, published in 1952, sold 300,000 copies — more than any other book sold in the U. S. that year except for the Bible. In fact, these Murrow broadcasts were so popular that a curriculum was developed to encourage American high school students to compose essays about their most significant personal beliefs.

Fifty years later, This I Believe, Inc., is continuing the mission of inviting Americans of all ages and all walks of life to examine their belief systems and then write and share a 500-word personal essay, a “This I Believe” essay.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, “Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago.

Listen to period 3 essays

Listen to period 4 essays

Listen to period 6 essays

District Academy Awards 2012

On Monday June 11, 2012 we hosted our second annual academy awards ceremony. This was the first time that it has been a district-wide event. Previously it was limited to only the Middle School.   I developed this event with our middle school gifted and talented teacher, Dr. Nancy Harris.  The purpose is to recognize and celebrate the fabulous multimedia projects that our students have created throughout the year in grades K-12. 

Digital storytelling, podcasting, stop motion animation and digital authoring  are all integrated into all of our instructional areas. In each content area students and teachers are creating and accessing such content to  instruct and assess.

Multimedia creation develops information literacy skills such as research, evaluation and organization of digital content.  The process develops visual literacy, critical thinking, and collaboration.  Students who take part in these projects are provided an authentic task and an audience for their writing beyond the classroom teacher. In many cases students discover the power of their own voice and an overall excitement about learning.

The categories that we recognized included:  Non-Fiction, Personal Narrative, Historical, Stop Motion Animation, Podcast/Radio Show, Environment, Character Counts, Public Service Announcement, Current Events, Foreign Film, Tutorial and Digital Book.

We had 21 productions in which 53 awards were given. For this event we setup a red carpet for students to enter. Each winner received a mini oscar award. This year we had 250 parents, family and students in the audience. Our students did an fantastic job on their productions. We are proud of the work they created and the teachers who supported them.

We look forward to this event next year. To begin planning class/student projects for this event please visit the resources below:

Mr. Walker's Digital Writing Wiki: 

Digital Storytelling 

Storyjumper

SAM Animation

 

Grade 5 Class Winners of Digital Earth Day Contest

The student's in Mrs. Halsall's grade 5 class in White Rock School were recognized as winners of the Glogster Edu Earth Day Contest. The contest required students/classes to develop digital posters that explore methods to go green in your community. The Glog they created contains text, images, video and audio.  Mrs. Halsall used a Flip Digital Video Camera to record her students. She worked with Mr. Walker to edit the videos and publish them on the Glog.The students were awarded a copy of the DVD Freedom by Sundance Film Festival Award Winners Josh & Rebecca Tickell.



Glogster EDU is a web 2.0 site that our district subscribes to. It provides our students with the opportunity to create digital posters. These digital posters allow for the addition of text, images, audio, video, drawings and file attachments. Students design and develop these posters and then present the content to their classmates. You can read more of my postings about the benefits of digital posters here.

 

Congratulations to Mrs. Halsall's class! You can view their Glog here. 

 

 

Google Earth.. Not your typical classroom map!

Google Earth has been available as a free download for computers and mobile devices since 2005. The core feature set is a mapping of the earth using satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D Globe technology.

Google earth can be downloaded and installed for free. Click here to download.  Once opened you can start navigating the world.  Users can zoom in on a particular continent, country, state, city, landmark or house! You can fly around a location to view pertinent information foryour lesson. If you are discussing Mount Rushmore, why not fly to it on Google Earth and show it to your students. You can also pan the area as well as put the location of it compared to other locations in perspective for students.  

I would like to highlight some of the features available in Google Earth that would be valuable additions to the classroom.

Street Views

When you zoom into a city or landmark Google provides access to street level views. When in street view you can fly through the streets of a city or walk right up to a famous landmark. Do you want to show your students what the streets of Rome are like? Fly there on Google Earth and enter street view? Do you want a close-up of the Eiffel Tower? Street views are easy to use. This tutorial will help you get started. (Youtube access required to view the tutorial)

 

Layers

Once you navigate to a desired location there are numerous layers that can be activated. These include images, video clips, Wikipedia entries, roads, 3d buildings, geographic features, real-time weather and traffic, historical map overlays, roads, borders, water bodies and even U.S. Senators and Congressional Districts. The layers are accessed on the lower left side. Click the boxes to turn them on and off. You can learn more about the layers here.

