Click on the link & it will take you to my final project!
Friday, August 19, 2016
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Thing 35 - Hot Topics in EdTech ~ Blended Learning & Computer Science for All
Blended Learning:
I chose to research Blended Learning because I really didn't know anything about it. I had a guess going into it that it had to be a combination of 'traditional learning' and learning through technology. And, I was right overall in my thinking. Below is a definition of what 'Blended Learning' is according to the website mindflash.com
And, according to the Blended Learning Tool Kit (blended.online.ucf.edu) blended learning is:
According to what I researched, no single definition of blended learning is out there. There are many terms to describe it such as hybrid, mixed, or integrative learning. One thing that web sites agree on is that blended learning is a growing trend. According to mindflash.com,In 2000 an estimated 45,000 K-12 students took an online course, but almost a decade later more than 3 million took courses that way, many of them using computers in the schools themselves.
It seems from what I have been able to find that blended learning is more used in high schools and some middle schools than it is on the elementary level. One of the key components of blended learning is to identify what is already working well in your classroom, and what might be better suited as digital content. Teachers need to know that by adding digital content, it doesn't mean throwing out all the direct (face to face) instruction in the classroom. It is important to find what is working well face-to-face, and add what could more effective in a digital format.
One school which has put blended learning to the test is P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainsville, Florida. Attached is information about their school and how they've made blended learning work: What This School is Achieving.
Our district is special in that it is a progressive district, and we truly value hands-on, experiential learning. Knowing that technology is going to continue to grow, and that we are going to see it integrated more and more in our schools I believe we have colleagues who will find the best ways to 'blend' technology into our classrooms. From all that we have learned and explored through this course I personally believe that we will be able to 'blend' new technology with the face-to-face learning that we all value!
'Computer Science for All':
Well, I don't know much about 'Computer Science for All' before digging in a little deeper. What I first found was that it became a nationwide initiative launched by President Obama as of January of this year. According to the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) this is the President's plan:
Computer Science for All is the President’s bold new initiative to empower all American students from kindergarten through high school to learn computer science and be equipped with the computational thinking skills they need to be creators in the digital economy, not just consumers, and to be active citizens in our technology-driven world. Our economy is rapidly shifting, and both educators and business leaders are increasingly recognizing that computer science (CS) is a “new basic” skill necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility.
Computer Science for All (White House Site)
Below is more of the plan that President Obama has carved out for the initiative:
I think that this is exactly how we see our own students that we work with every day - they are persistent, problem-solvers with critical thinking skills, who work creatively and collaboratively with each other. We are preparing them to be successful 21st century learners!
From the information that is out there on the President's initiative, all of America is realizing the need for all of our students to be taught computer science in our schools because of all the STEM jobs that are out there. I believe that our district is so fortunate to have so much technology at our hands, and a staff (from the tech. department on down) that is both knowledgeable and willing to learn so that we can give provide our students with the best technology in their hands, as well as learning the most effective ways to use it.
I chose to research Blended Learning because I really didn't know anything about it. I had a guess going into it that it had to be a combination of 'traditional learning' and learning through technology. And, I was right overall in my thinking. Below is a definition of what 'Blended Learning' is according to the website mindflash.com
And, according to the Blended Learning Tool Kit (blended.online.ucf.edu) blended learning is:
According to what I researched, no single definition of blended learning is out there. There are many terms to describe it such as hybrid, mixed, or integrative learning. One thing that web sites agree on is that blended learning is a growing trend. According to mindflash.com,In 2000 an estimated 45,000 K-12 students took an online course, but almost a decade later more than 3 million took courses that way, many of them using computers in the schools themselves.
It seems from what I have been able to find that blended learning is more used in high schools and some middle schools than it is on the elementary level. One of the key components of blended learning is to identify what is already working well in your classroom, and what might be better suited as digital content. Teachers need to know that by adding digital content, it doesn't mean throwing out all the direct (face to face) instruction in the classroom. It is important to find what is working well face-to-face, and add what could more effective in a digital format.
One school which has put blended learning to the test is P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainsville, Florida. Attached is information about their school and how they've made blended learning work: What This School is Achieving.
Our district is special in that it is a progressive district, and we truly value hands-on, experiential learning. Knowing that technology is going to continue to grow, and that we are going to see it integrated more and more in our schools I believe we have colleagues who will find the best ways to 'blend' technology into our classrooms. From all that we have learned and explored through this course I personally believe that we will be able to 'blend' new technology with the face-to-face learning that we all value!
'Computer Science for All':
Well, I don't know much about 'Computer Science for All' before digging in a little deeper. What I first found was that it became a nationwide initiative launched by President Obama as of January of this year. According to the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) this is the President's plan:
Computer Science for All is the President’s bold new initiative to empower all American students from kindergarten through high school to learn computer science and be equipped with the computational thinking skills they need to be creators in the digital economy, not just consumers, and to be active citizens in our technology-driven world. Our economy is rapidly shifting, and both educators and business leaders are increasingly recognizing that computer science (CS) is a “new basic” skill necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility.
Computer Science for All (White House Site)
Below is more of the plan that President Obama has carved out for the initiative:
Fortunately, there is a growing movement being led by parents, teachers, states, districts, and the private sector to expand CS education. The President’s Computer Science for All Initiative builds on these efforts by:
- Providing $4 billion in funding for states, and $100 million directly for districts in his forthcoming Budget to increase access to K-12 CS by training teachers, expanding access to high-quality instructional materials, and building effective regional partnerships. The funding will allow more states and districts to offer hands-on CS courses across all of their public high schools, get students involved early by creating high-quality CS learning opportunities in elementary and middle schools, expand overall access to rigorous science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) coursework, and ensure all students have the chance to participate, including girls and underrepresented minorities.
- Starting the effort this year, with more than $135 million in investments by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to support and train CS teachers, who are the most critical ingredient to offering CS education in schools. The agencies will make these investments over five years using existing funds.
- Calling on even more Governors, Mayors, education leaders, CEOs, philanthropists, creative media and technology professionals, and others to get involved. Today, Delaware, Hawaii and more than 30 school districts are committing to expand CS opportunities; Cartoon Network, Google and Salesforce.org are announcing more than $60 million in new philanthropic investments, and Microsoft is announcing a fifty-state campaign to expand CS; and Code.org is announcing plans to offer CS training to an additional 25,000 teachers this year.
After digging up some more information I was able to find CS4 All (Computer Science for All) has been an initiative in the Chicago Public Schools since 2013. The information in regards to what the CPS has been doing can be found at Choose Your Future. Currently there are 164 schools in Chicago that will be part of the initiative upcoming school year.
Here is more information about why the 'Computer Science for All' push is important in so many peoples' eyes:
I love what the Office of Innovation and Improvement had to say in regards to the growing importance of computer science in our schools:
When students have the opportunity to study computer science, they can develop skills and aptitudes such as persistence, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration — skills that they will need to succeed in school, life, and any profession they choose.
From the information that is out there on the President's initiative, all of America is realizing the need for all of our students to be taught computer science in our schools because of all the STEM jobs that are out there. I believe that our district is so fortunate to have so much technology at our hands, and a staff (from the tech. department on down) that is both knowledgeable and willing to learn so that we can give provide our students with the best technology in their hands, as well as learning the most effective ways to use it.
