I feel reinvigorated by the first week of this course. The posterous assignment has really been a lot of fun and has got me started thinking about ways to use pictures to tell the story of my class, of my students, of what I'm teaching. So many avenues seem to have appeared before me. I think the most realistic ones for this year are to have students use the posterous assignment for the SLC artifact. The student led conference is meant to have students reflect on their learning during the year and present it to their parents and home room teacher. I've been thinking posterous blogs would be a fun way for some kids to approach the presentation. The second potential plan is to create a picture gallery covering the class as a whole, it would be great to get every student during the year and document the work they have been doing. At the end of the year it would be a great document to show how far they have come in their understanding of the world around us.
The second item I'm excited about is the Presentation Zen book. According to the book, my presentations weren't killing anyone, but they did present a clear and present danger to the sanity of my students. I know I hate the presentations I see at my inservices, why would I put my kids through that like it is a rite of passage or something. Clean, concise and clear are my new objectives, and I love the idea of a handout for the students that they can use to reflect on the presentation afterwards. I think this manner of delivery will also lead to a productive discussion with questions on the handout and the presentation. Finally, I'm looking forward to using this new format to help my students better grasp the concept of taking notes after a presentation and prioritizing information.
Great start to a new class. I'm hopeful that it will continue.
I hadn’t even thought of using posterous with the students but what a great idea considering the ease of use. Thanks! I love that this week’s lesson has a number of us really engaged and excited about applying the concepts to our classrooms. You mentioned that many new avenues are opening up and I tend to agree and I even think that information learned in previous classes has become more purposeful for me. I have a clearer understanding of how the pieces can fit together and I like that it’s not a traditional puzzle in that there’s more than one way to actually put it together – and the sky’s the limit.
ReplyDeleteI think that all administrators should read the Presentation Zen book and help clean up the dreaded beginning of the year and inservice PowerPoints that we all have to watch.
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea about creating the Picture catalog for the whole year. As a tech ed teacher I have to do this so I have material to promote my course. If you are implementing a new course and have some cool pictures, I think you would have better chances of drawing more students.
I like the idea of a picture gallery and comparing the student's progress from start to finish. I know the kids would like it. I never really knew of any other way of using power point. This is a good learning experience for me.
ReplyDelete