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Spreading a Love of Language Learning through Glogster EDU

15 May

Guest post by Audrey Misiano, World Language teacher and advisor of the Peace Through Language Club in the Marcellus Central School District

Marcellus Central School District’s Peace Through Language (PTL) Club is using Glogster EDU to share student created resources with elementary teachers in our district. The club’s Glogs will also be public for global use. Our mission is to promote peace by spreading the love of language learning. We are committed to providing free resources created for language learners and by language learners.

As the PTL Club advisor, I have been struggling to figure out the best options for sharing the club’s content in an organized fashion that is inviting to students and teachers alike. We already share our videos on our school’s computer network, but the club members have been creating projects in anticipation of sharing globally. Glogster EDU is allowing us to meet all these needs in a creative, aesthetically pleasing way.

You can see our first Glog offers a one-stop portal providing access to most of our resources. A tenth grade club member designed our logo found in the center of the Glog. To the left of the logo, you will find links to PTL resources organized by language. To the right of the logo is the video introduction to our club. The instrumental music is by a ninth grade club member who plays the mandolin.

Next, you’ll find the Spanish Daily Routine Song. Two students in my Spanish 2 class created the video for a project on reflexive verbs. The students used special software to create and loop the instrumental portion to accompany their original tune. The project rubric had a bonus point for humor that was quickly awarded!

The French prepositions video is a combined effort between the French Honor Society and the PTL Club. Under the direction of Robin Brown and Jessica Cuello, the French Honor Society created an original book. Students illustrated the book and wrote the sentences to match their illustrations. The yellow butterfly is native to Haiti and the other illustrations were designed to reflect Haiti as well. The French Honor Society raised funds to print, bind and ship 40 copies of the book to Saint Joseph’s School in Tibeau, Haiti. The PTL Club scanned the book and imported it into iMovie to add audio. This is the second year that the French Honor Society has created and sent educational products to Tibeau, Haiti. The PTL Club is very excited about future combined projects!

The English Alphabet and Vowels video was our first video created from member’s alphabet PowerPoints. The singing is by volunteer PTL students in grades 7-12 accompanied by the talented ninth grade mandolin player. The Spanish Celestial Bodies and Colors project was made by a 7th grade Exploratory Language student who is also a PTL Club officer. Her voice is the one you hear on the video.

Finally, we have added a few other links to our Glog that can be found by clicking certain images. Happy clicking! It is always fun to see how many hyperlinks there are hidden in a Glog!

Another thing to love about Glogster EDU is that you can mix up all different types of content in one neat package and share it globally…all within minutes! Club members are looking forward to doing just that as we move forward with our projects. We plan to create glogs organized by themes to best meet the needs of the seventeen teachers looking to provide more language exposure at the elementary level.

Until next time, happy Glogging!

In the words of a Glogster EDU flipper…

22 Mar
Today, I’ll let Glogster EDU Ambassador Lisa Salyer tell you in her in her own words how she uses Glogster EDU for flipped teaching. Take it away, Lisa!

When I discovered Glogster EDU,  I was struggling with how to incorporate meaningful higher level activities and project- based learning methods into my classroom.  Most educational software is limited to rote practice and memorization.  Glogster EDU is the only platform that I have found that allows for organization of teacher lessons, student projects, etc.

Glogster EDU is the absolute perfect platform for the flipped approach.  I think it is so important to demonstrate how you can create Glogs to meet diverse learning styles.  When possible I try to include a story, song, poetry, quotes, instructional podcasts, interactive practice, and enrichment through student creation of Glogs.

Oh! The Place You'll Go

I strive to design my own Glogs so that students who are absent can access the Glog and make up the lesson at home.  My goal in creating Glogs vary; however, my instructional Glogs aim to set purpose, provide review, instruct, and provide guided/independent practice.  I am also able to extend and remediate through Glogs.

As for preparing, recording and assembling,  a teacher must be motivated to do this during evenings and weekends.  With that being said, once you establish your core then enriching and making changes is easily done!  I try to find podcasts that already meet my instructional needs — no need to reinvent the wheel, plus pre-made podcasts save me a huge amount of time. (Click on the Glog thumbnails for examples.)

Night Letters (click on the Voki!

