Making Social Media Come Alive in the Classroom by Jessika Timmons Sheldon Jordan Herma Meade EDD 7914

Order of Presentation  Skype  The ASSURE Model  The Project  Analysis  Standards  Strategy, Technology, Media, Materials  Utilizing Technology, Media, Materials  Requiring Learner Participation  Evaluating and Revising  Enhancement Activities  Conclusion

 A voiceover service and software application  Initially released to the public in August 2003  Allows communication by voice, video, and instant messaging  Well known for its videoconferencing feature  Now owned by Microsoft  Used in educational settings to share information between separated parties

 Presented by Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell  Provides framework for effective use of technology and media in the classroom  Each letter indicates a step in the process  A-Analyse learners  S – State standards and objectives  S – Select strategies, technology, media and materials  U-Utilize technology, media and materials  R-Require learner participation  E-Evaluate and revise

 Conducted with the Kindergarten class of Jessika Timmons in Fort Lauderdale  A Third Grade class was used as partners to the Kindergarten students  The ASSURE Model was used in engaging students in a science learning activity on Gardening  Skype was used to enable discussion between the two classes  The evaluation highlighted some adjustments that would be made in future Skype sessions

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE ANALYSE LEARNERS Identify and analyze learner characteristics shown to be associated with learning outcomes The learners for this lesson were a group of kindergarten students who skyped with a 3 rd grade class. This was the culminating meeting of the two classes who have had a partnership/mentorship with gardening in Science all year. This method would appeal to those students whose interests are peaked by technology. It would also appeal to the visual learners.

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE STATE STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES State the standards and learning objectives as specifically as possible K.SL.1 – Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. SC.K.L.14.3 – Observe plants and animals, describe how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and the things they do. The students will be expected to use the knowledge they have learned about plants as well as new information to conduct an open discussion.

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE SELECT STRATEGIES, TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA AND MATERIALS Choose appropriate instructional strategies, technology, and media and materials to achieve the objectives. The following materials were used: Laptops (with built-in cameras) Lists of questions from Kindergarten class Garden patch prepared by the 3 rd grade class(with plants already growing) Skype was used to enable sharing and discussion between the two classes.

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, AND MATERIALS Planning for utilizing the technology, media, and materials to help students achieve the learning objectives. Follow the 5 P’s: Preview the technology Prepare the technology Prepare the environment Prepare the learners Provide the learning experience In order to prepare for the lesson, the 3 rd grade teacher and Jessika had to get together to test the technology and to discuss how they wanted to conduct the lesson prior to involving the students. Both classrooms were arranged so that the students in the class could sit close together and be able to see and be seen on the cameras. All year the 3 rd grade students mentored the kindergarten students about how they maintained their garden and the different types of seeds they planted.

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE REQUIRE LEARNER PARTICIPATION To be effective, instruction should require active mental engagement. The 3 rd graders had to explain the plans for their garden over the summer. They took the laptop outside to allow the students to see the changes in the garden since they saw it last. They even pulled a carrot and potato for the students to see how roots grow. The kindergarten students had to ask and answer questions. Afterwards, a discussion took place about the new information that was learned and the students in both classes were expected to write a reflection response in their journal.

STEPDETAILS/WHAT WAS DONE EVALUATE AND REVISE After implementing, evaluate the lesson’s impact on student learning. The students enjoyed and obtained new information in the lesson. However, the impact would have been greater if the Skype lesson was not conducted using a small laptop. The use of a portable, rather than built-in camera with the laptop hooked to a large television would have been more effective. That way, the students would not have had to struggle to see one another on the screen. This lesson was done as a whole group, rather than a small group so this is why having a larger screen was important.

 Herma Meade used Skype to share the conduct and results of the project with two superintendents  The activity was fully endorsed, taking into account the adjustments proposed in the evaluation.  Sheldon Jordan used Skype to collaborate with another class in the Broward County School District to discuss citizen responsibility  The activity was well received by my students, it was very engaging, and I will definitely be using it again

SKYPE in the Classroom – FREE!!!!  Search scheduled Skype lessons in various subjects  Teachers can create classes to teach.  Learn from experts around the world and create new learning experiences

 Skype has been confirmed in this activity to be of great potential in enhancing instruction at the kindergarten and elementary levels.  The stage has been set for exploring further possibilities for using the application, engaging personnel at other levels of the education system.

Smaldino, S. E., Lowther, D. L. & Russell, J. D. (2012). Instructional technology and media for learning. Boston MA: Pearson.