I'm torn at showing Prezi to my teachers due to the complications of this platform. After reading a few blogs and FAQs I come to learn the the education side of this came about this past February and there are still some bugs to work out before I feel like I can truly promote it. First, in order for all students to have the upgraded free education account they must have a valid educational email account. Most schools don't have this option or if they do, it is for internal email only. We are in the same situation. None of our students have school email accounts and the ones that do have email accounts we are using ePals. Second, there is no way to monitor your students when using prezi. As a former classroom teacher that is not an option. We would all love to believe all of our students are appropriately using the Internet all the time, but let's face it, they don't. We tend to have those few students who don't follow the rules and policies and like to push their limit. Then there is the fact that there is an age requirement. I totally understand why we need age requirements but this now forces me to change my training to teacher use and not student use.
With this being said, I'm worried about promoting this product. I am keeping an open mind. Being that this was originally created for the business world and not education, I'm holding out for changes. There are tons of educational Prezi followers and they have voiced their concerns as well as suggestions for making this product better.
Now, don't get me wrong, I think Prezi has a lot of potential in the classroom. I feel that it can promote higher-level thinking in our students and forces them to actually think, map out and discuss their presentation prior to creating it. But if Prezi developers don't consider educational use for this tool, I'm not sure I will stick with it. I wish they would design their interface like that of GlogsterEDU. It is such a simple and easy way to manage your students while keeping them safe. Hopefully Prezi developers will hear our cries and listen like those at GlogsterEDU.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Prezi in the Classroom
Tomorrow at my monthly 30 minute technology training session I will be presenting Prezi. This is definitely a tool I would love to see more of my teachers using in their classrooms as I feel it is a unique way to presenting information.
I believe the learning curve for Prezi is somewhat moderate as the tool itself is easy to grasp but the organizing of materials is a bit more complex. In my opinion this tool forces students higher-level thinking skills that PowerPoint just doesn't do. Because Prezi is not linear by nature and PowerPoint is, that in and of itself promotes higher-level thinking. Here the student must first organize their thoughts in a manner that will present the information they have gathered in a logical sequence, but then by adding in the fact that I can add information to any part of my canvas then force the path in any order I choose helps with the thinking process done by the student. Many of our thoughts are inter-related and this tool allows me to show and share those relationships with one another without having them side by side. To me, it is like a giant spider web where topics have some common thread but yet at the same time, one thought might lead to another thought that may or may not be related. Just like the Internet.
So I put together a Prezi to demonstrate how easy it is to create as well as uses for Prezi in the classroom. Since you can easily embed a Prezi in a blog, I decided to share mine with you.
Check it out and I hope more of you take advantage of this free tool in your classroom.
I believe the learning curve for Prezi is somewhat moderate as the tool itself is easy to grasp but the organizing of materials is a bit more complex. In my opinion this tool forces students higher-level thinking skills that PowerPoint just doesn't do. Because Prezi is not linear by nature and PowerPoint is, that in and of itself promotes higher-level thinking. Here the student must first organize their thoughts in a manner that will present the information they have gathered in a logical sequence, but then by adding in the fact that I can add information to any part of my canvas then force the path in any order I choose helps with the thinking process done by the student. Many of our thoughts are inter-related and this tool allows me to show and share those relationships with one another without having them side by side. To me, it is like a giant spider web where topics have some common thread but yet at the same time, one thought might lead to another thought that may or may not be related. Just like the Internet.
So I put together a Prezi to demonstrate how easy it is to create as well as uses for Prezi in the classroom. Since you can easily embed a Prezi in a blog, I decided to share mine with you.
Check it out and I hope more of you take advantage of this free tool in your classroom.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Socrative - Student Response
Want to incorporate a student response system into your classroom but don’t have clickers. Well here is a website that will allow you to use your smartphone, computer, laptop, etc to do just that. It is called Socrative. This site allows you to ask M/C questions (see student responses on the projection screen as a bar chart) , T/F questions, Short Answer Questions (ask open-ended questions), Quick Quiz (runs a self-paced quiz that is automatically graded and recorded), Exit Ticket (get an end-of-class pulse-check) or Space Race (run a quiz as a game and have student teams compete). You also have the ability to import questions from Excel which will cut down on prep time.
Currently this website is in alpha mode which means the software is free while they are testing. In order to gain access, you will need to click the Try It button in the upper left-hand corner to sign up. The site says they will contact you with additional information. I received my email and instructions on how to use this in about 60 seconds. So the response was very quick. In a matter of minutes I was set up and using the program with ease.
