screencast assignment - Nov. 30

I chose to do a SMART Recorder video for my assignment. I used this to teach a lesson to my 8th and 9th bell classes while I was out during a teacher inservice. This is an awesome thing to do for planned absences. Instead of giving the kids review assignments when you're out, you can "teach" new concepts; not wasting a day of instruction. This is valuable because there are so many OAT standards to teach, you really can't afford to lose days of instruction when you're absent. It is a little weird making one, because you're teaching a lesson while there's no one in the classroom. The custodian walked in while I was making the recording, and gave me a funny look. I can't blame him; I was talking to an empty classroom, writing on the SMART Board, all while wearing a wireless microphone on my head! The nice thing is that you can press "pause" while making the recording if you need a minute, and press "record" again when you're ready to start back up. If you were paused for 15 minutes, it doesn't miss a beat on the recording. You can already have a pre-made SMART Notebook lesson to do your recording on. It doesn't have to be made from scratch. Saving the recording can take a few minutes, depending on how long your recording was. My recording is about 12-13 minutes, and it took about 5 minutes to save. I saved it to my desktop, and later imported it to my website. That way, I just had to tell the sub to go to my website (which any kid could show them how to do), and click on "8th and 9th Bell lesson." It is a little time consuming, but the kids get so much more out of it than just doing review problems, and they think it's pretty cool.

Nov. 16 - Google Docs reflections

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASeRMCiFPMleZGdzbXN6aGNfMmRyajZnOGQ3&hl=en

I think Google Docs might be helpful in collecting data for teaching statistics. I could post various survey questions on a Google Doc, and kids could go to the post, and edit it to include their responses. That would be a much faster way to collect the data, and it wouldn't take up any class time. It would be much more meaningful for students to have data about themselves, rather than boring data from the textbook.

I could also post a problem of the week (or month), and have kids go there and earn points for their participation. This would be a great way to incorporate some higher level thinking, that is not part of the curriculum, and doesn't take up any class time. I think that the best thing about Google Docs is that it allows learning to extend past the classroom walls, in a fun and meaningful way for the kids.

Google Docs is better than Microsoft Office because you can see an accumulation of student work on one single document, rather than having to look at 15-20 separate papers. Students also get a chance to learn from each other's comments, rather than just a teacher's comments. I think this could reduce a teacher's workload. If student's are practicing peer editing, I imagine that can sometimes be just as good, if not better, than teacher only feedback.

November 4, 2009

I really feel like a true computer geek now. I can't wait to try the new things I've learned. I'm going to Skype somebody in Lichtenstein. Have you ever wondered why you drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway. Screencasting seems like a great way to give kids directions on a complicated assignment. E = mc^2. I like to use SMART Recorder provide students with lessons when I know I'm going to be absent. I better not sit at this table again, or else I'm not going to learn much. I could use screencasting to show kids how to use an internet balance beam (for solving equations.) Troy Woolery thinks he can beat me at Super Techmo Bowl. I can't wait to create a Voki!