Techno Classrooms

1. Techno Classrooms New Technology to Increase Student Engagement Newberry Area Reading Council October 4, 2011

2. Social Media Digital tools & services that allow people to: • Publish and share content • Collaborate with others • Form communities of interest • Provide added value and context to knowledge Education is a social process and social media is another outlet for student creativity.

3. Social Media—Listening, Learning, & Sharing

4. Impacts on Education • 96 % of students with online access report using social networking technologies—chatting, messaging, blogging, online communities • One of the most common topics is education. • 60% of those who use social networks report talking about education. • 50% report talking specifically about schoolwork.

5. Using for communication • Generate more communication among students and parents by creating a Facebook group page. • You aren’t a “friend” of your students. • Your page is as private as your privacy settings. • You can post assignments and reminders that will show up in the news feed of any member of your page. • Post classroom pictures. • Encourage dialogue by building in comment requirements.

6. Post reminders! Post class pictures!

7. Using the Facebook Format in Class • You can use the Facebook news feed style to… • Chart the plot of a novel. • Hypothesize about the thought process of historical figures, scientists, mathematicians, and so on. • Chart the plot of a major historical event. • Analyze relationships among characters in a novel, historical figures that may or may not have had contact, numbers or chemicals in an equation, etc. • Students will be creating and analyzing while working within a format that they know and love.

8. Sample Status Updates from History

9. Edmodo • Facebook-style social network for educators • Create assignments, grade work, and comment • Share links with classes • Establish a private community • Send alerts, reminders, etc. straight to cell phones • Create an online portfolio of student assignments

10. Classroom Blogs • Blog is short for weblog. • A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption or enjoyment. • The activity of updating is called “blogging” and the author is called the “blogger.” • Bloggers post their personal thoughts, comments, and philosophies.

11. Teacher-Student Blogs • Post assignments. • Get feedback from lessons. • Generate discussion around literature, themes, YA books, and current issues. • Support ideas and concepts presented in lessons, texts, book clubs, etc. • Create a permanent record of student thinking! (A great resource for your National Boards portfolio!)

12. Ask for feedback! Offer instructional links!

13. Get feedback—see what Is working and what is not!

14. Provide textual supports!

15. Skype • Skype is a free software that can connect computers together to allow free telephone calls & video conferences. • Software is free; all you need is a webcam and a microphone. (Most laptops come already equipped these days.) • Students can… • Video conference with students from other countries for cultural exchanges • Visit places that they might never see in real life • Have in class author visits or guest lecturers to expand learning

16. ePals (www.epals.com) • A place for teachers to register to find communities around the world • Various teachers seek various things • Profiles explain desired results • Not everything is electronic—some teachers are seeking snail mail pen pals • Find classes to Skype with! • Classes can choose a project and then collaborate with students from the other side of the world! • Partnered with Microsoft and National Geographic

17. Social Bookmarking • Social bookmarking is the practice of saving bookmarks to a public Web site and “tagging” them with keywords, while bookmarking is the practice of saving the address of a Web site on your computer. • To create a collection: • Register with a social bookmarking site • Store bookmarks • Add tags of your choice • Designate as private or public • Visitors to sites can search by keyword, person, or popularity

18. Social Bookmarking Implications • Has the potential to change how we store and find information. • Has become less important to know and remember information as it is to know how to find the information. • Simplifies reference lists. Sites to use: • Delicious • Digg • Yahoo Buzz! • Stumble Upon • Google Bookmarks

19. Glogster • http://edu.glogster.com • A social network for creating interactive posters (glogs) • It looks like a poster, but readers can interact with the content. • The user inserts photos, text, graphics, audio, videos, special effects, and other elements into their glogs. • Posters can be shared with the class via SmartBoard, the eduglog website, or hard copies. • Gives students a platform for creative expression that goes beyond the basic platform of PowerPoint.

21. Dropbox and Dropittome • Share files from computer to computer • Drag and drop for your convenience • Go paperless! Students can turn in papers online!

22. Remind101 • Keep in constant contact! • Text your students and parents safely. • No phone numbers are involved—only spoof numbers.

23. Avoid Slang in Written Works • Talk to students about different writing styles and appropriate audiences. • Have fun with writing. Provide various outlets for various dialects. • Review schoolwork for IM and email language. • Let students establish ground rules for using IM and email language. • Encourage reading habits. Good readers become good writers. • Participate in a “Dead Words” lesson and teach students what words are “dead.”