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Computer Hardware

Letter Grades?

A recent post by Abbotsford superintendent, Kevin Godden, explains maybe letter grades should be a thing of the past:

In my last post I presented the idea that letters grades no longer (and never have) cut it as a meaningful way to provide descriptive feedback to students and their parents about how well they are meeting intended learning outcomes. I suggested that there are perhaps some better ways to accomplish this. Admittedly, what I describe below may not seem nearly as appealing or convenient as the comfortable system we have adopted for decades. However, if we allow ourselves to step out of that cozy space for a moment, we may see the benefits of assessing and reporting in such a way that is most advantageous for the learner. 

This is Water

THIS IS WATER - By David Foster Wallace from The Glossary on Vimeo.

Instagram

I've recently been encouraged by my students use Instragram in the classroom.  Initially, it had all the hallmarks of a classic time-wasting social media app, but as I've come to use it more, I'm learning it may have some educational value to it.  Following my students' suggestions, I initially hosted a photo contest simply stating that submissions (marked with #7econtest) had to be original.

What I Learned:

• Because Instragram is a public place, anyone had the ability to submit photos.  As such, I had a few photos submitted from people outside our class.
• Students actually had a pretty good eye for good photographs. I will further instruct them on principles of photography, but--whether they know it or not--they do already have a bit of an eye for good images.
• Tools like Instaport make collecting and downloading the hashtagged images really easy.
• This activity was really fun.  Students were engaged and were curious as to when the next one would be.

Contest Rules

Winning Photo.  Courtesy: LSCO (as voted by my class).

There is no shortage of great ideas out there:

• http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/trends/20-out-of-the-box-ideas-to-use-instagram-in-your-classroom/
• http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/03/picture-this-5-ways-teachers-can-use-instagram-in-the-classroom/
• http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/ten-ideas-for-using-instagram-in.html

Audacity

Audacity has long been an open-source software package which can be used across platforms.  It boasts numerous audio-editing capabilities.  Much has been written about its use in education including Audacity's own education wiki.

Education:

• 10 Great Ways to Use Audacity with your Students
• Podcasting [examples]
• Outback Educator
• Audacity: from Amy Tech Tips [student example]

Tutorials:

• KQED Audacity Educast Series contains basic video tutorials 
• How to Podcast

Resources:

• Using Audacity--A Tutorial [PDF]

Samples:

• from Dropbox [password protected]
• SCS Grade 7 Blog

Instagram in the Classroom?

SEEMS INSTAGRAM CAN BE USED IN THE CLASS.  ACCORDING TO  MARYALENE LAPONSIE, WE LEARN FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS THIS CAN HAPPEN:

1. ASSIGN PHOTO ESSAYS AND PHOTOJOURNALISM
2. CREATE WRITING PROMPTS WITH PHOTOS
3. DOCUMENT SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AND ART PROJECTS
4. RAISE FUNDS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM OR SCHOOL
5. SHOWCASE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND STUDENT PROGRESS

The funny thing about this is that Instagram need not be the only tool to achieve these goals.  I could just project pictures using any old thing and do the same thing.