Embedded Files
I was unable to watch this session live, as I was at Science Camp with my 6th grade students, however, I have gone through the recording and have "participated" in the activities that my group did. Our presenter was Jodi Green who started us off with a "getting to know you" activity through a link from her presentation slides. We created a slide to share information about ourselves using a "2 Truths and 1 Lie" format. I love this and will definitely use it with my students as an activity when we return from Camp as a way to share about their experiences there.
As she continued through the presentation, she went over the Agenda. Part 1 "Explore the Store" involved having us look through a variety of resources. As we did, she reminded us to ask ourselves, does the app allow my students to: 1) think critically; 2) collaborate; 3) communicate; and, 4) create something useful and unique. The resources were listed by Android Apps, IOS Apps, and Chrome Apps. The latter is where I focused my attention and found myself poking around in the Chrome Web Store where I found a new "friend": KAMI. I recently started using this with my students after attending an AVID training that encouraged more rigor with text and making annotations. This is an easy App to navigate as the students have picked it up really quickly. I like using it when I upload relevant news articles into Google Classroom that I want them to read and mark the text for Academic Vocabulary and for Details related to the Main Idea. Additionally, I use KAMI when I have a PDF document or form that I would rather not have to make copies of. Instead the students will add in text boxes as they research and complete the form. KAMI works nicely with Google Drive and Classroom. I love it!
Another app that I'm interested in looking at further is Educreation which will be a useful tool with blended or flipped learning models. There really are so many tools and resources that could potentially "live" well within my classroom and I am excited to try but there can be a large learning curve but, as Teresa mentioned, I too love to "learn alongside of my students". I am eager to push things out and we can learn them together; they are usually very happy to help me with my learning!
Much of the latter part of her session focused on looking at the application of technology in the classroom as it relates to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the ISTE (Technology) Standards for Students. The group talked about learning outcomes driving the lesson and choice of technology as well as the need to considering padagogy when determining how to achieve those learning outcomes. She shared links to relevant articles (below) that share additional information on these isses.
The Common Core and Digital Skills Development (Edutopia)
I especially liked this particular SAMR illustration as it speaks more clearly to me than the "Starbucks coffee" one; to me anything other than brewed coffee could be considered Modification or Redefinition. However, the illustration here, clearly shows how we learners are able to change the way we learn and discover the world around us. Jodi reminded us that SAMR helps guide us to look at how we can utilize technology within the classroom but to be cautious about simplifying the application behind SAMR.
The last thing we worked on was to create a lesson or activity then upload to a SeeSaw class that Jodi set up. I am not sure if it uploaded properly because it wasn't allowing me to add a link to my Slide. Either way, it was fun looking for and trying something new.
Reflection
I really enjoyed this session; probably would have enjoyed even more had I been present. The activities she prepared were interactive and engaging. I am so impressed by the talent and innovation that our cohort continues to demonstrate and I love that I am always inspired by these workshops one way or another.
Jodi impresses me as a very experienced and practiced professional, who is comfortable in her knowledge as well as eager to share and invite others to explore and learn. She made this session easy to follow and allowed sufficient time to work on the tasks so I wasn't feeling so overwhelmed by its spontaneity. Great session!
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