A Google Hangout with the Kindergarten

Tags

edtech, google, hangout, lower school, research, technology

Our two kindergarten classes are currently studying the Arctic and Antarctic. Students posted questions on a bulletin board in their classroom and we have been working together to find answers.

The bulletin board for Antarctica.

The bulletin board for the Arctic.

Evan & Kendall’s questions

Tariq’s question

Arie’s question

I introduced the kindergarten to the concept of doing research. I am calling it “guided research.” We are using the resources we have available through our library. Thanks to AC Librarian, Judy VanAlstyne, there is an excellent selection of kid friendly online encyclopedias available for us to use.

Kid Friendly encyclopedias:

• Worldbook Kids
• Grolier Online

I wasn’t able to make it in to school one day this week, so I decided to work from home. I checked to see  if AC kindergarten teacher, Amy Mealey, who I collaborate with regularly, would be willing to try an experiment.  I wanted to continue to work with her class by using a Google Hangout.

The lesson went pretty well. The kids were able to ask questions and I was able to show them my screen as we did our research. Classroom management was a bit hard from a computer screen, but the kids seemed to have fun. I would absolutely do this again and recommend it to anyone who is in a similar situation.

Here is a short clip of what it looked like. Unfortunately the audio didn’t record due the fact that Jing only records the microphone input. I plan to test out ScreenFlow4 for future screen recordings. Look for a post about it sometime in the next few weeks.  Sorry, the audio didn’t record.

As always, questions, thoughts or suggestions are always appreciated.

My View of TEDxRochester

Tags

medical research, music, renewable energy, research, TED, TEDx

So, my head is still swimming from my trip to TEDxRochester at Geva Theater. It was the first time I have ever attended a TEDx event and it was a great experience. I am a huge fan of TED Talks, and I frequently comb their website looking for something new to watch. I am a believer in the “Ideas worth spreading” philosophy, which is the TED tagline.If you aren’t familiar with TED, it stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. I won’t get into all the historical particulars, but TED represents more just those three things. For me, as an educator, I find many of the talks inspirational. They have given me a different perspective and appreciation for what is going on in the world. We are so blessed to live in a world with so many brilliant and engaging people who are willing to talk about their passions and share their stories. It is truly inspiring!Back to today. It’s one thing to see the TED Talks online, and completely different to be in the audience. From a professional development perspective, I know that everyone of our faculty would have found at least one of the talks today relevant to their curriculum.The first talk was from college student, Adam Walker. He, and some fellow students are developing a way to give cheap, safe, clean and renewable electricity to rural areas in developing countries. The name of his company is Kosovo Wind Gardens. This talk was a science teachers dream. It had some many cool aspects, from social responsibility to engineering.And so went the rest of the day. The librarians would have appreciated the talk by Andrew Perry, Associate Director of the Writing Center at RIT. The music and band teachers would have enjoyed the talk by Dr. Christopher Azzarra from the Eastman school. The health, science and social scientists would have found the talk by Ashley Aberg engaging and thought provoking. Still more for the science teachers from a group called, Prove Your World.My favorite talk of the day was by Professor Mark Noble from the University of Rochester Medical Center. He talked about the use of stem cells to treat of major diseases. It was nothing short of awe inspiring. Based on the “oohs and aahs” from the crowd, I know they were equally as impressed. The potential implications and the medical benefits he spoke of are truly life altering.

Overall, I was very impressed by the amazing stories and resources Rochester has to offer. I will do my part to spread the word and ideas that I heard today. I will post the link to the talks as soon as they are available.