Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2017
Genius Hour is Here! Students Have Begun Finding their Inner Genius!
Genius Hour is Here! Students Have Begun Finding their Inner Genius!
In a previous post I mentioned that students were gearing up and learning about what Genius Hour was. I found a wonderful video for those that are not familiar with Genius Hour as it does a great job explaining the basis for this change in education.
After many weeks of preparing and gaining a better understanding of what Genius Hour is, students launched their own Genius Hour time last Friday. It was amazing to see how engaged and eager they each were to learning about something they were interested in. As with all Genius Hour projects, the students began with a question of something they wanted to learn more about. After reviewing internet safety, they were off to explore their own topics and learning. You could have heard a pin drop as they were so into their new learning. Many comments were, "This is awesome!", "I dont want to stop!", "Can we do this every day?". Music to my ears!!! It was wonderful.
We still have some work to do on research skills and when do I have "enough" information? They are 3rd graders after all and need guidance. But I can tell this is going to be a powerful time in our day every Friday as it has been in the past.
I cant wait to hear what they are learning about and share it with you! Some of their topics are wind turbine, race cars, lava lamps, video making, speed boats, light bulbs....just to name a few.
Available link for download
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Four Ways to Engage Students with Technology
Four Ways to Engage Students with Technology
Here are four terrific ways to allow kids to process material using technology. Ive used both StoryMap and Storify with my students. You can see examples by clicking on the titles below.
- StoryMap
- Storify
- Movie Credits
- TimelineJS from Knight Labs
I played with TimelineJS and think that its the best vehicle for creating timelines. Its a product of Northwestern University and very simple to use. You simply click on the google spreadsheet template and and fill in the columns with text. You can also link images and videos. Below, you can see a sample I made for the life of the Buddha.
Once you finish with your spreadsheet, you publish it and paste the url in a box on the TimelineJS homepage. You can preview your timeline and get the embed code, which you can then use to embed in a blog or website. Heres a short clip explaining how to make a timeline.
Once you finish with your spreadsheet, you publish it and paste the url in a box on the TimelineJS homepage. You can preview your timeline and get the embed code, which you can then use to embed in a blog or website. Heres a short clip explaining how to make a timeline.
Making movie credits is another interesting way for students to process material. The amazing teacher, Russel Tar, made a template onto which you can input your own text. The text scrolls into infinity and music plays in the background. This might be a great way for students to introduce big events like World War 1 or the Cold War.
Available link for download
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