Peer Coaching Video

I came across this little gem in my archive of files and liked the way we used technology to not only develop as students but to also help in the development of our school's staff. Last year, my principal asked if I could give a short presentation on how I was using Literature Circles and peer coaching in my reading classroom for an upcoming in-service. Of course I agreed to do it, but we wanted to put a little spin on things. The kids were excited about creating a short presentation for all the teachers. Students in my group were beginning to get pretty good at creating a podcast and wanted to try to make a movie. So, with a little digital camera and Windows Movie Maker, we created a short 5 minute video about our Literature Circles. The students filmed all the scenes themselves and narrated it as well. They also had a hand in writing the script too, but I did some modifying of my own. We used a small MP3 to create the narrations and then placed them and the video clips into Movie Maker and *poof*. We are finished! The movie worked out great as it incorporated our Literature groups without a disruption, helped us work on some much needed writing, and gave us the opportunity to practice some 20th Century skills as well.

I am hoping to be able to create more movies like this during the upcoming school year. We tried our hand at making stop motion movies over a novel we read which seemed to take way longer than anticipated or needed. We might try to create some live action movies this year instead. I think it would also be really neat for students to create a video over stories their reading, research projects, science experiments, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Make the Most of Teaching Time

With time being such a coveted commodity in a classroom, we teachers try to make use of every single minute that can. How many times how you told the class, "I'm going to give you 5 minutes to finish up before moving on to our next task," and then 10 minutes later realize that they are still working? Are you sick and tired of buying those expensive overhead timers whose batteries die before one semester of school is up or your overhead lamp turns the LCD screen dark? I for one, fall into both of those categories.
Well, here's some help for us all. It's a little web site called online-stopwatch.com. Through this website, you are given a flash stopwatch and timer than can be used to keep track of time so that you don't get off track again. And the best part about it, is that it's FREE! And who, as a teacher, doesn't like things that are free?

Online-stopwatch offers a variety of online timers ranging from your basic countdown timer, to an hourglass, and even (the kid's favorite) a bomb that burns a wick until the time expires. Another plus, is that they are all very easy to set. To get the full benefit of the application you could click to make it as a full screen. Depending on what resources you have available to you through your district, this timer can be shown via a projector or (as in my district) over our Safari television system so that the students can monitor their own time as well. If you don't have those resources, perhaps justing setting it to a classroom computer that students can see on "Full Screen" mode would work just as well. You can also download the timers to your computer for uses in other places as well, such as presentations, classes, workshops, etc. Be sure to turn up the volume so you can hear the timer go off - which sounds like a telephone ringing. Be aware however that all the timers have the same "ring" to signify the time being up, much to the dismay of my students who were very much looking forward to a bomb sound when it's timer went off. Another word of warning, upon seeing these timers for the first time (especially the aforementioned bomb), students like counting down to the end. I suggest showing them the timers first, let them get their counting out of the way, and then set your expectations of the use of the timer in your classroom. Eventually students will get used to you using the application.

This website has been very helpful for myself and students in my classroom as it is a good way to manage and make the most out of our time. I don't have to worry about buying new batteries for it and it won't break (unless the site decides to start charging people for the service). It has been very helpful for journaling time, timed math tests, Kagan structures, and any other classroom activity that requires a timer. If you really wanted to find some uses, since it does count off to the nearest thousandth of a second, one could stop the clock periodically and have students name the place value as a quick math review. Several of the teachers in my building have found this to be an invaluable tool for them to use in their classrooms.

Easy Blogging for Anyone?

For anyone who's wanted to try blogging in the classroom knows that it has it's limitations.
1. Students have problems typing and it takes them forever.
2. When they do type it's about three basic sentences long.

So, with the help of a web application maybe it is possible for all students and all grade levels to work on a blog and even post to their own blog. listen *

With the website, Jott.com, bloggers can use a phone to call in an entry and their call is then transcribed into text and posted to their personal blog. The limitation to this being that, a "jott" (the term used for the phone call) can only be a maximum of 30 secs long. Not very long, but when a kids begins talking, sometimes 30 sec is enough. You are also given the chance to listen to the call through the blog itself. You can click the link above to hear my first attempt.

So, what are the benefits of this type of web application in the classroom? Foremost, this app has just made it possible for practically anyone to blog. Now bloggers can be anyone, from Kindergarten and Special Education students, ESL students, and even a jumping off point for those less than reluctant teachers to start a blog. Anyone interested in using this application simply can go to the website and sign up for a free account. However, there is a little bit of trouble in making sure your posts go to your blog, but with the help of the forums and on-site help menus, this is easily taken care of as well. You will need to know the ID code for your blog which is easy to find, as it shows up whenever you post a new entry, but this will take some looking on the users part to get it. That is the most difficult part of the setup, so once you've got it, it's smooth sailing from then on out. Also, it's important to note that before calling, you might want to have a rehearsed "speech" in your head so that you aren't stumbling over your words, thus allowing more speech to text time. Again you can listen to my attempt as a prime example.

While there is a lot of potential to the application, there is also some possible, but easy, obstacles to overcome. Other than the 30 second limitation, there is also some editing that would need to be done. With the voice to text technology, obviously there are going to be some mistakes. But, who says that this wouldn't be a great opportunity for some peer editing practice? We can find a lesson in everything can't we?

Imagine the excitement and pride of a Kindergarten, 1st grade, or Special Needs parent to go to their child's blog and read a poem they've written or maybe even a daily journal entry? Wow!

I want to give a special thanks to mrkimmi for referring me to this website that could quite possibly have a lot of potential in the classroom. With blogs being a more widely used tool in the classroom for a variety of reasons, Jott.com has just made it easier for a wider variety of people to get in touch with the technology around them.

* The point in which my 30 sec call was up. Maybe a little more of a rehearsed call would allow for more script.

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