Thing 34 - Breakout EDU
I absolutely love the idea of Breakout EDU, and think that it would be awesome to incorporate in my classroom (and with grade level colleagues). I have never heard of this site, and think that it is awesome. The whole idea behind the team-building, problem solving activities is fantastic! It would be great to see different groups of kids working together, and learning what skills they can offer to their Kids would love doing activities like these, and I know that they would want to do these all the time!! I would love to be able to do them somewhat regularly in my class, but will shoot to do at least one or two with my class this upcoming year. I don't know if we will be able to get it done this year, but I think a Breakout EDU game would be awesome to do with our 4th grade students when we take them on the overnight trip in the fall.
One breakout game that I would like to try with my class is called Shapeshifter. It is a geometry game that could be used as a culminating activity to our geometry unit. It would a great team activity to recap all that the students have learned!
A game that I thought of designing would be 'My Suitcases to Ellis Island' (I might change the name at some point). It could be a game that could coincide with our Immigration unit involving the kids working as families to make their way to Ellis Island - unlocking suitcases to help them earn money and other items to help start their future in America. I would hope to do it with the other two 4th grade classes (Juli Ross & Drew Peterson). To be honest, it is exciting to think about the possibilities of designing an activity!
Here is my game idea (definitely a 'rough draft'):
Suitcases to Ellis Island
One breakout game that I would like to try with my class is called Shapeshifter. It is a geometry game that could be used as a culminating activity to our geometry unit. It would a great team activity to recap all that the students have learned!
A game that I thought of designing would be 'My Suitcases to Ellis Island' (I might change the name at some point). It could be a game that could coincide with our Immigration unit involving the kids working as families to make their way to Ellis Island - unlocking suitcases to help them earn money and other items to help start their future in America. I would hope to do it with the other two 4th grade classes (Juli Ross & Drew Peterson). To be honest, it is exciting to think about the possibilities of designing an activity!
Here is my game idea (definitely a 'rough draft'):
Suitcases to Ellis Island
Thing 32 - Atomic Learning...
This was my first time exploring Atomic Learning, and my first impressions is that is 'ok'. I know that the site is loaded with helpful resources and tutorials, but I found it to be a little overwhelming with how much is there. I like that you can narrow down your search results to help find what you are looking for (that is helpful). I also found it beneficial that there are little write-ups with each video/tutorial. That made it easier for me to find what I was looking for.
I think that there are videos/tutorials on here that I could definitely share with my students, and could see myself doing it as I get more comfortable with the site. I want to give myself more time this school year to explore it, and really find effective ways to utilize it.
One tutorial that I really liked was I liked was called How Do I Keep Advanced Readers Challenged
https://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/hoonuit/221/challenge-advanced-readers-training/#/overview
I found that it was laid out well, and was filled with great information, including how to incorporate other sites like Newsela.
As I said above, I can see myself using Atomic Learning this school year, but I will need more time to explore/navigate the site to best utilize it for my teaching.
I think that there are videos/tutorials on here that I could definitely share with my students, and could see myself doing it as I get more comfortable with the site. I want to give myself more time this school year to explore it, and really find effective ways to utilize it.
One tutorial that I really liked was I liked was called How Do I Keep Advanced Readers Challenged
https://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/hoonuit/221/challenge-advanced-readers-training/#/overview
I found that it was laid out well, and was filled with great information, including how to incorporate other sites like Newsela.
As I said above, I can see myself using Atomic Learning this school year, but I will need more time to explore/navigate the site to best utilize it for my teaching.
Thing 31 - Explore Learning Gizmos
I thought that Learning Gizmos was a great site/resource. Like Discover Ed, I'm thrilled that our district has access to this site. I found this site to be well organized and easy to navigate. Like Discovery Ed, I really love how easy it is to add In teaching 4th grade I'm always looking for new and different ways to add a Gizmo to your own 'class'. It is nice to know that I don't have to go back searching for something I saw earlier. I think that the Gizmos that I explored for both math and science can be used in multiple ways - introducing and reviewing concepts with a whole class, and as extensions/assessing for small groups or individuals (it is nice that many of the Gizmos have small quizzes).
I really liked that there were simulations for science. For science in 4th grade it is all about letting the students experience their learning through hands-on experiments (learn by doing). But when they are done experimenting most of their follow-up/review work in science is done in paper & pencil journals, and though it is nice to get the students' observations and thoughts down on paper - sometimes it is not enough to see if they really grasp a concepts. I think that Gizmos can be a great way to follow up a lesson. I found a really cool Gizmo that I can use with our Rocks & Minerals unit on Mineral Identification that I will use this school year.
My class used ST Math last year, and they really enjoyed it. I will continue to use it this year, and I can now see myself adding Learning Gizmos to my classroom (as I take more time to explore it). I would love to see ELG expand to reading/writing or even social studies if possible.
Here is my classroom code:
I really liked that there were simulations for science. For science in 4th grade it is all about letting the students experience their learning through hands-on experiments (learn by doing). But when they are done experimenting most of their follow-up/review work in science is done in paper & pencil journals, and though it is nice to get the students' observations and thoughts down on paper - sometimes it is not enough to see if they really grasp a concepts. I think that Gizmos can be a great way to follow up a lesson. I found a really cool Gizmo that I can use with our Rocks & Minerals unit on Mineral Identification that I will use this school year.
My class used ST Math last year, and they really enjoyed it. I will continue to use it this year, and I can now see myself adding Learning Gizmos to my classroom (as I take more time to explore it). I would love to see ELG expand to reading/writing or even social studies if possible.
Here is my classroom code:
BRXHLCBBJF
Monday, August 8, 2016
Thing 30 - Discovery Ed.
Wow! Discovery Ed is a fantastic resource. I love that our district has a subscription to it. I had been introduced to Discovery Ed last year by a couple people from our school, but did not take advantage of exploring it like I did with this course. Discovery Ed is loaded with so many great videos & ideas to use in the classroom. I was excited to find so many videos, images, and more on units that we do in 4th grade like Immigration and Rocks & Minerals.
I thought that the Spotlight on Strategies videos that I checked out were pretty cool. One that I liked was a strategy/activity called 'Act It Out'. It is 'a teaching strategy that combines learning and movement to increase retention. Students create movement, routines, or dances to illustrate new learning and comprehension, reinforcing their own learning and communicating it creatively to others.' In my class I try to give my students as many 'creative' outlets as they can to express/display their learning, so I can definitely see myself giving this strategy a try this year.
I thought that the Spotlight on Strategies videos that I checked out were pretty cool. One that I liked was a strategy/activity called 'Act It Out'. It is 'a teaching strategy that combines learning and movement to increase retention. Students create movement, routines, or dances to illustrate new learning and comprehension, reinforcing their own learning and communicating it creatively to others.' In my class I try to give my students as many 'creative' outlets as they can to express/display their learning, so I can definitely see myself giving this strategy a try this year.
Ok, now to the Build a Board feature...it is fantastic and pretty easy to use. I like how you can start a board from scratch or use one of the pre-made templates. I also liked how the boards start you with a layout and then give you the ability to add more information (boxes, text, etc.) if you need. I think that the board is an engaging way to share information with students, by not only being able to show them images, but then being able to click over and watch a video with out having to 'switch' from one thing to another. I built a board for Immigration that I will use (and probably tweak) before teaching the unit this fall. Here it is!
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Thing 29 - Professional Development in Your PJs
Let me begin by saying that I really enjoyed spending time on the K12 Online Conference site. It was fun to browse the site, and see the variety of presentations from teachers and other professionals in education that are out there. I think that this is a great site, that I will go back to this year when I'm looking for some fresh ideas to bring to my classroom! I will definitely re-watch the presentations that I watched.
