Lets Wrap It Up

I have really enjoyed learning about new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom this semester! Social media is truly taking the world by storm and is one of the best way to gain the attention of students. What better way to capture their attention than to use something that they already love. And even better make it educational. It could be Instagram, YouTube, or even Pinterest.

Some of us may be stuck in the past, clinging to our chalkboards and lecture notes. Just know that it is not as hard as you think to incorporate both into your curriculum. This blog has really helped me discover new ways to do so, and how easy it really is. For example, just in my " tutoring sessions" with some local students I have begun to "pin" new articles for them to read in order to boost literacy and phonetics. My students love being able to choose articles by "pinning" them to different boards. The sense of autonomy that they feel in their educational path, is inspirational!

Overall, don't underestimate the power of technology in the classroom!

Education and YouTube

We have all fallen into the YouTube vortex. 

YouTube vortex- unexplainable large amounts of time spent on YouTube, watching video after video, promising that you will only allow yourself to watch one more. 

YouTube is used for a multitude of reasons; listening to people's opinions about certain topics, tutorials of all kinds, or videos about cats. YouTube has a variety of content, even content that you could use in your classroom! Content from animals, history, science, and even math. Say that you are a high school math teacher, you are teaching your students algebraic formulas. Something is just not clicking with your students. You have tried word problems, worksheets, the whole nine yard, and nothing. You decide to take the technology approach. You search algebraic formulas into the YouTube search bar, 155 videos pop up. A 155 potential different ways to teach your students algebraic functions. 

YouTube is a way to visually engage your students. Your students may even be using YouTube now to find tutorials on educational topics. I can recall, when I was in high school taking calculus. My teacher was a great instructor, but when it came time for tests, I found watching online tutorials of people performing calculus most helpful for preparing for the test. 

Want to take it a step further? Create a class YouTube channel! Educators could use their class YouTube Chanel as a vessel for a project. Each student/ group of student can be assigned a topic to " teach" to the class by making a YouTube video and uploading it to the class channel. This will give students the chance to review the material, then have to explain it to their classmates. 

Overall, I think that YouTube is a great resource to use in the classroom. YouTube provides visual instruction for students that are more visual learners and it could also provide a potential class project ideas. 

Visually Learning Through Instagram

It's time for teachers to jump on the social media band wagon! You know you catch your students scrolling through Instagram in class, and you wonder to yourself; How can I capture their attention as Instagram does? The answer is simple, incorporate Instagram into a classroom activity. Students will be curious see how one of the most popular forms of social media has a place in the classroom.

Recently, I sat down with one of my favorite professors to discuss what kinds of social media she likes to use in her classroom. She said that her favorite form of social media to use in the classroom is twitter, because of its user friendliness. I asked her if she ever considered using Instagram in her classroom. She responded by saying that Instagram confused her, and that she was unsure how she could use it in her classroom. It is important to  note that my professor was open to learning how to use Instagram. After a quick tutorial, about how to use Instagram, follow accounts, and use hashtags we were able to brainstorm some ways that Instagram could add variety to a lesson. 

Some ideas that we came up with were, using posts as a review tool, using posts as a reminder of when important assignments are due, and using posts to suggest books on topics that are discussed in class. You may be thinking, well these are the same sorts of things that I am already doing on ( insert social media outlet). That may very well be true, but by adding Instagram into the mix, you are adding variety into your lesson plan while keeping your students engaged via a platform that they are all surely using.

Some helpful hints when starting a class Instagram: 

• ensure students that the class Instagram will be used as a educational tool, and not a vessel for you to use as posting embarrassing pictures of students on the science field trip ( we have all been that student) 
• make the username something simple, but not so simple that a million and one other teachers have the same username. ( Suggestion: make it a homework assignment that students find the class Instagram) 
• reiterate that the class Instagram account can be a great study tool/ great way to communicate with other classmates.

Happy Teaching!

Go Gadget Go: If gadgets are not for you

    This blog has mostly focused on online coursework or incorporation of technology in the classroom. I am aware tht their is a whole population of educators that does not agree with the incorporation of online course work or even technology in the classroom, and more importantly, I understand where they are coming from. 

    I am a product of a school system that does not believe in the incorporation of technology I'm the classroom, and I know that it can be quite the adjustment. Most of the instructors that I had thought that technology was too distracting and its " benefits" would never outweigh the struggle of getting students to focus. Though my teachers thought this way, they were always so impressed when students used technology to create " out of classroom" projects . How could this be? Teachers who did not like technology in the classroom, but were so impressed when students used technology outside of class. It's not the technology that bothers the teachers but the gadgets being physically present in the classroom. So this form of teaching got me thinking, how can educators that do not want technology in the classroom, incorporate technology into lecture? 

    In order to collect answers to my question, I simply searched " technology without gadgets". There is nothing simple about imputing this phrase into google, but finally I found the almost-perfect article written by Huffington Post about technology in the classroom without gadgets. The article lists ten ways that an educator could potentially incorporate the use of technology without having students physically bringing gadgets to class. Out of the ten suggestions, I found two to be particularly interesting. 

