Over the years, it has been no secret that using technology in the
classroom has been a controversial debate.
The way we integrate technology and the impact it has on student
achievement is debated among many like parents, teachers, and students. Technology
in today’s world is branching out in all the aspects of our lives. It is important that students become
technologically-proficient in today’s world.
As educators, it is our responsibility to motivate our students to
learn, actively seek information, create new ideas, and to apply knowledge to
make them 21st century learners.
In The Great Media
Debate between Kozma vs Clark, Clark takes the opinion that technology does not
directly affect a student’s achievement in the classroom. Clark reasons that technology is only another
way to transmit information. On the
hand, Kozma’s believes that technology can directly affect the learning process
by influencing learning. In this debate,
I agree with Kozma when we integrate technology appropriately it has a positive
impact on student achievement. We must
integrate technology into the curriculum, not just supplement with it. We need to promote the teaching of 21st
century skills so that students can be successful in their learning and
students will have the technological skill to be prepared to enter the workforce
when they graduate. In What Is
Successful Technology Integration?, the author states that, “When effectively
integrated into the curriculum, technology tools can extend learning in powerful
ways.”
Naturally, kids are drawn to technology. Integrating it in the classroom is a fun and engaging
learning opportunity for students. This is a way to teach literacy skills,
improve student engagement, make real-world connections, collaborate,
differentiate learning, promote critical thinking, and problem solving skills to teach 21st
century skills and achieve student success. The article also states that, “Successful
technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent,
accessible and readily available for the task at hand, and supporting the
curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals.”
What Is Successful
Technology Integration? (2007, November 5). Edutopia. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description
A podcast is the distribution of an audio file using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS) to the computers of subscribed users. You may upload the files to digital music or
multimedia players. You can easily
create a podcast from a digital audio file and are making a digital broadcast
available on the internet. Podcasts
allow you not only to listen, but allow you to share your voice as well. The three podcasting tools I explored were:
SoundCloud, Audioboo, and Podomatic. I
was able to create an account for each of these podcasting sites and download
the app on my Iphone as well.
I used SoundCloud to record the podcast Daniel made about
the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. I decided to go with SoundCloud because I have
used it before. It is easy to record when
you are on your computer. I did try
recording from the app on my phone and it would not allow me to. To record with
my phone, I would have to record with my voice memo or download an app that uploads
directly to SoundCloud, so I used my laptop instead. Some more positive features of SoundCloud is
that you can also upload a file that you have already recorded, you can share
your music or podcasts privately with friends, or publicly on social
media. One of the negative features on
SoundCloud is that if you want more features you have to pay a fee. You are also not able to edit or add effects
to it. Here is my podcast:
I did like that on Audioboo you are able to record using the
phone. That is very convenient and it
was easy to manipulate through. It gives
you the option to trim and edit your podcast. A con with Audioboo is that once
you trim it, you are not able to go back to the original. The noise around you
gets picked up very easily as well. Another good feature is that you are able to
add pictures to the context. In Podomatic, I could not figure out how to
record using my phone. I felt it was
more difficult than the others to navigate through. To be honest, since I could not figure out
how to record, I stopped going through it.
You can incorporate podcasts in the classroom by assigning
collaborative student projects by incorporating a podcast, you can engage your
parents by recording students and sharing with parents, leave instructions for
your substitute, create school announcements, and keep absent students
up-to-date on lessons. You can also have
students create a reading radio that summarizes a book they have read, have
them do podcasts on current events, and have them be podcast pen pals with
other students within the school or out of the school. There are so many more ways students can
interact with podcasts. I think students
would have a blast creating podcasts and sharing them with their classmates and
parents.
Comics are a form of storytelling by
expressing ideas with images and texts.
While early in history, comics were slandered to be just entertainment
for children and immature adults. Today comics are very popular for all age
group of people not just children. Comics are so enjoyable to read, they even
catch the attention of reluctant readers.
Technology today have made it easy for anyone to create comics as
well. I explored and created comics with
the three following comic sites: ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix.
I felt like Pixton was an easy to
create an account, navigate through, and create a comic strip. It took me the least amount of time to create
my comic strip compared to the other sites.
I had the option to create character, while I did play around with it, I
did not use my own character. It gave
many options of characters to choose from.
There is a variety of colorful backgrounds,converstion bubbles, and
other objects as well. You can even
choose a themed background. Saving it
was very easy and simple. You can
publish it, share it with friends, email it, and share it on social media. I liked Pixton the best and feel like my
students would be able to manipulate it easily.
To create an account
with Toondoo is easy. However, I feel
like I had a more difficult time manipulating this site. I looked at a YouTube tutorial video to get
more familiarized with it. This site
does offer a variety of backgrounds, props, clip art, and conversation
bubbles. This site is very colorful and eye-catching. The save button was a little difficult to
find as well, and I had to YouTube that
as well. Although, it did offer a good
selection of things to use, I prefer Pixton.
