Olivia Gennaro
Secondary English Teacher; Writer
Gallery
Emaze Presentation on Effective Google Searching
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Emaze is a free-to-use (though not all features are available for free) online program that allows users to create presentations and other interactive media, which can be made public and shared for collaboration. In class, it can be used to have students condense, collaborate, and present information, or I may also use it to supplement lectures. This tool is enhancing because the presentation style is unique with the technology, especially as it is web-based and allows for collaboration. Furthermore, condensing information into the media that can be created with Emaze allows students to apply their knowledge, making the tool effective.
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In this example, I used Emaze to make a presentation on how to efficiently and effectively use Google for research, which is an important part of digital literacy. As a result, I refreshed my memories on the Google tricks and presented them in an effective way to communicate the skills to future students, which is especially important when they begin research papers.
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EdPuzzle: Textual Support in The Great Gatsby
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I converted an instructional video I made into an EdPuzzle video. EdPuzzle is a tool that allows teachers to add questions and comments to videos or sections of videos and assign them to students, which makes it perfect for homework assignments. The site allows teachers to see the progress and responses of their students and give feedback. As the questions are built-in, Edpuzzle allows for an engaging experience for the students. It is also effective and efficient as it communicates important activities and information to students while giving teachers an easy way to give feedback as the whole assignment is all in one place.
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I plan to use EdPuzzle for homework assignments if students are able to access the Internet after school. I think it is a great tool to monitor students' progress and comprehension, and embedding questions prevents them from passively watching the video. As such, they will be more engaged with the material and come to class ready to discuss.
Adobe Spark​ Video: Book vs. Movie Interpretation Trailer
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This project was created with Adobe Spark, a free app that can also be accessed from the web that allows users to create videos with pictures, text, voice-over, and music. In this example I made, I displayed the differences in the first Lord of the Rings movie compared to the book with a trailer-like video.
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I can use Spark in my future classroom for creative projects akin to this, as well as another option for students to showcase their work or present information they have learned. In this way, the tool is effective because students can apply their knowledge and understanding, and creating a video enhances their ability to do so.
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Piktochart Infographic​
I created a sample teacher website for a hypothetical 9th Grade English Class using Google Sites. The website is well-organized into sections for students, parents, and other teachers. It includes information about me and the class, as well as classroom online materials, resources, student projects, newsletters, and my service learning project I completed for my​ technology in education class for a former 6th grade English teacher of mine. As such, it showcases my ability to use digital tools for practical classroom applications.
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Google Sites was particularly efficient because it connected to my Google account and as a result, I could embed YouTube videos, Google Docs and Forms, and Google Calendars easily. There is also an option to upload documents on pages. My future students could also use Google Sites to make a portfolio of their work throughout the class.
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This infographic about classroom digital tools was created with Piktochart, which has a variety of ways to design and customize infographics and other visual presentations. I plan to use Piktochart and infographics in general in my classroom to organize information I want students to remember, whether it be classroom or grammar rules, enhancing the information with technology. I can also assign students to create an infographic design to demonstrate their knowledge of a literary element or character, a project that would display the tool's effectiveness and engage students to apply their knowledge. I also used Piktochart for a specific standard purpose (in this case, summarizing a myth) for my Service Learning Project, where I also created a tutorial for the website.
Hour of Code
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In December 2016, I participated in the Hour of Code, an effort led by Code.org as part of their Computer Science Education Week. Code.org and other websites host tutorials designed to be completed in one hour on basic coding for a variety of grade levels. I chose an activity where I could animate and eventually create my own simple video game; as games often have storytelling aspects, I found it appropriate for English/Language Arts. The tutorial did a great job of making coding seem fun rather than daunting, and videos featuring professionals emphasized the real-world applications of computer science, which in the future will likely be included in most career fields.
Click on the image to see the video; Wix does not allow it to be embedded.
