MACUL! MACUL! MACUL! Sounds like a bird call or something…

Thoughts on the MACUL Conference

Before I begin my reflection on the MACUL Conference, I can’t help but express how it was a much needed change of pace for me – a bit of fresh air to be quite honest. The last few weeks have been difficult for me. I’ve suffered from an extreme lack of motivation. It’s not that I don’t want this; I just feel so overwhelmed. Sadly, I feel as though I do the bare minimum at best to get by with almost everything. But, I stretch back with every bit of perseverance left in the tank to put forth my best effort into my lessons. Occasionally, I find success. The trial and error aspect of teaching can be difficult. It’s not easy to learn from discomfort. And because of this, I think many of us are struggling through the program at this point. Maybe, I’m wrong. I’m certain there are a few super humans among us. With that all said, enough with all my feelings and cries for sympathy. It was extremely beneficial to see the fresh ideas presented at the conference. I needed a bit of hope.

I would like to highlight one event in particular from the conference– Ideas for Creative Projects by Justin Cowen. It was an onslaught of amazing ideas, fascinating technology, and worthwhile experiences. A heavy dose of creativity was just what I’ve needed lately. What I loved most about his presentation was the practical use of many of the applications for educational usage. In particular, Canva and Ease.ly were fantastic for creating online posters. I am teaching an elective, Hollywood History. For each movie, I planned for students to create their own version of a poster along with a critical review. I intended for students simply use crayons, markers, or whatever to make these posters. Now, I can mix it up and have students make posters using this program, which then can be easily shared since they connect with Google. I love Google. Google knows all and sees all. Perhaps, one day Google will become Big Brother, but not today. Google is my friend. Getting off track, I’ll leave the links to the applications along with Justin’s Trello, which has everything as well.   

But wait…there’s more. Cube Creator is an online app that allows students to create their own stories. I haven’t had the chance to play around with it myself. But, it looks very promising. Along with this app, Flip Book allows for a similar means of storytelling. These apps are easily transferable to humanities. I’m sure they’d fit with STEM as well. Yet another thing he shared was Thing Link, which allows the user to basically link anything and use awesome graphics to well… link stuff. He used this in conjunction with Sound Cloud, which is very similar to Audacity. It was online though and a bit more simplistic.

Now, the greatest thing ever was Chromville. I literally screamed, “I want that,” during the presentation. So, I basically embarrassed Jimmy and Derek. But, everyone knew it was super cool. So, how does this amazing, fun-filled, magic work? You’re probably thinking…what is it first? This application makes 2D paper come alive by somehow making it 3D and animated. I just couldn’t believe it. It was like seeing a 3D printer for the first time make plastic chains at a PD session at HFA. I felt like a child again. With that childhood wonder, I watched as he took a cartoon figure and used the iPad to make it 3D and move! You just have to print off the paper from their downloadable site, which I have provided below. Then use the Chromville app on the iPad and follow the directions. It’s so simple. My sole complaint is that it is only available for Apple products. I think this is extra fun, but I’m not sure how exactly I’d incorporate it into my classroom. It seems best suited for elementary or middle school. Even so, I think just showing this off at the high school level would be nice break from the mundane.

I really enjoyed the conference and was thankful to be a part of it. On a final note, I’d like to thank Jeff and Rory for such a fantastic course throughout the program. It’s been special to say the least.

Please use the links below for some of the applications:

https://trello.com/b/rlglE0sZ/macul-2015-ideas-for-creative-projects

http://www.easel.ly/create/?id=https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/457803/OceanForestHabitats&key=pri

https://www.canva.com/design/DABL19hfnMU/E4H0RSDplSu0VsmSkajUag/edit?onboarding

https://www.thinglink.com/register

https://soundcloud.com/

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/flipbook/

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/cube_creator/

http://www.classtools.net/mapgame/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chromville/id748017957?mt=8

http://chromville.com/downloadpages/

Technology Teach-In Ideas!!!!

Technology Teach-In Ideas!

So, I have a few chaotic ideas for infusing my lessons with technology. I hope it’s alright if I brainstorm a little bit for this blog post. Anyways, in the immediate pipeline, I need to start using Poll Everywhere for several reasons:

1.)  It’s a an easy way for me get students to use their cell phones for an educational purpose rather than as a distraction.

2.) It’s easy to obtain statistical information, which I need for Shari’s class

3.) It’s interactive and fun to a certain extent. Maybe the novelty will wear off though.

Everyday, we have a bell-work assignment: Trivia Fun Times Forever!!! Students must write down and complete questions that either reinforce the previous day’s lesson or serve as a means to introduce the new lesson. Poll Everywhere would be great for this activity. It would be far easier for me to check if students are completing the bell-work rather than me walking around a checking their notebooks. There are other cool options for Poll Everywhere that would enhance the bell-work as well. I wouldn’t consider this to be a novelty. It would simply save me time and energy. But, ultimately I think getting students to see their phone as a tool for education rather than a toy is also important.

For a future lesson, I also envision using Video Notes, which is a video note-taking program that works with Google Drive. Currently, I am having difficulty coming up with a way to use it in my context. I need to do more brainstorming on this one.  I need to investigate the Chromebooks that are available. I know some aren’t working properly too.

Even further down the line, I would like to potentially use Voice Thread and Audacity for a major oral history project that I’ve talked about for what seems like forever. The trouble is organizing it all and putting everything together so it makes sense for students. I’m hoping that I can make this happen somehow.

The assignment calls for the following:

1.) Cover Page
2.) Table of Contents
3.) Profile of the individual to be interviewing
4.) Audio recording of the interview (no longer than 30 mins) (This is where Audacity or a cell phone app comes in)
5.) Transcript of the interview (30 mins of interview only)
6.) Analysis of the interview (Students must situate interview into a historical context)
7.) Index (Students must identify key events/important ideas etc. and list alphabetically in an index)

8.) Presentation (Students could use Voice Tread, PowerPoint, or Google Slides)

This assignment needs a significantly more direction to it. While this may be a ton of work for students and possibly too ambitious for high school. I know from personal experience that it is a meaningful, purposeful educational opportunity that students will remember.