Calling for help in high school tech workshop development in English and en français

I will be facilitating two workshops, essentially identical though different ;) , on integrating technology into secondary school classrooms. Specifically Language Arts, History, and Science.

When it comes to workshops, teachers want practical ideas that they can use in their classrooms so I will be organizing the workshops by practice first and then filling the theory in as we go, as it is needed.

Oh, they are identical but different because one is for English secondary teachers, one for French.

Ideas I have so far:

Digital Storytelling as the basis for integrating tech not only in the language classrooms but in the other classrooms as well

Demonstrating examples using:

  • VoiceThread
  • Video
  • Blogging
  • Collaborative creation (using googledocs kind of things)

Here are the workshop descriptions:

Technology as part of the learning process: Specific activities that integrate technology in the Secondary classroom.

In this workshop we will explore specific ways to integrate technology into Secondary Language Arts, History, and Science classrooms. It used to be that technology was an add on, something extra that many of us believed we did not have time for given the reality of rigorous curriculum and time constraints. Now, technology use is part of the curriculum, part of the learning process. We will look at specific ideas that can be used in the classroom – digital storytelling, blogging, voicethread, video, and other collaborative or individual activities – and how they are related to curricular competencies.

The material we cover, as well as ideas for further exploration, will be added to the website Teaching is a Verb – Enseigner, C’est Agir. The website is set up as a blog and I welcome your comments and questions as they can help me to design a workshop that best addresses your needs.

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La technologie et le processus d’apprentissage: des activités spécifiques qui appuient l’intégration de technologie dans la salle de classe secondaire

Il était une fois que la technologie en salle de classe était une activité supplémentaire, quelque chose qu’on faisait si on avait le temps après le ‘vrai travail’ du curriculum. Maintenant, la technologie fait partie du curriculum, du processus de l’apprentissage. Durant cet atelier je vais vous présenter des activités spécifiques que vous pouvez utiliser dans vos salles de classes – le récit numérique, des blogs, VoiceThread, vidéo, et d’autres activités de collaboration et non – et comment ces activités sont liées aux compétences du curriculum.

Le contenu de l’atelier, en plus que des idées pour l’exploration supplémentaire, sera affiché au site web Enseigner, C’est Agir – Teaching is a Verb. En fait, ce site web est un blog alors je vous invite à me laisser vos commentaires ou vos questions, car ils pourraient m’aider à créer un atelier qui répondra plus précisément a vos besoins actuels.

Any ideas for me? Things you think are must haves? Things I should avoid?

7 Comments

  • Twitter Comment


    @courosa Bonjour! Hello from Eastern Ontario. Enjoy connecting, I know I do! ps – could use your help, too :) [link to post] #asi2010

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  • Twitter Comment


    @zecool je cherche des ressources FR pour le récit numérique (digital storytelling) pour un atelier en Oct… des idées? [link to post]

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  • Twitter Comment


    @MrTRice_Science Perhaps you can help me with ideas for integ. tech in hs science? [link to post]

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  • Dear Tracy,

    Most things in science do not need a whole lot of e-technology. This year I will try class blogging and Google docs, mostly to see how the kids approach problems, formative assessment on the fly.

    Too may times workshops break down into “Can You Top This?” website contests, and I’d go with Angela’s idea about setting up a wiki to showcase the good stuff.

    Having said that, I do have a new fun/rigorous site I plan to use as a model for protein folding called Foldit (http://fold.it/portal/). You might consider showing some remote telescope sites as well, but even in my light polluted skies here, I much prefer using our real telescopes (e.g., http://www.telescopesineducation.com/)

    I love the new technologies, but I do not (yet) trust them in science class–they make science too clean, too human, too predictable. The natural world has so many variables it looks like a mess to many, but finding patterns in the chaos and creating models to explain the patterns is science.

    I’ve got plenty of other sites I use for content if you’re interested, but then that’s more a format change, not a revolutionary change.

    • Tracy says:

      @Michael Doyle, In Quebec, secondary science competencies include communicating in the language used in science and making the most of her understanding of science (asking relevant questions, forming an opinion about an issue…). It seems to be that mixing things up a bit in how students demonstrate these competencies, such as by creating a video or image/audio based presentation that explores specific issues in science could a way that students collaborate to create meaning together, no?

      Kids could always make a poster presentation, but I think the process of creating a video with their peers is valuable in terms of problem solving and collaborating. These videos could then be posted to that blog you talked about for commentary that could be done outside of the classroom.

      Definitely not to replace scientific exploration (using eyes and hands) in the classroom but to supplement it.

      hmmmmm… what do you think?

  • Hi Tracy!
    I just completed a similar workshop, and my advice (which I should have listened to) is LESS is more.

    With so many tools and exciting technologies, it is hard not to share/show. I got smart and created a wiki for the sessions, and not I do feel the pressure to cover them all.

    I divided the conversations into tools that facilitate our learning goals of collaboration, connecting, creating, and conversation sharing one or two of my favorite tools in each category!

    Here’s the link to the wiki-feel free to use and add to it! We are just getting started. Good Luck!

    http://novlearningcharlottesville.wikispaces.com/Angela+Maiers

    • Tracy says:

      @Angela Maiers, Thank you Angela – fantastic resource! It does seem geared towards the elementary learner, though. I am looking for secondary specific resources. Is it ok if I add secondary resources to it?

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