In
order to carry out my GAME plan I have found myself surfing the web quite often
for what I felt would best fit my needs for my students. There are two projects I plan to commit
to. The first project is using digital
story-telling with my students. In order
to get this project set up properly I need to meet with my colleague to have
her take me through the process she has used many times with her own
students. At this point in the school year,
we have yet to meet. We need to discuss
what technology is necessary as well as how to use it. One of my main concerns is the amount of time
I saw her spending on her own projects in past years. At this time, I do not feel that I have as
much time available to devote (Everyone has different teaching strategies) as
she did. My colleague has a cart of
laptops available which I will need to schedule use of around her
schedule. This lesson will teach my
students to incorporate digital tools and promote creativity while learning relevant
information.
The
other project I am currently looking at is student portfolios. A few years ago I kept portfolios on each one
of my students. Now that numbers have
increased, 29 binders sitting around the room is just too many. When reading about portfolios in the course
text, I fell in love with the idea of digital portfolios. There are many ideas about how to create
portfolios for free, but the one that felt right for me is called Share and I
found an example on the following website: http://www.tech4learning.com/share/digital-portfolios
I
am in the process of ordering it and cannot wait to start using it with my
students. These portfolios will work as
a wonderful communication piece with parents as I planned. But, the most positive aspect of the portfolios
is that I believe my students will love creating them. Any time I can excite my students about what
they are learning, I have achieved my goal for the day. The website has provided me with a wonderful
example that I plan to copy, but the rest will have to be trial and error. I would like to have a scanner at my
disposal. One colleague of mine has a
scanner, but I plan to ask my principal to supply me one for my own room.
These
opportunities both allow for as much creativity as a student chooses. It allows for written, oral, and visual
representation of their knowledge. I am
so excited to get started.
I love the digital portfolio idea! I would like to do a similar process, as I have the whole school for art and music. With our new evaluation process, we have to show student growth, and I just don't have the heart (or the space) to keep artwork that students worked hard on so someone might stop in and see it. I am excited to look through the site you linked. Please continue to share with is any other material on the subject, especially if it is a free tool for teachers.
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