    The first point that I thought was a sound suggestion was the adjusting of the schedule. This point suggests that if a teacher adjusts the schedule so that students are spending class time interacting with one another and " applying" new found information; while, spending out of class time online, studying and memorizing information. I thought this concept was significant because it makes class time more engaging. 

    The second point that I thought was interesting was about the idea of a flipped classroom. A flipped classroom is defined as a teacher lecturing in a video format and making content available to students before class begins. Flipped classroom are thought to be effective because students are more prepared to what teachers will be discussing in class, and come to class with questions in mind. I personally think this would be especially useful in most science or math classes. 

What do you think? Check out the article for yourself! 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alisa-berger/technology-classroom-without-gadgets_b_5324611.html

I want a 150 character summary on today's topic: Tweeting in the Classroom

    I was casually browsing the internet today, looking for some inspiration on what to write this week's blog on. I came across an article on US News website about twitter in the class. Twitter in the classroom interests me for two reasons. For one, last weeks post discussed incorporation of social media and applications that students are already using to enhance their educational expierence. Twitter is one of the most widely used social media applications among students. What better way to enhance the educational process than to build off a social platform that students already enjoy using? The second reason that I found this article interesting is because I have been in a classroom setting that Twitter was used for educational benefit. 

    In my twitter classroom expierence, it was required for students to " tweet" atleast once during class time. Tweets varied from reminders of when assignments were do to inspirational quotes about education. ( the course is based out of the college of education, but is offered to all majors). Prior to this course, I had never used twitter because it was something that just did not interest me, but once we started using it in the classroom I checked it almost daily. Twitter became a way for me to check out if we had any upcoming assignments due, or to review what we did in class that day. Our course also had a service learning component, we would go to a local elementary school and present " maker kits", which would usually result in several cute pictures of us working with young students on twitter. 

Though, I used twitter in a course, I enjoyed how this article brought different ways for other courses to incorporate twitter into classroom activites. For example, the " writing a summary" of a topic in less than a hundred and fifty characters is a very useful " exit ticket" activity, or way of getting students to really reflect on what they have just learned. Another important point of this article is the idea of making a " personal brand". I am a college student that is about to embark into the world of graduate school, and with graduate school comes applications. What sets people apart on these applications? Outside personal interests that are academically fueled. The creation of a professional twitter account is a great way to start. Following accounts about issues, interest groups, leaders that are involved in the profession that you are getting into is a great way to out yourself out there. 

If you are interested in twitter in the classroom be sure to check out the article!

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/24/5-unique-uses-of-twitter-in-the-classroom?page=2

Pin, pin ,pin...Pinterest!

My past two posts have been interviews about online education. These two interviews have gotten me thinking about incorporating more technology in our traditional classrooms. After talking with Ms. Dilella , and hearing about how she wished she knew more about incorporating technology in her classroom. So I did what I do best, I went on Pinterest! Pinterest has so manny helpful tools for teachers that are looking to incorporate more technology in their classrooms.

What I liked most about about all the suggestions I found on Pinterest is that many of the applications are applications hat students are already using for personal time. As a student, nothing is more useful to me than using finding educational uses for my favorite apps! 

Be sure to check out my Pinterest board on " Technology in the Classroom"

https://www.pinterest.com/kristenguske/

Case Re-Opened

    Here we are again, looking for answers about online education. I know I ended my blog last December by interviewing a student that took several online classes his senior year of high school, and is now currently a college student. I realize that the student perspective is very important to this research. ( maybe I am biased because I am a college student)
    I realize what my research is missing is the teachers perspective. Do teachers like students having the option to learn online? Do they find it more effective than learning in the classroom.? Luckily, I have several friends that are educators in the state of Florida, and were more than happy to weigh in on what they thought about online education.  Down below is the transcription of what she had to say.

Me: Good morning, tell the readers a little about yourself and what your educational background is.

Ms. Dilella: Well my name is Carmen, I have been a teacher for several years now. I have taught a many different grade levels, from preschool to eighth grade. I would say my specialty is teacher language arts and literature. I hold a Masters degree in education from Nova Southeastern University.

Me: Wow, so you have been in classroom settings with younger students and older students. Tell me, would you say that you try to incorporate as much technological use as you can in the classroom? If so, in what ways do you?

Ms. Dilella: Honestly, I am always blown away with what my older students are able to do with technology, mostly because I am not very literate in technology. As for me, sure I try to incorporate as much as I can. I like to use the presentation tool " Prezi", I even sometimes like to get different project ideas from Pinterest.

Me: Those are both great tools! Well I am sure you are aware that in the state of Florida it is now required for graduating high school seniors to have at-least completed one class online through " Florida Virtual Schools". What is your opinion of the new requirement?

Ms. Dilella: I think that it is a great idea to have students complete courses online and that Florida Virtual makes it even easier for them. I have had several students take math courses through Florida Virtual and they are more than pleased with the results. Their teacher is very attentive to them as individuals and makes themselves very available for students. The education that the students receive is composed of the same curriculum that would be taught in the classroom, just online. Overall, I think its a great option for students.
   
Me: Would you ever consider teaching a course online, if you held the proper certifications?

Ms. Dilella: Absolutely, one day I hope to teach students online!