The increase of mobile devices in the classroom has equated to a flood of educational apps in the iOS App Store and Google Play. Just a quick search for educational apps brings back thousands of results. Many of the apps are fair at best, but then there are some that prove to be worthwhile. ShowMe App is just that.
ShowMe is very simple, but can do so much. The whiteboard interface allows users to record and capture text, voice, images, and more. Users can import images from their photo gallery or web and annotate on top of the images. The writing feature works with the touch surface to appear as natural as possible. The best part is the ability to record voice because it forces one to verbalize their thinking, much like teachers practice with "think alouds" where they walk through the process aloud for students to hear and understand.
A worksheet is one thing, but what if students could create their own problem, solve the problem and talk through how they solved it, and then submit it to show their understanding? Better yet, what if they used this to record themselves teaching the concept? That is the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy!
I could continue to write about this or actually show you...
Even better, watch real students use ShowMe...
A.E. explains mean, median, mode, and range:
E.B. is attending the middle school for algebra, so this tool allows her to explain her math while everyone continues to work on the 6th grade math standards:
M.R. explains one of her vocabulary words:
If you still want to see some more examples, please visit the following links for more student work:
6th graders doing more math:
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=9vqrhNA
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=fL8XbzE
6th grader discussing vocabulary:
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=NFTMsJE
2nd grader doing place value:
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=7vb5vO4
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
PearlTree SchmearlTree
The assignment: Write about 1/2 page on your theorist, should be bullet points rather than narrative, summarizing your theorist's big ideas. Put these summaries online in a way that shows the connections between theories/theorists.
I chose to type mine up in Google Docs because I could get all of the information in that I needed to and it seemed cohesive. I added the image of Bandura and an infographic that explains his social learning theory in three simple parts. It was quite simple to do and provided a quick way in which to view my theorist's information.
Then came the part that became disastrous....putting it together with everyone else's. First impressions of Pearltrees made it seem possible to connect things fairly simply. Wrong!
I wasn't impressed by Popplet when using it the first time, but I actually wanted to go back to it after we started to have so many issues with Pearltrees. Surprisingly, for as visual as I am, both Popplet and Pearltrees fail. I think much of it has to do with the limitations of each...and the chaos that they create. At one point, I just wanted everyone to write their information on Post-it notes and then put them on a posterboard. My board would have looked similar to an FBI Profiler's, but the string connecting everyone's theories and theorists would have made so much more sense.
I wish the content would have been displayed better so I could read everyone's and not bounce around so much. Overall, I was able to determine the connections and understand how many theories have evolved out of other work.
Creating a Pinterest CoP
Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder describe a community of practice as "groups of people who share concern, set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise int his area by interacting on an ongoing basis" (p.4).
What better way to share my passion for all things Pinterest than creating a community of practice?
In all my free time these days, that is...
Pinterest still remains a hot topic of conversation at school and among friends because of the slew of ideas that can come from it. I had previously tried to capitalize on it by doing holding a craft club with staff members, but it quickly fizzled out. Maybe it's my desire to do something non-academic for a nice break, or maybe it's because I really wanted to start my own community of practice...
We have had several get-togethers now and I am pleasantly surprised with the group thus far. Every member comes with varying levels of experience. I generally present the project to the community and they decide if it's something that they want to do. When we start, those who have more experience, or have even done the project before, help ensure that everyone understands the steps to complete it.
I am glad that my principal challenged me to try it again this year!
What better way to share my passion for all things Pinterest than creating a community of practice?
In all my free time these days, that is...
Pinterest still remains a hot topic of conversation at school and among friends because of the slew of ideas that can come from it. I had previously tried to capitalize on it by doing holding a craft club with staff members, but it quickly fizzled out. Maybe it's my desire to do something non-academic for a nice break, or maybe it's because I really wanted to start my own community of practice...
We have had several get-togethers now and I am pleasantly surprised with the group thus far. Every member comes with varying levels of experience. I generally present the project to the community and they decide if it's something that they want to do. When we start, those who have more experience, or have even done the project before, help ensure that everyone understands the steps to complete it.
I am glad that my principal challenged me to try it again this year!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Initial Thoughts on Bandura
Much like we learn over time and build upon what we already believe or hold to be true, Albert Bandura has done the same. When Bandura first started out in the field of psychology, he moved away from the behaviorist theories into the social learning theory. His research at the University of Iowa expanded the dominant behaviorist theories by focusing on the ideas of modeling, observational learning, and self-regulation, which led to the social learning theory. With further research and application, Bandura expanded his social learning theory to cognitive theory in order to support the social cognitive theory.
Bandura is one of the most cited psychologists to date. His work has had a profound impact on the field of psychology and even mass communications, communications, and education. We use his theory in education very often, without even fully knowing it.
I appreciate the fact that Bandura's work continues to develop, even now. Psychologists always seem to develop a theory and it remains stagnant with absolutely no further research that might influence change (this could be because they die before that is possible). In Bandura's case, he is still alive and still working at Stanford where his theory continues to expand and develop through continued application and research.
