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Tuesday, 28 January 2014

News from the Field...

Today we had the opportunity to hear from three current teachers, who are all trying to incorporate technology into their classrooms. It is great to hear about challenges and success that have occurred in the classroom. 
Ideas from this week:

  • Classroom Blogs: Students love the chance to have this connection to the world, and have their blog viewed by anyone in the world. 
  • Classroom Youtube Playlists: Students love being able to add videos to a playlist, and then have it shared during the class. 
  • How to use the internet, without using the internet - Real life twitter, with dry erase markers. Twitter profiles for historical figures, just using powerpoint.
  • Photo-editing a comic book of Shakespeare or literature.
  • Create pinterest boards for characters.
  • Remind 101: Text your students in a safe manner to keep them up to date on class news.
  • Google Forms: Share what your students are doing to get positive feedback.
You have to prepared for the challenges technology brings, like students not knowing how to use the technology, or limited access to technology. As teachers we just have to do the best we can, trying to keep up and show our students how to use technology for more than just sharing crazy photos.

4 comments:

  1. Liz, I really enjoyed this presentation also. I think it's great that we get to hear from teachers currently in schools. I thought a lot of the information the presenters provided us was very beneficial and I can't wait to try some of these things in my own classroom someday.

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  2. It was good to hear from some currently practicing teachers, especially from younger ones recently out of school. I feel it's a gap we experience in our teacher training, since most of our professors are retired teachers. I thought the part about using the Internet without using it was quite interesting- and an important skill if you happen to be unfortunate enough to be in a school division with a backwards tech policy or a dead zone!

    How did you think of it in comparison to John Finch's talk to us? There's some really good ideas and significant learning in all of it, I think.

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  3. Liz, I thought this presentation was really informative, not to mention nice to hear of recent grads finding jobs, as this is on all of our minds!! I also loved the part about using the internet without using the internet! This is a great way to engage students even if we don't have access to these specific tools in our classrooms. A lot of great ideas were presented that I would love to use in my classroom!

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  4. I know this comment is coming a little late, but I was browsing for an interesting title to comment on, and yours came up as the front-runner.

    I like the way you broke down the three teachers' presentation and highlighted the key points in your blog post. This will serve as a great summary/reminder for me when I find myself in my first classroom (whether it be in a technology hot-spot or dead zone).

    Cara, I also really liked the "using the internet without using the internet" part of the presentation, since I'm sure that the majority of us will find ourselves in a position where we will need to do so in the next few years (though I am confident that technology within our school system is on the rise).

    Anyways, good summary, great commentary!

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