I would like to apologize in advance for this post being so long. I feel the need to preface this with some explanation of my animation choice and why the video does not quite follow the directions.
When choosing the animation program I investigated the free versions first. I don't want to jump in to an expenditure haphazardly, and I am always looking at the tool from the perspective of usability with my students. Free is always better when it comes to being able to use it with students. Powtoon was the first I tried out. I just jumped in a started creating. I like its usability expect for the voice. It all has to be done in one shot which is hard or you have to go out of the program and create music and voice separately which is what I ended up doing. I also looked into Muvizu and couldn't believe how amazing it is. It would be difficult for my kids to use because of all the choices. They would also get carried away with the process and lose point of the task at hand. That's one reason I did not chose it. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop and my 3 minute video would take weeks.
I ended up with Powtoon partly because I had already invested a fair amount of time just in playing with it. The problem is that my video is a little bit more of a presentation than a conversation explaining how I plan to overcome or solve the challenge. Between the learning log and the video I hope I am covering all parts of the assignment even though they may look a little different.
Learning Log
The idea of educators all discussing technology and predicting its future in education is fascinating. The Horizon Report is a wonderful tool for educators to turn to when deciding their next steps in the classroom. It was a very valuable read and tied right back into the Definition of Educational Technology(AECT).
I decided to concentrate on challenge number 5. This is the challenge of bringing more real life experiences into the classroom. While the discussion of this challenge focused more on the upper grade levels with the mention of student retention, future education and careers, it is still pertinent to primary grades. The start of a child's school career is what often shapes their attitudes towards education. If a love of learning can be instilled alongside the basic skills needed, finishing and continuing their learning is more likely.
The mention of student engagement and the use of project-based learning practices is what really drew me to this challenge. So often as teachers we find ourselves presented with a new reading, math, or social studies curriculum and the materials the district purchases. While these may be great tools to use, we are often told to follow them or just fall into that routine ourselves. I left my classroom this summer with two goals in my mind. How can I keep my students even more actively engaged? How can I connect their learning more to the real world? This is the same as aforementioned challenge.
My personal solution to this challenge is to talk less and facilitate more by using more project-based learning activities. As a primary teacher we focus so much on those very basic skills that provide the foundation of all their future learning that sometimes the skills seem almost too simple to tie into real life. Also at this age the students are still learning to read more than they are reading to learn. However, to keep students engaged, provide opportunities for cooperative learning and teaching, and show students why they are learning what they are learning, many effective project-based learning activities can be developed for younger students. Technology can be incorporated in these units in many different ways, but one reason I chose this challenge is because it is pertinent even if technology is not being included.
On a school-wide level, what might be some solutions with teachers too hesitant to veer away from following the manual, creating units that provide connections, and using technology to tie the students to the world? In our building our grade level teams work closely together. I think this is the first avenue to take. Our principal has taken steps to provide more PE time for our students and in the process has created more planning time for all teachers. We could use this time to collaborate on the planning of projects and sharing technology that coordinated with it.
We also have collaboration days built into the school year when each grade level could present an example of what they had done with their teams and one piece of technology they had used. Not only is this a great way of sharing ideas and finding out what works or doesn't work for other teachers, it provides vertical articulation. It is very valuable to learn what the grades lower than yourself have done and used in order to build on it. It is also useful to know what my students will be doing so I can prepare them. If their is no continuity kids will just be exposed to bits and pieces of learning and technology with no follow through in upcoming years.
We are also fortunate to have 4 half days of time to spend with our building technology coordinator. During these times we can learn tech tips, build lessons together, or brainstorm.
Another building goal of ours is creating a positive classroom environment and culture based on one of the 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning. We will be focusing on this goal during monthly professional development meetings. We will be meeting with our grades levels and administration to develop ideas specific to our own situations that will address this. This presents another opportunity to discuss ideas to achieve a positive supportive environment that makes all students feel safe and free to challenge themselves as learners whether it is pursuing an individual interest or working on a project with others. Changing the notion of idle, well behaved, quiet students as the perfect classroom environment that some teachers still strive for to an environment where children feel free to explore, question, pursue, talk to others and utilize any tools at almost any time in the room would be a huge step in the right direction.
My animated video shows the problems of keeping things status quo and one possible example of how things could look different.
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