You Tube

You Tube has such a wealth of information. This website has been a great place to go when trying to find video clips about political events. Some of the student projects I have found have worked great when teaching a lesson. The students are always excited when they see that I have found the video from You Tube. The video I play is sometimes very dry and the students seem to be much more engaged than if I had found it on discovery education. I will continue to use You Tube to supplement lessons and soon want to give the students a chance to explore what it has to say about a historical event.

Voice Thread 2

Brought my students back to the lab over the last two days to use voicethread again. The second time around went smoothly and students really got into the discussion. They seemed more willing to record voice and overall their comments were more intelligent. There were also more cases of students challenging view points in a polite and strategic manner. By the end of the second day it was clear the students needed more. The next time will be to show them video recording and possibly how to create their own voicethreads. I need to find time for them to explore all of the options and see some of the projects created that they are allowed to view. I am glad to be using this program.

Back to voicethread

Due to popular demand I decided to bring the students back to voicethread. Its ability to encourage discussion without students being face to face is great. Students can also use the web browser to discover new information. The political cartoons they created this time have gone up in quality. I expect there ability to analyze and comment to also increase the second time around. Finding a technology the kids enjoy and I can use for education has been great. It allows the majority of students to take ownership of what they will accomplish. This self determination will be a great skill as they move into high school and through life.

Online Games

Working through states and capitals with my eighth graders has been full of excitement. Near the end of the unit the kids were becoming bored with my classroom activities. You could tell that a once exciting activity had started to become mundane. I decided that an online game that accomplished the same thing as flash cards would be a great solution. Today I brought the students to the lab to practice their states and capitals using games. The games varied in level and style. The students were invigorated with spirit and gained their excitement for states and capitals learning back. The different levels allowed students to explore the states and capitals and a personal learning level. The most difficult level stumped even the most advanced students and the easiest level was easy enough for the lowest students to accomplish. Although I will not be able to allow the students to play games every day this was a great way to show students a fun website they can use at home or in their free time at school.