Digital Learning webinars

Here's another great option.  Again it's tomorrow August 22nd, but you can always access old one's for later viewing. 

This one is run the Alliance for Excellent Education and is entitled: Back to School:
Diving Into Digital Learning. 


It's free and I'm sure it's worth exploring.

 http://media.all4ed.org/webinar-aug-22-2013

Making the pedagogical decisions needed to integrate technology

I just found this great webinar coming up Thursday August 22nd from Kappa Delta Pi.  If you're a member it's free.  Non-members, I do believe there's a small fee (maybe) but I'm not sure of the details.  If you can't make tomorrow's time, you can always access old webinars in the archive.

It's entitled "Don't Just Use Technology, Integrate It".

Check it out: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/821200698

Social Network for Educators

Did you know there is a social network for people interested in Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom?  Check out Classroom 2.0.  It's a great site where you can get lots and lots of information on using Web 2.0 tools in your instruction.  You do have to get approved as a member, but I'm thinking that this is more of a formality to protect the members from crazy spammers...but who knows.

Using Social Media in the Classroom

I found this great article that I wanted to share regarding using Social Media in the classroom.  Enjoy!

http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/03/25/the-benefits-of-using-social-media-in-the-classroom/

Lesson Ideas for using Podcasts

So many great options, but I have two simple ideas that could easily be adapted to many different content areas and lessons.

Lesson Title:
 Updated Presentations

Type of Web 2.0 Tool: 
Prezi (or Power Point) and Screen Capture app

Common Core Standards:
 Vary depending on the content, but the presentation would include the following:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Brief Description of Overall Lesson:

Students will create an audio recording of their visual presentation. 

For any lesson that would normally have the students creating a power point and doing an in class presentation, give the assignment a Web 2.0 update.  Have students create a presentation on Prezi.  Then once they've created their visuals have them use a screen capture program (Quicktime, screencast-o-matic.com, etc).  Then these already recorded presentations could be presented in class, OR students can submit them electronically and have other students view them and give them feedback.  You could create a private YouTube Channel for them to submit them, or depending on the size they could be uploaded to a wiki or submitted on a blog.  Or you can even open up a dropbox account for your class and allow them access to different presentations. 

Lesson Title: Character Journals

Type of Web 2.0 tool: Create a podcast

Common Core Standards: Vary depending on the content and purpose used. 

Brief Description of Overall Lesson: Have students create first person podcasts based on a person (character or real person). 

When reading a novel (or even history, or science, any content with an important person), have the students choose a person.  Then have them research a particular situation for that person, or assign them a situation that they would have to create (for example: have them imagine what Jonas was going through in his end of the story ride out).  Then have the students create an audio journal of that person's experiences with that event. 

Podcasting and Videoblogging

Tonight I finally stole some time to go podcast exploring. There are some very amusing and interesting pieces of audio (and video) out there.

For the task of this course, there are a few podcasts that I explored and below you will find my review of them.

Grammar Girl- Not having been much of a podcast consumer, I didn't expect to know about any previously created podcasts, but Grammar girl was a great site that I've explored before.  Being a LA teacher there were instances in which, I myself, needed to know about a grammar rule (GASP-- How dare I not know, but isn't the true not necessarily knowing everything but rather knowing how to find it?).
But in one of those quests for knowledge I came across her site.

Now, not being a frequent grammar girl follower, I'm not sure how long she's been on this one particular site. It seems there's an entire site of podcasts waiting for the information hungry and she's one of the founders.  In my exploration I listened to numerous, but my favorite was one of her most popular podcasts discussing the difference between Affect and Effect, very informative indeed.

In addition to Grammar Girl, I'd suggest exploring that site http://www.quickanddirtytips.com because they have information on just about everything you can think of.

Stanford University: Oh my Stanford, you've really gone above and beyond huh?  How to educate the masses, right? Stanford has piles and piles of free or cheap lecture recordings available on iTunes. When browsing through the iTunes site it seemed that there were lectures on just about everything.  Another great resource to check when looking for information.

Come See Virginia Podcasts-  I had the pleasure of exploring some wonderful student examples of classroom activities.  These fourth graders created some tourist type podcasts as a class project advertising to people to Come Visit Virginia.  Along with the audio the students added visuals.  Not only are they great examples to see, but the idea could easily fit into many different classroom lesson plans and work for a great range of ages and subjects.

Lastly, the task to find another favorite off the list made me think about video-casting, so of course, where do you suppose I went?  Why Google's Billion Dollar baby... YouTube.

YouTube- As popular as YouTube is, you might overlook it as a video-casting site, but that's the entire foundation of what YouTube is about.  Video-casting allows users to create, edit and publish their videos and YouTube is the publishing site. I don't know about you, but I've looked at all kinds of things on YouTube, from flash dances, to old TV shows, to history lessons, to kids science experiments.  It's such a go-to place for information that my Five year old actually requests that we look a video up on YouTube when I don't know the answer to his question.  Our latest exploration, when my son repeatedly asked how you make bouncy balls, he was frustrated with my answer of "I don't really know".  So to quench his thirst for knowledge, we decided to go to YouTube and sure enough there were many options.  While I was hoping for an actual demonstration video of a bouncy ball factory, we found several science experiment demonstrations for making a bouncy ball at home.  We landed on this video of Dr. Cool.  As cheesy as this video-cast is, it's actually a rather informative demonstration on how to make one of these bouncy balls at home. I could imagine this site having endless possibilities in schools, but you have to get your site administrator to unlock it first. ;)

Enjoy!

Lesson Ideas for using Image Blogs

Lesson Title:
 Introducing Yourself

Type of Web 2.0 Tool: 
Image Blogs

Common Core Standards:


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Brief Description of Overall Lesson:

Students will create a “Day in the Life” blog about themselves to introduce themselves to the class.

1.   Introduce concept by showing the students a teacher created Image blog introducing themselves.

2.     Students will plan out the pieces of their daily life that they feel are the most important parts to include.

3.     On their own time, students will collect digital images of their life.

4.     Using those images, students will upload images.  Those images should then be commented on and collected.

5.     Students will then share their image blogs with the class.

Lesson Title:
 Annotated Images

Type of Web 2.0 Tool: 
Flickr

Common Core Standards:


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

Depending on the content of the lesson, these CCSS may apply:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6–8 texts and topics.

Brief Description of Overall Lesson:

Students will annotate an image to identify the notable pieces within the picture.

This lesson/activity could be used for numerous topics/concepts. Depending on the subject and activity requirements students may either find and edit their own image, or they be assigned a photo based on the needs of the lesson.

This activity could be done for science by identifying a process on an image, or animals/plants in a photo.

History could use images such as maps or large aerial images that students could annotate.

Any other topic that can use a photo or image to show various images that students could identify and annotate could be used. 

Students will then share these annotated photos to the class and verbally explain the process to the class.