Case Study: How a teacher is using Visme in the classroom

Case Study: How a teacher is using Visme in the classroom

Written by:
Payman Taei

May 01, 2015

visme-education

Today we are interviewing Rachelle Poth, a High School teacher currently teaching Spanish in Pennsylvania.   Rachelle  likes to integrate and keep up with new technologies and she has found Visme to be a great tool to use in the classroom.

Let's learn a bit more about Rachelle and her experience with Visme in her own words:

You have been teaching for quite some time. Can you share your background with our viewers?

visme-education-case-study

I have been a Foreign Language Teacher at Riverview Junior Senior High School in Oakmont PA since 1997. I currently teach Spanish levels I through IV, but have also taught French during my time at Riverview.

I continued teaching full time and then received my Juris Doctor Degree in June 2006 and passed the Bar Exam that July.  I am currently pursuing my Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology at Duquesne University because of my commitment to lifelong learning and to providing the best possible learning opportunities for my students.

You seem to keep up with new technologies and trends.  Why do you use Technology in classroom?

I love integrating technology into my classroom, and have sought to find new ways to help students learn better through the integration of technology.  Prior to beginning the master’s program, I had started using an LMS, a messaging service and various project based presentation tools to build a more personalized, collaborative and innovative classroom through technology.

I have presented sessions on technology during Professional Development days held within my school district and last March I was nominated as a Pennsylvania Keystone Star for Technology.

From over 400 nominees in Pennsylvania who completed the application process after nomination, I was fortunate to have been selected as 1 of the 100 educators in Pennsylvania to attend a weeklong Keystone Summit held at Kutztown University last July.

My experience at the summit was tremendously valuable and it was an opportunity to interact with other educators, build new connections and share ideas.

I have continued to seek opportunities to share and learn about the integration of technology and enjoy attending conferences and EdCamps, presenting technology sessions, and participating in technology and education related chats through Twitter as often as possible. 

My presentations are focused on ways that technology can be used to provide personalized, creative and enhanced learning opportunities for students and how teachers can use various tools to make this possible.

I have presented technology sessions at Lehigh University and the TRETC Conference in Pittsburgh in November.  This February, I had the tremendous opportunity to be involved at PETE&C (Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference) for the first time. 

I presented two sessions at PETE&C and also had two teams of my students showing their skills developed through Spanish classes in the showcase. 

I recently presented at the IUP Foreign Language Methodology Conference in April and I will be presenting two sessions at ISTE this summer and am so excited to have such a tremendous opportunity and look forward to meeting new people and re-connecting with colleagues.

What Types of technology do you use in your classroom

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I enjoy finding new, innovative ways to enhance my classroom through technology.  I read a lot of technology related publications and stay active through Social Media to discover new, innovative tools which will benefit my classroom.

Students in my classes have the opportunity to interact and learn through a variety of tools that engage them and provide more meaningful learning opportunities, faster assessment and enable them to have a choice and voice in showing what they have learned.

I always look for ways that students can select from different choices and find something that appeals to them and fosters their learning as well as creativity.  My hope it that they learn the Spanish language and that their learning is made easier through technology, but I also want them to become prepared with the vital technology skills needed for their future as well.

By providing a choice in the type of presentation tools they can use for assignments and projects, I am encouraging them to create meaningful presentations and presentations which are aligned to their interests.

The projects they submit are always diverse and truly represent their individuality and also the learning that has occurred.  They enjoy seeing each other’s work and I enjoy looking at their work and learning about them as well.

How did you hear about Visme?

I recall seeing Visme on Twitter back in January and was instantly curious about how it would work and how I could use it personally and also its applicability to my classroom.

I started using Visme in January before attending the PETE&C conference and was so excited when I began working with it, and also amazed at the number of options available for creating presentations of various types.

I worked with it and became familiar with the numerous options and am impressed by how user friendly it is.

One of my students had to prepare an individual project for the PETE&C showcase and I recommended that she try Visme.

She loved it and could not wait to share her first project with me.  This particular student had been a bit apprehensive of technology a year ago but now she loves trying new things and she loves using Visme.

How do you learn about new technology resources?

I keep up to date by reading blogs and publications related to technology integration and education.  I regularly participate in Twitter chats, sometimes 2 or 3 each night, with educators throughout the country.  I greatly value the learning that occurs through these chats and my PLN. As soon as I learn about a new tool, I create an account and begin working with it right away.

At the start of this school year, following the great learning opportunity at the Keystone Summit, I decided to use Infographics for my syllabi.  I loved the possibilities of creating something unique for each course and making it more vibrant and engaging than standard paper and being able to add my personal touch to each creation.

I also enjoy creating presentations for conferences using innovative tools with creative options and possibilities that will inspire curiosity in the audience, whether it be for students, teachers or anyone.

For each project that I assign, my students receive a list of many types of tools ranging from comics and animations, to traditional presentation style formats, or video or website production.  With each new project, they must select a new tool for completion. 

By doing this, it encourages the students to take a risk and try something new and to also create something that will enhance their language learning and meet their interests for creativity and comfort.  Students enjoy trying the new presentation tools and seeing the variety of work produced by their classmates. 

I am thrilled to see the work they produce and the variety which shows their individuality and caters to a more personalized level of instruction and learning.  I love that my students can choose and explore a variety of great tech tools.

Why do you love the possibilities of using Visme in your classroom?

I have assigned several projects for my Spanish I – II students and several have selected Visme and many are anxious for the next project so that they can experience using it as well.

The projects are creative, individualized, and demonstrative of their learning but also provide evidence that students’ learning has increased by having a choice in how to show their learning, through their creative work using Visme.

Visme is a great way to create a variety of presentations and infographics for use in any field, whether it be education or business, and provides so many options through templates and tools, and is very user friendly. 

It is amazing what you can do with Visme and how quickly you can create an animated, engaging, vibrant presentation. 

My students like having so many choices within Visme and their projects are all so unique because of the great possibilities for presentation creation.   Recent projects in Spanish I and II were really impressive and many students decided to try Visme and really found it quite easy to use and a great way to complete their project.

All students enjoyed seeing how different, unique and creative each presentation was and I enjoyed seeing the personalized learning and creativity enhanced through Visme. 

The team at Visme provides fast technical support and any time I have questions, the answers are quickly sent by the support team. 

I continue to work with my own projects, trying new tools and features and really am impressed with the ease of creating a professional, engaging, vibrant presentation through Visme.

Can you share with us a few projects you and your students have created with Visme?

Here are a few links to recent projects I have created:

presentation-teacher1

 

and here is another:

presntation2-teacher

 

And I know Visme just launched High Definition presentation templates, which I really look forward to using.

My students are also enjoying using Visme:

student-presentation

 

and here's another:

student-visme2

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    About the Author

    Payman Taei is the founder of Visme (he doesn’t like using the word ”CEO”—it’s way too formal), a DIY platform that allows everyone to create and manage presentations, infographics, reports and other visual content.

    He’s also the founder of HindSite Interactive, an award-winning web design and web development company.