My apologies for not getting to the Virtual Classroom Blog. I promise to post more frequently now that I've settled into the new tech job.
I've been training a lot of teachers and students how to create their own multimedia presentations and there are are some programs that are definitely winning out by being easy to use. Audacity seems to be a school favourite so I thought I would post several links to royalty free music and sound effects here that will take your voice recordings to the next level.
Here's a short clip of a students reading the synopsis of the Hunger Games. Note how the background adds to their presentation (can you say book report replacement?).
Recognize this little black box? Did you already whip out your mobile device and scan it? For those of you who have seen these little black boxes on virtually everything now, but are unsure of what they do, they are called "QR codes" (quick response codes). They are linked to websites, documents or pictures that the person, who made the code, wanted to have access to. They are great for instant advertisement, but can these be used in education.
The answer is yes! Over the last few months I've seen a roll out for iPads and mobile devices in the classroom, especially in the younger grades where manipulation of a tablet is a plus. By scanning these codes, students can have quick access to a websites, text documents,
I think this would also be a great ice-breaker for educators at a meeting. They can type in some quick information about themselves into a QR generator, print out the box and learn a little about their fellow teachers.
Here's a fantastic example to see
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wikipedia_unveils_probably_the_coolest_qr_thingy_e.php
Imagine that your fellow teacher tells you that they have a resource that can help you 24/7, is at the touch of your fingertips, and will help you become a better teacher. Would you use it?
Of course.
I am still new to the Twitter universe. In fact, it was one of the things I avoided. I didn't need to constantly know what celebrities were doing every minute of the day.
That was before I went to a conference in Toronto where I learned about building my Personal Learning Network. After creating a free account, I started "following" other educators in the room. Then I found a network of teachers that dealt specifically with my interests (technology in education). After connecting with a few key educators, I gained a huge wealth of knowledge (Did you see my Choose Your Own Adventure blog post??-Twitter find).
There are tons of tutorials to help you learn how to use twitter. The sooner you network yourself, the more valuable you will find this tool for education (yes I said tool).
Here's a few people to start following to get you started.
A great tool where students can share ideas and collaborate is TodaysMeet.com. I first used this tool at a technology conference in Toronto. While the presenter spoke, many people were commenting or elaborating on was was being said.
Think of the real-time collaboration your class can have with this Web 2.0 tool. Some quick examples:
While watching presentations, videos, lectures, etc, students can discuss terms being taught and collaboratively share notes
Collaborate with another school, invite professionals or while working on projects.
You will have an instant transcript of your student's thinking and of those "light bulb" moments.
It is very simple to use and doesn't need any email adressess or registration. You can follow the pictures below to create your TodaysMeet......Today!
Remember those little white books from the 80's that allowed you choose whether your hero slayed the dragon or ran in fear? I loved reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels when I was young and yes, I cheated. Like every other kid, I hated dying 20 times before I got the correct solution.
When I introduced this style of writing to my Grade 6 students, I was blown away by the intricate pathways they created (so much that we had to create digital maps to keep track of their choices). Several of my reluctant writers created 30 page books, weaving tales ranging from WWII to alien invasions!
So why am I telling you this in my virtual classroom? I was recently reminded by a Tweet from rmbyrne ( I recommend following his blog at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/) about using YouTube to create scenarios and story lines. Enter...wait for it....Online "Choose Your Own Adventure" digital media!!!
By using YouTube's annotation feature, you can link other videos to notes left in the video. The viewer clicks on an option and is re-directed to your next linked video.
As usual, I've used my virtual classroom contacts, a.k.a. my unknowing family, to recreate a book favourite of mine, James Dashner's "The Maze Runner". Remember to think all the cross curricular possibilities of this YouTube feature (historical timelines, literacy, how-to vids, etc..).
When playing the first video, you will see the choices pop up somewhere on the screen at the end of the scene. Unfortunately the annotations won't pop up in some mobile devices that can't use flash (iPhone, iPad, etc). If you don't see the annotations pop up, try viewing the video through a laptop or desktpop computer. It's also best viewed from YouTube rather than through the blog. You can get there through http://youtu.be/bgOKFE9Z0xs. There are several choices through the entire string of videos. Enjoy.
This is one of my old tutorials on Audacity. For those of you using Audacity from home, ignore the desktop as it pertains to my school board. I like to use Podbean as my podcast platform when I have finished editing. You can download Audacity free at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/.
VoiceThread allows you and your students to leave text, audio, and video comments on what you post. You are able to post all types of multimedia and can even have multiple posts/slides on one thread. It's extremely simple to use and by creating multiple "guests" on one account, teachers don't have to worry about student emails or passwords. Check out my sample VoiceThread below!
It's fairly obvious that we live in a technologically-minded society. The problem is, our kids know more than we do! They are digital natives who are growing up with cell phones, iPods, netbooks, etc. If you're reading this, then you already know we use technology as a valuable resource tool in my classroom. Programs like Glogster, Audacity, Premier Tools and the SMARTboard help our children learn curriculum in a way they understand.
One problem that should concern us is the improper use of social media. Too many children have Facebook accounts, use MSN and of course text each other constantly. I'm not here to say, "STOP!", but I will say we need to be more knowledgeable of what our children are doing online. Cyber-bullying is now becoming the #1 form of bullying in today's society. Children are posting and writing personal information online, not realizing the digital footprint they are leaving...forever...for anyone to see...anywhere in the world!
I hope you have signed up for the Internet safety session at the Open House, here at Victoria. If you can't make it, I will be posting some of the information on our blog so you can be aware of certain precautions your children can take to stay safe.
In the mean time, check out the website link under "helpful websites" to learn how to make sure you're safe on the web ( ex: Facebook account is secure. F.Y.I. under the disclaimer for Facebook, you must be 13 years of age to be on Facebook!)
Earth Hour will be on Saturday March 26 at 8:30 p.m. I would like us all to try an participate during this event and shut off the lights, t.v.s and especially those computers (yes, I'm telling you this!). On Friday, we will be having our own earth hour by shutting off all the lights and computers and we'll be talking about this event throughout the week. For more information, go to http://www.earthhour.org/.
To help us learn how punctuation affects our fluency when reading I have dig up a great old clip from a comedian named Victor Borge. Part of his act is something called Phonetic Punctuation. For every punctuation mark, he has assigned a sound effect. We're going to try this in class. I hope some brave souls let me record some of these for the podcast. The sounds that our class have chosen are in the above sound clip. Have fun!!
I've taught the fifth and sixth grade for the past 13 years for the District School Board of Niagara. I'm now a part of the I.T. 4 Learning training team in my district that goes out to schools to train teachers and students how to incorporate technology into the curriculum.
