Audiobooks and Kami

turned on black samsung smartphone between headphones
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Article Name: 7 Benefits of Audiobooks

Author: Shaelynn Farnsworth

Link:  https://shaelynnfarnsworth.com/2018/10/28/7-benefits-of-audiobooks/

Summary:

This article is about the effectiveness of using audiobooks in the classroom.  Many teachers are old-school and believe there is no better way to read than a paper and text book but is that the only way for students to learn?  This article states that listening to an audiobook does count as reading.  The seven benefits of audiobooks are this:

  1. Independence
  2. Access to information – audiobooks work better for those with reading disabilities to improve their comprehension despite the disability
  3. Broadens one’s world, locales, accents, dialects, cultures
  4. Linguistically Rich – Promotes Storytelling
  5. Increases: motivation, background info. Content knowledge, vocabulary
  6. Models Good Reading
  7. Improves: critical listening skills, Reading Accuracy, Fluency

This educator believes that audiobooks have a place in learning comprehension but reading a book is also very important to testing, etc.  Students have to be able to read and decipher words.

 

Kami image

Technology Tool

Kami

Kami is a tool this educator learned about this week at the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators Conference.  It is an online tool (www.kamiapp.com) that allows you to annotate and edit pdf documents.  The best tool within Kami is the ability to upload a large Pdf and break it into separate documents to create your own from pieces of pdf docs.  Students use this app in English classes to annotate documents and save in Google Docs.

This app is used to annotate pdf Guidebook documents and return to the teacher digitally.  Students can record audio, video, pen, screen, etc to annotate not just highlighters.  The only drawback to this app is having enough devices for students.    This app will help students and teachers cut down on paper helping the environment.  Go check it out!!

Virtual Reality

Blog Entry 7

Virtual Reality

https://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-reasons-use-virtual-reality-classroom/

Article Title:  10 Reasons to Use Virtual Reality in the Classroom

Author:  TeachThoughtStaff

Summary:

This article is about the use of virtual reality in the classroom.  The 10 reasons are as follows:

  1. Travel to and explore places all over the world without leaving the classroom.
  2. Develop empathy for communities in crisis by stepping into their shoes.
  3. Experience different careers first-hand.
  4. Explore the depths of the ocean and the vastness of space.
  5. Time travel to key events and places from the past.
  6. Explore within the human body.
  7. Allow students to share their world with others by creating their own VR content.
  8. Discover how VR can be used in other industries like medicine, engineering, entertainment and real estate.
  9. Explore how VR can be integrated into every subject area and curriculum.
  10. Promote curiosity and wonder.

Virtual reality can be used to leave the walls of the classroom and explore places some students will never get to actually go.  The age groups that use virtual reality start in pre-k and go up to adulthood.  There really is no age limit.  Keeping students engaged in school in this day and age is a difficult and activities using virtual reality are sure to keep them entertained and interested.

 

 

Technology Tool:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/essaymap/

Readwritethink has an essay mapping tool that I found very interesting for English teachers who have students struggling with writing essays.  A teacher could use this tool on Ipads for students who struggle with how to set up essays.  Many students struggle with the prewriting stage of writing.  This is a necessary skill for standardized testing.

One drawback to using this tool would be the access to devices with Internet.

 

 

 

sky woman clouds girl
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Social Media and Journalism

apps business cellphone cellular telephone
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2018/10/03/keeping-high-school-journalism-class-on-the.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw

Article Title:  Keeping High School Journalism Class on the Cutting Edge

Author:  Alyson KIein

Summary:

This article is about a high school journalism class using their online website to enter the social media world.  The journalism class has learned to use objective thinking, collaboration and critical thinking.  Their news coverage is unbiased and reports the facts.  The students share their website on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. so they can reach more people.  The teacher mentioned there is a learning curve for adults and students know more about social media uses than do adults.  The group did get into trouble one year because of reporting on something controversial like the Secretary of Education and employee’s opinions.  The journalism group contacted a lawyer and had a victory over the complainants.  Twenty years ago, teachers did not have to consider such things but times are changing.  Students live their lives on social media and teachers have to find them where they are.

