Reflection Post #3 TCL-Collaboration Tool Miro

 

Another week, another post 😆

As always, let's jump into the nitty-gritty of it, shall we? 

The third week has continued to enlighten me about the various collaboration tools available for educators to utilize in the classroom. In the last post, I had shared that I was only aware of a few and hadn't gone super in-depth with their capabilities. However, I am circling back to review the list with the various tools provided, so I can take a closer look at how I can incorporate them into my own classroom. One of the collaboration tools that I found myself gravitating back towards is Miro. I will be the first to admit that when it was initially brought up in class and I reviewed it, I was a bit dismissive. Miro is a space for you and your students to organize ideas, share thoughts, and take notes together in real-time. A word to describe it in a bare-bones way is a whiteboard. However, it is an innovative whiteboard that is a valuable tool. 

There is an outstanding Miro Quick YouTube Tutorial that helped provide me with a look at Miro. I started creating my Miro board about two weeks ago. One thing I love about Miro is how it enables students to collaborate in real-time. It allows them to share ideas, provide feedback, and interact with one another. The potential of Miro to foster student interaction is fascinating, especially for students who are not very vocal or hesitant about speaking up in class. It opens up a new avenue for them to participate and engage with their peers as well as the material in a classroom setting. 

This setup really helps foster communication skills and creates a more connected classroom vibe. In a sense, it is a room that lets you enter and collaborate. What's more, it's incredibly user-friendly. I had just started creating different notes and experimenting with the various features, and it was a breeze. You can pull the boards across to view the other notes. You can leave comments on the written work. You can also post reactions, such as stickies and emotions. 

There's a free account option, which is excellent for teachers who want to utilize it in the classroom. However, the free version does come with some limitations compared to the paid versions, which offer additional features such as extra boards, video calls, and other capabilities not available in the free version. Another thing I learned is that since Miro is dependent on the internet, students or educators who do not have access to the internet will struggle to utilize and participate in it. Additionally, I noticed that when my computer failed to automatically connect to the internet at home, it didn't save any of the notes or changes I had made before that, which is somewhat frustrating. 

It may be a dream, but I would love to see the platform offer educators a free one-year subscription to Miro, complete with all the key features not included in the starter plan. This would be a game-changer, making the platform more accessible and allowing schools and instructors to fully immerse themselves in it before making a purchase decision for the upcoming year.

If you had asked me at the start of the quarter whether I would ever use Miro in the classroom, I would have said no. However, I've changed my mind after delving into the program, and I can genuinely see myself utilizing it in my classroom one day. The limitations of the free version and the initial setup can be intimidating. Miro has the potential to create a more engaging and interactive learning environment in the two content areas I hope to teach one day. I love that it offers students the ability to communicate with each other, including myself, outside the classroom in real time. It might take some time for my students to get on board, but I can also provide them with support, as well as share my own initial thoughts on Miro. 

As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read my post.