Exploring Social Justice with Storybird

This is the second in a series of two posts where in a brief assignment, my students explored Social Justice integrated with technology and I share their results with a wider audience.  (Take a look at the first post on Thinglink accessible here.)  This post highlights Storybird, an online visual storytelling site. It had been a few years since I played with Storybird, and I was happy to see the teacher account now includes ways of managing classes and assigning projects.  Check it out!

Here are a few of my students’ creations and thoughts about Storybird:

http://storybird.com/books/some-girls-6/

“I really enjoyed using Storybird, even if it did take me a bit longer to finish than I would have liked. The artwork available for use is simply amazing, and if you use the right search words you can find exactly what you need. I loved being able to customize my own story, and this could be a great tool for a specific problem or occurrence in your classroom. My story was pretty simplistic, hoping to be for a younger audience; however, it is about celebrating our differences. It's pretty superficial but with more time and using more resources it could be great! Enjoy :)”  (EN)

http://storybird.com/books/what-happened-to-our-food-and-homes-by-kl/

“I really wanted to create a story about how humans affect animals’ environment for young elementary students. I wanted to show students that people do affect others by their actions by showing how we affect pandas, foxes, rabbits, and polar bears. There is a little bit of a science part to the story because people do affect the environment with global warming.”  (KL)

http://storybird.com/books/the-spotted-bird-family/?token=vz8s66cbmv

“I liked using Storybird http://storybird.com/teachers/ to create my book because you can choose an image style and they give you a wide selection of images in that same style to use as your book illustrations. Sometimes, however, the images did not really fit what your image of the right image for the page should have been, so you have to be flexible. I was surprised how easy it was, but coming up with the content to put in the book was a little more difficult. I found my book turned out pretty superficial and with a lot more time, I would have liked to come up with a more intricate story that delved a little deeper into social justice issues, tackling some of the Bomer & Bomer article points. However, I think this would be a great way for ELLs to simplify what they have learned into a short story, concreting their knowledge and using language to describe what they learned. If they did a screen-cast or presented it in class, that would also give them speaking practice too.” KG 

Thanks to my students for their work and willingness to share!

Exploring Social Justice with Thinglink

This term, I assigned a short mini assignment for my students to play with some technologies that can be easily used in Digital Storytelling, working with English Language Learners, and in exploring topics of Social Justice.  We have also been talking about the power of visuals and video.  They had several choices, but most of them chose Thinglink, Storybird, or Tagxedo.  This is the first in two posts that will highlight these sites, showcase student creations, and look at potential uses.  (Access post two about Storybird here.)

Here is a past post I wrote about Thinglink that discusses what it is.  Be sure to move your mouse over the picture and click on the dots to discover the links.  Explore some of my students' creations and read their reflections.

Women’s Suffrage

Children Living in Poverty

 

“Once we saw the example in class, I had a ton of ideas in my head of what I wanted to do. I chose to do child poverty because it is an issue that cannot be brought up enough. I focused a lot on the United States because most people don't realize how bad this issue really is.  Children deserve better than what we are doing, and it needs to be brought to the attention of others. I chose to do five different links on the picture of a child who is clearly struggling. One link that I chose to use was the NCCP website, which has state information, data tools, and news about child poverty. The second I used was a link to a Youtube video that gives some basic information and then had a very sad piece of children talking about what it is like to be hungry. The third link is the No Kid Hungry site. It discusses the problem, solution, and how to take action. The forth is a made of 35 countries and shows the poverty rate in each country. The fifth is a link to the Voices site which has articles and facts about child poverty. This was a really fun assignment and I thought it was a great way to learn about some new technologies! Some of these sites could be used to talk to older grades about this issue and what we can do to help make a change. This site could be very fun for students to make their own with many different topics. I plan on using this again in the future!” KW

Positive Body Image

“I decided to create a story about positive body image because I really enjoy talking about body image and find it very interesting to learn about. I think that it is important for students to know what positive body image is and that every individual is beautiful no matter who they are. Talking about this topic can be applied to any grade level and can open up the door to talking about how the media's representation of beauty is distorted because of the use of Photoshop. Teachers can also talk about how society creates this notion of beauty that is unrealistic as well as talking about stereotypes that are associated with body image. The goal is to give students the resources to have a positive body image of themselves and teach them not to base judgment on how another person looks.“ LW 

