the network for middle school math and science teachers
Using Technology When You Are Away From Your Classroom (or other ideas you use with substitutes)
I hadn't thought about how new these new digital tools could help when teachers were away from their classrooms - but I read a post by Richard Byrne on his Free Technology for Teachers blog and it really got me thinking. He says that he uses Viddler and Drop.io to leave video messages to his students.
What else to folks do when you know you'll be out of the classroom?
Link to Richard's post: http://bit.ly/substituteteaching
What else to folks do when you know you'll be out of the classroom?
Link to Richard's post: http://bit.ly/substituteteaching
Tags: classroom, management, strategies, substitute, teachers, teaching
Views: 3
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sandra Bureau on -
I haven't tried video yet, that will be next. I set up a wiki for each class and then I just leave directions for the sub to go to the wiki page for the kids and the sub to use. Most of the time, the sub is in my room because someone in my family or myself got sick after I got home from work. I hate having the sub use my "emergency" plans, I would much rather have them do the stuff we were working on. So, with my wiki pages I can just enter the activities and directions, upload hand outs etc...
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Jenkins on -
Educational message boards/forums work really well in my middle school setting. We use Moodle and I set up a forum entitled "Help while i'm out." I check it a few times throughout the day and post responses to their questions, so they don't get as far behind as they might with me out of the classroom. It's also helpful to leave a message in case I forget something ;)
-
Permalink Reply by Davilla Riddle on -
I like Tom's idea about using moodle's forum feature to communicate with students and subs. Will we ever go to conducting class from home using virtual classroom tools (Skype, etc.)?
-
Permalink Reply by Karolee Smiley on
-
I like to leave videos with the substitute teacher. I will do quick movies explaining the lesson and drop it off on the school computer with a flash drive or put it on my website. One advantage of putting it on the computer is that the sub still has access, even if the internet become sluggish or goes down. And I know that the students get the directions and the assignment information.
With a built in camera and I-Movie, making the video doesn't take much longer than the recording itself. The hard part is getting a "take" I like.
One program I used on my PC that helped me remember my script was Visual Communicator. It provides a teleprompter and uses a green screen for video effects. Its great for student movies.
We have been able to get the "skype" effect a couple of times while out. When we had meetings at the district office, some of us would take a teleconference camera with us. We could hook up and call into the class to check on the kids and answer questions. Unfortunately, the firewalls make it that we can only do that while inside the district system.
-
Permalink Reply by Eric Biederbeck on -
I've posted this before but if you have internet access I think using twitter is a great resource when you are out of the classroom. My team has a team Twitter account and I have a student logged onto that for each class. If there is a question about materials or students misunderstand the directions, I'm able to give some direction. Also as things move along during a lesson, I can get feedback on how its going and instruct the student to "help" the substitute move in one direction of another.
Another thing I use is Todaysmeet to have a backchannel chat during a video if I leave a video for students to watch while I'm out. This enables me to get into the chat room and see what is happening and answer some questions if students aren't sure what is going on.
I'd love to use a screen capture tool and video to make some lessons for students to watch while I'm gone. If I could get another 6 hours in each day I might be able to do that:)
-
Permalink Reply by Kim Lightle on -
I just came across a video/blog post on how to use Viddler to leave lesson plans for your substitute - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/07/thursday-tech-tip-video-vi...
-
Permalink Reply by Mary LeFever on -
Wow, these seem like great ways to keep the educational process going while you are out. But it's a little scary too! I'm not sure I want to have that much contact while I'm out because I'm only out when I need to devote my attention to something else. I need my students to understand they are expected to follow directions, to trust I have asked them to do only what I think they can handle and trust that I will be available for help when I return. I don't want to undermine the sub either, I have been there! So yes, I will definitely use Moodle forum for student questions while I'm at NSMA, and I may produce a video for the sub too.
I am thinking about Genola Johnson's webinar Oct 21, in which she asks if we are moving our students into the 21st century satisfactorily and getting them the skill they need to survive in a technological world. I think modeling through using the forum and making a video, or SKYPING while out, is an excellent way to subversively "teach" some 21st century skills.
-
Permalink Reply by Kim Lightle on
-
I just read about Brainshark - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/10/my-brainshark-easily-narra.... Richard says that My Brainshark is a free service offered by Brainshark for easily narrating and sharing slide presentations online. He uses it when he is going to be out of the classroom - he intersperses the lecture with activities. Sounds like a great idea.
© 2012 Created by Middle School Portal.
Powered by
