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7 Student-Tested Digital Storytelling Tools
Last month, in my classroom version of DIY BYOD, my fifth-graders dove into the world of digital storytelling.
Students Shine Through Digital Portfolios
Voyager Academy Charter School in Durham, NC is a project-based learning school that currently has about 1,250 students across grades K-11. We started with 320 students in grades 4-7 in 2007 and have grown exponentially. This upcoming school year we will add 12th grade and complete our growth.
Educreations: Adding Value to the Classroom
Double your capacity as a teacher. Let students learn from your own video as you navigate through the room acting as the facilitator to your own instruction, keeping students on task and providing live support where needed.
My Big Adventure with BYOD
I’m not exactly a newcomer to BYOD (bring your own device) teaching. And I’m no stranger to sneaking it in under the radar either. At the moment, I’m testing various devices with my fifth and sixth-graders, with the blessing of my students’ parents, my technology support team, and my administration. I’ve learned a few things in the process.
22 Power Cards to Revolutionize a Class Discussion
The traditional model was not working. They needed a change. So, my colleague and I turned to some trusty characters and powerful forms of expression. How do characters like Santa, Yoda, Superman, and Socrates sound? What about powers labeled nose-to-nose, apps, sing, and resurrection? Sound boring?
Mobile University: Stanford’s Evolving iPhone and iPad Apps
Stanford University’s iPhone app was one of the first of its kind. We look at how the app has evolved, and a new version that’s been created for the iPad.
It’s the Right Place and Right Time for Geo-location Timelines
myHistro Extended is an engaging “DO” activity for students. It’s important for students to be able to construct a narrative and have the skills to deliver that narrative visually. They also need to be able to visualize change over time. The app allows students to organize information in their timelines (text content, dates, geo-location, links, images, videos) and showcase their finished products.
Why We Need a Moratorium on Meaningless Note-Taking
Over the years, as I have encountered a goodly number of teachers who have complained vociferously about their students’ lack of proper note-taking skills, I have found myself more and more befuddled. Dare I tell them what I really think, that they are wasting their students’ time and setting them up for failure by having them outline their lecture notes, word for word, from the over-crowded PowerPoint slides they’ve projected at the front of the classroom?
Padlet: Today’s Digital Sheet of Paper
Even if you had only attended one class in your entire life, more than likely you have been asked, “Can I borrow a sheet of paper?” Some laid-back, often-tardy-to-school classmate probably gave you some excuse just as the rest of the students began diligently scribbling down resemblances of the teacher’s key lecture points. If you are anything like me, you half-reluctantly handed over a sheet of paper and chalked the very minor loss up as no big deal.
Humanizing Online Learning with VoiceThread
If you are an online instructor who is aching to break out of the social limitations of the text-based discussion forum that still dominates online courses, learn how VoiceThread can help.