Watch out National Geographic

I was really blown away at all the amazing small changes that could be done to bring a new level of technology into the classroom!  GooleDocs can do some really amazing things on every level of SAMR.  I liked the idea of the student’s science notebooks being a GoogleDoc as opposed to a regular written notebook.  This would allow me as the teacher to see, in real time, what they were working on.  It would give me the ability to chat with them and make notes on their work. Another one of the ideas I really loved that I took from the SAMR videos we watched was having the students create and publish a documentary on topic of their choice.  This final project allowed the students to work in pairs and pick any topic that was discussed and of interest to them during their semester.  The students then used different methods and software to create documentary videos on their research.  Finally, they shared these videos on YouTube so they could be viewed globally.  I watched a couple of the videos and was very impressed by the content and style of the video.  I believe this is redefinition because without the advance software and technology students would not be able produce the documentary or be able to share it with others around the world.  I thought this idea was a great way to get all kids engaged on a multitude of level.  I think publishing the videos not only gives the students a chance for feedback from around the world but also puts some added incentive to work hard on the video since everyone can see it.  I am super excited to use this in my classroom in the future!