This week's assignment is optional--you only need to complete it if you missed one of the previous weeks' posts. In the spirit of the holidays, I thought we'd give someone who isn't in our class the gift of something you've learned. Here's how it works:
Look over the past posts and find something you think you'd like to pass on to someone else.
Pick a person on your staff to receive your "gift of knowledge."
Visit that person and say, "Hey, do you have minute so I can show you this cool thing I learned?"
Show them. (Don't forget, let them "drive." Only in dire situations should you take over the keyboard or mouse of another person--we learn best by doing.)
Come back here and tell us what you shared and why, and a little bit about the experience.
Learn about AudioBoo from the Learn It in 5 website.
Create an account at AudioBoo and make a sample podcast. Ideally, if you're a classroom teacher, I encourage you to create something you'll actually post to your SWIFT site for students or parents to access. You can watch this little demo for how to embed the podcast on your SWIFT site: Embedding an AudioBoo Podcast into Your SWIFT Site from 10Tech on Vimeo.
(Also, remember, whenever using your built in microphone, you may need to play around a little with your levels, etc. Here's the link to the demo about adjusting your microphone settings: http://vimeo.com/8228250.)
Come back here and tell us about your experience and how you imagine you could use it in your classroom.
REMINDER: This post isn't really due until we get back from break. Next week, I'll post an optional assignment for those who need to "make up" a week they missed.
Testmoz is a handy little tool does just what it says it does: allows the teacher to easily make simple tests/quizzes/checks for understanding that don't require a login by either the teacher or the student. Follow the directions--when they say "make a note of the URL and don't lose it," they mean it--it's your only link to your quiz. I used it for the F1 Tuesday Quiz several weeks ago and was, indeed, impressed by how easy it was AND the best part is that the quiz was scored for me! Yahoo!
This week's assignment: Try it out yourself and use it with your students if possible. Report back here what you think about the tool. Do you think you'll use it? I was happy with how it worked for the F1 Tuesday quiz, but I'll need your feedback regarding use with students.
This week I'm sending you to a collection of articles that address best practices with technology from the University of North Carolina School of Education. Your assignment is simple: visit the collection, pursue the articles, select one you want to read, read it, come back here and tell us what you learned. Include the link to the article you read as well as what you plan to do with the information now that you have it.
Before we get started: This week's assignment is optional. We'll resume our regular class schedule after Thanksgiving. You need only complete this week's assignment if
you need to "make up" for a week you missed
you want to have a spare assignment in the bag, just in case you miss a week later in the class
you just love learning so much that you can't help yourself
We'll have one more "make up" opportunity during the winter break.
Now, for this week's optional post:
If you took the class last year, you know that I'm a big fan of the folks over at Teachers First. They do a great job collecting, reviewing, and cataloging digital tools and resources for teachers. They are always adding new things to their site so it's worth revisiting now and again. So, for this week, that's what we're going to do. You may want to refresh your memory by reading what I had to say about Teachers First last year. Then, visit the Teachers First site, do some exploring, come back here and tell us what you found and how you think you might use it.
We have a small group, so, not surprisingly, we're seeing a lot of responding to other participants' comments. However, the online "discussion" that is possible with threaded commenting on a blog can really enhance even a simple online class like this one. So, this week, we're going to take full advantage of the technology we have at our disposal.
Please revisit Week 3's post and associated comments AT LEAST TWICE THIS WEEK. Many of you brought up some interesting ideas and questions related to the topic of motivation in school and we're not going to let them languish there. Each time you visit, I'd like you to provide two additional comments in the form of "reply" to the comments already there. Yes, it counts if you "reply" to something you've already said.
You'll probably want to know when/if someone responds to a comment you made. You can be alerted via email but simply typing in your email address when you leave your comment AND selected "Subscribe to Replies" (or "all comments," if you'd prefer that option).
Next week I'll be posting an "optional make up post" for those who have missed one so far. Otherwise, you're off the hook for Thanksgiving. (Of course, you can respond if you want, but you don't have to.) That makes this week's assignment due December 2. With all that extra time, just imagine how interesting the motivation discussion will be!