Once you figure it, it is easier to manipulate through, and students
would enjoy using it as well.
In Make Belief Comix, there is no registration
required. It includes a video demo that highlights the main
steps to create your own comic. Although
it gave a demo video, I still found this one difficult to use. I did not enjoy it as much as the
others. It had a variety of characters,
backgrounds, conversation bubbles, colors, words, and other objects to choose
from. The comics were plain and did not have as much color as the
other sites and were mostly black and
white. It give the option of flipping the
characters, which I liked. It also
allows you to change the language on the comic strip. To save it, you can either print, email it,
or save your comic in a word document. It
does offer information like lesson plans and tips for teachers. After manipulating the site, I got the hang
of it. I feel like students would like
to use this site as well, but feel like the others will catch their attention
more because of the colors.
I enjoyed learning how to make
comic strip, and I am already thinking of way I can implement them throughout the
school year. Comics can be incorporated
into the classroom many ways. You can
teach sequencing, students can create a setting, tell a story by developing
their own characters, and they can create an interview by having the characters
ask each other questions. You can have
them retell a folktale, fairytale, or just a regular story into a comic strip. These are just a few ideas. There are so many more that can be
incorporated with students.
Tellagami is a mobile app that lets
you create quick Gami videos. You can
customize a character by changing is outfit and hair, and you can record your
voice or dialogue for 30 seconds. My
Tellagami is on the a cute children’s picture book, The Day the
Crayons Quit.
I really enjoyed using this app. Here
are a few way you can incorporate in the classroom: having students pretend they are someone is
history and tell a short biography on them, have a character tell a story,
recite a poem or speech, or have students practice a different language by
telling a story or explaining something.
YouTube is global video-sharing website that allows users to
upload, view, and share videos. People
connect, inform, and inspire others sharing videos. I have used YouTube for various reasons. I have used it to watch videos on how-to do
something, music videos, to go back and watch something I missed on TV,
tutorials for something I do not know, screencasts, books, andjust for pure entertainment.
YouTube can be incorporated in a classroom or library in
various ways. We can use to access
educational videos for free, use clips to trigger unique and interesting
debates on topics, find clips to use as archive resources, use YouTubeEdu,
engage visual learners, demonstrate experiments, use videos as writing prompts,
etc. The options are really endless. There is so many ways we can utilize YouTube
to enhance our student’s learning.
Most Helpful:
The “How to use EBSCO Host” was a video that I felt would be the most
helpful to students. The librarian,
guided students step by step on how to use it for research. She chooses the Student Research Center to
look at. There she looks at current
issues and types in gun control. You can
look for magazines, newspapers, transcripts, etc. She shows you how to cite the resource. She goes into EBSCO host web. She continues to explain how students can
narrow their topic.
Video Students Would Like Best:
I think Tiger Visits the Norman High School Library is
entertaining and students would like it.
The video has not words, but has music in the background. It starts with a Tiger walking into the
library, checking the system for a book, he goes to the shelf, and finds
it. He then sits down to read it and
when he is down he goes to research it on online using Brittannica and shares
it with students next to him. Then he
sits down and plays a game of chess, makes a puzzle, goes to the use the Nooks,
then heads to the magazine area. Before he leaves he makes sure to check-out
his book an when he is done, he puts it back in the slot. The video shows what there is to do and look
at in the library in a visually, entertaining video.
The Unquiet Library
Most Helpful:
The video I chose that I thought would be most
helpful to students is the “Mini-Lesson for Humphlett 10th L/C
AdvancedFlickr Search.” This video
demonstrates step by step how to find creative common photos using advanced
search in Flickr. She focuses on
searching for images. If the attribution
is cited, permission is given to use them.
She also demonstrates how to use filters. By using the advanced search you get the best
results.
Video Students Would Like Best:
In the video “Four Classes Researching, Learning,
and Collaborating,” there are four
classes at one time in the Unquiet Library. The video take a tour around the
library and showcases how the students are engaged and collaborating with each
other. I think students would enjoy
seeing themselves and others engaged in their learning.
Pikesville High School Library
Most Helpful:
Although there are a lot of
helpful videos in this site, I believe the “PHS Finanicial Aid Workshop” is
most helpful. It walks students on how
to apply for financial aid. A lot of
students do not know how FASFA works. It
is very beneficial to seniors going into college. She explains the different types of financial
aids and sources out there. She looks at
how to see the deadlines and how to contact the University that your children
are attending.
Video Students Would Like Best:
The video I thing students would like best is the
“Senior Party in the Library.” It shows that students don’t have to always be
quiet in the library. The music plays
and students start dancing and the librarian joins in as well. It is very entertaining to watch.
BBMS Media
Most Helpful:
I think that the “NHD Annotation Writing” video
would be most helpful to students. It
shows students exactly how to write an annotation. It tells students to use Noodle Tools to help
guide them in the annotation.
