Internet Tools for Teaching
EDIM 514
On Saturday, October 15 at 11:00 am central time, I attended a Classroom 2.0 LIVE webinar featuring Shelly Fryer. I chose this webinar because, like me, she teaches in a classroom with 1:1 iPads and the description indicated she would be discussing ways to differentiate and fostering a culture of making and creating.
I want to start by saying what an incredible teacher Shelly Fryer is. She teaches in a school for homeless children in Oklahoma. Many of the families have parents that are incarcerated, in rehab programs for addictions, and/or separated from siblings and parents. I get the feeling being at school really is like being at home for these kids. They have full out birthday celebrations for each student, they learn about having tenacity, they set true goals and dreams for their futures, they learn life skills that help them function throughout their day, and more. What an incredible place that can lay the foundation for incredible futures for these kids. In order to attend this webinar, I had to download Blackboard Collaborate. I don't always love downloading programs like this when I don't know anything about them. I worry about taking up too much space on my already crowded computer and I worry about how to use an application I've never used before. Overall though, once downloaded and logged in, the program was easy to get to. However, at one point in the webinar, Shelly was loading a video and Blackboard Collaborate crashed on my end. I was able to get logged back in quickly, but that was a slight inconvenience. Shelly and the other moderators used Google Slides to display for participants and they were able to voice over. They also, as I mentioned, played video and showed many pictures. I did get some great ideas on apps to try and new ways to use apps I already use. She spent some time describing ways in which her students use their devices to code and create games for others. I've dabbled a little with Scratch, Jr., in the past, but she had some new apps I hadn't heard of, including CodeSpark Academy with the Foos and PBSKIDS Scratch Jr. She also did radio podcasting which is totally new to me. She uses an app called Opinion Podcasts which I will absolutely be looking into! I learned about an app called Koma Koma which, if I understand correctly, helps kids with animation which sounds super cool, too. My "to try" list definitely grew throughout this webinar, along with some general classroom management and engagement ideas. This is not the first webinar I've attended. A while back I attended a Seesaw webinar through Twitter. This was really helpful when I first started using Seesaw so that I could fully understand how to best use the program. I also attended a live webinar with the authors of Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom. These authors are similar to Shelly Fryer in that they all believe it's not just about the technology, it's how the technology is used to enhance learning. I like webinars because usually the moderators are classroom teachers just like me. They have tried strategies in their classrooms and are willing to share their ideas and knowledge with others for free! I don't need to pay to attend a conference. I don't need to write sub plans and take a day off. I can lay on my couch in my PJs and get some quality professional development. I'll be returning to Classroom 2.0 LIVE for more webinars in the future. I'm not sure about having my students be live broadcasters, however, like I said before, I'm interesting in going back to Shelly's website and learning more about the radio podcasts. However, last year my class and I attended a live webinar. Author Kate DiCamillo and Mr. Schu, Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs, hosted a live webinar to talk about Kate DicCamillo's newest book Raymie Nightengale. If you haven't seen Mr. Schu speak, it's really a must. I've met him several times in person and have attended some of his webinars/podcasts. This one was really a treat because Mr. Schu and Kate DiCamillo broadcasted live from a school library. They shared stories from the book, asked and answered questions from the live and virtual audience, shared their experiences with books, etc. Though my class couldn't be there in person, it really was the next best thing to be a part of the live broadcast. As we watched Mr. Schu and Kate DiCamillo, we really just watched and listened. I'm thinking of various internet tools the students could use on their 1:1 devices to interact more with one another, such as setting up a TodaysMeet. I continue to be on the lookout for live broadcasts with authors and illustrators since my students are always motivated by these experiences!
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