BubblePly

Now this is an activity I can see myself using in the classroom. I picked a video that looked similar to a comic. I thought that would be something that my students would pick. The children would enjoy narrating a fun clip such as the one I chose. This activity would definitely motivate my students to write. It reminds me of an activity I did with wordless picture books. I let the students look at the pictures and then had them make a story to go along with the book. Using BubblePly, students can view the video, and create text to go along with the clip. I enjoyed creating a story for Simon

Voki

I created a Voki tonight! It was pretty neat. I enjoyed playing around with the character and the background. My students would absolutely love this. I like to have my students present information when we work on projects. However, I have several shy student who do not like to get up in front of the class to speak. I think this would be a nice option for students who have a fear of public speaking.

Virtual Class Meetings

Meeting virtually has it's advantages and disadvantages. I really enjoyed have these two classes to wrap up all of the unfinished projects. Also, I think I was ready for a break. Being at home was nice and being able to fix dinner, and not have to eat fast food was also a plus. However, I could not see myself enjoying a class that met entirely online. My husband completed a few courses through University of Phoenix Online. He had a difficult time because it was hard to communicate through the computer. He had several questions and missed the face to face interaction. I think I would feel the same. I do enjoy the flexibility, saving gas, and being able to multi-task (my laundry has been piling up lately). It was a good experience, and I think that it would be nice to have this option in other classes as well.

More Movies!

I created a second digital movie in my classroom this week. We just returned from the zoo. Check out the video below to find out how much fun we had!

Gabcasting

Using Gabcast was probably the easiest thing we have attempted in this class...thanks to Caroline of course! I followed Caroline's instructions and voila...there it was! I didn't even have to try more than once. I couldn't decide what to do a podcast on, so I just read from a position paper on No Child Left Behind. I think that Podcasting would be very useful in the elementary classroom. It gives young students another way to present what they have learned. I liked Willowdale Elementary's take on podcasting. The students prepared a script to read for an online presentation. I could tell that these students' scripts had been well rehearsed. The students are working on so many different skills when working with technology in the classroom. Take podcasting for example. First, the student must be able to create a script. Some scripts may require research or reading before the script is created. Then, the student must edit and revise the text to make sure it makes sense to a particular audience. Finally, the student must rehearse the script (working on fluency by rereading familiar text.) Also, the student learns how to use new technology when recording the podcast. Talk about integrating the curriculum!!!

Wikis

I'll have to say...I had no idea what a wiki was until I took this class. I have heard a lot of people talking about wikis, but I have never had any experience with them. After viewing wikipedia.com and creating our course wiki, I have realized the possibilities of using wikis within my own classroom. My students enjoy posting on the classroom blog, but we could use wikis for the same purpose. Mostly, I have been using my blog to showcase activities and units of study. I post pictures of projects, field trips, etc and the students journal about them. Wikis could be used primarily for communication--Communication between students, teacher, and parents. I like the idea that everyone can add to the wiki. At first, I was a little nervous that anyone can change, edit, delete information on a wiki. I also thought that anyone could add information to the wiki. Now I know that one can set a wiki to private so that only authorized users can access the wiki. I don't think I would use a wiki just for my students, but I do think it is a great communication tool for teachers and parents, and occasionally the students too.

MovieMaker

My first experience with MovieMaker

When I took this class last summer, I created a movie about my honeymoon. I was so excited about what I had created, that I created a digital movie during the first month of school. I was a little nervous about creating a digital movie with a class of 2nd graders. However, once I got started, I realized that it WAS possible. During the first week of school, my students wrote in their journal an entry entitled "All About Me." Then, I edited their journals during a writer's workshop. After the students had read their entry out loud several times, I begin to let students record the narration for the video. This was a bit time consuming, but the students were so excited about being able to record their voices on the computer. Each time we get a new student, or we have a classroom video, the students beg to show our "All About Me" video.

Now, I am getting ready to try again. We just took a trip to the zoo last month. My students asked if we could make a new movie about our field trip. I have many pictures from the trip. So, I printed out each picture and pasted them into their journals. The students had to write about what was going on in the picture. We have edited the entries and are beginning the recording this week. Hopefully I will be able to add this new video to my blog very soon. Check back by to view my 2nd digital video!