Using Podcasts in the Classroom

It is easy to tell a student about an event in history; it is much harder to help them connect and experience it.  For example, take Martin Luther King Day.  Schools have a day off to honor him, yet most teachers do not do more than read a book to commemorate the day and teach students about Martin Luther King.  Merely reading a book does not do much to connect students to what they are learning about.  However, you can use podcasts in the classroom to help make that history come a little bit more alive for students.  For example, the Education Podcast Network provides an excellent podcast on Martin Luther King that can be used in the classroom.  Varying up the teaching method, such as using a podcast as opposed to always using a book, is a great way to capture students' attention, while exposing them to new technology and new ideas.

epals

The aspect of epals that I found to be the most intriguing and useful is that of the classroom projects collaboration option.  I have been told throughout this program that the best resource in education is other teachers.  We have been encouraged to collaborate, share ideas, and branch out of our comfort zone.  Epals allows for this collaboration to take place on a larger scale than is possible just within your own school or district.  Lessons are posted, complete with standards, for your perusal.  Teachers are also offered a forum in which to discuss lesson ideas, questions, or suggestions.  It is the ideal resource for a new teacher, who may be looking for lesson ideas and unsure of where to turn to.  All in all, it is a great resource for all teachers, new or veteran!

Using Flickr in the Classroom

Flickr can be very useful in the classroom.  It is a way to utilize photographs in lessons, while teaching students about attribution and plagiarism. It also provides a safer way for students to peruse pictures online, as opposed to using something like Google, which may turn up inappropriate and undesired responses.  Another fun thing to do with Flickr and your class would be to start a classroom Flickr account, to share things that the class is doing throughout the year.





One great Flickr tool that I found helpful was Bubblr.  This site allows you to create comic strips using pictures from Flickr.  I think that this is a great tool to use in the classroom, because it allows students to be creative, and using their storytelling abilities, through the use of images.

Share It, But Attribute It! -Using Flickr Properly

What you need to know about copyrighted work before you use Flickr:


Attribution:  Others may copy, distribute, display and perform your copyrighted work, and other works based on it, but this is contingent on them giving you credit for what they use.

Noncommerical:  Others may copy, distribute, display, and perform your work, and works based on it, but this is contingent on it being used for noncommerial purposes only.

No Derivative Works: Others may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

Share Alike:  Others are allowed to distribute derivative works, but only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

An idea I came across in Niki's Learning Technology Blog that I really liked was the idea of using 12 second video clips in Twitter.  It is microblogging, but in video format.  This was suggested as a tool for English language learners, but I think that there are some other great ways it can be used also.  For example, students who are learning a language in school such as Spanish or French can do a class blog, not posting in type, but in short video clips, thus practicing speaking the language and practicing comprehension when others speak it.  My sister is a speech pathologist, and microblogging through video clips could work well with what she does, as it focuses on speaking as communication, rather than typing, thus giving the client further practice.

As for microblogging in general, while I am not a fan of resources such as Twitter, they do have one aspect that appeals to me that is addressed in Scribd that really appeals to me;  instantaneous response.  With so many people having smart phones nowadays, and our constant connection to the internet and social networking sites, Twitter can offer the immediate gratification that other methods of communication do not. If you have a Twitter account set up for your classroom, and your students subscribe to it, you have a direct means of contact, especially if students have their tweets sent to their phone, as many people do.  This provides for a more constant flow of information and ideas, and the ability to react and respond to those ideas from virtually anywhere.  However, in my opinion, the jury is still out on whether or not Twitter should be used in the classroom in regards to internet safety.

I think that the idea of embracing children's creativity, as presented in the post "In Your Dreams" from the "Learning With 'e's" blog is a very important concept.  I think that too often children's natural creativity is ignored, and not utilized in the classroom to the fullest extent possible.  This blog post considers the idea that not only can we encourage a child's creativity in school, but we can do so using technology.  This is an interesting idea to further look into.


Learning With 'e's

Read Kiddo Read

ReadKiddoRead

I really like this group because not only am I an avid reader myself, but I feel very strongly about getting kids interested in reading, not only in the classroom but at home.  One of the resources about this group that I particularly liked was that it offers lesson plan ideas for different children's books.  I was surprised to find lesson plans for one of my personal favorites, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus."  They also offer things such as book suggestions to use for students, broken down into genres. All in all, it is a great resource that I plan on fully utilizing!