It has really been a long hard week since my last blog. I used to think that I was technology savvy and I guess that I am to a degree but all of this blogging, story web and digital stories really has my brain aching. Some of the articles that I read to complete my paper were dry and not very interesting so my brain kept slipping into Heather land which must have been more interesting than those papers. Anyway, I was able to find some more interesting information through blogs as well as a fantastic web site. I haven’t tried out this new information that I have gained but it is not far from my mind. I read another post that mentioned the digital stories is similar to PowerPoint. If that is the case I know that I could make that work for me. I haven’t had the opportunity to test out the websites but I will be doing that soon! Especially since we have another assignment that involves trying out these tools. I know that by trying them, it will do one of two things; make me love it so much that I spend every available hour implementing it or hate it and shy away from it because perhaps it will be too cumbersome! At any rate, I am excited yet anxious at the chance to try it out. The reason I chose these two technologies is that I thought it would be more relative to the grade level I teach. I thought that I would be able to put the practice to use a lot quicker than some of the other technology tools. Only time will tell, until then I will keep plugging along and trying to come up with ways to incorporate this new literacy into my classroom.
Wow, I can relate to the "slipping off into Heather land" during those articles, although I was in "Namsey land" instead! I've found that as I've gotten older, I prefer hands-on learning much more than the readings. I'm becoming more and more like my students....need to learn by doing. I think that by trying the tools out, you will start to really like them. Try not to be too afraid...they're easier than the articles make them seem. I tried the digital stories and I love them. It was so much fun to create my own story, that I decided to also do it with my students. Well, we had a few technical difficulties (the microphone somehow ended up in the fish aquarium)! But, despite that, my students loved it. Since I have several communication impaired students, using the photos was very motivating for them, in terms of promoting the use of oral language. We couldn't use the microphone to narrate stories, but I had students dictate the stories to me and it met the learning objectives well. Good luck with the "try it" assignment....I'm sure you'll do well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment. I am so glad that I wasn't alone in all of this. Im excited at your positive comments about the try it assignment. Although I have not tried it yet do to assessments and parent teacher conferences I've been overwhelmed with all of my responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try the assignment, thank you.