Our first two meetings of the cohort were filled with new ideas and excitement to try them all!! The opportunity to hear what others are doing in their classrooms and to try the links presented and available created an excitement for the upcoming school year. The most impactful idea I heard during our first two days was the idea to use Jing with student conferences. I have 32 students in my class this year and am already overwhelmed by the task of conferencing with each individual student about their writing. I love the idea of using Jing to record my comments on their Google Docs writing from home and emailing them the video during class. I think this will be especially great for my high writers who are often left without constructive criticism on their already strong work... it will give me the time from home to think of creative challenges for them to try in their writing. I can't wait to use Jing for conferences!
It was also incredibly helpful to have a refresher on Blogger and to see how that can be used with and by students. It inspired me to have my students each create a blog to keep track of books read this year in our "40 Book Challenge."
Betsy,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you walked away with two awesome ideas to try out in your classroom this year. Both are big ones, but I think it is smart to narrow your focus so as not to get overwhelmed! We are looking at a new Google Add-On called Kaizena as well that allows for voice comments on documents. We have heard it can be glitchy, but it might even be easier than Jing videos. Talk to me today and I can show you the basics I have found. I haven't used it with my students yet but am going to try in a few weeks. I will keep you posted!
Penny