After our first EC&I 832 class, I went back to my old Twitter account and realized it had been over 8 years since my last tweet! I think it’s safe to say that technology has never been my strong suit, so I have decided to turn this project into an opportunity to up my tech game in my classroom and I have two big reasons why. The first is that I teach high school and my students are constantly engaging with the online world. The second is that with so many educational tools out there, I’m starting to feel a bit like I’m missing out on some enriching and fun experiences!
This brings me to my project plan, which will be a classroom adaptation of the Personal Journey Into Media option. I would like to chronicle my journey in using a handful of technology platforms with my classes. I’ll start by doing an overview of each platform, then I will try to roll it out in my classes. This will be followed by my own review on how it went and I will also use student feedback when possible. I’m unsure of exactly how I will document the journey, but am thinking it will be a collection of both writing and videos, along with photos.
Since there is a new semester just about to begin, the first thing I want to try is using BookTok in my ELA class. Otherwise, I’m open to suggestions! What are your favourite technology platforms to use in the classroom? And do you have a great idea on how I should “present” this?
This sounds like an excellent final project, Holly! I think it will be a meaningful learning experience for you, and your students will really appreciate you testing out some new tech teaching tools! Padlets are an interesting way to get responses; I’ve had students create a Padlet in a group and then accumulate links, pictures, facts, etc. for basic research on them before and they thought it was cool! I have never used it myself, but I know a lot of people who preach how amazing FlipGrid is, too! Good luck on your tech journey! Looking forward to following along on the adventure this semester!
I have heard the term Padlet but have never really looked into it. It sounds like a like a fun way to spice up the research process and would definitely work in my social classes! Flipgrid is something that I used once in a grad class, and I remember thinking that it had the potential to help students who don’t like public speaking to get engaged with class work. I dismissed it thinking that it would be difficult to get students to do at school with the lack of private space but I think it is something I should maybe reconsider. Two great suggestions! Thank you!
I really appreciate your thought! I too feel the same. We have been using different apps personally and professionally but many times didn’t get a chance to know how it is helping us in being digitally literate. Also, I am sure that you will be sharing more of your experience using different apps. Great going!! Looking forward to more thoughts.
Thanks, Gunpreesh! I’m excited to try out some new things!
Yes Holly! I love this idea too and your students will absolutely be more engaged, they will definitely teach you a thing or two along the way. I think FlipGrid has so many options I would also like to dig into it a little deeper, I have used Padlet a few times and students seems to find it easy to use. I think your proposal of outlining key functions of each, including data (things you actually did), and an evaluation of each is comprehensive and useful for many! Good luck!
Thanks, Cymone! I’m definitely excited to try to get more on my student’s level in regards to tech usage!
Holly, this sounds fantastic! Some educational tools that have been handy are, but definitely not limited to Edupuzzle, Padlet, FlipGrid, Jamboard, Blooket, TedEd, Explee, Canva, StoryBird, Pear Deck, Nearpod, Powtoon, Prezi, and more! If you check out the eci834.ca blog hub and go to older posts there are a lot of examples of people trying things out! Good luck! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Thanks for all these ideas! I had a few of them written down already but this gives me a ton of options to look into!
I really like this idea, Holly! I also went to look at my Twitter when starting this class and saw that I haven’t posted anything since 2014! It is amazing how much has changed with Twitter over the past few years. I never realized how many educators still used Twitter. As for your project, I like the idea of reviewing an app, implementing an app, and rating an app. I recommend taking a look at Catlin Tucker’s blog post about her favourite web tools and checking out the links and descriptions she gives. I agree with everyone else that Padlet is a great way to collaborate and reflect on the different tools you try. Flipgrid would also be a good self-reflection tool if you are wanted to incorporate videos.