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Sharing, Communicating and Reflecting as part of Learning and Instruction through the use of Social Media

Social media has become a part of not only our social lives but our working ones as well. It has given us the chance to stay connected with those around us, the power to view the opinions of others and share our own thoughts and ideas. Most importantly social media has provided us with the opportunities to learn from one another, in ways that we could have only imagined. Isn’t this the main focus of teaching? As teachers aren’t we trying to show our students ways of expressing their ideas and learning from others and outside sources? Social media gives students and teachers the ability to learn so much more than solely books and paper can provide. It has created a network and unbelievable vast spread of knowledge in which we can all communicate and learn from.

I have become aware of so many more tools and resources that can be used in and outside the classroom that I have never heard of before. These resources broaden how teachers can teach material to students. It allows us to reach students at their own level. Students have grown up with social media and it is much more intertwined with their everyday lives than it may have been when me or other teachers were in school. It is our responsibility to teach students using resources that they are most comfortable with. It is not unprofessional to learn how to use these resources as we are embedding them into our student’s learning either. We have to learn from our students just as much as they are learning from us. This encourages further development and thinking which overall should be our ultimate goal.

I believe as teachers it is our responsibility to use social media networking cites as long as they are professional. There is a clear difference between personal and professional and we need to be aware of this difference. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and blogs should all be used and updated so that students have the chance to feel connected with your ideas and sources that you have shared. This allows students to gain knowledge and insight from your pages and can be encouraged to create their own as well. This also creates a way for students to become connected to information from the outside world through different sources that are found through social media. Videos, tutorials, talk shows, lectures, articles, experiments, news highlights and so much more can be shared through social media. It is important for students to be given the opportunity to relate and become aware of this type of information sharing in order to learn and grow. As a teacher I want my students to learn to their greatest potentials and I know that technology and the use of social media has provided the means to do just that. Social media is an age that will continue to grow and develop and I definitely want to be a part of this development because I feel that it has become a norm and very effective way to share, communicate and reflect as part of learning and instruction.

Grade 4 Long Division Lesson Plan involving videos!

Grade 4: Number Sense and Numeration

This is a lesson for a grade 4 class to teach the concept of Long Division.

For this lesson 2 videos found on YouTube will be used. The teacher could either show them in class and give students the links to also view at home OR could have students view the videos at home, after school in an attempt at the flipped classroom method of teaching.  Either way, video is being used in the teaching of this math skill.

The first video will be showed before teaching: 
• The Steps to Long Division

The second video will be showed after teaching:
• How to teach Long Division- The Dance Craze Way

Learning Goal
To learn how divide numbers using the method of long division on paper and with mainpulatives. 

Curriculum Expectations
Overall Expectations:

• By the end of Grade 4, students will:  solve problems involving the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of single- and multi-digit whole numbers, and involving the addition and subtraction of decimal numbers to tenths and money amounts, using a variety of strategies;

Specific Expectations: Operational Sense

• By the end of Grade 4, students will: divide two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools (e.g. concrete materials, drawings and student-generated algorithms).

Assessment Strategies

• After showing the first video and teaching the concepts of long division have students write various division questions that include dividing two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers. Then compile these questions to create worksheets for students to complete on their own. Students will be assessed on their ability to understand how to create a division question that divides two- digit whole numbers by one-digit. Students will also be marked for knowledge and understanding of the process of long division by marking their worksheets. 
• After teaching show the second video and have students work in groups to create their own song or jingle to explain the steps of long division. They can use the strategies taught and can even change the words to a song they know.
• Assess students on their knowledge of the steps needed to complete a long division question by the method they sing in their presentation.

Modification/Accommodations 

• If students do not have access to a home computer, allow students to view videos in the classroom or at a computer in the school library.
• Create a PowerPoint presentation and written note that students can read or follow along to for clarification of how to do long division. 
• Prepare examples that students can look at for clarification as well.
• Have struggling students start off with division of one-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers.
• Have higher achieving students create questions dividing two-digit whole numbers by two-digit and three-digit whole numbers.
• Have manipulatives that students can use to divide numbers when completing questions.

Wrap-up
Recap the process of long division and have students share their long division songs or jingles to the class. 

Online Learning/ Instructional Sites

There are many online resources available that provide video for learning and teaching for teachers as well as students.

One I have found is called Present.Me. Present.Me  is a free resource (but can also be paid for various accounts) and can be used for PowerPoints and Video. This is a great resource for teachers if they don’t want to deal with screen-capturing software. They can upload a PowerPoint to Present.Me, and then film themselves going through the presentation. Present.Me displays the video next to the PowerPoint presentation so students can follow along.

Another great resource is Screenr. This tool is also free and includes a variety of paid options as well to avoid restrictions that come with the free version. This is a web-based video recording system that allows teachers and students to make webcasts without downloading any software. It is easy to use, can be recorded anywhere and can play anywhere as well (even on iPhones).

From this website you can click on the link that will bring you to the “E-learning community”. Here you can gain access to a great deal of resources, tutorials, answers to questions, free downloads for projects and blogs. This advice and ideas is great for teachers to learn from and can be found at:

http://community.articulate.com/

I have added these resources to my delicious account and shared in my twitter!

