We're getting there!
Tonight I’m sitting here shaking my head at all the amazing things that teachers are doing this year and how we are changing the way we use technology. Teachers continue to find great ways to incorperate these new tools. Here is a look at some of the great things happening as my school.
First let’s start with my 7th Graders who today finished their Digital Stories. The assignment: Create a 1 minute message that informs or teaches people how to be safe on the Internet. We have a school youtube account (that’s right most schools are blocking Youtube and we have a school wide account to share our videos at!) So after you watch the video below head on over to http://www.youtube.com/user/saschool and check out the other 20 videos that have been uploaded so far.
Then after you’ve done that you might want to head over to our 5th grade blogs. Check out Mrs. Power’s blog and read some of the 5th grade blogs she has listed under her Blogroll. Tomorrow another class of 5th graders will upload their first podcasts to their blogs: Some poems they’ve remixed..so be looking for those as well.
And then what every Principal should be required to do. Today I had meetings all day and couldn’t create our weekly podcast with the 5th graders. So I asked my Principal Andy Torris if he would help out, handed him my iPod with the Belkin TuneTalk Stereo attached and told him to go on a walk about. How cool is this podcast and why aren’t more principals doing this as a way to communicate with their community?
To think that a year and a half ago when I came here non of this was going on. That technology was not getting out side the labs and that the 45 minutes elementary kids had once a week was basically technology. From that to a school that is bursting with excitement and teachers who are looking, asking, and hungry for ways to incorporate these tools into their teaching and learning, engaging students in fun ways within the learning process.
As I said three times today…it’s not about technology…we’re talking learning!
Enjoy!
[tags]School2.0, SAS[/tags]
Technorati Tags: sas, andytorris, jeffutecht, digitalstories, school2.0
Jeff,
I know how it has happened, it is called insiration and it is exactly what each Teachnology (no not a typo) Facilitator/Director/Coordinator, what have you, should be doing with their staff. You have managed to light the fire and it has taken off in your school. This, more than anything else, should be the one thing that you look back at with the most pride. Not everyone has it in them to be a dynamic leader. Kudos. On a similar not, I just helped my wife the MS ESL specialist help her kids make their first podcast. She is so geeked on the idea know that she is basically designing her class around the podcasting as it is perfectly suited for the needs of her ESL students. Granted it is a little rough as a first try, but it is there and I am really proud of her and her kids for pulling this off. The link is
http://sharkscast.blogspot.com/
Two weeks ago she had no idea that Audacity was a program and now she is using it more proficiently than me. As far as I know it is the first podcast done here at the school, but that is not what I am most proud about. What brings me the greatest joy is that my wife before this had no idea what a blog was, nor podcast, nor audacity, nothing. She was someone who was reluctant to use technology in her teaching because she herself wasn’t comfortable, you might say a Technophobe. For me to get her to do this stuff is the most amazing because I know if she can do it and the other staff see that she can do it, than it is my hope that I will have a hundred emails this week from people saying, “I want to do that too, can you show me how”? As far as the youtube thing goes, any tips you can give me to take to my administration/board since they are not receptive to the idea of allowing this to be unblocked/used at our school? Anything that you can offer in terms of support for our argument why we should be able to access it aside from the obvious would be fantastic.
Cheers, Jeff Dungan
How inspirational and exciting! It is exciting to see what is happening in your classrooms. Digital storytelling is a powerful medium to create incredible opportunities for learning in the classroom. I’m the newest subscriber of your channel!
Jeff,
Great stuff man! These types of posts are my absolute favorite in the blogosphere. The transfer of project ideas I think is the most infectious way to spread the 2.0 message, in web or school versions. Teachers, like most other professionals, love to see what other teachers are doing, and, more often than not, want to do it themselves once they see it. It’s kind of like in high school when you visited another high school for sports or some other function: the girls always seemed prettier there, and once you saw them, returning to your school and the girls there was never the same.
Sounds like you have a willing administration; I am going to piggyback on the podcast idea to try to get more students involved in a positive light with the administration in my buildings.
Keep the success stories coming.
School YouTube Accounts…
Jeff Utecht on The Thinking Stick has a great post on what his school is doing with student……
Worried about Youtube – school has its own account…
What a great example of what can be done by engaging students in the creative uses of ICT within the……
Getting Around You Tube Filters…
…
WOW! We are starting our strategic plan process and my subcommittee is focusing on 21st Century Skills. I can’t wait to use this post as an example of what SHOULD be happening.
Thanks for sharing
If you’re using a Belkin microphone, it’s not the iTalk… but TuneTalk Stereo. =)
[…] Blog “Thinking Stick†Jeff Utecht. American School in Shanghai, China. (blog1) […]
[…] I work with, because it is not something they have thought about. Even when I share that there are fifth graders in China who are blogging every day, people are too busy with the things they already do to be concerned […]
[…] district tech department to unblock YouTube in order to show this.). They were interested in the student blogs from the American school in Shanghai, China. One Board member stated, “I thought Internet […]
[…] from THINKING STICK […]