Blogging in the Classroom

The following infographic by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano will be helpful when I incorporated blogging into my classroom.

27 Ways To Be An Effective Classroom Teacher

In the following infographic, Mia MacMeekin provides some great ideas to take into consideration for the "new" school year.

Hollywood, Here I Come!

I developed this introduction video to the Divergent Booktrailer made by HarperTeen using Movie Maker. I used this video to show students how they can use Movie Maker for their video project.



I developed the above video using Power Point. The media used is similar to the ones used in the Movie Maker video; however, the transitions are different.


My Introduction to the Booktrailer Divergent using VoiceThread.

Tech Tools of the Month

Custom Calendar.pdf

It's Greek to Me

As I was talking with an English teacher, I discovered that she would soon teach a unit on the Odyssey. I quickly remembered that there is an Odyssey Google Lit Trip. Google Lit Trips are designed "to help students gain a better understanding of the stories they read through mapping." Students become travel companions of the characters in the story. Teacher can design Lit Trips as a teaching tool to  include "pop-up" windows of pictures, additional information, assignments, assessments, and links. A great assignment would be for students to develop an Lit Trip independently or collaboratively with other students and teacher. Before mentioning this wonderful program to the English teacher, I wanted to make sure I knew how to properly use Google Earth, which powers Google Lit Trips.
The words that came to mind during my first time at the controls of Google Earth were "How do you fly this thing?"  "It's Greek to Me," said Homer. That's Homer Simpson, mind you, not Homer the author of the Odyssey. I shook my head because my imagination had gone into overdrive. Needless to say,  I could possibly make the travelers air sick. Like any good pilot, I took flying lessons. With YouTube as my flight instructor and simulator, I got the hang of  navigating a "trip," and I created one of my own.

(Note: Embedding a Google Tour is a beast of another color. See this Youtube video for instructions.)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0958sW2mT4

Lit Trip: Somewhere in the Darkness by Walter Dean Myers


Here is a video on how to create a Lit Trip using Google Earth.


GLT Overview: Animation Demo from GoogleLitTrips on Vimeo.



If you are not motivated to try your hand at Google Lit Trip, perhaps this video will do the trick.


Frankenstein from GoogleLitTrips on Vimeo.

I am a Super Star and You Can Be One Too!

I can make you famous. Well...not really, but I know a video program that can. Come on now. Everyone wants to be a superstar, right? That's the reason we have so many reality shows.   Seriously, goAnimate will elevate you from just a "classroom teacher" to Superstar Teacher with the bright red cape. More importantly, this video animation program encourages student engagement, creativity, personalized learning and critical thinking. It is ranked at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy Digital Tools list. Here are ways goAminate can be used in the classroom according to the Teacher Tools to Unleash Creativity website:

1. Teachers can use this as a way to present instructions for a lesson or a unit.
2. Have your students re-create a scene from the text or rewrite and ending of a story.
3. The students can reflect on a personal experience, personal narrative, or belief statement.
4. Use it as a way to remind students of homework and upcoming assignments at the end of the class period.
5. Characters can be created to persuade the class to do the right thing, such as to eat healthy and exercise.
6. Students can create a television commercial for a product.
7. This tool can be used to create a news broadcast for current events or historical events in a social studies class.
8. This tool can be used to teach dialogue between two people.
9. It could be used to teach movie making skills in a video productions or digital communications class.

These videos can be embedded in Powerpoint, Blogs, Websites, etc. To learn more about this fantastic program, you may visit this website:http://goanimate4schools.com/public_index. Remember you are a superstar in your own right because you are an educator, one of the most selfless and caring profession in the world. Take a bow!

Below is my goAnimate on Professional Learning Networks.
Intro. PLN by elllingtonr on GoAnimate

Can it get any easier?

The Padagogy Wheel created by Allan Carrington depicts Bloom's Digital Taxonomy and technology integration. The model can be used to help integrate technology into classroom lessons. Here is a link to an introduction video of the Padagogy Wheel:  http://youtu.be/RAYVQlUVpK4.

