2. EVALUATING TOOLS
Some of the tools I found most useful were iMovie and the
Schooltube video account to create a video lesson. The
process to upload the video was user friendly. I also
appreciate that you can access your colleagues videos
easily. This site may be used in the future to build a bank of
parent tutorials.
I also found the Corbis images website to be very helpful. It
is helpful to know that the pictures can be used in the
classroom. In addition the photos were excellent quality and
they are relevant to our units of study.
3. SUCCESSES
I enjoyed being able to collaborate with a colleague to
develop online projects that will benefit students. The
course forced me to sit down with a grade level partner and
review areas of need we face when teaching specific units. I
appreciated the flexibility of the projects. This allowed the
outcomes for the four projects to be extremely useful.
The podcast project, for example, was a great success
because I was able to sit with a colleague to write multiple
lessons in a detailed and meaningful way. The reading
lessons we created and uploaded can also be used as a
template for further lesson development. This podcast is not
only going to be used in the classroom, but also can be
shared with parents to keep them informed of reading
strategy lessons that we practice in class.
4. CHALLENGES
One challenge in starting the projects was the number of
resources. It was overwhelming at times to review all of the
available resources for the online projects. I did find that
once a tool was chosen, most of the time it ended up being
very user friendly. I also now have a starting point to use in
the future if I want to create a new project such as a video or
slideshow.
A lot of time was also put into deciding which projects
should be used to support each area of the curriculum.
The other challenge I had was just navigating the different
editing tools in the software programs. Many of them were
easy to figure out, but each one was new to me.
5. MOODLE & ONLINE LEARNING
I think Moodle works for adult education. At times I felt a bit unorganized
with all of the links, but overall I found it easy to navigate. I have taken
other courses online which involved more discussion boards which I
think can be helpful for certain subjects or class topics. I do not see this
as a tool I would use with my second grade class. Perhaps in the future
if I find myself at the middle school level I would be willing to give it a try.
Online learning at the early elementary levels is helpful for teaching and
reinforcing ideas with students and parents. Before this class I had not
tried or thought about using projects such as videos or voice recordings
to have students show their learning. Now I think that some of the
projects I created could be adapted for young students. For example,
students in a literature circle could create a video (edited or unedited) to
respond to a text and demonstrate their understanding of the plot. This
could also be done with a math concept. I would have to consider the
abilities of my second graders and the logistics of how they would share
it with me. I think in the beginning it might be as simple as saving a
video clip in my “inbox” in the network.
6. COLLECTION OF WORK PART 1
Module 1: Using Images and Photography
This photo album will be used as part of the
second grade unit on the life cycle of butterflies.
It was created using Corbis images, Sumopaint,
and flickr were used. The Painted Lady Butterfly
Module 2: Using Audio and Webstreams
Here is my podcast on the reading strategy of
questioning. We used the Mac software Garage
band to record. iTunes was used to convert the
file, and it was uploaded to podbean.
7. COLLECTION OF WORK PART 2
Module 3: Web-based Video Project
This link shows my video. I made a parallel line
video for a 2nd grade geometry unit. Sumopaint was
used for editing photos from the Corbis images
website. Animoto was used to create the video.
Module 4: Video Production Project
Here is a link to my partial sums video. This video
will help parents and students understand and use
our 2nd grade strategy at home. An iPad was used
for recording. iMovie was used to edit the video.
Finally schooltube.com was used to post the video!