Voice Thread Course Reflection

Melinda’s Course Reflection

A.      What did you learn from this course? I learned a lot.  This was a whole new journey for me.  I never knew about Twitter, Blogging, podcast, screen casting, or making videos.  I learned a lot and still growing in technology.

Think your course goals?  My course goals were to learn, integrate, and produce videos that could be used for my classroom.  Modeling and learning to be creative, and design and develop digital technology in the classroom for the students to learn and experience making videos for book reports, science projects, and other projects in the classroom.  Making learning fun and enjoyable experiences. I feel I touched on each one of the ISTE Standards for using and implementing technology in the classroom.

B.      What were the most useful tools?  Why?  I feel Twitter was a useful tool for teachers.  Teachers can get on Twitter and share ideas and concerns with other experts and educators.  Sometimes you just need to expand your horizon and talk to others outside of your school system and get new insights.  This is a good way to enrich your knowledge with others knowledge.

C.      How do you plan on continue to utilize multimedia tools in the classroom?  I liked screencast and I would use that in the classroom for the students to design their own screencast for book reports, science activities, and other areas of learning.  This will give them the opportunity to explore and design their own videos.  It will show them independency, imagination, organizational skills, communication skills, researching skills, and speech skills.

1.       What did you learn in the process creating a curriculum video?  I learned how to set up a video, text, create pictures, and embed in you tube and blog.  Teacher created videos in the classroom is a good idea.  The student can watch the video and understand what the teacher is saying whether than moving around in the classroom.  We have many different learning styles and some students just need that video to see the teacher and hear her voice as she explains the lessons.  I can see the students having fun creating and using their imagination.

2.       What is your impression of the podcasts that are available at iTunes? How do you plan on using podcast?  They are easy to listen to and follow. They are interesting for the students to use while presenting a book report or other reports.

3.       Discuss your personal growth in Twitter during this course?  What are your future plans for Twitter? What do you like about tweet decks? How can you use Google Hangouts?  I came from not knowing anything about Twitter to jumping in and enjoying the whole Twitter ordeal.  I was completely scared of using Twitter.  I don’t understand all the fancy wording and hashtags, tweet, retweet, etc.  It has taken me out of my box and helped me explore a whole new world.  My plans for Twitter is to continue using twitter and connect to other educators and learn from them and share my experiences as well.  I like tweet decks.  I can see all the sites I am following and can check them all at once and not have to transfer from page to page.  Hangouts are like chats and you can chat face to face.  I video chat with my kids and grandkids all the time.

4.       How did the article you read impact your thoughts on Flipped Classroom? I can see the good and the bad in flipped classrooms.  I feel it depends on the teachers and their learning styles of their students.  I can see where it may work and I can see where it may not work at all.  Depends on the teachers.

5.       Discuss your thoughts on blogging?  I’m not too sure about blogging.  I’m still learning how to blog and adding different videos and resources to the blog.  I think it will be beneficial once its all put together.

6.       Discuss what you learned about You tube Channels? You tube is full of educational, history, and music that can be utilized in so many ways in the classroom and your own personal use.  I like playlists.  I can make my own videos and add them to my playlist and organize the ones I have followed and feel are important and set them in the playlist.  Whenever I need them they are easily accessible.  I will use this in the future for my favorite educational channels that can be used in the classroom and for my grandchildren as well.

7.       Voice thread: This wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be.  I didn’t know what I was doing so I basically winged it on my own.  It came out and is so easy to access.  The students would have a ball exploring and learning doing voice threads.  It can be fun and exciting.

8.       Overall this was a very challenging class for me because I came in not knowing anything about any of the things we learned about and came out with some knowledge on how to do the new technology I just learned. This was the best class and most challenging class as well.  Thank you!!!!