Most Beneficial
I really enjoyed using the screencast programs, both Screencast-O-Matic and Jing. I really do think that both of them have strong features on their own. And though Screencast-O-Matic would be a great tool for me to use as teacher (such as when a student missed out on how to type up a works cited page), I definitely want to introduce this to my students. Perhaps, instead of me providing lessons using this tool, I can have my students create their own lessons and/or reviews. In doing so, I could then post their screencasts up on a blog where their classmates will be able to utilize them for their own reviewing purposes. Students could also leave feedback on the videos with the understanding that their comments will be meant to enhance and/or add to the learning. As for Jing, I am constantly using DOLs (Daily Oral Language) and I can definitely see my students using the tool to pinpoint grammatical errors by using the highlighting, circling, and marking features.
Most Excited About
The one I thought that I was most excited about using was Animoto. I have been wanting to do book trailers for the longest time, and now I was given the chance to do so. This tool was so easy for me to use and I have so many ideas for this tool. I'm thinking of my students using Animoto for book trailers and book reviews, as well as silent movies (based off of books they've read). Best of all, this site really isn't time consuming and I know my students can have a lot of fun with this type of project. If I'm being honest, the only thing that was time consuming was browsing through the free content provided by Creative Commons, but it is totally worth it! Plus, I can definitely make the use of Creative Commons into a teachable moment! The fact that I can link Animoto videos to QR codes is a bonus, especially since I plan on either posting these QR codes on a blog or stick them to the spines of books.
Most Difficult
Honestly, the one that I felt I struggled with the most was the use of Instagram, and I was a bit disappointed with the content of the app - at least in the beginning. Now though, after being able to go back to the app and mess around with it a bit, I have come to find the app acceptable and useful. However, I will definitely not be using this as part of my go-to repertoire. Instead, I see myself using the Twitter app instead since it has similar capabilities - at least to me. I feel with Twitter, I will be able to monitor the content of my students a bit more than through Instagram, as well as communicate with them with the private message feature Twitter now has. I also think Twitter offers users a bit more flexibility in what they would like to post (Tweets, videos, live videos, GIFs, messages, etc.)
Closing Thoughts
The last thing that I wanted to say on here is that I think what I will struggle with the most is trying to figure out and determine which tool to use. I was trying to think of a way to introduce a certain topic to my students and caught myself jumping around from creating an infographic to creating a comic strip to creating a PowerPoint presentation to creating a handout that my students could glue into their interactive notebook - I was driving myself crazy! And yet, it was in this moment that I finally realized that all these tools won't mean anything unless they are utilized in a way that will be beneficial to the learner. It is important that educators keep in mind that just because they are taught something new doesn't mean that they should use it for everything. Because of this thought process, I am now really planning on creating a cheat sheet that will allow me to keep all my tools organized with notes that will remind me which tools work best for which lessons.
I enjoyed reading your final reflection and like your idea of using technology infographics instead of trifolds to display information. Students seem to more engage when using technology. I too will create a cheat sheet to list the advantages of using certain tools for creating and re-enforcing learning. Best of Luck to you!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed making videos with Animoto also. I also played around with iMovie on my cell phone. I was able to publish a movie trailer of our family outing to the zoo from a template and easily uploaded and emailed it to other family members. I think students will enjoy creating these as much as everyone in the course seemed to!