Assignment: After watching the presentation by Sir Ken Robinson about the role of
creativity in schools, post a blog in which you answer the following
questions: “Do schools kill creativity? How can you use digital media
to bring creativity alive in your classroom?”
First and foremost-I loved Sir Robinson's talk! I agree with a lot of what he said, and am proud to say that my school fosters the arts for our students. We have dance, Clay Studio, drama, choir, and visual arts for our students. However, we also are bound to the School District fo Philadelphia scripted Core Curriculum, as well as the mandated instructional time for Reading and Math in the daily classroom. This ties our hands in many ways.
I feel lucky. I have a suggested curriculum as a computer teacher. I am able to use creativity in my lessons, and have the freedom to try different things with students. We can synthesize disciplines such as music, art, literacy, writing, science, and math in projects in the computer lab. But, we also are required to teach programs at the request of the principal, so our time is spent with First in Math, Study Island, and now, Achieve 3000 as well.
Fostering creativity can be a challenge when you are required to produce data through programs, and prepare students for the standardized tests. The advantage of the computer lab, is that students have access to a variety of tools to fit their learning style, and they can use these tools to not only create projects for themselves, but for others.
This year, I am going to have our older grades (6th through 8th) use Photobooth video to record commercials about First in Math and Study Island, targeting the younger students (grades 1-3). Glogster can be used to consolidate resources, as well as present themes and subjects in different ways by different students.
School district and state mandated curriculum may stifle creativity, but, there are ways to work with the curriculum and yet be creative with students, as well as teach students to "think outside the box". Life isn't just one list of things to learn to another, but adventures to experience, and thinking outside the box helps prepare students for these life lessons.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Media-infused Presentation or Learning Center
I finally finished my Prezi presentation! What an adventure! I created it to help the 7th and 8th grade students at my school navigate the high school application process. I've seen the looks of astonishment and confusion on the students' faces as they read over the high school literature. I've seen it with my own son when he went through the process two years ago. I wanted to create something that would capture the students' attention, help them understand the process, and have all of the information they need in one place.
I can't wait to use this with the students. As I created it, I realized how important the process of creating a presentation is. I think that the most challenging obstacle I encountered was trying to get some type of audio file to upload to Prezi. I realized I had to convert the file to a video file, and then to a .flv file. I could then upload it into the presentation. I am hoping that Prezi will make uploading a simple audio file a priority when they next upgrade the website.
I still haven't totally figured out how to change colors of shapes. Prezi definitely has the advantage of a web-based presentation, and is always viewed in a non-linear fashion. I'm not sure if I like it as a tool better than Glogster. I think you can do more with Glogster. You have to be conscious of who your audience is, and what your purpose of the presentation is. I teach Kindergarten through eighth grades, and I think Glogster would definitely be a better presentation tool for the early elementary grades. Prezi is a great resource and great tool for the middle and high school aged students. Both tools can help foster development of the disciplined mind, but I think Prezi definitely has the lead when it comes to a web 2.0 tool to help develop the synthesized mind. Adding different disciplines in different ways is a challenge, and is a great culmination and assessment to lessons and instruction that are designed for synthesizing a variety of subjects in the classroom.
I am anxious to try Prezi again, and will. I'm going to share it with the student teacher who I am mentoring. I think there is much more there then I have experienced so far.
If you'd like to see my Prezi presentation, click HERE.
I can't wait to use this with the students. As I created it, I realized how important the process of creating a presentation is. I think that the most challenging obstacle I encountered was trying to get some type of audio file to upload to Prezi. I realized I had to convert the file to a video file, and then to a .flv file. I could then upload it into the presentation. I am hoping that Prezi will make uploading a simple audio file a priority when they next upgrade the website.
I still haven't totally figured out how to change colors of shapes. Prezi definitely has the advantage of a web-based presentation, and is always viewed in a non-linear fashion. I'm not sure if I like it as a tool better than Glogster. I think you can do more with Glogster. You have to be conscious of who your audience is, and what your purpose of the presentation is. I teach Kindergarten through eighth grades, and I think Glogster would definitely be a better presentation tool for the early elementary grades. Prezi is a great resource and great tool for the middle and high school aged students. Both tools can help foster development of the disciplined mind, but I think Prezi definitely has the lead when it comes to a web 2.0 tool to help develop the synthesized mind. Adding different disciplines in different ways is a challenge, and is a great culmination and assessment to lessons and instruction that are designed for synthesizing a variety of subjects in the classroom.
I am anxious to try Prezi again, and will. I'm going to share it with the student teacher who I am mentoring. I think there is much more there then I have experienced so far.
