Final Thoughts...

Technology is the KEY to Motivation!

As the course comes to an end I am amazed by the amount of new knowledge I have gained. Many courses so far have built upon undergrad work or professional develop. However, I can came to this class with very little background knowledge. I had heard of blogging, twitter, and skype but never used any of them.

I am leaving this class with a new bag of tricks overflowing with technology options to use with my students. It was exciting to see the reaction from my students when I introduced the projects and "tip of the technology iceberg" into the classroom. It is obvious that students are extremely motivated by working with technology. Using web based tools for students to share or show their learning is much more captivating that a paper and pencil. I also learned the importance educating my students about digital citizenship and incorporating NETS for both myself and students within lessons.

It was without a doubt overwhelming at times but going from Google to Storybird, Wiki, Diigo, VoiceThread, and Voki in 8 weeks will do that to person! As Meghan said to me after the first week, "Diigo, Wikispaces, and Voki...Oh My!" ;)

(I created this Tagxedo using my blog as the webpage, awesome!!)

Literacy Project

Below is the Literacy Project I created with my students. Using VoiceThread, we created a digital book using alliteration. Students loved using the technology and began reflecting on themselves reading their page. Students would comment, "too quiet" or "too fast". It started critical thinking and great conversations about fluency and reading for an audience. This was an aspect I did not even envision when I began the project. Students also loved viewing the video. We were able to share it with families on "Bring Your Parents to School Day" and many families wanted the link to share with more family and friends. I will definitely continue to use VoiceThread with my students this year and in the future. Enjoy!



To view it within VoiceThread, click here.

Ta-Da! The Final Version of Our Digital Story!

Below is Meghan and my Digital Story! We created a digital story about the Plant Life Cycle. Meghan and I worked together by using Google Docs. Sitting at home, miles apart, we were both able to add to the template, very cool! We used PhotoStory 3 to create the video and worked through many images, text, and music choices before coming to this final version. We are proud of what we accomplished, especially since we did not know how to create a digital story 2 months ago!

Within the classroom, I plan to use the digital story to introduce students to the Plant Unit. Knowing we wanted to use the video in this way, Meghan and I knew vocabulary would be an important part of our digital story. We also wanted to introduce students to the learning experiences they would take part in, what they would learn and be able to do by the end of the unit. At the end of the unit, we wanted to use the digital story again to review what students learned. I am very excited to use this digital story to "hook" my students as we begin a new science unit! This a video I will be able to use year after year with my students! Enjoy!



Here is the link to see the video in YouTube.

CT Core Science Framework:

• The life cycles of flowering plants include seed germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed dispersal.

NETS for Teachers #1, 2, 3, 4

• 2.2 - Plants change their forms as part of their life cycles.