I have been using Doceri for the past
four years to transform my classroom by freeing me from being
tethered to my computer or SMARTboard, providing creative
freedom to create content on the fly, and creating flipclass videos
to make the best use of class time with my students. Over the past three
years my students have been able to contribute to lessons through the use
of our iPad, but this year I wanted to find a way to get my students
more involved in the creative options that Doceri provides. That idea
led to my previous post. Since that time, I have been focused on not only
providing my students more opportunities to be creative using Doceri, but
also more proactively promoting Doceri in my school to other
teachers and my administrators.
I have a great administrative
team that promotes the use of technology in the classroom and has taken a
strong interest in my uses of Doceri. Our administrators have provided
opportunities during professional development days for teachers to learn more
about Doceri and how they and their students could
incorporate Doceri into their classroom.
About two months ago I led a group
of teacher through the opportunities with Doceri. Below are the
comments from Becca Hirtz regarding the advantages
of Doceri:
"During graduate school,
I focused my action research project on cooperative learning. After researching
the elements of creating an environment that encourages students and teacher to
work together toward learning, I realized I struggled with being able to be a facilitator
that roams all areas of the classroom. After seven years of struggling with
this problem, Doceri has come to the rescue. Although my
Smartboard/Projector is not utilized for interactive activities they may
have intended, I have better interactions with my students and the lessons we
cover through custom Doceri presentations that are available for all
to see.
The
main problem I had with my SMARTboard was that I have
always felt constricted to my computer space located at the front of the room.
After learning how to use Doceri, I have found myself roaming to help
students, teaching from the back of the room so that I can see the SMARTboard
from the students' perspective, and next year, I will finally be able to
arrange my room in a way that frees me from my SMARTboard.
Thanks Doceri!"
--Becca Hirtz,
English Teacher, Muskego HS
The greatest impact of Doecri in the field of education is in its flexibility to be used in any discipline. Kim Nordlie is a middle school teacher in our district and this is what she had to say about Doceri in her classroom.
As a math teacher, my students are constantly using the Smart Board to model their mathematical thinking and the various strategies they use to solve problems. For a long time, my students and I were confined to the front of the room to model problems, working them out on the Smart Board. Doceri has provided me the opportunity to engage students by literally bringing the Smart Board to them. My students love being able to participate and share their math understanding from the comfort of their small group. Students are able to work together and learn from each other in a much more efficient and interactive way thanks to Doceri, not to mention they love seeing their work on the iPad appear on our Smart Board.
--Kim Nordlie, Math Teacher, Bay Lane Middle School
A new associate principal in
our building, Mr. Andrew Bavlnka, was impressed by the numerous
ways Doceri could have an impact on a classroom:
"I had never heard
of Doceri before this fall. My first introduction to it was when I
observed Kenny Bosch use it to lead a simulation lesson on the Industrial
Revolution. Mr. Bosch was able to deliver a captivating multi-media experience
for his students that was rich in content and challenged them to think
critically about the material. Doceri allowed Mr. Bosch to link
sound, images, and brief animations to make the lesson an EXPERIENCE. The
seamless transitions in the lesson added to the hurried effect he was trying to
create in the lesson. Simply put, the lesson was an awesome learning moment.
Another application of Doceri is the voice-over feature. Mr. Bosch
uses it to deliver flipped lessons in his history classes to allow students to
access material at home. His flipped Doceri lessons allow him to
ensure all his students have access to lessons (even twice if needed!) and
helps him to use his valuable class time to check for understanding, create
engaging activities, and differentiate his instruction as needed. Powerful
stuff. Outside of the classroom I have even seen Mr.
Bosch use Doceri to improve his coaching..."
--Associate Principal Andrew Bavlnka,
Muskego HS
Throughout this school year my
students have been making Doceri videos as a way to express their
learning. Now as more staff members are learning about the unlimited uses
for Doceri to create unique lessons and free them from their computer
desks, our SMARTboards are having less of an impact. After
witnessing firsthand the power of Doceri as a presentation tool they
have asked me to teach them more about it so that they can utilize it for our
staff meetings.
