Gizmos
This is an easy to use resource for teachers. Gizmos are designed to be a way for students to digitally explore different concepts. The site offers a wide range of different virtual resources. Some example of these resources are labs, simulations, the break down of complex cellular functions, and much more. These virtual simulations allow students to complete activities that would not be possible in the class room environment or the resources and/or time are not available in the classroom setting. This is also a free service, allowing both students and teachers to set up secure accounts and classes. With each gizmos there is a student guided exploration for the specific gizmo, as well as a teacher guide and other helpful resources for the teacher. Below I have added photos and documents that show the easy of the site.
Students use youtube in order to make community connections
Will post the video when the students create it in the next two weeks
Students are using YouTube in order to distribute their passion project to the community. These students are specifically completing their project on the effects of exercise on stress relief, specifically for student athletes. Students are going to interview their peers who are student athletes about how their stress level changes when they are in season, working out, versus when they are out of season. There was also a community aspect of this assignment, where students are required to connect with the community in some way. These students wanted to get their video out to as many students as possible to share the information with their peers as well as community members in Fort Collins. The students are using YouTube as well as instagram in order to get their video out to the masses in a way that is appropriate and applicable to their age demographic.
Students Discuss the Differences between an oral and digital seminar
Powtoon as a way to create video presentations
https://www.powtoon.com/c/fHlv4AwdvSh/2/m
https://www.powtoon.com/c/egSurIJNNKa/2/m
In the class cell biology, genetics, and biotechnology I had the class break into 8 small groups per class period. Each group performed a 1-3 minute skit about an assigned scientist that contributed to our current understanding of germ theory. Students all had to participate in the skit. I had several groups who this was not only out of their comfort zone the idea of performing a skit (acting) in front of their peers caused a significant amount of anxiety. In order to give groups an alternative that would still give the class a visual learning experience about the scientist I gave the option to complete a digital skit instead. Approximately 3 groups chose to use the program Powtoon as a digital program for creating these original skits. Powtoon was a great resource for these students as it allowed them to create digital animations that spoke to the class audibly as well as with text bubbles. Students some students even spoke for their animation, in order to still be present in the skit but not have to actually act, their animation did that for them. There were some limitations in what the animation could do and students had to get creative as to how they were going to show experiments occurring and get all the required information within the programs limitations. This allowed the students to show their best work and fit in with the assignment descriptions by using technology. One thing that we did struggle with was how to get the animation sent to my computer so that it could be displayed for the entire class. This was an issue of other forms of technology and was not specific to the Powtoon software specifically.
At the school I teach at we have a lot of students who have extreme amounts of anxiety and even the smallest change can be debilitating. These students are given very high expectations based on their economic status and can really struggle when pushed too far out of their comfort zone. Throughout the last months we have been trying to push and challenge ourselves as a class. We have talked about times when we should push our limits and take risks and when it is better to use mediums that we know and really demonstrate our strengths. This Powtoon program gave students the option to push themselves, but not too much that they were unable to show their strengths and abilities. This allowed for differentiation for students who excel when they are the center of attention and can act in the class as well as the students who do better when their ideas are generated prior to being in front of the entire class. This also allowed me as educator to meet the ISTE standard of using technology to create, adapt, and personalize learning experiences. I was able to create alternate mediums to fit the assignment expectation and purpose, so that every student in class was given the tools to be successful.
In the articles Smart Tech Use for Equity and Digital Equity: it’s more than just student access they both talked about the difference between just using technology because it is there, and the district spent money on it, and using technology to make sure that every student is successful. I think that the way that Powtoon was used in this instance allowed for equity among all students. If I had either required all groups to perform their skit without the animation, or for all students to use the Powtoon software there would have been groups of students who were not given the same opportunity to present their best work. In this instance students were given an equitable learning environment.
I have another student in my class who has dysgraphia. I noticed it earlier this year in my class and brought it to the attention of our school counselors as well as school psychologists, which started the process of her being recently diagnosed. This student of mine is incredibly smart and more than grasps the content, she is challenging herself to present her understanding in new and creative ways. I have noticed that in my class she often has a lower grade than her knowledge demonstrates because it is very hard to read her handwriting and for her to get her ideas out in the same ways as her peers. Because this is a new diagnosis the school as well as myself has not had sufficient time to find her alternative software that can allow her to communicate and get her ideas out in a way other than orally. We are currently working on an illustration comparing photosynthesis and cellular respiration and I am still trying to find programs that will allow her to complete this assignment in a way that is equitable for this student. I do not think that with this student specifically I am meeting the ISTE standard of accommodating the learner’s differences and needs. I have identified that she is currently not getting an equitable education in my classroom and would like to continue researching more digital programs or software’s that would allow her to communicate her content understanding in a way that best fits her strengths.
At the school I teach at we have a lot of students who have extreme amounts of anxiety and even the smallest change can be debilitating. These students are given very high expectations based on their economic status and can really struggle when pushed too far out of their comfort zone. Throughout the last months we have been trying to push and challenge ourselves as a class. We have talked about times when we should push our limits and take risks and when it is better to use mediums that we know and really demonstrate our strengths. This Powtoon program gave students the option to push themselves, but not too much that they were unable to show their strengths and abilities. This allowed for differentiation for students who excel when they are the center of attention and can act in the class as well as the students who do better when their ideas are generated prior to being in front of the entire class. This also allowed me as educator to meet the ISTE standard of using technology to create, adapt, and personalize learning experiences. I was able to create alternate mediums to fit the assignment expectation and purpose, so that every student in class was given the tools to be successful.