Do you think it is beneficial to have students create their own video resources and share them with the class for instructional purposes as well as the teacher? Would this make learning more helpful for students or just more confusing with multiple students giving their opinions on the material being taught and learned?

Image Editing or Manipulation Tools

Image editing is a great way for students to learn how to manipulate and get involved with the work they are producing. They will be able to learn the processes of altering images. The images can be digital photographs, regular photos found on the internet or that they have taken, or even illustrations they have drawn.

Adobe Illustrator is one image editing tool that can be used outside or even inside the classroom. Illustrator is the companion product of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is primarily geared toward digital photo manipulation and photorealistic styles of computer illustration, while Illustrator allows you to manipulate your work in a way that creates results in the typesetting and logo graphic areas of design. This is great for a classroom when designing projects or in graphic designs. Art projects can be based around the use of these designs or in designing layouts for a tech or yearbook class. Although the program is not free to use, there is a free trial run and if you and your students like it maybe could see about going to the school board for approval to buy the subscription? There are numerous tutorials you can take to learn the graphics tools and editing options available on the program as well.

Another image editing tool that is very user friendly is Paint.NET. This is a program designed for personal computers that run Windows. It was created at first as a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes free with Windows and has now developed into an image and photo editor tool that is easy to use. As the website states it has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP. These are all other photo editing programs as well just not free to use.  I remember using Paint as a child on our home and school computers. The program always came free with the computer and allowed you to draw and copy and paste onto different documents. Paint.NET has made this easy and fun to use tool into something more advanced that can be used at home or in the classroom for photos or pictures in assignments or projects. More information on the program can be found at www.getpaint.net

Teaching Strategies that Incorporate the use of Podcasting or Audio in the Classroom

I have come up with 5 teaching strategies and classroom activities that incorporate student and teacher created audio content. They may include podcasting and/or audio in the classroom.

1. Voki

Voki is an educational tool created by Oddcast that allows users to create their very own talking character. Voki characters can be customized to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, and even yourself! Give your Voki a voice by recording with a microphone, using a dial-in number, or uploading an audio file. Voki characters can be emailed, shared on social media, and embedded on websites!

There is also a Voki Classroom which is a student, class, and lesson management system. With Voki Classroom, teachers are able to control their students’ privacy settings. You can use Voki/Voki Classroom to assign class work, homework, or projects. If you need ideas or tips, there are links to look at, interactive lesson plans & activities online. There is also a Voki Blog with activities. 

For more information you can visit http://voki.com/

An example of a talking Voki character that was created is below! 

2. Raz Kids

RAZ-Kids is an interactive reading tool for students to practice reading fluency and comprehension.  The students have a log in and a password to get into their reading account and as a teacher you are able to monitor the students' progress and change their reading level.  These levels are all individually based on each child's reading level and are adjusted to reflect their abilities.  The students can listen to a story, read a story out loud, record themselves reading, and then take a comprehension quiz. I have seen this used in the classroom and children look forward to reading at school and at home. They are able to earn points to buy things on the program like Webkins which is very popular with younger students.

For login information check out: http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login

3. StoryMaker for Social Stories

The iTunes app called “StoryMaker for Social Stories” allows students to create and present stories. For use with an iPad students can create as many stories as they’d like. They are able to use pictures and write text. Then they can add audio by adding custom voice recordings to each page. If they wish, students can also activate one of the 10+ Text-to-Speech voices to read the text aloud. This is a great resource to allow students to use their story making skills and includes audio in the creation and presentation of the story. The activity can be used across all grades as well.

The iTunes Preview and description can be seen and purchased at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/storymaker-for-social-stories/id570007786?mt=8

4. GarageBand

As long as the school or you, the teacher have access to a Mac you can use the GarageBand app. It is a music studio that allows users to make professional, high quality podcast & audio recordings. Students can use existing mp3 audio files that they have recorded or the built-in mic in the program to record whatever they wish. Then there are sound effects or Apple “Loops” to enhance the podcast to add background beats, noise or sound effects. The program gives students the opportunity to drag and drop audio files into the podcast track, edit and then export the file. The program can be used as a way for students to complete an assignment, they could all be required to create their own podcast about information on a certain topic. They will edit the podcast by adding audio files to the track and then can publish them on a blog or website for you to mark and other students to listen to. This is a great tool to create a cross-curricular connection to music as well.

Click the following links for help and support: 

Podcasting video tutorials forGarageBand

The AppleGarageBand Support Page” 

5. VoiceThread

VoiceThread is an online presentation platform. This program allows students and the teacher to upload pictures to the presentation that is being created and record audio within the presentation to accompany the uploaded pictures. It's a great digital storytelling tool that enables users to upload pictures or documents, record accompanying audio (or video) commentary, and invite their classmates and the teacher to record commentary as well. This resource can be easily used in the classroom in lessons or assignments such students can be required to create virtual tours, report on books they've read, comment on historically significant photographs, or even debate a topic. To get started you have to register at: http://voicethread.com/

Check out the following tutorial to help you get started!

Tools that can be used to record and share audio

I've created a podcast giving my thoughts on "Tools that can be used to record and share audio". Feel free to listen and let me know your thoughts or any other tools you may prefer.