Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tool #11-Assessment
1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.
My favorite tool is Google Docs. This is out of necessity--I need to be familiar and conversant in this application, as it is replacing MicrosoftOffice in the near future. I want my students to be very comfortable with Google Docs before the switchover comes. We'll be using Google Docs for many different projects this coming school year.
I also love my blog. I have only used it as a reflective tool to this point, but I really want to expand the use to parents and students. I would like to make the blog a "go-to" for parents to get a glimpse of classroom life, as an archive for newsletters, and maybe even a board for homework assignments and spelling words.
2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner?
Larger class sizes mean small group instruction will be more important than ever in my classroom. Differentiation will be key to managing the disparity in learners that will be in my class. These tools will make the job of dealing with more small groups and more disparate learners manageable, I hope. I am already rethinking class arrangement and scheduling to deal with these issues.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I got stuck a couple of times, but overall, this was a much easier program than 23 Things. Maybe because I was familiar with some of the concepts, maybe because I'm becoming more comfortable with not always being "the expert" in the classroom. My kids and I are leaping forward with technology, and learning together. It's not always smooth, but as long as we're continuing to learn and grow, then we're making progress, right?
My favorite tool is Google Docs. This is out of necessity--I need to be familiar and conversant in this application, as it is replacing MicrosoftOffice in the near future. I want my students to be very comfortable with Google Docs before the switchover comes. We'll be using Google Docs for many different projects this coming school year.
I also love my blog. I have only used it as a reflective tool to this point, but I really want to expand the use to parents and students. I would like to make the blog a "go-to" for parents to get a glimpse of classroom life, as an archive for newsletters, and maybe even a board for homework assignments and spelling words.
2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner?
Larger class sizes mean small group instruction will be more important than ever in my classroom. Differentiation will be key to managing the disparity in learners that will be in my class. These tools will make the job of dealing with more small groups and more disparate learners manageable, I hope. I am already rethinking class arrangement and scheduling to deal with these issues.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I got stuck a couple of times, but overall, this was a much easier program than 23 Things. Maybe because I was familiar with some of the concepts, maybe because I'm becoming more comfortable with not always being "the expert" in the classroom. My kids and I are leaping forward with technology, and learning together. It's not always smooth, but as long as we're continuing to learn and grow, then we're making progress, right?
Tool #10-Digital Citizenship
Loved the CoolCatTeacher post on digital citizenship. Too often we think of this in terms of safety and etiquette, but it has a literacy component, as well. Double checking sources, cross-referencing facts, using multiple sources to confirm facts...we all assume that kids know to do these things, but the sad reality is that most adults google a topic, and use information from the first site that pops up on the search results.
We have to start early in teaching these concepts of digital citizenship, and continue to review and reinforce them as kids advance through school.
I loved the Brainpop videos on this topic. I really appreciate the way the concept is broken into smaller, discrete ideas. I am very familiar with this site, and can see using this resource over the course of the school year.
Cybersmart Kids has great videos on various citizenship topics that are fun and engaging for kids. Using humor and familiar objects (like Legos) will keep children interested while relaying important information about digital etiquette.
I think the instruction of digital citizenship is an ongoing process, and you'd teach it in stages, as the need arose with your students. Obviously, situations are going to come up when your students get more than they can handle when surfing the 'net. You use those teachable moments as the they come. We also need to be sure to be positive examples of digital citizenship to our students.
We are fortunate to work in a district that understands the importance of this topic. Parents and students sign an agreement to abide by the district's online guidelines, and hopefully understand the consequences for not following the guidelines. In addition, I plan to spend time discussing online citizenship at back to school night so that parents will understand my expectations for their children while working online at school.
We have to start early in teaching these concepts of digital citizenship, and continue to review and reinforce them as kids advance through school.
I loved the Brainpop videos on this topic. I really appreciate the way the concept is broken into smaller, discrete ideas. I am very familiar with this site, and can see using this resource over the course of the school year.
Cybersmart Kids has great videos on various citizenship topics that are fun and engaging for kids. Using humor and familiar objects (like Legos) will keep children interested while relaying important information about digital etiquette.
I think the instruction of digital citizenship is an ongoing process, and you'd teach it in stages, as the need arose with your students. Obviously, situations are going to come up when your students get more than they can handle when surfing the 'net. You use those teachable moments as the they come. We also need to be sure to be positive examples of digital citizenship to our students.
We are fortunate to work in a district that understands the importance of this topic. Parents and students sign an agreement to abide by the district's online guidelines, and hopefully understand the consequences for not following the guidelines. In addition, I plan to spend time discussing online citizenship at back to school night so that parents will understand my expectations for their children while working online at school.
Tool #9-Incorporating the Tools
Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective?
Web 2.0 tools will be great for keeping kids engaged in lessons. Most kids (and adults) learn better and faster when they are participating actively in learning. Using these tools will actively engage the learners.
Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?
Stations might not include new learning, but they can be an important indicator of understanding of a concept. Having students check in and/or turn in products from stations will help the teacher assess their level of understanding. Accountablility will also help the kids stay on task--you're more likely to get your work done if you have a clearly defined goal/product to accomplish during your work time.
Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
I tried to visit Tutpup, but couldn't get on after many tries.
Thinkfinity was great! It put multiple resources at my fingertips. The site was easy to navigate and was not overly visually distracting. I might be more inclined to use Thinkfinity as a teacher reference: I can choose the site(s) I'd like the kids to visit.
Study Ladder reminds me a lot of Odyssey. I like the idea of being able to individualize for each student. This is a fun way to reinforce skills at home, and I get to see the progress.
List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
Loved the dictionary app. It makes the students more self-reliant when looking up words. I also really liked the Grammar Jammers app. The songs are catchy and memorable. Who doesn't remember the songs from Schoolhouse Rock when they were kids? This app is the 21st century version of Grammar Rock. There is also an Ecosystem app that we could use to when working on our life science unit.
What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station.
Wow, this could be a big list of ideas...the options are virtually limitless. You can use iTouch and iPad for word work, for math fact practice, small group research in science and social studies, you can download free kids books and have the kids read. There are many, many more possible uses! Can't wait to get these devices for my room!
Web 2.0 tools will be great for keeping kids engaged in lessons. Most kids (and adults) learn better and faster when they are participating actively in learning. Using these tools will actively engage the learners.
Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?
Stations might not include new learning, but they can be an important indicator of understanding of a concept. Having students check in and/or turn in products from stations will help the teacher assess their level of understanding. Accountablility will also help the kids stay on task--you're more likely to get your work done if you have a clearly defined goal/product to accomplish during your work time.
Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
I tried to visit Tutpup, but couldn't get on after many tries.
Thinkfinity was great! It put multiple resources at my fingertips. The site was easy to navigate and was not overly visually distracting. I might be more inclined to use Thinkfinity as a teacher reference: I can choose the site(s) I'd like the kids to visit.
Study Ladder reminds me a lot of Odyssey. I like the idea of being able to individualize for each student. This is a fun way to reinforce skills at home, and I get to see the progress.
List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?
Loved the dictionary app. It makes the students more self-reliant when looking up words. I also really liked the Grammar Jammers app. The songs are catchy and memorable. Who doesn't remember the songs from Schoolhouse Rock when they were kids? This app is the 21st century version of Grammar Rock. There is also an Ecosystem app that we could use to when working on our life science unit.
What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station.
Wow, this could be a big list of ideas...the options are virtually limitless. You can use iTouch and iPad for word work, for math fact practice, small group research in science and social studies, you can download free kids books and have the kids read. There are many, many more possible uses! Can't wait to get these devices for my room!
Tool #8-Taking a Look at the Tools
I am so excited to have some new equipment for the classroom this year. I have had outdated student computers in my room that work only sporadically, despite the best efforts of our tech team. The kids and I were constantly frustrated by the lack of accessibility we had to the internet, to our SAN folders, etc. Hopefully, these new devices will be dependable and consistently provide us access to the online world. The netbooks are new to me. They don't look hard to operate, but I'm such a hands on person that I'll learn much more when I can play around with one.
I feel a little ahead of the game with Apple products. I have my own personal iPad and iPhone (which is similar to an iTouch). I am sure my kids are as familiar with these items, as well, and I look forward to learning how they use them at home. I do plan to create a tech team who will be responsible for setting up and redocking the devices daily. I will also need to create an iTunes account for my school email address.
I feel a little ahead of the game with Apple products. I have my own personal iPad and iPhone (which is similar to an iTouch). I am sure my kids are as familiar with these items, as well, and I look forward to learning how they use them at home. I do plan to create a tech team who will be responsible for setting up and redocking the devices daily. I will also need to create an iTunes account for my school email address.
Tool #7- Reaching Outside Your Classroom
As part of our measurement unit, we take daily temperatures and graph them week by week. I can see using Google Docs with our penpals in Iowa to compare temperature trends throughout the year.
Our new iPads will have the option of FaceTime, which can connect us to anyone with an Apple product that supports FaceTime as well. Parents with compatible Apple products can use the FaceTime tool to get a glimpse of daily classroom life, as well as be classroom experts without having to leave home or work. We can possibly use FaceTime or Skype to talk with authors when doing an author study in book clubs--I would have to do some legwork to find out what authors are willing to meet online.
Our new iPads will have the option of FaceTime, which can connect us to anyone with an Apple product that supports FaceTime as well. Parents with compatible Apple products can use the FaceTime tool to get a glimpse of daily classroom life, as well as be classroom experts without having to leave home or work. We can possibly use FaceTime or Skype to talk with authors when doing an author study in book clubs--I would have to do some legwork to find out what authors are willing to meet online.
