Blog Post #7

How Do We All Become Learners?

For this week's blog I watched several videos created by teachers at Gulf Shores Elementary that shows how instruction is happening in their school with technologies used in project based learning. When I first started EDM 310 I learned that my level of skill in conducting the instruction of PBL was minimal. I had never even heard of project based learning before EDM 310. However, that is beginning to change  due to the videos I have been able to watch as well as projects and other assignments I have been involved in so far. 

The first video I watched this week was how to make a QR Code. I thought this was a very neat tool that can be used in the classroom. The first step in creating a QR Code is to make your recording. It is like making a tape recording but you are doing it on a computer rather than a hand held device. After you have completed the recording you can save it to create a URL. Then you can take the URL and create a QR code using the QR Code Generator. This creates a code that can be scanned with a smartphone or tablet. As the video states this can be a great communication tool between parents and teachers. Teachers can record a message and create a code that can be printed on paper and sent home to parents. Parents can easily download a free QR code scanner to listen to the messages.

A Picture of a QR Code

The other videos I watched showed several great ways that students can use their iPads in the classroom. The first use of the iPad was in a reading center. Students can use their iPad to record themselves reading a book. They can then go back and play the recording to read along with themselves and check to see if they made any mistakes. Another neat way to use the iPad in the classroom is through using Discovery Education's Board Builder. Students can use board builder to create an interactive poster that has pictures and facts about a subject of their choosing.  In researching board builder a little further I found a great Discovery Education pdf that gives 50 ways to use board builder!

Discovery Education Example of Board Builder

Popplet is another educational app that can be used on the iPad. Students can use Popplet as a tool to help organize their ideas visually. They do this by uploading a picture relating to a particular subject and then place facts around the picture. These pictures and facts create a map or diagram the students can use for learning and presentation. Students can also use their iPads to access the Alabama Virtual Library through the AVL app. This will allow access to tons of educational related articles and books.

As Michelle Bennett of Gulf Shores Elementary states in this video by Dr. John H. Strange, technology devices can "change the dynamic of learning." Through introducing new technology into the classroom teachers continuously become learners. This conversation showed me that many times the students often teach the teachers when it comes to learning a new app or technology. To get ready to use project based approaches to learning in my classroom I will need to spend the next one to two years building and researching my PLN. Through the PLN I can continue to learn about project based learning and the different types of technology that can be incorporated with it. Along the way I can practice using these apps and websites myself and make notes of how I would like to use them in the future.