In this professional development session, I learned how to
introduce blogging and vlogging to students, how to search for copyright free
images, and how to create podcasts as auditory tools for students. The best
thing about learning through this self-driven learning was that it forced me to
“trial-and-error” with each of the tools. I am normally the type of student who
enjoys lectures and exact directions because I become frustrated when I have to
figure things out and cannot find an answer to my exact issue or question. With
that said, I liked being forced to truly figure things out on my own, because I
think I learned more this way. With the auditory tools specifically, it took me
a while to figure out Synth. I realized what I didn’t know when I created my first
podcast, and then had the opportunity to make threads. At this point, I
understood the difference between a podcast and threads. And I am still
learning how to use the text that pairs with my audio recording. Sometimes “playing”
with a tool is helpful for exploration because you can find new things. In
looking for copyright free images on Unsplash, I learned how easy it can be to
find meaningful pictures, and pictures that can provoke student thinking and
discussion. With blogging, I have always personally feared setting up a blog,
but the platform I chose for this professional development showed me that I do
not need to feel overwhelmed with setup, and that there are simple formats that
can be used. I will be using all three tools that I explored with my students,
by helping create a class blog, teaching about copyright and using pictures
that are copyright free (especially as my secondary students prepare for
college), and I will create podcasts based on content areas for my students. The
hardest part to any implementation is time, as I need to take the time to
implement these tools, but I think that it will be worth it for my students! I
look forward to signing up for another professional development session like
this because it allowed me to explore topics that interested me most.
Cool Tools for Schools Workshop
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Thing 5: Audio Tools - Synth
One of the things that I have been looking to do for the
past several years as a teacher is create audio content for my students. Since
I teach English language learners, and also feel that this could benefit any
learner, I have been trying to find ways to create auditory notes or recaps of
class for students to revisit in an online platform. What I had done in the
past was create voice-over PowerPoints that students could view or review when
they finished other work in our school computer lab. However, they would need
to download the PowerPoint and understand how it works, and they had to be on
devices that used that feature or PowerPoint, and PowerPoint itself. Students
that had time to access it in the computer lab were thrilled by it, as the auditory
explanation and reading of content often made understanding easier than them
struggling to decode academic language above their proficiency level in an
attempt to review what we had learned in class. Aside from this tool, I had no
other ideas as to what existed, and even after asking many colleagues if they
knew of any ways to do this more effectively, no one seemed to know. I am
thrilled that the auditory tools are a component of this professional
development because I was thrilled to explore a new platform. I chose to use
Synth. I noticed that it did not work with Internet Explorer, but that it did
work on Google Chrome. I like that it can be used on the website or on mobile devices
and gives you that choice when you first enter the website. I was able to sign
in with Google, which is perfect for students as well, as each student in our
district has a Gmail account that can be used in this way. It asked for my name
and year of birth when signing in. In exploring the website, I appreciate that
it provides multiple ways for my content to be shared. I can share podcasts
with a weblink, code, or an embedded code. I chose this website to try because
I love that the words get put up on the screen, to help my students pair the
auditory with the written word. I currently cannot figure out how to broadcast the text with my auditory, but I will keep trying. In setting up my first ever podcast, I now feel
that I understand what a podcast is, verses a thread. I started my podcast with
an introduction of myself, and then realized that I could create threads within
the podcast, that would serve like a table of contents with small pieces of
specific information for students to reference. I really like this setup
because then students can target what they need to listen to. It would be
difficult for a student to listen to an entire review lecture about ancient
civilizations from global history class, but they could easily choose to listen
to a small auditory recording about the use of irrigation in river valley
civilizations and how it was used for farming. I love how this is set up with
threads, and am excited to get started by making podcasts for my students to
reference, especially for regents review!
