GBAPS is full of amazing educators who want to create phenomenal experiences for their students. Over the past two years I have worked with a number of teachers who have created opportunities for their students to shine. Here are some of the examples of the work students have created. I plan to continue to add new samples to share what teachers are doing in our buildings.
There is also a Google+ community created to share technology lessons and ideas that you can explore to see what colleagues have done with their students. Click on the link above to visit this community. You will need to be logged into your GBAPS Google Account.
Elementary Projects
Book Reviews Students recorded book recommendations for books they were reading. They used iPads but could also use Chromebooks to record their reviews. With the videos created and uploaded to Google Drive, we are able to create QR codes that connect to the video. You can then tape the QR onto the book so other students can hear their peers reviews. Book Review Example
Weather Report This project was really fun to work on especially because I got to work so closely with these students. We used Photobooth on a Macbook to create a green screen effect, (but now have access to a green screen) when recording. Then we were able to add images of the weather events the students selected. Next we worked with the students to place the images in the video to match their audio/scripts. Student Weather Report Example
Author Skype Students get excited when there is a quest speaker. What if this person was the author of their favorite books? What if you could bring in an expert into your classroom? Sometimes it isn't possible to bring someone into your class room face to face or in person. Technology allows us to make these connections and create these experiences through video conferencing. In this case we used Skype, we also have Google Hangouts available to create video conferencing activities. Author Skype Example
EXIT Tickets Want to check for student understanding but looking for a new way to do it? Try using "twitter" or other social media as the basis for your formative check in. If you click the Twitter example below you can use the template to create your own exit ticket for your students. Ashlee Resch had her students share their understanding about government using 140 characters and the Twitter Template below. She created a slide for each student in the same presentation to allow all of the students to see their classmates work. You could have students do this individually, have them take a screen shot or download the slide as an image, and then post them to a padlet where you could organize the ideas by category.
Facebook status check-ins. I have shared the Facebook Google Slides presentation previously, but adjusted it to serve as just a status check. Students could add their own background image and picture to personalize the template and then duplicate that slide several times before adding text. Have students share their understanding, a question, or other information in a new format. Students can submit via Google Classroom, or create a screenshot of the slide to be used in another activity. They can also use the full version of the Facebook presentation to demonstrate their understanding of a topic they are learning about.
Middle School Projects
Choir Example Using Twisted Wave an application accessed on Chromebooks, the teacher recorded students singing in order to evaluate their individual progress. Each student recorded themselves signing, saved it to their Google Drive and the teacher was able to hear each individual student. Student Example
Conversations This example is similar to the choir example. We placed a Chromebook in the middle of the student group and turned on Twisted Wave to record their conversation. The outcome was very interesting. Students asked to re-record their ideas because they weren't satisfied with how well they expressed their ideas. Conversation Example Math Math is an area I continue to look for ways to connect technology. One example I am really excited about is the use of Google Drawing and Screencasting software. Students were provided a problem by the teachers and were asked to solve the problem while they recorded themselves explaining their thinking. I really like this because the teacher not only sees whether or not the student got the correct answer, they can hear the students thought process. Math example
Presentations Teachers want students to present their mastery of content. We ask them to create oral reports, often times shared with their classmates from in front of the whole class. Here is an example of using a Google Presentation Template that is very unique. It creates a presentation that looks more like a museum. Another aspect of this project is that the students who created this example went home and recorded themselves performing a song that I used to create a video of their presentation. We also worked on sharing student presentations using Google Forms so students would view some but not all of the presentations. Museum Presentation
High School Projects
This year is my first time working with High School Teachers at GBAPS so I will update this section as more examples become available.
Virtual Reality
Have you ever wanted to travel somewhere, or take your students on a field trip but weren't able to? With Virtual Reality you can. Well, at least the visual experience of being at exotic destinations. With the Virtual Reality kits that the district has purchased, we have been able to provide students opportunities they would otherwise never get to experience. Virtual Reality has allowed students to travel underwater to see creatures that most of us will never get to see up close. They are able to travel to Antarctica, and experience life there without having to endure the cold arctic temperatures. Students can explore the inner workings of the human body, or travel to exotic places. Virtual Reality provides a unique learning experience. We are currently in the introductory phase of VR with our kits. Later this year we should have some available to schedule experiences in classrooms.
Check out some of the examples of VR experiences at GBAPS so far at our Google+ Community.
Exploration with my kids
I often experiment with technology with my own kids. I sometimes try things out on them first, and other times they are the beneficiary of activities that happen at school.
I included a few examples of projects we worked on. One of the biggest takeaways from these activities is seeing the learning going on with my own kids. I showed them how to do it and then they took over. The stop motion videos they wanted to take the camera and take the pictures themselves. They wanted to be in charge of their project. I also saw problem solving as we learned how close or far away we had to be to the items we were filming.
We have also been working on reading. I have one child who loves reading and one who it has been a chore to get her to read. Recently I started recording her reading. This is something that I have done with students that I work with in a few different projects. I decided to try this with her and she has asked several times for me to take out the computer and record her. She at times has not wanted to stop when her reading time is up. Here are a few examples of her reading on the left below and her older sister no the right.