My 20% project idea was, at first, to explore digital scrapbooking tools. I generally give each student a scrapbook or a photo collage to help them remember their school. Now, as a 3rd grade teacher with twice the students because of block scheduling, I thought that one way this could still work would be to get the kids involved in taking their own photos and scrapbooking them. I tried out some new possibilities in Smilebox, did some photo cropping and took some field trip photos and put them into a Google presentation.
From there, my project morphed. After looking at some of Russell Stannard's how-to videos and reading Richard Byrne's blog, I decided to used Glogster to develop my own web page.
http://mwerness.glogster.com/mme-wernesss-glog-4237/
These explorations have really changed me as a teacher working in the digital age. I feel so much more prepared to teach children in using these same tools. I know that there are amazing resources on the Internet. The 20% project has allowed me that avenue of exploration. Now, I feel I am an effective role model of digital learning. And as I take the time to introduce these new web tools to the children and integrate them into the curriculum, I will be offering the students the possibility of demonstrating their knowledge through the engaging medium of technology and giving them a much richer learning environment.
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