Students can access this site via the computer or their smartphone (download app). The teacher will need to share the room number that was given to them during the registration process. From here, the teacher can create questions and students can respond. At the end of the session, an excel spreadsheet will be emailed to you with the student data that was collected.
I foresee this site being very useful by having your students take those quick formative assessments as a way for you to track their progress. It is a simple way to incorporate technology into the classroom but keep the focus on the curriculum. The more we can assess the better we are able to tell what our students know and don't know. From there, we must analyze our data and reteach where necessary.
http://www.socrative.com/
Currently this website is in alpha mode which means the software is free while they are testing. In order to gain access, you will need to click the Try It button in the upper left-hand corner to sign up. The site says they will contact you with additional information. I received my email and instructions on how to use this in about 60 seconds. So the response was very quick. In a matter of minutes I was set up and using the program with ease.
Students can access this site via the computer or their smartphone (download app). The teacher will need to share the room number that was given to them during the registration process. From here, the teacher can create questions and students can respond. At the end of the session, an excel spreadsheet will be emailed to you with the student data that was collected.
I foresee this site being very useful by having your students take those quick formative assessments as a way for you to track their progress. It is a simple way to incorporate technology into the classroom but keep the focus on the curriculum. The more we can assess the better we are able to tell what our students know and don't know. From there, we must analyze our data and reteach where necessary.
http://www.socrative.com/
Mystery Skype
Today I had one of my 4th grade teachers do a mystery skype with a class from Michigan. It was the first time any of my classrooms had skyped before so it was a very exciting experience for all of us. I connected with @powell4thgrade on twitter who was asking for any of her followers if they wanted to do a "mystery skype" so of course I volunteered one of my teachers to particpate. Next I had to find a 4th grade teacher who was willing to give this a shot and the first teacher I approached jumped at this opportunity. The next step was getting this organized within a week. So, @powell4thgrade and myself communicated to work out all the details. Questions were shared ahead of time so each classroom could prepare for the "big" day. A glog was even created to share photos ahead of time between the two classrooms.
Before we knew it, it was Friday and of we had a few technical difficulties but thanks to our tech support it was worked out in a matter of a few minutes.
By 9:40 we were meeting @powell4thgrade classroom. Kids were hovered around the laptop, trying to get a good view of who they were meeting for the first time. We introduced ourselves and then started the "mystery" skype activity. Each classroom took a turn in revealing hints about their state. All students from each classroom were very attentive and responsive to each other. Once all hints were given out, each classroom got to "guess" the state that the students were from. Each classroom was able to answer correctly on the first try.
So I then asked, "Which clue was the one that gave our state away?". One student said, the student's sweatshirt... We all busted up laughing because neither myself nor the classroom teacher realized she was wearing a sweatshirt with our state's name. Thank goodness she was the last student to reveal our hint. Then another student said our hint about the bodies of water that surround or go through our state and one other person said when we told them which states border our state. Being that our state has eight bordering states and there is only one other state like ours, it probably did help them narrow it down. For our students it was the bodies of water along with the state capital that helped us determine where they were from.
From there we chatted a bit longer about blogging with one another and from there said our goodbyes.
After it was all said and done, I processed this activity with these students because I feel they need to understand not only what skype is but how it can be used in the classroom as a tool not a toy. Many times, students walk away from an activity thinking the only lesson in it was that we had "fun" doing it. Not that learning was taking place.
I want to thank @powell4thgrade for inviting us to joing them in this "Mystery Skype" adventure. We had fun and it was a valuable learning experience. We look forward to skyping not only with @powell4thgrade but with others too. Our next big adventure will be to connect with @powell4thgrade through student blogs. I will let you know how this goes in a few weeks.
Before we knew it, it was Friday and of we had a few technical difficulties but thanks to our tech support it was worked out in a matter of a few minutes.
By 9:40 we were meeting @powell4thgrade classroom. Kids were hovered around the laptop, trying to get a good view of who they were meeting for the first time. We introduced ourselves and then started the "mystery" skype activity. Each classroom took a turn in revealing hints about their state. All students from each classroom were very attentive and responsive to each other. Once all hints were given out, each classroom got to "guess" the state that the students were from. Each classroom was able to answer correctly on the first try.
