This assignment proved to be more of a challenge than I first anticipated. I'm to discover a new technology to bring in to my classroom that would further engage my students. Hmmmmm, how does a digital immigrant show a digital native something new? So, I start thinking about my students. Recently, I have started posting their finished pieces in some unusual places. On my ceiling tiles. Each student has their own ceiling tile. They are doing some pretty complex pen drawings using Adobe Creative Suites 5: Illustrator of themselves. But in a very unique fashion. If you have seen Andy Warhol's rendition of
Marilyn Monroe you will get a gist of what they are doing. Anyway, I haven't been able to get everyone's up yet and I'll have students ask me about theirs. Even my high level autistic student has asked if he get's a ceiling tile! So, flash forward to this assignment. I realized how much my students, all of them, love seeing their work displayed. It's like my classroom and lab have become one giant refrigerator door. (Remember when you were a child and your mom would put your work on the fridge?) Then it hit me, now that we are in this digital age why not take it a bit further.
Instead of blogging, my students are going to start GLOGGING. I teach graphic design, and what better why to showcase my student's work but through glogging. Glogging is a graphical blog. Kind of like an interactive poster. Check this site out. It's a
Education 2.0 tool by Edmodo and scroll down to the section on glogging. (While you're there you've got to check out the three videos on the glog on the left.
All I can say is WOW I got goosebumps listening to these powerful words of our future! <this is called slam poetry, I will apologize in advance if this upsets anyone>)
So what the heck is glogging? Glad you asked. It's an innovative way to keep students engaged that is a safe platform monitored by their teacher. With Glogster edu, instructors can integrate cross discipline instruction and gives you a unique way to assess student understanding. While giving students a fun way to showcase either their individual work or group collaboration. Talk about a fun way to hit all the multi-intellegences!
At
Glogster edu they have an edu premium subscription or an edu basic. Right now with the FREE edu basic you can register 100 students. But I think that number is going to 50 in November. (Doesn't that sound like a hurry now sales pitch.)
I'm so excited about glogging that I'm going to go to the webmaster at our school tomorrow and find out what I need to do to start an interactive web site for just my classroom where I can not only showcase my student's work through a digital portfolio but, give it a personal touch with their own interactive glogs.
