VoiceThread Reflection

For my final assignment, I reflected on my experience in EDUC 552, Multimedia Authoring in this VoiceThread.

Click the link to listen to it. :)

https://voicethread.com/share/7711544/

Curriculum Video-Freshwater Habitats

As you may know, we have been learning about different animal habitats in first grade. So when I was asked to make a curriculum video for one of our last projects, I decided to create an iMovie about Freshwater habitats. The video is very brief, yet informative, and I think it would work nicely as an introduction to freshwater habitats with my students.

It states the four main types of freshwater habitats: ponds, lakes, rivers, wetlands. It also talks about how these habitats are different than oceans because of the lack of salt in the water.

Chillin' With Polar Bears!

I created this Screencast from Screencastomatic.com. What an incredible tool to use in education! A screencast such as this can be used for any content area. Also, screencasts can be used as tools for flipping instruction so that the student may watch the video at home the evening before a classroom activity that is more hands-on. I can certainly see myself creating more screencasts in the future.

YouTube

This week in my grad class, I learned a lot more about how to make the most of my YouTube account. Up until recently, YouTube had been blocked at my school. Now that I am able to use it in my classroom, I want to make sure that I'm using it effectively with my students.

When I was exploring Richard Byrne's blog, I came across a post titled "4 Tips for Using YouTube Videos in Your Classroom."

His first tip is very much, in my opinion, a common sense warning: ALWAYS PREVIEW A VIDEO BEFORE SHOWING IT TO YOUR CLASS. The other tips, however, were brand new things that I had not known about before this week.

1. You can remove YouTube distractions by using ViewPure.

2. You can show just a portion of a video by using TubeChop.

3. You can create and save playlists of videos.

You can read Richard Byrne's full post at this link:

http://practicaledtech.com/2016/03/20/4-tips-for-using-youtube-videos-in-your-classroom/

Thinglink

Thinglink is a neat website that allows you to create interactive photos with links to videos, music, and websites right there on the picture!

I can see myself using it in my classroom in a variety of ways. One thought that came to mind was regarding our healthy bodies/exercise unit that we do in first grade. If I had a picture of a person, I could put "buttons" on the arms, legs, abs, heart, etc. By clicking the the buttons, we would be directed to a video that demonstrates an exercise that works that part of the body. We would watch the video, do the exercise, and then click on a different button. My kids love this kind of interactive/hands on learning!

Thinglink was very simple to use and easy to create an account. I think that it could be used for students of all ages and incorporated with all content areas. One tip that I have for future users is to use the "Explore" section of the website. You can quickly pull up other Thinglinks that other users have created on a topic. For example, you can search for "rainforest" and pull up a nice visual of the Amazon Rainforest that is full of informational tidbits and facts.

Here is the Thinglink that I created about my ski trip to Keystone, Colorado.

Keystone Thinglink

Animoto

This week I had the opportunity to use and play with a tech tool that is completely new to me--Animoto. On Animoto, one can create slideshows and movies by uploading pictures or videos and setting it to some music. One thing I really liked about Animoto is that the website has its own library of images and video clips that you can use.

Now that I have used Animoto, I can see how educators could easily use this tool in the classroom. For teachers of younger students (like myself), Animoto is great for making short educational videos on a specific content area. In first grade, we are currently learning about animal habitats. This week, we talked about Arctic/polar regions. Next week, we will learn about rainforest habitats. I created my Animoto video to serve as an introduction for this habitat.

For teachers of upper elementary students and older, you could easily have your students complete slideshow or video projects through Animoto. It's very user-friendly and intuitive.

You can view my video about rainforests below.

Article Review

Teaching Listening Skills: Ready to Listen, Ready to Learn

By Monica Brady-Myerov

The article that I found on Edudemic.com discusses the importance of being a strong listener. It lists a few suggestions for teaching our students to hone their listening skills. As a teacher of first graders, I can attest to the fact that my students who I would deem as “good listeners” tend to also be the ones who offer thought-provoking questions and comments to a class discussion.

Brady-Myerov suggests that we can improve listening by focusing on some metacognitive strategies. She references one research study that examines how a listener uses cognitive listening strategies to make sense of what they are hearing and metacognitive listening strategies to monitor the process of listening. Metacognitive strategies place an emphasis on the listener actively engaging in the process of hearing and understanding. Some questions one might ask him or herself might be: Am I still listening? How do I get back on track? How do I understand that word?

Another suggestion for becoming a stronger listener is through orally telling stories. For students, both listening to stories from the teacher or their peers AND telling stories to the teacher or their peers can improve their listening. A study called “Learning to Talk and Listen” by the National Institute for Literacy shows that from a very early age “sharing stories helps children build oral language in a variety of ways—developing children’s speaking and listening skills, introducing new concepts or information, and increasing both vocabulary and the ability to define and explain the meanings of new words.”

A third and final strategy for boosting listening skills is through the use of pairing the written word with the audio/oral sound. The article references a study that looked at the effectiveness of watching TV programs with the same-language subtitles. The study found that if you add same language subtitling to the listening experience or to a video, literacy and language acquisition improve. Any time a teacher can incorporate the written words with the listening experience, this will help the student better understand the content.

The ability to be a good listener is a skill that most people will need to use on a daily basis throughout their lives. It is my belief that teachers of young, primary grade students should really emphasize how to be a strong listener while silent reading is not yet a mastered skill.

Hi! My name is Kori Duntz and I am a first grade teacher at Elmwood-Murdock Elementary. In the fall, I also coach JV volleyball at the high school. I got my bachelor's degree in elementary education and early childhood education from Peru State College. 

I like to think of myself as being "adequately tech savvy." Typically, I can learn how to use a new technology fairly quick. Although I used a PC all throughout my undergrad years, I currently teach at a school where I am equipped with a MacBook Pro. In my first grade classroom, we use iPads and a Smart Board on a regular basis. Once or twice a week, the students get on laptops to practice math skills at IXL.com or keyboarding skills at ABCya.com. 

I decided to go back to Peru for my Master's degree because I feel strongly about working to make myself an effective educator. I believe that attaining my Master's will provide me with knowledge and experience that will help me help my students. With my degree, I plan on continuing to teach in the general classroom for several years, all the while focusing on being a life-long learner.