Web-based technology tools can increase student engagement and motivation because when used properly they:- Make meaningful connections between school and our 21st century media-infused world
- Provide alternative processes for collaboration and to interact creatively with curricular content, address standards, and acquire 21st century technical skills and etiquette
- Provide alternative products (forms of assessment) that solve real problems or meet a real need while demonstrating content mastery
- Offer opportunities for students to demonstrate learning to and interact with authentic audiences, as appropriate
Though we are not facilitating workshops on differentiated instruction (meeting student learning needs by skillfully managing a range of options regarding content, process, product and environment) we are providing exposure to a few of the technology tools teachers have at their disposal at little or no cost to create a student-centered classroom environment where content, process and product are guided by student interests and needs. For more information on planning for DI, visit our curriculum resource page.
Helps students see complex text visually by looking for patterns or frequency of word use.
Mind Mapping helps students organize their thoughts graphically and give teachers insights on the connections students make among important concepts. For a free tool that can be used for creating mind maps, try Google Draw https://www.e-education.psu.edu/assets/googlemap
Use of online cartoon creators provide a creative way for students to demonstrate understanding of a concept in a concise and humorous manner. Here are two simple online cartoon creators:
QR or Quick Response codes popular in inventory control and retail is a tool that has multiple uses in educational settings. Read more... Students benefit from engaging multiple senses in the analysis of complex texts. The web has become a treasure trove of video and audio libraries. Common Core Reading Anchor Standard 7 stresses the importance of student being able to analyze, compare and contrast complex materials in multiple media formats. Students can also convert text to audio using web tools such as Voki while creating their own avatars. Try this worksheet. Remember, there is no such thing as a neutral text. Samples of Different Tools for Different Learning Types: Musical/Rhythmical: Garage Band element can be added to the finished product, or perhaps a podcast.
Bodily/Kinesthetic: iMovie or weVideo
Linguistic: Voice Thread or iBook Author
Visual/ Spacial: Glogster
Logical/mathematical: Trimble (previously Google) sketch-up In an increasingly diverse world connected by high-speed communication, it is important for students to see an issue from multiple perspectives. Newseum Front Pages from Around the World is a great tool to compare and contrast perspectives on a topic. Take augmented reality virtual field trips using web-based and mobile apps. Better yet, have your students map it out. WebQuests remain a good way to foster collaboration, provide for more open-ended problem-solving, and assign roles to support student strengths. WebQuests are available for all ages and in virtually all subject areas. Rubrics designed to address individual and group accountability are critical.
Rubrics - help students focus on the important content and process elements in any project. There are very good options for generating rubrics online. Digital Storytelling
ELA Common Core Anchor Standard 7 for Reading English
Language Arts Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for
Reading
Integrate and evaluate content presented in
diverse media and formats,
including visually and quantitatively, as well as in
words.
Student Literacies
Digital Storytelling by students provides a strong foundation in many different types of
literacy, such as information literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy, and media
literacy. Summarizing the work of several researchers in this field, Brown, Bryan and
Brown (2005) have labeled these multiple skills that are aligned with technology as
“Twenty-first Century Literacy,” which they describe as the combination of:
-
Digital Literacy – the ability to communicate with an ever-expanding community
to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help;
- Global Literacy - the capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize
messages from a global perspective
-
Technology Literacy - the ability to use computers and other technology to
improve learning, productivity, and performance;
-
Visual Literacy - the ability to understand, produce and communicate through
visual images;
-
Information Literacy - the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information.
Elements of Storytelling: Point of View, Dramatic Question, Emotional Content, Voice, Soundtrack, Economy, and Pacing Types of Stories: Personal Narratives, Historical Retelling, Persuasion or Call to Action, Instruct on Concept or Skill
Robin, B. The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. University of Houston (Retrieved February 15, 2013)
A good story with a compelling question can make a great digital story. Conversely, technology can make a bad story a painful and time consuming experience for all concerned. Teaching critical questioning techniques is important. What is an essential question? Here is a resource that can help - http://www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html. It doesn't have to be complicated - Click here to see how simple it can be Sometimes you just get lucky and find that one stop shopping resource. Click here for some tools, resources and examples. Easy to Learn Tools PowerPoint - Leave the bullets at home and turn a Power Pointless into a compelling digital story! Read more... iMovie - Part of the iLife suite and on every Mac computer in the District! Story Jumper (pdf) - A great place to create multimedia children's books Lessons, Tutorials, and Examples
Tools to Connect Storyteller with their Audience
Connect artifacts to digital stories with QR or Quick Response codes. Read more... Let students create an avatar to introduce a story. Using Voki Mac OS Tools for Special Needs
|