Digital Text and Reflection

I decided to check out 2 different digital texts...not to go the extra mile, but because the first one gave me a headache trying to work with (at first).  After some trial and error...I decided that I really liked BOTH digital texts.

The first one that I worked with (and struggled with a bit...only in the beginning) was from the webpage, http://edu.glogster.com/.  You have options to create your own handouts, assignments, posters, biographies, book reports, and so much more.  There is also an overflowing handful of these items already created by gifted educators that you could use for your class.

Here is the glog that I created...

Here was the process...  You get to choose a template.  You can edit everything on the page.  You get to add video (mine actually works when you access the glog instead of just the picture above), images, graphics, web-links, audio, and text.  You get to choose where you want everything, how you want it to look, etc.  It was really a fun thing...once I switched to the iPad.  Note:  The iPad app was MUCH easier for me to manipulate than the computer.  Next time I will do all my work on the iPad and NOT on the computer. Plus...it would help if you watch the tutorial.  I just found out that there was one (ha ha).

Technical issues aside, I think that it would be very fun for students to create math projects on Glogster.  The sky is the limit here.  Here is just one idea:  Ask students to work in groups to create a poster that corresponds to a standard that the class has just learned.  I feel that going through the process to find images, text, videos, etc., will cement the standard more firmly in their minds and help their understanding to deepen.

The article that I read explained that Glogster is a great tool for students to be actively engaged in their learning  Students get the opportunity to use think aloud strategies.  The article did state that Glogster is a social networking site and permission would have to be granted for students to use this site.  It also stated that students can have trouble finding photos and text that they have in mind.  It stated that the teacher should model for the students how to go about this process before requesting students to create a glog.  It also talked about how to create a rubric for an assignment created on Glogster since it could be difficult if students aren't tech savvy.

The next Digital text that I played around with was the app called, Educreations.  I found this app on my ipad.  There is also a web page here, https://www.educreations.com/.  The following link is a video that I created on solving systems of equations with the elimination method.  It was fairly simple to create using a stylus, the text ability, and a photo of a grid to graph with.  I learned one important thing about myself...I need to talk FASTER.  I was talking so slow that when I watched my video for the first time, I was wishing for a :"speed up" button, ha ha.  Next time I will keep that in mind.

https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/systems-of-equations-elimination/29654383/?s=HKkN3d

The process was very simple.  I could pause/record whenever I needed.  Writing was simple, attaching a photo was simple.  The only problem with the program was that you couldn't rewind and re-record a section.  There were a few places where I stumbled in my (slow) talking or where I made an error that I wished I could have gone back and changed it.

I think students would love this!  One idea would be to ask students to create their own storyline for an exponential function (this could be either exponential growth or decay).  In addition to the storyline, ask them to write the exponential function that corresponds to the storyline, graph the function with labeled axis, and explain what the realistic domain and range of the function would be.  All of this could be done with Educreations.  This was much more simple than a glog from Glogster...although Glogster produced a much more fun product.

See you next time...