I dedicated 20% of my time over 5 weeks to learning something new. It all started with an idea, then born as a brainstorm, and finally it came to life as a learning experience. As a teacher, I often create anchor charts like those I share on my Pinterest board.
If you are familiar with using anchor charts you know that it is greatly helpful for students to watch you create them as they give you the information. They are meant to "anchor" the concept for their learning and to become a point of reference, or a promt to the next step in a process. The problem is once they are created, the children forget the steps because they now have a completed chart to refer back to as they work. I want to give them an interactive tool they can refer back to. If I can provide a tool which they can access, then I am free to watch and prompt them through a learning process rather than walk around repeating steps. My project is to create a visual step-by-step process my students can access as they need.
Questions I considered prior to the process:
1. Is there something beyond Power Point?
2. Will it reach into my limited teacher financial budget?
3. Is there something I can use that is completely free?
4. Will there be something not just user friendly, but child friendly?
5. Will my students truly use a tool like this?
6. Will I know enough about technology to use it?
7. How will I be able to share it publicly?
8. Is this something that I will want my students to access from home?
9. Will they be able to access a tool like this from home?
10. Will I really use it, or just go back to Mr. Sketch and chart paper by Post-it?
A look back through the weeks of my progress and research...
Week 1: My teenage daughter introduced me to Infograph. It was challenging for me to navigate. I am not too tech savvy, but I am working towards becoming a tech ninja. I did not like Infograph. I am sure others love it, and maybe in the future when my skills have improved I will revisit it.
Week 2: I spent quite some time researching Pinterest for different options this week. I found something that I may try next week. I found something named Prezi.
Week 3: Prezi is awesome! It so easy to navigate. They have a tutorial which is readily accessible. I watched it and played around with it for over an hour. My summer school class was working on art studies. I decided to introduce Pablo Picasso with a Prezi. Check out my Picasso Prezi!
Week 4: The kiddos loved the Prezi! My first prezi to take place of an anchor chart. A step-by-step of creating a Picasso style art piece. Check out my Create Picasso Art Prezi here!
Week 5: As I reflect on the success of the Prezi, I learn that I will not be teaching 5th grade in the upcoming school year. Instead, I will be teaching 1st grade. I also find Haiku Deck. I want to try it. So, I decide to play with it and create something appropriate to 1st grade. In the process, I also learn about Powtoon! I like Powtoon and Haiku Deck. I am not sure how much I will use these tools in 1st grade, but I will definitely brainstorm. Check out my Haiku Deck which is also pinned on my 1st grade Pinterest Board.
All my visual presentations can be found above in the links. Below I have included the link to the my 20 Time Pinterest Board:
My 20 Time Pinterest Board
Resources:
http://www.erintegration.com/2015/03/28/fast-and-free-presentations-with-haiku-deck/
http://www.customshow.com/best-powerpoint-alternatives-presentation-programs/
https://www.haikudeck.com/
https://www.prezi.com
http://prezi.com/iub46ivn2zat/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Answers to my original questions:
1. Yes!! There is so much more beyond Power Point.
2. I did not need to reach into my limited teacher budget.
3. That's right. Each of the tools I tried are FREE!
4. As far as my 4th grade summer school students go, yes, they were able to use Prezi presentations easily. They had no problem watching or re-watching the presentation.
5. My 4th grade summer school students truly used the tool. They asked for more visual presentations. I can't wait until I add to the art study collection for next summer.
6. Although I am learning a lot in the world of technology, I am definitely an amateur! I was able to navigate the tools and create with them. I was even able to upload images. All were user friendly.
7. You have to change settings to share your work publicly. If you don't change the setting it automatically saves to a private setting that only you can see.
8. I can see using this tool for math and language arts often. I would like to make them available to my students, so they can access them from home.
9. If my students have internet access, then they will be able to access my public library of Prezis. I will need to brainstorm the best way to organize them.
10. I can see students 3rd grade or higher access these tools from home. I can see a benefit to having these visual step-by-step prompts for all students. Since I am new to 1st grade, I will be learning what exactly my students would use in Prezi form. As I go through my first year in first grade I will be sharing visual tools through Pinterest.
Overall, this process has inspired me to not only be a tech savvy teacher, but a connected educator as well. I have always had a deep respect for those who remain learners. This experience has shown me that some are tech savvy, but some are learners and great collaborators. If not for their experiences which they were brave enough to share, I would have had a more difficult time through this process. I appreciate the bloggers and connected educators who share their experiences.
