Not exactly two things I’d put together right away.

Yet, they have the same technology need right now.  Imagine how hard it is to get 35 kids around a sewing machine, and show them how to tread a bobbin. Imagine doing biology lab demonstration with small pieces to a group of 35 students.

Enter the Flip video camera. Both teachers are using the Flip to record the demonstration they would normally give in class, submit it to our podcast server and then show it during class, on a big screen (or smartboard). They are able to stop, rewind, point out (on a large screen for all to see) discuss, answer questions without being tied to a little bobbin….that 27 kids can’t see anyways.

We take it a step further. Publish to the podcast server.

The enriched biology students watch the video at home, discuss things before the lab, and then get to work. The sewing students have a set of iTouches in class, when they get stuck with a step, grab an iTouch, watch the process – listen to the directions – correct their process and move forward. Stopping to ask the teacher questions that can’t be answered via video. Allowing the teacher to help kids who are really behind & struggling. Everyone is calmer and happier, because everyone is learning! (without having to wait)…

Try it sometime, video the demonstration, share it online if you have that ability. Or, use ours, they are out there for everyone!

There are a couple tools that every teacher / student should have access to in order to deliver / experience the 21st Century Education. I spoke about this at the TIES 2009 Conference in December and the more I think about it, the more important I think they are to education today.

Projector / Internet /Interactive Whiteboard in the Classroom

I’d add to this an interactive whiteboard, but bare minimum you need a way to project and create a visual classroom. This idea / requirement isn’t new so I’m not going to spend much time talking about it.

Moodle

If you have a way to collect and organize the electronic information for your students, everyone is better off. Moodle creates that extra layer of classroom tooling that makes it better than a web site. From a systemic perspective, you have a really great way of sharing materials between teachers. It spread like wildfire in my school, because the early adopters could give others what they’d created. Better than some of the social networking / web 2.0 tools out there as we can package and share between classrooms and schools. I like the idea of Ning, but it really isn’t the complete classroom tool that Moodle is for everyone.

Over the next couple days I’ll add to the list and probably talk more about the power of each tool (IWB, Moodle, Google Apps, itouch, Podcast Server, Screen Capture Software). Let me know what you think, and what 6 are on your list.

Wow.

It doesn’t take much, and the improvement happens.

We are doing something I don’t see as that hard, yet it is really changing the experience for kids, making the learning more accessible.

Things you need:

•  interactive whiteboard (we use Smartboards)
• a screen capture program (we use Jing)
• a microphone
• a short topic / skill to teach
• a way to publish (Moodle)

We put these things together and create short (3 – 5 minute) examples, explanations of concepts. Completing the square in Algebra II, chemistry problems, writing a good intro paragraph, the kids think they are watching the whole lecture, but really it is just a highlight reel.

I use Jing to create answers to questions that occur in my online class, when a teacher asks me how to do something specific on a computer, to show how to import kids into the clicker software, etc.

More than thrilled with the ease, the speed at which teachers adopt and bend it to fit their need. I just wish I had more time to get out and share it with people.  I do see this as a way to bridge the achievement gap. If you do it, let me know, I’d love to share videos. We are posting on iTunes (slowly), search EPHS.

Using Jing to do a screen capture
Smartboard to allow you to write on the screen
Moodle to distribute the files

The classroom really changes, technology makes the impact on student achievement we thought it should when we started this venture

Conference Description

I thought this was a great resource for ELL teachers. If you are interesting in podcasting in the classroom, let me know and we can set up some time to chat about it!

So, this seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life.
Apple is making cool stuff, that after a bit becomes kleenex (the name brand for tissue), or band aids, or ipods (read mp3 players). I’m not always sure that members of my generation know that an iPod is really an mp3 player, and that other people make them.

The article in Wired about how things are changing, and that it might be time to invest in Apple again makes me think about it. Saw parallels yesterday, with my friends laptop running 3 operating systems. THINK about that. hmmmm Is the operating system even really a thing when your machine doesn’t care and runs them all???