Scientists in China made headlines recently for being the first to successfully clone a primate. Ethical controversy aside, wouldn't it be great if you could multiply your presence in the classroom to provide each of your students with individual attention? The good news is that you don't have to be a scientist to make this a reality. In fact, the technology to do so is most likely sitting on your desk. I'm talking about the Aver Document Camera. With this simple tool, you could create a short "explainer" video as you demonstrate a skill or explain a concept and share the video along with an assessment to reach every student, even if you are engaged in providing direct instruction to a small group. Here's how:
Review this video to learn how to download and install Sphere Light, connect to your document camera, and use all of its features.
Set your camera up and prepare any worksheets for your lesson--have a writing utensil handy as this activity will require pen and paper!
Record a short video of you demonstrating/explaining a skill. Pro Tip: Kids love learning through video instruction (i.e. YouTube), but be sure to keep your custom videos short--up to 3 or 4 minutes for elementary-age students and up to 5 or 6 minutes for secondary students.
Save your video to your Google Drive
Share your video via Google Classroom. Some options:
Create an "Announcement", attach the video from Google Drive, and prompt students to comment in response to a prompt you share with them
Create an "Assignment", attach the video from Google Drive and require students to turn something in so that you can assess their understanding. This can be a pen and paper assignment or a digital assignment that is turned in via Classroom.
More options: Create and attach a Google Form that prompts students to reply to assessment questions based on the video.
Pro Tip: Make sure that headphones are available for students to use so that the noise level is not a distraction to learning.
For Secondary Teachers: You may want to consider assigning your custom video and assessment for homework a la "the flipped classroom" approach to teaching and learning.
For Elementary Teachers: You can set up independent centers in which small groups of students consume your video & assessment while you work with other groups of students.
Two things you should know about me when it comes to sharing instructional technology resources:
I'm a sucker for a list
I have an affinity for alliteration
With that in mind, I'd like to introduce to you another professional development opportunity that will commence after February Break: Wired Wednesdays. Each of the instructional technology workshops in this series will be offered over the course of 2 meetings for an hour and a half each. Workshops are geared toward targeted audiences of secondary or elementary personnel and participants will be eligible to submit an Instructional Payment Order for up to 3 hours. See the link below for a list of course titles/descriptions, meeting dates/times, and registration links.
The West Genesee Central School District is proud to partner with the CNYRIC's Model Schools Program to offer Edcamp West at West Genesee High School during February Break.
Unlike traditional conferences, edcamp sessions are not planned or scheduled until the morning of the event using a scheduling board on which attendees can place an index card with their session on it. The sessions range from basic conversations around teaching methods to sessions sharing digital projects by students or sessions based around just having fun. Many edcamps include sessions about using technology in the classroom, but a technology focus is not necessary. However, it is suggested that you bring a laptop to an edcamp as many presentations will be interactive. As an added bonus, we will run some coding activities for school-age kids if participants choose to bring their children.
Visit the Edcamp West website for all pertinent details and registration links!
The next Superintendent's Day is right around the corner. Please take a moment to review the agenda and register for any professional development sessions appropriate to your role to ensure that you accrue CTLE credit. Even if you aren't required to document your professional learning, please register for the various events so that our presenters are properly prepared.
Click here for the AGENDA and all registration links (login to MyLearningPlan prior to clicking on the registration links for the professional development sessions you plan on attending).
When I first started teaching, PowerPoint was all the rage, but over the years, many of us have died a slow death from boring PowerPoint presentations in which presenters have read every bit of text on their slides to an audience that has already read ahead. I have been guilty of this crime myself and have learned to abide by Guy Kawasaki's 10-20-30 rule for presenting information. I have also moved away from PowerPoint, using Prezi and Google Slides as an alternative.
Recently, however, PowToon has caught my attention. PowToon is Web-based animation software that allows you and your students to create animated presentations by manipulating text, scenes and objects from the PowToon gallery, imported images, background music, and user-created voice-overs for an engaging, animated video with a professional look and feel. It is easy to get started as PowToon will allow you to sign up for its service with your Google account. Further, PowToon has an outstanding support page with helpful video tutorials. Click here to learn more.