In the articles Smart Tech Use for Equity and Digital Equity: it’s more than just student access they both talked about the difference between just using technology because it is there, and the district spent money on it, and using technology to make sure that every student is successful. I think that the way that Powtoon was used in this instance allowed for equity among all students. If I had either required all groups to perform their skit without the animation, or for all students to use the Powtoon software there would have been groups of students who were not given the same opportunity to present their best work. In this instance students were given an equitable learning environment.
I have another student in my class who has dysgraphia. I noticed it earlier this year in my class and brought it to the attention of our school counselors as well as school psychologists, which started the process of her being recently diagnosed. This student of mine is incredibly smart and more than grasps the content, she is challenging herself to present her understanding in new and creative ways. I have noticed that in my class she often has a lower grade than her knowledge demonstrates because it is very hard to read her handwriting and for her to get her ideas out in the same ways as her peers. Because this is a new diagnosis the school as well as myself has not had sufficient time to find her alternative software that can allow her to communicate and get her ideas out in a way other than orally. We are currently working on an illustration comparing photosynthesis and cellular respiration and I am still trying to find programs that will allow her to complete this assignment in a way that is equitable for this student. I do not think that with this student specifically I am meeting the ISTE standard of accommodating the learner’s differences and needs. I have identified that she is currently not getting an equitable education in my classroom and would like to continue researching more digital programs or software’s that would allow her to communicate her content understanding in a way that best fits her strengths.
Flip Grid as a tool for creating Lab Safety videos
https://flipgrid.com/s/999595f98738
https://flipgrid.com/s/7016cfed85b5
The tech tool that I will be analyzing using a facilitator lens is Flipgrid. I have used this phone and computer application twice times in class and it has allowed students to facilitate their own learning and to be personally creative. We used this tool first to create lab safety music videos at the beginning of the school year. I first showed the students a parody music video about lab safety and then encouraged students to create their own skits, music videos, or safety demo that would then be shared with the class. Students most recently created a promotional video/ advertisement for a nutritional bar that they design using their understanding of macromolecules. These videos were then shared with the class as a commercial.
Using this app is user friendly for students because it prompts students through each step in the process and requires only a basic understanding of using the camera feature on either their computer or their laptop. It also directly sends the video to my computer interface, so that I can play the videos for the whole class easily from my computer. This fulfills the facilitator ISTE standards 6b and 6d. The 6b standard is the students will be able to “Manage the use of technology and students learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field”. The ISTE standard is the students will be able to “Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge, or connections”. This method of creating mini commercials gave students the opportunity to be creative and to take personal ownership of their creative real-world application. Students became facilitators of their own experience. This app allows students to start and stop the recording as often as needed, so that they can move and reset new environments/ situations throughout their video advertisement.
Some of the struggles with using this program is that it only worked on the student’s phones once they downloaded the app, and because of computer settings on the school computers the students could only access the camera feature if the program was used through internet explorer. The video can also only last a total of ninety seconds. Since dealing with this time struggle multiple teachers at my school have showed me that once an account is purchased by the teacher they can change the amount of time the video can last.
In the article “Technology alone won’t transform teacher to facilitator” they claim that educational practices can be improved to reach all students by implementing different forms of technology. These technologies used must however be incorporated in a way that enhances student’s learning experience rather than detracts and cause frustration. I found in the article that they rarely specified the struggles related to time, funding, and class sizes. I have found that since most students have access to a phone or a computer and this is a free application that can be used to enhance student experience. Since this is a free app for students and teachers, as well it does not take a lot of time reteaching because the app is similar to the camera feature on most phones. This also incorporated a real application to this assignment that would not have been available without this feature. The article described to role of a teacher as that one of a ring mast who sets up the environment and activities for students to learn and grow on their own. I believe that through the use of this applications, Flipgrid, I became a facilitator, or ring master, to student learning rather than providing direct instruction for learning.
Using this app is user friendly for students because it prompts students through each step in the process and requires only a basic understanding of using the camera feature on either their computer or their laptop. It also directly sends the video to my computer interface, so that I can play the videos for the whole class easily from my computer. This fulfills the facilitator ISTE standards 6b and 6d. The 6b standard is the students will be able to “Manage the use of technology and students learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field”. The ISTE standard is the students will be able to “Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge, or connections”. This method of creating mini commercials gave students the opportunity to be creative and to take personal ownership of their creative real-world application. Students became facilitators of their own experience. This app allows students to start and stop the recording as often as needed, so that they can move and reset new environments/ situations throughout their video advertisement.
Some of the struggles with using this program is that it only worked on the student’s phones once they downloaded the app, and because of computer settings on the school computers the students could only access the camera feature if the program was used through internet explorer. The video can also only last a total of ninety seconds. Since dealing with this time struggle multiple teachers at my school have showed me that once an account is purchased by the teacher they can change the amount of time the video can last.
In the article “Technology alone won’t transform teacher to facilitator” they claim that educational practices can be improved to reach all students by implementing different forms of technology. These technologies used must however be incorporated in a way that enhances student’s learning experience rather than detracts and cause frustration. I found in the article that they rarely specified the struggles related to time, funding, and class sizes. I have found that since most students have access to a phone or a computer and this is a free application that can be used to enhance student experience. Since this is a free app for students and teachers, as well it does not take a lot of time reteaching because the app is similar to the camera feature on most phones. This also incorporated a real application to this assignment that would not have been available without this feature. The article described to role of a teacher as that one of a ring mast who sets up the environment and activities for students to learn and grow on their own. I believe that through the use of this applications, Flipgrid, I became a facilitator, or ring master, to student learning rather than providing direct instruction for learning.