Internet Project - Procon.org Example

Internet Workshop is an instructional model that consists of an independent reading of information on the Internet around a topic and a location initially designated by the teacher; it concludes with a short workshop session where students can share and exchange the ideas and strategies they discovered during their work on the Internet.

Here is an example of an internet workshop I conducted on the research question: Are Cell Phones Safe?

1. I searched youtube.com to find a video to begin building background knowledge about the process the United States government uses when deciding on laws and regulations for the country.

2. Next I offered several articles for students to read so they could gather information and make informed decisions on this topic. I use an Inquiry Chart to help organize student's notes.

This first link is directly related to the video: http://cellphones.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=003767
Kelly Gallagher offers wonderful short articles:http://www.kellygallagher.org/resources/AoW%209%20Cell%20Phone%20Etiquette.pdf
A final article links to several opinions on this topic:http://cellphones.procon.org/#did_you_know

3. Finally, students are directed to Procon.org to leave a comment about their opinion: http://cellphones.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001468&tab=reader-comments and then to choose an opposing view point and leave a comment

When teaching students how to learn from the Internet, the Internet Project model can offer structure and teacher control. For more information on Internet Projects, check out: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/3-01_Column/index.html

Digital Portfolios

Are you looking for ways to teach students how to use digital portfolios? This video by Central York High School art teacher, Katlyn Wolfgang is just what you need. I can't wait to begin applying her suggestions and allow students to share their work with the world.


We would love to hear how you use digital portfolios in your classroom. Make sure to visit Katlyn's youtube channel for more videos.

3 Ways to Ring in Spring with Twitter!

This is a guest post written by Katherine Haun, a third grade teacher at York Township Elementary School.

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!

By now, you have heard of Twitter. You’ve seen the hashtags, like #edchat, and the @ symbols. You’ve even got your own account and username. But what good are they to you? Here are three reasons to ring in spring with Twitter.

First and foremost, build your Personal Learning Network (PLN). As an educator, the fastest way to learn about new topics in education is to follow other educators. You will feel even more connected if you join in a Twitter chat session with other educators. Scared to join the chat? Start easy, by reading others’ tweets, marking your favorites to reference at a later time. Then, tip-toe a little farther by retweeting something that is interesting to you that your followers might also be interested to read. Once you’re comfortable with that, start tweeting! Share useful websites, your own blog updates, even your animoto videos. To read others’ thoughts and resources on education topics, here are some hashtags to search on Twitter: #edchat, #edtech, #edpolicy, #edreform, and #digitalliteracy. The following are some people I follow on Twitter for ideas about education: @peteandc, @thenerdyteacher, @AngelaMaiers, @edutopia, @ChrisBiffle, @readingrockets, @readingsecrets, @web20classroom, @globalearner, and @kathyschrock. These are just a few to get you started…

Second, get your students involved! Create a class Twitter account and invite student volunteers to tweet a 140-character or less summary of each of your lessons throughout the day. Get your parents involved! Have them follow your class. Make sure that you adjust your privacy settings appropriate for your grade level, send home permission slips, and double-check your school district’s acceptable-use policy.

Third, are you interested in topics aside from education? I don’t know about you, but I basically missed the #GoldenGlobes. Now that football season is over, I’m not up-to-date with the most recent #NFL news, either. How often do you read before bed? Or over your morning coffee? Try searching your favorite topics on Twitter this spring, and I bet you’ll find that you will be reading for pleasure much more often than you did during the winter!

If you like this post, join our mailing list for more digital literacy tips. I would love to hear how you use Twitter for your classroom so take a few minutes to join the conversation on my facebook page.

How to Create a Video in 5 Easy Steps Using Animoto

This is a guest blog by Kelly Bortner, an elementary art teacher at Conewago School District. We would love to hear how you use animoto in your classroom. Please leave your comments below or visit facebook.com/myreadingsecrets to post on my wall.

