1. Twiducate
Description:
Twiducate is a social networking program for schools “developed for teachers by teachers”. This program allows student and teachers to collaborate through an online private network. Participants can share ideas and post discussions, assignments, etc. The website refers to this program as “a medium for teachers and students to continue their learning outside of the classroom”. The purpose is to “provide a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners” in regards to social networking. Source: www.twiducate.com
Application of Technology: (example lesson plan)
Instructional Activity:
When studying important literary figures or historical figures, the teacher could post dialogue from a literary figures or a famous speech from a well known historical figures in Twiducate for all students to view. Students could then be prompted to brainstorm ideas using the chat portion of Twiducate to develop what they feel are relevant additions to the speech or imagined dialogue from the literary figures in the continuation of the traditional story from which the dialogue was taken. For instance, if students have been studying William Shakespeare, dialogue between two characters could be taken from a certain act of one of Shakespeare’s plays and students could then be prompted to form their own modern interpretation of the dialogue for that act, as well as continue to develop imagined dialogue for the remainder of the story. This idea could also be applied to speeches by historical figures. The students could each develop and post their own interpretations of the dialogue, as well as imagined dialogue and use the “Like” icon in Twiducate to vote for their favorite. When favorites have been determined, those works can be added to the original post, thus creating a new interpretation of a classic work. (This activity will require monitoring on the part of the teacher to ensure appropriateness of content in relation to the dialogue posted.)Upon completion of the task, the completed work could be saved and printed for the entire class to read and discuss or even act out.
Source: https://taitcoles.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/35-ways-to-use-twiducate-for-deeper-learning/
Source: https://taitcoles.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/35-ways-to-use-twiducate-for-deeper-learning/
For additional activity and lesson ideas, please take a look at the following resource:
I believe that the incorporation of Twiducate within an educational environment can help to enhance the learning process because it allows for collaboration and work that would normally only transpire within the classroom, to continue outside of school hours if needed. Also, the format affords students who might not be as social within the classroom, the opportunity to share their ideas and contributions online, where they might feel less apprehensive about sharing. In addition, teachers can post information or assignments within Twiducate while monitoring student collaboration and progress.
Useful Details:
Cost- Twiducate is a free, online program that only requires a teacher to register gain access and establish student accounts that allow a class to participate. (The only possible cost that I can see, would be the cost associated with ensuring that computers and an internet connection are available for use.)
Learning Curve- The technology is fairly easy to use (especially for individuals who are familiar with Twitter) and requires minimal training in order to be implemented within the learning environment.
Training Availability- There are training resources available both on the website, as well as sites like YouTube that instruct both teachers and students on how to effectively use the technology. Here are a few links to YouTube videos explaining how to use Twiducate:
Teacher- Lesson on Using Twiducate
Student- Twiducate for Students
Source: www.youtube.com
Required Support- Support resources are available through the Twiducate website and the required support should be minimal in nature, as this program is internet based and does not require routine maintenance by school networks. (Since teachers are able to monitor accounts within Twiducate, it would be beneficial for them to closely monitor student activity and provide the needed support should students encounter issues.)
2. Storybird
Description:
Storybird is an online program that allows users to create visual stories. Using artwork from illustrators and artists from around the globe, this tool inspires writers of all ages to tell their stories. Artists can contribute to the site and earn royalties for their work. Users have the ability to create picture books, poems, short stories, books, etc. and make them available for others to read online and offer feedback. Readers can access numerous works within Storybird’s online library. This tool offers a way for a “global community of writers, readers, and artists of all ages” to interact. Source: www.storybird.com
Application of Technology: (example lesson plan)
Instructional Activities:
1. In order to truly encourage students to express their creativity, teachers could use the resources available in Storybird to allow students to compose journal entries with accompanying artwork. Students could be tasked with signing into storybird and composing a daily journal entry based upon topics or themes provided by the teacher or inspired by daily events in the lives of the students. The features of Storybird would allow students to produce a visually compelling expression of their thoughts and feelings that could be shared with others. Upon completion of a journal entry or entries, the teacher could examine the work and offer the student an option of either printing the information to produce a physical work (document/book), or saving the information and sharing it with others online. (The teacher would need to monitor the writings and review them before allowing the student to share, but this is easily done with features in Storybird.)This activity would give students a creative outlet for expressing ideas, while helping them improve their writing skills.
2. Another possible classroom activity using Storybird, would be for teachers to task students with contributing to a progressive story through the Storybird site. The teacher could assign students certain illustrations to be used as inspiration for their story. One set of students could be given a specific amount of time to compose a few sentences inspired by the illustration or tasked with creating a certain length of writing to accompany the photo (ie. 3 sentences or 1 paragraph). Upon completion of their task, another set of students could add to the writing. (Storybird does contain a collaboration feature, but students must select collaborators before the story is published.) This process could be repeated until the story is completed or it reaches a length desired by the teacher. Still another way to complete this same task, would be for the teacher to assign each student a different illustration that is relative to the overall story and have the students compose writings to accompany their given illustrations. Either way, allows students to work on a progressive story that, upon completion, could be saved, printed, and shared online for other users and fellow classmates to view. (The teacher would need to monitor the writings and review them before allowing the students to share, but this is easily done with features in Storybird.)This activity allows students to collaboratively use their creative writing skills to produce an interesting, illustrated story. Source: http://technologyskills.net/storybird-in-the-classroom/
For additional activities and lesson ideas, please take a look at the following resources:
I believe that the use of Storybird within an educational setting can enhance learning because it allows students to express their creativity while working to improve their writing skills. In addition, the ability for students to publish their work, as well as receive feedback from instructors, peers, and other Storybird users can help students to develop a greater understanding of the writing process. The fact that users can also read numerous works by other authors helps them to improve upon their reading skills and hopefully inspires them to continue to advance their writing skills.