If you'd like to see my Prezi presentation, click HERE.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Blog on Digital Media
The assignment:
Select a specific topic you teach, or will teach, and search Discovery Education for a digital asset (e.g., video segment, virtual lab, audio file, etc.) about that topic. Think about your goals for presenting content about the topic you selected as well as the different ways you can use digital media to present content in a variety of forms and from different angles. Post a blog entry that presents how using this digital media resource as a means of presenting content benefits students in terms of providing opportunities for increased engagement and addressing different learning styles.
I have chosen Cyber bullying as the topic I am going to be teaching to my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. This is something I discuss with them all year, especially when it comes to social media such as Facebook and Twitter. I also discuss security settings on social media sites, and how that can deter others from using resources on fellow students' pages to cyber bully. My goal is to have all students aware of how to correctly use social media, and what to do if they become the victim of any type of online bullying or stalking.
I've chosen to present this topic in several ways. The first is to introduce it as a class discussion. I want to give the students a chance to share their experiences with social media and bullying. I'll share the video from Discovery Education "7 Ways to Block a Cyberbully" and then break the students into groups. I'll assign a problem to the class, and each group will take the point of view of one of the characters (i.e. the bully, the parents, the teacher, the victim), and explain what they would do to stop the bullying. Students will present their ideas using a variety of formats (their choice), including Photobooth video, glogster, Microsoft Word, or creating a poster for the hallway. Students will present their finished projects, initiating another class discussion regarding the classes' solutions to bullying.
Select a specific topic you teach, or will teach, and search Discovery Education for a digital asset (e.g., video segment, virtual lab, audio file, etc.) about that topic. Think about your goals for presenting content about the topic you selected as well as the different ways you can use digital media to present content in a variety of forms and from different angles. Post a blog entry that presents how using this digital media resource as a means of presenting content benefits students in terms of providing opportunities for increased engagement and addressing different learning styles.
I have chosen Cyber bullying as the topic I am going to be teaching to my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. This is something I discuss with them all year, especially when it comes to social media such as Facebook and Twitter. I also discuss security settings on social media sites, and how that can deter others from using resources on fellow students' pages to cyber bully. My goal is to have all students aware of how to correctly use social media, and what to do if they become the victim of any type of online bullying or stalking.
I've chosen to present this topic in several ways. The first is to introduce it as a class discussion. I want to give the students a chance to share their experiences with social media and bullying. I'll share the video from Discovery Education "7 Ways to Block a Cyberbully" and then break the students into groups. I'll assign a problem to the class, and each group will take the point of view of one of the characters (i.e. the bully, the parents, the teacher, the victim), and explain what they would do to stop the bullying. Students will present their ideas using a variety of formats (their choice), including Photobooth video, glogster, Microsoft Word, or creating a poster for the hallway. Students will present their finished projects, initiating another class discussion regarding the classes' solutions to bullying.
The Synthesizing Mind
The assignment:
Share a classroom strategy (e.g., project, activity) that incorporates the use of digital resources to help students synthesize information.
Or, provide a brief review of a digital resource, tool or website and then tell how you would use it to help foster the development of the synthesizing mind.
Use these sites to help identify a resource:
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/edtools.htmlWeb2010 - http://web2010.discoveryeducation.com/web20tools.cfm
Edudemic - http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/
Hmmm.....I'm going to nominate glogster as the tool that I'm going to use within my computer lab to help students incorporate and organize digital information, as well as help them synthesize that information.
Although this is taking Howard Gardner's idea of disciplines and the arts quite literally, I am going to have my 7th grade students identify an art discipline, and then they will be researching it, and finding individuals and groups through videos, text, and audio that provide examples of that art discipline. This could be anything that the students have a passion for, whether it be dance, rap, visual arts, movies, or the spoken or written word. I am going to have them compose a glogster poster that celebrates the art, provides examples, and also asks questions of the viewer that would provide insight into the possibilities of the future of this art concept in digital form.
The school I teach at is devoted to the arts. We have dance and drumming classes, conducted by Master Artists. We have Artists-in Residence programs come to our school and work with classes. We have so many programs-Clay Studio, the Shakespeare Project, Singing City, Comic Creators...the list is added to every year. I want to be able to add to the arts through technology. I want to show students that art is not confined to an easel and paint, or a drum, or costume and dance. I think this would be a great way to introduce the students to this concept! I'm excited!!
Share a classroom strategy (e.g., project, activity) that incorporates the use of digital resources to help students synthesize information.
Or, provide a brief review of a digital resource, tool or website and then tell how you would use it to help foster the development of the synthesizing mind.