 On those days when I become a facilitator in my class, I feel a great since of accomplishment. My students are all exploring and learning, and I am monitoring, correcting misconceptions, or challenging students to extend their learning.  Some of the proudest moments I have are when  students self-inititate Glogs on topics of interest to them and learn through their own research!

Lisa has generously provided a few of her own Glog presentations:

Language Arts Glogs 

Math Glogs

Famous Americans Glog Project

Student Podcasts <— If you’re only going to click on one link, make it this one! So great.

Thanks so much, Lisa. I’m inspired; are you?

What about younger learners? Flipped classrooms vs. flipped teaching

21 Mar
Today I attended a fantastic webinar titled The Art of a Flipped Classroom – Turning Learning on its Head, hosted by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, pioneers of the flipped movement. They brought up a question that comes up often in flipped discussions: How do primary school teachers flip their classrooms? Younger learners may not be equipped with the technological skills, self direction, or parental guidance required to learn material independently at home.

 

Jon Bergmann responded by making a distinction between a flipped classroom and the idea of flipped teaching as a general approach. It’s not necessary to flip every class every day! The question to ask yourself, he says, is simple: What is the best use of your class time? Focus on the answer to that question, and then see if you can shift anything not included in that answer outside your class time. Even if you flip just a few classes or units, if you’re making better use of your time together –interacting more, providing more opportunities for collaboration– then students will feel the positive effects.

 

Glogster EDU Ambassador Meghan Gagne teaches 3rd grade. While her students are not ready for a true flipped classroom, she incorporates flipped teaching by providing her students with Glogs to review at home.

 

 I use Glogs to  present a review of difficult concepts and pose extra credit assignments. I find it to be a very engaging way to give extra help when my kids need it most — when they are tackling homework without me. 

 

Do you think the flipped approach can be adapted to younger learners? How do you incorporate flipped teaching into your primary classrooms? Do tell!

My Internet Classroom

25 Jan

Guest post by Glogster EDU Ambassador Rositsa Mineva, a primary English Language Teacher from Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

To make learning accessible both at home and in school, I created an “internet classroom” for my students using Glogster EDU and a classroom wiki.

While my students are home, I can connect with them through Skype, which is an easy and fast way for me to give directions as well as get student feedback. If I want to communicate with my students outside of the classroom, I give them a link through Skype. They can use internet resources (e-textbooks,  e- tests, online exercises, projects, and other forms of project-based learning on different topics) freely from home. This improves students’ language and time management skills.

Example of a Test Preparation Glog

With Glogster EDU, students have the opportunity to interact in a safe, digital environment. With their student accounts, they can create Glog presentations or simply Glog about a  topic that interests them.

Project-based learning is accessible and fun for students on the site.  This kind of learning fosters teamwork, keeps students engaged in course content, and makes teaching and learning more fun.

This type of activity leads to the development of key skills which real 21st century students need: critical thinking, collaboration, presentation, and digital literacy skills.

Creating a digital learning environment with Glogster EDU, communicating with my students on Skype, and collaborating with them on a class wiki facilitates positive student-teacher relationships and allows both to explore Web 2.0 and learning concepts together.

Here are the resources I use in my online classroom:

My Glogster EDU profile

My class wiki 

E-textbooks 

E-tests 

Online exercises 

Glog projects 

Project-based learning

Glog presentations

Web 2.0 resources wiki

Bridge Learning from Home to School: Create an IT classroom with wiki, Skype, and Glogster

My Internet Classroom Glog

School Spotlight: New Milford High

27 Dec

Mrs. Keesing, the Library Media Specialist at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ,  collaborated with World History teacher Ms. Perna on a Glogster EDU project designed to engage 9th grade students in their Monarchs of Europe unit.

As the students were finishing their unit, Mrs. Keesing provided them with their login information and basic instructions for using Glogster EDU.  Students chose one of the monarchs they studied to highlight in their Glogs.  Among the elements to include were the following: name of monarch and monarchy; image of monarch; description of monarch’s residence; monarch’s proudest achievement; and a comparison illustrating the superiority of the chosen monarch over a rival monarch.  Some students embedded a video clip to enhance their project.

Here are a few of the final projects. Click on the image to view the full size Glog.

