Why We Want Santa Microsoft for our classroom

Our school has established partnerships with students across the globe this year – pen-pals in a different part of the province, or connections with students in a different country far, far away. Students are learning about others’ cultures, communities, traditions and lifestyles. They are observing that their classrooms do not have restricting walls – the world is their classroom.

We cannot do this without technology. Microsoft technology would help us gear our school for the powerful learning that could take place through these global connections. It would always feel like Christmas then. Our students are worth it. Santa Microsoft, please visit us!

'Digital Storytelling' presentation at ECOO

It was a great opportunity to be able to present at ECOO 2012 - the conference that takes educators into the dreamy land of technology, surprising them with the applicability of those dreams in the classroom.

At the bottom of this post is the link to my presentation on Digital Storytelling. The discussion around the slides was related to how storytelling and technology are two of the things that our students are really good at. Combining the two gives rise to the powerful process of 'Digital Storytelling'. The fun part was sharing examples of students' digital work with other educators.

Presentation description:

Students are full of stories - some retold in their words and some brand new coming from their own lives or imagination. With the digital world upon us, it is not only fun to turn these stories into a reality but also very easy to showcase and broadcast them. Using some simple audio and video software available in all Ontario schools, learn how to make audio and visual digital stories that primary and junior students can create themselves to share with the world.

Digital Storytelling by Nivedita Shori

 

Animation!

Talking about Web 2.0 tools, it is important to talk about animation! After all, this is what our kids are going to be doing extensively a few years from now. I won't be surprised if powerpoints and other audio-visual presentations all start getting replaced by creative animations.

To get a feel of how animation works and to work with pre-created characters, settings, props etc., a highly recommended place is http://www.domo.goanimate.com/. (The recommendation comes from the very trusted source, Kevin Jarrett. Thanks Kevin).
Here's a sample that I created for you to see the power of this tool. Enjoy:

DomoNation.com: Santa and Digital Kid by MrsShori


Like it? Create your own at DomoNation.com. It's free and fun!">

ETFO's own professional learning community!

Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has recently got itself on to the Web 2.0 platform with a unique program called Innoteach. This program is a collaborative tool for teachers to share innovative technological practices in pedagogy. Some highlights of this program have been podcasting, digital storytelling, hands-on experience with movie editing software, French commercials and graphic stories. According to an article published in the February Issue of their monthly publication - Voice, the learning object materials of the program will be posted on the ETFO website so that teachers anywhere in the province can access the rich resources.

It was about time for elementary teachers to have our own professional learning community that could take our teaching practices to unforeseen success!
Three cheers for ETFO.

Music for your podcast?

Wouldn't it be really nice if you could give some background music to your podcast? Or, would you like an audio track as a filler between sections of your podcast? It is all possible.

When inserting music from a commercial clip, we need to be very careful of copyright and privacy issues. You can't really mix and match the music created by other people for your own purpose. A good place to find music that is safe for podcasting could be Podsafe Audio. The tracks are licensed under Creative Commons and are submitted by composers who give you the right to use them for podcasting purposes. The collection is vast. So, check it out. You might really find what you were looking for!

Boggled by Blogs for classroom?

Blog - have you been hearing the word for quite some time now and are contemplating setting up a classroom blog for your students? Blogs offer a unique opportunity for teachers to showcase their students' talents and the work being done at school. Students themselves find it very heartening to be on the web and start seeing the internet in a different light. The whole concept of blogs and their usage in classrooms gives pedagogy a whole new perspective - it is the door to 21st century learning!
Click here for an example.

Before you embark on your blogging journey with your students, you might want to spend a good chunk of time preparing for it. Some helpful tips for setting up a classroom blog can be found on this link:
http://justathought.edublogs.org/2009/02/26/helpful-tips-for-setting-up-a-classroom-blog/

This post takes you step by step into blogging and gives excellent suggestions on how to orient yourselves for the task ahead before taking the plunge!

Thinking of podcasting?

If you are impressed by the term "podcasting" and are ready to try it out with your class, here's a link that might come in handy:
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/

Designed by a US teacher, it contains information for teachers as well as students. Simple to complex questions might all be answered for you in the "Lesson Resources" section where further links to some great podcasting resources are included.

So, cast your pod and go...!