Trying out Animoto

I decided to see how easy it is to create a video clip using Animoto. This video is a personal one from our family trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. Now I have started thinking about videos I could create with my students.

Graphic Sites

I spent some time tonight looking through sites that may be useful when I am looking for clip art to add to a newsletter, reminder note, or possibly when I am creating a power point or some other creation to share with my students next year. Two sites that I think will be ones that I will visit often are:

Teacher Files.com and Discovery Education Clip Art

Digital Media Creation

I spent some time this evening looking through different programs that allow you to make your own videos, slideshows, etc. I can think of tons of ways to use these for my own personal use, like Animoto but is still thinking about ways to use these with my students. I know next year there is going to be a big focus on Vocabulary words that connect to our reading themes. I am wondering if my students would be able to create a video to help them learn and understand the meanings of the words. I will have to think more on this.

Ideas/Lesson for Implementing Technology into my Classroom

I am anxious to think of new ways to allow my students to create and explore on the internet using the portable laptops next school year. I am glad to see that there are tons of resources and sites available to me to share and use ideas from other teachers around the world. One site I plan to visit often for ideas is Apple Learning Interchange. You are able to search for lessons by grade level, topic, and subject area.

Future of our Students

This video grabbed my attention and got me to thinking about how my teaching could change in the future because of the digital natives in my classroom. I know that I need to become more comfortable with the idea of using the portable laptops in my classroom and next year I have already started thinking about ways to implement them into my lessons (unit studies, vocabulary, etc.). I am thankful that our school recently has access to the laptops and I hope that the school district will continue to make it a priority to keep with with today's changing technology.