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Teaching with New Media

July 18, 2011 in Ed Tech with 7 Comments


 

TeacherBlast Transcription:

Building an online community

It is important to first establish what the term “new media” refers to. In 2010, “new media” refers to anything web-based. There is no way to call an overhead projector “new” anymore. New media refers to user-contributed content and mobile access to that content. There are lots of ways to make use of that in the classroom. For example, a geography teacher in a ninth grade classroom might be going over the 5 different types of maps. “New media” in the form of GPS units could be used to bring this lesson to life. Have some donated to the class. Invite parents in to show student how they are used, both on the job and in everyday situations.

Alicia says…

Don’t try to be the only technology expert in your room. Let the students show you what they know. When I received a SMART board for my classroom a few years ago, I invited interested students to help me learn how to use it. They stayed after school for several days, learning different Smart Board tips and techniques. Every once in a while, they would teach me what they had just figured out. I provide popcorn and soda, and they offered some informal professional development. Later in the year, when I had a problem with the SMART Board, I was able to just turn around and ask one of my experts, “What do you think is going on?” More often than not, they were ready with an answer.

Skype

There are plenty of free tools out there that educators can utilize in their classrooms. If, for example, they want to bring in a parent expert on a topic relating to the content, or they want to build a relationship with a sister classroom overseas, they can use something like Skype, which is used to conduct the Teacherblast sessions. Skype offers a free service which allows people around the world to communicate with each other. All that is required is an email address, a computer, a webcam, and a microphone. Skype, and services like it, can really bring the world into the classroom and allow the students to collaborate with any number of people.

Brian says…

There is this whole world of people online that are creating videos. As a teacher how can I use that world of people to help me teach my content?” I came up with a few scenarios. In one, the class is trying to come up with a theme song. I could post a video asking for help from the YouTube community, saying “Hey, I’m a teacher and we’re doing this thing. Would you mind trying to take this poem that we wrote as a class, and put it to music?” At least two or three people are going to respond. The result is a really fun collaboration between the students and someone who saw them on YouTube and wanted to work with them. It’s a really fun, interactive way to leverage new media. It is essentially the crowd-sourcing model at work.

Using video

Use your computer to record a video message for parents and students regarding homework and post the video on Ning, your webpage, or even YouTube. The advantage of the video over the recording is that the parents get used to seeing the teacher. They feel more comfortable, and that can be a great help during parent/teacher conferences. That increased familiarity will really help smooth over a lot of the rough spots. After a few weeks, or even months, once everyone has gotten used to seeing the teacher on camera, students could get involved too. It can be a really interesting experience to have them recording the homework assignment for the day and sharing an inspirational quote or a fun fact: “Hi, this is Dominic and the homework assignment for today is…” Both the students and their parents could really enjoy seeing themselves online. It would be a great way of keeping them engaged outside of the classroom.

 

 

 

The Flipped Classroom

June 27, 2011 in Ed Tech with 1 Comment

A new concept making its way through ISTE this year is the “flipped classroom”, where the majority of content is shared outside of the classroom and classroom time is focused on discussion and analysis.

Betty Ray from Edutopia has a great blog post as a summary of this emerging trend. See the excerpt below:

“Can we, for instance, flip the classroom such that students receive the bulk of the content outside the classroom (via video or podcast), and use class time for more authentic experiences, synthesizing the information, collaborating with peers to apply it, and/or using it to instruct others?

There are some interesting possibilities for the role of the teacher.

  • A number of teachers use video — eithert of other experts or themselves — to deliver the lesson. Interestingly, one teacher required the students to participate in a back channel when watching a video to encourage discussion and inspire deeper thinking about the ideas presented.
  • An AP History teacher lectures in the traditional sense for the first half of the year, then flips the classroom in the second half, with a podcast at home, and small group discussion time in the classroom. He makes the groups small — 3 or 4 students — so that each one has to participate (he roams the room to make sure). He changes the questions out every 5 minutes or so to keep things going.
  • Many teachers cited another common benefit of this approach: Students can view the content at their own pace, and review to sections that didn’t make sense.
  • This idea of a “flipped classroom” worked better for high school levels, as younger students needed more direction.”

 

Keys to a better school website

April 16, 2011 in Ed Tech with 1 Comment

Begin with the audience in mind

Creating a school website that engages your audience is about more than just posting information about your school. You need to use your site to continuously participate in a conversation with your school community.

Mentorship Academy Website Screenshot

Mentorship Academy Website Screenshot

Here is a step by step plan to follow:

1. Landing page

The first place your audience will visit is the landing page. This single page is a lot simpler than a traditional website, without any drop down menus or complex site navigation. Landing pages are also called “squeeze” pages, because users can only squeeze through one specific click to move on to the full site. Our landing page (mentorshipbr.org) serves as a great introduction to our school, and includes Continue Reading…

Why Schools should use Social Media

April 5, 2011 in Ed Tech, Internet Safety, Social Media with 0 Comments

There are many benefits to a social media strategy for your school.
Engaged Families – Want an advocate for your school who knows your faculty, staff and mission better than anyone else? Engaged families are the way to go. Once your families have a connection with your school and feel like a “valued” customer, you will have an advocate for life who will promote your school and aid in your grass-roots marketing.
Larger Events – Creates greater parent and community awareness for your events. Start advertising your events, and we guarantee turnout and participation will increase.
Authentic Feedback – Social Media gives you the opportunity to not only monitor what is being said about your organization, but also gives you the opportunity to participate.
Fundraising – Social Media helps your school connect with potential donors. Your Web site, Facebook and Twitter page say a lot about you and who you are as an organization. This is a great opportunity to give potential donors and thought leaders a glimpse into your organization.
Community Buy-in – Not only does Social Media give community members the opportunity to engage and be a part of the conversation, but it also allows you to build relationships with them. Creating more advocates and lovers of your organization.
Student recruitment/enrollment – Creates ownership and excitement among the students who attend the school when they see their work displayed on your Social Media pages. It also allows you to begin the recruitent process early on.