Thing 19: screencasting

Diving into the world of screencasting...

I have seen screencasting before when our tech coordinator sends out links to show us how to use our gradebook. But I have never attempted one before.

I thought the introductory article was very helpful. As soon as I started reading, I thought about using screencasting with e-portfolios. The first time kids set up their portfolios is a real nightmare sometimes. Showing them where to find the template in the shared folder and how to save it in their individual user folder can be a real challenge. I have a set of written directions, but I think a screencast of the process would help those kids who need to see it done first.

The interesing thing is that the article also mentioned e-portfolios! The article's idea was to have kids create screencasts to put into their portfolio. I was inspired by the idea. I could see my students doing a narration of a powerpoint or other project they saved on the computer. What a fun way for them to demonstrate their learning.

I played around with "jing". I did capture a very basic video. There is not much to it since I don't have a mic on my computer. After some intial set-up and reading the how-to's I was able to use the product with relative ease. I could see that it would get easier and easier...

here's my lame video :)

my second attempt: I was more selective with the area that I captured. I think it looks better than capturing the whole screen. Still lame with no sound:)

RPC rocks!

I have yet to use the research project calculator with my students as a way for them to organize research. However, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the support materials. I was creating a lesson for my kids who are doing documentaries for History Day. I remembered that there were materials for making a video, and I found a storyboard and video script/shot list worksheet that I will be handing out tomorrow. I can't wait to see how these planning tools help to create more organized documentaries.

We are in the middle of History Day right now and I need all the help I can get! Thank you RPC!

History Day Blog

As some of you already know, I created a History Day blog for my students last year. I deleted all of the old comments and started fresh this year. My students got the information on how to blog yesterday. I already have 10+ posts from kids. There is one that I wanted to share with the group to show the power of blogging...

Here's the original post from a student: How do we write a para. about why the topic fits the year theme if we have a person, wouldn't we just say "they had a great impact and legacy"?

Here's the response from one of his peers: For the paragraph you do write about their impact and legacies. To dig deeper you write about what impact they had. What did your person do to change history? Also, you write about what legacies they had and how they got them. Just ask yourself questions as to what did your person do in his or her lifetime to influence the people around them.

Kids teaching/coaching other kids! Yippee!

Thing 18: Online Thought Organizers

Several times a year I have my students create mind maps for different topics that we study. I was intrigued by the idea of online thought organizers. So, I played around with FreeMind.

I don't think that I will ever have kids create Mind Maps using this tool, because I would have to do so much instruction on how the tool works. I think that would take away from my main purpose of using a mind map to teach or review content.

However, I could see some uses for this tool in my classroom. I could create one and then project it in the front of the room to fill out as a whole class activity. Or, I could print them out as a worksheet for individuals/groups to fill out. There are some fun features (blinking fonts) that would be lost by printing them off.

I created a "thought organizer" for Ancient Rome. I have had a student teacher for most of the Rome unit and he has been creating and delivering the lessons. I will be finishing the unit up after Christmas, once we have done some work with History Day. So, this unit is getting very spread out. To bring things back together, I think I will use the Ancient Rome organizer that I created.

Take a look at the Rome Review Chart under "assignments/worksheets" on my web page.

MMSA conference

Metronet was well represented at the Minnesota Middle School Association Conference on Dec 4th and 5th. Jeanne, Kelly, and I presented the work we have done with technology during 2 break-out sessions. I was pleased to focus in on some of my technology "loves": igoogle, blogging, and delicious. We also covered Wikis, podcasting, videography, wordle, google docs, etc... It was a great opportunity to show what we had done so far. I know that we gave them A LOT of information. But it's just like metronet: tons of info that people need to sort through and find the 2-3 things that work best for their classes and with their personality. I think it is so cool that our MILI experience is spreading throughout the state. Even more teachers and students will now benefit from the cool stuff we have learned. Thanks Metronet!!!!

cool web sitr

The November issue of the NMSA Middle School Journal had a brief blurb about a site that sounded very interesting to me. The author writes: "In my opinion Marco Polo is probably the most comprehensive and sophisticated Web site on the Internet." How could I NOT check this out?!

I spent some time on this site playing around with the educator tools. I did some searches for "lesson plans, interactives, and more". I really like how this site has various drop down menus. A person can enter their usual search term. (I tried Ancient Rome, for example). But then you can limit to subject area, grade level, resource type, and content partners.

The resource types include: lessons, interactives, primary sources, worksheets, reference materials, media, and assessments.

Some of the content partners are: readwritethink, the smithsonian's history explorer, xpedition...

This site has a lot of potential. I can't wait to explore it more. I already added it to my delicious under "teacher tools".

http://marcopolo-education.org/

Thing 16: e-portfolios

Several years ago...ok...maybe it was MANY years ago...a colleague and I wrote a grant focused on the meaningful integration of technology into the classroom. She was a tech teacher and I teach history....so it was a match made in grant heaven. We got the necessary funding and support to develop e-portfolios for our middle school. Initially, many teachers were using them. But I think I am the only one still holding on to this idea. I think it is so beneficial for kids to have a record of how their year went, from beginning to end. We also use the e-portfolios at student led conferences in the fall and the spring. In the age of online grades, parents enjoy seeing samples of their kid's work. They also enjoy reading their child's reflections about their work.

We actually use powerpoint to create the portfolios. We designed a template that the kids can personalize with the information. We did check out other tools (such as e-folio MN) but found that PPT was the best for middle schoolers. They love the flexibility and creativity! Plus, they already know how to use PPT. I could see how maybe high schoolers and college students could use the e-folios. I do think it's cool that they are provided for free. It is a great idea.

However, when it comes to e-folios I think I am going to stick with "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Since powerpoint has been working well so far, I'll stick with it.

I do love portfolios and think that teachers should use them...whatever the format!