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
Pam,
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome task that this is for high school students! The collaboration and real-life active learning involved with this is really cool to hear about. The fact that it is live is the most interesting part to me. So much can be learned by all parties involved with this project. Very cool!
Wow, this is great! I really like how this teacher incorporated technology in the classroom. What a great project for students to learn how to do, especially for those students who plan on going into the business world. I'm wondering how the parents felt about the project being public? Did this pose a problem or did they all sign a consent form? Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKristin, I was thinking the same thing about parents being concerned about it being public. Being this is a high school project, I think that the parents' acceptance level would be higher. But. I do think that some parents would be concerned because it is a public broadcast.
ReplyDelete