When reviewing my GAME plan, I think
about new ideas and resources, modifications to action plan, new learning, and
questions that I have. For my first goal
of using digital devices and resources to promote creativity and learning, I
have been maintaining charged devices in literacy and math centers for students
to use various applications in order to learn and showcase learning (ISTE, 2008). The resource I used
was already available to me. However, I
am always looking for creative applications that offer higher order thinking
and creativity. I learned that there are
more engaging applications than PicCollage.
For example, the students can use Toontastic puppet show application. I have modified my action plan to include Toontastic
on the devices and promote the use of Toontastic for digital storytelling
because the students have more flexibility to show their creativity with voice,
movement, and expression. These features
were not available on PicCollage.
Regarding
my goal to communicate more effectively with students, parents, and peers with
digital media, I have gained some new information (ISTE, 2008). I have spoken with several parents to
determine the frequency in which they are able to visit the blog. More parents than I expected were unable to
view the blog due to no internet access or unfamiliarity with accessing
blogs. My idea as a result of this is to
modify my action plan to include available times for parents to come to school
to get a tutorial on how to access the blog.
Another idea is to allow parents to use a school device to access the
blog via quick response code at certain times of the day. I feel that this would allow for more parent
involvement. Also, posting a quick
response code would allow students, siblings, parents, and other teachers to
access the blog with one scan of the reader.
I have learned that providing multiple ways to access information is the
key to parent involvement and communication.
I would like to ask my colleagues for input as simple, digital ways to
communicate with families.
My
third goal is to encourage creativity, innovation, and inventiveness (ISTE,
2008). I have allowed the students to
express themselves creatively using videocameras. However, this activity that I tried was not
using technology in a creative way. It
was more about being creative and videorecording the experience. Even though my goal was not based in using
technology, I would like to modify my goal to include technology in the
learning experiences. However, I am
having a difficult time finding technological resources that my students are
capable of using. I thought about
finding a flip book resource that is user friendly or another application designed
for students in prekindergarten or kindergarten. Can anybody provide resource ideas that will
help promote creativity, innovation, and inventiveness with young students?
References
International Society for Technology
in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T).
Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers
Ashley Davis
Ashely,
ReplyDeleteWow! It sounds like you are working very hard and making great progress in reviewing and evaluating your GAME plan. I gained some great insights just by reading your blog, which I appreciate. As far as your question about a resource, would the Storybook app work for your age student? They can draw pictures and/or add text. I realize the text might be too much for them. They would certainly enjoy making the pictures for their own books. Voice Thread also comes to mind. I have used that app for my students to record their thoughts and reactions to music, but I haven't had them draw with it, but am thinking that it has that capability?
I need to learn more about quick response codes as I haven't used those at all. I have kept my blog for my Master's work up to this point, but hope this summer to make a web page for my classroom, and use my blog to connect with parents. I appreciate reading your experiences and thoughts and will keep those in mind as I move forward. I keep researching apps each day through my professional journals and websites and association information. I am also still looking for just the right app. I have budget issues to deal with, do you? I need my apps to be free, unfortunately, and that hampers what I would like to use.
Best of luck in the next few weeks with your GAME plan. I enjoyed reading about your progress.
Julie Kubbs
Julie,
DeleteI looked into using the Storybook app. Having the capability to draw would be very useful. Some of my students are learning to write phonetically. For these students, I could have them use the text feature. I have tried using VoiceThread with my students. At the time, it was far too complicated. However, they may be ready to use it now. To use the drawing capability on VoiceThread, I believe the program needs to be purchased. I have budget issues as well, so purchasing a program such as VoiceThread seems unnecessary when there are free programs and apps available. Quick response (QR) codes are very easy to make and to use. I have provided the steps to create a QR code: go to www.qrstuff.com, select data type, and paste the link into the provided section. Thus, the code is shown in a preview area. You then can select an output type in order to print the code. For the students to scan the code, I use the Inigma app. You can open the app and hold the camera over the code, and the app takes you directly to the link. I recommend that you try to create one to link to your blog, a YouTube video, or your telephone number. Using QR codes is the most simple, yet effective, technology tool I have used with my students because it is so user friendly. You should give it a try.
References
QR Stuff.com: Get your codes out there! (2013). Retrieved from http://www.qrstuff.com/.
Ashley Davis
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you have been had some successes in working towards meeting your GAME plan goals. This can definitely be a time consuming task. Having students create digital stories can be helpful for the students to express their creativity and include necessary content skills. Story Jumper, located at, http://www.storyjumper.com/ is a useful program for this task. There are images already available on this program that the students can utilize for their stories. Another program that can promote creativity and learning is Kidspiration. The students can create graphic organizers with text and images. There are also numerous activities related to different content areas located on this program.
Have you tried having your students use Photo Booth to encourage creativity? They could take pictures of either themselves or objects to show a vocabulary word or concept. Sometime my students upload photos from Photo Booth onto a personal poster using a program located at, http://wigflip.com/automotivator/. We often do this for vocabulary words. They have to show their vocabulary word and include a sentence that goes along with that word and picture.
I really like your plan of action modifications for meeting the needs of the parents regarding your blog. Those are ideas that I may be able to incorporate into my plan. Limited Internet access can pose a potential roadblock.
Nice job!
Michelle Maxwell
References
AutoMotivator: Make Your Own Printable Motivational Poster. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wigflip.com/automotivator/
Storyjumper. Retrieved from www.storyjumper.com/
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing me with so many resources. They all seem to be very useful for my students’ developmental levels. I will definitely consider these resources as options for future lessons. I just know my students will be engaged when these resources are applied to lessons.
Ashley Davis