My Showcase
Here is a showcase of artifacts I have created using various kinds of technology. I organized my artifacts into three categories: Online Communities, Technology Tools and Professional Development. I chose these categories because these are the 3 topics that I believe will improve my students' learning and understanding of the French language. As you browse through my showcase you will see various projects and tools that I have created that demonstrate my growth as a teacher/technology enthusiast.
If you would like to see the project as a whole simply click on the title or picture.
I hope you enjoy!
Online Communities
Flipped Classroom
Flipping my classroom has always been something I have wanted to try ever since starting out in the MAET program. The idea of students learning the content at home and spending class time practicing rather than taking notes provides so much more time to focus on project based learning (PBL) where students learn by doing. I created a Haiku website for one unit and tested it out with my students this year. They loved it! By spending our time in the classroom doing rather than learning they were able to delve deeper into the content and learn at their own pace.
Personal Learning Network
Web 2.0 provides so many opportunities to connect with others from around the world. I never realized how easy it was to find other people who were interested in the same things as I was when it came to technology in the classroom. By utilizing these sources I have been able to improve as a teacher. To showcase these sources I created my Personal Learning Network that highlights the different tools and resources I have found by using Web 2.0.
Blogs
Blogs had never been something I had been interested in creating until I saw what an amazing tool they can be in the classroom. Not only are blogs a great way to showcase what you know for others to use to improve their teaching they can also be a great way for your students to showcase their growth throughout the year. By having my students create a free blog using Blogger, Wix, Weebly or a site of their choosing they can then post their projects from the whole school year into one easy to access site. It's great for them to be able to see their progress throughout the year as well as their parents.
Technology Tools
Screencasts with Jing
Jing is a free download where you can create screencasts on any topic of your choosing. This is an amazing tool for the Flipped Classroom because you can transform the lessons you would typically do in class into a digital source that your students can play as many times as they need to. In the example I provided I turned a PowerPoint where I teach the passé composé that I would typically present in class into an online lesson. Another great way to use Jing is for tutorials on how to use different online resources. By having these step by step instructions at their fingertips the students don't have to rely on the teacher to give them the directions. Here is an example of a tutorial I created with Jing.
Podcasts
Podcasts can be a great way to showcase learning on a digital platform. In the example provided I created a podcast using Audacity where I interviewed two students asking them questions about language. In the podcast I presented the topic, included the interviews and examined their answers for misunderstandings. By examining these misunderstandings I am able to adjust my teaching in the future to account for these mistakes.
Digital Storytelling
Another amazing tool I have learned about is the idea of creating a digital story using iMovie. In my story I explain how I use the social constructivist theory to teach the past tense in French. If I applied this to the classroom I could see myself using this in two different ways. One would be putting it in the students' hands and having them create stories where they are speaking in French and have pictures and text that go along with their story. Another option is for me to use it in a Flipped Classroom to teach my lesson online. By using iMovie I have the ability to grab my students' attention using music, images, recordings and text in order to teach the content.
Professional Development
Edmodo Presentation
Along with a partner I created a presentation on how to use Edmodo for a professional development (PD) seminar. Edmodo is essentially an online classroom where students can post, comment and turn in assignments among many other things. Using Jing we created a virtual tutorial on how to set up an account and how to use its many features. As all teachers know, our time is precious, by converting this PD into a digital format it gives teachers the ability to watch it on their own time and rewatch any of the steps they need extra time with.
Wicked Problems
Using Audacity I created a podcast about a Wicked Problem I faced in my French class and presented ideas on how I could go about solving this problem using the Flipped Classroom design. I had many peers listen to my podcast and give me even more amazing ideas on how to solve my wicked problem. In regards to the professional development world, these types of podcasts could be used by teachers to present an issue and get feedback from others from many different contents on how to solve it.