After reading the articles about digital storytelling, I got a much clearer picture about what it was all about. I loved the teacher's idea about having her students write about a special place to them. This was a topic that all students could relate to because it did not have to be a physical place, it could have been a state of mind or an inner place in their heart that was special to them. Transferring their ideas of this place into an iMovie is so cool because the students could add text, images, music, and so much more to really personalize their story and make it their own.
By doing something like this, your students are able to work with multimedia in the classroom and the learning and "work" becomes fun and creative. It is a great alternative to a traditional paper.
I think this is also a great opportunity for the teacher to get to know his/her students in a different light. You learn a lot about your students when they are allowed to be creative and they feel comfortable enough to open up their writing and really share their hearts.
I am interested in the different programs used for digital storytelling and hope to be able to incorporate it in my future classroom.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
If I Teach This Way...
"When one integrates student experiences with technology into the curriculum, the role of the teacher changes. The teacher no longer has to be in charge every minute, but can give some of the control over to the students and the technology."
This passage straight out of the reading really stood out to me. As someone who considers myself to have a behaviorist style of teaching, I must say that this is also something that makes me step out of my box. It really talks about letting go of some control and allow the students to do some of the teaching, and also allowing the integration of technology to really take control of the classroom.
It is sometimes hard for teachers to step down a little bit and allow the students to feel like they have some control over conversation and learning in the classroom. I think that it is important to incorporate this style of teaching into all classroom at some point. It may not be used all the time, but I think that students have a lot to offer to each other from their point of view and allowing them to work things out having the teacher monitor the learning. The article also goes on to say, that "for this type of teaching to be successful, teachers need to give students time to explore the material and construct meaning from the experience."
There are so many different styles of teaching and it is important that educators find what works for them. It is also possible that you may incorporate a couple different styles of teaching. It is crucial that whatever style you choose, you still remain in control of the classroom and that your students have no doubt about who is in charge. Forming that respect between teacher and student will make every classroom function better and more successfully.
This passage straight out of the reading really stood out to me. As someone who considers myself to have a behaviorist style of teaching, I must say that this is also something that makes me step out of my box. It really talks about letting go of some control and allow the students to do some of the teaching, and also allowing the integration of technology to really take control of the classroom.
It is sometimes hard for teachers to step down a little bit and allow the students to feel like they have some control over conversation and learning in the classroom. I think that it is important to incorporate this style of teaching into all classroom at some point. It may not be used all the time, but I think that students have a lot to offer to each other from their point of view and allowing them to work things out having the teacher monitor the learning. The article also goes on to say, that "for this type of teaching to be successful, teachers need to give students time to explore the material and construct meaning from the experience."
There are so many different styles of teaching and it is important that educators find what works for them. It is also possible that you may incorporate a couple different styles of teaching. It is crucial that whatever style you choose, you still remain in control of the classroom and that your students have no doubt about who is in charge. Forming that respect between teacher and student will make every classroom function better and more successfully.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
I Read It On The Computer...
The article "I Read it on the Computer" talks about ways to make students aware of what they are reading on the internet. It is so easy to access information on the web, but finding valid information the web is not always easy. Sometimes it is hard to decipher what is creditable information and what is not. Using lesson plans such as the one in this article will help students be able to weed out the bad information from the good information. While it is still possible that we may be fooled by false information on the web, having the tools to be able to eliminate through most of it will really help you when you are doing research projects.
As teachers, we need to guide our students in using the web. We need to make them aware of what is on the internet, and we also need to teach them how to locate and pick out the critical information.
"Not on the Web" talks about the main sources that the internet lacks. While the internet is a great tool to use when we are doing research, we should not just rely on what is available in the free internet. Most high quality reference books are not available on the web, as well as full text nonfiction books that have a lot of valuable information that the students will be missing out on if they rely solely on the web. It is good for teachers to encourage their students to research beyond the web and to explore the library for reference books to expand their research options.
As teachers, we need to guide our students in using the web. We need to make them aware of what is on the internet, and we also need to teach them how to locate and pick out the critical information.
"Not on the Web" talks about the main sources that the internet lacks. While the internet is a great tool to use when we are doing research, we should not just rely on what is available in the free internet. Most high quality reference books are not available on the web, as well as full text nonfiction books that have a lot of valuable information that the students will be missing out on if they rely solely on the web. It is good for teachers to encourage their students to research beyond the web and to explore the library for reference books to expand their research options.
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