Yesterday during my skype session with my class, I got to admiring how many different ways we were incorporating technology and it amazed me. Earlier in my teaching career, if you asked me how I would use technology during a lesson, I most likely would have said that I would use a video related to the subject matter. While instructional videos certainly have their place, based on my experience participating with my doctoral cohort in OR from Germany, I have come to appreciate some much cooler technological helpers.
If you are a regular reader, you know I skype with my class on Thursday mornings from 3-6 am, individually with my amazing professor once every other week, and sometimes with a different class that meets a few weekends during the term. Sometimes the time of day isn't completely convenient, yet I am continuously baffled by how cool it is that I am seeing and interacting with people so far away. I see the familiar classroom that I sat in for so many hours during my master's program, the familiar parking garage in the background where I always struggled to find an open space before class, and the familiar street corner that I crossed Diet Coke and snack in hand on my way to class so many times in the past few years. Usually the technology is flawless we rarely experience "technical difficulties." In a wrap-up session last night where we had to comment on what we liked most about the term, one of my classmates actually commented that she learned so much from having me skype in because it really opened her mind to different uses of skype for the classroom.The best thing about skype is that, unlike many other forms of technology, it's free!
Last night, as I struggled to view the document we were talking about and my skype window at the same time, I realized that I should try utilizing my extra screen. This is the setup Mr. Sneaker hooked me up with and I had never used the second screen for skyping because I was afraid it would disconnect my skype call. I decided to try it out and it worked. Check out this awesomeness...
I was able to see my class (but I didn't take a pic when we were actually in session because I thought they might think I was a bit crazy) and the paper we were discussing at the same time.
Crazy
Awesome
Fabulous
One of the class assignments last night was to create a poster with both pluses and wishes from this term and another with pluses and wishes for our entire first year in the program. Everyone there got butcher paper and markers and they displayed their papers on the wall to share. I quickly grabbed my colored markers (is it a teacher thing to have colored markers ready and available on my desk?) and I made my poster. When I was finished, I quickly slapped my pages on the scanner and then sent the scanned images to my teacher so he could project them on the screen for everyone to see. Once again, the distance was not a barrier!
Finally, when each person was sharing the pluses and wishes from his/her list, my professor recorded their comments with his flip camera so he could have the feedback to share with the doctoral committee. I also have a flip camera and have used it to record a presentation that I sent to my class earlier this year. It is so easy to use and has a USB port that pops out so you can connect it directly to a computer. I have used my flip in the classroom to record my students reading for fluency and then immediately plugged it into the computer, uploaded the video, and projected the video onto my big screen for them to see. They LOVED seeing themselves and it was so easy to do. There are so many fantastic uses for this camera in a classroom setting because of the ease of use. You can provide instant video feedback for students because it takes just a few minutes to upload the video!
I was able to view videos on my big screen because I got a document camera and projector through a technology grant at my previous school. I used those two treasures for everything! The cool thing about the document camera is that rather than making overheads, you can use original documents and you can project anything up on the big screen. Math manipulatives, student work, books...you name it. These babies are expensive, but through a district grant resource they were
free to me!
Also, I have not gotten the chance to use one yet, but all of the classrooms in the international school where I work recently got Smartboards. From being in various classrooms, I have been able to see the variety of uses and I am really impressed. I know there are different types of interactive whiteboards and I am not knowledgable enough about them to know the ins and outs of comparing and contrasting them, but I do know they are all cool! I was shocked to find out that every classroom at my school was going to get one because they are quite costly and they are not as likely to appear in public schools in the US.
Smartboard
Promethean Board
InterWrite Board
All of these things really help to make learning come alive for students and it is so exciting and fun to incorporate them into lessons. The drawback is that technology tends to be expensive. Especially with horrible budget cuts that are occurring in many districts, it is not likely that funds will be spent on items such as these. I always recommend Donorschoose.org as a great way to obtain teaching materials that you/your district cannot afford.
How do you use technology in the classroom?
What is on your techie wishlist?
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In yesterday's post when I mentioned a few show finales, I completely forgot to mention how excited I am for the premier of the new Bachelorette this week! After her behavior on the Bachelor, I am not really sure how I feel about Ali because she was mean to some of the girls, especially Vienna, yet really sweet to Jake. I am interested to see what her true personality is, but I tend to think I will like seeing her as the Bachelorette. The best part is that three of my friends come over to watch, so I am excited to have our weekly girls nights like we did during the Bachelor season!
Are you excited for the Bachelorette?
What do you think of Ali?
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PS Thanks to Jen for sending me the link to this cool video about teaching with technology. Take a look! Pay Attention
4 comments:
I'm VERY excited for the Bachelorette!!! So is Nick :)
I just read your question on my blog. It really depends on the goals you have. For some ,that extra sugar/calories will make or break their weight loss plans, or will spike their blood sugar (if they have diabetes). So calorie-free sweeteners are probably better. Also, for someone like me, I like to add sweetness to a lot of things (smoothies, oatmeal, drinks, etc) and if I used real sugar all the time, it would NOT be good!! I think it's good to mix it up and just evaluate how much sugar you've had throughout the day, then make your decision. Overall, they both have their pros and cons, and both can be a "healthy" part of a balanced diet.
Isn't technology great and AMAZING!!! I can't believe how much I've learned and how far I've come with technology in just the past couple of years! I too would use a video from the INTERNET and consider that great use of technology!! Ha!!
I saw this great video at a training and thought you would like it!!
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=448
So eye opening!!! Hope you like it!!
Happy Sunday!
BTW yes, I can't wait for the Bachelorette to start!!! Yippee!!
I'm not techi but I'm amazed at the tools out there. Have a wonderful long weekend.
I'm a big techie. My MA degree is in Educational Technology and it was one of the best educational decisions I've ever made.
In my former school, I was the only teacher to use technology in the classroom. I had a laptop, projector, document camera, SmartBoard, Student response systems (clickers), Flip camera, digitals...
...all because I wrote grants. I was definitely the techie teacher of the school. Sadly, I moved... and it was all left to the other teachers. I sure hope they are using them to benefit their teaching and providing those kids with the best, innovative, inspiring lessons.
I actually wrote a grant for donorschoose.org and received my Flip camera (the only item from the above that I kept). It's a great site.
As for technology, I incorporate video clips into just about every single lesson, have students blogging/journal entries, students videotape reflections and creating podcasts, Skyping with experts, using social networking like twitter and del.icio.us (great way to save a bunch of great resources they can access anywhere--and so can you!).
Thinking about heading back into the classroom, the most valuable technology I would seek would be the doc. camera and projector. I used them for EVERYTHING like you mentioned. My students brought their math problems to the camera and shared their processes in their writing. They were amazing for manipulatives and I found it most valuable in math. They're also great for conserving paper. I hate worksheets and all things related to photocopying or creating transparencies. That eliminated much of that dependency.
I'm an absolute tech. geek. The double screen is great. Sounds like Mr. Sneaker has a handle on this whole techie thing, too. :)
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