Connecting East

We’re on the downward slope now as we enter week 6: Screen Capture week. This week’s challenges are dedicated to all those who have ever said, “What is this Jing thing on the lab computers, and why is it constantly annoying me?!”

Annoying it may be – that is, until you learn what it does – then you will think it nothing short of brilliant.

A quick introduction. Screen capture allows you to:

• Take pictures of any part of your screen, save them to your computer, embed them, or link to them online.
• Annotate over pictures you have taken to explain how to do something.
• Capture video of you explaining something on your computer.
• Share these wonderful pieces of wisdom you have created.

But don’t take our word for it – ask the following converts and devotees:

• Luke
• Haidee
• Craig
• Jackson

Screen capture is a great way for kids to share their knowledge and understanding as well. The grade 2-4 students have all had a go at some point. Hey, if they can do it, you can too!

We’re halfway there guys! You deserve a pat on the back!

This week we’re focusing on all the wonderful information and ideas you can get from blogs. A lot of people ask me, “Where do you get your ideas?” Most of the time I get them from other people’s blogs (see, I’m not really that clever after all).

People write blogs about all kinds of things, so it’s relatively easy to find a blog about something you’re interested in.

For this week’s tasks, we’re going to have you read and explore a range of blogs related to education (mostly!). We hope you will find something to interest and inspire you.

Welcome to week 4! Hope you haven’t hit too many speed bumps on our journey so far. Thanks for sticking with us – just think of the prizes!!

I’m excited to introduce you to Voicethreads. They are one of my absolute favourite tools for use in the classroom. Voicethreads allow you to upload photos, videos, documents and share them with others in a format which allows and encourages commenting. Comments can be made using text, voice, webcam or sms.

Voicethreads are spectacular for kids of all ages. Using Voicethreads you could:

• Share what happened on school/class trips.
• Explain a maths procedure.
• Share a favourite performance.
• Respond to visual writing prompts.
• Gather opinions for persuasive writing.
• Showcase developing foreign language skills.
• Share favourite pieces of classroom work.
• Demonstrate how to throw a ball properly in PE.
• Explain the process behind a piece of artwork.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. So this week, it’s time to share your opinions and exercise your