Podcasting Student Voices

Take a few minutes to listen to the podcast with Bob Sprankle. It is a podcast discussing podcasting in the classroom. In the podcast Bob Sprankle from Wells Elementary School talks about his students' exploration and production of podcasts. He shares his observations as to the impact that podcasting has on student learning and motivation. Bob includes great tips to help teachers get started. To hear the podcast visit http://nlcommunities.com/podcasts/1798/blc06/default.aspx

Also, visit www.bobsprankle.com tohear examples of his work with students.

Digital Storytelling and Critical Literacy

Where are the connections between digital storytelling and critical literacy? It becomes clear when a comparison is made between theater and a political rally. In the theater, the audience suspends any disbelief and enjoys the production. At a political rally the demand on the audience is to analyze every statement or claim and question its authenticity. According to Jason Ohler, teachers can use digital storytelling to harness the persuasive power of the story form through a process that combines it with reflection, problem solving and reasoned thinking. When students blend storytelling with analysis, it is the best of both worlds.


Questions about storytelling in the classroom for teachers:

1. How can you as a teacher use storytelling and digital media in content areas in your classroom?
2. What are the elements of story that a story should include to be effective?
3. What different kinds of stories are there, and how do they apply to education?
4. When do you use oral storytelling vs. digital storytelling? How do you use them together?
5. How do you combine the essential DOAW storytelling literacies: digital, art, oral literacy, written literacy?
6. What is the role of media literacy - that is, understanding the theory and mechanics of persuasion with media - in teaching storytelling?

These questions are excerpts from Jason Ohlers website. It is a great site detailing the process of using digital storytelling in the classroom and worth the time to visit www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/storyeducation.cfm

Selecting Educational Software

When selecting Ministry licensed software to use in the classroom teachers are faced with many challenges. Many teachers have expressed concerns about the limited time students have to use the computer lab. It is therefore very important that the time be well spent. In order to align the computer use with the curriculum expectations osapac has developed a data base. With the input of key words (e.g. graph) and grade level, the data base will search for curriculum links. The results show the title of the software, the code and the expectations. To access the data base search page go to osapac.org/dbOess/dbExpect.asp.

HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)

The use of technology to develop higher order thinking skills is well supported in many research papers. The Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology addressed the following question:"how can technology develop higher order thinking and problem solving?" The study examined the skills developed by ninth graders who used media presentations. The online tools required students to gather and evaluate information and communicate their findings in a meaningful way.

In another part of the study, a group of grade four and grade six students participated in a curriculum unit. Half of the group used online resources and the other half did not use the online resources. The group that used the online resources scored higher on measures of effective presentation and accuracy of information. The research suggests that the online resources provide a link to the world, a new reason to write and offer new sources of feedback on their ideas.

The research on HOTS is not just for kids. When studies were done on adults the findings were similar. The Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer Enhanced Learning contains an interesting article that examined the effects of multimedia on adult learners. The results indicated that the use of multimedia did direct the students toward greater levels of higher order thinking skills.

However, it is important to note that the program used for the adult study was motivating for the students and created an environment for HOTS. for example, the program required learners to judge and assess the credibility of conflicting information and to problem solve. So, the critical piece for the teacher is to ensure that the use of technology is not at the bottom of the Bloom's Taxonomy but that it engages students at higher levels. It is important to evaluate the use of technology/software before students spend class time using it.

Get permission before posting student work!

The development of blogs and web pages opens up a can of worms regarding internet safety. Before posting any student work or creating blogs teachers should inform parents and get specific permission to publish student work on the internet. Parents will have signed an acceptable use form but it is not the same as a permission form to post work on the web. Check out the article at www.sie.k12.in.us/~west/article/publish.htm Under the heading Getting Started the author shares tips for teachers and includes sample student permission forms.

Blogging newbie makes great discovery!!

First, I must declare myself a newbie to the blogging world. It is with nervous excitement that I am exploring the uses of blogging in the classroom. In my search, I have discovered a fantastic peer-reviewed journal on the Internet. In the journal "first monday"(www.firstmonday.org/) I found the article "The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom", by David Huffaker. The author recognizes digital fluency as a type of literacy and declares it a prerequisite skill for sociability, lifelong learning and employment opportunities. It is worth your time to read it. Of particular interest to me was the section that shared examples of blogs in practice.