Reflection

I have always considered myself a tech-savvy person but taking this course has expanded my scope with 21st century technology and learning. In regards to social media I always considered it more of a platform for personal use and sharing personal experiences with friends. I never really considered how valuable it could be for integrating it into schools and classrooms for sharing student work or collaboration. After going through the process myself in this course I can recognize the major benefits and internal motivation that happens when you are required to share your work with your peers. It motivates me to put more effort into my work and it gives me an opportunity to share my own creative ideas. 

Furthermore, I really like how peer feedback can occur when students are encouraged to comment on each others work. I would have never considered a tool like Google plus and using hangouts as such a valuable resource for collaborative learning that extends outside of personal social use. On top of that, integrating and using blogs and sharing your work via twitter is only enhancing the experience with 21st century learning. Every time I sent a tweet linking a post on my blog about something technological I explored instantly gave a great feeling. As I look over what I have accomplished in this course I get a sense of pride from the collection I have created via my blog. This experience only is further encouragement as a teacher to ensure my future students take advantage and become engaged with these kind of tools in a classroom.

With immersing yourself in 21st century learning as an educator there are many risks worth taking. Just like we want our students to take risks and try new things and explore new technologies and as a teacher I need to nurture this process. One of the best aspects I received from this course is jumping in with both feet and just trying to figure out new technologies I was not familiar with such as pod-casting, Wevideo, and feedback audio tools like Jing. The learning I gained from just exploring technologies was extremely valuable to my development as a teacher and student. Now going forward as a teacher the thoughts that fill my mind is how can I integrate audio/and pod-casting, videos, vloging, presentations and more to enhance my students learning. More importantly I want my students to use these tools to become producers of quality work they want share with the world. This is a process I look forward to exploring and also sharing along the way with those that helped me get this far.

All the best to my peers in EDUC 9F61.

Mr. Ahmed.

Presentation Tools

PowerPoint

Source: http://bit.ly/1ozygll

When I was a student I used PowerPoint because of its simplicity. PowerPoint is a desktop application that is easy tool a student can use to explore creating professional presentations. It is now available to use through Windows Live as a web base platform. PowerPoint was originally created as a desktop application and I now feel its playing catch up with some other options that are web based.    

As for likes, PowerPoint is great with providing tonnes of backgrounds, themes and transitions on the program allowing you to really customize your presentation. You’re able to add external links, images and embed videos.  Another thing I do like about PowerPoint is how you can make flow charts graphs, and pyramids. I think this could benefit students who are presenting research about business or math. However, as a university student I found myself using PowerPoint less often because it’s not the best tool for collaboration or sharing where a lot of projects happened to be group work. A downfall is you are not able to upload presentations to YouTube or Facebook or other social media platforms. Also sharing with peers or colleagues requires you send your presentation as email attachment. 

Prezi

Source: http://bit.ly/1uP9EHs

I didn't discover Prezi until my last year of University where a peer used the online program for a professional presentation. I was drawn immediately to its aesthetic and visual look which came from the smooth and appealing transitions and object animations. Unlike PowerPoint, Prezi is presented as  whole board where students can lay out their information and it follows a progressive path as it navigates through slick transitions to display your information text, images or media. I find this as an engaging tool for students to use to develop presentations because of its simplicity but also how the interface looks would be appealing to youth.

Collaborating with Prezi is easy because it functions through an online cloud where students can share a link with their peers giving them access to edit and collaborate ideas on their presentation. Students are easily able to add text, video, and images into the Prezi interface and deliver their presentation that will look much different from the standard next slide format of PowerPoint.

Sliderocket and Google Presentation

Source: http://bit.ly/1xpbEpf

The best options for presentation tools that I have come across for teachers and students to use are Sliderocket and Google Presentation.  As a teacher I find these tools are important to for learning and for collaboration with peers and colleagues.  Both of these tools are online web based programs that have a comparable functionality to PowerPoint with a traditional slide to slide presentation format. However, they are great collaborative tools and it can allow students and teachers to develop great projects as a team. Both tools use the cloud based system and you are able to share presentations to social media platforms. 

Additionally Sliderocket has the best interface in my opinion and it presentation editing tools are the best. I really like how it is by far the easiest tool to use for adding audio to your presentation. With a simple click you can add narration through recording or uploading an audio clip to enhance your presentation. Sliderocket requires a subscription and has a free component that will not allow you to use all of their tools without purchase; Where Google Presentation is free for all through email.  

