Unfortunately, I am not finding the information and resources I need with my goal of incorporating epals. Responses to my requests to collaborate, using epal, has not proven successful thus far. I still am unable to access the personal emails sent by people registered on epals. Because this source does not seem reliable enough for my needs, I decided to alter my original GAME plan. Although students will not be able to write to other students across the nation, they can still share about our school community to a world- wide audience. Using the following website, created by Richardson, http://myschool.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Schools_in_Minnesota, I plan to have students create a wiki page about our school. When I looked, there is not a Minnesota school listed on this wiki site. Students can look at a variety of ways students created their wiki page about their school. It allows easy access to downloading videos and pictures. This option is more promising, as it offers a reliable, trusted authentic environment.
Progress on my goal to increase my knowledge using iPods has been slow. I called the Apple store to set up an one-one-one appointment. They did not have me registered; as my activation code did not go through. I spent half an hour on the phone trying to get it all settled. My goal is to schedule an appointment with in the next week.
I have developed a list of what I’d like to accomplish with the consultant. First, I want to upgrade my educational applications on the iPod. I want to research the latest educational applications that relate to reading and writing. I also want help transferring students’ work from the iPods onto desktop computers. Next, I want help using software to edit videos and publishing them to the internet. Finally, I want to become more familiar with different ways the iPod could be used in the classroom.
Through this process I have learned the best looking plan means nothing unless it can effectively implemented. This is true of my epals goal. The novel idea of corresponding with others around the globe in real time was appealing. However, the logistics of making this happen were not practical. The many glitches I encountered, without the kind of expert support I needed to trouble shoot, lead me to alter my plan. One thing I need to account for in the future is the kind of support that I will have access to when using a resource.
New questions that have resulted from my GAME plan revolve around the word ‘how?’ How do I use the resources, once I have understood how they work? How will I effectively teach students to use these resources? How will I maintain my knowledge and keep up with the evolving state of these resources? How will I know that the resource is positively impacting and enhancing students’ understanding of concepts?
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Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI am really impressed with your post this week. This clearly did not go the way that you had planned in your GAME plan, but did you let that slow you down? No way! You were creative and found an entirely new avenue, and I think that your students will have a lot of fun creating a wiki about their school for an authentic audience. It is difficult when our own plans rely on others' help, as they so often do. As teachers, one thing we have a shortage of is time :) To sit on hold can be quite frustrating, but at least your part is ready, you have your list of questions, and you set to go! Your post demonstrates a good lesson that we all need to keep on mind: we need to remember that our GAME plans are not set in stone, and that when there is a set back, we need to be creative and find a way around it! Good luck!
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteWow! I, too, am impressed at your progress thus far! I am sure that your perseverance and dedication will certainly be rewarded by your students' movies and contributions toward their class wiki! As my cooperating teacher advised, you must hope for best, but plan for the worst and always be ready to adapt your lesson when life intervenes. At times, this means we must throw our hard work and preparation out the window when life inevitably happens, and uncontrollable forces intervene. I am sure that your positive outlook and dedication speaks to your students as well. Overall, your revised plan sounds like an excellent learning opportunity for your students!
I recently bought a Mac and am also interested in learning more about creating movies and helping my students to develop their own movie-making skills. While I have only minimal experience with IMovie, my understanding is that you can create movies and then select the movie title and go to the SHARE tab. If you choose youtube, your video will be uploaded and you can choose the size of your movie, the topic of your movie, and any tags you would like added. Best of all, you can actually send an email to your contact list with the announcement that the movie has been posted online.
I was able to access the IMovie tutorial site simply by opening the program on my Mac. Here is the link that provides step-by-step directions for making movies, uploading images to create a movie, and publishing the movies on line: http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/?sr=app#imovie-intro.
I hope this link helps you to achieve your GAME plan goals!
Best of luck,
Melissa