Civil Rights

 

“Using this tool would be easy for any subject. I think that students would find this useful for research projects. I think that I may use this as a resource in student teaching, as well as my remaining college courses!!” MF

Lyndon Johnson

 

“I used Thinglink because it is a very interesting concept and has so much potential for all grades. I love history, especially the Kennedys, and so I decided to use a picture taken after JFK was assassinated and LBJ was being sworn in. I can see how this would be interesting for students because they can easily find out additional information just by following the links on the picture.”   KC

Thanks to my students for their creativeness and willingness to share!

Scavenger Hunt: Social Justice

When Tech  I recently sent my pre-service teachers in my Approaches for P-12 ELLs on a scavenger hunt.  They then shared their results in small group blogs.  I told them I would aggregate some of their responses and share.  (This is another way I see my role as an instructor shifting as I use Social Media.) Here are their social justice lesson plans, sites, and video results.  I am not endorsing these sites (although some of them are my favorites), but posting them in one place for my students to further analyze.   Access the list here.

Met Ed  I encourage my students to take a critical look at the sites in a way that goes beyond the directions of this small assignment.  What are some questions a teacher at your grade level should ask when looking for educational sites related to social justice?  How could the sites be used in a way that fosters learning?  For the teacher as a springboard? For the students?  What questions should be asked as one evaluates sites related to social justice for educational uses? If you taught one of the lessons from one of these sites, how could you integrate it into a content area?  What language would need to be addressed to help your language learners be successful?

Happy evaluating!
A special thanks to my students for their willingness to share.

(Photo by  robynejay) 

Play, Create, Share, Reflect Online Presentation

Play, Create, Share, Reflect is the title of a presentation at the Oregon State University Faculty Forum 2013 I recently gave.  It is the motto that provides a framework for both my students and myself as we explore technologies for educational purposes.  It contains student and instructor made examples in action.

Here are a few versions of it.  The embedded one is 20 minutes I created on my computer with Camtasia as I gave it a practice run.  Here is the actual presentation (40 min) recorded by Ecampus.  Here is the Prezi if you would like to access any of the links in the video.

Enjoy other Ecampus presentations here.  I didn't have the opportunity to attend many presentations, so enjoyed watching a few, such as Stevon Roberts' presentation called Practical Video Tips for the Novice.  You are likely to get some good ideas if you watch this presentation, Step in Front of the Camera.  Here's one from two of my colleagues in the College of Ed, Maggie Niess and Henry Gillow-Wiles, entitled Building Educational Bonds Among Learners in Blackboard.

And, there's always more for those with an interest.  Here's a link to my presentation last year, Connect Using Screencasting and Web 2.0 Tools.

Happy watching!

Teaching Without Words

I am in love with words. From the sound of them in conversations, their coming to life in the click, click of a keyboard, the subtle difference the breath a comma makes vs. a semi colon; to the typography of the written word; to the way they look and sound in my head; to the rhythm and intonation of the world's languages... On and on I could go. Yes, I love words in all their glorious forms!

As an ESOL and language teacher, I am also aware of the linguistic demands embedded within academic content areas that present some learners, such as English language learners, challenges.  It's a bit of a leap to tie this into this short post, but all this connects to my interest in online teaching and gaming in education.  Due to this background in language, ESOL, and technology, this TEDX by Matthew Peterson called Teaching Without Words caught my attention.  It's worth a watch.

What do you think?

Poetry Is Just In Time

Yesterday my kiddo slipped in mud that coated her sparkly white shoes a wet mud brown.  We giggled out loud as she wiped some of it away on the spring grass.  This was a perfect prelude to reading one of my favorite poems,  E.E. Cumming's in Just-.  It puts a smile on my face this time of year.  What's not to love about words like "mud-luscious" and "puddle-wonderful"?

April is National Poetry Month.  Really every month should be, but it's a nice time for those of us who live busy lives and don't take the time to enjoy the rhythmic beauty of a initially seemingly simple poem that with a deeper look is loaded with sound and meaning.