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV: The Sun King

Maria Theresa

Louis XIV

Louis XIV

Pretty snazzy, eh? Thank you to Mrs. Keesing, Ms. Perna, and principal Eric Sheninger for showing us how New Milford uses Glogster EDU.

How does your school use Glogster EDU? If you’ve got a great lesson plan idea or just want to show off your students’ masterpieces, we’ll feature you in the next “School Spotlight.” Let us know in the comments!

School Spotlight: The Independence School

10 Dec

When Sheila Fredericks saw how powerful and easy Glogster EDU was, knew she had to incorporate it into her classroom.

Fredericks, a Technology Teacher and Coordinator at the Independence School in Newark Delaware, is using Glogster EDU to provide her students with an innovative 21st century education.

According to Fredericks, Glogster EDU improves their research skills as well as their creativity. Her  students “not only learn how to express their creativity. They also learn how to search for digital information and then share it effectively using digital media.” In a digital society like today, these skills are vital in their growth as students and future leaders.

It is well known that Glogging helps promote creative self-expression. With Fredericks’ technology students, it also builds creative thinking and communication skills.

In the lab, Fredericks can’t help but notice how technology motivates her students to do well. “I’ve found that students peer review each other’s work and then work harder on their own projects. Students learn from each other and communicating ideas builds global understanding.”

Students are not only able to share their Glog creations with their teachers and students; they’re able to share them with the world.

Using Glogster EDU in the classroom brings a new level of excitement to Fredericks’ technology classes.  “I love the excitement in the lab when students are using Glogster,” Fredericks said. “You can feel the enthusiasm and watch the exchange of ideas and collaboration.”

The students love it! Because of their experiences with Glogster in the classroom, some students are starting to use Glogster on their own time. One of Fredericks’ students decided to use Glogging as an alternative to blogging. With Glogs, she’s able to use videos, pictures, animations, etc. to convey her feelings.

What’s next? Fredericks’ 5th graders, who recently studied insects, have a fun new project on the agenda. They will take one of the insects they collected and create a Glog on the insect, incorporating 5 fun facts and pictures of each stage of the life cycle. They’ll also incorporate a video element into their Glog through Discovery Education.

We wish Mrs. Fredericks’ class a happy Glogging experience!

School Spotlight: Downingtown STEM Academy

18 Nov

Are you using Glogster EDU in your classroom? We’d love to include your story in our blog!  

If you’re interested in having your school featured in “School Spotlight,” please contact Justin at justin.landis@glogster.com. 

Inventive, Creative, Investigative, and Dynamic.

These are the kinds of students that the newly established STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Math) Academy in Downingtown, Pennsylvania strives to develop. To assist with this development, teachers at the Academy have added Glogster EDU to their project-based curriculum.

For years, teachers and students have been using programs such as Prezi and Power Point for creative projects. Now, the STEM Academy is using Glogster EDU to help students experience a more creative, dynamic, and innovative method of learning and presenting.

The creative design features on Glogster EDU really allow the students to experience a new level of digital expression.

Kelli DiVito a Technology Education teacher at the Downingtown STEM Academy is one of the teachers utilizing Glogster EDU in the classroom.

“I like all the options Glogster has for setting it up and making it the students’ own,” DiVito said. “It’s an alternative to the standard programs we use like Prezi and Power Point.”

Glogster EDU was not just a temporary experiment within the STEM Academy Curriculum. According to DiVito, Glogster EDU was outlined in the “Engineering by Design” curriculum.

The Downingtown STEM Academy strives to provide their students with an education that is dynamic, relevant, and rigorous, and both the students and teachers want to uphold that mission. DiVito strives to “expose students to all types of opportunities and technologies to accomplish our objectives.”

They have developed an educational model that features high quality, project-based education as well as independent, group-based investigations designed to create an enthusiasm for discovery, invention, and application.

In one particular project, the STEM students were assigned to pick an invention and track its evolution over time. This allowed students to utilize their research skills as well as their creativity. “It was helpful for students to understand that they can hyperlink the information,” DiVito said. “But it is imperative for them to summarize what they have researched, which is how I used Glogster EDU for this project.”

What better way to foster this creative development than with Glogster EDU?  We wish everyone at the Downingtown STEM Academy a happy Glogging experience!


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