Connect 2.0

This month we shared interesting and interactive ways that students are telling digital stories (or reading/watching/listening to them)!

We started by introducing a web-based tool called VoiceThread. VT allows users to upload images (or video) and then record audio about that image (or video). The great thing about VT is that it’s so easy to use, and it’s web-based so the digital stories can be shared with a wider audience - parents, other classes, and collaborators around the world can even comment on (or contribute to) our work!

We shared a few examples of student-produced VTs from all across the elementary school, including this excellent project from Mrs. Rodgers grade 3 class working on Structures of Life for for their FOSS science unit: Sprouting Seeds:

We also talked about the future of reading with new devices like the Kindle. Tara brought hers in to demonstrate how easy it is to use, and how the screen design makes it easy on the eyes. Being able to take a whole collection of books on a plane or to the beach without having to weigh down your luggage is a huge advantage to all of us living overseas!

In addition to the actual Kindle, Amazon has also released a Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch which allows you to purchase Amazon’s e-books online (or on your iPhone or iPod Touch) and download wirelessly to your device. The application is totally free - you just have to purchase the books through Amazon!

Although sometimes it seems impossible that we could ever stop using books for reading, devices like the Kindle and the iPhone now make it possible to carry an entire library with you wherever you go (just like the iPod did for your music library).

Check out this video called, Introducing the Book:

Finally, we demonstrated the collection of iPods donated by the PTA last May. On our ES Learning Hub iPods we have all of the audio books in our collection! We have 10 iPods available for grade 3 - 5 students to borrow (8-day loans, just like our books) after the permission slip has been signed by both parents and students. Eventually, we would also like to house our student-produced digital stories on our iPods (like the VoiceThread shared above along with other fantastic student work happening all across the elementary school). Thank you so much to the PTA for so generously donating such an exciting resource!

Thank you to all of the parents who took time out of their busy day to attend this monthly session! We so enjoy learning with you and sharing new and exciting ideas from our ISB 21st Century Literacy Team!

Our next meeting will be April 1, 2009 at 7:30 am in the Learning Hub Project Zone. Topic: Podcasting: This session will be an introduction to the uses of podcasting in the classroom, as well as a demonstration of how you can use podcasts to teach yourself all sorts of amazing things (time to learn Thai?).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 8:40 am and is filed under The Parent Connection, grade 3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.