The first sessions that I watched was by a middle school visual arts teacher. The presentation is called 'Beyond Teaching & Learning: Leaving a Legacy'. The teacher inspired me to think about how to get my students thinking from the first couple days of school of the impact that they can leave on Greeley School. In teaching 4th grade, the last year of elementary school in our district, I put a lot of responsibility on my students to be leaders in our building. I want them to take pride in themselves, and let them know what they do on a daily basis matters. This video shared great project ideas of how students can make an impact or legacy through a couple of neat and 'simple' project ideas. One of the ideas was a project called 'Empty Bowls', which is having your students make a clay bowl on the first day of school, and then give it to someone as part of a community food drive so their bowl can 'be filled' by someone else. Another idea which I loved was to read the book The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. After reading the book you have your students start with a blank canvas and make their 'mark', and then have their classmates add to it by rotating around the room. The finished work can then be displayed somewhere in the school. The finished paintings become 'Legacy Paintings'. I think I'm going to try this idea to start my school year!!
The first sessions that I watched was by a middle school visual arts teacher. The presentation is called 'Beyond Teaching & Learning: Leaving a Legacy'. The teacher inspired me to think about how to get my students thinking from the first couple days of school of the impact that they can leave on Greeley School. In teaching 4th grade, the last year of elementary school in our district, I put a lot of responsibility on my students to be leaders in our building. I want them to take pride in themselves, and let them know what they do on a daily basis matters. This video shared great project ideas of how students can make an impact or legacy through a couple of neat and 'simple' project ideas. One of the ideas was a project called 'Empty Bowls', which is having your students make a clay bowl on the first day of school, and then give it to someone as part of a community food drive so their bowl can 'be filled' by someone else. Another idea which I loved was to read the book The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. After reading the book you have your students start with a blank canvas and make their 'mark', and then have their classmates add to it by rotating around the room. The finished work can then be displayed somewhere in the school. The finished paintings become 'Legacy Paintings'. I think I'm going to try this idea to start my school year!!
The second video presentation that I watched was 'Merry Makers' by Steve Sherman from Cape Town, South Africa. The focus of the presentation was pushing the STEAM/STEM movement in formal school environments. Steve, who is the head of the Imagination Chapter in Cape Town, has been working with students in this capacity for over 20 years. The presentation was fantastic!! It is awesome to see that people are doing things around the world in the same ways that we want to integrate them in our own wonderful district. After watching Steve's presentation it made me think that we NEED to find time to give our students the TIME and OPPORTUNITIES to create with each other by using their creativity and imaginations. I love that the projects stress teamwork!! There are lots of great project ideas on this video. One of the ideas was using Little Bits, which my students had the opportunity to use toward the end of this past school year (they loved it). I hope that you take the time to check it out. I know that I want to have my colleagues check out this video so we can try some of these ideas out at Greeley!
Things 25 - 28 - Formative Assessment with Technology
I had fun checking out these different resources, and love the idea of using technology for formative assessments. I think that it will be a new and fun way for my students to be assessed. I have always traditional methods (paper & pencil, discussions) to asses my students throughout our units. After working with these different tools, I'm excited to incorporate some of them in my classroom this year.
Google Forms & Flubaroo:
I liked exploring Google Forms & Flubaroo. I had never used either of them before exploring them for this course. I found Forms easy to use in creating my quiz, and love how you can enable Flubaroo to help grade the quizzes. I like the variety of quiz questions that Forms allows you to use (multiple choice, true & false, short answer). I could definitely see myself and my grade level colleagues creating quizzes for some of our social studies and science units throughout the year. I think the students will like being able to use a Chromebook or Ipad to take an 'assessment'.
Socrative:
Like Google Forms/Flubaroo I found Socrative easy to use. I found these two to be pretty similar, but Socrative might be a little more 'attractive' to the students in that each question is on its own page, instead of all the questions being on one like Google Forms. I do like the variety of questions that Socrative allows you to create, and really liked that you could type in an explanation. I could see myself using Forms more than Socrative because of it saving in the drive. As I'm trying to be more 'Googly', it would be nice to know that I have everything in one place.
Here is my socrative: SOC-23228968
Kahoot:
Kahoot is awesome! When I was exploring it my 2nd grader to be couldn't get enough of it. I had heard about it from some other teachers in the district, but this was my first time really getting to check it out. I love that there are MILLIONS of created Kahoots out there, yet it will be fun to create my own this year. I can see myself doing weekly/biweekly Kahoots with my class (Kahoot Fridays)...I know that they will love it. I see myself having to do some practice Kahoots so the kids will take the time to read the questions/answers without just making it a total speed game.
Overall I think that it is great!
Padlet:
My first exposure to Padlet was at one our of district institute days, and I thought it was pretty cool. I liked that you could pose a question or thought, and get so many people involved. After exploring the site on my own I could see how (with practice) I could use this with my students to share out their thoughts and ideas on different topics. I would love to see if our resource director could help me introduce this with my class. I think that this could be an effective tool especially for some of those kids that are hesitant to share their answers out loud in a group setting.
Google Forms & Flubaroo:
I liked exploring Google Forms & Flubaroo. I had never used either of them before exploring them for this course. I found Forms easy to use in creating my quiz, and love how you can enable Flubaroo to help grade the quizzes. I like the variety of quiz questions that Forms allows you to use (multiple choice, true & false, short answer). I could definitely see myself and my grade level colleagues creating quizzes for some of our social studies and science units throughout the year. I think the students will like being able to use a Chromebook or Ipad to take an 'assessment'.
Socrative:
Like Google Forms/Flubaroo I found Socrative easy to use. I found these two to be pretty similar, but Socrative might be a little more 'attractive' to the students in that each question is on its own page, instead of all the questions being on one like Google Forms. I do like the variety of questions that Socrative allows you to create, and really liked that you could type in an explanation. I could see myself using Forms more than Socrative because of it saving in the drive. As I'm trying to be more 'Googly', it would be nice to know that I have everything in one place.
Here is my socrative: SOC-23228968
Kahoot:
Kahoot is awesome! When I was exploring it my 2nd grader to be couldn't get enough of it. I had heard about it from some other teachers in the district, but this was my first time really getting to check it out. I love that there are MILLIONS of created Kahoots out there, yet it will be fun to create my own this year. I can see myself doing weekly/biweekly Kahoots with my class (Kahoot Fridays)...I know that they will love it. I see myself having to do some practice Kahoots so the kids will take the time to read the questions/answers without just making it a total speed game.
Overall I think that it is great!
Padlet:
My first exposure to Padlet was at one our of district institute days, and I thought it was pretty cool. I liked that you could pose a question or thought, and get so many people involved. After exploring the site on my own I could see how (with practice) I could use this with my students to share out their thoughts and ideas on different topics. I would love to see if our resource director could help me introduce this with my class. I think that this could be an effective tool especially for some of those kids that are hesitant to share their answers out loud in a group setting.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Thing 23 & 24 - Creative Commons & OER
Creative Commons:
I liked checking out Creative Commons. It is cool to know that there is a resource out there where teachers & educators can share all the awesome things that they are doing. As educators we are constantly sharing with colleagues in our school and district, but not with people 'all over the world'. It know that I browse and search the web for new ideas to use in my classroom.
I was pleased to see that I did well on my quiz:
I liked checking out Creative Commons. It is cool to know that there is a resource out there where teachers & educators can share all the awesome things that they are doing. As educators we are constantly sharing with colleagues in our school and district, but not with people 'all over the world'. It know that I browse and search the web for new ideas to use in my classroom.
