Digital stories

Digital storytelling was the icing on the cake. I love to take pictures and so when the opportunity came to use these pictures to tell a story, a whole new world opened up to me. Children of all ages love to take pictures and to have their pictures taken. Without a doubt this technology along with the ebook are perhaps the two most exciting for the development of creativity and a love for reading in children.
On Friday, we began by brainstorming ideas and finally we decided on the best idea from a group member. Subsequently, we took some pictures to match this idea and created a storyboard to begin our project. The actual use of Photo Story 3 to make the pictures come alive was exhilarating. I could only imagine what would happen in a classroom where students were allowed to create their own digital story. Not only would the competent reader be excited to read such an interactive book but the struggling reader would be highly motivated to read a book that was born out of his/her ideas.

E Books as a tool for early learners

It is my belief, therefore, that ebooks can be used from as early as the pre-school all the way to tertiary level. On Wednesday, the burden of the week was lifting and the creation of my very first ebook was perhaps the major source of pleasure. ( After... of course). Get your mind out of the gutter, after playing and reading with my children, of course. We discussed several benefits of ebooks and as delineated by many of my colleagues, ebooks can be useful in every area of reading.
What was interesting to me is the ease with which my six year old son was able to not only use the ebook but to create one for himself. We followed the six steps suggested by Aisha Wood-Jackson and at the end he was one proud and motivated boy. Imagine what would take place if this was implemented in all our learning institutions. Let's go forth and conquer!

When it rains, it pours

Last week was one of those times when the words, 'when it rains, it pours,' actually came to life to haunt every fiber of my being. On Monday we discussed the contents of the rubrics for the lesson plans and the Web2.0. Would you believe that the only POSITIVE I was able to take away was the four components of an objective - an objective must have a condition, a behaviour, an audience and degree.
Although I had learnt that an objective should be measurable, general or specific, affective, cognitive and psychomotor, utilize verbs from Bloom's taxonomy which explained exactly what the particular student must do in order to have achieved the relevant objective, initially, I found it difficult to apply this knowledge to the four labels which were attached to the objective.
Eventually I realized that my previous knowledge and the four labels were one and the same. They were just worded differently.

Webspiration, how to!

By popular demand, here are the steps to an extraordinary Webspiration experience:

1. Click on the link, http://www.mywebspiration.com/ 
2. Assuming that you have already created an account and you have an idea of the concept you would like to map, sign in and choose 'diagram' from the window that opens.
3. When prompted give the diagram a name and click save.
4. Use the create, link, arrange, and notes icons located to the top left of the workplace to create your map of a particular concept.
5. Then the fun begins, you are ready to click 'collaborate' to invite one or more of your colleagues to edit or view your work.
6. At this point you can share comments or even chat with your colleague whilst the two of you work on the map simultaneously.

Have fun using your new found technology and let me know if you have any steps to add to the above six.

Webspiration Whoopee!

Today I interacted with Webspiration for the second time. The first time was an experimentation in the production of a concept map. Although the map was rather exciting, nothing prepared me for the rush I felt when Teachermali invited me to collaborate with her. It was easy to put myself in the shoes of my students engaging in reading and writing in such a non-traditional manner that the experience bordered on religion.
Without a doubt this tool would motivate the struggling reader through the use of varied media and likewise the excellent reader would be challenged to improve comprehension and vocabulary skills in particular based on the visual representation of ideas. Webspiration is indeed a tool that would assist students and teachers/specialists alike in their quest for excellence and renewed interest in reading and writing.
To join in the excitement of Webspiration go to http://www.mywebspiration.com/