EEND 675 Module 7 Discussion
Hello class,
This week's assignment was to come up with two practices we could use in class in to inspire creative thinking using technology. I teach 9th grade co-taught biology as well as senior anatomy. I decided to again focus on biology because of the diversity of learners in the classroom. There were many great resources to pick from, and I look forward to implementing a few of them in the class this year.
The first link I clicked on drew me in because our school uses google Chromebooks. It was called "4 Chrome Apps for Student Creation". The first chrome app that was mentioned is WeVideo, which is an amazing app. Since I have already used WeVideo a lot in class, and even wrote about it for this class I decided to talk about another app featured in the article called Scoot and Doodle.
Scoot and Doodle is a free Chrome app that can easily be added to your chrome browser tool bar. Right away I saw many ways to apply it in class as well as ways students could use it on their own for study. Scoot and Doodle is basically a collaborating and brainstorming app. I think this app really encourages flexible thinking, one of the best practices for teachers to promote creative thinking. Up to 10 students can join a group or hangout and use the app to share ideas, drawings, ask questions, and even post pictures. This app can spark creative thinking because it promotes collaboration, and sharing of ideas. Student could form study groups from the comfort of their own home and collaborate with up to 9 other students to study for an upcoming test. This could include drawing diagrams, asking each other question or quizzing each other.
I also see this being used as a creative brainstorming tool. When used as a brainstorming tool I think it promotes taking risks, especially in a lab or experiment setting. This is one of the best practices for teachers to promote creative thinking. Students could get in groups to design an experiment or draw out procedures for a lab. The teacher needs to model, another best practice, what they want the students to do with Scoot and Doodle, but after a few exposures to the app, I think students will find many more creative ways to use it.
After looking at many different tools, and seeing that over half of them are blocked by our school, I came across a site called Tiki-Toki. The site is an online, timeline generator where you can upload pictures, text, and videos to create a creative timeline. Right away, I though of a pencil and paper activity we do for our evolution unit in which students create a timeline for the planet Earth. It's a great hands on, introductory activity to help kids understand a critical aspect of evolution, TIME. I think this website might encourage flexible thinking, because it will give the students multiple ways of approaching the activity. I will still allow students to make the typical poster I think, but also introduce them to this website as well. Students will have the option which media they choose to display their mastery of the material. Hopefully these choices will foster intrinsic motivation to approach the material in whatever way they feel most comfortable but at the same time challenges them to make a good project.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
References:
This week's assignment was to come up with two practices we could use in class in to inspire creative thinking using technology. I teach 9th grade co-taught biology as well as senior anatomy. I decided to again focus on biology because of the diversity of learners in the classroom. There were many great resources to pick from, and I look forward to implementing a few of them in the class this year.
The first link I clicked on drew me in because our school uses google Chromebooks. It was called "4 Chrome Apps for Student Creation". The first chrome app that was mentioned is WeVideo, which is an amazing app. Since I have already used WeVideo a lot in class, and even wrote about it for this class I decided to talk about another app featured in the article called Scoot and Doodle.
Scoot and Doodle is a free Chrome app that can easily be added to your chrome browser tool bar. Right away I saw many ways to apply it in class as well as ways students could use it on their own for study. Scoot and Doodle is basically a collaborating and brainstorming app. I think this app really encourages flexible thinking, one of the best practices for teachers to promote creative thinking. Up to 10 students can join a group or hangout and use the app to share ideas, drawings, ask questions, and even post pictures. This app can spark creative thinking because it promotes collaboration, and sharing of ideas. Student could form study groups from the comfort of their own home and collaborate with up to 9 other students to study for an upcoming test. This could include drawing diagrams, asking each other question or quizzing each other.
I also see this being used as a creative brainstorming tool. When used as a brainstorming tool I think it promotes taking risks, especially in a lab or experiment setting. This is one of the best practices for teachers to promote creative thinking. Students could get in groups to design an experiment or draw out procedures for a lab. The teacher needs to model, another best practice, what they want the students to do with Scoot and Doodle, but after a few exposures to the app, I think students will find many more creative ways to use it.
After looking at many different tools, and seeing that over half of them are blocked by our school, I came across a site called Tiki-Toki. The site is an online, timeline generator where you can upload pictures, text, and videos to create a creative timeline. Right away, I though of a pencil and paper activity we do for our evolution unit in which students create a timeline for the planet Earth. It's a great hands on, introductory activity to help kids understand a critical aspect of evolution, TIME. I think this website might encourage flexible thinking, because it will give the students multiple ways of approaching the activity. I will still allow students to make the typical poster I think, but also introduce them to this website as well. Students will have the option which media they choose to display their mastery of the material. Hopefully these choices will foster intrinsic motivation to approach the material in whatever way they feel most comfortable but at the same time challenges them to make a good project.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
References:
4 Chrome Apps for Student Creation - Getting Smart by Aimee Bartis - EdTech, education apps. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2014/01/4-chrome-apps-student-creation/
Tiki-Toki online timeline software. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from https://www.tiki-toki.com/
White-McNulty, L. Inspire Student Learning & Creativity [PDF document]. Retrieved from
Comments
Post a Comment