I have long been a fan of multimedia and enjoy audiobooks, podcasts, video and visually pleasing materials. This class however opened my eyes to bringing all of these interests together into my classroom and my instruction. Why have I been constrained by the walls of curricular expectations and direct instruction while the non-teacher in me has enjoyed all of these other multimedia mediums? It's not that I didn't do any of it, I think I did things and didn't exactly realize what I was doing.
I have grown as an educator by trying new things and exposing my students to new videos, audio clips and introducing them to podcasts! I will continue to improve my video skills and speaking through audio skills. I will continue to try new methods of sharing information with parents to keep them engaged and informed as well.
My favorite learned skill was the use of Quicktime. Why has this clever app been hiding in the files of my MacBook forever without any use? It is simple and effective and it's multipurpose use make it a front runner in my go to apps!
What's even better than me learning all of this is the fact that my students will benefit as well and that makes me a better educator!
Julie, I agree with your statement about using multi-media in the past but not recognizing its full potential as an instructional tool. I can now see the power it has to enhance instruction. I really like what you said about Quicktime being a hidden tool. So true. I have not capitalized on the power of screencast as much as I could have over the years. But, I really love when students create screencasts to show off their learning. I am really falling in love with Apple's Clips app though. So easy to use, and such a variety of professional looking products.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with Quicktime! I have always been on the verge of deleting it on my home computer because I never used it! It always popped open whenever I was opening a file, but I never used it to record! It is so user-friendly and efficient. Hands down the hidden gem of my Macbook LOL!
Quicktime is the best, Julie! It is so versatile and I loved learning new ways to use it throughout this course. I also loved the idea from this course of using podcasting in the classroom. I'm a huge podcast listener myself so the idea really intrigued me. Did you have the students listen to a podcast? Create their own? I'd love to hear your ideas for how you're making this work!
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same way...I am a better teacher from learning how to use all of this cool technology! I love the idea that you brought up that we use all of these things in our personal life, why not in our classrooms?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Quicktime is amazing! It can do almost anything - it is a powerful tool for teaching.
ReplyDeleteI like that you have posts that include kids in them and I agree that Quicktime is a great application to use. I haven't used it much until this course and no wthat I hav, what would I have done without it!
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteI have also been benefitting from all of the new tools we have learned about! I love that you are trying them all out with your students. Quicktime is great!