December 4 Vision and Plan

 

December 4 Technology Inservice Vision



In just a few short weeks, we have another half-day to work together on technology integration and NETS-T projects.


Vicky and I looked carefully through the responses you provided to our questions on the evaluations from the August workshops and the October 13 half-day. We are very excited about the prospect of supporting you during a two-hour work session on a project you’ll create for your classroom.


In the past year, we’ve offered workshops on over a dozen technology tools and applications, and we’ve familiarized you with the NETS-T rubrics for technology integration.


As you think about the project you want to design on December 4, you may want to consider a few concepts related to NETS-T progress for each grade level. The projects that move us the farthest on the rubrics are those that:

  1. ✴allow students to communicate via Skype or instant messaging with an expert in a field of study, or

  2. ✴involve students participating in a virtual or tech-simulated environment, or

  3. ✴allow students to collaborate with another class, in the US or another country

    AND


  1. ✴involve, in some way, students publishing the results of their learning via a wiki or a webpage, where controlled feedback is elicited to a wider and authentic audience.


You also will want to consider the NETS-T rubric that addresses copyright, source citation, and what we are teaching our students about where and how to get images and music that are copyright-free. Will you need suggestions or ideas on that aspect of the project in advance, or would you like help with that lesson during the project implementation?


Finally, it’s important to develop the student rubric or assessment with the focus on your curriculum – the skills practiced or learning demonstrated – not on the technology tool. We can provide you some rubric examples to modify, or help you as you create an entirely new one.



Skype: Skype is a FREE VoIP technology that allows you to make audio and video phone calls from your computer!  You can "skype" to connect with experts, educators and other classrooms all over the world! If both parties agree, the audio and/or video can be recorded to review or share later on a website.


Wiki:  A collaborative environment that allows multiple authors to work on a “website” together. Students can publish work and allow others to submit comments. A wiki can allow students to post videos, podcasts, documents, and other web content.


iWeb: This is a website creator that is on your MacBook that allows students to publish their work. Students’ work from Keynote, Pages, Garageband, and iMovie can be easily embedded in iWeb.  Currently, the webpages go through www.kymberlimulford.com but can easiy be re-directed if/when our district creates space for students to publish at Gower Middle.


Edmodo: An enclosed environment for your classroom, where you can share links, documents, assignments. Students can turn in assignments, ask questions, and comment on discussions. It’s like Facebook, but for your classroom.


AudioBoo: Publish an audio podcast in a flash! Using iWeb, wiki, or the AudioBoo website students can quickly get their word out on the web for others to hear.


OR, incorporate any of the Web 2.0 Tools introduced last year into your web or wiki project, such as:


  1. ✴VoiceThread: Students can narrate over a series of photographs, and even draw over the photos, like the sportscasters do when they explain a football play.


  1. ✴Glogster: Gone are the days of the 2-D posters. Students can make posters online with interactive elements, including audio and video clips or links to other websites.


  1. ✴Voki: Talking cartoon heads allow students to personalize their work using their own voice, but protect their identity with an animated avatar.


  1. ✴Wordle: Much more than a pretty collection of words in a graphic form, this tool has wonderful uses for text analysis -- such as finding over-used words and helping students find the main ideas.


  1. ✴TimeToast: A flash-based timeline builder, this tool allows students to add photos, titles and details to the events they enter.


Please be as thorough as possible in describing how your project will address NETS-T standards of global connections, feedback from a wider audience, and copyright education. If we thoroughly understand what you plan to do, we can help put pieces in place (set up the wiki or webpage, provide resources and links, locate banks of experts, etc.) to make your work time as productive as possible.


Back to the Main Page for December 4

Want a PDF form of this page to print and read?

December 4 Technology Inservice Vision.pdf