At our school we are set up with technology, although we haven't up to this point fully integrated into our classrooms. I have used you tube/facebook and a few other sources. I am going to research Poll Everwhere and a few others that I have read through responses. I would like to know if I only have access to 1 computer, projector and students only have there smart phones, are there any other resources that you know of that I can research!
At my work we have all created work FB accounts. We have found it a lot easier to communicate with our Graduates. We can send them messages, post new job leads, and talk to them vs asking them to return our calls. This has been very successful for everyone who started using FB to reach our students and Graduates.
Suzie Boozell
provide a complex and realistic learning environment in the classroom
gain knowledge from reflecting on life experiences
group collaboration
multimedia-rich presentations
make real-world connecuions
create a bridge between traditional classroom practices and constructivist practices
All of the above concepts are threads that I visit to allow students to participate in their learning--it certainly wakes them up!
I assembled a jeopardy game for hydraulics class to utilize as a course review. The student engagement through the exercise where I break the class into two teams to come up with questions to the answers is remarkable. Also I found a site Study stack.com where I could assemble questions I can put together and the students be able to access on their own from home. the site offers games they can play with the questions flashcards, hangman etc. It is used extensively in my course.
Hi Theresa,I teach a culinary class and aside from the slides and videos, when we're in demo or lecture, and there's question on a technique or procedure that I don't have ingredients for,You Tubes has helped to engage the student.Or sometimes the first one to pull it off their iphone gets out of cleaning that day.
Craig,
I bet getting out of cleaning is a big a deal after a messy day in the kitchen! Excellent incentive.
Theresa Schmitt
Technology can be a problem with corporate limitations but I try as often as possible to understand Gen X and Y students style of gathering information by how they use social media. Youtube videos are usually no more than a couple of minutes long. Twitter has limited characters for each post. Vine and Snapchat videos are very short. Learners today get their information in short bursts so that is how I have changed my teaching style. I no longer have long lectures without asking them to look up something on their phones, or showing them a video, or moving to another part of the room so their attention follows me. I will show a youtube clip of not only how to properly do a technique but also a few minutes later show one of how someone does a technique completely wrong. Anything to keep their attention!
One word: tablets. The portability coupled with the interactivity makes a powerful combination for both types of learners (audio & visual). Plus, there's the potential for immediate feedback if there's an assessment of skills. With the introduction of tablets into elementary education, this new technology will soon be ubiquitous in all levels of education.
Even for adult learners who have yet to embrace the technology, tablets offer an efficient and engaging instructional interface that's easy to learn.
I incorporate YOUTUBE videos on experts mentioned in the textbook while lecturing. It gives the expert a face and makes them real to the student. Additionally, we will look at websites of companies we are discussing in class. I have also asked students to reach out to the companies via email to answers questions they may have. I really just try to encourage the students to not be scared to interact.
Thank you for the great tip! I just accessed study stack and almost forgot to post! It is so important to make learning fun, and relevent. Apps and websites geared for learning and applying learned concepts are invaluable to educators. Realizing students ability to "log on" is slao important. Bring these resources to the classroom so every student has the ability to try them for themselves.
A phone app. is Kitchen Calc. It is $1.99 as compared to a a calculator for $15.00. This is good for conversions in math class.
I have found using interactive review quizzes a great tool to ensuring comprehension of the subject matter. Students take the quiz and are then provided immediate feedback. If they are correct they are given an explanation as to why. If they mark incorrect, an explanation as to why is given and then the question if put back into the queue until they successfully pass each question. This reinforced the topics and makes the exercise that much more engaging as opposed to text on the screen as a learning tool.
We are a automotive training school. One of the things I do is to have them look up new auto technologies that may or may not be out yet and report out on it. So there always on the internate looking and I have to be on too to keep ahead of them on it.
Teaching high performance engines, we use a program that allows the student to try a variety of different combinations to produce the desired result. After the basic information is given in lecture and handouts describing the program and the expectations, students see how the concepts work. Once the basic objective is achieved, baseline, it is easier for the student to see how the details and thus the reasons engines can be built to perform at a higher level with more efficiency.
I am most interested in incorporating videos and links in my PowerPoint presentations. I also plan to look into Prezi and Adobe Captivate to potentially enliven some presentations that miss the "engaging" mark.
I am also interested in the collaborative tools and will research more on Evernote and Zoho Notebook.
Smartphones have been both relevant and successful in engaging learners. They are convenient to carry and allows access to the internet anytime, anyplace. Virtual learning is becoming the rule today and it is driven by technology. Smartphones will play a pivotal role in advancing virtual learning.
Edward,
Excellent! I always embed videos and links into my PowerPoint presentations just to break the monotony- for the students and for myself. I find after lecturing for more than 15 minutes or so students need a bit of visual stimulation. Videos do a great job of reinforcing the topics covered that class.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I have had some success with on-line quizzes (especially in saving class time). However there have been negatives there as well.
I also have had success in having students use various techniques during presentations to the class - powerpoint, videos embedded in powerpoint, videos found on-line, audio clips found on-line, etc. - It does appear that when using technology using the student's brains and ideas add a lot to the mix.
fast paced up to date video.
I think that iphones have open up the world and my students i ask my class to look up somthing on there phone and we make a a race.
