Blog: What tools did you choose and why? What worked and what didn’t? Exploration of classroom use and application: What are barriers to your use or student use? How can video be used as an assessment tool? The two tools I chose were Jing and Vocaroo because they were extremely user-friendly! With Jing, I took a screenshot, cropped it, then recorded my voice and used the mouse to point at the text I wanted the audience to focus on. Vocaroo was even easier to use because there was minimal set-up (I had to plan ahead as to what I was going to record/create a script). In both cases, the end products were emailed: the Jing presentation was sent to my 4th and 5th grade colleagues regarding the need for ELA CORE replacement classes and associated preparation to determine who would teach the classes and which students would have to be placed in them; and the Vocaroo recording was sent to the families of my 4th grade students clarifying the expectations of homework. What I worked best was how convenient it was to use these tools and the personalization that comes with hearing a live voice with expression and nuance instead of just reading text. These two tools were wonderful methods of quickly sending out information. On the other hand, what would not work for me is using tools that would be time-consuming at this point because my numerous responsibilities are already verging on the breaking point of sanity/insanity. I barely have time to complete these assignments although I LOVE the classes the content, classmates, and instructors! Lesson Planning beyond the pacing calendar's expectation of using district-adopted materials could be harmful to my health; that is, research for finding just the right video or graphic, then setting up all the acoutrements, etc. would be counterproductive because I have experienced getting a "gotcha" for not using district-adopted curriculum during one of my recent teacher evaluation observations. So, that is a huge concern/obstacle for me! I will have students create Jing presentations and Vocaroo recordings to demonstrate their understanding of content or to explain what they have learned, so those end products can be used as assessments. Personal note: After getting caught up on this and my other classes' missing assignments, I will create a flipped lesson to try with my students. The assessment will be the product my students share with me, given the criteria I expect them to include.
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Blog: Continue building a bridge between your practice, your action research and what you are learning. Muse about anything that inspires you, observations, reflections, experiences, connections, dilemmas....what’s innovative about what you’re planning to do this semester? How are you thinking “outside the box”? How's this for thinking outside of the box??! I apparently needed this important creative musing at this point of my learning journey to see the beauty in this process!!! 6-word poem about me, about us, about our journey together! Learning Openly Voraciously Integrating New Groundedness This newly-created poem will be placed in my classroom and home space as well! Blog: How can infographics be used in my classroom? When students create infographics, they are using information, visual, and technology literacies. Those infographics can be used as an assessment of their proficiency levels regarding content knowledge and skill/use of technology in their presentations. For example, after learning about the school-wide BEST expectations as well as about digital citizenship, my students were required to create a poster, slide deck, Powtoons, make-believe play, or use other methods such as traditional paper and pencil, poem, etc. to demonstrate what they learned. I was able to access formatively through informal check-ins with me their developing proficiencies. Here are examples from two of my students' infographics to demonstrate their understanding of the BEST rules (One student's name was purposely blocked) and of digital citizenship: Blog: How does SITE apply to you as a learner, your student, and/or your audience(s)? In all categories (students of all ages, their parents, my colleagues, and myself), the SITE model must be applied. It is important to consider first the learners' background, interests, goals, challenges, opportunities, and accessibilities in context when designing instruction. While we are all different in many ways, the most crucial aspect of learning must be that the information is relevant to each of us within the context or situation of learning. For example, if I am going to learn how to swim, it is of utmost important that I be taught in the water with a live instructor rather than from only watching a video about how to swim (breathe, proper strokes, keep eyes open, what to wear, etc.). By the same token, if I want my students/their parents to learn how to use a technical program such as Edmodo, it would probably be best if I show them how to access the website and/or app. In that case, the instructional information would probably be best delivered through a screencast recording I made, which could be watched repeatedly and at different times for their convenience to heighten sense-making of the required procedure and its relevant usage for the assignment. It is also important for socio-economic-cultural and practical purposes to know whether of not they have access to the Internet at home and/or have the opportunity/ability to go to the public library to use the computer before I assign any technical lessons outside of the classroom. Flipped-lessons could be problematic for students without technology access outside of the classroom. Keeping the SITE model in mind also forces me to consider the obstacles my learners/audience may have. |
AuthorJulie C D Meyer-Houston began her exciting journey during Spring 2016 as a grad student in Touro University - California's Innovative Learning program to earn her Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree, which focuses on Social Justice & Equity and the use of technology in education. Archives
December 2016
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