CEDU 531 week four

I was really very impressed with the concept of podcasting in general and specifically with applications to education. For some reason I'm caught up on the personal applications for teachers. I know that's relatively low on the LoTi level but I can't get past it. The idea of recording a lesson and saving that as a podcast has many applications. First any student could gain access to it and use it for catching up when absent, for review, as a study tool before tests. Parents could access it to better help their students with homework. As a side note you I can't help but to reflect on my own teaching whenever I listen to a recording of my instruction. For the students it could replace, in may instances, a written report on nay variety of topics. Secondly it could be used in conjunction to oral reports.

Here's a link to my podcast on the use of podcasts in education.

531 week 3

I think that teachers are all just storytellers . I make up stories all the time while teaching even in the most mundane or unusual lesson that would not necessarailly apply to these 7 elements. Take long division for example. There's the standard acronym to help students remember the steps: DAD , MOM , SISTER , BROTHER . I'll make up stories about the family to help teach the steps. The problem is sometimes I get a little to animated and hyper and will somply try to cram too much into a lesson. I might take it too fast trying to do too much wheter it's different methods to do the same problems or trying to explain too much information for little students to handle. Therefore, the one element that really stood out to me and made me reflect is economy. The fact of the matter is that often times less is more. To focus on just certain aspects of a lesson and thus ceratin aspects of a story is more meaningful, and students will often walk away with a better understanding.

Cedu 523 week 2

That voicethread is a great sight and our group had a lot of fun doing the civil rights assignment. I believe that I could easilly use this program in my classroom given the proper set up and support. I see it used in the same way as I mentioned last week. In general it's application goes to anything that asks for a presentation of information of virtually any kind. I could see motivation being high and students that might not normally be motivated will be highly so with Voicethread as an instrument.

CEDU 531 week one

How I might use digital story telling in my class. . . I think that it's use is something that could be integrated into most an topic in any area. First, I could see it used as a substitute for certain types of written reports that I assign. An example of where one could be used is a variation on a "book report" that I recently assigned. That was an old fashioned "shoe box diorama" with about a page of written text describing the scene. A digital storytelling would be a perfect way of retelling that scene using a digital camera to take a picture of the students diorama and then a voice over to showcase the writing. Digital storytelling would increase motivation and enhance the report itself in most instances.