As my anniversary rapidly approached (Lucky #13?!) I had to do some quick thinking…what to give the Love of my Life for our special day without breaking the piggy bank. You see, my Sweetie had missed a LOT of work due to the nature of his job & the weather…(apparently he decided THIS should be the year to test out the “for richer or for poorer” vow with the emphasis being on the “for poorer” part! Thanks, Honey!) And then it was as though the anniversary gods smiled down upon me …I was introduced to the wonderful world of ANIMOTO- a site that claims it is “Making Awesome Easier” where I could make a FREE (can’t do any better than FREE when attempting to save the piggy bank!) video of our first 13 years together. And almost as great as the fact that the piggy bank would be spared was the fact that it was EASY! (And for me to say anything that even remotely resembles technology is EASY- well you can bank on it!) If making a video for your special someone’s birthday, anniversary, or just because sounds like something that might interest you (did I mention FREE & EASY?) just read on… and have fun!

5 Easy Steps:
1. Log on to www.animoto.com
You will need to take about 2 minutes to open an account to enable you to use animoto. (But hey, I’m guessing those 2 minutes are WAY less time than it would take you to drive to the mall to actually BUY a gift!)

2. Choose Your Video Style
There are approximately 30+ styles from which you can choose. Just find a video style that looks interesting and “CLICK”…you get to preview it so no worries if you don’t love it- just hit the “X” and try again!

3. Choose Your Music
Each video comes with music pre-programmed, but if you feel like dancing to your own beat, then GO AHEAD, and name that tune! There are other songs on animoto that you can choose or you can download your own.

4. Add Your Photos (or video clips) & Text
You can download your photos or videos or even add clip art instead to suit your needs. Each photo and text box is its own slide so go ahead & just start adding- you can just click & drag your way to the perfect arrangement once everything in loaded on there.

5. Click “Produce Video”
Click “Produce Video” and in the 10 seconds it takes you to ponder what a GENIUS you are for making this video, you will receive an e-mail telling you your video is ready to view & share. You can post it to You Tube, Facebook, etc…or just save it in “Your Videos” to view/share at a later time.

6. What is this Step 6 Nonsense?!
(Okay, okay- I KNOW I said “In 5 Easy Steps,” but Step 6 is so BEYOND easy I didn’t even think it should count!)…Now all you have to do is sit back and listen to how wonderfully CREATIVE, TALENTED, & THOUGHTFUL you are for all the “hard work” (wink, wink ;) you did to make your Honey’s anniversary (or birthday, etc.) so special! So that’s it! Anyone can do It- including you…so what are you waiting for?! I would LOVE to hear all about how your visit to animoto went so keep me posted! Happy Creating!

3 Steps to Creating an Engaging Critique

This is a guest blog by Katlyn Wolfgang, a high school art teacher at Central York High School. We would love to hear how you are infusing technology into your classroom. Please leave your comments below or visit facebook.com/myreadingsecrets and post your comments on my wall.

Critiquing in a high school art classroom.

Commence all groaning by students AND teachers.

As a teacher of high school art students, engaging the students in a discussion about their artwork in a constructive manner is one that takes skillful planning, questioning and trickery to avoid the sound of crickets and blank stares for an entire class period. I have spent countless hours searching for and experimenting with different ideas to engage my students in a critique. Some of these tactics worked, some failed and others served a purpose but I would never touch again with a 100ft pole.

I was never completely satisfied with a critique until VOICETHREAD.

The best way I can describe VoiceThread (a conversation in the cloud) would be as an interactive PowerPoint in which all can collaborate through comments. Comments can be typed, drawn, video recorded, or recorded by a microphone or a phone.

Take a look at a VoiceThread of student work and their constructive feedback to one another STUDENT CRITIQUE

Did you like what you saw? Want to create one of your own?

FOLLOW THESE 3 EASY STEPS:

1.CREATE A VOICETHREAD
Sign up. Create your own VoiceThread by uploading your desired pictures.

Sidebar: I set up a lighting area, camera and tri-pod for students to take pictures of their work throughout a class period or two. From there I keep all of the pictures on my desktop in a folder for easy selection. Saves me time AND it teaches students about framing an image and using a digital camera.

2. SHARE THE LINK
Choose to share your thread by copying a link and post it in an easily accessible space.

3. STUDENT ENGAGMENT
Have students sign up for an account and access the link. Once on the thread they can leave comments to their classmates work.

Sidebar: I have my students respond to the 5 pieces that are featured after their work. Their comments must be either warm or cool feedback and relate to the Elements of Art or Principles of Design.

And, DONE!

The students LOVE it. They can sit back and develop their ideas in a mode that is comfortable for them. I have found that the quality critiques are much greater and our time in class is used more efficiently.