With all things in life from catching a baseball to playing the piano to making a video, practice is the key. Because I don't make many videos and because I have been trying out various video making programs I'm a little slow on the uptake. I have used Moovly, Powtoon, Animoto, and WeVideo. I know how to use them all a little bit. A little bit means that you can miss out on some of the cool things that these programs can do. I started out making my video on Moovly but I just couldn't figure it out. So I moved to Powtoon. Between the last time I used Powtoon and now they changed some things (my biggest gripe against technology - constant change and relearning). Even Powtoon had me stumped. I went to YouTube and learned how to take my Powtoon and put it into WeVideo. The perfect marriage. And someone in our cohort (I think it was Pedro - thank you) said that you could record your voice on the iphone and then email it to yourself. I did this and the quality was better than recording my voice with my computer. Then I decided if I can record my voice with my iphone and email it then I am going to do a video and email it and then put it into my WeVideo. I combined a video from my iphone, and a Powtoon video into WeVideo, I'm a rock star! And then I exported it all to my own YouTube channel!! Now for the practice part. If I don't keep this up I will forget. I'm scared I will forget. I need a new project.
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Undertaking a Master’s Program is a major decision in a working person’s life. I have considered doing a Master’s Program for many years before finally deciding to apply to the Touro University Master’s in Innovative Learning Program. My colleague, Martha McCoy, encouraged me to consider the Innovative Learning Program and with the outreach and financial backing of Napa Learns I was finally ready to commit. I often took continuing education classes, and while they were classes that interested me, they were disjointed and I knew I wanted to take professional development classes that were more cohesive and what better way than with a Master’s Program.
Honestly, I truly wanted to study nutrition and had no interest in technology beyond editing photos and paying bills on-line. I really didn’t know what to expect from an innovative learning program, but I did know that devices were everywhere and my classroom had a set of ipads and rather than be some old fuddy duddy (like Mrs. Harris, my 2nd grade teacher) I ought to find out what’s what. I figured that once I have a clearer idea and more information, then I could either accept or reject technology. I quickly rejected so much that the instructor’s introduced. In my head I often said, “Oh, that’s not for my 2nd graders.” But, time after time the information would sink in and I would find myself considering a possible use, in my classroom, for many of the presentation tools or applications or websites. I quite like my approach the reject-then-reconsider-technique. The research project was the enterprise that helped me to own the classes. Researching and implementing the e-reader pilot program in my class was the most important part of this year-long journey. Introducing e-readers to my class was something that I cared a lot about. It directly affected my students and my reading pedagogy. This was professional development of the finest kind. I love teaching my students to be good readers and here was an innovative way to help those who were struggling and those who were reluctant to read. It was a win-win situation - my students found a new way to enjoy books and I got to enjoy them enjoying books. Joy! Piloting the e-readers was just the beginning. E-readers are a new tool in my kit and I still need to become proficient. This new school year will be a honing and fine tuning of all the possibilities that e-readers hold. My 2nd graders need to acquire strong foundational skills and I plan to continue to find innovative ways to instill those skills. As I have been putting together the tiltnet pages I have been thinking about the kind of websites I visit and the ones that hold my attention. I like things (websites) to be succinct and uncluttered. The information about the importance of white space is right up my alley. Now that I have, at least, visited all my pages and links and input something into most of them the rubric really comes in handy. It is a bit daunting. Is my website going to come across as sophisticated or am I merely competent? This is the culmination of the past year and I truly need to present to myself and those who I am hoping to influence with my work a product that is clear, informative, and can be trusted.
I have been camping of late and trying to get as much work done as I can when I can. This has made me take a break from looking at the tiltnet site. I can't just hop in anytime I want and that has been a good thing. Stepping back gives me a fresh outlook. At least this is what I am trying to convince myself of so that I don't stress out. My blog this today has almost nothing to do with producing my capstone video. It is coming along and there are all kinds of glitches, audio mostly, but I am on the road and I am camping and using computers and wifi and technology right now is interesting. I am new to the smartphone world but I have figured out how to connect wifi to my laptop. It has been going pretty smooth so far. The laptop is my issue. I don't know where I am going to plug in. I am watching the little battery icon go down down down as I try to get my homework done. I didn't even think about some sort of car adaptor what with all the other planning I was doing for this trip. And we are planning our hiking and kayaking trips around me getting my homework done and planning around the rain. Lots of rain this year in Montana. The time change is not too bad it is only one hour later. Anyway, this really is a learning experience in using tech in diverse situations. It is a little stressful because I want to get my work done and be a good student but I also just want to enjoy the birds and the lakes and the glaciers and my family. We might go into town in a few days and I will track down the local library to plug in and get some work done.
