Here is the link to my voice thread about a situation in my school that I am confronted with.
http://voicethread.com/share/530014/
I knew immediately what I was going to talk about, however, the images, documents or video was a little bit harder for me. I wasn't sure what type of images or documents to use to be a visual representation of my situation. From this exercise however, I realize the potential for the use of voice threads in my math classroom which I think was the point. I like that I can have a math problem up on the screen, my voice can be explaining it and I can doodle to show what I am talking about at the same time. Then the class can add comments about what they did and add any additional information.
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Hi Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI posted a comment to your voice thread but I guess I will do it here also. After watching your voice thread I was overwhelmed. I can not imagine how difficult it would be to share rooms with three other teachers and have to change as often as you do. I do have to share a computer lab which in no way compares to what you face but it does present some challenges. Fortunately I have a primary classroom where I can store all of my things. I have found it helpful to have as much as I can saved onto the school server so if I forget a handout I can at least pull it up on the lcd projector and still go on with my plans for the day. I can also use a document sharing file to give students documents digitally rather than having to transport all of the papers that they need back and forth. This has been somewhat helpful. The largest class at my school is 177 students. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to teach in a school with 250 teachers.
I found voice thread to be very user friendly. I think that my students will really like using it and that it can definitely support the social learning theory. Being able to doodle on the images was a really nice tool. However, I found myself pointing things out only to realize that if I don't actually circle them you didn't see the cursor. It was a fun tool to use.
Jenny
I also posted a comment to your voicethread. I think that you did a nice job expaining your problem, and I hope that my suggestion helps a little. I'm sorry that I couldn't give you better advice since I have never been in that situation. I would also mention keeping your files on the school server, or a jump drive that you might hang around your neck with your ID, or something of that nature. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your problem because my first year in the middle school I moved from room to room on a rolling cart. The up side to this was that I knew my way around the school quickly, learned who was flexible and helpful and who was not, and had to be very, very organized. The downside, as you noted, is that you have no home base, your items are scattered, the noise, etc. I have several suggestions. First, locate any rooms that are empty during your down time and see if you can arrange to park yourself there for some peace and quiet, make use of the great outdoors for a walk and some mind clearing serenity, try the rolling cart idea, as once I had mine organized it worked out well (I created a curtain for it, so my things did not up and disappear, and it provide a great way to move myself through the throngs of students quickly!), and make arrangements to share materials so that you do not need to cart everything around. Having my final period in the drafting part of the shop room (!), I learned to create an alternate lesson plan for that period, in case the noise level was too much to work over, and this proved a life saver many times over. Finally, use tis experience to model flexibility and organization for your learners. My students often asked me about how I managed, and I'd like to think it helped some of them realize the importance of pre-planning and being ready to change plans at the drop of a dime. Best of luck!
Monica