Overall the tools that promote collaboration for teachers and students are the best options when it comes to learning. Giving students as many opportunities to develop socially and academically through sharing ideas and executing them through collaboration is important for growth. The same applies for teacher to teacher collaboration and using online presentations is a great way to extend learning outside of your classroom and school. 

Image Manipulation Programs

In terms or image manipulation programs there are tonnes of programs or apps that can be accessed and downloaded by students and for teachers to use.

For instance,

Skitch:

Source: http://bit.ly/1zoxUSn

After looking through Skitch and seeing how simple it is to use I would recommend this program for teachers to use that can be valuable to providing feedback. Feedback is essential for student growth and using Skitch a teacher can take a photo and mark it up, or highlight student text and make annotations. This can be a valuable tool for teachers to not only provide descriptive feedback but to build a portfolio to share with parents, use as anecdotal notes or for assessment. 

Photoshop: 

Source: http://bit.ly/1tMKya8

I personally am a fan of using Photoshop and it might not be as simple to use like Skitch but it is extremely valuable and beneficial to students and teachers. As a teacher I love using Photoshop to create fun and engaging activity sheets and posters.

Although Photoshop has a learning curve, I feel students as young as the junior grades are capable of learning this program that actually develops a real-world skill they can use. Students can exercise their creativity with a tool like Photoshop and become producers of media publications through classroom projects. The DSBN has Photoshop on every computer that student can access. Unfortunately I think there is a great amount of teachers who are not aware of how to use the program let alone teaching their students the many tools the program has.

On the other hand I have witnessed students at a school in Niagara Falls have amazing 8th grade class projects using Photoshop. They credited their projects posters to learning Photoshop throughout their junior grades and developing their proficiency overtime. By witnessing the success students can have with this image manipulation program, it has influenced me to have my future students apply and benefit from using Photoshop in their education.

5 Teaching Strategies for using Podcasts or Audio.

Podcasts are a fun and different way to engage your students.

Here are 5 strategies and ideas/activities that could be used by the teacher or in your class by your students.

1: Language Learning 

Teachers can have students collaborate with other students with learning and practicing language online.

http://daynurseryindy.wordpress.com/

I would use this strategy for students who are at the junior and intermediate levels. Students who are learning a new language (French) can use a tool like Skype to practice with another classroom that is learning English. For instance students in Ontario can have Skype partners where they practice vocabulary and oral composition with students in Quebec. By having the students rely on each other with some guidelines it can help them develop their language skills at their own pace.

2: Public Service Announcements (PSA's)

This is a good approach to have students think critically about issues that can be happening locally or globally and take a stance on that issue.

pic from http://blog.wemothers.com/

For this activity at the junior level the teacher can have students hear various examples of PSA's to help students develop standards for their own PSA's. After have students do research on their issues. Then have your students create a script they can use to record their PSA that can be broadcasted to the class or over the school announcement system.

3: Story Telling and Critical Reviews

Students can practice comprehension and critical thinking through developing podcasts that retells stories or they can give reviews on certain aspects of the text.

For junior students as opposed to writing I would have them create podcasts that capture their comprehension of a class text. At the Intermediate level I would have my students do the same but provide reviews with critical analysis of texts they are reading independently.

4 Engaging Parents 

Keeping parents informed is a great way to help your students receive the proper supports they may need at home. Some teachers communicate via phone, online through a blog or maybe newsletters. A different approach you can try is creating weekly podcasts.

pic from http://www.sedl.org/

What teachers can do is use the weekly podcasts for parents to listen to that recaps the week at school, in terms of projects, special announcements or events, and the upcoming week.

At the intermediate level what teachers can add to the podcast is student comments or opinions on activities that are happening in the classroom. For the busy parent this could be a great way to have them stay on top of what is happening in the class because they could download the podcast and maybe listen to it on their drive to work.

5: Assisting Absent Students

Any student who is ill and might miss a few days can fall behind and it can be hard for a teacher to support them and have them catch up. One way to tackle this is to create video podcasts that explain what they have missed and what they have to do to be able to keep pace.

If any handouts are used for any of the task we can easily upload as a digital file that can be downloaded to the student. You can also add the image of the worksheets onto the podcasts so you can further support your absent students by providing explanations of the worksheets.

Podcast - 3 Audio Tools To Try.

Here is my review on 3 tools to try as a teacher for having your students use audio tools in a classroom. I apologize for my voice projection on the podcast. I don't have the best microphone but I tried the best I could with what I have.
 

