February 1, 2012 was dubbed Digital Learning Day. Educators were challenged to use a different technology or present information in a digital way, maybe even branching out from the comfort-zone. My classroom had been reading The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel. We had read the book, colored clothing items, tried on winter clothing items, created a class book, and sequenced the story using a SMART Board lesson I had created last year. So, how could we "celebrate" Digital Learning Day and put a different twist on activities which my students were familiar?
I immediately thought of Prezi. The numbered "path" would be perfect to do as a sequencing activity. With Prezi on the SMART Board, each student could take a turn or two helping create the path to sequence our story simply by toughing the board. And that is how the activity began. For those you you not familiar with my classroom, take a peek at the About section of this blog to learn more. In short, my classroom is full of smart, funny, goofy kids who happen to learn a little differently. So, for this activity, I pushed my own fear and frustration of Prezi aside and jumped it! (My Prezi learning curve could be another blog post or 2.)
I create the Prezi by uploading pictures of the clothing items that I acquired from the Making Learning Fun website. I scattered the picture around so that were not in order and students would have to scan the screen to choose the correct picture. As a group, we read the story together. I displayed the Prezi on the SMART Board for class to see. Next, I demonstrated the use of the Prezi "path" explaining that the small pictures will show in order at the bottom. Then, I chose students to come up and help sequence the story. Due to using this with the SMART Board, all the students had to do was touch the pictures and the path would connect. Once the sequence (path) was complete, we played the story (presentation) back comparing it with book to see if we had it correct. I cleared path two times, giving all students multiple attempts to help with the activity at different parts of the sequence. This was the students' first experience with Prezi and my first time using it as a teaching tool. I will definitely do it again. It is perfect for sequencing and the playback feature is great for comprehension.
The next big step was for me to explore ways to make this sequencing activity tie into the book even more. Let's make it into an audio/video book! Thanks to my handy MSU classes, I was recently introduced to jing and Screencast-O-Matich. Both online screencasting tools. PERFECT for adding the audio to the already sequenced book. So.....
1 Prezi + 1 Screencast-O-Matic + nice headset/microphone =
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow audio/video book! (click here to view in YouTube)
This activity turned out better than I had expected. Preparation took a little time and the creation of the screencast took a couple takes, but the final product is something that the students will enjoy. This is especially the case since they help create it. This type of language arts adaptation would be perfect in any classroom looking for find ways to incorporate all learners. This audio and visual representation of material directly relates to the UDL principles from CAST. It would also be a great option for digital storytelling or when creating a multimedia presentation.
Please share your thoughts! What did you do for #DLDay??
~ Melanie
I immediately thought of Prezi. The numbered "path" would be perfect to do as a sequencing activity. With Prezi on the SMART Board, each student could take a turn or two helping create the path to sequence our story simply by toughing the board. And that is how the activity began. For those you you not familiar with my classroom, take a peek at the About section of this blog to learn more. In short, my classroom is full of smart, funny, goofy kids who happen to learn a little differently. So, for this activity, I pushed my own fear and frustration of Prezi aside and jumped it! (My Prezi learning curve could be another blog post or 2.)
I create the Prezi by uploading pictures of the clothing items that I acquired from the Making Learning Fun website. I scattered the picture around so that were not in order and students would have to scan the screen to choose the correct picture. As a group, we read the story together. I displayed the Prezi on the SMART Board for class to see. Next, I demonstrated the use of the Prezi "path" explaining that the small pictures will show in order at the bottom. Then, I chose students to come up and help sequence the story. Due to using this with the SMART Board, all the students had to do was touch the pictures and the path would connect. Once the sequence (path) was complete, we played the story (presentation) back comparing it with book to see if we had it correct. I cleared path two times, giving all students multiple attempts to help with the activity at different parts of the sequence. This was the students' first experience with Prezi and my first time using it as a teaching tool. I will definitely do it again. It is perfect for sequencing and the playback feature is great for comprehension.
The next big step was for me to explore ways to make this sequencing activity tie into the book even more. Let's make it into an audio/video book! Thanks to my handy MSU classes, I was recently introduced to jing and Screencast-O-Matich. Both online screencasting tools. PERFECT for adding the audio to the already sequenced book. So.....
1 Prezi + 1 Screencast-O-Matic + nice headset/microphone =
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow audio/video book! (click here to view in YouTube)
This activity turned out better than I had expected. Preparation took a little time and the creation of the screencast took a couple takes, but the final product is something that the students will enjoy. This is especially the case since they help create it. This type of language arts adaptation would be perfect in any classroom looking for find ways to incorporate all learners. This audio and visual representation of material directly relates to the UDL principles from CAST. It would also be a great option for digital storytelling or when creating a multimedia presentation.
Please share your thoughts! What did you do for #DLDay??
~ Melanie