So I then asked, "Which clue was the one that gave our state away?". One student said, the student's sweatshirt... We all busted up laughing because neither myself nor the classroom teacher realized she was wearing a sweatshirt with our state's name. Thank goodness she was the last student to reveal our hint. Then another student said our hint about the bodies of water that surround or go through our state and one other person said when we told them which states border our state. Being that our state has eight bordering states and there is only one other state like ours, it probably did help them narrow it down. For our students it was the bodies of water along with the state capital that helped us determine where they were from.
From there we chatted a bit longer about blogging with one another and from there said our goodbyes.
After it was all said and done, I processed this activity with these students because I feel they need to understand not only what skype is but how it can be used in the classroom as a tool not a toy. Many times, students walk away from an activity thinking the only lesson in it was that we had "fun" doing it. Not that learning was taking place.
I want to thank @powell4thgrade for inviting us to joing them in this "Mystery Skype" adventure. We had fun and it was a valuable learning experience. We look forward to skyping not only with @powell4thgrade but with others too. Our next big adventure will be to connect with @powell4thgrade through student blogs. I will let you know how this goes in a few weeks.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Using Glogs to Create a WebQuest
Well, I finally had to give it a try. My favorite Web2.0 tool is GlogsterEDU so I just had to test it out to see how well I liked it in the format of a WebQuest. And I have to say I LOVE it! In the past I would dread creating a WebQuest due to the fact I would have to "relearn" Dreamweaver for the millionth time. I would try to find ways to avoid creating them or just come up with excuses for why I couldn't "tackle" it at that time.
So, just the other day I sat down at my computer to work on a few Glogs I had been putting off for the past several weeks due to technology conferences I was attending and/or presenting. When I started applying all the information I had recently acquired from the tech conferences it dawned on me that a Glog would be the perfect format for a WebQuest. So I decided to create a framework or shell for how it could work. Keep in mind the WebQuest that was created was quickly created just to demonstrate how it would work, look and feel in this format.
I have to say it was the easiest thing I had created in a long time. I loved the fact that I could add additonal multi-media content that really couldn't be easily added to Dreamweaver or any other template. (For our teachers, Dreamweaver has a high learning curve so the ease of a Glog was my solution to the problem), The best part was how I could embed videos for those roles that needed access to them. They no longer "had" to click on a link to get to the video, instead it was right there and easily accessible. Next, being able to attach scaffolding guides and not worry if they are in the correct folder with the correct path in order for the students to access was a huge plus. Then to have the capability of easily customizing the Glog wall and Glog page without having to know html code was the icing on top. Using a Glog just made total sense. I had the ease of this platform at my fingertips plus all the bells and whistles it offers to create a customized WebQuest for my teachers to use with their students. So easy, yet so fun. Since this first creation, I have shared this tool with all my eMINTS teachers I train. This way it eliviates stress of learning Dreamweaver and they can focus on the content of their WebQuest. It's a super tool for many uses and can't wait to experiment with more.
Keep in mind this WebQuest example is just that, an example. I didn't focus on the content of the WebQuest but the platform in which it is delivered. I wanted a true example of a Glog as a WebQuest that was fully functional so I created it quickly. The WebQuest is truly in the beginning stages as far as the content goes, but at least my teachers can see how easy and perfect the two fit together.
To check it out visit: http://tompkj.edu.glogster.com/oregon-trail-webquest-/
So, just the other day I sat down at my computer to work on a few Glogs I had been putting off for the past several weeks due to technology conferences I was attending and/or presenting. When I started applying all the information I had recently acquired from the tech conferences it dawned on me that a Glog would be the perfect format for a WebQuest. So I decided to create a framework or shell for how it could work. Keep in mind the WebQuest that was created was quickly created just to demonstrate how it would work, look and feel in this format.
I have to say it was the easiest thing I had created in a long time. I loved the fact that I could add additonal multi-media content that really couldn't be easily added to Dreamweaver or any other template. (For our teachers, Dreamweaver has a high learning curve so the ease of a Glog was my solution to the problem), The best part was how I could embed videos for those roles that needed access to them. They no longer "had" to click on a link to get to the video, instead it was right there and easily accessible. Next, being able to attach scaffolding guides and not worry if they are in the correct folder with the correct path in order for the students to access was a huge plus. Then to have the capability of easily customizing the Glog wall and Glog page without having to know html code was the icing on top. Using a Glog just made total sense. I had the ease of this platform at my fingertips plus all the bells and whistles it offers to create a customized WebQuest for my teachers to use with their students. So easy, yet so fun. Since this first creation, I have shared this tool with all my eMINTS teachers I train. This way it eliviates stress of learning Dreamweaver and they can focus on the content of their WebQuest. It's a super tool for many uses and can't wait to experiment with more.
