I have used prezis for personal presentations in classes I have taken, and used one for a presentation on volcanoes in my classroom, but I have never asked the students to make a prezi. I realized that the final project I did last month on astronomy would have been the perfect time to introduce students to prezis. Giving students the opportunity to be more creative than just using a powerpoint would have been perfect! I also wish that I had known about Glogs because they are an environmentally friendly alternative to making posters, since there is no paper waste. There are always too many student products in the classroom to hang on the walls so a glog would be a nice alternative. I also think that my students would enjoy making a glog, especially the ninth graders. I spent quite a bit of time exploring voice threads, but I fail to see how I would use this in my classroom. I think it would be more effective to have a classroom discussion. This technology is one that I consider to be incorporated just for the sake of using technology, not because it enhances learning. I would appreciate an example from anyone who has used this before!
Create a graph is a really cool site, and easy to use. However I think that high school students should be learning how to use excel. If I were a middle school teacher, I might try to make graphing more "fun" by using the graphing program on kids' zone. It is a good introductory graphing program and is more asthetically pleasing than excel.
During the weekend I plan to explore Google Earth in depth. There are so many activities that have been developed by teachers that are perfect for earth science.
Link to a prezi I made with a classmate this past semester:
http://prezi.com/jp6yfem0sjvt/copy-of-big-ideas-in-geophysics/
It sounds like you did some good exploring this week. As you keep exploring, divide your time. Some for continued "dabbling" and more for getting in depth with a few tools that really interest you!
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me to really start exploring. What grades do you teach? Do your students already know how to make a Prezi presentation? If not, how much time do you think it would take to help them to be able to create an effective presentation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Glogster could be an eco-friendly tool in schools. Apart from making e-posters, I think we could also use it to make 'pages' for an electronic Yearbook.
ReplyDeleteSarah...like Dr. Brunsell stated above...you've been busy exploring! (I feel like I have been too, but you have done a much better job than I have at explaining/journaling your thoughts on your explorations. You are my inspiration to be more explicit in my blogs!!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Glogster like you and Kristian have described liking and I agree with your thoughts on being eco-friendly... e-posters! Veeraiah has a great idea about the electronic Yearbook...awesome! I am going to share that idea with our CommArts teacher. One of the things that students do in that class are communicate and advertise the goings-on and business of our school posted on our huge flatscreen TV mounted in the foyer of our school. This place is the central area where every student passes through multiple times/day and is the first thing any visitor to our school sees as they enter our building! It would be nice if the pages of an electronic Yearbook using Glogster could work in this venue!
Since I teach in the middle school, I know some of our teachers like Create A Graph better than Excel for having students make graphs. I am in agreement with you that Excel should be the program that students should become familiar with, which is why I only teach Excel to my 6th graders... but that is because I know the Excel program. My 6th and 7th grade colleagues in math and science don't know Excel much, but last year while I taught summer school (with these teachers), we focused on getting students to learn Excel...since the teachers were there with me (as I was teaching the students Excel) they were also learning it!! This year they were excited to reinforce it in their classrooms. This was a major shift because they would just direct their students to Create A Graph because they weren't confident in helping students with Excel. We will again be introducing summer school students to Excel with our data collection in the math and science activities! Our 8th grade teachers love that we are all on board with Excel now :) so I can see why you like/prefer that your 9th graders use it!