Our site has a major need for units that can be accessed independently, involves student choice, allows students to use new technologies and allows us as teachers to work with students one-on-one or in small breakout groups rather than lecture an entire class. Starting at the end of last year, I spent a lot of time thinking about web-based units that were big picture. The online programs our site has access to are not only difficult to maneuver but also extremely boring. Our students, most of which are reluctant learners would become frustrated with the online courses and simply not do them. The programs are very text heavy so literacy skills were a prerequisite to being able to access the content, which didn't fly for everyone. I knew that there has to be a better way to meet the needs of our students who might not be able to come to school everyday but still has the desire to keep pace and work towards graduation.
Transliteracy is a term that is fairly new to me, but something I have been working towards this current year. During this shift my goal is to create a product that allows students to access information and content in non traditional-ways and the ideas of being transliterate and tech flexible emerge. Picking the brains of students yields so much information. Often times I ask where they got their information from and often times the response is a video (through various platforms). Why haven't I created more videos in the past as a learning tool? Using Google Classroom as a base platform to present content allows the information and tasks to be accessed digitally, from anywhere. That is step one. But how do we put students in charge of their own learning? Transparency has been a word I have tossed around with staff lately. I want students to be able to envision the end product, to know what we are asking them to do, be able to personalize it and know why we are asking them to do it. A jump off point for our students was the idea of digital portfolios. Since we have been credit-based for the last couple of years (no grades are given) we need a way for students to show off their learning in other ways than just a number attached to their GPA. The prototype of a digital portfolio was born and what better resource to use than one that we has Cohort 14 are being asked to use, Weebly. Some concerns I have moving forward with this unit design is:
3 Comments
Stephanie Jones
4/20/2018 05:16:02 pm
Creating lot of screen casts and videos is great! The use of technology tools like Vizia that allow you to insert questions to your video I'm sure helps with student engagement. I think that you are headed in the right direction. Weebly is overwhelming at first, but if students are using it in multiple classes, year after year it will become easier. When teaching 3rd grade, there are a lot of things that we are just starting to introduce when it comes to technology. Students take these newly learned skills and build on them every year. The same will go with your students. The first year will be the hardest and then each year will become easier. I know that I have even seen that with my little guys. They are entering 3rd grade with more computer skill than in years past, making it faster to teach new technology skills or programs. Good luck!
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Jane Adams Gallagher
4/21/2018 08:51:49 pm
Digital portfolios sound like a good way to keep track of student work and show off what they have accomplished.
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Christina Schreiber
4/24/2018 08:35:19 am
I find it so interesting that students turn to video to learn something. It makes sense, that is what I typically do as well. The focus on our end user has been very helpful to me. I feel that I have often been designing learning experiences without truly thinking about my end user. I think the idea of a digital portfolio is a great idea and I am sure your tech savvy students will pick up weebly very quickly. If not, there are lots of video tutorials on it!
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AuthorHello, I'm Joe. Welcome to writings about my thought process throughout the journey of Touro's Innovative Learning Graduate Program. Archives
July 2018
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