Prezi has finally relented from their "Editing Bubble" and created a new menu feature that makes it easier to create presentation. Although the "Bubble" was an icon for their presentation tool, it was time for a change. The new interface provides easy access to playing your Prezi in a preview or for presentation and to edit the path. Also, the usual features that the Editing Bubble provided are now in a menu at the top of the screen.
This new toolbar is where you can find New Frames, Themes, Images, Videos, Power Points, and Shapes...which has a new feature containing over 200 symbols to use in the presentation.
To the far right of the toolbar you will find the settings tab which will allow users to switch back to the old version if you don't like the new version; at least till the end of the year. Also in this area is where you can collaborate on the presentation, find help, and share the presentation. There is also an option to print your presentation. This option will create a PDF that you can save and print.
A quick test, reveals a much more user friendly software. The Presentation aspect also provides a scroll bar through your presentation which makes it easier to find key points if necessary. The other menu and editing features of Prezi have remained the same. Prezi is a very interesting study of how a website software changes and adapts to the needs and suggestions of its users.
The Frayer Model is a strategy for learning a new concept,
such as vocabulary, by helping to establish relationships.The model is used in a graphic organizer
format for students to easily see those relationships.Below are two ways to incorporate the Frayer
Model Graphic Organizer
-Students write the term in the center, and
then in the surrounding boxes they write the definition, characteristics,
examples, and non-examples.
-Students can also write the term/concept in the
center and list essential characteristics, non-characteristics, examples,
and non-examples.
-You can make each box a heading that fits the
needs of the concept you are trying to teach.
The purpose of listing
examples and non-examples and essential and nonessential characteristics is to
help students build well-founded knowledge about the concept they are learning.
In order for students to precisely understand completely what a concept is, a
student must also know what it isn't.The Frayer model can be especially useful when guiding direct, in-class
vocabulary instruction.If students have
sufficient background in content, the Frayer model can be used for taking notes
and monitoring their own learning and progress about the concepts that have
been covered in class.
Implementation:
-Instead of assigning the vocabulary in a
book, have students each complete a Frayer Model for a single vocabulary term
and then present it to the class and then students can take notes on each term.
-Science teachers can use this same format for taking notes about
reactions from a science experiment.
-Social Studies teachers can take a time period, historical event, world
leaders, or a government/economic concept and use this to help format
understanding.
-Math teachers could use this same format when students are completing a
word problem.Each box could represent a
different aspect of the problem to solve it or each box could be a step in
solving the problem.
-Health teachers could use this to discuss the various effects of drugs
or chemicals in the body.
-English teachers could use this to check for students understanding in
a short story or to identify various parts of a piece of writing.
Remember, the Frayer model DOES NOT have to be
just for vocabulary words.
An index card assessment takes
advantage of the small size of index cards to quickly construct a portrait of
students' understanding. On one side of a card, students write something
positive in response to the day's learning, such as a summary of the class, an
interesting fact learned, or a concept that finally makes sense. On the
opposite side, students identify what they do not understand by describing
their confusion or asking a question.
With an index card assessment,
identifying the person who does not understand a concept is less important than
discovering what is not understood. Therefore, consider reinforcing anonymity
by creating a drop box in which students can place their index cards as they
exit the classroom. Upon collecting the cards, list students' comments and questions
and use the list to identify patterns in students' understanding.
Index Card Assessment provides a
valuable tool in progress monitoring, formative assessment, and
re-teaching. The information from the activity can be used to determine
what needs to be retaught the following class to ensure understanding.
This teaching method allows you to tally which parts were misunderstood the
most.
Potential Implementation
-Use this strategy
as an exit slip from the classroom.
-Integrate this
strategy as a break during lecture or following a class discussion.
-Need to fill time
at the end of a quiz or test, ask students to explain what they found easy and
what they found difficult
-Watching videos
is not a bad thing, watching videos without stopping for understanding
is. Use this strategy to check for understanding during a video.
-This would be a
helpful strategy in understanding primary documents or readings in the
classroom as well.
-Math problems
often require multiple steps and some students struggle with certain
steps. This could be a way to find out which part they don’t understand.
I am not sure how many of you all are familiar with the site Edudemic, but the other day looking through my Twitter feed I came across several valuable posts related to technology and education. The goal of Edudemic is to mainstream the learning process; to bring the great stuff related to education in one central location.
As we move forward with more instructional technology, it will be important that students have a good understanding of what it means to be a good Digital Citizen. A valuable resource will be The Teacher's Guide to Digital Citizenship which offers insights and resources into understanding safe Internet use by students.