Video Students Would Like Best:
I think that all the parody videos were
entertaining. I like the creativity of
the students. I think the students would
really enjoy the “Fifth Harmony Overdue Library Book Parody.” It is a popular
song and very catchy and video goes along with the beat of the music.
Animoto turns our video clips and photos into a
video slideshow. It creates a
professional-quality video within minutes.
Animotos is easy to use, it walks you through the steps the 1st
time you use it. The book trailer I
created is for Mr. Ferris and His
Wheel. I love how the author and
illustrator bring this picture book biography to life. It shows how Mr. Ferris was determined to
accomplish his dream and did not let negativity bring him down.
Mr. Ferris and His Wheel synopsis:
Capturing an engineer’s
creative vision and mind for detail, this fully illustrated picture book
biography sheds light on how the American inventor George Ferris defied gravity
and seemingly impossible odds to invent the world’s most iconic amusement park
attraction, the Ferris wheel. A fun, fact-filled text
by Gibbs Davis combines with Gilbert Ford’s dazzling full-color illustrations
to transport readers to the 1893 World’s Fair, where George Ferris and his big,
wonderful wheel lifted passengers to the skies for the first time.
Click on the QR Code to view my book trailer.
QR Codes
There are many different ways QR codes can
be used for teaching and learning. Some
fun and exciting ways to use QR codes in the classroom are: scavenger hunts, book trailers, QR stations
for self-directed learning, interactive classroom calendars, assistive technology,
link hand-outs to resources, easy audio-book access. Those are just a few ways we can use utilize
them in the classroom.
Screencasts are a digital recording of computer screen that
captures what is taking place on the screen.
You use voice-over narration to demonstrate how to use a specific
operating system, software, or website features. Personally, I had never created a screencast
until today. The only exposure I had to
screencast is when I went to YouTube to watch a video on how to operate a
software or when my professors use it to explain coursework. I am very excited that I learned how to
create one. As a first year librarian,
I am definitely going to be incorporating it this upcoming school year. I explored the following screencast making
programs.
Instagram and Vine are both social media apps that we are very popular in our society today. Both apps can be used to enhance the way teach in our classrooms and can be used as a tool to communicate tasks with our students.
Screencast-o-matic was fairly easy to use. They have videos to guide you with creating
your own screencast. This was a plus
because I had never created one before.
For my assignment, I created a screencast on how to create a quiz on
Kahoot! I chose this because it is an
engaging, interactive way to evaluate what your students has learned and what they
still might be struggling at, while your students are having a blast taking the
quiz. Click on the word Kahoot or watch below.
I used Jing to create my second screencast. I was just as easy to use as
screen-o-cast. I like that it is limited
to five minutes because sometimes we can get to wordy when trying to explain
things. I like how it downloads a
toolbar as a sun on top of your screen.
It is ready for you to use anytime.
I made a screencast to show students how to use Wordle. It is a simple program that students can
create an image using vocabulary terms. Click on the word Wordle or the link below to access the screencast.
Instagram is an
online photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service app for our
smartphones. You create a profile and have a newsfeed. People who follow you can see your newsfeed and
people who you follow can see theirs as well.
It is a fun way to share photos and videos with friends and family. You are able to filter your photos and link
to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. I have
had an Instagram for quite some time, but do not post very often. As an educator, you can feature student of
the week, you can share student’s successes, you can promote books, you can use
it for writing prompts. The ideas are
endless. As educators, we can creatively
use and integrate this program in our classroom or library. Click on Instagram to view my profile or look below.
A photo posted by Monica Silva (@monicasilvabd) on
Vine is an app that is similar to Instagram. Vine is a video sharing app that can share
six second video clips. You will need to
download the app to your smartphone. Vine
is an easy app to use. The first time
you are using it to create a video, it guided you through each step. You are
able to hold your finger on the screen and record short clips of
something. Then you can compile them to
make a six second video. In the classroom or library, Vine can be used to make
announcements, model how to execute a task, design mini book trailers, tease of
an upcoming unit, create how-to videos, a way to take notes during an
experiment instead of just reading about it, and you can make videos of
characters in a story. Those are just a
few ideas on how to integrate Vine in your classroom. The Vine video I created is of my children
and cousin doing flips on the trampoline.
They enjoyed me making a video of them. Look below.
As I used both Jing and Screencast-o-matic, I feel like both
were easy to use. It comes down to your
preference when creating a screencast. If you want to record a longer screen
cast, Screencast-o-matic has a record time of 15 minutes and Jing only has 5
minutes max. Screencast-o-matic
highlights the mouse movements and Jing does not. I do however like that Jing
has a toolbar that is easy access on your screen anytime. Using Jing, you have to install the software
and Screencast-o-matic is web-based. The one thing I could not figure out is how to make the Jing video come out on my blog page. You
are able to show both easily as soon as you done creating the screencasts. I am excited that I learned how to use both
of these. I am really excited with all the
technology I am learning in this class.