Bandura is one of the most cited psychologists to date. His work has had a profound impact on the field of psychology and even mass communications, communications, and education. We use his theory in education very often, without even fully knowing it.
I appreciate the fact that Bandura's work continues to develop, even now. Psychologists always seem to develop a theory and it remains stagnant with absolutely no further research that might influence change (this could be because they die before that is possible). In Bandura's case, he is still alive and still working at Stanford where his theory continues to expand and develop through continued application and research.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
CoP - CrossFit Hydro Video
The final product of my community of practice case study on CrossFit Hydro:
Who wants to join this community of practice?
Who wants to join this community of practice?
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Gamifying my Intervention Group
As I sat and watched my 6th grade intervention group work on Friday, I realized that I could gamify their learning. One of my 6th graders is an avid gamer, so I proposed my idea to him first.
What if we earn badges as we work through the lessons on various comprehension strategies? We could then Level Up to the next strategy. We could create a bulletin board where others see the badges that each student has earned. There are no prizes necessarily, but there would be public recognition.
He bought it immediately! Before I even had the chance to propose the idea to the other members of the group, he was sharing the idea and that we should do it. Two of the boys even asked if they could design the badges. SWEET!
Can't wait for these kids to badge in Main Idea, Finding Details, Cause and Effect, and more!
What if we earn badges as we work through the lessons on various comprehension strategies? We could then Level Up to the next strategy. We could create a bulletin board where others see the badges that each student has earned. There are no prizes necessarily, but there would be public recognition.
He bought it immediately! Before I even had the chance to propose the idea to the other members of the group, he was sharing the idea and that we should do it. Two of the boys even asked if they could design the badges. SWEET!
Can't wait for these kids to badge in Main Idea, Finding Details, Cause and Effect, and more!
CoP - CrossFit
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that incorporates high intensity workouts. I was unfamiliar with this form of workout until a colleague of mine responded to my inquiry email regarding CoPs. As soon as she started giving me more information about her CrossFit group, I was intrigued and thought it would fit this project perfectly.
CrossFit Hydro is a CrossFit group in Omaha that has been in existence for about 2.5 years. Justin, the owner of the gym, started this group on the campus of University of Nebraska-Omaha. He was intrigued by this type of personal workout and thought that it was a comprehensive approach in a short amount of time. Word of mouth spread about the CrossFit Hydro group on campus, and soon student athletes, students, moms, and community residents joined the group. The group outgrew the facility that they were using on UNO's campus, so they found a simple rental property nearby that is really industrialized.
CrossFit Hydro currently has about 85 members that participate in daily group workouts. Justin and his partner Brandon run the administrative side of providing this workout program. They also discuss the daily workouts and confer with several key group members. The workouts range from 50-58 minutes in length, with time to warm-up, develop a certain skill, perform the Workout of the Day (WoD), and then a group stretch time.
Each member works at their own ability level, but is pushed by Justin and the other group leaders during the workout to maximize their output. The activity is non-stop for the full workout. Once the stretching is over, members are asked to write their heaviest weight used during the WoD and the amount of repetitions of a certain activity. Each member is responsible for maintaining their records should they choose to keep track of their performance. They can input their information in the CrossFit Hydro blog for easy access.
The camaraderie of the group was very apparent as I observed the workout. Each member was willing to help another and push them to maximize their output. The men seemed to compete against one another, yet encourage each another at the same time. The women gave each other encouraging words during the workout to help push through.
Personally, I would be interested in trying to do some of these workouts, but I know it's completely different than the workout I am used to. I was encouraged to come for open gym some Tuesday night to give it a try. We'll have to see...
CrossFit Hydro is a CrossFit group in Omaha that has been in existence for about 2.5 years. Justin, the owner of the gym, started this group on the campus of University of Nebraska-Omaha. He was intrigued by this type of personal workout and thought that it was a comprehensive approach in a short amount of time. Word of mouth spread about the CrossFit Hydro group on campus, and soon student athletes, students, moms, and community residents joined the group. The group outgrew the facility that they were using on UNO's campus, so they found a simple rental property nearby that is really industrialized.
CrossFit Hydro currently has about 85 members that participate in daily group workouts. Justin and his partner Brandon run the administrative side of providing this workout program. They also discuss the daily workouts and confer with several key group members. The workouts range from 50-58 minutes in length, with time to warm-up, develop a certain skill, perform the Workout of the Day (WoD), and then a group stretch time.
Each member works at their own ability level, but is pushed by Justin and the other group leaders during the workout to maximize their output. The activity is non-stop for the full workout. Once the stretching is over, members are asked to write their heaviest weight used during the WoD and the amount of repetitions of a certain activity. Each member is responsible for maintaining their records should they choose to keep track of their performance. They can input their information in the CrossFit Hydro blog for easy access.
The camaraderie of the group was very apparent as I observed the workout. Each member was willing to help another and push them to maximize their output. The men seemed to compete against one another, yet encourage each another at the same time. The women gave each other encouraging words during the workout to help push through.
Personally, I would be interested in trying to do some of these workouts, but I know it's completely different than the workout I am used to. I was encouraged to come for open gym some Tuesday night to give it a try. We'll have to see...
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