This week, we focused our energies on podcasts and visual tools. Podcasts is a very common term for me, but I didn’t quite understand how it could benefit me. Solomon defined podcasts as, “an audio or video netcast” (p.76). Watching CommonCraft’s video “Podcasting in Plain English” was really informative and it gave me an idea of how common and useful podcasts are. When I logged into iTunes I was really surprised by how many categories there were available. It was really difficult to narrow down my choices. I decided to review the Sesame Street podcast and the Gifted Education podcast by Prufrock Press. I chose the Sesame Street podcast because my son loves Elmo and the Sesame Street gang. It was a great choice filled with singing, dancing, and learning. Just like the show, it covered numbers, letters, and the word of the day along with good citizenship. I’m sure it will come in handy on long car rides to the beach.
The second podcast that I explored was the Gifted Education podcast by Prufrock Press. This podcast was so informative for both teachers and parents. It provided factual information for its readers along with ideas on how to differentiate instruction for our gifted students. I enjoyed listening to the podcast concerning ability grouping of our gifted learners. We’re currently having this debate at school due to a change in our schedule for next year. I can clearly see both sides, but I believe that we are going to have to put our students first and make these hard decisions. Also, iTunes U had a variety of free books for you to download, as well as lesson plan ideas, formative assessments, and some great ideas on how to use apps in our classrooms. For this week’s assignment we had to also create a podcast of our own. I decided to create a podcast that would benefit the gifted students in our school.
I ended up creating a podcast for our fourth and fifth grade students on their final gifted project of the year. The unit that these students are currently working on is called MILE Market. The MILE Market is an interdisciplinary unit that has the students becoming entrepreneurs. Students acquire business licenses, develop business plans, create advertising for their businesses, work on their bookkeeping, create products for their consumers, and practice their sales techniques. Please take a listen to my podcast for our fourth and fifth grade students.
After podcasts it was on to the visual learning tools. The two tools that I really enjoyed using were Jing andFlipsnack. Both of these resources were so easy to navigate. With Jing I created a quick video showing the gifted specialists how to upload our gifted eligibilities to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) and I also explained how this data system could be used throughout the state. After seeing how easy Jing was to manipulate I decided to use it to document the activities that I am creating for my Capstone project. The second tool that I explored was Flipsnack. With this resource I was able to create a quick interactive flipbook just using the pictures that I had stored on my laptop. Below you will find the screenshot and link to my flipbook and video.
Flipsnack-http://www.flipsnack.com/tedmondsongoodman/alb-beaver.html
Jing Video: http://screencast.com/t/0WmgTqin
Using these visual tools is a great way to encourage respect for diversity with our students. One way to encourage this is to spotlight the similarities and differences among our students. A great way to do this is during the beginning of the year. Plan to use a visual tool, such as Flickr or Flipsnack, and encourage your families to create family portfolios. With these pictures your families will share snapshots of their day to day lives, including customs and traditions, vacations, and so much more. When students share their pictures they will first see all of the differences, but then they will recognize how similar they are. For example, the pictures show the families eating, playing, laughing, and loving one another. Technology can also be used to promote constructive lines of communication between diverse groups through pen pals and it also offers easy access to research knowledge.
Reference:
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0 How-To For Educators. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
The second podcast that I explored was the Gifted Education podcast by Prufrock Press. This podcast was so informative for both teachers and parents. It provided factual information for its readers along with ideas on how to differentiate instruction for our gifted students. I enjoyed listening to the podcast concerning ability grouping of our gifted learners. We’re currently having this debate at school due to a change in our schedule for next year. I can clearly see both sides, but I believe that we are going to have to put our students first and make these hard decisions. Also, iTunes U had a variety of free books for you to download, as well as lesson plan ideas, formative assessments, and some great ideas on how to use apps in our classrooms. For this week’s assignment we had to also create a podcast of our own. I decided to create a podcast that would benefit the gifted students in our school.
I ended up creating a podcast for our fourth and fifth grade students on their final gifted project of the year. The unit that these students are currently working on is called MILE Market. The MILE Market is an interdisciplinary unit that has the students becoming entrepreneurs. Students acquire business licenses, develop business plans, create advertising for their businesses, work on their bookkeeping, create products for their consumers, and practice their sales techniques. Please take a listen to my podcast for our fourth and fifth grade students.
After podcasts it was on to the visual learning tools. The two tools that I really enjoyed using were Jing andFlipsnack. Both of these resources were so easy to navigate. With Jing I created a quick video showing the gifted specialists how to upload our gifted eligibilities to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) and I also explained how this data system could be used throughout the state. After seeing how easy Jing was to manipulate I decided to use it to document the activities that I am creating for my Capstone project. The second tool that I explored was Flipsnack. With this resource I was able to create a quick interactive flipbook just using the pictures that I had stored on my laptop. Below you will find the screenshot and link to my flipbook and video.
Flipsnack-http://www.flipsnack.com/tedmondsongoodman/alb-beaver.html
Jing Video: http://screencast.com/t/0WmgTqin
Using these visual tools is a great way to encourage respect for diversity with our students. One way to encourage this is to spotlight the similarities and differences among our students. A great way to do this is during the beginning of the year. Plan to use a visual tool, such as Flickr or Flipsnack, and encourage your families to create family portfolios. With these pictures your families will share snapshots of their day to day lives, including customs and traditions, vacations, and so much more. When students share their pictures they will first see all of the differences, but then they will recognize how similar they are. For example, the pictures show the families eating, playing, laughing, and loving one another. Technology can also be used to promote constructive lines of communication between diverse groups through pen pals and it also offers easy access to research knowledge.
Reference:
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0 How-To For Educators. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.