Getting A Hand-le on Learning

One of my favorite tools to use in the class is the iPod touch. When connected to WiFi, the iPod touch can become an empowering tool when in the hands of students. We have about 10 devices in our class, personally owned of course, that are used in everyday learning. Students suggest and share apps for studying, organizing, note-taking, exploring and of course gaming. With our digital library access, students use their iPods as an eReader and audio book device. We recently began reading Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" and I allowed students to download the book to their iPods using the Kindle app. They used my account to access the book (I purchased the book with a license for 10 devices.) but had access to the novel at any time. That's the point! Wherever students go, they can take the learning with them.

Elmo Who...?

Ok, I officially retired my Elmo yesterday as I got my hands on the new document camera by Samsung: SDP 860. Now, most people use their document cameras as a glorified overhead projector, and it is that, however this piece of technology is so much more. How about I just finished a staff development for Birdie Alexander Elementary in Dallas ISD using the camera and Skype.

The SDP 860 is truly a high performance presenter with crystal clear image quality in your own classroom. It has an advanced ISP chip set with 2D/3D noise reduction technology. Why is this important, well with this new document camera you now have the ability to record up to 32Gb of video via an SDHC memory card, the SDP-860 is a complete classroom recording solution, capable of capturing and viewing high resolution still shots as well as movies with audio, that's why. So, when you want to record presentations, it can be done. If you want to pan the entire room to callaborate with another class via Skype, it can be done. If you want to take a video of student interactive, both positive and negative to send to parents or for documentation purposes, it can be done.

I know change is hard, but don't knock the decision to go away from the Elmo brand. Embrace the possibilities with the new Samsung Document Cameras.

By the way, they have a really cool video contest going on right now. You might want to check it out to win cool prizes.

The Power Of Media

How appropriate, as my students are studying the events leading up to the necessity of the Declaration of Independence, the NFL decides to collaborate with U.S. government to produce a video that reminds us all of this great document. The video above was broadcast prior to the beginning of the game letting us all know that the game itself, is what it is... a game. The real battle is in the pursuit for continued freedom predicated on the foundation of our country.

When reading the Declaration of Independence from the book, the impact was minimum. However, after showing this video to the class, the Declaration came to life for my students. The use of media in the classroom is a touchy subject, but how else are we going to make the learning relevant? Students have lost the desire to learn because educators have discontinued providing a real-life benefit to the knowledge gained. Along with that, educators have been so caught up into testing that they have forgotten to make learning directly applicable to the student's everyday situation in life. However, with the use of media in the classroom, what's happening in everyday life is available for viewing all over the social networks and general internet browsing. Why not use to bring engagement back into the classroom environment and get our students back. What do you think about that?