Using VoiceThread in PK-2 Classroom: Reading Reflection #8

The next article that I chose to read is written by Missy Ball and speaks about the web 2.0 tool that uses images and videos that are uploaded onto a slideshow presentation that can then be accessed by students, teachers, and parents. Student work can then be commented on through the use of a “microphone, a video camera, keyboard, or a doodle pen” (Ball, 34). Accounts that are particularly geared toward educators can be created that have a variety of membership tiers. There are paid and free versions with different accessibility options and features.

The author speaks about the usefulness of the program in the PK-2 grade level for emerging readers and writers. The reason behind this is the use of pictures and sounds that make it much more visually appealing to beginning readers. Discussions can also be started through VoiceThread which helps which students who are too shy to participate in the classroom setting.

Ball then gave a variety of ways to use VoiceThread by the different subject matters. For example in the subject of science: “The teacher can post pictures of students completing a science experiment. Students have to comment on each picture, explaining what is happening in the picture using at least three science words (Ball, 34). Another example is in the subject of art where “students can take pictures of class art and then have the student artists record themselves explaining their places and commenting on other pieces (Ball, 34). These are great ideas because they range from a variety of subject area matters and go further than just the core concepts.

The following sentence from the article made me think of the ISTE NETS: “These features lead to increased confidence in using computers and the internet, and they prepare students for reflection and revision as a part of the creative process” (Ball, 34). The standard that came to mind immediately was standard two for teachers: “design and develop digital-age experiences and assessments”.  Teachers would be able to aid students in the creative process by designing and developing digital-age experiences through VoiceThread.

I began to think if I could use VoiceThread in my classroom and immediately thought about the endless possibilities that this program has to offer. Students even have the opportunity to upload their own pictures and create their own discussions through monitored forums. I think this is a great tool to start implementing in the early years of schooling that children can use throughout their schooling experience.

Ball, M. (2012). Using VoiceThread in a PK-2 Classroom. (40) 3. 34-35. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201211#pg36

Kindling a Passion for Literature: Reading Reflection #7

Kindling a Passion for Literature is an article written by an English teacher named Gigi Whiteside and discusses the many benefits from e-readers. Whiteside explains how she had a child that was labeled as a “non-reader” who would use a laptop that would read books out loud to her. She thought about implementing something like this in her classroom but noticed that the majority of students did not want to be seen reading from a laptop and wanted a more subtle approach. That is when the idea of “Kindles for Kids” came about, where a device with text-to-speech capabilities would be given to students that were struggling with reading.

The funding went through and that is when the author saw a real transformation in her students. She explained about her class that: “rather than the usual ‘do we have to read today?’ my students began to ask ‘do we get to read today?’” (Whiteside, 32). Many students expressed that the main reason why they were never interested in reading was because a book with so many pages tended to intimidate them. The kindles also provided a safe haven for the students who were too embarrassed to check out lower level books and that did not have the resources to get a library card.

The author brings up the issue about allowing students to take the reading devices home. She let them do it after a while when the students begged to take the readers home to finish their books. I think it is great that they have the enthusiasm to want to finish reading at home and if the school and teacher have a useful honesty system then I do not see an issue with students taking devices home. I also think that the parents should be notified when devices are being taken home just so that they are aware of what their children are doing and if they are using it properly or not.

Looking at the TPE standards for teachers and students I could see how the article addressed on standard in particular. I Looked at the NETS for students and noticed that the idea of using a reading device to further students interest in reading could easily fall under standard number six: technology operations and concepts. Students would be able to understand and use a different type of technology system, troubleshoot systems and operations, and transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies. I personally think that they learn more than just what they are reading but it also gives them an opportunity to dive into books that they might never have picked up on their own.

Whiteside, Gigi. (2012). Kindling a Passion for Literature. (39) 7. 32-33. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201205#pg34

Article Response #6: Make Learning Pop!

“Make Learning Pop!” is an article written by Shaunna Smith that discusses the concept of uniting art and technology. Smith starts with the idea of how pop-up books are a fun and exciting way to engage and motivate student literacy. Smith is approached by a seventh grade English language arts teacher who teaches at a low-income urban school and begins helping her find creative ways to use pop-ups in order to teach creative writing. This is how the Digital Paper Engineering Club at Spring Woods Middle School in Texas was formed. In this club students would cover paper engineering which would then be fused with a language arts activity.

