New Toys
If I am to become an innovative educator, I must be willing and able to adapt and learn new technologies. As part of my course on digital tools, I recently explored some websites in search for services that might fit my needs as teacher! I chose to explore: www.Vibby.com www.Techsmith.com I was curious about these specific tools as they appeared to offer services similar to EdPuzzle, which I am a fan of. Essentially, both these tools enable users to highlight and share the most important moments of any video. Vibby: Strengths & Weaknesses First, I explored Vibby. Vibby seems to have been specifically designed for the single purpose of highlighting segments of larger videos that you want to capture and then share out. What makes Vibby unique from other sites that offer similar editing and cropping of videos, is that Vibby will cite your sources, thus ensuring protection of intellectual property. This would be very useful for teachers who are constantly pulling videos from a variety of resources. While we teach our students about plagiarism, we often forget to protect ourselves in our search for digital materials. While Vibby did not meet my immediate needs, I can certainly see how this could be a great tool for teaching. By Highlighting and showing portions of video, students could focus on the significant moments of an otherwise lengthy video. Also, students could watch and rewatch the highlight as it is shorter and would not require much time. Finally, it would certainly make content more engaging and accessible for students. My only issue with Vibby is that is rather limited. While it is similar to EdPuzzle, Vibby does not offer any other features. While EdPuzzle allows users to record their voice and insert questions, Vibby will merely crop a video down, and allow you save and share your shortened video. Techsmith: Snagit : Strengths & Weaknesses Next, I explore Snagit through the TechSmith site. Right away I liked Snagit more than Vibby. Of course, everything depends on context and what your needs are. That being said, Snagit offers a variety of functions. Where Vibby is great for capturing moments of video, Snagit can do that and more. Users are enabled to capture and edit an image. You can insert captions in engaging ways. You can build things from scratch or import/export existing images. Very versatile. Finally, everything you capture will be saved in the built in library! video as an assessment tool? I am currently investigating how video might be used to increase students’ metacognitive process. I would like to have students record their thoughts during their work time as well as their reflections afterwards. Additionally, I would like to explore having students utilize video as a means of exchanging feedback and support with their academic peers. So, in a sense, I do think that video could be used as an assessment tool. However, I think it would be tricky with certain contents and more so with what you are assessing. I could easily imagine students creating a video to demonstrate their understanding of variety of concepts. For example, my students create videos to demonstrate their ability to conduct interviews as well as their understanding of the elements of plot. If I were a math teacher however, I am not sure just yet how I would utilize a video as an assessment. Perhaps students could create a screencast recording of themselves while they apply formulas to determine how many materials would be necessary for a specific job. Okay. The more I think it through, the more I think my answer is YES. Video can indeed be utilized as a form of assessment, or rather a medium for response to assessment. I think it ultimately comes down to the creativity and imagination of the teacher. An innovative teacher could find many ways to allow students to demonstrate their abilities and mastery of skills.
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Professional Experience:
At my school, we encourage students to bring their own devices, as well as provide Chromebooks to each classroom. Our school is increasingly digital. My students utilize Echo (our school website) every day. Many of our assignments are created digitally using Google Docs and other resources. This means that our students spend the majority of their day on a device. If students are using technology this much at school, just imagine how much time they spend on their devices at home. The average middle school student today has one or more forms of social media. But can social media be used in the classroom? And if so, what would we be getting ourselves into?! Social Media project: One of my favorite projects that I teach every year centers around the effects of social media. Specifically, I challenge my students to determine what impact social media has on users’ social skills. At the start of the project, I conduct a poll to see how many students participate in social media. Students admit that not only do they participate with social media, but that in many cases, students will have a variety of accounts to different digital platforms. What I love about this project, is asking students their initial predictions about the effects social media might be having on them as users, and comparing that to their conclusions at the end of the project. Despite being an avid social media user myself, it never ceases to amaze me how many students change their perspectives throughout their research. Students become aware of the many risks and dangers of social media, and the internet in general. This gives me hope. It shows me that students can in fact recognize the dangers of social media, and more importantly, that they can problem solve how to combat these dangers. They learn to avoid friend requests from strangers, and how to cautiously censor their posts. In this sense, social media has already made its way into my classroom, at least for the duration of one project. Rewards: So what is so great about social media? Does it really have a place in learning? I believe it already does. First of all, social media can be utilized for professional development. I myself like to use social media to connect with other teachers. This has allowed me to collaborate with fellow educators from all around the globe, and not only exchange ideas, but also give and receive timely feedback from a large audience. For example, there is a 5th grade teacher who posts the most creative activities for her students. I am constantly reviewing her ideas for inspiration with my own students. Clearly social media has increased the amount of resources that teachers can draw from to improve their own pedagogy. A second potential benefit of social media worth discussing, is the teacher-student dynamic. While many view this as a loaded topic, full of risks, I ask that you read the following with an open mind. If properly executed, social media could be used to increase and innovate the level of communication between teachers and their students, as well as students and their peers. At its root, social media exists for users to communicate with others. Let us consider for a moment the idea of students having a resource specifically designed for them to communicate within the academic environment. Students could post questions they have on the class/homework and they could engage in digital collaboration and discussions. Teachers could also post fun activities and opportunities for students to demonstrate their many skills. We should not deny that students are increasingly engaged by social media, so why not make it work for us instead of against us? Risks: Here is why: We have created a rather challenging scenario for our students. We tell them to go online to do their work, but not to be tempted by the vast potential of the rest of the web. Of course, we have had and continue to have issues with technology violations. It is very common for students to use technology inappropriately. From cyberbullying to cheating, there is a range of issues that accompany students working online. When it comes to social media specifically, I have witnessed first-hand the increasing common issues that students encounter. For example, I have had students approach me in person, showing me their phones to inform me of issues that are escalating online. Students claiming they are going to start a fight, or teasing and taunting other students on their accounts. In these situations, I like to first thank the student for recognizing the danger and bringing it to my attention. I then take that information, and consult with my colleagues. I always like to get the open feedback of other teachers before I take more concrete steps and involve administration. There are, however, situations where a teacher might come across something on social media, outside of school. Fortunately, I have not found myself in such circumstances. In a situation like that, depending on the nature of the post, I would contact my administrators and inform them of the situation. If I felt that it directly involved the safety of any of the students at our school, then I would certainly report it to one of our schools spectacular counselors. Going Forward: In my personal opinion, the question is no longer, SHOULD social media be utilize in school, but rather, HOW can social media be utilized in school. This is the same conversation educators had about technology in general. This is another chapter in the same book. We already know how things played out with educational technology. First teachers were apprehensive and then there was a huge surge of acceptance. This time around, we should get ahead of the schedule and begin looking at social media from the lenses of academic leverage. Students have demonstrated that they can adapt to new digital resources with increasing ease. Students have also demonstrated a strong interest in social media. If social media can be re-purposed for academic purposes, then it only becomes a matte of preparing our students to utilize this resource responsibly. Fortunately, many students have also demonstrated that they can, for the most part, utilize technology responsibly. Ultimately, I believe that if educators embrace the notion of re-purposing social media, and were to receive necessary training, social media could have many positive effects on the world of academia. However, I am not blind to the risks that would of course need to be addressed. Safety measures put in place to protect our students and faculty alike. True progress is about overcoming challenges, not |