I am realizing more and more, the complexities of providing and maintaining access to technology for SPPS staff, particularly when we have pushed so hard for them to use the new technologies in their instruction. Bandwidth- or not enough of it- is the current dilemma.
The reality is that this isn't our mother's Internet... many of the web.2 tools take up huge amounts of bandwidth, which has resulted in an almost constant traffic jam, which often discourages our teachers from continuing to try to use the technologies. Many say that more bandwidth is not the answer, that what we must do is monitor how the existing pipe is being used. There are no easy or simple (or economical) answers.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Post 16- Thing 17, One New Thing: Comic Life
As far as "new things" are concerned, there are so very many that I see or interact with on a daily basis, that I become a little dizzy just thinking about the possibilities. The truth is, I am not one to "play" on the computer- for me, my computer equals work- so I appreciate it when I am forced to learn a new application, such as when I promise to teach it to a class of students...
My tech integration colleagues have done some very cool projects with students using Comic Life, piquing my interest. (See French postcards at Washington- http://washington.spps.org/French_II.html )
I had not gotten around to actually using it though, until I talked Jill at Harding into using it with her Spanish students for a class project. (I also volunteered to teach it to them....) Students can use their own digital photos or create their own art for the strips. They then insert dialog and captions to tell the story or relay the information. I could see this used in many content areas for biographies, how-to, persuasive, pro and cons on an issue and many others. In the case of Jill's Spanish III students, we used it to practice present and past tenses.
Though not every student was completely immersed in the project, I'd venture to say that they enjoyed it, and that it was a nice change of pace for them. Show-time is later this week, on Thursday, when we'll see the finished products. I'll plan to post a couple of them here.
The upshot is that I see this product, which is available to all SPPS staff & students, as a great "show what you know" tool for our students, particularly for ELL or World Language practice.
Try to find some time to check it out.
Leslie
My tech integration colleagues have done some very cool projects with students using Comic Life, piquing my interest. (See French postcards at Washington- http://washington.spps.org/French_II.html )
I had not gotten around to actually using it though, until I talked Jill at Harding into using it with her Spanish students for a class project. (I also volunteered to teach it to them....) Students can use their own digital photos or create their own art for the strips. They then insert dialog and captions to tell the story or relay the information. I could see this used in many content areas for biographies, how-to, persuasive, pro and cons on an issue and many others. In the case of Jill's Spanish III students, we used it to practice present and past tenses.
Though not every student was completely immersed in the project, I'd venture to say that they enjoyed it, and that it was a nice change of pace for them. Show-time is later this week, on Thursday, when we'll see the finished products. I'll plan to post a couple of them here.
The upshot is that I see this product, which is available to all SPPS staff & students, as a great "show what you know" tool for our students, particularly for ELL or World Language practice.
Try to find some time to check it out.
Leslie
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