Reflections On My Journey
Teaching children to read is my forte. I am effective at helping my students be successful. When I began this Master’s Program in Innovative Learning I knew it would be my reading program that I would innovate. Even though teaching reading is my strong-suit I knew there were still tools out there to add to my kit. By infusing e-readers into my classroom I have found a motivational tool and a tool with assessments which inform my teaching. I'm not a tech for tech's sake person I need evidence that what I am doing is worthwhile. And it is...worthwhile. Lasting Learning from the Innovative Learning Program The innovative learning program is that first domino in a domino topple. It spreads out and creates an amazing picture that consist of students, teachers, staff, parents and the community at large. It starts with this program and it starts with me and I'm happy about that. I want to make teachers' jobs easier and I can do that by sharing my work. Sharing on this site and sharing with my 2nd grade team. It often sounds trite when people say, "It's for the kids." but, when we as professionals share with each other so that no one has to reinvent the wheel then we add something meaningful to a job that, while never easy, will be more sustainable. And supported teachers means quality teaching for "the kids". I am trying out Moovly. I am having a difficult time. To make it catchy and interesting is tough. And to include myself in the video is overwhelming.
I have given up on Moovly and I am putting together my ideas on Powtoon. In Moovly I did not understand how I was going to do the voice over or how to add music. Powtoon templates come with music and I haven't yet done any voice over. I have no b-roll. I think that is okay. My video is such that b-roll doesn't have a place. I am encountering all kinds of problems. And of course I am on vacation and that makes for working in unusual surroundings with wonky wifi and it is just not a mix conducive to organization and productivity. I am overwhelmed and stressed and this is not how I want to be. Yes, venting is good. The article called Harnessing the Power of Google Forms, while interesting was geared more towards high school or college and not my 2nd grade students.
The second article was super helpful. The NEW Google Forms made it easier for me to finish our assignment (which I blogged about below) because I had a clearer idea of the uses of google forms and add-ons. While there are a smattering of uses of google forms and add-ons in 2nd grade it is just another tool that reinforces for me that the lower grades, K-2, have plenty of time to experience all this in the future. I mostly want them to be good digital citizens and practice their digital foundational skills. Simply Send - Smart Sheets - DocAppender I made a google form which was an exit ticket. I then tried the three above listed add-ons.
Smart Sheets puts all the responses from the exit ticket into a spread sheet. It was easy to set up and easy to reference. I would use it again. Simply Send is an add-on that sends you an email when someone responds. For this application I don't think it would be necessary to fill up my email with 20 or more emails which are informing me that someone just filled out the exit ticket (or whatever it is you would attach it to). I'm not sure how I would use this in the future. Doc Appender attaches selected information from your google form to the bottom of a specified DOC. I got it to work but currently I don't see how I would use this in the future. As always it is good to experience and play around with google forms and the add-ons. As a second grade teacher I can see a few uses. Maybe as a teacher leader or in staff situations I might have more use. It took me a while to motivate myself to get this assignment done. I couldn't wrap my mind around a need for google forms. Now that I have experienced google forms and the add-ons I'll be ready when a situation presents itself where these tools are needed. Unfortunately my district does not have an ed tech mission statement or tech goals. In visiting my district's website it was very apparent that the website is a mishmash of old and obsolete information and a smattering of a few current photos with a couple of articles. Any information about technology is about seven years old. There is a long and convoluted tech plan from 2009 but it references technology we no longer have and even a computer lab that is long gone after a library remodel.
If my district has goals they are not sharing them with anyone in an easy to access manner. So, I think that my personal classroom practices and goals are, while not out there for the public to access either, possibly clearer. My goals are as follows: *Use technology in a manner that is appropriate for 7-8 year old 2nd graders. Meaning screen time is limited to truly meaningful uses (ie e-readers as motivator for struggling/reluctant readers, suitable and meaningful assessments, storybook apps for the publishing of polished writing). *Share and disseminate worthy sustainable technology practices with my 2nd grade team and anyone else who will listen. *Take my time, and continue to research and explore what others have to share on their technological journeys. |
AuthorTeacher/Elementary Ed Archives
July 2016
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