"PictureTrail, Inc. operates a leading photo sharing social network and widget destination.
Members and visitors share photos online, host images, order prints and utilize most other options available through the top photo sharing sites." - from PictureTrail.com website
There is a really cool tool on the PictureTrail website. The tool is called, "Photo-Flicks," and it creates a Flash-based slideshow from uploaded images.
Take some pictures, or find some pictures...Upload them to the PictureTrail site...Choose your design...Write your captions...click Save...and get your created Flick! The html code is provided for you so you can embed your Flick into your webpage, Facebook page, etc. It's that easy.
What a great way for teachers, administrators, and central admin to showcase students or staff on their webpages. Also, what a fun and engaging way for students to create a story from pictures or to show what they have learned.
How about a 5th grader choosing pictures depicting the Civil War, writing captions, and creating a Flick that might explain the causes and effects of the War, and 'show' that war?
Or...How about a Biology student finding pictures of plant cells from different parts of a plant (leaf, stem, root, flower), and comparing the structure of the cells to their function? Or, using pictures and captions to compare the epithelial cells from a leaf to the epithelial cells from animal tissue to determine how they are similar and how they are different?
Possibilities are only limited to imagination and creativity, don't you think?
What a great tool for applying the high-yield instructional strategies that Marzano has identified as those that postively affect student achievement. This tool could be use for: Identifying similarities and differences, Summarizing, and Nonlinguistic representations. And, what a engaging way to apply some of Schlechty's attributes of schoolwork that affect the motivational processes of students. Examples include: Product focus, Choice, Novelty and Variety, etc.
When a student's PictureTrail Flick is posted on a teacher's or classroom blog and other students can learn from and comment on the work, then we can add the attribute of Affiliation, as well.
One of the most powerful ways that we will strengthen our teaching and students' learning processes are with research-based instructional strategies combined with effective technology use - BUT, only when the use of technology tools/resources is linked to specific educational goals. Thus, "Teachnology."
The world is rapidly changing and technology is a reality of that changing world. Technology resources and tools applied appropriately to instruction, thereby creating powerful learning environments for students, MUST be a part of our teaching.
If I were in charge of the world...well, I think you know.
PictureTrail.com - give it a try and see how quickly you become engaged in creating something to share with others. Then think about why any student in any classroom should not be given the opportunity to engage in active learning and make meaning from what they are learning.
Please take a few moments to watch my Flick:
0 comments:
Post a Comment