 

Historical Imagery

Within the Google Earth Gallery and Layers are options to turn on and overlay historical maps onto Google Earth. The Rumsey Historical Maps collection is a great example of historical maps available in the layers that can be over-layed on Google Earth. There are also a number of historical maps available in the Google Earth Gallery. If you click on View—Historical Maps from the top toolbar you will be presented with a slider bar that allows you to view a particular area at a historical point in time. This is useful when viewing damage from a natural disaster or the effects of global warming.

 

Earth, Moon, Mars and Sky

Did you know that you can also view the Moon, Mars and the Solar System in the same way you fly around earth?  Open up Google Earth and click on VIEW—Explore and select the location you would like to visit .

 

Google Earth Tours

Google Earth allows users to place bookmarks at particular locations. When you apply a bookmark you are also provided with a bubble where you can add information about that location. That bubble may contain text, images, videos, hyperlinks or audio narration. A user may create an automated tour that will fly from bookmark to bookmark. When each location is reached the bubble will appear and the content may be viewed.

There are thousands of pre-made tours available in the Google Earth Gallery or online by simply searching for Google Earth Tours. Some sample student projects may include a tour of the battles of the civil war or the a guided tour of a novel. Google Lit Trips has some great literacy based tours available.

There are tours of states, countries, historical events, climbs of Mount Everest and much more. These can be engaging and informative classroom lessons. Students may create tours or teachers may create and share them.

 

Ruler, GPS and Flight Simulator

Under the tools menu in Google Earth you will find a ruler that can be used to measure exact distance between two location in miles or kilometers. There is also a full blown flight simulator!

 

Google Earth offers a variety of resources to make lessons interactive, engaging, informative and relevant. Why not take your students on a guided tour of the locations your are discussing. How about replacing a PowerPoint project with an option to create a Google Earth Tour. You can learn more about creating Google Earth Tours here. Visit my wiki page for more resources here.

 

 

News Stories for Grades 1-3

In the past I have written about Tween and Teen Tribune. You can read more about them here. These sites provide news stories for students. Teachers may setup student accounts that allow them to leave comments that are moderated by the teacher.

Tween Tribune just released Tween Tribune Junior for grades 1-3.  It includes all of the same features as the other versions! This is a great resource for integrating primary source documents, current events, collaboration and student publishing into your classroom.

 

Enjoy!

Student's Illustrate, Record and Publish

Little Bird Tales is a free site that allows teachers and students to create and publish their own digital tales.  Here is what i like about it.



Class Management

• The has a simple to use teacher interface in which you can setup classes and control access.


• Teachers manage student accounts.


•  The teacher assigns usernames and passwords to the students without the requirement of student emails.


• The teacher controls the privacy and publishing settings

 

Student Access and Story Creation

• Students can use the drawing tools to create characters, backgrounds and objects.


• You can add typed text or record your own narration with the click of a button.


• Students may import their own pictures. After importing they may use the drawing tools to add to them or annotate them.


• The site is easy to use and offers a number of options for classroom integration.

 

The options are limitless with Little Bird Tales. Students may publish a story of all original illustrations and narration or they may develop a presentation about an event, person or curriculum topic. Students may develop bird tales as an enrichment activity. An example would be the assignment to create a tale that describes how to add fractions.

For more student publishing resources please see my digital writing wiki: http://digitalwriting.wikispaces.com

Enjoy!

 

 

Insert Your Own Flash Content in Smart Notebook Software

The smart notebook software is a powerful and feature rich addition to any classroom. The gallery is loaded with images, backgrounds, interactive content and flash-based lesson activities. Did you know that you can add most flash activities from the web directly into a smart notebook page? Here is how it works.

First, using Google Chrome, conduct a search for the topic you are looking to explore with students and add that to the search bar. Add the phrase  "filetype:swf" at the end of the search. This will limit the search to flash based activities that fit that search criteria.

Example: Search for   fractions filetype:swf

The search will return a list of sites with flash based activities for working with fractions. Select one of the sites and open it.

