My Digital Story

The url for my digital story.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1c7da0116a12ea8b6588

Blog Reflection

I could see myself using blogs in my classroom. I believe that it will get students excited about writing. They will get the opportunity to use computers in a new way. They will also get the chance to see their work actually published. Thus, I plan to implement blogging in my classroom.

Chapter Six

Cecilia and I read chapter six. After reading the chapter, we created a revising strategy for students. The aim of this strategy is to get students to incorporate active language in their writing. First, we will give students a journal prompt. The students will write a response to the prompt using Microsoft Word. Then, the students will highlight the passive verbs in their writing (e.g., am, is, was, were, be, been, etc.), the prepositional phrases, and the transitional phrases. The students will change all of their passive verbs to active verbs. They will also make sure that they do not end their senteces with prepositions. Lastly, the students will make sure that they integrated adequate transitions in their writing. All in all, I believe that this is an excellent revision strategy, and I plan to employ it in my classroom.

Powerpoint Reflections

This assignment granted me the opportunity to use Powerpoint in a new and innovative way. I never experienced attaching a video to my presentation. I thought that it was an interesting way to use Powerpoint; however, I doubted that I would be able to successfully attach a video to my Powerpoint (I am not tech savvy at all). At first, I tried to capture the video on my digital camera and put a quick time file on my Powerpoint, but it did not work. Finally, a classmate showed me how to stream a video on Powerpoint. All in all, I think that this assignment turned out really well.
Furthermore, I think that I will use this in my classroom. I believe that the video feature makes Powerpoint more engaging for the students. I will teach my students how to create Powerpoint using the video and time feature. For instance, the students will create a presentation for a unit novel. They will research a historical aspect about the book (e.g., town people, etc.). Then, the students will find a video that correlates with the history and post the video to their presentation. All things considered, I believe that this activity will actively engage students with the text.