Enter podcast code KNMJFAU at https://gosynth.com/s/c/sxnxeo
Thing 3: Photo Fun (Option 1)
One of the most difficult things for me as a teacher, and
also as a graduate student, has been finding pictures that I am actually
allowed to use without fear of breaking a copyright law. For this tool, I
wanted to explore one of the websites with copyright free images so that I
could provide it as a tool to students, and for myself. In the article by
Kathleen Morris, she makes it very clear that using Google Images is not
actually a good option for finding pictures, as most of them are copyright
protected. However, it is usually the quickest way to find pictures, and it is
often the most familiar to students. I admit to having a hard time trying to
not use Google Images because it is so convenient, and also very exact. When I
search a topic for pictures, it usually gives literal images before any
abstract images pertaining to my search. In the past when I have tried to use
the Advance Search option in Google to use copyright free images, I grew very
frustrated because the images did not always or literally match my search. And
when working with English language learners, I often need a literal example of
an English word. If students do not know what a lion is, then I want to help
them understand by showing a picture of just a lion, rather than a picture of
multiple African animals that was taken by a professional photographer. Aside
from my grieving the use of Google Images, I was not aware that “Even if you
cite the source of the image, you are not allowed to use images that are
protected by copyright” (Kathleen Morris, 2018). I truly thought that if you
cite whatever you use, that it is perfectly fine to take. Additionally, I did
not know that everything published online is protected by copyright by default,
which Kathleen Morris also states in her definition of copyright when compared
to creative commons. I am actually working on my doctorate right now, and was fully
unaware of either of these facts, and I feel ashamed. I also now feel a duty to
teach my students about this, which is why I wanted to explore a website that
allowed me to search copyright free images. I chose to use Unsplash. I really
liked how easy it was to use, as the search bars appeared like Google, with the
ability to use a small search bar at the top of the screen, or a larger search
bar in the middle of the screen. I loved that I could freely search, without
needing to login or create any sort of account, and although other websites
indicated that I needed to be 13+ years old, I was never asked on the site.
Downloading was also as simple as the click of a bottom when hovering the
cursor over the desired picture. I decided to search with the term “learning” and
found some more typical or literal pictures of students on laptop computers, or
piles of books which would indicate learning, but I purposely picked a more
abstract picture for this assignment of a hand holding a compass in front of a
forest. I think that learning can be an abstract concept, and I realized that I
could use some of these more abstract pictures, even with my English language
learners to promote discussion. Maybe not always showing them an exact literal
image (not that there truly would be one for “learning” since that is different
for every individual) of a concept could produce more discussion and dialogue.
This could help students improve their language, and their understanding
because it would occur in a more exploratory way than in me telling them
something and essentially asking them to memorize it. One thing that I am now
implementing in my classroom is the use of free writing time to begin class,
and I am using pictures to do that. I show students a picture that is slightly abstract
and ask them to write about it. They can write about what they see, what they
think, what they feel, what they understand, or what they want to know. I
started this in my lessons just a few weeks ago, and was using Google Images,
but now I will use Unsplash, as I am quite impressed with the pictures that are
available. I also feel much better about using these pictures since I am sure
that I am not breaking any laws, and I am being ethical about retrieving them.
Thing 2: Student Blogging and Writing
Student blogging has always been a fear of mine, due to the
amount of thought and time needed to adequately prepare students for publishing
work publicly. I really appreciated the first three articles posted to this assignment
by Paul Wagner because I appreciated his positivity about blogging. In my
personal experience when I have had students type work on their Chromebooks or
Ipads, I have found that the grammar and punctuation has been that of “text
messaging” with acronyms and abbreviations that would be embarrassing if a
possible college or employer ever saw their published work. Paul Wagner noted
that by helping students target their thinking with an audience and helping
them understand that all of the work that they publish can be viewed by the
public, meaning anyone, can be helpful in curbing this problem. I also
appreciated how he reminded me to incorporate time for free writing, which can
make the task of writing less burdensome since they do it so much. Something
else that was brand new to me, even in these first three articles by Paul
Wagner, was the idea that student accounts can be controlled by a master
teacher account. I did not even know that this was possible. I thought that
each student would need to separately create a blog and that in that way I
would not be able to help protect them if necessary. Right now, Weebly seems
more appealing to my working with secondary students than KidBlog which was
also proposed, due to more options for personalization, and the title itself
which could be off-putting to my older students who do not consider themselves “kids.”
