Blog Response- Week 4
I believe that I am gradually achieving my goals of my GAME plan. One of my goals was to increase professional ties with other educators via the internet and I have made that connection by participating in blogs in this course. I am finding much information about infusing technology into my lessons. I have found new resources to use in the classroom by reading and responding to others’ blogs. Interacting with each others with blogs has been a great opportunity to learn new ideas and get support and assistance from other teachers on how to enact those ideas.
I have also used project-based learning linking concepts from the community by having my students complete a project about a new law that is affecting them. Dr. Cennamo explains that students learn to perform skills within the context of a real-world situation (Cennamo, 2009). The town that they live in is now strictly enforcing a curfew, so I had students analyze the positives and negatives associated with this legislation.
I do not need to modify my plan because I believe that this plan is guiding me to new tools that I can use in my classroom. I have learned that using technology in the classroom is possible even when an educator does have limited sources. I had written a response about the scarcity of resources in my school district and many of my colleagues responded with excellent suggestions on how to effectively use the minimal sources I have. As per Dr. Cennamo, “ A single computer connected to a display, either a projector or a large monitor, can be a valuable resource for supporting your instruction (Cennamo, 2009).” I now think of innovative ideas to use this computer and my four student computers.
New questions that I am looking for war d to answer include: What technology can be brought into the classroom with a small budget? And, How accessible is video editing software? Is it something that needs to be purchased or are their free versions educators can access?
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
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Arianna,
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to video editing software I would recommend starting with Windows Movie Maker. While Movie Maker is towards the bottom of the rung on the ladder of editing software it is very accessible. Most schools that purchase Microsoft Works will have Movie Maker with it so it should already be installed on computers in your school's computer lab.
There are few free editing software available and most are no better than Movie Maker. If you are looking to purchase one, they can be anywhere from sixty to over one hundred dollars depending on the amount of features you desire.
I would recommend sticking to Movie Maker if you are new to editing. Once you feel comfortable with it then try some of the ones available commercially. I would also recommend staying close to Movie Maker for the students. As I mentioned in my posting, if the students have too many features to choose from they may spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make their presentations to look "pretty" and not focus on the quality.
Good luck,
Shawn
Arianna,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your colleagues regarding the necessity of a computer and a projector. No matter what kind of budget you have, a computer (with an internet connection, of course) and a projector take priority and allow you to do great things for your instruction. Often, administrators have some flexibility in the budget for the purchase of items for the school. You could put together a good case for a projector.
With regard to your question about video editing, besides Windows Movie Maker, which is most likely already installed on your school computers, you should check out http://jaycut.com/. Though I have not used this sight before, I did some searching per your request and it looks like it might be helpful. If you end up using it and have time, update your blog with feedback about the site.
Jeff
I like the way you encourage blog use by yourself and your peers. When we use our classroom blog, the students and myself are able to share information, links, news, and artifacts that we think are beneficial. By including our educational peers, we teachers can do the same. When trying to find new “free” software, why look for a needle in a haystack? Start with the people in our learning community. Often others have had the same problems and found wonderful solutions that would benefit us as well. You are bold to tackle the local dilemma of minors’ curfews. As a real world situation, the students really can benefit from the process as much as the outcome. “Engaging students in authentic experiences, typically increases both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, pg. 51, 2009). Have you considered having local officials come in to talk about it? Could a field trip to a board meeting be done? Would the students like to debate the pros and cons and then present their findings to local officials? While resources may be scarce, opportunities to share, discuss, and debate abound.
ReplyDeleteResources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Arianna,
ReplyDeleteI love the way you asked your students to consider and react to a real-world problem in their own community. I was thinking about this and how you might extend the project by asking students to use Windows Movie Maker to create a snapshot of teenagers who epitomize maturity and responsibility by giving back to the community. Perhaps this could be shown through a series of interviews with students who volunteer or somehow participate in something larger than themselves. Although they can do nothing to change the curfew law, it might be satisfying for students to empower themselves by creating something that demonstrates their self-worth and budding citizenship. Perhaps these student videos could be accessed through the school website, ensuring a real audience for an authentic task.
Regardless, I was inspired by your use of a real-community problem.
Mary
I am excited to try Windows movie maker. I think the students will be very motivated to work with this software and present their learning in a different modality. Students are always excited to have a final product that they can showcase to their peers and community. My ultimate goal is to make my students proud of their work while learning their content standards. Thank you for your comments, they have helped me immensely.
ReplyDeleteRobert Newell to Arianna-
ReplyDeleteCan you get permission for students to use cell phones or Ipods, or Iphones in the classroom? They could make small videos for homework and show them in class the next day.
I know that I get envious when I watch the video resources and see these well-equipped labs and Smartboards in every classroom. I have to buy my own markers and paper! Administrators give us the directive that students have to be on computers as much as possible, and I just found out that the art teacher has taken over one of our labs for the rest of the school year. Still, there are ways to get around this. I let groups of three use my personal computer in class. I have taken my kids to the high school to use their lab. If I can't access computers, I use small white boards and flash cards to mimic games that they would normally find on the computer. ReadWriteThink.org has a lot of activities that you can print out and I just found a new site today- Webquest.org-that lets you create simple webquests for in-class or homework.
If we are in a tech-poor school, it is really up to us to improvise and push for ways to improve our situation.