Video in the Classroom

After reading Prensky's descriptions of digital native and digital immigrants, I know I am a digital native. I enjoy using technology and try to integrate it when ever I can. I get very excited when learning new technology and share my excitement with other staff in my building. I have seen digital immigrants in my school over the past year, since we got 1:1 Ipads. I would love to help the digital immigrants see how to implement using technology into their classroom; this is one of the reasons I wanted to get my master in Technology Education.
Within my classroom, students know that they will be expected to learn how to not only use technology but use it appropriately for education purposes. I have seen many digital immigrant teachers trying to integrate technology however they use it as a busy and fun tool rather than educational. Students in my classroom not only learn how to use technology for the assignment but how they could use it in their futures. I enjoy teaching my students new apps and ways to problems solve. I have found that after using technology more and more this past year, students are able to problem solve on their own and create amazing projects that show their learning throughout all content areas.
Furthering my steps in learning the language of multimedia would be using educational videos within the class or during professional development. I have not used TED Talks and I am not sure how I would use them in the elementary classroom; I could see them being used in professional development meetings. I found a new website and app this past week to help with videos and discussion in the classroom that I would enjoy trying. Edupuzzle you take videos from youtube and other video locations and insert questions and audio into them at certain parts to get students engagement and thinking up during watching videos.
I have found a few site that I can use to block advertisements and inappropriate videos when sharing videos with students (PureView, SafeShare.tv). Both website you take the Youtube link and put it into the website generator on the website. The websites then give you a new link to go to the video. The link can be placed into a QR code or shared through AirDrop.

Digital Cameras in the Classroom

Using digital cameras in the classroom is very important in my everyday classroom. Students could be video recording or taking pictures with their iPads or before iPads we video taped each other in reading centers. During reading centers students picked a book to read with their partner. Once the pair felt comfortable reading the book fluently, the students recorded them selves. Then the video could be placed on YouTube with a connecting QR code made. The QR code could then be connected to the book as a read aloud for other students to listen to during the center.

This activity would help students practice their fluency while working Ina group. Students love to record themselves and take ownership over their work. This activity will also help lower readers because then they could scan a QR code to hear a book read to them that they may not be able to read on their own.

Scanners in the Classroom

I have not used a scanner for educational purposes in a very long time. I am lucky enough to work in a school that has 1:1 iPads and I have had technology for the past three years where scanners were not the best option. After reading a few articles about how scanners are used in the classroom I could see a need for them.

I have researched an app called Classroom Organizer which is a barcode scanner for your classroom library. This app scans books and gives them a barcode with information such as Lexial levels, reading level, pages, and even tracks what students are checking out the book. It organizes your classroom library like the schools.

I could see myself using this app during silent reading or by letting students check out books from my own library. At our building second graders can only check out one book for the school library. This would help with students they need more books or if the teacher is wanting to make sure students are taking books home that are on their reading level. I have seen many students take home books that are too easy or too hard. If the teacher teaches students their reading levels they could find a just right book for them.

Effective Instruction

Helping my colleagues be more effective instructors will require me to communicate my learning in different ways. I have shared tons of information with my colleagues this past year because of my interest in technology and STEM. I have found that most of my colleagues are still resistant or unsure how to effectively perform the new ways of learning into their year.


I absolutely connected with Heidi Hayes Jacobs TED Talk because of our building changing so much in the past two years. We have changed our technology, curriculum, and magnet theme; which has pushed new learning and new teaching styles. I have taken the time to embrace these new styles of teaching since our students are new learners. However there are many teachers that are stuck on the old styles of teaching and homework.


Jacobs talked about how we need to think about who we are teaching because this new generation of learners need a new type of "future schools". I think my building is up and coming as a new future school as long as we get everyone on board. Jacobs spoke about how we need to deepen the learning of students by putting them in control and letting the teachers be more of facilitators. Students are to be engaged in learning and not just told what to learn.


She mentioned students creating blogs, podcasts, and apps to demonstrate their new learning. I agree totally with this new assessment skills. This past year I had my students create their own blogs and talk with students all over the global. This type of global media encourages kids to think outside their city and imagine what they can do with their future.


One thing that I think would help my colleagues is by letting them watch and discuss Jacobs video. I would love to introduce more of my colleagues to what the technology in our building can look like in a variety of classrooms. I sometimes wonder if I am being a "secret genius" because I do not always share my new learning and teaching with colleagues; I have found that having effective instruction means that I need to share more, learn more, and discuss more with my colleagues to make us a "future school".

Instructional Design

After learning more about instructional design (ID) and how it is used for teachers, business administrators, and the military I agree with statement below:

"Education has missed the boat, with respect to instructional design. Teachers come up with lesson plans on the fly, with little thought to why they are presenting information or even who their audience is. Teacher training, at the university level and during Professional development, needs to focus on helping teachers become comfortable with instructional design principles."

The instructional design should be taught directly during teacher training because I'm many districts and school buildings teachers are being asked to create their own modules or units; however these teachers are not forming their modules following the ID ideas. Michael Molenda mentioned in his work titled "The ADDIE Model", that many teacher instructional materials being used for teacher training does not mention the ADDIE model or ID. Modenda also stated that the ADDIE model should be followed in order (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation).

 I believe that the ADDIE model is the ID I would follow because it makes sense to anaylsis data and create a pretest or an observation before designing a lesson. This is a reason why I agree to the statement above saying that teachers do not always know their audience before teaching. The anaylsis part of ADDIE covers this idea of making sure the students or staff you are teaching or training know the background of the lesson but can grow in the lesson. 

Another part of the ADDIE model that is commonly missing in teacher ID is the evaluation. The evaluation part of ADDIE is not my favorite part because of where it is place. When I think evaluation I think of assessments, standards met, and data of growth. In the ADDIE model the evaluation process means to self reflected and question students about their learning. I found that this is an area I am lacking in. I find that I self reflect but do not write down or take action on improvements. I have started to question students and have them reflect on how they believe a unit or model has gone. Molenda stated that the evaluation process is to find the next step in instruction, meaning to review, reteach, or deepen the learning. This is where many teachers fail to follow through, including myself. We as teachers reflect but do not always have the time or thought to reteach if the concept was not completely understood by the audience. 

Overall I learning about ID and the ADDIE model has given me a new view on how to design and create engaging appropriate models. Teacher training should including more of the understanding of ID and how to fully create lessons that will advance the audiences knowledge. If teachers were given more training on ID it might decrease the number of teachers throwing together lessons without thinking about background knowledge, audience, and evaluation.