Kids Feel the Power of Poetry in Performance | Edutopia

During National Poetry Month I always try to encourage teachers to utilize various tools of technolog to promote the art of poetry writing and craft of performing. Unfortunately, since I've been in Texas, testing has always been the focus of every classroom teacher during this month. However, I walked into an ELA class today and observed a teacher going over interpreting poems for the STAAR test and I asked if I could interject and display something to her class. The class was a pretty gifted one, so she didn't mind. I showed the students the following article and video which I discovered several years ago and we both simply watched the engagement of the students elevate.

Kids Feel the Power of Poetry in Performance | Edutopia

After going through the article and viewing the video we broke down the poem written by Jessica Blandon. The students were blown away with how they were able to interpret the poem along with the power of words. Then I grabbed a couple of laptops and a some Blue USB microphones and sat them in front of the students and simply said, "Write!" The challenge was to take the practice poem for the test and  write their interpretation as a poem. They had to record themselves, critique the poem with a peer and then apply music that exposed the underlying tones of their interpretation.

The end result... they truly understood the poem.

The Stone Lab Glog

Yesterday, I posted the newest product addition for Glogster Edu just as I was introducing Glogs to one of the schools that I work with along with re-introducing Glogster to myself. I hadn't used it in a while, but the timing, nor the group was ever fitting. This current group of student salivate at the opportunity to create using technology and everything tool that has been implemented into everyday instruction in the classroom has elevated the engagement factor tremendously. So, students chatting on Google+ and collaborated using Google Docs to come up with a front page design for The Stone Lab. I thought is was well done, so I thought I would share.

A Sneak Peak: The HORIZONTAL GLOG! | The Glogster EDU Blog

Now this one, I have used over the years and have seen the growth and enormous potential since the conception. However, I hadn't had the group to use it effectively. This year I have, of course just when it becomes a paid application. However, it doesn't change the value Glogster Edu has in today's digital classroom. Adding the Horizontal Glog feature "widens" the possibilities of "stretching" student's creativity to the max. In a later post, I will show you the Glog designed by students that were trying to create an opening page to the creative site that showcases student projects done at their school. I have had a heavy influence on this group because I'm the first adult that chose to design and educational atmosphere that meets them where they are. In the mean time, check out the latest Glogster news.

A Sneak Peak: The HORIZONTAL GLOG! | The Glogster EDU Blog.