I was pleased to see that I did well on my quiz:
Here is my image that I found using Creative Commons...it is a fan shot from the Bruce Springsteen show that I was at in January at the United Center.
Learning Registry:
IOER:
Twitter Activity
BIG HUGE LABS:
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Thing 22 - PowToon
Well, I thought that I would like PowToon more than I did. The tutorial videos made it look fun and easy to use. I did not find it to be as user friendly as programs like Prezi and Animoto. I struggled for a while to navigate through the different options to create my short PowToon. I found it to be a little frustrating to know that there are limitations with what you can fully use if you do not upgrade to the premium package.
I know that with time and patience that I could become more efficient in using it. I think that the program would be a challenge to use with my 4th grade students because there are so many background/theme layouts to choose from. I like using programs with them like Google slides when there are only so many themes to choose from. As I said above with more time in exploring PowToon I feel that I could find ways to use it with my class, along the lines of the short PowToon that I created.
I could not export the video because I used props & objects that are part of the PREMIUM package.
Here is my link:
https://www.powtoon.com/dashboard/#/
I know that with time and patience that I could become more efficient in using it. I think that the program would be a challenge to use with my 4th grade students because there are so many background/theme layouts to choose from. I like using programs with them like Google slides when there are only so many themes to choose from. As I said above with more time in exploring PowToon I feel that I could find ways to use it with my class, along the lines of the short PowToon that I created.
I could not export the video because I used props & objects that are part of the PREMIUM package.
Here is my link:
https://www.powtoon.com/dashboard/#/
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Things 19 - 21...Prezi, Voki, and Animoto
Prezi:
I found Prezi to be a great presentation tool. The continuity of the presentation, with the 'zooming in' and 'zooming out' is something that I believe is more eye-catching and engaging than other presentation software (eg. Keynote, Slides). One thing that I liked about Prezi was the easy guide, and overall process of putting together a presentation. There is little difficulty in adding images, and importing videos clips from YouTube. I can personally see myself using this for multiple subject areas, and can also see myself having my students use Prezi for projects like their Biography reports. It would be a nice way for them to show the timeline of their person's life. Overall, it is a great presentation tool.
Here is a Prezi that I used with images from our Immigration unit:
http://prezi.com/kgmtzbeiptwa/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
My Voki:
After trying out Voki (and making my own Voki) I could see me using this next in the fall with our Immigration unit. My students create immigration journals by writing 'their story' of leaving their homeland and traveling to America. All of the students come up with their own character and create their story with the rest of their Immigration family. I think that it would be a lot of fun for the kids to create a Voki for their immigration character.
Here is the link for the Voki that I created...it really looks like me ;)
http://www.voki.com/site/pickup?scid=12940514&width=575&height=323&chsm=d4192b2dbcaf7ae030cb1a191b097ea8
Animoto:
Animoto was a fun program to use. Again, I can see using this with my class as something different from the 'traditional' presentation programs that they've used in the past. I love how easy it is to build an Animoto. To begin with, the tutorial on their website is fantastic. It is a very smooth step-by-step process to build a very cool looking presentation. I loved how there is a great variety of templates to choose from. I also really liked how simple it is to bring in images/photos to a presentation, and one of the coolest things is all the music that they available to play with the presentation!
I can see myself using Animoto for our 'Go To School Night' by sharing happenings of the first few weeks of our school year. I can also see myself putting together Animotos for our bigger units like Immigration (like the one I put together - click on the link below). I could see my students using it by taking pictures on Ipads of class activities over the course of the year, and making their own 'yearbooks'.
Immigration to Ellis Island
I found Prezi to be a great presentation tool. The continuity of the presentation, with the 'zooming in' and 'zooming out' is something that I believe is more eye-catching and engaging than other presentation software (eg. Keynote, Slides). One thing that I liked about Prezi was the easy guide, and overall process of putting together a presentation. There is little difficulty in adding images, and importing videos clips from YouTube. I can personally see myself using this for multiple subject areas, and can also see myself having my students use Prezi for projects like their Biography reports. It would be a nice way for them to show the timeline of their person's life. Overall, it is a great presentation tool.
Here is a Prezi that I used with images from our Immigration unit:
http://prezi.com/kgmtzbeiptwa/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
My Voki:
After trying out Voki (and making my own Voki) I could see me using this next in the fall with our Immigration unit. My students create immigration journals by writing 'their story' of leaving their homeland and traveling to America. All of the students come up with their own character and create their story with the rest of their Immigration family. I think that it would be a lot of fun for the kids to create a Voki for their immigration character.
Here is the link for the Voki that I created...it really looks like me ;)
http://www.voki.com/site/pickup?scid=12940514&width=575&height=323&chsm=d4192b2dbcaf7ae030cb1a191b097ea8
Animoto:
Animoto was a fun program to use. Again, I can see using this with my class as something different from the 'traditional' presentation programs that they've used in the past. I love how easy it is to build an Animoto. To begin with, the tutorial on their website is fantastic. It is a very smooth step-by-step process to build a very cool looking presentation. I loved how there is a great variety of templates to choose from. I also really liked how simple it is to bring in images/photos to a presentation, and one of the coolest things is all the music that they available to play with the presentation!
I can see myself using Animoto for our 'Go To School Night' by sharing happenings of the first few weeks of our school year. I can also see myself putting together Animotos for our bigger units like Immigration (like the one I put together - click on the link below). I could see my students using it by taking pictures on Ipads of class activities over the course of the year, and making their own 'yearbooks'.
Immigration to Ellis Island
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Thing 11 - Google Hangout...
I think that Google Hangouts can be an effective and fun tool to use. For personal reasons I like the idea of being able to 'hangout' and chat with people who don't have Facetime. It is nice know that you don't need a Gmail account to connect with people on Hangout. I don't know anyone who uses it, so it will have to be my 'job' to introduce friends and family to it.
I found debut on Google Hangout on Air to be a little tricky, but I'm sure after a few go's with it it would get easier and more natural to use. It was a little goofy to be talking into a camera with no audience (trying to maintain eye contact with the camera). I would like to work with it a little more so I can get comfortable using some of the tools with it (ex. screensharing).
I do like the idea that some other people brought up on their blogs of being able to possibly use Hangout for parent-teacher conferences if one parent cannot be in attendance. I also think that it could be fun to try to set up a Mystery Hangout with another 4th grade class at some point in the school year. I'm sure that my class would love it!
I found debut on Google Hangout on Air to be a little tricky, but I'm sure after a few go's with it it would get easier and more natural to use. It was a little goofy to be talking into a camera with no audience (trying to maintain eye contact with the camera). I would like to work with it a little more so I can get comfortable using some of the tools with it (ex. screensharing).
I do like the idea that some other people brought up on their blogs of being able to possibly use Hangout for parent-teacher conferences if one parent cannot be in attendance. I also think that it could be fun to try to set up a Mystery Hangout with another 4th grade class at some point in the school year. I'm sure that my class would love it!
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Things 15 -18 - Book Creator, Haiku Deck, Notability, Sketchnoting (Paper 53)
Well this week was a nice change from the previous weeks. I enjoyed checking out these four different apps. I found all of them to be useful and fun to explore overall.