Useful Details:
Cost-Storybird is a free, online tool that simply requires a user to register for an account to gain access. Educators can register for an account that provides them with the option of creating free student accounts associated with that account. (The only possible cost that I can see, would be the cost associated with ensuring that computers and an internet connection are available for use.)
Learning Curve-There is little to no learning curve associated with the use of Storybird, as it is relatively simple to use and designed for use by all ages.
Training Availability- The Storybird website contains information on how to use this tool. There are also videos and other training resources available online. Here are some links to videos on YouTube that illustrate how to use Storybird:
Teachers- Super Storytelling with StoryBird
Required Support- Support resources are available through the Storybird website and the required support should be minimal in nature, as this program is internet based and does not require routine maintenance by school networks. (Since teachers are able to monitor accounts within Storybird, it would be beneficial for them to closely monitor student activity and provide the needed support should students encounter issues.)
3. ePals
Description:
ePals is an internet based learning environment where teachers can use various tools to “create real world, culturally-enriching learning experiences for their students”. Teachers can connect their classroom with other students/classrooms from around the globe and safely allow them to interact and correspond with one another using the various features available within this program, such as the ePals Global Classroom feature and SchoolMail365. In addition, students can access a variety of “stories, poems, educational games, and other digital media created by award-winning authors and illustrators”. Source: www.eals.com
Application of Technology: (example lesson plan)
Lesson Using ePals and Biteslide
Topic: World Geography
(Countries of the World)
Students: 9th Grade Social Studies Classroom
Learning goal: Students will learn more about World Geography by researching about different countries of the world and connecting with other students through the use of selected technologies.
Objectives:
· Students will develop an understanding of the geographical location of the United States in relation to other countries of the world.
· Students will learn facts about their assigned countries including: the geographic location, capital, major cities, landmarks, trade industries, imports, exports, currency, food, climate, population, etc.
· Students will develop increased understanding of the culture and lifestyle in their assigned country through online correspondence with students from that country.
· Students will increase their knowledge by sharing their discoveries with other students.
Instructional Activities:
1. The teacher will assign each student a selected country of the world that he/she is to research.
2. The teacher will register with ePals and Biteslide to create student accounts and retrieve student access information.
3. Students will be provided with access to the ePals site and asked to log in to receive their assigned country and corresponding research assignment. (This information will be available for students to view within the ePals Project Workspace.)
4. Students will use selected resources to research certain criteria about their assigned tries, (such as geographic location, capital city, major cities, landmarks, trade industries, imports, exports, currency, food, climate, population, etc.). ** An outline for the required research criteria will be made available to students through a posting on the ePals site within the Project Workspace.** (Suggested Outline:Country Research Outline )
5. The teacher will match the student or class of students with a class or student from the assigned research country through the ePals Global Classroom. Students can correspond with their assigned students through the ePals SchoolMail365 in order to gain first hand information about their assigned country from a fellow student living there. (Teachers can provide guidelines for correspondence and monitor interactions between students within the ePals Project Workspace.)
6. Following the research outline, students will collect and organize their findings about their assigned countries. Using the online tool Biteslide, students will log-in and use the available technology to create a slide presentation (slidebook) containing their findings about their assigned countries.
7. After creating their slidebooks, students will then either download their presentations and upload them within the ePals Project Workspace or post links to their Biteslide presentations within the ePals site (Project Workspace) for other students within the class to be able to view and offer feedback.
**Both students and the teacher can offer feedback on completed projects (slidebooks) on either the Biteslide website or within the ePals Project Workspace.**
Lesson Evaluation:
The teacher can use the student created slidebooks, along with the selected research criteria to evaluate student understanding and determine successful completion of the assigned research project.
I feel that the use of ePals within an educational environment can enhance both the teaching and learning process. Having the ability to connect students with other students/classrooms from around the globe expands the learning possibilities because it, in essence, removes the boundaries of the traditional classroom and increases the possibilities for collaboration and the exchange of information. Teachers can safely monitor correspondence amongst participants and the ability to video conference between classrooms allows for synchronous communication, thus adding to the learning experience.
Useful Details:
Cost-ePals is a free, internet based program that simply requires an educator to register for an account in order to create student accounts that will allow them to implement this technology within their classroom. (The only possible cost that I can see, would be the cost associated with ensuring that computers and an internet connection are available for use.)
Learning Curve-The is a minimal learning curve associated with using ePals in that both teachers and students need to become familiar with the available resources within the program. I would say that the majority of the resources and communication tool within ePals are user friendly and should not take a great deal of time to learn.
Training Availability- The ePals website contains information and instructional videos on how to use various elements within this program. There are also videos and other training resources available online. Here is a link to a video that I made illustrating how to use the ePals program:
Brief demonstration of the technologies: (using Jing)
(Please click on the title to view the demonstration.)
Required Support- Support resources are available through the ePals website and the required support should be minimal in nature, as this program is internet based and does not require routine maintenance by school networks. (Since teachers are able to monitor accounts within ePals, it would be beneficial for them to closely monitor student activity and provide the needed support should students encounter issues.)
No comments:
Post a Comment