Something else that I had not considered was the inclusion
of parents in this process. In the article by Chrissy Hellyer, she made it clear
that it is important to have a specific purpose for the blogging and to share
that purpose with others to gain support from the school community and parents.
As someone who is pregnant with their first child, I am personally very nervous
about my child online, even though we are years away from their online
interaction. I would most likely be a concerned parent if I learned that my child
was blogging in school. This makes it very important to use a blogging tool
that allows the teacher to monitor what is being posted. That would help me as
a parent to feel safer about my child interacting online, and I would want that
safety net for my own students as well. The idea of allowing students to
personalize their blogs is also important. When I was teaching kindergarten, I
remember veteran teachers telling me to allow students to simply play with
tools first, such as counting bears, to give them time to “get that out of
their system” so that they could then use them as educational tools,
productively, for counting, without as much of the temptation to play. I feel
that this same idea can apply to personalizing blogs. By allowing students some
free time to personalize their blog, as well as do some free writing, then they
should hopefully be more focused on the writing tasks themselves when assigned.
As a teacher who would be new to blogging, I really liked
the article by Kathleen Morris titled, “50 Blog Topics and Prompts for
Teachers.” As much as the prompts are intended for teachers, I think that it
could be really beneficial to work through most of these prompts with my
students. I have been told in the past that I do not need to be an expert in
something to use it with my students, because often they will be able to teach
me! I agree with this sentiment and think that these proposed prompts would be
a fun way for all of us to get started. For example, the first prompt is “Share
Your Blogging Story” which provides questions that ask the writer to share
about their blogging experience, as a reader and a writer. It also asks about
an individual’s goals of blogging, or general feelings of fear. Finally, it
asks that if an individual is more experienced with blogging, that they can
give advice for newbies. This would be a great prompt for my entire class to
address, myself included, to learn about each other. Many of the articles about
blogging mentioned that it can give insight into students that may not speak or
participate very much verbally in class, and I think using a prompt like this
makes all students vulnerable and makes me vulnerable as I admit to very little
blogging experience. It will support building classroom community because the
entire class will quickly learn who might need help in the process, and who we
can ask for help.
Video blogging is also something that can be very beneficial
as an option for my students, all of whom are English language learners. I took
time to explore Flipgrid and love the idea of allowing students to have
multiple tries to get their video the way that they want it. For example, you
can start a video post and then if you make a mistake or don’t like it, you can
stop, delete, and record it again. Speaking is one of the first language
modalities to develop in second language learners, so allowing them to speak
and do video blogs will not only allow them access to participate at their
language ability, but it will also allow them to hear themselves when they play
back the video which can help them develop clarity in their speaking, as well
as more deliberate word choice. This will also give a starting point for
students, to then transition into more writing which is a more difficult language
skill.
Overall, my comfort level with blogging and vlogging has
greatly increased, and I am excited about it! The resources provided helped me
think deeper about it as a tool for writing that can truly be more than another
space to write, such as Word. It gives students more freedom and options, as
well as an authentic audience to not merely write, but truly publish their
thinking, which I find to be very powerful.
Thing 1: Getting Started
Good Morning!
My name is Kendra Steele and I am an ESOL teacher in the Rochester City School District, specifically at East High School. I am taking part in this program because I really want to learn how to effectively use new technological tools in my classroom. It is often the domain of our APPR teacher evaluation rubric that I score lowest on because I am not super familiar with all of the tools available, and therefore do not know how to incorporate them into my teaching. I am excited to learn more tools so that I can enhance my teaching, meaning that I want to better engage the students and make them excited about the learning!
My name is Kendra Steele and I am an ESOL teacher in the Rochester City School District, specifically at East High School. I am taking part in this program because I really want to learn how to effectively use new technological tools in my classroom. It is often the domain of our APPR teacher evaluation rubric that I score lowest on because I am not super familiar with all of the tools available, and therefore do not know how to incorporate them into my teaching. I am excited to learn more tools so that I can enhance my teaching, meaning that I want to better engage the students and make them excited about the learning!
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