Last week a group of librarians and teachers spent an intense week collaborating over lessons and infusing them with various types of educational technology. Elementary and secondary teams came together for a whirlwind tour of technologies, Web 2.0 services, and other online resources.
Beginners and advanced alike all learned something new to make lessons more student-centered and real-world relevant while using technology to make the delivery of instruction more inviting and the culminating activities different learning experiences for their students.
Subjects included Greek mythology, food groups and good eating habits, the water cycle, career exploration, famous Americans and their contributions, and good behavior habits. One way the group made sure the lessons were student-centered and true
collaborations between librarian and teacher was to deconstruct the lesson by making lists of teacher, librarian and student responsibilities.
Everyone had opportunity to learn PowerPoint tips and tricks, how to create a Photo Story, how to work with videostreaming, how manipulate photos, how to add music, and create podcasts. A special presentation was made about the ActivBoard and all the great teaching and learning tools available with that special technology. There was lots of looking for the sign-up list to get one! The group learned how to create a rubric using Rubistar, an open source software available to all who want to use it.
Subjects included Greek mythology, food groups and good eating habits, the water cycle, career exploration, famous Americans and their contributions, and good behavior habits. One way the group made sure the lessons were student-centered and true
collaborations between librarian and teacher was to deconstruct the lesson by making lists of teacher, librarian and student responsibilities.Everyone had opportunity to learn PowerPoint tips and tricks, how to create a Photo Story, how to work with videostreaming, how manipulate photos, how to add music, and create podcasts. A special presentation was made about the ActivBoard and all the great teaching and learning tools available with that special technology. There was lots of looking for the sign-up list to get one! The group learned how to create a rubric using Rubistar, an open source software available to all who want to use it.
Lots of work time was built into the week so that each team could present a good representation
of their lesson to the whole group. Even during this time, there were exchanges of ideas and expressions of "O, I can do that too with mine" or " Gee, I can add that to my lesson." So much so, that the "final" lessons will not be posted for about another week so that all the good ideas can be incorporated and added.
of their lesson to the whole group. Even during this time, there were exchanges of ideas and expressions of "O, I can do that too with mine" or " Gee, I can add that to my lesson." So much so, that the "final" lessons will not be posted for about another week so that all the good ideas can be incorporated and added.
Comments from participants include:
"...long set of ahas as we learned all these wonderful tools."
"Don't be scared or intimidated. You will have lots of help & learn way more than you expect."
"If [I] can learn this, anyone can!!"
"Wow! How much fun is my class going to have dazzling our school with our technology pwoness!"
"...long set of ahas as we learned all these wonderful tools."
"Don't be scared or intimidated. You will have lots of help & learn way more than you expect."
"If [I] can learn this, anyone can!!"
"Wow! How much fun is my class going to have dazzling our school with our technology pwoness!"
"I really had to use problem-solving skils to make my powerpoint do what I wanted it to do. The normal rules just didn't apply..."
"Using hidden text releases a big headache because I can create a key and "hide" the answers."
"Flash drives are my new best friend." One participant, my friend G, also blogged her thoughts.
1 comment:
We were exposed to quite a long list of programs weren't we! It didn't seem like so many during the week.
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