Book Creator: I liked book creator a lot. I found it to be very user friendly...and more importantly kid friendly. I can definitely see myself using this app with my students on our school Ipads. Once the students get used to the ins & outs of how Book Creator works, I can see them putting together books for some of our fourth grade projects. One project that comes to mind is making a scrapbook for our biography reports. I like that my students will be able to easily import photos, images, and videos. It really is a great app for all ages.
Deck Haiku: I thought that Deck Haiku was cool to use, much like Google Slides. The one thing that stuck out with Deck Haiku was nice how professional the presentations look with being able to upload high quality images as a background. I worked on this at home, so I did not run into some images being blocked on my searches but I could see this as a potential issue at school. One thing that I did not love about the 'text' feature is not being able to size the text. As I said before, I think you can make some good looking presentations, but running into potentially blocked images and not being able to size the text makes me hesitant to use this app with my students. I could see them getting frustrated with it.
Notability: This was my first time using Notability, and I will say that I was impressed with this app. It definitely helped to watch the tutorials, and once I did, I felt that the app was pretty much straight forward to use. Some of the features that I liked the most was being able to type the text anywhere on the page, the ability to upload photos, and I really like the voice text feature. I could see me using this app with my students this year, especially with our Great Brain project. It will be a great way for them to collect notes on their topics, and create subtopics as well. Overall this is a terrific app.
Sketchnoting: I found Sketchnoting fun to play around with. This was my first time using this app. I can see true artists falling in love with this app, because there are so many tools to draw with. I'm not a great artist by any means, but I gave it my best efforts to sketch out my 36 Things Learning (my daughters were impressed with my sketch). I really like the the artistic options that this app offers, but I don't really see myself using this app much with my students.
Book Creator: I liked book creator a lot. I found it to be very user friendly...and more importantly kid friendly. I can definitely see myself using this app with my students on our school Ipads. Once the students get used to the ins & outs of how Book Creator works, I can see them putting together books for some of our fourth grade projects. One project that comes to mind is making a scrapbook for our biography reports. I like that my students will be able to easily import photos, images, and videos. It really is a great app for all ages.
Deck Haiku: I thought that Deck Haiku was cool to use, much like Google Slides. The one thing that stuck out with Deck Haiku was nice how professional the presentations look with being able to upload high quality images as a background. I worked on this at home, so I did not run into some images being blocked on my searches but I could see this as a potential issue at school. One thing that I did not love about the 'text' feature is not being able to size the text. As I said before, I think you can make some good looking presentations, but running into potentially blocked images and not being able to size the text makes me hesitant to use this app with my students. I could see them getting frustrated with it.
Notability: This was my first time using Notability, and I will say that I was impressed with this app. It definitely helped to watch the tutorials, and once I did, I felt that the app was pretty much straight forward to use. Some of the features that I liked the most was being able to type the text anywhere on the page, the ability to upload photos, and I really like the voice text feature. I could see me using this app with my students this year, especially with our Great Brain project. It will be a great way for them to collect notes on their topics, and create subtopics as well. Overall this is a terrific app.
Sketchnoting: I found Sketchnoting fun to play around with. This was my first time using this app. I can see true artists falling in love with this app, because there are so many tools to draw with. I'm not a great artist by any means, but I gave it my best efforts to sketch out my 36 Things Learning (my daughters were impressed with my sketch). I really like the the artistic options that this app offers, but I don't really see myself using this app much with my students.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Thing 9 - Twitter...
This is not my first look at Twitter, but it is my first time using it for professional reasons. A few years ago I was coaxed into how great Twitter was for all the instantaneous news & updates at your fingertips. At first I thought Twitter was pretty cool. I signed up for a personal Twitter account in the past to monitor sports for the most part. I was following all my favorite teams, athletes, and other sports related outlets. I found it to be 'crazy' that if I spent more than a few minutes on Twitter that one of the people I was following would tweet something about a game. Don't get me wrong I like that I had instant scores, highlights, and follower's opinions, but at the same time I felt sucked in to social media, just like Facebook & Instagram, and was missing out on the face-to-face interactions with my family. So, I cut back on Twitter because of the 'time suck' it could be.
Now for this course, I was unsure of what I could gain from a professional Twitter account. I think that it has been nice to spend just a few minutes a day to check out a few education articles & links a day. I don't know that I can make the time to check out this Twitter account daily during the school year, but I can see myself checking in on it every so often. For this account I have been following educational sites and educators such as Discovery Ed., Google For Education, Carol Ann Tomlinson, Grant Wiggins. I have also added local news outlets like ABC, NBC, CBS, Chicago Tribune, and more. I like reading some of the articles that these outlets have posted instead of picking up the newspaper.
One Twitter chat that I joined was #caringclassroom. It 'meets' on Monday nights at 9:00. The chat that I was part was facilitated by T Dolezsar-Glarvin. She is from Canada, and runs the website caringclassroom.com The chat was great! It was about 20 or educators sharing about how they connect and reach out to their students. The biggest (and yet fun) challenge in sharing with other educators was being limited to only 140 characters to share my thoughts. Over the course of the hour long chat I gained a few followers, and also followed a few people who were on the chat. Overall the chat was a great way to share ideas with strangers on how to reach out and connect with our students. Though I don't necessarily see myself as having time to become a regular in Twitter chats, I'm glad that this course has given the opportunity to participate in them.
Thing 14 - Itunes U...
Well, this was my first time using iTunes U. And let me say that even though I watched the 'Understanding iTunes U' video clip, I was still overwhelmed at where to start in exploring it. There is so much to check out!! I spent a while checking out different courses offered, iBooks for teachers, and different apps that are out there for our students by using the Learning Resources - 'Learning at Every Level'.
One course that I thought was interesting to explore more is 'Fall in Love with Real-Life Math'. I know that thing that I'm always sharing with my students is that we use math all the time...everywhere. This course seems to offer projects that bring math into real-life situations. I look forward to looking into this course more when I have time. I could see myself sharing this with my grade level colleagues and our building math facilitator.
I did find a few iBooks that I thought were cool to look further in to, mainly the Starter Guides. For example, I downloaded the iMovie for IOS starter guide. I'm glad that I found the starter guide, and intend to use it in doing more work with iMovie. I have messed around with iMovie on my own, and have looked for some kind of 'how to' guide outside of video tutorials on YouTube. Needless to say I'm glad that I found it on iTunes U.
Like I stated before I found a bunch of apps that I think would be good in 'Learning at Every Level' on the iTunes U intro page. I often find that I'm randomly searching for good iPad apps for my students, and it seems like 'Learning at Every Level' has done a nice job of organizing apps for different subject areas (I can definitely see myself going back here during the school year).
Overall, I'm glad that I've had the time to check out iTunes U. Like I stated above there is a ton of stuff to look at. I want to take more time after this course is over to check it out and see how I can adapt some of the courses, iBooks, and of course apps to my teaching/classroom.
One course that I thought was interesting to explore more is 'Fall in Love with Real-Life Math'. I know that thing that I'm always sharing with my students is that we use math all the time...everywhere. This course seems to offer projects that bring math into real-life situations. I look forward to looking into this course more when I have time. I could see myself sharing this with my grade level colleagues and our building math facilitator.
I did find a few iBooks that I thought were cool to look further in to, mainly the Starter Guides. For example, I downloaded the iMovie for IOS starter guide. I'm glad that I found the starter guide, and intend to use it in doing more work with iMovie. I have messed around with iMovie on my own, and have looked for some kind of 'how to' guide outside of video tutorials on YouTube. Needless to say I'm glad that I found it on iTunes U.