Thanks.

Reviewing 3 Tech Tools

Read&Write for Google

http://www.texthelp.com/uk/our-products/readwrite

This is a great tool that can benefit teachers and students is the Read&Write that can be found on the app store in Google Chrome. It is a great tool for assistive technology that all students can use to help them with their writing. I think students in a junior grades and higher can really utilize this tool as an independent resource. Since I would have all my students using Google drive to use for assignments or projects, I would have them add this extension so it can be used directly in any Google document they are creating.

What the app allows students to do is:

• Listen to their text aloud and hear how their writing sounds.
• Highlight their text in different colours that can perform different supports.
• Students can do speech to text • Use word prediction if they need help with writing
• They can create a vocabulary list that includes meaning and pictures associated with their words.

This tool is easy to use can be added right into the browser and students only need to click a few buttons if they want to get support with their writing.

The long term benefit of having my students’ use this tool is that I would want to develop their independence with using Read&Write to assist them with their skills and develop their confidence. Also students can feel comfortable using this form of assistive technology independently through their google drive. This is a great tool that I would recommend to any teacher to utilize.

Check out this video that gives you better visuals as to how the Read&Write tool looks.

Class Dojo

https://www.classdojo.com/en/about

This is s a unique tool that takes an interactive approach to behaviour management and student self-regulation techniques. The Classdojo platform is used online through through their website where teachers can create a classroom where their students sign up for. Students can create their own avatars and will use the Classdojo to follow the points they have earned for demonstrating proper behaviours.
This seems like a great tool for teachers to be able to reinforce great behaviour. Teachers can recognize specific behaviours such as respect, participation, or teamwork and show the class what that student did to demonstrate those behaviours. Then simply using an iPad, or mobile Classdojo app the teacher can give real time feedback and award that student dojo points for earning that behaviour. These points that students earn can also be access by parents at home and they can see how their students behaved on a daily basis. Communication with parents is essential and if they see their son/daughter is struggling with behaviour in class then they can work with them at home to improve that behaviour.

This is a tool seems like a great way to engage students in positive behaviour and keeps parents informed on a regular basis. Also I think this tool is great way to collaborate with your colleagues as students are still required to uphold their behaviours to earn points for other teachers in the school. 

Check out this video that gives you better visuals as to how Classdojo looks.

 

Planboard 

https://www.planboardapp.com/

This is a great tool for teachers to use to online through Google drive for planning their days, weeks, semesters and individual lessons. I find this tool to be better suited for the technological era of teaching and planning and organization and in the next few years using daybooks might be an obsolete practice.

The app can be downloaded on Google drive and after playing around with it, I recommend that teachers start getting used to developing and planning online. Since collaboration and blended learning is a major shift in education it only makes sense that planning will head down this path as well.

The interface of the tool is simple to use and teachers can toggle between day, week and month views to easily access their plans. You can colour coordinate your subjects and classes you teach. You are able to add detail descriptions of each day that anyone can follow. What is also awesome is that you can add the ministry expectations which some are already on Planboard. If you do not have the ministry expectation you are looking for you can add it easily and it can be used by other teachers. 

What I found great about Planboard is since it used through Google drive it can be easily shared to other staff members, administrators, or even supply teachers. I would not be surprised if teachers and entire schools and school boards start using a method like Planboard to use as a method for partner teaching with your colleagues.

To gain some better visuals of how how Planboard looks please view this video.

 

Office 365 or Google Apps?

Which do you prefer?

Both tools are similar as they both offer documents, presentations, spreadsheets, personal storage, email, file sharing and messaging and communication tools.

Personally I find both tools to be good and use like to use a combination. For independent work I prefer Office tools such as Word and Powerpoint because of familiarity and that I have been using these tools much longer as a student. As for doing tasks that involve collaboration I prefer using Google docs to work with peers on assignments.

Through my experiences I have found working with others was so easy when using Google docs and how your work automatically saves online. As a teacher with my students I probably will encourage them to incorporate using both tools in a similar fashion.

Recently I have been enjoying Google drive because of the endless apps that you can add to your account. I have found some interesting tools such as WeVideo that is super easy to use for editing videos that I might not have with office tools. There are many different apps that can be added to your Google drive and I can see my students benefiting from customizing which apps they like to use as tools.

Check out this video that gives a great breakdown of Office 365 and Google Apps.