After you have the site  open click on the wrench on the top right side of the Chrome toolbar. In that menu select "save page as". Save the file as a  "Flash Movie".

Open up smart notebook and navigate to a page in the file that you want to insert the flash activity. On the top toolbar click on INSERT - FLASH FILE... and browse to the flash file you saved.

Viola... You now have an interactive flash file embedded into your smart notebook presentation!

Enjoy!

Create Your Own STEM Textbook for Free!

The CK-12 foundation has introduced a new resource called the flexbook. CK-12 provides free access to textbooks for science, technology engineering, math and SAT review. They are now offering the ability to design your own "flexbook". You can read more about this initiative here. 

The web interface allows the user to select chapters from a text and then add them to your personalized flexbook. The editor allows the user to edit content in the chapter, insert text, insert images and insert videos. There are a series of easy to follow video tutorials that demonstrate how to add your own content.   Besides utilizing or editing existing chapters you can author your own chapter. The editor is very intuitive and offers a breadth of functionality.

Once you have finished curating the resources in your book you have options for sharing.

1. Share or Print as a PDF


2. Share as an online electronic book


3. Share as an HTML website.


4. Some of the books can be downloaded directly to the IPAD, Kindle, Nook Color, or Android Tablet.

You can share the book with your students by adding a link to it on your website or Moodle course.  There are a number of relevant books in the library. In many cases these books are best used to supplement the existing text and instructional materials already in place. The online textbooks utilize a number of primary source documents. They are designed to develop critical thinking skills.  You can search for textbooks that are aligned to the New Jersey standards and the common core standards.

The use of web-based, online textbooks that allow for the addition of personalized content offers a simple solution for educators to incorporate the resources of the web in one organized place.  Students, teachers and curriculum coordinators may author chapters or complete textbooks. Special education teachers may work collaboratively with general education teachers to provide flexible and differentiated content to meet the needs of their students. The possibilities are endless.

 

Enjoy

 

A Creative Approach to Representing Content Receives Recognition

Congratulations to Mr. Levine, a social studies teaching in our high school. Mr. Levine has been using Glogster EDU as his primary method of delivering instructional content to his students.  His recent Glog on FDR and The Great Depression has been published as a top 5 Glog on the Glogster Edu website. You can view all of Mr. Levine's Glogs here.

Mr. Levine designs Glogs that contain images, links, videos, audio and any other relevant content for his lessons. He uses a projector in his classroom to display the Glog and discuss/review its content. Because the Glogs are available online students have access to it for further review at home, as a study guide, to make-up work when absent, and to participate in small group projects and discussions.

This unique approach to organizing, disseminating, and presenting content is proving to be effective with students. The web has provided opportunities for us as educators to change the way we present.This creative approach is both engaging and effective.

 

Glogster is a tool that allows for the creation of digital posters. I really like the way it curates information. It is most effective as an assessment for students when presenting the Glog is a requirement. Because of the small amount of real estate available on the Glog students are limited with regards to the amount of text that can be displayed. What that equates to is a lot less reading and more summarizing and discussion regarding the visual content on the Glog. You can read my previous postings on Glogster here:

Glogster as a teaching tool

Digital posters develop higher order thinking skills

Create portfolios in Glogster.

 

 

A Collaborative Project to Build Bullying Awareness

The students in Mrs. Bock's reading class at White Rock Elementary school wanted to work together to apply what they have learned about bullying, character counts, and the writing process to publish a book about bullying. The students and Mrs. Bock had recently been introduced to Storyjumper  through one of my training sessions. Storyjumper is a free web-based application that allows students to create and publish page turning online storybooks. The books are viewable online and can be purchased as a hard cover children's book. 

Mrs. Bock recognized that while writing in isolation on a topic that is of interest to students may be engaging, she knew that connecting with another school to collaborate on a publication would spark student interest.   Mrs. Bock successfully connected with a class from the Califon school in NJ. Together both groups of students co-authored a book that addresses bullying. This wonderful publication identifies the characteristics of a bully, integrates the six pillars of character and offers solutions for addressing the problem.

