Final Project

For my final project, I'm am completing the second option and creating a lesson that uses Storybird. This was one of my favorite web tools that I explored through this class. As everyone probably knows, teaching the same classes each year and having the same projects can sometimes put you in a rut. So for me, I think the best part about these tools is that they allow me to add a new component to a lesson without having to completely reinvent it. So here is the idea for my final project...

Each year I have the students in French III create their own children's story to practice using the different past tenses in French. They usually enjoy this and things go pretty well. One thing that is often difficult is that there usually ends up being only 1 artist per group. So this student would end up having to complete all of the illustrations. In the past, I've told them to focus more on the story and writing than the illustrations so no one is punished for lack of artistic skills. Using Storybird this year will solve this problem. I'm going to have them complete this same assignment through this website. All of the requirements will be the same. They will be graded on their content, grammar, etc. Since our school has class sets of laptops that can be reserved, I am fortunate enough to have the equipment for the students to work on this during class as well. I think this is a perfect way to revamp an existing project. The best part is that they can all add their stories to the Storybird library for our class. They can view each other’s and I will have great examples to show the next class!  

Cell Phones in the Classroom

I came across two interesting videos on You Tube the other day pertaining to how cell phones can be incorporated into lessons. It got me thinking about the cell phone ban schools have and if it is a bit outdated. Of course there are the cons, such as constant texting, taking/sending photos, and accessing social networks all day long. But most students do not leave their phones in their lockers and do these things throughout the day already. When cell phones first became widely used and only functioned for phone calls and texting, it made sense that students did not need them during school hours. But now with all of the programs and web tools out there, they can strengthen a lesson. For example, I mentioned before that I had students use their phones to record a graded voice thread. In the videos I posted below, you can see how teachers are using them in other ways.

So I guess the question is, if we take away the "taboo" associated with them, will we have fewer problems? If we are worried about them being a distraction, we all know that students will turn anything into a distraction if they really want to. I worry about students using them to send mean texts to one another, or even taking a picture of me without my knowledge and posting it somewhere. So I definitely believe that if we allow them in class, there should be rules and consequences that accompany any misuse. But have we reached the point where the pros of occasionally using them in class now outweigh the cons? Check out the links below and let me know what you think.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzPket7eSTE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=161m3TtUaJg&feature=related