Like I stated before I found a bunch of apps that I think would be good in 'Learning at Every Level' on the iTunes U intro page. I often find that I'm randomly searching for good iPad apps for my students, and it seems like 'Learning at Every Level' has done a nice job of organizing apps for different subject areas (I can definitely see myself going back here during the school year).
Overall, I'm glad that I've had the time to check out iTunes U. Like I stated above there is a ton of stuff to look at. I want to take more time after this course is over to check it out and see how I can adapt some of the courses, iBooks, and of course apps to my teaching/classroom.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Thing 13 - Ed Blogs to Follow
It was nice to have a list of blogs to check out. I found it both beneficial and helpful to read through these various blogs. With it being such an extensive list of people to check out I stuck to reading the most recent blog posts from most of these people. I definitely found some of the people's blogs more readable and relatable than others. One thing that I did not like about some of the blogs were the ads, or the one's asking me if I wanted to subscribe to them.
Out of all the blogs that I read through, the one that I connected with the most was Josh Stumpenhorst - Stump the Teacher. The thing that I liked most about his blog posts compared to the others is that he seemed to 'blog from the heart'. I found his blog posts to be thoughtful, inspiring, and made me reflect on myself as a teacher. If I'm going to go back and check out any blogs during the school year, it will be his. I also found it pretty cool that he is from Naperville.
My favorite post that is on his blog is about how many teachers think about wrapping up a school year, and what message it can send to our students if we are 'counting down the days to summer'. His blog post is below:
I thought that the curated resources had some nice information on them. The one that I liked the best was Edutopia. The site is nicely organized and easy to navigate to find specific areas of interests and ideas. The posts on their site are definitely relevant to what is going on in our classrooms today. I liked the videos, the few that I watched gave some great ideas to try out with my class including the one below called 'Rolling Out a Game' with a Classroom.
The insight that I took away from some of these blogs (particular Josh's) is to be real in what you post...feeling that you can post what you find to be good, exciting, frustrating, and overwhelming in learning as 21st Century Educators!
Out of all the blogs that I read through, the one that I connected with the most was Josh Stumpenhorst - Stump the Teacher. The thing that I liked most about his blog posts compared to the others is that he seemed to 'blog from the heart'. I found his blog posts to be thoughtful, inspiring, and made me reflect on myself as a teacher. If I'm going to go back and check out any blogs during the school year, it will be his. I also found it pretty cool that he is from Naperville.
My favorite post that is on his blog is about how many teachers think about wrapping up a school year, and what message it can send to our students if we are 'counting down the days to summer'. His blog post is below:
I thought that the curated resources had some nice information on them. The one that I liked the best was Edutopia. The site is nicely organized and easy to navigate to find specific areas of interests and ideas. The posts on their site are definitely relevant to what is going on in our classrooms today. I liked the videos, the few that I watched gave some great ideas to try out with my class including the one below called 'Rolling Out a Game' with a Classroom.
The insight that I took away from some of these blogs (particular Josh's) is to be real in what you post...feeling that you can post what you find to be good, exciting, frustrating, and overwhelming in learning as 21st Century Educators!
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Thing 12 - ICE
Six or seven years ago (I can't remember exactly) I had the opportunity to not only attend an ICE conference, but I also presented a session with three other colleagues from Greeley school. The conference itself was a great experience. It was fun to be able to attend other teacher's/educator's workshops, and even more memorable to present.
My colleagues and I presented a session on making short claymation movies through storytelling. We shared about how we had our third grade students work in small groups to write stories, create clay characters, and use digital cameras and computers make their movies. It is hard to remember exactly what we shared at the ICE conference, but I do remember that when I was approached with the idea to present - I thought 'no way'. After being coaxed into doing it, I was glad that I did. It seems like such a long time ago, and thinking back on it what we were using with technology seems 'outdated' with what we are using with our students today.
All in all it was a great experience to attend and present at the ICE conference. At the time I felt that I was out of my comfort zone, but proved to myself and 'impressed' others at our workshop that we were effectively using technology with our students!
My colleagues and I presented a session on making short claymation movies through storytelling. We shared about how we had our third grade students work in small groups to write stories, create clay characters, and use digital cameras and computers make their movies. It is hard to remember exactly what we shared at the ICE conference, but I do remember that when I was approached with the idea to present - I thought 'no way'. After being coaxed into doing it, I was glad that I did. It seems like such a long time ago, and thinking back on it what we were using with technology seems 'outdated' with what we are using with our students today.
All in all it was a great experience to attend and present at the ICE conference. At the time I felt that I was out of my comfort zone, but proved to myself and 'impressed' others at our workshop that we were effectively using technology with our students!
Thing 10 - Google +
I will begin by saying like I have commented in other blogs, I like that this course has given me the opportunities to check things that I most likely would not on my own. Google + is one of these 'things' that I would not have taken the time to look at on my own because I've been using other social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and I felt like I didn't need one more 'thing' to figure out how to use and consume any free part of my day.
My first impressions with Google + is that it is pretty overwhelming to use without watching videos/tutorials on how it works. I don't feel like I would have taken the time to figure out all the 'ins & outs' on my own, like creating circles and joining communities. The videos and other links that I discovered on my own definitely have helped me figure out how to use Google + a little more effectively. With that being said I could see myself using Google + more in my professional life than in my personal life. I really don't know any of my family or friends that use Google +.
I can see how building circles is a nice way to connect with other people that I know. I started my circle with the people in this class, and built another circle with other colleagues in our district that are on Google +. Because few of my colleagues are on Google +, I feel that I a majority of my 'electronic' sharing will be through email.
I think that the communities is a cool idea, but I don't see it being much different than Twitter (other than not limiting you to 140 characters, which is nice). I joined our class community, GEG Chicagoland, Mathematics Education (K-12), Mystery Hangout, as well as Boston Red Sox Talk and New England Patriots. I can see that the educational communities will be valuable learning tools, but the personal ones that I joined (Red Sox & Patriots) have the same information that I can get on other websites. One thing that I like about the communities is the ability to filter the thread options instead of reading through all the posts. It is a faster way to find what you are looking for.
As for Hangouts, I haven't been able to attend one yet with my BUSY summer schedule, but I will write more about it when I'm able to.
My first impressions with Google + is that it is pretty overwhelming to use without watching videos/tutorials on how it works. I don't feel like I would have taken the time to figure out all the 'ins & outs' on my own, like creating circles and joining communities. The videos and other links that I discovered on my own definitely have helped me figure out how to use Google + a little more effectively. With that being said I could see myself using Google + more in my professional life than in my personal life. I really don't know any of my family or friends that use Google +.
I can see how building circles is a nice way to connect with other people that I know. I started my circle with the people in this class, and built another circle with other colleagues in our district that are on Google +. Because few of my colleagues are on Google +, I feel that I a majority of my 'electronic' sharing will be through email.
I think that the communities is a cool idea, but I don't see it being much different than Twitter (other than not limiting you to 140 characters, which is nice). I joined our class community, GEG Chicagoland, Mathematics Education (K-12), Mystery Hangout, as well as Boston Red Sox Talk and New England Patriots. I can see that the educational communities will be valuable learning tools, but the personal ones that I joined (Red Sox & Patriots) have the same information that I can get on other websites. One thing that I like about the communities is the ability to filter the thread options instead of reading through all the posts. It is a faster way to find what you are looking for.
As for Hangouts, I haven't been able to attend one yet with my BUSY summer schedule, but I will write more about it when I'm able to.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Thing 8 - Google Photos....