Smith discusses how to make pop-ups meaningful in the classroom. She touches on the importance of choosing themes that go with student’s interests, using hands-on exploration, having students collaborate with one another, and maintaining reflective journalism throughout the project. For English language learners, a teacher integrated language arts concepts into making the pop-ups, such as characterization, flow, critical analysis etc. which allowed students to communicate and express themselves through their pop-up creations.

The group of students then collaborated in making a pop-up book. There was a large amount of collaboration among students in order to communicate one another’s ideas. Poems were written down and then transformed into pop-up creations that were digitally fabricated and designed. Smith adds about the student learning process and says, “as students discussed the writing process and creative writing techniques, their interactions reinforced English language arts concepts” (p. 28). The interesting part was that language arts was not the only topic covered and mastered through this process. Mathematics terms came up with the creation and design process which could have been expanded into further lessons.

Looking at the ISTE’s NETS for students and teachers I noticed that the information in this article could easily fall under “critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making”. I thought this because of the process behind making a collaborative pop-up book with a group of students. It is not something that can just develop overnight, it has to take time, energy, and plenty of teamwork. Students had to first do research and critically review the research, then decide whether or not they could use it and finally come to a decision together.

I decided that I want to look at the various resource links that the author provides in order to get a better feel of the process of making pop-ups and how to really adapt them into your classroom lessons. I think this is something that I could see myself teaching children that are as young as five to as old as fifteen. I also think that with enough creativity they can be used in a wide spectrum of areas from science to math to history to art itself. This is something I definitely will keep in mind when I need creative resources for my future classroom.

Smith, S. (2012). Make Learning Pop!. (39) 8. 26-28. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading.

Article Response #5: Google Forms and Flubaroo: Less Paper, More Teaching

Papers are something that educators have a mass amount of, at all times. Papers have to be graded, archived, organized, and kept together constantly. Laurie O. Campbell provides a solution to organizing the mass amount of papers that teachers have to deal with daily in her article: “Google Forms and Flubaroo: Less Paper, More Teaching”.

Campbell starts by talking about Google Forms how they don’t only save time but how they can be implemented into an elementary school classroom in creative ways. Campbell explains, “Forms are tools that collect data teachers can evaluate for planning instruction” (p. 28). One of these ways involves collecting student information on the first day of class. A fifth grade teacher gave her students a survey in their classroom on the first day that asked questions like what they liked about science, their favorite hobbies and activities, and what they wanted to learn in school. At the end of the day the teacher looked over the information and planned lessons according to interests for her students. Campbell explains, “For instance, several students indicated that they played soccer. She was able to plan a unit on insects that lived on the soccer field. Her students loved learning science on the soccer field” (p. 28).

Fluberaoo was the next accessible application that Campbell discussed. According to Campbell: “Flubaroo is a tool designed to work in conjunction with Google Forms” (p. 29). Flubaroo is able to grade tests, administered through Google forms, and highlight any questions that were cumulatively missed by at least 40% of the class. Students are then given scores back immediately and teachers have data that they can use to further instruction or for future exams. The only con I see with this program is the reliability on a computer source for grading answers. We all know that sometimes technology has its glitches so it may be a good idea to double check the answers occasionally.

Looking at ISTE’s NETS for teachers and students I noticed that something like this could easily fall under “design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments”.  I thought it could because a teacher would be designing new digital age learning experiences that can later assess student understanding and be implemented into the curriculum. Students would be able to become active participants because surveys could either be given in class or at the library or at home. Assignments would then vary because the technology tools allow for creative exploration from the part of both the student and teacher.

I would love to look into other applications like the ones mentioned in the article. After reading the article I decided that I would do some research into Google Forms, which I had heard of before, and Flubaroo, which was new to me. Being able to save paper is one of the positive aspects of such programs but it also allows teachers to get a very clear and precise picture of student learning patterns, something I wish to master by the time I have my own classroom. 

Campbell, L. (2012). Google Forms and Flubaroo: Less Paper, More Teaching (40) 3. 28-29. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading.

