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Instructional Tidbits: I'm often asked and also reminded about why technology is so important in schools. It seems everyone has a different answer to that question. I'm wondering, though, if we are asking the right people. I wonder what our kids will say to that question. They've lived with nothing but a technology filled world since the day they were born and their picture was posted to Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. They are using technology outside of school to learn, communicate, play, and entertain. They will continue to use technology throughout their school careers and into their real world careers, in jobs that don't even exist in 2015. Last week I attended the Schlechty Coaching for Design II conference. It really made me focus on the Who in our teaching. Not just who they are in hobbies and interests, but what motives, beliefs, knowledge, and skills they bring to the table. It made me wonder if our students are bringing more to the table with technology than we acknowledge or appreciate. This week, I want you to think about your Who. Whether they are wide-eyed kinders or "grown up" fourth graders, what do they come to school with when they are ready to learn? After taking that into account, think about what you allow for in your class that leverages their motives, beliefs, knowledge, and skills. This week's Tech Tuesday prize: Tweet @brooksteacher with the answer to this question: Why is technology important in schools? Come up with your own answer, and then ask a few students. I wonder if their answers are the same as ours.
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Safari Montage provides endless episodes of Magic School Bus, School House Rocks, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, which we love! But what else can it do?
So much more! Safari Montage is your one stop shop for lesson/unit design and sharing with your team or school. Plus, the students have individual log-ins, so anything created can be shared with them too! The Creation Station allows you to upload almost any type of file format! (That's worthy of an exclamation point because many programs only allow a few types of specific files). This means you can load Promethean Flip Charts, PDF's, Word documents, Videos, Pictures, E-books, Audio clips, and more! What if you had everything for the unit in one place, where every teacher on your team and even the students could get to it? Creation Station is your answer. Let's walk through it: Pretend we are doing a unit on plants that lasts about a week. You have various things you need to use saved in your K drive, M drive, flash drive, and who knows where else... You have 3 different videos on the parts of a plant, photosynthesis, and life cycle. (Already in Safari Montage). You have 3 flip charts about the same topics. You have several pictures you've taken of plants in your garden at home. You have a non-fiction e-book about plants. You have several interactive websites hyperlinked on a Word doc. You have directions and a rubric to a culminating project where students will take iPads around the school's neighborhood to take pictures and videos making a project showcasing their knowledge in apps like iMovie, Educreations, Popplet, or Skitch. Better yet, do an app mash-up and use all of them! You have an example video project to share. Step 1: Create a new playlist for your unit. View video here. Step 2: Load all files to Safari Montage Creation Station. View video here. Step 3. Add each file to your playlist or search for a video/file within Safari Montage to add to playlist. View video here. Step 4: Share permanent link with others. View video here. Voila! You now have a complete unit saved in one place! You can log in each day and find exactly what you need and start where you left off. Want to change some things next year? No problem! Just upload and add to playlist, or delete. Still not convinced? Another reason to use playlists for your lessons and units: Your computer will run faster! This will eliminate the need to have five flipcharts, ten websites, three word docs, and a power point opened all at once and sitting at the bottom of your screen! The less you have open and running, the better! Here is the guide published by Safari Montage about Creation Station. |
AuthorI am an elementary Campus Instructional Technologist in Highland Park ISD Archives
May 2017
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