A sound of exuberance exploded from room 12. Arms waving, voices cheering, faces full of pride and delight. Were we watching a Canucks win? Did we win the lottery? No…we had just guessed the location of the school from our first Mystery Skype!
This Digital Literacy Coach & Engaging the Digital Learner series experiences so far has me communicating and gathering some fabulous ideas from people I would otherwise have not met and putting some of those ideas into action has engaged my students in learning. So far this has been an enriching experience for both myself and my students.
A quick summary of what our grade 5/6 class has been experimenting with so far. The students have been using technology to share research through Powerpoint, retelling novels using ComicLife and their ipads, work on mapping and teamwork through Mystery Skype, sharing ideas and group brainstorming using Today’s Meet, have just completed their first school wide ‘lipdub’, and are starting to use KidsBlog to share their writing online. They are LOVING it!
Other teachers willing to let me use their names and who are pursuing their tech savvy have been mixing technology and education in our school:
Our band teacher, Ben Heard, has been creating you tube videos of himself playing the ukulele so that the students can practice from home. The students sound better than ever.
In French Immersion, Patricia Barkley, has the students using the laptops and comic life to show their learning about their pet snails in class. Their class also uses podcasts to share ideas.
Various teachers and support staff have been supporting students with special needs by using laptop and ipad programs such as Inspiration, Word, ComicLife, Garageband, Powerpoint as well as various other apps.
Personally, I’m excited to see how much more this non-savvy tech teacher can evolve through this experience and to see how it engages my students in taking charge of enriching their own educational experience.