This week we're going to try using a tool that allows you to capture your voice and your screen actions in a real-time video. Typically, these are called screencasts. Screencasts are what I make when I want to show staff how do something for F1 Tuesdays. I use a product called Jing, but it requires a download and frequently updates, so it's not available for general staff use. Nonetheless, many staff members see the potential for screencasting so I've been on the lookout for a tool that staff could use. Seek and ye shall find! ScreenToaster is a free online screencasting tool. You simply create an account and record. Then, upload your video to ScreenToaster (or YouTube, if you'd like) and share the link with your students or embed the video on your blog.
This week, I want you to do just that--go to ScreenToaster, create an account, and make a sample screencast. I'm not going to give you a lot of direction here because the beauty of Web 2.0 tools is that they are intended to be used without a formal training. However, sometimes there are glitches--it is free after all--but I didn't find anything significant. (One hint, though: the default is no audio recording, so you'll need to enable this before you record.) If you get stuck, use the help and demos they provide to help you. One thing, however, you many need to adjust your microphone settings on your laptop before you being. This little screencast (which I made using ScreenToaster, by the way) shows you how.
Once you're done, come back here and do three things:
Provide the URL to your screencast. (Don't worry, we're not going to grade you.)
Suggest a way that this tool could help improve student learning in your classroom. Think beyond teacher use. If your students are over 13 and have the permission of a parent, they can use ScreenToaster to create screencasts, too.
Report on your experience using ScreenToaster. How did your "figuring it out on your own" go? Any advice/insight for people new to screencasting?
Here's a great short interview I stumbled upon on NPR last year while driving to work. In it, Daniel Pink (author of A Whole New Mind, as well as other books) discusses motivation and what he learned while writing Drive, a book about, of course, motivation.
Before you can tackle this week's assignment, you'll have to listen to the 4-minute interview.
This week you have two options for your "assignment." Choose whichever one suits you. (NOTE: You may think that this week's post isn't really about a new technology tool, but you'd be wrong! :) NPR and our very easy access to the wealth of material there is a wonderful way to bring outside voices into your classroom. When you get a chance, do some exploring.)
Option A
Play the interview for your students and conduct a discussion around a question like this, "It seems like Daniel Pink is suggesting that providing external motivation like pay (or, perhaps points/grades) decreases rather than increases motivation. Do you think this is true in school? Do points motivate or de-motivate you? What would happen if I didn't give you points?"
Report back here some of the insights students share.
Option B
Reflect on Pink's ideas in relation to the way you motivate students in your classroom. What issues does he raise for you?
Here's a cool Web 2.0 tool that crossed my desk the other day. PicLit lets you add words (either by dragging and dropping the words they've provided for you OR by writing your own) to a picture from their gallery of rather intriguing images. This little demo shows you how you use it, and then how students could use the snipping tool to save their creation as a JPEG file and share it with you.
So, what do you think? How could you use this tool to elicit thinking from your students, have them report their learning, or in some other way use the tool in your classroom?
I assume that since you are here for Learn and Earn 2, you are familiar with the routine. I'll post new content for you each week on Thursdays. At the end of each post there will be a prompt for you to respond to. You'll have until the following Thursday morning to respond to the prompt by posting a comment at the end of that week's entry. NO LATE WORK. (However, I do know that sometimes life gets in the way of even the most interesting of blog posts, so during the week of Thanksgiving and again during the winter break, I'll post an optional prompt. These two posts will not be required required for clock hours UNLESS you have "make up" work to do because you missed responding to a post (or two).)
Another thing that's new this year is the total clock hours you can earn--I shortened the class length to 10 weeks/posts (actually 12 if you count the two optional posts mentioned above) and increased the total number of clock hours of the class. Now the class is worth 5 clock hours. This change honors the fact that many of you will choose spend more than 15 minutes a week with each "assignment," especially when you consider the time you may (hopefully) spend experimenting with and implementing some of the ideas you learn about.
Well, let's get started shall we? To begin, I'd like us to introduce ourselves. In your comment below, please include
your first and last name (or just first initial of last name if you want to be less "google-able"),
where and what you teach,
what you find most promising, challenging, or exciting about technology today
and, finally, anything you'd want me, your instructor, to consider in planning future posts (e.g. are there topics or tools you'd like to see featured?)
If you'd like a a little primer about posting comments, you can watch this video:
