Communication is one of the 4 C's of Education in 21st Century Skills, and it overlaps with the other 3 C's(collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking) constantly. As I look back over my career as a teacher, I am in awe of what I once thought was strong "communication" in our classroom and just how different my outlook on communication is now . In today's society, we have information communicated to us all day at an overwhelming rate. Technology and the power of modern media/tools are continuing to expand, and we are being called to help raise learners who are aware of, know how to respond to, and can rise to the challenge of being effective communicators in today's world and in the world of the future. So, how do we help our students become strong communicators? How do we help create learning experiences that will challenge them to apply communication skills? What tools do you use? And, what does it look like in the classroom? Communication ...
technology
Our new Hue HD Camera
Recently, my students and I were fortunate enough to connect with Hue and try out their HD document camera and stop motion animation kit. Before our exploration of this new tool, I knew nothing about stop animation other than what it actually was. I had no idea how the motion films were created, how exciting it was to create films using stop animation, or what all went into creating such a project. Was it hard? Easy? Could this be something that my 5th graders could do without me? When our kit came in, I opened it up and installed the software super quick. I love how easy it is to plug the camera in the laptop. This means that we can take the camera and laptop anywhere in the room, building, or school with no problem! I played around with it at home just to feel comfortable enough to show my kiddos how to run everything, and then I brainstormed a list of ways that we could use this tool in the classroom. *Content specific short films *How-To videos *Student modeling of ...
Why Teachers Should Periscope
I am constantly amazed at all of the wonderful opportunities social media can bring to teachers and students when used efficiently and correctly. When others ask me why I am so involved in the educational world of social media, I tell them that it is my way of connecting with classrooms and educators from around the globe. Social Media--Periscope and Twitter specifically-offers educators the opportunity to create their own "personalized" professional development. Are you interested in learning about Genius Hour or maybe altering the way you are incorporating it in the classroom? Maybe you are getting ready to start a unit on the Great Depression and you are looking for lesson ideas. Perhaps you have iPads in the classroom but are not using them to their fullest potential and are wanting help! Periscope(and Twitter) can help you answer all of those questions and much, much more. Here is a quick video that my district helped me put together to talk about ...
