A changing understanding of teachers work: 2009-2012

I started my Education degree thinking that teachers came to school ten minutes before class and spontaneously thought up a fun activity related to the topic of their choice. I thought those really well prepared experienced teachers might have made notes about what they came up with this time last year and rehashed what worked. I thought that when the bell rang the teacher would jump in their Camry and return home.

I understood that teachers needed to know their students and the content they teach and that was about it.

I was in for a shock over the course of my education degree but one I have come to be really impressed by.

The existence of a curriculum was the first big one, 'So there is actually a document we need to look at?

And there are strategies to teach this content! 

How do we plan to fit it all in?

Is there enough hours in the year? 

Oh integrating topics! That is smart! But wait what about...' 

Assessment was the next, 'So we have to actually base our judgment of students understanding of this content on evidence?' 

And then it got really crazy. 

'This assessment doesn't necessarily have to be tests! 

Photos, work samples, film, interviews and so on! We can use this data to inform our planning! 

We can pinpoint students needs and even differentiate groups based on it! 

We can benefit enormously by considering all this in collaboration with our peers!

All that is going to take time!'

The value of Professional Development came a little later. Then the realisation of the importance of connecting to the wider community. 

I went from thinking I'd be rocking up at eight fifty winging the day full of lessons and doing the same thing year after year to realising the career path I had chosen requires a whole lot more. The hours planning, collaborating, considering assessment evidence, re-planning, continually perfecting your practice through professional development and the list goes on. The holidays are not even worth all of that!..... but knowing that you are becoming the best professional teacher you can be and knowing that putting in all those hours will ultimately impact on your students lives, even if it is in a minuscule way, is totally worth it!

Augmented Reality Apps in the classroom: Aurasma

Aurasma- This app is amazing. A little tricky to describe but I will give it a go.

Aurasma sort of works like the QR scanner but using the real world as trigger items rather than bar-codes.

Think Minority Report!

Basically you can take photos of things and then assign media, like video, text, audio, or animations to these photos. Someone can come along with their mobile device and view the real world object you have assigned triggers to through the Aurasma viewer and the media will be triggered.

Does that make sense?

For example you could be on an Aurasma tour of Paris and view the Eiffel tower through Aurasma. A video explaining the history of the tower might pop up.

Some schools are using it as a way to enhance tours of their school. Teachers can use it to get students on an interactive walk through of student resources they have around the room. Students can use it to assign video to diaramas or posters they have made and then other students/parents can tour a class full of projects and trigger explanations of the work they are viewing.

The possibilities are endless so just check it out for free!!!

www.aurasma.com/

Use Video Tutorials in your classroom as a way to personalise learning

Use video tutorials in your classroom as a way to personalise learning 

• Make video tutorials of topics for your students. 
• Have students make videos to document their learning or to teach their peers. 

Videos can include recorded whiteboard visuals, voice recording, computer screen visual, a video of yourself or a combination of these.

Sites, Programs and Apps to make video tutorials

Educreations- is a website and ipad app. The great thing about Educreations is that it has a whiteboard type screen on which you can scribble, write, or type while recording your voice. Perfect for making videos in which you would like to model work. 

http://www.educreations.com/

Show me and Explain Everything are other apps which can be used in this way but only on ipads.

Jing- video your computer screen while recording your voice. Perfect for teaching students a skill or demonstrating searching for something on the web. 
http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Present me- allows for split screen of you at your laptop and a slide presentation. These can be toggled between to make them a single screen.   

The free account option allows you to make 3 videos per month of up to 15 minutes each.
http://present.me/tour

How can video tutorials be used by the teacher?  

As support for students: Previously prepared video explanations of concepts you are working on in class can be made available to students who would like to revisit explanations you have given during explicit instruction sessions. 

I wish I had the time to go over content with students every time they request but often I might already be explaining or assisting other students when they ask me something that requires a detailed explanation. Rather than making them wait sending students to a video may be enough clarification. Once I am freed up I will check with the student if they require some face to face assistance. 

As extension tasks/lessons: Students who get the concept quickly can view the next tutorial, when you might be occupied assisting others, meaning they do not have to wait for you to have the time to give needed explanations before moving on with their work. 

How can they be used by the students?

Students can make video tutorials demonstrating their learning or to teach other students in the class. If one student gets a numeracy concept quickly while you are working with others that student could produce a video tutorial which can be shared with the rest of the class at the conclusion of the lesson. I am working towards collecting quality student made tutorials to use as tutorials for students to view when they need to revisit a concept.

I am not suggesting we replace what we do with video tutorials but that we can incorporate videos into our teaching practice. Also there is potential for making students learning more personalised with video tutorials. Students who need to revisit explanations can do so on their own if such explanations are digitally available and those who want to move on to new concepts at a faster pace can also do this.