I was looking for a class to take this summer that would help me to include more technology into the classes that I teach. I am lucky enough to have all of my classes in one classroom. I am also lucky that I have 25 Macs that can also run on a PC Platform. I have a projector and was given a laptop at the start of the school year. So you can see, I was all set up with having the technology... I just needed ideas to help me create lessons that I would use technology. You see I honestly feel that I can not have my students sitting in front of computers and not using them. I want to provide as many opportunities as I can for them to use the computer in learning situations. This is why I took this class.
Last school year I did use Moodle for reflective writing assignments and used Skype not only in a group project, but also as virtual field trips. I also included a video project that my Marketing students developed to show the eight steps of a sale. I think I did ok for the most part. But, I really want to try and do better. My students have such strong technology skills. The district I work in is pretty well off and many of the students bring in their own laptops and or Ipads. I have to keep up with them and understand what it is they are using for fun and try and see how I can use that in a classroom environment.
The first two weeks of this class have been very exciting. My mind is just spinning as how I can use what I have learned so far into my classes. I really love the vides on wikis, blogs and skype.. I think this would be great to show many of my freshman students. I also love the articles, I and can honestly say I am very interested in starting the projects. I already have an idea for the Podcast. I have never done a Podcast, but I am excited to learn. Maybe I might do my project using that tool. I am thinking of having my Marketing students create Podcasts for products we sell in the school store or even maybe public service announcements. Hey, I might even have one of the foreign language teachers have her students create the same Podcast in Spanish or French...
As you can see my mind is just rambling....I am thinking I might need to take this same course each summer just to keep up with what is available! I found this article on why teachers should use technology in the classroom. http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2007/0614-technology-classroom.php
I also found this great video on The vision of K-12 students today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8
Students who bring their own ipads and laptops...your school sounds drastically different than the district where I work! It's amazing that you have so much access to electronic resources.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering about the Skype field trips you mentioned. Where did you "go" and how exactly did you set that up?
Hi - I had taken a graduate class with a mom who had a son who had been working out of the country for over five years. He worked as an Accountant for IBM. I teach an International Business class and thought it would be a great opportunity for my students to Skype him. I am thankful that he was fine with it and really enjoy this experience. I teach in 90 min blocks, so we spent the all of that time learning what it was like to be an American and working in Slovakia. Before our Skype call, I had the students research this country and come up with at list of questions that we would ask about. I made sure that each student had two questions. I tell you, they were so amazed by this experience, and often would ask when they could Skype him again.
ReplyDeleteOne of my goals of this year is to try and offer more of these types of experiences for my students. I would love to be able to Skype another high school classroom in or out of our country. I just don't know how to find these people.
You are one lucky girl I have to say that your school lets kids bring iPads and laptops. That is absolutely awesome and I am jealous! I hope that for all of our sakes, that happens in all schools sooner than later. I am happy things are clicking for you so far and I am excited to hear your thoughts on projects for your students. Hopefully I can help with some ideas and feel free to bounce them off of me to help with the technology part if you would like! Sounds like you are off to a great start though on your own!
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