Tool #6 - Using the Cloud to Promote Discussion
I love the idea of TodaysMeet. I'd like to put up the page at back to school night, and have the parents join and put in questions as they think of them during the evening. Here is the link to my page. I wonder if my parents will use it...
I obviously have my blog up and running. My goal this year is to update my blog more frequently and link our weekly newsletter to it. Our second grade teacher had a blog that I checked religously, but I know not all parents did. Getting busy parents to buy into adding one more thing to their to do list is the challenge.
I obviously have my blog up and running. My goal this year is to update my blog more frequently and link our weekly newsletter to it. Our second grade teacher had a blog that I checked religously, but I know not all parents did. Getting busy parents to buy into adding one more thing to their to do list is the challenge.
Tool #5-Producing with Web 2.0 Tools
So we've done wordles in class the past few years. I explored a new tool called ABCYa! which is really similar to the Wordle on Big Huge Labs. We can use this tool to reinforce vocabulary words, review word families, tie up unit concepts in social studies and science. Here's what I created to go along with our science unit:
I made a Storybird story...I can see kids recreating the story arc on this app, or reviewing the life of one of our famous people. Love the art available.
I made a Storybird story...I can see kids recreating the story arc on this app, or reviewing the life of one of our famous people. Love the art available.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tool #4 Moving Up to the Clouds
Today I worked with Google Docs and Google Forms. First, I created a Student Information Card for our classes for next year. We can email it to our parents and have them fill the info out online. Hopefully, the information can be aggregated onto one page, instead of the 22 index cards I've been managing this year. As a team, we can edit the information that goes on the cards with teh questions we ask. I think this might just work!
Secondly, I uploaded our Back to School Night packet from Word. It didn't copy seamlessly. No borders or graphics transferred to Google, so I've had to change margins and indents throughout the document. I'm still working to add some interest to the page, but can't find where to do that through Google Docs. The other frustrating thing is that Google Docs works so slowly compared to Word. It takes several beats for commands to be applied. This is definitely a learning curve.
As the district transitions from Word to Google Docs, I know we will be doing much of our composition writing on Docs. I love the idea of Forms. I can see using it to create tests and quizzes in science and social studies that the kids will complete on the computer. We do some of that now through BrainPop and Odyssey, but Google will give me much more control over the content included in the test/quiz.
Tool #3 Online Video and Image Locating
I had played around with YouTube and TeacherTube for 23 Things. I'm learning more about KidTube. It looks like something my kids would love!
Here is a video from YouTube about perimeter and area (concepts my kids often confuse). I'm hoping this will help them keep the two straight!
I also found a rap on YouTube reviewing place value. I can use this one early in the year to reinforce place value.
The Best Practices in Fair Use video was interesting. It seems to me that the main idea is that we can use copyrighted material as long as it's attributed, and it's repurposed from its original use intent.
I've used Picasa before, and I have some of my personal photos and some downloaded photos in my album. I
Here is a video from YouTube about perimeter and area (concepts my kids often confuse). I'm hoping this will help them keep the two straight!
I also found a rap on YouTube reviewing place value. I can use this one early in the year to reinforce place value.
The Best Practices in Fair Use video was interesting. It seems to me that the main idea is that we can use copyrighted material as long as it's attributed, and it's repurposed from its original use intent.
I've used Picasa before, and I have some of my personal photos and some downloaded photos in my album. I
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tool #2 Posting
I still have a hard time posting comments on blogs of people I don't know. I've done two posts this morning on the blogs of two third grade teachers in SBISD. Ultimately, I'd love to have a network of grade level teachers across the district to discuss curriculum, activities and sometimes just to commiserate/vent about what's going on in our classroom.
My Google reader is up and running, and I'm following several educational blogs, a movie review blog and a clean eating blog.
I found a ning for third grade teachers. I've joined, but am waiting approval.
I'm also planning to visit the Yahoo groups for 3rd grade. Waiting for approval for that, too.
As I said above, I'm hoping to build a network of third grade teachers from many places to share information, ideas and thoughts about teaching third grade.
My Google reader is up and running, and I'm following several educational blogs, a movie review blog and a clean eating blog.
I found a ning for third grade teachers. I've joined, but am waiting approval.
I'm also planning to visit the Yahoo groups for 3rd grade. Waiting for approval for that, too.
As I said above, I'm hoping to build a network of third grade teachers from many places to share information, ideas and thoughts about teaching third grade.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Tool #1: A new adventure...
Starting 11 tools for my summer project. I still have my blog and avatar from last summer, so I'm two steps ahead of the game! Looking forward to the new things I'll learn from this inservice.
Can't wait to get started!
Postscript: My team and I have been playing around with Voki. We had such fun creating new avatars. I love that mine has a voice...
Can't wait to get started!
Postscript: My team and I have been playing around with Voki. We had such fun creating new avatars. I love that mine has a voice...
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