I've been wanting to try out Google Photos for a while now, and I'm glad that this course has given me the chance to explore it. I'd been encouraged in the past by people to try it out, but to be honest have not made the time to check it out. I love that Google Photos has unlimited storage, which is a huge plus over the storage on any personal advice (phone, tablet).
After downloading the Google Photos app to my phone & iPad I set up the 'sync & back-up' for my photos & videos. Though it took some time to back-up my photos/videos I was thrilled to see that everything were successfully downloaded; yet I'm hesitant to delete the originals from my phone and Ipad to clear some space (I need some convincing/assurance from someone that it's ok to do so).
Next school year I can see myself using Google Photos with my class. My former classes have loved taking pictures with our school iPads, and they always know whatever pictures they took were eventually going to have to be deleted. Not anymore! It will be great to introduce Google Photos to my next year's class and be able to show them that the pictures that they take at school can be uploaded and saved on their school Google accounts.
I also envision myself sharing pictures and short videos with the parents from my class. I do take a lot of pictures of my students throughout the school year, but do not always have an easy way of sharing multiple photos with parents. Now, I can definitely see myself using Google Photos to share albums from class 'highlights', in class projects, and field trips.
Now that I've had the chance to get my feet wet with Google Photos, I'm excited to take advantage of it!!
After downloading the Google Photos app to my phone & iPad I set up the 'sync & back-up' for my photos & videos. Though it took some time to back-up my photos/videos I was thrilled to see that everything were successfully downloaded; yet I'm hesitant to delete the originals from my phone and Ipad to clear some space (I need some convincing/assurance from someone that it's ok to do so).
Next school year I can see myself using Google Photos with my class. My former classes have loved taking pictures with our school iPads, and they always know whatever pictures they took were eventually going to have to be deleted. Not anymore! It will be great to introduce Google Photos to my next year's class and be able to show them that the pictures that they take at school can be uploaded and saved on their school Google accounts.
I also envision myself sharing pictures and short videos with the parents from my class. I do take a lot of pictures of my students throughout the school year, but do not always have an easy way of sharing multiple photos with parents. Now, I can definitely see myself using Google Photos to share albums from class 'highlights', in class projects, and field trips.
Now that I've had the chance to get my feet wet with Google Photos, I'm excited to take advantage of it!!
Thing 7 - Google Keep...
In the classroom and at home I've always been a big fan of sticky notes...big stickies, small stickies, lined stickies (my favorites), and different color stickies! Basically I use them all the time. I don't think I can totally abandon using them, but I think I can cut back on my use of them by using Google Keep!!
I found Keep to be a great application. After watching the YouTube tutorial on Google Keep I found it very easy to use. There are so many great features with Keep including the checklist feature, color-coding, adding an image, reminders, and being able to share a note with other people.
One of the things that I found to be most useful was the checklist feature. I really like being able to check off my 'to do' list, and be able to see it crossed off. I can definitely see myself using the checklist next year in the classroom to help organize my day.
Another thing that I like about Keep is being able to share a note with someone else. I can see myself sharing notes with my colleagues instead of sending emails. It really can be a quick and easy way to communicate throughout a day/week.
I found Keep to be a great application. After watching the YouTube tutorial on Google Keep I found it very easy to use. There are so many great features with Keep including the checklist feature, color-coding, adding an image, reminders, and being able to share a note with other people.
One of the things that I found to be most useful was the checklist feature. I really like being able to check off my 'to do' list, and be able to see it crossed off. I can definitely see myself using the checklist next year in the classroom to help organize my day.
Another thing that I like about Keep is being able to share a note with someone else. I can see myself sharing notes with my colleagues instead of sending emails. It really can be a quick and easy way to communicate throughout a day/week.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Thing 6 - Using a Chromebook...
Well I've been playing around with a Chromebook for a few days, and I'll say I really like using it. First of all, I love how fast it starts up and connects. It is great to be able to turn the power on, and be connected to Google Chrome almost instantly. Another thing that I love about the Chromebook is that it really has everything you need (email, word document, browser, etc) if you're willing to make the switch to Chrome as you browser/operating system. I think that once you put in the time to learn the Google tools they are user friendly.
I would love to have my students using Chromebooks next year as their primary technology tool instead of Ipads. Almost all of my students have access to Ipads at home, so I would like to get them more used to using laptops for more of their daily use. I think that once my students get comfortable using them, they will prefer them over the Ipad. I'd love to be able to get a class cart of Chromebooks, or at least a grade level cart for next year.
I would love to have my students using Chromebooks next year as their primary technology tool instead of Ipads. Almost all of my students have access to Ipads at home, so I would like to get them more used to using laptops for more of their daily use. I think that once my students get comfortable using them, they will prefer them over the Ipad. I'd love to be able to get a class cart of Chromebooks, or at least a grade level cart for next year.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Thing 5 - Google Chrome
Like many other people I was a Firefox and Safri user. It was not until recently that I made the switch to using Google Chrome, and I'm glad that I did! One thing that I love is that it is definitely quicker than other web browsers/OS. Though it has taken some getting used to I don't see myself switching back to another web browser.
One application that I checked out was Newsela. I had heard about it from a few teachers at my school, and only took the time to check it out briefly. I'm glad that I spent more time with it now. I can definitely see myself using this upcoming school year. In 4th grade we focus on current events as part of our social studies curriculum, so Newsela will be a great resource for my students to use. I don't know if it is because it is summer, but I saw that there didn't seem to be too many current articles on the site. If the site stays 'current' during the school year I will definitely use it as a resource. One thing I really liked about it, is that there are different reading levels which is a great way to differentiate for our students!
One of the extensions that I really liked was 'Ad Blocker' I have been doing some of the 'things' on my personal computer at home, and since installing 'Ad Blocker' I have seen a real decrease in ads coming up. I have used a different blocker in the past, but it does not seem to be as effective as 'Ad Blocker'. It is a great free product!
Finally I spent some time messing around with 'Typing Club'. First of all, I love that it is a free application. I also like that the lessons are fairly quick to complete, which is perfect to have students spend just a few minutes a day working on their typing at home or at school. In the past my students have used 'Type To Learn'. One issue with that program is that the lessons can take students a long to time to complete, and there is no save option in the middle of a lesson which can be frustrating to a student. I will definitely introduce my students to 'Typing Club' so they can use it when they have a few extra minutes of morning work time.
Overall, I'm a big fan of Google Chrome. Again I love how quick it is overall, the free applications are great, and 'Ad Blocker' seems to do exactly what it advertises.
One application that I checked out was Newsela. I had heard about it from a few teachers at my school, and only took the time to check it out briefly. I'm glad that I spent more time with it now. I can definitely see myself using this upcoming school year. In 4th grade we focus on current events as part of our social studies curriculum, so Newsela will be a great resource for my students to use. I don't know if it is because it is summer, but I saw that there didn't seem to be too many current articles on the site. If the site stays 'current' during the school year I will definitely use it as a resource. One thing I really liked about it, is that there are different reading levels which is a great way to differentiate for our students!
One of the extensions that I really liked was 'Ad Blocker' I have been doing some of the 'things' on my personal computer at home, and since installing 'Ad Blocker' I have seen a real decrease in ads coming up. I have used a different blocker in the past, but it does not seem to be as effective as 'Ad Blocker'. It is a great free product!