The Word on the Street is ...

Podcasting is still a great tool to use in the classroom. Podcasting has been around for a while now, and I never thought much of the tool until recently. Because making videos is now simpler and more appealing, I dismissed it as outliving its usefulness. I was wrong!

According to Oxford English Dictionary, a podcast is a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar programme, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.
In his article How to Podcast, Jason Van Orden lists the following characteristics of a podcast:

• An easy way to share your own audio content on the internet with a focused audience
• A media that can be created with equipment you probably already own, for little cost and in as little as a day
• A way to become a recognized expert or celebrity in your niche
• A powerful way to connect with your customers and promote your business to them on regular basis.

A few cloud-based platforms for podcasting are Vocaroo, Sound Cloud, Record MP3 and Audioboo. For more elaborate podcasts which may include uploaded pictures, documents, and recorded accompanying audio or video commentary, VoiceThread is a great web-based digital storytelling program.

 

Here is my podcast talking about some ways podcasting can be integrated in the classroom lessons.


 

listen to ‘Podcasting’ on Audioboo

"By George, I Think I've Got It!" (In my proper British voice)

Source: solbites.com

I am not competitive by nature, but when I have not  accomplished a goal I have set for myself, it brings out the competitive spirit in me. Knowing that I was unsuccessful at Twitter Chat, I jumped back onto the Twitter superhighway the following week. Refueled with additional information about Twitter chats, I signed-on to Twitter at the scheduled time. I searched for the Twitter chat I wanted to participate in using the chat's hashtag and braced myself for another "world-wind" race. As I slowly merged onto Twitter's super highway,  I discovered I was late getting to the starting line. The race had already commenced. Hence, I forgot to introduce myself  and hastily sped up in search for the first chat question. As I skillfully maneuvered through tweets, I saw a few that I wanted to respond to; especially the ones that referred to Twitter chats as fast and furious. Although those "pit stops" put me in the rear view mirror of many Tweeters, I still was able to respond to questions 2 and 4.  And I did this using my smart phone on the actual Twitter Website. Yea, me!  Needless to say, when the checkered flag was waved, I received a prize of worth-while information and three followers.




Successfully participating in a Twitter chat... 

Some of my Favorite Twitter Chats (All Times are Central.)
#edtechchat (Educational Technology)-Mondays, 7PM
#edchat (Education)-Tuesdays, 6 PM
#libchat (Librarians)-Wednesdays, 7 PM
#web20tools (Web 2.0 Tools)-Wednesdays, 5 PM
#21stechat (21st Century Education)-Sunday, 7PM

The Fast and the Furious

Source: zachsnow.org

One of my edtech goals for this year is to join a Twitter chat. Recently, I found a chat that I was interested in. I signed-on to Twitter at the scheduled time. Everything else is a blur. I do remember after the experience, I tweeted, "What the What?! #edtech, #socialmedia." Maneuvering on Twitter's super highway is not for the faint of heart. Tweets zoom by you from all sides. I was able to tweet my introductions, but when I jumped back into this NASCAR race, I was four minutes behind the rest of the participants. I later learned that using "Twitter's web interface" is not the most effective or efficient way to Twitter chat. Using a Twitter Aggregator such as HootSuite, TweetChat, or TweetGrid is more beneficial. The bottom line is that participating in a Twitter chat takes practice, but you learn a lot and connect with a lot of like-minded people. However, right now I am going to stay in my lane:  the slow one.

Below are some great articles and videos about participating in Twitter Chats.
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/videos/participate-twitter-chat-txeduchat/
http://janetfouts.com/how-to-participate-in-a-tweet-chat/
http://cypressnorth.com/social-media/how-to-participate-in-twitter-chats-stop-being-socially-awkward/
http://www.edudemic.com/get-better-at-twitter/
http://www.edudemic.com/5-ideas-help-go-twitter-lurker-active-user/

2014-Bring It On!

