Orchestrating+the+Blended+Learning+Classroom

__Session 3 __ = ** with Innovative Instruments ** =
 * Orchestrating the Blended Learning Classroom **

__Class Description __: Develop skills and use tools to navigate the blended learning classroom that will enhance teaching and learning in your school. In this session educators will explore the power of online/hybrid learning to enhance instruction as well as student performance.


 * __Agenda __**:
 * Welcome and Introductions
 * Icebreaker
 * Screencasting
 * PodCasting
 * Google Drive
 * Google Voice
 * Remind101

= //Screencasting/PodCasting// =

Screencasting is capturing and recording your computer screen and activities. As educators this is useful for mini-lessons or sets of instructions. Students can pause and replay these short videos as much as they want! In this 2 day Academy, teachers will create and upload screencasts for their classroom. Day 1 will cover the use of a free downloadable tool called Jing. Day 2 will cover the use of the Smartboard record feature. __**Why Screencast?**__
 * Virtual Classroom
 * How involved you want to get in creating screencasts is up to you. You can create screencasts in advance and use them to bolster up your instruction. Alternatively, you can just record what you're already doing and built a reference archive for your students. **(As seen with the SMART board recorder)** When you first start out, you might find the latter method easier. Remember, technology should aide what you already do, not get in the way. We're going to go pretty in-depth today, take the parts that work best for you and start from there.


 * Differentiation of Topics
 * A big hardship with differentiation is that you can't be in more than one place at the same time and give your full attention to the needs of both students.
 * Students can go back and watch/reteach themselves stuff they may have missed when you originally covered it. Students who are ahead of the curve can use the resources to take what their doing to the next level.
 * Screencasting is not a silver bullet by any stretch of the imagination, but it's one more tool in your arsenal to help your students.


 * Build independence with your students. Create independent learners.
 * This kind of dovetails with the last point—creating a library of resources removes the teacher as the first go-to point when a student gets stumped. Screencasts help students build independence and assess their own learning. If they need to relearn something, they know where to go and what to look up—and because you built the resource, there is less trial-and-error versus randomly hitting up Google.


 * Multiple intelligences.
 * You can explain something verbally a thousand times; that doesn't mean you're going to get through to your visual learners. Screencasts allow students to engage in the material in a number of ways.


 * Makes tasks easier.
 * It's an especially good reference for those tedious, multi-step tasks like uploading a file or a web page—stuff you don't want to repeat over and over again.


 * PD and Parent Communication
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,sans-serif;">For a large part of this training, we've talked about using screencasting for teacher and student interaction, but it's not necessarily limited to that.

**Popular Screencasting tools**

 * Screencasting tools:
 * 1) Jing & techsmith
 * 2) screenr
 * 3) screencast-o-matic
 * 4) screenjelly
 * 5) SmartBoard recorder
 * if you know of any other good resources, tell us! **
 * Planning your script
 * Recording
 * Uploading
 * Screenr
 * Screencast-O-Matic
 * Youtube
 * Vimeo

= //Google Drive:// = media type="custom" key="23516814"
 * [|Introduction-Part 1]
 * [|Composing Google Docs-Part 2]
 * [|Sharing Files and Folders-Part 3]
 * [|Document Organization-Part 4]

= //Google Voice// = Why use it?
 * Google Voice **

With Google Voice, learners can call in and leave messages that can be emailed, downloaded as .mp3 files, or embedded in web sites using the included html code. Basically, it’s a way to create audio recordings, without the need for a computer or mic.

// Here are some ways that Voice can revolutionize your teaching style: //
 * **Vocabulary:**Learners can speak sentences or paragraphs that demonstrate knowledge of vocabulary words. You could even embed these in a class website, to serve as review/reference materials.
 * **Audio Study Guide:**Instead of having a class scribe, enhance the role by giving one learner the task of calling in the content, creating an audio archive. You can rotate learners, so they each get the chance to serve in the role. Embed each message into a website to serve as an audio study guide over the content.
 * **Math Solutions:**To demonstrate understanding of a topic or the solution to a problem, the learners can talk it out. When I was a math teacher, I would have loved this as form of assessment that allowed me inside the kids’ heads.
 * **Foreign Language:**Kids can call in and read a paragraph or speak sentences, allowing you to hear how proficient they are and diagnose areas where improvement is needed. It could be used as oral responses to teacher questions or to recite pre-written material to assess their reading and pronunciation abilities.
 * **Audio Field Trip Journal:**Have kids leave messages throughout the field trip that documents their experiences. Speech: Learners can record speeches via the phone. Bonus: Take advantage of the voicemail transcription feature. Assess learners’ enunciation by seeing how accurate Google Voice transcribes their messages.
 * **Get in Character:**Let the learners have fun by leaving messages in character. Perhaps you’re studying historical figures or fictional characters. Let the learners assume the role and record messages assuming that role. I’d love to hear what the kids come up with when given this task!
 * **Podcasting:**Since the voicemails can be embedded in websites or downloaded, this would be a super simple way to record a podcast!
 * **Work the Custom Greetings:**Since Google Voice lets you have unique greetings for different groups of callers, you could create a greeting personalized specifically for your students. Kids can call in to receive homework tips, announcements, upcoming test information, or other class reminders.
 * **Reflection Tool:**Get rid of those spiral notebooks that have been serving as journals since I was an elementary student over 20 years ago. After a class discussion or project presentation, have the learners record a reflection via Google Voice. It’s paperless!
 * **Announcements or Audio Newsletters:**Instead of creating a printed class newsletter, why not call your own Google Voice number and leave a message consisting of a class announcement or audio newsletter? Then, simply embed it on your class website for parents and learners to access.

[|Remind 101] Safely text students and parents using Remind101, a free tool to send one-to-many text messages. Free for teachers and supports unlimited class sizes. media type="custom" key="23484640"
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Private **
 * Teachers never see students' phone numbers. Students never see theirs.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Manage classes **
 * Add up to 10 classes. Instantly send a message to a class of students or their parents.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Send a message **
 * Send a message to every student or parent in your entire class. They will receive it by text message or email.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Schedule for later **
 * Exam next month? Schedule and forget it.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">History **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Your history shows when and to whom a message was sent.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">.

Resources: Screen Toaster Screencast-O-matic Screencast.com Jing Mathtrain Screencastle

__Other Resources:__ [|http://jingproject.com] [|http://camstudio.org] [] [|http://schooltube.comhttp:teachertube.com] [|http://me.comhttp:ustream.org] [] [|http://voicethread.com] [|http://zamzar.com] [|http://keepvid.com]