If you are familiar with using anchor charts you know that it is greatly helpful for students to watch you create them as they give you the information. They are meant to "anchor" the concept for their learning and to become a point of reference, or a promt to the next step in a process. The problem is once they are created, the children forget the steps because they now have a completed chart to refer back to as they work. I want to give them an interactive tool they can refer back to. If I can provide a tool which they can access, then I am free to watch and prompt them through a learning process rather than walk around repeating steps. My project is to create a visual step-by-step process my students can access as they need.
Questions I considered prior to the process:
1. Is there something beyond Power Point?
2. Will it reach into my limited teacher financial budget?
3. Is there something I can use that is completely free?
4. Will there be something not just user friendly, but child friendly?
5. Will my students truly use a tool like this?
6. Will I know enough about technology to use it?
7. How will I be able to share it publicly?
8. Is this something that I will want my students to access from home?
9. Will they be able to access a tool like this from home?
10. Will I really use it, or just go back to Mr. Sketch and chart paper by Post-it?
A look back through the weeks of my progress and research...
Week 1: My teenage daughter introduced me to Infograph. It was challenging for me to navigate. I am not too tech savvy, but I am working towards becoming a tech ninja. I did not like Infograph. I am sure others love it, and maybe in the future when my skills have improved I will revisit it.
Week 2: I spent quite some time researching Pinterest for different options this week. I found something that I may try next week. I found something named Prezi.
Week 3: Prezi is awesome! It so easy to navigate. They have a tutorial which is readily accessible. I watched it and played around with it for over an hour. My summer school class was working on art studies. I decided to introduce Pablo Picasso with a Prezi. Check out my Picasso Prezi!
Week 4: The kiddos loved the Prezi! My first prezi to take place of an anchor chart. A step-by-step of creating a Picasso style art piece. Check out my Create Picasso Art Prezi here!
Week 5: As I reflect on the success of the Prezi, I learn that I will not be teaching 5th grade in the upcoming school year. Instead, I will be teaching 1st grade. I also find Haiku Deck. I want to try it. So, I decide to play with it and create something appropriate to 1st grade. In the process, I also learn about Powtoon! I like Powtoon and Haiku Deck. I am not sure how much I will use these tools in 1st grade, but I will definitely brainstorm. Check out my Haiku Deck which is also pinned on my 1st grade Pinterest Board.
All my visual presentations can be found above in the links. Below I have included the link to the my 20 Time Pinterest Board:
My 20 Time Pinterest Board
Resources:
http://www.erintegration.com/2015/03/28/fast-and-free-presentations-with-haiku-deck/
http://www.customshow.com/best-powerpoint-alternatives-presentation-programs/
https://www.haikudeck.com/
https://www.prezi.com
http://prezi.com/iub46ivn2zat/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Answers to my original questions:
1. Yes!! There is so much more beyond Power Point.
2. I did not need to reach into my limited teacher budget.
3. That's right. Each of the tools I tried are FREE!
4. As far as my 4th grade summer school students go, yes, they were able to use Prezi presentations easily. They had no problem watching or re-watching the presentation.
5. My 4th grade summer school students truly used the tool. They asked for more visual presentations. I can't wait until I add to the art study collection for next summer.
6. Although I am learning a lot in the world of technology, I am definitely an amateur! I was able to navigate the tools and create with them. I was even able to upload images. All were user friendly.
7. You have to change settings to share your work publicly. If you don't change the setting it automatically saves to a private setting that only you can see.
8. I can see using this tool for math and language arts often. I would like to make them available to my students, so they can access them from home.
9. If my students have internet access, then they will be able to access my public library of Prezis. I will need to brainstorm the best way to organize them.
10. I can see students 3rd grade or higher access these tools from home. I can see a benefit to having these visual step-by-step prompts for all students. Since I am new to 1st grade, I will be learning what exactly my students would use in Prezi form. As I go through my first year in first grade I will be sharing visual tools through Pinterest.
Overall, this process has inspired me to not only be a tech savvy teacher, but a connected educator as well. I have always had a deep respect for those who remain learners. This experience has shown me that some are tech savvy, but some are learners and great collaborators. If not for their experiences which they were brave enough to share, I would have had a more difficult time through this process. I appreciate the bloggers and connected educators who share their experiences.
http://prezi.com/iub46ivn2zat/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy