Tech Tools for Educators

This is my very first experience creating a blog. I decided to create a blog because I have been gaining a lot of information reading the blogs of other educators. I also thought that a blog would be a quick and easy way to share information and gain insight from other teachers. I would like to move towards using a blog to support student learning and communication in the classroom which is why I am trying this tool myself. As I researched using blogs with students, I found that there are many benefits as it creates a natural space for student voice and collaboration. It also allows students to continue to refine writing and thinking skills and to learn various aspects of design.

This blog was very easy to create through WordPress as there were step by step directions and videos to support the build. I did struggle a bit with creating the layout and visual content for my home page design. I was rerouted to support sites several times and had difficulty navigating back to my home page setup at first. There are features of this blog that may not be completely set up yet or may not be the most visually appealing as I continue to learn. However, the blog posts themselves have been very easy to create and submit. The content is the easy part and the design work is an area of ongoing growth.

When I decide to use this strategy with students, I would start by having them work with a small group to view the videos and create a group blog together. This would allow them to learn from each other as they navigate the design process. This would also allow them to bounce content ideas off each other to refine their thinking.

As you consider using blogs with your students, you may want to view the references below:

Portugal, N. (2018). Confronting the Monster Under the Bed:  Integrating Blogging into the Classroom.    Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2018/05/14/integrating-blogging

Wallagher, M. (2015).  How Blogging is Being Used in the Classroom Today:  Research Results.  Retrieved   from https://www.emergingedtech.com/2015/09/the-state-of-blogging-in-the-classroom/

Please share your blogging experiences and how you have used blogs to support student learning.

Today I am thinking about how to use technology in a meaningful way to help 3rd graders share their current knowledge about the ocean before starting a Literacy Unit on this topic. The twenty-seven students in this 3rd grade class are very diverse and include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. There are quite a few students who struggle with communicating their thoughts and ideas through writing as this component of linguistic intelligence is not an area of strength. There are three students that receive additional special education services to support their learning in the area of reading.

The tool I plan to use to begin the Ocean Literacy Unit is FlipGrid. FlipGrid is an application where the teacher creates a video prompt asking the students to create their own video. In this case my video prompt will be for students to share three things they know about the ocean. Students will create a video sharing this information and post it for their classmates to view. Students will then view the videos of at least three different classmates and share a response connected to the information shared. The web address for FlipGrid is https://flipgrid.com/

I have created a FlipGrid 3rd grade Ocean Entry Ticket which can be found using this link: https://flipgrid.com/96fc58be

Videos are a great way to engage students in an interactive and fun way. Videos can be used as a way for students to share their learning throughout the lesson or unit with the teacher, their peers, and their families. As you consider using student created videos to enhance instruction, you may want to check out the article referenced below:

Sear, C. (2018).  Student-Created Videos in the Classroom.  Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-created-videos-classroom

Please share how you have had your students create videos to showcase their learning. You can share by responding to this page or you can go to the FlipGrid I created to get teacher feedback. The FlipGrid for this topic is Student Created Videos and can be found using this link. https://flipgrid.com/2cf40d7f

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton