VoiceThread over EDUC 552 at Peru State College

EDUC 552: Curriculum Video

This curriculum project was a good learning experience and really helped to spark more ideas in the future. Having an opportunity to manipulate a movie editor will benefit me moving forward. When deciding what type of video would benefit my students I wanted to come up with something that I could also make entertaining. My students typically have a firm grasp on similes and metaphors, but struggle to comprehend other examples of literary devices. By embedding videos a pictures involving my students and family members I hope it will keep them entertained and will allow them to take away the visuals to serve as a reminder of the devices for years to come. Overall, my experience with the video editing went well. Becoming more familiar with the process will allow me to make more educational videos in the future as well teach my students the process for them to demonstrate their creativity.

Week 7: What was learned in EDUC 552?

A. Going into this course I hoped to be exposed to and learn about different educational tools that could be utilized in my classroom. In EDUC 552 I learned about becoming a connected educator. Through exploration on Twitter I was able to build a PLN that I would not have had if not given the time to explore. A lot of the programs that we were asked to try like Zaption, Mystery Skype, and NearPod I have had some exposure to. In this course we created original pieces of work that could be used in the classroom and I was suddenly able to see other ways in which the programs could become of use. Through discussion board posts, I was able to learn what other classmates had found and how they intended to use it which was motivating as well.

ISTE Goals met:
1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity 1a 1b 1c 1d
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments 2a 2b 2c 2d
3. Model digital age work and learning3a 3b 3c 3d
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility 4b 4c 4d
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership 5a 5d

B. The most useful tools I found were NearPod and the screen-casting tool Show Everything app. NearPod is useful because it allows the teacher to create teacher guided presentations that display on each individual tablet or computer. The presentations are great for formative assessments to monitor individual student needs. NearPod will be used moving forward in math instruction for students to demonstrate their work and also for reading vocabulary to preview and review vocabulary.

The second tool is Show Everything. This app allows you to create presentations and narrate over them. This tool will be perfect for my math instruction for my students to demonstrate their work and explain their thinking. For instance, in our current geometry unit, students could could draw and label parts of a triangle. Then explain how to find the area of the triangle.

C. I plan to continue to be active on Twitter as I found that this has been a great resource to finding more technology tools. Moving forward, I will integrate the tools that I have learned in to more of my instruction so that my students become familiar with them and more fluent. The biggest problem that I typically have when discovering new resources is that I never have the time to explore them so I will make a point of doing that with parts of my plan time. A lot of the resources at the beginning of the course were targeted towards flipping classrooms. If I can make time to create presentations using the tools like Show Everything, PowToon, and NearPod, I plan on trying an in-class flip.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts were a great experience during Peru State EDUC 552. I enjoyed learning about programs like NearPod. After using NearPod, I immediately implemented it into my math instruction the day after being introduced to it. NearPod allows my students to display their thinking and I can view results individually so that I am able to work with them 1 on 1 in the moment rather than in the middle of instruction. My students really enjoyed seeing their answers displayed.

The other resource that I liked exploring was the Exploringbytheseat.com. I have done a few Mystery Skype and Mystery Hangout sessions but have never interacted through a virtual field trip. I liked how you could view previous trips to see how the program worked. I would like to incorporate some of these sessions into my reading instruction or possibly design my instruction around the content presented in the field trip. When my students are exposed to something new, they are always engaged and I definitely learned a few new things during the Google Hangout sessions.

MySimpleShow

MySimpleShow can be used in the classroom for teachers to present topics or skills to learn for the week. I used it to describe a focus skill my students will have for reading. It allowed me to present in a different way than the textbook while still using the same concepts. Students could utilize MySimpleShow to summarize books that they read. Accounts are needed for the program and it is fairly easy to use. All you do is type in your content to a storyboard and allow the program to select pictures based on buzz words that it sees. If you do not agree with the program you have the opportunity to change the pictures or highlight other buzz words. The selection was pretty limited for key words I searched like "boy," which was a bit of a drawback. This program would be best for upper elementary 5-6 and the middle-high school levels. It is important to have your text that you would like to include laid out before hand because there is a lot of available space to write in. I also feel like the more general the buzz words, the easier it is for the program to find available matches as more specific topics may not have pictures available. The narration also sounds a bit robotic so you may prefer to do your own narration.

Show Everything App (Screencast)

This video was created using the Show Everything app. This app is a powerful tool for teachers and students to demonstrate content and generate engaging presentations. I think that this app would be great to use for displaying math instruction and is very easy to use for teachers looking to flip their classrooms. I plan on asking my district to place this app on all iPads within our school and having my students explain their thinking by publishing videos over specific math concepts. I could have a "director of the month" award for the student who has presented the most creative and comprehensive video presentation.

PowToon

PowToon is a presentation program that allows you to create cartoon-like presentations to make them more entertaining. The classroom teacher could use a program like this to add more "pop" to a presentation so that it is not as boring to the students like a typical PowerPoint or Google Slide. The program allows you to add animations and characters to your slides. There is a free version to sign up for as well as a Pro and Business upgrade for a monthly charge. From a teacher standpoint, this can be used in any subject and grade level to present to students. From a student standpoint, it is most appropriate for upper elementary, middle, and high school level students. The tutorials are definitely helpful and are actually entertaining to watch. The timing is also not as easy as it looks to master. I would recommend truly playing around with it before beginning a serious presentation.