Point A to Point B

Month: April 2007

  • Visual Thesaurus

    I just completed the final set of extra work hours for my school – they are still a ridiculous paperwork nightmare for everyone, but they continue to provide focused time for study and reflection.

    I spent today with the work of Robert Marzano, specifically on his research into building adacademic backround knowlege and academic vocabulary. I’m working on how technology tools can support this approach.

    ani-book.gifThere are many ideas that are going on in my head, but the one that stands out that I want to investigate is the Visual Thesaurus. This tool, best described by just going to the site and trying it, puts words and their definitions in a whole new visual context. It’s is a pay-for site, so it will necessary to work with it and see if it is worth it. I remember first being introduced to this site a couple of years ago at NECC, and I think its time to revisit and really get a handle on its use.

    This puts a whole new spin (pun intended – you’ll know what I mean if you try the site) on learning words and relationships of words. Go there, and enjoy!!!

    Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.

  • Digital Storytelling

    I’m just finishing up with some of my required extra work hours for school. While these hours are a ridiculous paperwork nightmare for everyone, the purpose and focus allows for good study and reflection time.

    In a post earlier this year, Video is Hot, I talked about how video captures the minds of students. I have transformed my own thinking about this into what is called digital storytelling. This is by no means a new thing in education – its just that I’ve finally gotten to the point that I understand it enough to work with it more fully. There are lots of great resources available, many of which I have just spent some time with.

    What is digital storytelling? There are many definitions, but start by checking out this great video (approx. 2 min.): Momnotmom

    The variations for what we can do with digital storytelling in school are as numerous as the number of people in the school. In reviewing the literature, websites, and other resources, 3 websites standout as accessible and useful in the school setting.

    Kidsvid (kidsvid.altec.org) – this site lays out the 4 main steps of storytelling in akidsvid.gif clear, concise way. It includes an online storyboarding tool where you can create and save storyboards. This site is a good starting place to plan out a whole project. Interestingly, this site was developed by the same group that created Rubistar, the awesome online rubric maker.

    Video Storytelling Guide (http://www.atomiclearning.com/storytellingindex.shtml) – this guide is part of the Atomic Learning site. While access to the full guide requires a paid subscription to Atomic Learning, the above linked free preview gives a good sampling of things to do in the setup of a video project. Inlcuded are 16 sample tutorials, which have great information. Also available at this site is a free downloadable storyboarding software tool called Storyboard Pro.

    The last site is produced by the Scott County Schools in Georgetown, Kentucky. Their page, Digital Storytelling Resources, Tips and FAQs, is awesome. It is a launching point to learn all about the tools of the digital storytelling process.

    I’m looking forward to implementing some of these new tools in a project that starts next week!

  • Ride the Digital Wave 2007

    I attended the Erie 1 BOCES Ride the Digital Wave Conferene on Staff Development Day, March 30th.

    The sessions I attended were as follows, along with some commentary and interesting pieces:

    • Keynote by Dr. Ron Owsten, York Universtiy, Toronto. Dr. Owston spoke about how we need to rethink learning in the context that the students know more and are using technology tools in vastly different ways than the teachers. His thinking is right in line with many of the current leaders in Ed Tech – he referenced Marc Prensky many times in relation to how gaming can be used to capture the minds of students. I did not pick up new information in this session, but definitely reaffirmed where we need to be going in schools. The one quote that resonated with me from Dr. Owens was “We all need to be continuous learners.”
    • Session 1: NOVEL Databases – this presentation was on a state initiative to provide access to a multitude of databases for all New York State Libraries, public or school. I was not familiar with this project in particular, but after digging a bit, our school librarians alreaday have a link to it in WITS. There are a lot of interesting things here, but with the myriad of other sources we have available, I’m not sure how much we would use this one.
    • Session 2: Digital Video – Classroom Applications – this session alone was worth the price of admission. The presenter, Chad Skudlarek from Randolph, is a self-proclaimed tech-nothing 3 years ago. He was introduced to how video could be incorporated in the curriculum and how it totally transformed the engagement level of his students. He only does 2 video projects a year (which is plenty), but they are awesome. They even post the work on YouTube for the world to see/comment. However the final product is shared, I truly feel this is where we need to move learning – video engages students like nothing else, and they want to “do the content” to a high level. You need to keep the goal in mind, but this is a powerful medium. The videos from Randolph are on pig dissection, and as such can be unpleasant to watch, so I won’t link to them here. If you are interestd in seeing them, let me know.
    • Session 3: Free Online Resources for K-12 Teachers – presented by Val Rinow from WNYRIC. For me this was mostly known sites (NYSED VLS, Thinkbright Video, Pics4Learning, Kidsclick!, NetSmartz). One new one, though that jumped out was Internet 4 Classrooms. Here I found some web resources for LOTE, including interactive websites that could be good w/a SMART Board/Airliner.

    Overall I found this to be a very good day (oh, and lunch was good as always – BOCES does a nice job in this dept.). The sessions helped reaffirm, reflect and inform my daily practice.

     

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  • Learning Toolbox

    Everyone has a toolbox in the garage/basement/kitchen/wherever. It contains key tools to perform necessary tasks around the house. The digital learning toolbox is the equivalent in the realm of schools. What tools do we have access to right now that will perform the necessary tasks to “build” learning?

    1. WITS (classroom communication)
    2. NoodleTools (citation creation/management and notetaking)
    3. EdVideo Online (graphics/movies)

    These are broad tools that apply to anyone. There are many more digital tools out there to support the various subjects. What digital tool(s) do you have or want in your toolbox?

    WITS Logo

    NoodleTools Logo

    EdVideo Logo