My First Glogster!
Creator's Note
I chose to make a Glogster because I had never made one before and was very intimidated by the process. I also wasn't sure what I would use it for. A teacher I observed at Millard North had her students use Glogster for a project and they really enjoyed it. I wanted to become familiar with the website because it looks engaging for students.
Research also shows that using visual presentation tools such as this one allows students to express creativity and relate to one another: "...where people participate in the digital world...They may not be involved with 'capital C' creativity, such as Einstein's inventions and Leonardo da Vinci's or Andy Warhol's art works, but are engaged with ' little c' creativity (Craft, 2000). 'Little c' creativity examples include teenagers constructing personal websites through Facebook or Myspace, bloggers creating a cyber group, a teen avatar as a representation of an alter ego, and another teenager text messaging andplaying and exploring with images and videos" (Shin, 2010, p. 39)
This particular Glogster is geared toward my English 9 class. The top portion of the page is dedicated to books we'll be reading in class. I might include this Glogster on my wiki or class blog (depending on what I decide to use) to give students a brief intro to what we'll be reading. I linked Animal Farm to a website called Schmoop, which gives a brief synopsis of the book, where Orwell came up with the idea, and why students should care. I really enjoy the "Why should I care?" section because it makes the book seem relatable and is written in kid-friendly terms. To Kill a Mockingbird is linked to my wiki. I used this link because I included an article about the Trayvon Martin case on my TKAM wiki page. I would use this to show students the relationship between life now and a novel written over 50 years ago. The Giver and Romeo and Juliet are linked to book trailers, which might provide an anticipatory set for these books.
The bottom portion of the Glogster depicts YA books that I have on my shelf. I linked each one, except the one with the creepy pictures, to a book or movie trailer. I want my students to know that they have access to many types of books in my classroom, not just class novels. I might use Glogster to create an updated "bookshelf" every once in a while so my students know what's new on my shelf.
Interesting fact about the trailer for The Forest of Hands and Teeth--I created it using Animoto a few years ago. I really like the idea of having my students create book trailers or some other type of lit-related video on Animoto. I could use this Glogster link to show students an example of what a book trailer should/could look like.
My students could use Glogster to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year. They could also use the website to assist them during a presentation, as they can use visuals they find online or upload their own. Glogster could perhaps be a digital portfolio, as well--if my students create lots of presentations or tools they're proud of throughout the year, they could showcase their work via Glogster.
This piece of technology supports my understanding as a teacher that people learn in very different ways. I don't love using Glogster myself because I don't think I'm very artistic. However, I'm an extremely visual person, and I do appreciate that Glogster can organize information in an appealing visual manner. I also believe that students are more comfortable using technology to communicate and create. It's very engaging for them. Using Glogster gives them freedom to experiment with technology and choice to create something that makes sense to them.
In a low-tech setting, students could have the links to images, videos or documents written or saved on a Word document. That way, we could navigate to those sites if necessary without having the embedded links at hand. If the internet was completely down, students could sketch plans for their Glogster. It's almost like creating a digital posterboard, which wouldn't be hard to draw out prior to creation.
Works cited:
Shin, R. (2010). Taking Digital Creativity to the
Art Classroom: Mystery Box Swap. Art Education,63(2), 38-42.
No comments:
Post a Comment