I’m 27 years old and I have just finished my 5th year teaching, so I would consider myself a relatively young teacher. This year I am celebrating my 10 year high school reunion which always elicits a number of feelings, some are nostalgic about the good ole days, and others make me laugh thinking about how much has changed in the past 10 years. I remember the dilemma I had after graduating high school as to whether I wanted a cell phone. I have always been a very self-conscious of my actions and I have always been very leery about becoming too narcissistic. Today I can sit back laugh at my self debate over whether I needed a cell phone. To think about where society has come in the past 10 years can almost be overwhelming. Today children want cell phones in primary school. They want Facebook pages even earlier and after looking through Professor Arnold’s resources this week Kindergarteners are twittering. I was a much different high learner compared to my students, and once again I would be considered a newer teacher. The way students learn has always changed and the past decade has been a testament to this belief. Students in the past 10 years have become social learners. They learn best when being put in a social setting. Whether they are collaborating, or one student is teaching others, as long as students are social they are building meaningful learning experiences.
A few resources from this past week are great examples of using technology to provide valuable learning experiences for today’s learners. One particular resource which I enjoyed was the voicethread collaborative tool. This is a great example of using a social medium to encourage collaboration. Another social media tool I have used in the past is Glogster. This is where students can create interactive posters with videos and a bunch of other great features. This can be used in my classroom in place of students creating a WWII propaganda poster. Instead, I can encourage student motivation through providing them with an opportunity to be technologically creative.
Glogster seems like a great tool I have never heard of it but I will be looking it up as soon as I finish this post. What are some strengths and weaknesses that you see with it? Could it eventually replace informational posters in the class? How long does it take to get used to the program?
ReplyDeleteYou provided us with a great example of how technology and learners have changed drastically over the past decade. This whole idea of students being social learners brings me back to Dede discussing millennial learners. He argues that this generation of learners thinks collectively and that they will need collaboration and critical thinking skills more than ever in the future workplace (Laureate Education, 2010). Cooperative learning then, is a great social learning instructional strategy to use, as it will better prepare students for collaboration in future work scenarios.
ReplyDeleteLaureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.
Jared,
ReplyDeleteWow....I just checked out Glogster and I love it! I'm glad you mentioned it in your post. Professor Arnold had mentioned it in the discussion board and I simply bookmarked the site to check out later. I'm glad I took the time to check it out and can't wait to have my students use it during our last few weeks of school. I am thinking of having them create a Glog for the incoming 4th graders. I can share these with my new students on our move-up day and with families. Glogs are social learning at its finest! This truly transforms the traditionally poster creation and presentation. Glogster will provide our students with a cooperative learning activity that will allows students to be prepared for the ever-changing workplace.
~Kristi~
Jared,
ReplyDeleteI do not teach history, but I was thinking about the huge impact it could be to use VoiceThreads to do group presentations. By allowing the students to make their presentation at home and getting the chance to edit it, you would be sure that you were getting their best effort. Many students cannot preform well in front of an audience (which must be learned), so by allowing them to talk in a less stressful situation you could unlock their ability to communicate clearly. From there, you could play them in class and have the class comment and discuss it or you could have them do it all online. What are your thoughts about it?
John,
ReplyDeleteThe thought of using voicethreads has definitely crossed my mind. The use of PowerPoints in classrooms are overdone and they turn into very boring presentations. I will be using a voicethread activities in my class to replace PowerPoint presentations.
Mr. Fitch,
ReplyDeleteI think Glogster will without a doubt replace the basic informational posters I have used in the past. I messed around with the website for about half an hour and I came away extremely impressed with many of its capabilities and interactive features.