Use these sites to help identify a resource:
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/edtools.htmlWeb2010 - http://web2010.discoveryeducation.com/web20tools.cfm
Edudemic - http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/
Hmmm.....I'm going to nominate glogster as the tool that I'm going to use within my computer lab to help students incorporate and organize digital information, as well as help them synthesize that information.
Although this is taking Howard Gardner's idea of disciplines and the arts quite literally, I am going to have my 7th grade students identify an art discipline, and then they will be researching it, and finding individuals and groups through videos, text, and audio that provide examples of that art discipline. This could be anything that the students have a passion for, whether it be dance, rap, visual arts, movies, or the spoken or written word. I am going to have them compose a glogster poster that celebrates the art, provides examples, and also asks questions of the viewer that would provide insight into the possibilities of the future of this art concept in digital form.
The school I teach at is devoted to the arts. We have dance and drumming classes, conducted by Master Artists. We have Artists-in Residence programs come to our school and work with classes. We have so many programs-Clay Studio, the Shakespeare Project, Singing City, Comic Creators...the list is added to every year. I want to be able to add to the arts through technology. I want to show students that art is not confined to an easel and paint, or a drum, or costume and dance. I think this would be a great way to introduce the students to this concept! I'm excited!!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
EDIM 508: Introductory Blog: 728 Challenge
My assignment:
Post an introductory blog that answers each of the following questions. The challenge, in the spirit of today’s concise, Twitter-driven forms of communication, is to answer each question in 104 characters or less (approximately 20-25 words).
1. I am a counselor, facilitator, motivator, tech support, data analyst, and finally, teacher. I wear many hats, and love each one. I leave school and become a mother, a wife, and a student of life.
2. I want to become more versed in the digital language of this generation. I need to keep up-and I love the combination of computers and creativity!
3. Teach what you know, learn what you don't. Be enthusiastic, teach what interests the student, for that will keep the student enthusiastic about learning throughout their life. Never stop learning. (over 104 characters-but that one was HARD!)
4. So much access to so many resources makes the world smaller, and brings a real-life aspect to learning.
5. Lack of up-to-date technology, and lack of needed resources, because of budget cuts.
6. When teaching about Internet Safety, I walk students through Facebook security settings, using their account. This year, my older students will be making a glog about internet safety and social networking to share with younger students!
7. I'm kind of old..we didn't have computers in my classroom (back in the mid sixties)! Now, with the punch of a button, students can see speeches and video of historical events. We had filmstrips and record players.
OK..so I went over the 104 characters, but not by much!! Interesting questions, and definitely a challenge to answer! I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's blogs!
-HSH
Post an introductory blog that answers each of the following questions. The challenge, in the spirit of today’s concise, Twitter-driven forms of communication, is to answer each question in 104 characters or less (approximately 20-25 words).
- Who are you and what do you do?
- What is your primary goal for taking this course?
- What is your philosophy of education?
- What do you see as the greatest benefit of using technology and/or digital media in the classroom?
- What is your biggest concern or challenge with using technology and/or digital media in the classroom?
- Provide an example of how you currently use technology and/or digital media in the classroom.
- How does your classroom today differ from when you were the same age as your students?
1. I am a counselor, facilitator, motivator, tech support, data analyst, and finally, teacher. I wear many hats, and love each one. I leave school and become a mother, a wife, and a student of life.
2. I want to become more versed in the digital language of this generation. I need to keep up-and I love the combination of computers and creativity!
3. Teach what you know, learn what you don't. Be enthusiastic, teach what interests the student, for that will keep the student enthusiastic about learning throughout their life. Never stop learning. (over 104 characters-but that one was HARD!)
4. So much access to so many resources makes the world smaller, and brings a real-life aspect to learning.
5. Lack of up-to-date technology, and lack of needed resources, because of budget cuts.
6. When teaching about Internet Safety, I walk students through Facebook security settings, using their account. This year, my older students will be making a glog about internet safety and social networking to share with younger students!
7. I'm kind of old..we didn't have computers in my classroom (back in the mid sixties)! Now, with the punch of a button, students can see speeches and video of historical events. We had filmstrips and record players.
OK..so I went over the 104 characters, but not by much!! Interesting questions, and definitely a challenge to answer! I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's blogs!
-HSH
Monday, September 5, 2011
Intro to my blog!
OK..so this is my first attempt at an educationally themed blog. I'm starting a course through Wilkes University and Discovery Education, and will be posting my thoughts here.
Digital Media in the Classroom.
to be continued.....
Digital Media in the Classroom.
to be continued.....
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