This summer I had the pleasure to take a technology course for new or aspiring educators. It really became a pleasant surprise. The last time I took this course was 20 years ago and Powerpoint was the hottest thing around. Things are so different now.
All of the things that we worked on are now necessary for all new teachers. Things like wikis, blogs, bitstrips, building websites (health2pe.weebly.com/ just to name a few of outlets to reach your students. Learning about new websites and their uses for education will be a resource that I will surely use in the future. The use of Ted speaks give very useful insight on many topic. Digital Dossier is one of my favorite topic. This video on youtube really helps you to understand all that it entails.
www.bitstripsforschools.com/ was yet another way to reach young learners in your classroom. Using cartoon like characters to help engage children in the learning process. Another website that was similar to this was www.voki.com/. This web site allows you to create a cartoon character with a voice activated system which allows the information to be heard by the viewer.
I thought that this was a wonderful course for entry level teachers. A combination of individual and group assignments, wonderful resources, creative and educational websites, with great teacher support and guidance really is truly a well rounded class. After a twenty year absence from a class, this was just what DOE ordered. It was well worth the time and effort.
Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA
youtube, emaze, PhotoPeach, Haiku Deck, ToonDoo, PowToon, BitStrips, StoryBird, ZooBurst
youtube, emaze, PhotoPeach, Haiku Deck, ToonDoo, PowToon, BitStrips, StoryBird, ZooBurst
