Content Objects

Content Objects

I decided on Content Objects this week because I really wanted to explore more apps that I could possibly integrate in my dual language classroom. Since my students are assessed on TELPAS I explored tools that focused on the component of speaking. Some tools I found were ChatterPix, Toontastic, and Glogster.

ChatterPix

This app was a great tool that encouraged speaking. I have some students that are very shy and do not like to speak in front of their classmates. This app would aid them in being able to present through a motion picture. It is very simple to use, students draw a mouth on a picture and record themselves. This then gets transferred to a motion picture with the audio. Students can email it or save it on the camera roll. I like how they can then upload it into Seesaw and gets added to their journal. The only negative aspect I came across was the limit on the recording. The video recording can only be 30 seconds.

Toontastic

Toontastic gives an opportunity for students to create their own short story or even a science report through an animation. I liked several things about it. First, it guides students from the beginning, middle, to the end of their story. It allows you to integrate music onto the short story animation, and have several themes you can choose from like mystery, confident, or even tense. Finally, I liked how students get to create, record, and share their video with others. This app reinforces the speaking component, furthermore, it promotes creativity. Students would be able to role play different characters, create a storyboard, and design their own story. A limitation I came across was how students would not be able to add their own clip art or camera roll images for backgrounds. They would be restricted to only the backgrounds they have.

Glogster

Glogster is a tool that allows the user to represent graphics in an interactive simulated manner. Students may use it for a variety of purposes, including: book reviews, reflections from the content learned, vocabulary, explaining a science topic, poetry, and the list may go on. Certain aspects that I liked from glogster is having a variety of multimedia that students may choose from. It allows the user to really express their creativity. Students may use pre-made themes, and include text, graphics, images, audio, or even videos. It was also easy to work with. Students can simply select and drag the graphic onto the screen easily. This tool also integrated the speaking component, they are able to record themselves explaining their glogster they created. From the educators point of view, I was not able to manage my classes from the app I would have to use the desktop version. This was the only drawback I came across.

Using a Creativity Tool

The tool I would like to utilize with my students would be ChatterPix. ChatterPix is a tool that supports the speaking component my students need in the English language.

Content: 5.10(A) Students will compare the structures and functions of different species that help them live and survive in a specific environment.

Pedagogy: Constructivism Approach

Tool: ChatterPix

In this lesson students will work with their bilingual partner and will select an organism of their choice. They will explore three structures and functions that help them live and survive in a specific environment and will then use ChatterPix and demonstrate their learning. ChatterPix will allow for them to upload a picture of their organism, draw a line on the mouth and start recording their findings. At the end they will upload it to their Seesaw journal and will be shared with the rest of their classmates. By using this creativity tool, the lesson will be more engaging and students will reinforce the speaking component for their TELPAS along with the content learned. Students will be able to learn using the constructivism approach, since learning is taking place through discovery.

Selecting Another Tool

I could have also selected glogster as another tool to accomplish the same objective. By using this tool the students would incorporate more creativity into their product of learning. With this tool they can integrate various multimedia, for instance an image, text, but also a video depicting the organism in its environment. Students would still be able to explain their learning through the audio feature; integrating the speaking component. This tool would in fact lead to more in depth learning. The reason I did not select it was due to time constraints. I think I would use this tool more for an end of unit reflection.

Students are highly engaged through the means of technology. As educators we must start planning and designing lessons using the TPACK model to yield in depth learning. Technology is a tool that should be used to facilitate and enhance learning in our students.