Digital Storytelling

Until this class, I didn't really think of my material as "presentations," when that is exactly what it is.  I know that I am sharing and "presenting" information to my students, but I also have always attached the word "presentation" to the business or professional world.  Thinking about it in my classroom really made me see my materials through a different eye.

The materials that we had to read and look at this week really hit home in so many ways.  I don't think any of us could read this and not connect it to at least one situation in our life when we have experienced a poorly delivered presentation.  Hopefully, after this course is over, we all steer clear of presenting the evil "slideument."

There was a mix of opinion about how to use presentation software to share information, and even an opinion that it shouldn't be used at all.  Each article brings out interesting and valid points about why presentations should simplify their material, why presentations have simplified material too much, and even why presentation software should be banned all together.  I can't see our world moving towards the elimination of presentation software, but hopefully towards using it more effectively.

InTime Lesson

The InTime Lesson that I looked at fits right in with a third grade science unit on relationships of living things.  It involves using KidPix Delux (or any other kid-friendly presentation software) with student groups who are each given a specific habitat and requiring them to do research, apply creative thinking to design a presentation, show their knowledge of a computer program (after being taught and given an opportunity to practice), and to apply the concepts that were previously taught to them during the whole class lessons.  I always feel as though I have to start from scratch and completely create a project in order to include technology in my lessons.  This site was a breath of fresh air because I was able to access well-written and thoroughly detailed plans that needed little or no adjustment to fit immediately into my current curriculum and plans.  I found this to be a very straight-forward, simplistic way to get help from other educators without having to sort through poorly written and confusing plans or plans that require many edits due to differences in curriculum and/or a lack of similar resources. 

Onto The Next...

As the start of a new class is upon us, I am refreshed and ready to dive into the new material.  I enjoy using technology with my students and being able to introduce and expose them to new experiences and opportunities for learning with technology.  However, since my kiddos are quite young and their experience with technology covers a huge range, it can be a bit intimidating to take on these type of activities and projects.  Right now, our school is looking at how technology can be integrated into science and social studies as we evaluate and redo the curriculum plans for those subject areas.  We have come up with some awesome ideas, now it just sitting down and getting the details and expectations worked out. 

I can think of numerous ways to integrate the tools that we looked at for creating graphics and developing presentations.  I am planning on taking a lot of time this summer to integrate a presentation program that was introduced by Kristy into reading activities that focus on characters and their traits or the story elements, along with others that come up throughout this course.