 

Technology Tool

SWIVL – Swivl is a tool that comes in the form of an app.  An educator must buy the base and have the app on their smart phone or tablet.  The Ipad is set upon the base and uses the camera function to record the teacher while she teaches.  The app will follow the teacher with the camera and record sound.

The use would be for teachers or students presenting information to the class.  Teachers can improve their teaching skill using this tool as many times as they like.

The only drawback to the tool is having a smart device with the app installed on it.  It also takes a lot of storage on the device.

Swivl              swivl

 

Comic Strips in Education

doodle comic art sketch
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http://ly.tcea.org/wbfc . #edtech #txedu #teachertech
Article Title: Teachers Web Tools for Creating Educational Comic Strips
Summary:
This article describes three websites students may use to create comic strips using prompts given by the instructor or a creation of their own topic. The three websites are as follows:
1. Make Beliefs Comix https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
2. Storyboardthat https://www.storyboardthat.com/
3. Witty Comics http://www.wittycomics.com/
Make Beliefs Comix has the feel of a more elementary website for younger students whereas Storyboardthat would be of more use to older students. Students are provided with characters, objects, speech bubbles and thought cubes to create their stories. When completed, students are given a variety of methods to turn in work, i.e. print, email, social media. The article states, “Finished products can be shared with the whole class or, in case you have one, embed them in your class website.” (Educatortechnology, 2018)

 

Works Cited
Educatortechnology. (2018, July 7). Teachers Web Tools for Creating Educational Comic Strips. Retrieved from Educators Technology: https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/07/teachers-web-tools-for-creating.html

Technology Tool
http://www.Brightstorm.com   brightstorm
This is a website that this educator has used for years to help students in Algebra 1. The website is compiled with videos ranging from Algebra to Trigonometry and Calculus. There are also videos in Science, English and test prep materials. The highly qualified teachers speak in a manner teenagers can understand. Using a website with videos is beneficial due to the fact students can use them at any time and use functions such as pause and rewind when they are working problems. Students can search by topic and teachers will teach the topic and then complete sample problems including the skill. Students can take what they are given in class and use at home with any device having internet.
The only challenge with this tool is that it is not free and many students won’t pay to use it. The membership is $14 per month. The membership amount is worth it when you have students struggling to understand the material.

Lesson Plans Made Easy!!

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2016/09/12/the-magic-automatic-lesson-planner-with-google-forms/

The article title is “The Magic Automatic Lesson Planner with Google Forms.”  This article is about saving teachers time by using Google Forms.  The author states that once you make the form, you just fill in pertinent information for the remainder of the year.  Creating the lesson plans on Google forms also means they are sharable with anyone else having a Google account.  There are detailed instructions on how to create documents with drop-down menus and add extension in Google to aid in the process.  One can save the lesson plans weekly and save in Google.

 

Tech Tool:

animoto

This tool is great for creating presentations with stock photos and videos.  One can create a personal account for as little as $16 per month and cancel anytime.  Students could use this tool to create presentations about curriculum.  Teachers and leaders could utilize this tool for faculty meetings and staff development.  The software is easy to use and easy to share.  There is stock music that is added very easily to any presentation.

The only drawback from using this tool is that it is not free but teachers could find a way.  Students would have more difficulty justifying its use if having to ask parents to buy the software.