The overall project was a success. The students enjoyed applying what they have learned about bullying and character counts. They were provided with an opportunity to collaborate with another class, apply problem solving skills, and publish for a public audience. These are key skills for the 21st century. Please follow the link below to read a copy of their book.

Click Here To Read Their Book

Congratulations to Mrs. Bock's Class! Great Job!

Collaborative Writing In Elementary Classrooms

The development of Web 2.0, or the Read/Write Web, has produced a number of free resources that allow students and teachers to publish and collaborate online. One of my favorite sites to use with students is Wikispaces.  Wikispaces is a web service that allows teachers to create a wiki in which students may contribute content. The service is free for teachers and students. After a teacher creates an account they can create as many wikis as they wish. There is a very simple to use management tool that allows the teacher o create student usernames and passwords.

Once a student is granted access to the wiki he or she can add content, respond to discussions regarding the content and even leave comments when reviewing materials developed by the teacher or their peers. The availability of a resource like Wikispaces offers a number of opportunities in the classroom.

A wiki is a forum in which students can collaborate, share and contribute content, and peer review each others work. For example, the students in Mrs. Daly’s (White Rock), Mrs. Young’s, (Stanlick) and Mrs. McLoughlin’s (Stanlick) grade 5 classes have been working with grade 5 classes in Buckingham County, Virginia on a shared wiki. Each student was paired with a student in Virginia who is at or near their writing level. We created a wiki for the project and a page within that wiki for each student.

The goal of this collaborative project was to provide an authentic opportunity for students to develop their writing skills. Each student was responsible for authoring a writing piece based on a common writing prompt. After the students added their written work to their page they were responsible for peer editing the work of their partner. The students followed a common template for peer review that was shared with all six teachers involved. The students provided the feedback
to their partners in Virginia through the discussion feature that is available on each of their pages.

This project has been a success. The students were provided with the opportunity to write for an audience. They enjoyed learning about their partners in Virginia. It was a great opportunity to experience writing from their peers in other states. The opportunity to send and receive feedback provided an opportunity for reflection regarding their writing. The student’s in Mrs. Young’s class and their partner class in Virginia will be continuing this project. They are in the process of organizing a wiki in which each pairing of students will co-author a single story.

While a wiki is a very simple and powerful tool for school to school collaboration, it can also be used effectively within a single class. For example, student’s in a U.S. History class may collaborate on a single wiki site focused on the 1920’s. Each student may be responsible for contributing a page of content about that era. The end result of such a project is an online textbook that may be shared and used year after year.

A Language Arts teacher may provide a single page on a wiki to each student to write an essay. The fact that the wiki is online allows the teacher to monitor and review student writing in real-time. The “add a comment” feature allows the teacher to provide comments that are highlighted and noted ion the sidebar of the page.

This method of writing replaces the process of collecting and reviewing first drafts. Instead, the teacher can guide a student and comment on their writing while it is happening. The feedback is immediate and will impact the quality and focus of student writing.

Flipping Instruction Using Video Tutorials K-12

How can we provide individualized instruction, independent learning opportunities, targeted review and supports?

These are the questions and the demands of today's classrooms. How can we differentiate, facilitate learning and utilize technology to simplify the process.  The Flipped Classroom Model of instruction is one example.

Student and teacher made tutorials or recorded lectures can be used to provide the supports needed in today's classrooms. The Khan Academy is the model example of how web-based recorded tutorial/lectures can meet the needs of many of our learners.  The Khan Academy provides concise video screencast tutorials for topics in math, science, and humanities. Many of the videos also link to independent practice exercise that students may progress through.

There is a feature called "coach" in which a teacher registers themselves as a coach. The students may then login to Khan academy with their Google Apps user name and password and link themselves to a coach. This allows the teacher to monitor their progress. This provides an opportunity for enrichment were students may progress beyond the current topic to more advanced topics that they are ready for. I have written about the Khan Academy in previous blog posts.  I would like to provide some examples of how this can be used immediately with students.

1. Flip the classroom - Students watch the instructional video for homework on their computer, ipad, ipod touch, or any other web enabled device. When they return to school the students apply what was in the video to class problems and projects. The teacher acts as the facilitator in the room to assist students who need help. Students may work in groups to apply and discuss what was learned.