Like so many, I don't consider myself a poet.  Yet, I appreciate.  Book Spine Poetry is a simple way many of us can appreciate in a participatory, visible way.  Here are two former posts I wrote about this fun form of poetry:  Part 1 and Part 2.  Give it a try and let me know how it goes!  Explore your resources for developing meaningful opportunities, and have fun!

I know this much is true…
The world is open,
The sun also rises.
Where the sidewalk ends,
Let the great world spin.

Quick QR Code How-To

Wondering how to use QR codes in education?  There are many ways!  In my online Tech for Educators course, I have a creative librarian working towards integrating QR codes and ipods.  In my quest to aid her, I aggregated the following.

 She is using The QR Code Generator: http://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/ 

Unitag:  http://www.unitaglive.com/qrcode looks like a good site to customize QR codes.

QR Voice is another fun variation to explore:  http://qrvoice.net/
Tag My Doc allows you add a QR code to a document, so others can simply scan it. http://www.tagmydoc.com/ 

Watch how I created and embedded the QR code above.

What could you do with QR codes in your instructional setting?  (The topic of immersive technologies in education is a good extension to this conversation.)

Happy creating!

Social Media in P-12 Education Discussion

I love this part of my job!  Students in my Tech for Educators course had an interesting discussion on the topic of Social Media in P-12 Education.  Uses of Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs were discussed.  Concepts of “friending” students and parents, where to draw the line between personal and professional life, and digital citizenship all entered the conversation.

It was interesting for me to hear them discuss various ways schools are using social media.  I was also intrigued by the conversation of how students sometimes set up their own Facebook pages to extend learning beyond the classroom—student lead.  I have my own evolving views of this topic that I won’t mention here.  I will say we as educators need to have these types of conversations and look at all sides.  As we do, I agree with one of my students who ended the conversation by saying there are more questions than answers!

This past week, I’ve done my own extension of learning on this topic.  Here are some of the resources I’ve explored and highly recommend.

This one’s especially for the amazing math teacher in my course:  Bringing Twitter to Life with Alan November and Jessica Caviness.

This interview with Alan November and David Weinberger entitled, The World Has Become “To Big for Us to Know”  is a must listen to for all of us!  Alan and David "discuss what knowledge means and what type of learning must take place in a connected world of overabundant information.  Alan and David share a series of ideas and stories that will have you thinking more about the structure of assignments in your classroom." 

My students inspired me to give a simple taste of  how Twitter can be used without student accounts.  I pulled out a few of their favorite assessment sites shared in our wiki last week and posted them using this hashtag #TCE596Winter.  It should be accessible on any mobile device by following this link.

Happy discussions!  (Face-to-face or virtual ;)

The Up-Goer Five in Education

Guest Blog Post:

Hello all! I am a Biology teacher currently masquerading as an English teacher in South Korea. Since I don’t have much in the way of experience teaching English—much less English as a Foreign Language (EFL)—I am taking some online courses to improve my teaching skills.

When Tech: I discovered The Up-Goer Five on Nik’s LearningTechnology Blog.

Users are challenged to explain a complex idea using only the ten hundred most used English words. The program identifies any words that you use which are not simple enough.

Here's an example.  Can you guess where it is?  " I live in a big place with one people group that is not my own. The big place I live in is broken in two parts because the two parts were fighting. I live in the lower part. People here are nice. "

Met Ed: TheUp-Goer Five could be used either to help English Language Learners (ELLs) explain an idea using words that they are familiar with or with non-ELL students to show how difficult it is to express complex ideas when you don't have the proper words. Sites such as these can expose educators to new ideas and give them tools to implement the use of these ideas.

Go ahead and try it! Leave your definition in the comments so mine won’t be lonely. 

The Teachers Should See This: Let Them Own It

My class watched Alan November’s TEDxNYED and had an engaging discussion on it.  I pulled out a few of the main concepts and quotes they selected to discuss.  My young guest blogger then helped me create the below video using Camtasia and Flickr Poet. Enjoy!

With all of this whirling about in my brain, I enjoyed a Seedling book talk on chapter 2: “Students as Tutorial Designer” of Alan November’s book, Who Owns the Learning?  Here’s a link to their chapter 1: “Welcome to the Digital Farm” book talk.  It's all good stuff!

Can you guess what’s next on my ed tech reading list?  Happy watching/reading!

(This post was co-created with my young guest blogger.)