Social Media and Calculators

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2018/09/teen_social_media_skyrocketing.html

Teen Social Media Use is Skyrocketing, But Don’t Panic, New Research Says

At a conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in August, April Bell, a presenter with edpartnerships.org, said, Twitter is for thought leaders, Facebook is for parents and Snapchat is for our students.  This information is not far from the truth as discussed in this article.  This article compares the data from 2012 to 2018.  Some of the statistics are staggering.  “70 percent of teens now say they use social media more than once a day, compared to 34 percent of teens in 2012.”  (Herold, 2018)

Parents seem to be behind the increase in social media and smart device use.  Eighty-nine percent of students between 13 and 17 years of age have their own smartphone.  These teens also noted that platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook are crucial to their everyday lives.  Many question if this smartphone use is too distracting for teens to get their education.  How do educator’s compete with this new “normal”?

Works Cited

Herold, B. (2018, September 10). Teen Social Media Use Is Skyrocketing. But Don’t Panic, New Research Says. Retrieved from Education Week: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2018/09/teen_social_media_skyrocketing.html

 

Technology Tool:

TiNspire Calculators

These calculators are obviously used in the math classroom but they are a necessity.  They have a unique feature in that they have wireless connectivity to the teacher’s computer.  She can pull up their calculator screens any time during class to model or correct mistakes students are making.  The website, https://education.ti.com/en/activities, has activities that match many lessons that coincide with the curriculum.  The educator can download the activities and send them wirelessly to each student’s calculator.  The student then logs in and has their activity already there with graphs already completed to model activity.  These calculators are a must-have for testing EOC or LEAP 2025.

The only challenge one can foresee with these calculators is wear and tear over time and cost of calculator.  They are around $130 each but they are used so much, wear does seem to show over time.

scientific calculator ii
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Fun Sites for Teachers

photo of a woman holding an ipad
Photo by bruce mars on Pexels.com

https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/15-collaborative-tools-for-your-classroom-that-are-not-google/

This article is great for the teacher wanting to shake things up a bit.  The name of the article is “15 Collaborative Tools for Your Classroom that are Not Google.  The tools introduced in this article are as follows:

 

  • Pear Deck
  • Flipgrid
  • Padlet
  • Nearpod
  • Skype
  • Seesaw
  • Kahoot
  • Book Creator
  • CoSpaces
  • Buncee
  • OneNote
  • WeVideo
  • Classcraft
  • InsertLearning
  • Soundtrap

This educator has used Skype before to bring in community involvement to the classroom as well as Facetime.  I once used Skype to interview a missionary in another country in front of VBS students at church.  I also like the Kahoot app.  Students can use whatever device they have at their desk to participate.  What app do you enjoy?

Technology Tool: Kahoot.

Kahoot is a great tool to do quick student assessment to find out if the teacher needs to reteach or move on.  It spurs on student engagement and rigor.  One can create his own quiz or game, or use one that is already created.

A challenge of Kahoot may be the recognition of students that are not sure of their answers.  It might create anxiety with the time restraints but most students enjoy using this tool.

ETEC 5610

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/01/24/578437957/laptops-and-phones-in-the-classroom-yea-nay-or-a-third-way?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

This article is about whether or not students and educators should use phones and laptops in the classroom.  There were several people interviewed including four professors, a high school teacher, a psychiatrist and a technologist to get a range of views.  Some teachers state that phones and laptops should be banned because they are very distracting and cause too many problems.  While others believe that one is retaining freedom when a teacher cuts the student off of technology.  They all agree that there should be strict policies in place when technology is used.

This educator believes that cell phones cause many problems for the more immature user.  Problems such as bullying by text, cheating on exams, and technology tools that allow students to “short-cut” the work at hand cause students failure.  Older students should have a degree of less structure with devices but still should be monitored.

Do you think cell phones should be allowed?  Is there a way students can succeed with cell phone usage?

 

www.remind101.com

This tool allows teachers and students to connect and communicate legally.  This tool enables teachers to send reminders, announcements and homework assignments to students in and out of school.  It will also promote parent inclusion by entering their email as well.  Parent will receive the same communication their child receives.

This tool like any tool can be abused.  Teachers should set the app to not allow students to reply to messages.  In this world, too many students and adults abuse contact outside of school.