Information Literacy Reflection

In order to effectively search for information I would use tools such as advanced search in Google. These tools would include using quotations for phrases, domain limiters (ex. -.com), and using Google Scholar. After finding the information that I needed I would evaluate it by looking at the webpage and finding the source such as the author or business to see if it has credibility. I would then browse through the website and look for important details such as the author, publisher, sponsor, and even the date that it was published. I wouldn't necessarily look at the aesthetic aspects of the websites because they could lead me away from finding true and real information.

Article #4: Wallwisher: A Geeky Teacher’s Dream Tool

I was really excited to read this article, written by Keith Ferrell, which speaks about the program Wallwisher. Keith explains, “Wallwisher, is an online bulletin board where students place virtual post-its with textual information, photos, video, and audio” (p. 30). I also enjoyed reading about the different ideas that Keith gave about creating classroom walls. He gave an example from a fourth grade classroom that was studying cold and hot desert environments. The class was asked to collaborate together and find an interesting fact about a cold or hot desert along with a picture and post it on Wallwisher. The students were motivated to be part of a collaborative effort to gather information and to see everyone working together respectfully.

Keith also showed how Wallwisher could work with vocabulary assignments. Students would be given a word and they would look for a definition of it and a picture then post it on the classroom wall. I think this a great idea for homework because it gives children a different type of motivation. In addition if they see that their classmates are participating as well that will get them interested in what others are posting. Not to mention this saves trees, or post-its, and organizes assignments without the use of loose leaf paper. As an educator I would definitely consider using this site for vocabulary or different homework assignments. I don’t think I would use it frequently but rather on a monthly basis just to switch assignments up for my students.

After reading the article I looked for the website and came across different walls for different purposes. I looked at the vocabulary wall for the fifth grade class that was mentioned in the article and I really liked how it looked. Each student would post a different vocabulary word with a definition and a picture to their own classroom wall. Looking at the ISTE standards for teachers I could relate this article to designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments. A students learning experience could be customized by the use of this website because they would be able to provide collaborative effort with personalized thoughts. This would also be a great opportunity for teachers to model and then monitor digital citizenship outside of the classroom setting.

Ferrell, K. (2011). Wallwisher: A Geeky Teacher’s Dream Tool. Learning and Leading with Technology (38) 7. 30-31. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading.

 

Article Response #3: If You Give a Kid a Video Camera…

This article was written to inform educators about the many educational uses of video cameras or recording devices. It also gave excellent insight into the ability to use a video camera through different subject matters from language arts to science. Laurie O. Campbell explains, “If you give a student a personal mobile device, such as a video camera, he will want to use it to learn more”(p. 30). And it is very true because as the article explains a video camera can be something used to either reinforce a concept or to help students with topics that are difficult to understand. It has multiple uses and can fit a broad spectrum of needs simultaneously.

One idea in the language arts area was to use a video camera to send messages to a pen pal. Middle school students, at a school in Texas, made short videos to share with other middle school students in Spain. Positive feedback was returned from the Spanish students who said that they were able to learn and benefit from hearing actual voices of students their age speaking English. The learning experience is excellent and not to mention the cost of sending the videos over the internet: free! It is something students can do individually, in a group, or as a whole class.

In the area of math Campbell gave quite a few ideas from doing a math scavenger hunt by using iPods to record findings, to creating math story problems which can also tie into the language arts domain. The great part of these activities is that once they are recorded they can be kept until someone physically deletes them. Videos could be kept and archived for years without taking up too much space. Campbell also discussed how resourceful classroom videos can be for students who do not grasp a concept immediately. During the school day there is not enough time sometimes to go over topics thoroughly on an individual basis, but with video recordings of lessons students can go home and sit down to watch the lesson multiple times until they understand what the teacher was teaching and then be able to ask further questions if needed.

Looking at the ISTE NETS-S I noticed that this article touched on the communication and collaboration and technology operations and concepts topic. The students are able to communicate and collaborate with one another on projects such as sending videos to pen pals. In addition they are able to learn the technology operations and concepts behind a video camera such as being able to troubleshoot systems and applications and really understand what the use of technology systems is.

Campbell, L. (2012). If You Give a Kid a Video Camera. Learning and Leading with Technology, (39) 5. 30-33. Retrieved fromhttp://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading.