Digital Story

I created my digital story using iMovie and chose to make the video into a virtual field trip to the post office.



What went well:

• I liked the click and drag features built into iMovie that made many components easy to complete.  
• I created the movie ahead of time with little instruction, and I am very satisfied with the final product.
• I am glad that we learned about copyright laws because it is something that I did not know specifics about before and may not have complied with.
• I enjoyed choosing the topic, getting to go take pictures, and completing the creative project.

And not so well:

• Finding free, copyright free music that complimented the video was very difficult.
• Perfecting the zoom feature and timing on each photo was also tricky and more time consuming than many of the other steps.  

Potential uses in my future classroom:

• More virtual field trips
• Biographies
• Covering historical events
• Having the students create autobiographies to get to know each other

Overall, this project turned out better than I thought.  It was difficult selecting a topic, but once I decided it went pretty quick. The program itself was very user friendly and I enjoyed completing the movie.

ActivInspire Flipcharts

This week we completed our work in ActivInspire, the software that is used to create flipcharts and other projects for the Promethean Board.  Flipcharts are similar to PowerPoints in that they have several pages.  However, they can be interactive which adds a lot to a lesson.  I created a flipchart on 3rd grade multiplication.  Here is the title page and an example of an interactive page within the flipchart:

Students can drag the numbers and symbols from the cloud into place, use the pen to write, and drag infinite copies of the seashell to solve equations.

What went well:

• I found this to be very useful.  If I ever find myself in a classroom with a promethean board, I will be very glad I am familiar with the accompanying software.
• The software, although I had some issues with it on my computer, is free!
• I thought the process was enjoyable and fun getting to decorate, select images, brainstorm ways to make the lesson interactive, etc. 

And not so well:

• Because this project is fairly new to TPTE 486, there were questions that the instructors did not know the answer to which I feel created some confusion.
• I had some issues with the software on my personal computer, which certainly could be an operator error, but I will have to figure this out if I ever need to use it in the future.

Potential uses in my classroom:

I plan to have a very hands-on, active classroom whenever possible.  I think this is a great way to incorporate interactive elements into a lesson using technology as opposed to spending money on tangible materials.  I would not use it as a substitute in every case, but it is a good option to have!  Some uses might include:

• other types of math lessons using the drag a copy option, etc.
• vocabulary lessons
• labeling parts of a plant or other diagrams in science
• literature supplements
• anything really!

I enjoyed learning this program and feel that it is one I definitely see myself using in the future (as long as I have access to a Promethean Board of course!).

Digital Diagrams

For this assignment, we learned how to use Inspiration9 to create digital diagrams to organize information for various lessons.  I chose to do mine for a 3rd grade lesson on rock types:

What went well:

• I enjoyed the program and thought it was easy to learn and navigate.
• There were many great images and educational elements built into the system, so I did not have to go out to find pictures, for example, of the three rock types.
• I could realistically see myself using this in my classroom one day for creating graphic organizers for students to fill in, making digital diagrams similar to this one, and even having my students use it as well.
• I enjoyed spending time working on this project because I am a creative, visual learner myself so it was enjoyable being able to organize information in this way and envision myself teaching it one day.

And not so well:

• The project became a little tedious at times while trying to do things such as space things evenly, adding small text for linking words, etc.
• I ran into some trouble in the beginning trying to find appropriate content that would be enhanced by digital diagram such as this.  Once I found a good topic with subtopics and details, the diagram was easy to envision. 
• It helped to focus on the important details, but choosing the brief phrasing to put into the boxes was difficult at times as well. 

Potential uses in my classroom:

I definitely see myself using digital diagrams and graphic organizers in my classroom because as I mentioned above, I am a visual learners and having information presented in a brief, organized, visually pleasing way is very helpful to me.  I think it will also be beneficial to many of my students as well as aid my instruction of various lessons. Some specific examples include:

• Other science topics like the rocky types that include categories such as types of animals or plants, climates, etc.
• Character maps for stories we read
• Having the students use Inspiration or Kidspiration to create their own diagrams

Overall, I did enjoy completing this project.  I hope, and think, that as my teaching career progresses I will recognize content that lends itself to specific teaching methods.  As I learn more useful tools such as Inspiration, I will be able to select effective means of instruction which will benefit my students and their learning.