My Comic Life

My comic life teaches the types of shots that are used in video production as well as digital photography. This is a project I plan on using with my own class. After I teach the types of shots, I will show the students my Comic Life example of the shots. I will then have each student create a comic life projet showing their understanding of the shots that have been taught. I thoroughly enjoyed this project, and I look forward to using Comic Life in my classroom.

Blog 5

The part of the reading that I found worth discussing was the section about computer labs. "A variety of effective alternative arrangements can make a lab setting a more flexible and useful space." (pp. 42) "These arrangements can all contribute to making the computer classroom a place where instructional goals can be met."(pp. 42) The arrangements that are being refereed to are hideaway desks or pods of 4 to 6 computers. My classroom is composed of these pods, and I agree with the author on the effectiveness of pods on student learning. Students work in groups a great deal in my class and the 4 sided pods which accommodate 8 students are ideal for group work. Each group has adequate space and are somewhat isolated from other groups.

Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Comic Life Introduction

For my Comic Life project, I choose to cover video production vocabulary. The material can be used for grades 6-12. It was very important for me to pick a project and topic that applied to what I teach. My project gives examples of the types of camera shots (digital camera or video camera). The student will look at the example provided and, create their own Comic Life project with all of the required camera shots. I look forward to implementing this program and project into my own classroom.

Blog Entry 4

The project based learning activity proposal that I would choose to implement into my classroom would be the addition of a classroom blog. "One of the biggest potentials of Weblogs is the ability to create spaces where students can collaborate with others online."' (p. 24) The idea of collaborative learning has really caught on in most schools. The classroom blog would ensure that collaborative learning is taking place.

The idea of having students create an e-portfolio is also an idea that I would like to implement. The e-portfolio would be a collection of the students' best work from the current year. This e-portfolio could be attached to resume's or sent to colleges. I think this would a great way for a student to keep their memorable work from high school.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

My VoiceThread: 8 Parts of Speech

VoiceThread Intro

My VoiceThread project was geared towards an english class in an elementary school. The VoiceThread is also made with ESOL students as well as students with learning disabilities in mind. The purpose of the VoiceThread is to reinforce the 8 parts of speech. The students will hear the sentence being read, look at the picture, and record what part of speech applies to the particular question.

Blog 3: WolframAlpha: Computational Knowledge Engine

One of my students informed me of this site this morning. http://www.wolframalpha.com/ Wolfram-Alpha is a  knowledge based search engine that is capable of performing computations as well as comparisons. I can definitely see this site being helpful for math or history teachers. I have only used the site briefly but, the potential seems to be endless.

Blog Entry 2

In Zach Miner’s article Classroom Technology Integration, Zach focuses on how educators are expected to teach students how to “learn more complex and analytical skills in preparation for work and life in the 21st century global economy.” Miner thinks that we should develop students higher order thinking and performance skills. The major problem that is discussed in this article is the lack of effectiveness of professional development for teachers. Professional development opportunities are not “hands-on” enough for most teachers to learn the technology and be able to implement it into their classrooms effectively. Other teachers noted that there was tons of technology available, but little or no training available for that technology.

The major obstacles for properly integrating technology into classrooms according to this article are, scheduling, standards, funding, grants, the current economy, and attitude. The last part of the article turns into sort of an “infomercial” for the eMINTS program which stands for Enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. The eMINTS program encourages teachers to use current technology such as blogs, wikis and podcasts to communicate with their students. The article concludes by posing the thought that “technology integration, in the end, is not really about technology but rather the life skills it instills in students and teachers.” I think that our focus as educators, should be keeping students interested in learning by using current/relevant technology in the classroom daily.

Miners, Zach (2009, April). Classroom Technology Integration, Retrieved August 20, 2009, from www.districtadministration.com

Blog Focus & Theme

This blog will focus on the current trends in instructional technology. This site is geared toward educators who are looking for new and different ways to integrate technology into their current curriculum. I hope that I can provide some insight to technical oriented and non-technical oriented educators through my writings and findings. Please check back often and let me know if their are any ways my blog can be improved.