Burlington High School Goes Live

     Jenn Scheffer, Instructional Technology Specialist, shared what her students are doing with technology.  They have created weekly public broadcasts using Google Hangouts.  The students named the 30-minute show “Help Desk Live” and it airs every Friday. The students started by creating a YouTube channel, along with their own page on Google+, a logo, and a blog. “Help Desk Live” is a talk show where the students find and book the guests, create the questions/topics and host the show. The students are responsible for promoting the show using social media such as Twitter.  They use Google Docs to provide summaries of future episodes.

     This teaching tool exposes students to many aspects of learning.  The whole process from start to finish requires collaboration.  The students acquire skills in many areas of technology.  In many ways, this experience mimics an ongoing project within a business.  The students will carry these skills beyond high school and into the workplace.  The fact that this is a publicly aired broadcast makes the students realize that this is real; it is out there for everyone to view, to learn from, and to comment on.

     Seeing what Jenn Scheffer’s students have done with technology is a great model for other schools.  With a project of this magnitude, the students must learn to work hard, work together, keep at it and have fun with it. 

Scheffer, J. (2014). Burlington High School goes live. Retrieved on May 24, 2014, from: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/05/burlington-high-school-goes-live.html#.U4DJ_Nxupg0

Brain Movies Aid Learning

     Donna Wilson, co-developer of the M.S. and Ed.S. Brain-Based Teaching degree programs at Nova Southeastern University, feels that creating visual thoughts is essential to learning, understanding and remembering.

Students who learn to visualize what they are learning tend to retain more and also report enjoying learning more. “By creating mental images from the words on a page or screen, we tap into both the verbal and visual-spatial representational systems, making abstract concepts more concrete and thus more meaningful and memorable.” (Wilson, 2014, para. 3) 

     Wilson goes on to explain the importance of teaching students to learn by visualizing.  She recommends that teachers guide students to visualize while reading to teach them to create what Wilson calls “brain movies”. While children are thought to be naturally imaginative, to what degree varies from child to child.  Wilson teaches students to develop this skill by practice and then sharing what they visualized with others.    

     Visualization is a large part of learning.  I have noticed that some individuals are more likely to automatically do this, but it does appear to be something that can be learned.  As a student and a teacher, I have seen different degrees of visualization utilized and have come to the conclusion that students that naturally visualize learn much easier than those that don’t.  One thing I do agree on is that it works.  

Wilson, D. (2014). Brain movies: when readers can picture it, they understand it. Retrieved from:http://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-movies-visualize-reading-comprehension-donna-wilson

What About Blogs...

     In the article, 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs (ELI 2005), blogs are described as “an online, chronological collection of personal commentary and links.”  It goes on to say that blogs are “an avenue for unedited expression, reaction and connection” that encourages those involved to “engage in knowledge sharing, reflection and debate.”  A blog is not only a way for individuals to voice their thought, opinions and concerns, but also a way to welcome the thoughts and ideas of others.  It is a place to discuss, dispute and share.  It reaches far and wide allowing the conversation to include many.

     The use of blogs in education allows students to reflect about classes, assignments or even current events.  The pros are that they offer autonomy, promote peer interaction and distribute knowledge among peers.  The cons are that blogs can be biased and inaccurate.  They are unmediated and can become volatile at times.  To understand how a blog can be useful in education, it is important to remember that it is the equivalent of a class discussion.  A blog extends the opportunity for group interaction beyond the confines of the classroom.  Considering the limited amount of time spent in the classroom, a blog can be a useful extension of the learning experience.


ELI. (2005) 7 things you should know about blogs, Retrieved from: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7006.pdf