I have been thinking a bit about the visual nature of learning and teaching and can't help but think about the artwork and homework I would post on the refrigerator when my kids brought home work they were proud of. In a lot of ways, the posting of our students work on Flicker or wikis or screencast works the same way. The students are motivated not only to perform for their own sake, but to share their work.
This is a continuation of my reflection of the cell phone photos for math. Eric Marcos had a great demonstration of the enthusiasm created in his students through the use of screencasting.
By using tablet pcs, a microphone and a moodle, this 6th grade class has created a website.I was so impressed with the live presentation presented by 2 students at the conference. This is really is a follow up on Darren K.'s theory of teaching like med school. When the students solve their equations on the screen, they are actually teaching it. In addition to being available for view on computers, they can also import some of the audio to an Ipod. His students have also created Mathtrain Tv ( link on the site). I haven't looked yet, but I believe they have also posted some things on You Tube, Teacher Tube, and google video. In addition to their videos, they close captioned them as a community service project to help special needs students.
The students create pseudonyms which, Marcos relates, they really enjoyed. This also provides a safety feature as well. A teacher who presented something similar at the e-pals session also has her students creat screen names for anonymity. In her case, it began the year with a Nativie American naming assignment that culminated with their first e-pal correspondence as they described why the chose their N.A. screen name and provided no other personal information.
There are some wonderful examples of students' work at the site.
The way I see it, it is an old idea with a new tool. So, it really isn't about the technology. It IS about the pedagogy.
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