Ok. So I haven't been dealing that well with this stuff this week. There is a lot of information overload and I'm not compartmentalizing well.
I've tried to go through the digital storytelling/image stuff. Every link is pandora's box of another links. But Ihave got a better grasp on things now because I have a clearer sense of what I want to at least rry to do with this stuff. More and that later.
I found the Digital Images chapter very helpful especiaaly the idea of meaningful interaction.
I've gone through a lot of different resources and have tried to figure out if/how I would like to integrate them into my classess.
I really like the concept of screencasting. I have a colleague how makes good use of audio hints for problems and the students love them. I'm thinking of "how to work through a stoich problem" screencast. I think students would find that very helpful as a resource. I looked briegly at both Jing and screencast-o-matic. This is going to be a pretty sharp learning curve for me and I think this will be the second tech piece I try to integrate.
Glogster doesn't work for me.
Slideshare. We use moodle at our school and my students can access stuff through that.
Prezi looks super interesting but I have no idea were to start. That is going to be much down the line.
I've started going through the Creative Commons/copyright. Going to have to tighten things up a little.
Found some really useful stuff on how to improve powerpoint in the classroom. I'm not even sure how I got there. This is going to be very helpful. My powerpoints, conceptual and practical, needs some work.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about the “information overload” issue. I get overwhelmed with all the links that link to other links that link to even more links! The only thing that has saved me is being in Seattle this weekend with my daughter. She has a knack for working and studying efficiently. She has helped me prioritize my work for both classes and is trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to help me relax a bit about it all.
I would be interested in hearing about the audio hints you mentioned that your colleague uses. I found Jing to be pretty easy to follow (of course, my daughter was helping me) while making my screencast. I do think screencasting could be a worthwhile web tool to use in a number of ways. I can envision it as a great way for absent students to see missed lessons, for narrated lab demonstrations that cannot be done in the classroom, and for explanations of difficult concepts that students could watch as many times as they need to. It would work well with Moodle also, because as you mentioned, our students can access everything from the class page.
I also need to “tighten things up” on the copyright issue (Was it ok that I just used your phrase?) and my PowerPoints could use some work as well. I can relate!
Hello Jim and Linda,
ReplyDeleteDitto on the overwhelming aspect!
I wanted to share a tool with you that isn't exactly free web2.0 fodder, but it is affordable and I have seen teachers do some neat stuff with it. It is called a livescribe pen and our MT Teacher of the Year has made a video about how to use it in your classroom. You can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2UwplQK7F8&feature=player_embedded#at=25
I think the pens start around $100. I requested one from my district last year but never heard back about it. I think I might just have to buy it for myself and use it in my classroom. That seems to be the only way to fulfill most of my technology needs these days.