1:1 No Fear

By -
Remember those t-shirts from the 90's with all the cliche phrases? I work in a 1:1 Laptop middle school. Some teachers might be hesitant about learning how to use this tool to enhance learning... I am NOT one of them.

My U.S. History students watched part of the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War and were challenged to make their own documentary on what they thought was the most important event in the Civil War. The students were able to work in groups and could use any form of technology that they wanted to. I couldn't believe the different types of products that they made. I had a student do a whole documentary on one power point slide. I didn't even know that you could have pictures move from side to side and add different text on each picture all within one slide. I also had students use Vimeo, PhotoStory, and Movie Maker. In these projects, some students did interviews, battle reenactments, and even a satire with Charlie Sheen vs. Chuck Norris. I was very pleased with how much work the students put in on these projects.

On the day we were going to showcase these videos in class, I walked into the building mumbling the words "Half the videos won't work today and it will all be okay." This is where I think some teachers are too afraid of getting to a day planned that relies solely on technology in case it fails. I instead took the path of saying that stuff happens and I will work through it. I am proud to say that I chose to have no fear when planning for technology. And I was right - half of the videos didn't work on that particular day. The project was still successful and I hope hearing this will encourage more teachers to use technology to enhance learning... No Fear.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will You Take The Challenge?

By -
For the last 30 days, I have been answering one reflection question each day and I have learned so much about myself as an educator. Whether you are a veteran blogger or brand new to blogging, I invite you to take this challenge. Video tape or write your answers to each of the reflection questions and share it with your PLN. Here are the questions that I came up with. Are you ready to take the challenge? 30-Day Blog Challenge Day 1:  How did you decide to become a teacher? Day 2:  What do you believe is your greatest strength as a teacher? Day 3:  In which area do you think you can improve the most? Day 4:  What were you most worried about as you approached your first day as a teacher? Day 5:  How do you keep your classroom organized? Day 6:  What have you observed of other teachers that might work in your own classroom? Day 7:  How can you best promote responsibility in your students? Day 8:  How do you connect with your students? Day 9:  What do you want out of the “Staff
Read more

Standards Based Grading

By -
Okay along with my 30 day reflection videos I do want to use this blog for sharing my ideas and collaborating. I was just telling my students that we live in a "global community" and I started thinking that I could collaborate with great teachers from all over. I have been researching a lot about standards based grading and I think it is the right thing for my classes. I have been reading books on grading and my eyes have really opened. My grade book used to be filled with all homework assignments and assessments. This doesn't tell anyone what the students actually came away with. I know that I need to change how I have been doing things and I know that it is best for my students.
Read more

Confession: Why I stopped blogging

By -
Image
It has taken me a long time to write this post. In the beginning I was very excited to start blogging and share my experience with other educators. Unexpectedly and noticeably, the blog started to become something else. The focus started to be about view counts and comments. I started to feel like I wasn't this great teacher that I thought I was and I was scared to write about my ups and downs. What would people think if they knew that I found changes and improvements to the units I was teaching?  Would anyone want to read what I was saying if all I had were questions instead of knowing all of the answers? This anxiety got the best of me for a very long time. This is why I stopped blogging. I was scared to show myself, except I started to realize that I got into blogging to show myself... all of it. I am not the most amazing teacher (...yet), but I am a teacher that is constantly learning and evolving. I am a teacher that wants to be honest with my peers so that I can learn from
Read more