Wikipedia CAN be a valuable resource for student and teacher use. Wikipedia itself has tons of other resources which I have written about before. One of the struggles with Wikipedia is the accuracy of the information that is available on their sites. A valuable resource that teachers should be interested in reading is The Teacher's Guide to Wikipedia. Very important to have a good understanding of how to use Wikipedia and this is a valuable starting point.
Twitter can be an excellent resources for educators. The biggest problem for new users to Twitter is discovering people to follow. There are several list out there of people to follow. You can go through my blog and my posts that I have tagged with Twitter to find some I followed when I first got started. Edudemic has also put together a 50 Education Leaders Worth Following on Twitter to help you get started as well.
We all probably use Google, or Bing, and even some people probably use Yahoo! There are tons of other search engines available, which I have written about before as well. Edudemic has put together 50 Search Engines You Probably Don't Use Yet and this would be a great starting point for trying to search for resources. Many of these search engines will be specific for a certain resource. That can make things a lot easier.
If you are stuck and looking for some information related to education, technology, online learning, mobile learning, and other resources related to education, Edudemic is a good starting point. You can also follow Edudemic on Twitter.
In the past few years I have found myself addicted to listening to Pandora Internet Radio while working at the computer, driving in the car, or doing chores, like mowing the lawn. Why anyone would buy music, especially CD's, is beyond me. I understand you don't want ads, but a minimal $4.00 a month, hooked to your iTunes account, and there are no ads to worry about. This use of Pandora by myself got me thinking about how it can be used in the classroom.
1.) Background music can help keeps student from talking because music can keep people focused and attentive. Our Art teacher is always playing music in his classrooms. I am well aware that not every teacher would do this, but some might be interested in sharing the music that they like with their students. At least it would introduce them to music not created by former Disney actors!
2.) We don't need to lose the Arts in the school system. Music Appreciation is an important part of that. Students could use Pandora to make their own stations and improve their musical tastes by discovering the music that is suggested for them. Students will surprisingly discover music they like if they are just introduced to it. Students could then do a project where the discuss their findings.
3.) Music has been proven to help students improve their study habits and attention, as well as organizing information. I would often have a classical or instrumental music station playing while students are working on study guides or taking a test. I surveyed my students before hand to make sure this was okay. Remember, it is the TYPE of music that helps. Most music with lyrics would have an adverse effect.
4.) Use Pandora Internet Radio as a reward. Let students choose a genre of music to play during a classroom activity based on completion of a project or class average on a test scores. Music is becoming a daily aspect of kids lives because it is so much more accessible (and I understand radio has always existed, but that has ads and much more talking...not just music).
5.) Social Studies could have students use Pandora to research music from different time periods. Pandora allows users to easily search for music based on decades. Recently I wanted to relive the glory days of the 80's music, and a simple search found me a station. As teachers teach those decades in history, they could have a daily or weekly music check and play songs from that time period. Another option, that I used in my class before, was to using Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" to teach about History.
6.) Pandora Internet Radio provides bios about the artist as well. Musicians are influential people in society. Having students research backgrounds of artist would be a good way for students to understand why they sing the songs they sing.
7.) Another feature of Pandora is that several of the songs come with the ability to see the lyrics. English teachers could use this feature to teach about the meanings behind the music and the poetic substance of the music. They could also collaborate with History teachers to discuss how music played a role in society.
8.) Elementary teachers can use Pandora Internet Radio as well because several of the Kidz Bop and music for elementary ages students is available on Pandora as well.
9.) Business and Marketing Teachers would benefit from reading the Pandora Blog to learn how their business works and how they are able to play this music for free and/or for a small fee. It is a pretty fascinating business model.
10.) Government teachers might be interested in discussing the Internet Radio Fairness Act which was recently introduced into Congress. This would be a great opportunity for a real world and relevant lesson for students. Students could write to their Congressman or Congresswoman encouraging their support for or against this Bill.
One thing about music; Ask a student...or even think of yourself, the minute you hear a song on the radio you probably can start singing right a long; sometimes no matter how old it is. Music and memorization go hand in hand. Shouldn't we be doing the same with our students? Helping them learn in the best way possible, which sometimes includes listening to music. I have been in several classrooms over the past few years and the most attentive students to an activity or an assignment were listening to music. Some students cannot learn in silence.
Below is a video explaining Pandora on a Mobile Phone, and the process is fairly similar to the web version.
