My first post. After being inspired at MACUL, a tech conference last week, I have decided to jump into the world of blogging. My goal is to share different ways I am integrating technology and the successes/issues that I encounter along the way. I would love to hear feedback so please share your thoughts!
Today in science I tried something new. In my Ed tech classes, we have been learning about how to create screencasts to help support students in different multimedia tasks. So I walked in this morning after being out sick for two days and decided today would be a great day to try a screencast. The students were going to use a simulation in science to calculate distance. The simulation asks students to first create reference points and then use the distance formula to find the solution. The program provides feedback such as reference points not matching up or forgetting to include units in the answer. It will be the third year I have used this simulation.
While creating my screencast using Jing, I made the common mistake of not including units in my answer. Part of my screencast then included me checking my work and having to add the units back on to the answer. This ended up being a great mistake! I posted the .swf file to my Edmodo along with a reflection assignment. I crossed my fingers and hoped this would help my day run a little more smooth than normal.
The screencast was a great success. After dealing with the tech glitches of viewing a .swf file, the students viewed the screencast and all got right to work without questions. It was amazing. Traditionally, I would model the simulation for the class and then once students started to work, I would run around like a mad women helping at least half the students get ready. Not the case today! The screencast was the scaffold that most students needed. An added bonus was almost every student added units on their answers from the start. This was definitely not the case in past years.
Again, I am amazed at what a small amount of work on my part can do to support my students in taking charge of their own learning. I watched students go back and rewatch parts of the screencast when they had questions. I was able to better assess students while walking around the class because I could focus on the content and not troubleshooting the technology. Days like today help me to understand was technology integration, even in small doses, is crucial to education today.