Finally I spent some time messing around with 'Typing Club'. First of all, I love that it is a free application. I also like that the lessons are fairly quick to complete, which is perfect to have students spend just a few minutes a day working on their typing at home or at school. In the past my students have used 'Type To Learn'. One issue with that program is that the lessons can take students a long to time to complete, and there is no save option in the middle of a lesson which can be frustrating to a student. I will definitely introduce my students to 'Typing Club' so they can use it when they have a few extra minutes of morning work time.
Overall, I'm a big fan of Google Chrome. Again I love how quick it is overall, the free applications are great, and 'Ad Blocker' seems to do exactly what it advertises.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Thing 4 - My Experience with Google Apps...
Being a long time Microsoft Word user, I have come around on seeing the advantages of using Google Docs, especially for my students. Overall I feel that Google Docs is very user friendly.
This past school year I felt that my 4th grade students got into a pretty good groove of using their district Google accounts. As a class, we got in the habit of using Google Docs for many of our 'published' writing assignments and bigger projects (biography reports and The Great Brain). The students found Docs to be easy to work with, especially with not having to worry about saving their work, and the ease of being able to put images on their documents. One thing that I really love about my students using Google Docs is their ability to share their documents with me, so I can help them make revisions in their work. This upcoming school year I want to use the 'comment' feature more with my students. I think that it will be very helpful for them during the revision process if they know exactly what to revise based off my comments. I look forward to continue to using Google Docs with my students moving forward.
I would say that Google Slides is one of my favorite Google apps. I have used both Powerpoint and Keynote in the past, and have had my students use it for our Great Brain project too. I find that Google Slides is easier to use then both of the other programs. For example, my students loved learning that inserting images and video clips into a slide presentation is a simple one or two step process. My students' parents were blown away at how 'professional' their child's Google Slides presentations looked for their Great Brain presentations. I will definitely look to find more opportunities to create Slide presentations for my students, as well as find more ways for my students to use Google Slides throughout the year.
Google Calendar is fairly new to me. I had fun 'playing' with it, and saw that it is not too difficult to add and edit events. I think that it can be a valuable tool to use with both my colleagues, and parents/students as I grow more comfortable using it. I think that I can start by exploring it more this summer by filling in my own summer events, and then work to use it this upcoming school year. I can see myself creating calendars for both our class Biography project, as well as our Great Brain project.
This past school year I felt that my 4th grade students got into a pretty good groove of using their district Google accounts. As a class, we got in the habit of using Google Docs for many of our 'published' writing assignments and bigger projects (biography reports and The Great Brain). The students found Docs to be easy to work with, especially with not having to worry about saving their work, and the ease of being able to put images on their documents. One thing that I really love about my students using Google Docs is their ability to share their documents with me, so I can help them make revisions in their work. This upcoming school year I want to use the 'comment' feature more with my students. I think that it will be very helpful for them during the revision process if they know exactly what to revise based off my comments. I look forward to continue to using Google Docs with my students moving forward.
I would say that Google Slides is one of my favorite Google apps. I have used both Powerpoint and Keynote in the past, and have had my students use it for our Great Brain project too. I find that Google Slides is easier to use then both of the other programs. For example, my students loved learning that inserting images and video clips into a slide presentation is a simple one or two step process. My students' parents were blown away at how 'professional' their child's Google Slides presentations looked for their Great Brain presentations. I will definitely look to find more opportunities to create Slide presentations for my students, as well as find more ways for my students to use Google Slides throughout the year.
Google Calendar is fairly new to me. I had fun 'playing' with it, and saw that it is not too difficult to add and edit events. I think that it can be a valuable tool to use with both my colleagues, and parents/students as I grow more comfortable using it. I think that I can start by exploring it more this summer by filling in my own summer events, and then work to use it this upcoming school year. I can see myself creating calendars for both our class Biography project, as well as our Great Brain project.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Web 2.0 and my thoughts about 21st century learners...
I think that Web 2.0 is realistic to how we are going to adapt our teaching practices. With technology (laptops, iPads, Chromebooks) available for all of our students, we have no excuse not to use what is out there...rather we should be open to find ways to embrace all that is out there. Our kids all use technology/hand-held devices at home (in some capacity). I know that I want to use valuable programs more and more in my daily teaching. I feel that because we have laptops and iPads available every day in our classrooms, that I should take more advantage of using them. I want to reach out to my colleagues (other grade level teachers, and RC teachers) and find ways to build the technology into the curriculum that we already have in place.
Thing 1 - My reflections of being a Lifelong Learner...
I view myself as a Lifelong Learner. I believe that to be the best teacher that I can be is to be willing to constantly learn and grown in different ways, both formally eg.(workshops, conferences, courses like this one) and informally (eg. conversations with other teachers & students). I think that if I did not see myself as a Lifelong Learner, then I would not be fully dedicated to the students that I teach. I have realized more and more that to grow as a learner, especially in the 21st century is to try to 'keep up in the game' in new technologies that can be effectively used with my students. And that is the reason that I decided to sign-up for this course.
At times I feel overwhelmed that there is SO much out there in regards to new programs/websites to use and share with our students, but often times don't feel like there is enough time in a school year to effectively use more than one or two of the new 'things' that are out there. One of the biggest challenges for me is finding the time to sit down and explore good programs that I can use with my students; and with some that I use, such as ST Math, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface on all that it has to offer. I wish we truly had the time to really feel like with are proficient or 'experts' with a few solid programs.
'Beginning with the end in Mind' might be the toughest habit for me. With all of these 'thing's being brand new, I feel like I'll have a hard time planning what I want to learn before really exploring the new 'things'. I feel confident that I will be able to explore, learn, and then be able to apply some of these new technologies to my teaching next year.
The habit that I think will be the 'easiest' for me is to 'Have Confidence in Myself as a Learner'. I do have confidence in myself that when I have the time to explore and try new technology I am able to apply it. I know the challenge will be with a busy summer that I might not have as much time as I would like to dive in as deep with some 'things' as much as others. But, I'm going in with an open mind that I will learn 'things' that will be valuable for me to use in my classroom.
I feel that the most important habit for me is 7 1/2 'Play'. I love that we teach in a district that values hands-on, experiential learning = play. I value the opportunities for my students to 'play', and I think that new technologies is a perfect way for both me and my students to learn. I'm looking forward this summer to 'play' with all the new things that this course will offer!
At times I feel overwhelmed that there is SO much out there in regards to new programs/websites to use and share with our students, but often times don't feel like there is enough time in a school year to effectively use more than one or two of the new 'things' that are out there. One of the biggest challenges for me is finding the time to sit down and explore good programs that I can use with my students; and with some that I use, such as ST Math, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface on all that it has to offer. I wish we truly had the time to really feel like with are proficient or 'experts' with a few solid programs.
'Beginning with the end in Mind' might be the toughest habit for me. With all of these 'thing's being brand new, I feel like I'll have a hard time planning what I want to learn before really exploring the new 'things'. I feel confident that I will be able to explore, learn, and then be able to apply some of these new technologies to my teaching next year.
The habit that I think will be the 'easiest' for me is to 'Have Confidence in Myself as a Learner'. I do have confidence in myself that when I have the time to explore and try new technology I am able to apply it. I know the challenge will be with a busy summer that I might not have as much time as I would like to dive in as deep with some 'things' as much as others. But, I'm going in with an open mind that I will learn 'things' that will be valuable for me to use in my classroom.
I feel that the most important habit for me is 7 1/2 'Play'. I love that we teach in a district that values hands-on, experiential learning = play. I value the opportunities for my students to 'play', and I think that new technologies is a perfect way for both me and my students to learn. I'm looking forward this summer to 'play' with all the new things that this course will offer!
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