Each new year provides opportunity for improvement. Last year I made a vow to rejuvenate my love for technology integration.  At times, the process can be time-consuming, but the challenges are quite rewarding. Hence, here is a list of my educational technology goals for 2014:

1. Choose a new tool to learn each month
2. Post to my blog each month
3. Tweet at least twice a month
4. Join a Twitter Chat
5. Attend an educational technology conference
6. Host a Tech. Tues./Tech. Thurs. at my school once a month to share technology ideas.
7. Try Skype for professional purposes
8. Expand my PLN/PLC.

Perfection is Overrated!

This fall I finally took a mini course (See the blog entry "Now I See the Light") that sparked my desire to branch out into deep, sometimes unpredictable waters of technology. Correction.  I meant to say semi-deep waters because right now I am not touching anything that looks like programming, coding, augmented reality, etc. Do you feel me?  So, I dove in feet first eagerly wanting to know how to use and incorporate various technology tools. You know-the ones that are trending in education. Remember I did say, and I quote, "My desire to learn, share, and incorporate technology has been rejuvenated, and I thirst for more." Well, that thirst isn't always easily quenched, especially when I realized I didn't have my life jacket, my life saver, my "go to" tech person:  my youngest son, who is in another state doing "the college and football thang." Go MTSU Blue Raiders! Nonetheless, I am a fairly resourceful person. I am a media specialist after all with a technology background similar to most educators. (Don't laugh. I know what you are thinking.)  Just the other day, a teacher needed a video clip on the "Red Summer of 1919," and I found a few "lickety split" and showed her how to embed them on Edmodo. Yea, Rocking Media Specialist!

But now I am treading into deeper technology territory, and self doubt slowly rears its ugly head from my right shoulder and says in his Freddy Krueger's voice, "Embedding videos is child's play. You're gonna have to come with something better than that if you want to play with the big dogs!"
"But I don't want to play with the big dogs," I say in my little girl's voice.
"You heard her! She doesn't want to play with the big dogs. She's in the Army now, and we are at war," says a little G.I. Joe figure marching on my left shoulder.  "O.K. Private. Repeat after me: I-Can-Do-This!"
Shocked at the fact that I am going to comply with this loud-mouth faerie sporting pretty little wings, I whisper "I-Can-Do-This."
"Say it like you mean it, soldier!" Sarge says while giving my ear a shower and a "deaf" sentence at the same time.
I yell,  "I-CAN-DO-THIS!!!"
Sarge salutes me and says, "That's better. Now, let's get this party started."

Mission: Demonstrate how to use the Alabama Insight Tool

Weapons of choice: Screenr and MentorMob 

Screenr and MentorMob are straight forward programs to use. Both require registration and are web-based. Screenr is a screencasting program which video-tapes your computer screen along with any audio. MentorMob allows you to upload your Screenr videos into a step by step playlist.

Mission Completed.

Debriefing: When I say I am not a perfectionist, I mean it. It is too stressful. However, most people would like for his/her presentations to be flawless. Initially, that was my goal for my mission, but after exhaustion and frustration set in, it slowly gave way to "anything will do right now." So in my pursuit of flawlessness, it took me four and a half hours to create two 5-minute videos which are full of flaws. With blurry vision (hence the imaginary friend and foe) and a grumbling stomach, I came to two conclusions:  1. I am not "cut out" for the military. 2. Perfection is o-ver-rat-ed.

Classified information for us mere civilians: Quest for perfection at first is not recommended when using the above tools or any technology tool.  No one wants to become discouraged and waste a lot of valuable time educators do not have. If using technology (even when the use of it does not go exactly as planned) helps to accomplish educational goals, then the mission is successful.  Thus, here is my video demonstration with flaws and all.

Side Note: Later I added two more videos to complete my playlist.

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!