This week, I have been able to explore a lot of new and helpful things that I will one day be able to use in the classroom.
I want to start by talking about ds106. I would like to say that when I first got on this website I was slightly confused. I was unsure of what to look for and I had troubles telling what it offered. As I started to explore the website more I found out that it actually offers you great ways to express yourself with digital tools. There are many different classes that you can partake in and they also have a Daily Create that I am able to experience. Something that I think is really nice about ds106 is that you can join and leave as you please. You do not have to pay for anything and you can decide how much you want to participate. Below, you will see the first Daily Create that I took part in. I had to create a book title using Emoji’s.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsEmoji Book Titles: 1⃣🐟2⃣🐟🔴🐟🔵🐟#tdc2864 #ds106 #diglitclass pic.twitter.com/fIvp6PjHu5
— Shayla Dockweiler (@ShaylaDockweil1) November 15, 2019
Along with ds106, I have also been introduced to digital storytelling (which is basically what ds106 is). This was a new concept to me. I guess I have seen it many times but I had never thought about how I could use it one day. Basically, digital storytelling is a way to tell a story through different kinds of digital tools. You can use music, your own voice, pictures, short videos, and whatever else to make a short video to explain your story. I think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom.
Podcasts were another great tool that was brought up this week. I know what podcasts are, however, I do not listen to them religiously. Podcasts are another way to spread information without having to write the words on a piece of paper. People are able to talk about what they want while recording themselves so that people can just sign on and listen to what they have to say. Once again, I am wondering how in the heck I never thought about using these tools in the classroom.
I think that all of these platforms could be used in the classroom if used correctly. I want to stress that there are always ways to use these platforms incorrectly. For example, you do not want to use them so much that students just use them as a time to not pay attention. You also want to make sure that they are relevant to what is going on in the classroom. Students could learn a lot from all of these tools if they are shown correctly.
Another thing that I have realized, is that even if teachers cannot fit these activities into class time, they can still use these platforms for themselves. They could learn many different things and it might help take their mind off of what they are stressed about for awhile. This could be another form of self-care that teachers could use to help them out.
Digital Literacy with Shayla D. 