2. Extra- Help and Support - Teachers may provide links to a tutorial on their class website or Moodle course. Students may access this tutorial at home or during class time from a class computer, personal cell phone or any other web-enabled device. Students may pause, rewind and fast forward depending upon their needs.

3. Test review - Teachers may link to a tutorial on their website to provide a review opportunities for students.

4. Enrichment - Teachers may assign students who have a strong grasp of the content the opportunity to create their own screencast tutorial using free recording services such as Jing.

In our district teachers have been successful utilizing our Moodle course management software. On Moodle, teachers can create topics within a course. In those topics they provide links to tutorials, discussions, work submissions and quizzes.

By utilizing these resources we not only provide the type of individualized learning necessary, we also incorporate technology which results in increased student engagement and college career readiness.

Below is a screencast tutorial the introduces the Khan Academy.

 

 

 

 

 

Flip the Classroom - Screencasting Resources

Are you considering the implementation of the flipped classroom? The process of flipping the classroom involves a paradigm shift in what constitutes class work and homework. When a classroom is flipped the students receive direct instruction at home typically through the use of multimedia. When students return to class the next day they are able to apply what they have learned by working on questions, problems, or tasks that would typically be assigned for homework.

There are a number of instructional benefits to this process. You can read an earlier blog posting I have written on the topic here or take a look at my wiki page on the topic. My observations have been very positive.  I would like to share some of the tools that are available to create multimedia files that can be used to provide direct instruction online.

Probably the most popular resource is the Khan Academy which I have written about here. In order to produce instructional videos such as the ones used in the Khan Academy, an instructor must utilize software that allows for the capture of audio as well as your computer screen. This is called screencasting.

There are a number of free screencasting software  resources available. Let's take a look at some of them:

Cam Studio

Cam Studio is a free open source download. It allows its users to screen record  video tutorials and share them via a web link. It is also very easy to use.



 

 

Jing

Jing is another free download offered by TechSmith. With Jing you will also create a free online account with www.screencast.com.  When you record a screencast tutorial with Jing or capture an image you can save the file to your computer and upload it to your online screencast.com account. Each user is granted two gigabytes of storage space on the site. The site will provide a link and embed code for your video to share.

Jing offers a free and paid pro version. With the free version you are only able to create screencasts that are 5 minutes in length. While that may seem too short i believe there is a benefit to chunking your tutorials into 5 minute increments.

 

 

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic is a very easy to use screencast site. It is completely web-based. It does not require a software download. Just visit the site and click start recording. There is a free and paid version. The paid version is $12 a year. With the free version you can create a screencast that can be used by students. If you export the screencast to upload to Youtube it will include a watermark on the free version.This site also allows the use to capture his or her video from a webcam.



 

 

Wink

Wink is a tutorial and presentation creation software that lets its users. It allows users to capture screen shots, add explanations, add text boxes, and add titles. You can create very detailed and highly effective tutorials with this free software. It is free and easy to use.



 

 

Remember what timelines used to be?

We all know the typical method of timeline creation in schools. "Draw a line, add some dates and document events in chronological order".  Students will typically use poster boards, markers and possibly cut out images. The students in Mr. Papa's grade 8 social studies class in our district are putting a new spin on the age old practice of timeline creation! They are utilizing a website called Capzles( www.capzles.com) . Capzles is a web 2.0 site built around a social networking framework. Users are provided with the ability to tell a story using pictures, video clips, audio tracks and text. Capzles refers to these items as "moments". The 'moments" are able to be placed together chronologically to develop an interactive timeline. The end result is what is referred to as a "Capzle".  

Capzles can be viewed online using a computer or on an Apple mobile device such as an Iphone or Ipad using their free app. Capzles replaces the age old practice of organizing timeline's on paper. It provides an interactive and engaging opportunity for students to organize content. Each multimedia file supplies an area for students to provide descriptions and further information. Information can be organized in a manner which delivers a truly interactive story.

Classroom Implementation

The ability to add audio provides an opportunity for students to put a voice to their presentation. This may be a useful feature in classrooms. By having students record their narration it eliminates the need to use valuable class time having students orally present their Capzles to the  entire class.

