This week’s assignment on online presentations was an interesting one for me to explore because it is personally one topic where I tend to stay within my own comfort zone. My personal favorite site to use for online projects (especially group projects that require lots of collaboration) is to use Prezi because I like how all members of the group can contribute to the Prezi without having to leave their own home or figure out schedules to meet up! I also just find that website easy to use and I like the way it zooms and flips around because it makes it much more interesting to watch than just showing a PowerPoint. I have one Prezi that I usually show to my students on my first day of class so that they can get an “Introduction to My Life” through pictures, telling stories, and answering questions. After reading through various websites and gathering information about different resources to use in the classroom, I found one website called Cool Tools for Schools that had LOTS of awesome resources to use on websites, and it even had separate sections for presentation tools and collaborative tools to use. I went through and clicked on a few different websites just to get a feel for some of the possibilities out there!
One aspect of this week’s tutorial that I found very interesting was the idea of a flipped classroom. It is such a simple concept that makes SO much sense when you consider how it could change the effectiveness of classroom work time. It is definitely something I would like to try in the class every once in a while. The basic idea of a flipped classroom is that (on their own time) students watch a short video that the teacher has prepared to deliver the “lecture” portion of their class. This way, when they arrive at school they already have the assignment in mind, have their clarification questions ready, have their homework done, and have the knowledge to engage in the activities so that the teacher can have more one-on-one time to help students instead of lecturing. I think it would be important to have the video segments set up in a blog so that students can leave comments or questions so that they can get assistance before arriving in class. Another good idea would be to set up a todaysmeet chat to span the length of the assignment so that students could always have a source to ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other.
I watched one video where an educator pointed out some of the major benefits of using a flipped elementary method and the part that struck me the most was that it would be a great chance for parents to understand what their children are learning, but also to be involved with their learning process at home. Parents wouldn’t have to be confused about what the teacher was asking for if they can watch the instructional video and have the same understanding that the kids do. Flipped classrooms seemed geared towards older grades, so one thing that I was curious about was how to use a flipped classroom in the younger grades because they aren’t quite as independent with technology yet. I found one example that showed how to use a flipped classroom to give at-home assignments in kindergarten which would be helpful because parents can know for SURE what the instructions are when they watch the video with their kids. Another good video showed me how to flip a young classroom by making my own read-along EBook on PowerPoint, and then recording and highlighting so that the kids can read along too. Both of these methods were awesome because they would be able to actively involve the parents which isn't always the easiest task! I have posted these videos below, as well as a sample of a short online presentation tool that I tried on Voki. Enjoy!
I watched one video where an educator pointed out some of the major benefits of using a flipped elementary method and the part that struck me the most was that it would be a great chance for parents to understand what their children are learning, but also to be involved with their learning process at home. Parents wouldn’t have to be confused about what the teacher was asking for if they can watch the instructional video and have the same understanding that the kids do. Flipped classrooms seemed geared towards older grades, so one thing that I was curious about was how to use a flipped classroom in the younger grades because they aren’t quite as independent with technology yet. I found one example that showed how to use a flipped classroom to give at-home assignments in kindergarten which would be helpful because parents can know for SURE what the instructions are when they watch the video with their kids. Another good video showed me how to flip a young classroom by making my own read-along EBook on PowerPoint, and then recording and highlighting so that the kids can read along too. Both of these methods were awesome because they would be able to actively involve the parents which isn't always the easiest task! I have posted these videos below, as well as a sample of a short online presentation tool that I tried on Voki. Enjoy!
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