Keep in mind this WebQuest example is just that, an example. I didn't focus on the content of the WebQuest but the platform in which it is delivered. I wanted a true example of a Glog as a WebQuest that was fully functional so I created it quickly. The WebQuest is truly in the beginning stages as far as the content goes, but at least my teachers can see how easy and perfect the two fit together.
To check it out visit: http://tompkj.edu.glogster.com/oregon-trail-webquest-/
World Map Links to Newspapers
As I was working on a unit for one of my teachers, I ran across a website that I feel would benefit almost any teacher in any discipline.
It is the world’s largest newspaper site. It is a map that contains markers for every newspaper in the world. You just click on a marker in the desired part of the world on the desired language and voila, you have access to that online newspaper.
There are two ways to locate a newspaper. You have the option of either clicking on a marker to access the online newspaper or you may type in the search box.
When you click on the marker you have the option to translate the text or access it. By clicking on the translate, Google opens up and will translate into your chosen language. If you opt to access the site, then the online version of the newspaper will open in a pop up window.
If you wish to search for a particular newspaper, located in the upper right-hand corner you will find a search box that will allow you to type in the title of the newspaper or you may search by place or address. There is even a built in filter that will narrow your search by only displaying the major newspapers, as well as filtering out languages or showing only those newspapers on the following: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Kindle editions and Pressdisplay editions.
I also like the color coded markers that distinguish between the languages. For example: if the marker is yellow then the native text is English, if the marker is blue the native text is German/Deutsch. There is a legend located in the lower left-hand corner of the screen for additional languages. Keep in mind I did run across a few sites that Google was unable to translate, but for the most part, the majority of them could be translated.
If you continue to have trouble locating one, here is what I did. While doing a search for a Japanese newspaper, I had trouble finding one due to the numerous markers. I zoomed in to that location and I was able to see Japanese newspapers written in English. I was able to click on that marker and a Japanese newspaper opened up in a pop-up window.
Uses in Education:
Current events classes could review several newspapers from the Middle East, France, Great Britain and the US to compare and contrast the events happening in Libya. Communication arts classes could use this as a starting place to find articles of interest in which to write a persuasive paper. History classes could look up events that are happening in the world and discuss the repercussions. This site can even be used to gather additional resources for planning a lesson. For example the teacher or student could look at Japan’s newspapers to learn more about the earthquake, tsunami and the rebuilding of their country. As I have only touched the tip of the iceberg as for the many uses of this site, I recommend checking it out.
http://newspapermap.com/
It is the world’s largest newspaper site. It is a map that contains markers for every newspaper in the world. You just click on a marker in the desired part of the world on the desired language and voila, you have access to that online newspaper.
There are two ways to locate a newspaper. You have the option of either clicking on a marker to access the online newspaper or you may type in the search box.
When you click on the marker you have the option to translate the text or access it. By clicking on the translate, Google opens up and will translate into your chosen language. If you opt to access the site, then the online version of the newspaper will open in a pop up window.
If you wish to search for a particular newspaper, located in the upper right-hand corner you will find a search box that will allow you to type in the title of the newspaper or you may search by place or address. There is even a built in filter that will narrow your search by only displaying the major newspapers, as well as filtering out languages or showing only those newspapers on the following: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Kindle editions and Pressdisplay editions.
I also like the color coded markers that distinguish between the languages. For example: if the marker is yellow then the native text is English, if the marker is blue the native text is German/Deutsch. There is a legend located in the lower left-hand corner of the screen for additional languages. Keep in mind I did run across a few sites that Google was unable to translate, but for the most part, the majority of them could be translated.
If you continue to have trouble locating one, here is what I did. While doing a search for a Japanese newspaper, I had trouble finding one due to the numerous markers. I zoomed in to that location and I was able to see Japanese newspapers written in English. I was able to click on that marker and a Japanese newspaper opened up in a pop-up window.
Uses in Education:
Current events classes could review several newspapers from the Middle East, France, Great Britain and the US to compare and contrast the events happening in Libya. Communication arts classes could use this as a starting place to find articles of interest in which to write a persuasive paper. History classes could look up events that are happening in the world and discuss the repercussions. This site can even be used to gather additional resources for planning a lesson. For example the teacher or student could look at Japan’s newspapers to learn more about the earthquake, tsunami and the rebuilding of their country. As I have only touched the tip of the iceberg as for the many uses of this site, I recommend checking it out.
http://newspapermap.com/
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