A teacher may want to provide an opportunity for peer review. Small groups of students may be supplied a rubric or questions to answer. They may be charged with reviewing a specific student made Capzle and then scoring the rubric or answering the questions. This type of peer review opportunity may spark a rich dialogue in your classrooms. It also does not require every student to have a computer to take part in this. Students may use their cell phone or ipod touch to view the capzles in the group using the free web app.

World Language classes may use Capzles to develop an intersciplinary project. Students may design a "moment" that represents a particular topic in science, social studies, current events or even mathematics. The audio narration my be recorded in the language the students are studying.

In language arts, students may design a Capzle that offers a review or insight into a novel, specific chapter or short story. The Capzle may also show the development of a character, events or story plot. Capzles may also be used to make a connection between a particular reading and events whether personal or current events in the world.

Although Capzles is free, it does require an email address to create an account. In Mr. Papa's class the students designed Capzles in groups. One member of each group used their email address to create the account.  The students were provided a rubric and a document that outlined the components that must be included in their Capzle.

Below are some links to some of our student work.

http://www.capzles.com/#/d67b149c-ed83-48f5-9ef1-9cf1ebbd5726/

http://www.capzles.com/#/21e9afe6-3280-4949-b27b-f00fe11b4f1d/

http://www.capzles.com/#/e67c3dd4-8feb-4177-9c2e-05c36fd09316/

 

 

Awaken Your Curriculum With Skype Interviews

Financial responsibility, goal setting, savings options and of course technology,  are just a few topics covered in a White Rock elementary school  fourth grade classes. Students in Mrs. McLeod and Mrs. Brzostowski’s collaborative classroom enjoyed learning about financial decision making using a program called “Feed the Pig”. Students worked in groups to create financial plans for piglets. They discussed their own goals and how to accomplish them. Students even created digital posters and digital stories for their peers as a campaign for proper financial decision making.



Students used technology almost every day in the White Rock classrooms. This  included digital posters using Glogster, interactive storybooks using Story Jumper and interactive simulations that reinforced what they are learning in class.  These activities not only developed 21st century skills, but students were provided with a authentic learning opportunities. They were provided with multiple avenues for assessment.  The technology options allowed them to display their creativity. It also  provided an opportunity alternative assessments and increased student engagement. This is the recipe for a successful project.

The finale of the project was held Wednesday May 18^th when Mr. Ray DePalma a Certified Public Accountant Skyped with the class and discussed how to save money. Students asked Mr. DePalma what taxes were, how to become a CPA and of course, how to be the most efficient with money. Below is a clip from the event.



By using Skype to connect with subject area experts we are able to make authentic connections to the curriculum. Students can receive information, ideas and opinions from experts in a field. By combining access to individuals as well as the world wide web we move away from a classroom environment where the teacher is the only purveyor of knowledge. This new model has the teacher facilitating the learning in the classroom and providing multiple means of representing content and assessing content.

Flip and Manage the Classroom with Khan Academy

I have written about the Khan Academy many times in my blog postings. It is a tremendous resource and  one that I believe can greatly impact student achievement.  The "flip the classroom" model of instruction involves having students review teacher or student made tutorials at home for homework. They then work on applying problems in the classroom. The benefits of this method of instruction are discussed in one of my previous posting "Are you ready to flip the classroom".



If you are planning on testing this method of instruction, the Khan Academy is a great place to start.  Here is a brief overview of the site from the publisher:

"Our library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.

 

"I teach the way that I wish I was taught. The lectures are coming from me, an actual human being who is fascinated by the world around him." —Sal"

The site now offers new features as well as integration with our Google Apps for Education Accounts. After students watch the tutorials they can also work on practice problems in a virtual environment.  Each problems can be broken down into individual steps with a the click of a button.  Students are able to track their progress as they progress through an interactive map of knowledge.

Managing this progress has now gotten even easier. They have added an entire new Student/Class manager. Teachers can monitor and report on student progress. Information regarding these features can be found here. ( You will be prompted to login with your Google Apps account.

Students and Faculty who have access to Google Apps for Education accounts can sign directly into Khan Academy with their accounts.  The site is well organized and easy to navigate.

Here is a video from TED that discusses Khan Academy



Enjoy!