Blog Post #7

In the video Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten it discussed many benefits of imovie and AVL in a Kindergarten classroom. I think the key point in this video is that you should not underestimate you Kindergarten students. A lot of people might think that students of this age are not capable of creating movies on ipads or researching on a regular basis. However, students should not be underestimated because they can. As discussed in this video students love to make videos, especially when it comes to the editing aspect. Students can take pictures, use the iMovie trailer, and fill the frames with their project assignment such as a book trailer. It is good to show the students one or two examples of how to do one and then they can do it on their own.

The Alabama Virtual Library(AVL) is a free resource to anyone living in Alabama. You can attain an AVL card through almost any library in Alabama. AVL is a research based search engine that even Kindergartners can use. The video suggest giving the students a list of animals to go through and research on a weekly basis in order to practice using research skills.

As I watched We All Become Learners I felt agreement with the idea of students teaching in addition to the teacher. In this Michelle Bennett said "Barriers go down and we all learn" referring to the moments that the students get to teach other students as well as teach the instructor something they might not have known. The discussion suggests a change in dynamics and Dr. Strange remarks "so everybody becomes a learner and a teacher".

iPads in the Classroom gave many good perspectives on this topic. The students in the video were using an app they referred to as "ABC magnetic" to interactively learn their spelling lesson. This is a great resource that not only engages the students but also allows time to focus on the lesson of spelling for some students who might be slower at writing. Using the technology allows a faster but still reasonable speed for students to learn. Another app I found intriguing was the "iconverse" app they spoke about. This allowed special needs students who had difficulty speaking to interact with others they would normally not be able to. If the student wanted to say thank you they just pressed the preset button in the app.

Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education gave many great reasons such as engaging students, the ability to learn from experts, and my personal favorite was the Amplivox ipod listening center. This device seems similar to the stations we had as kids where we would listen to a lesson on cassette tapes. However, this device allows you to plug in your ipod and has access for six students to plug in headphones at once. I looked more into this device and found that Wal Mart sells it for less than $80. The Amplivox website sells it for $109. I think this listening center would be worth the investments for my students!