"Inspiring" Ideas??

iMovie Book Trailer Plans??

*Read book:)
*Create summary
*Plot summary on story board
*Select images to match student writing
*Use iMovie to create the book trailer
*Enhance with music and transitions:)

Flickr Polygon Album

We uploaded pictures to my Flickr account today during math. We started by reading The Greedy Triangle which is a book about polygons. Next the students were put into groups of 4 and were instructed to use their devices to take pictures around the classroom, pod, and hallway of some of the polygons we read about/saw in the book. Then came the tricky part... I had my Flickr account and email ready to go. They were supposed to email the pics to my account. However, since they are 8 year-olds, most of them did not have email set up on their devices. I had to adjust and the kids just took my iPad around and retook their pictures.  We were able to email from there. It took longer, but I guess if the photo book was the goal, we made it. If it was for them to utilize their own device, it was an epic fail. A couple groups took pics of some figures that were not polygons, so it was also a good assessment tool. If mistakes were made, they were in shapes that did not have straight sides (a couple took pics of the globe or of coins.) This was a good opportunity to reinforce the properties of polygons! We displayed the pics on the whiteboard and discussed their sides and angles. Here is a link to our book: Flickr Polygon Book.

Socrative Rocks

Our class was engaged and enjoyed using socrative today. We had taken a pretest in reading based on the close reading unit we are starting. We had the iPad cart checked out to our room so we checked our answers and went over the test using socrative. It is the best tool I have found yet. We started with answering some multiple choice and true and false questions. The kids liked seeing their answers show up on the whiteboard (I had my teacher account pulled up on my computer). The bar graphs were a great visual.

The coolest part was the short answer questions. We answered some main idea and sequence questions. Their sentences appeared, but the best part was they were able to read everyone's answers and then vote on which one they thought was the best. They loved this and it was a great way for them to see and discuss why the correct answers were the best.

This was great MAP Test practice. It also was the easiest and most successful technology tool I've used in the room yet. The "thumbs up" when they were in and ready to go were so fast. They were able to do everything independently with no lag time and no password confusion. I will definitely use socrative again!

YouTube Playlist ~ Matter

I created a playlist on my youtube chanel with some videos that related to our unit on matter. My students enjoyed viewing them on their devices. For those who did not have their own device, they used classroom laptops. I wasn't sure how to get them logged into my channel without broadcasting my password, so I ended up putting it into all their devices myself, which was a pain and took a little time. I had a small reflection page that went along with the lesson that helped keep them on track.

There were three videos on the list. One was silent and they had to read short prompts about what they saw, one was put to music with written prompts also, the third was a scientist talking about matter and showing the different states. Most of the kids enjoyed the video that was put to music (which also showed glass in its liquid form).

They enjoyed using the playlist, but due to having to log them all in, it may have been just as good as a whole class activity with showing it on the whitebaord. The advantage of them having it on their devices was that they could rewind anything they may have missed and they were in control. All the reflection pages had good responses and they all rated the lesson a 10! I will use the youtube playlist again!

Photos and Anchor Charts Shared

One of my goals was to keep my students' parents "in the know" of what we are learning in our classroom. It is a whole new world from when I taught 16 years ago. I know as a parent that I always appreciated teachers who used technology to keep me updated on what my kids were doing. In the beginning, emails were great. As technology grew, I loved seeing the pictures and videos some of them put on the web. Now that I am back in the classroom, I want to do my best to let parents see and enjoy what we are doing. Here are a few pics I have shared. It is definitely an area I need to grow in. I definitely have "blog envy" of some of my colleagues and even of people I've never met! I am confident that as my handle on our curriculum grows, so will my ability to communicate it.

iPad Updated - awesome app!

I found an awesome app when I attended a Christmas break iPad session. The app is APPSGONEFREE. I spent a lot of time after I loaded this app on my iPad getting my iPad classroom/center ready. My students love all the new apps I found. My third grade team also has benefited as we spent some time during our last PLC working together and sharing what we had found.

The top three apps I have found recently are:

Animal Kingdom HD
Math Ninja
Opposites

I have organized my apps into folders on our class screen. My students are having a much easier time navigating the iPad now. Bring on the classroom iPads!

Audio Consumptin on the Web - Wilma Rudolph

My students really enjoyed the book Wilma Unlimited. It tells the story of Wilma Rudolph. I found this youtube video that tied in perfectly. By just watching this 11 minute video, we were able to compare/contrast what we learned from the book and the video. We also compared the differences of reading the book vs watching the video. Most of them said they enjoyed the book more, which I was happy to hear. Another huge advantage was reaching some of my lower readers and autistic students in a way that they related. (They made up most of the group that said they liked the video better.)Here's the link to the story Wilma Rudolph Story.

I am also going to add the digital book I found to my iPad. Here's the link Wilma Unlimited, youtube digital book . A possible center project??

Reflection on article "Why Kids Need Schools To Change"

I read the article "Why Kids Need Schools To Change" by Tina Barseghian. She bases most of her article on research done by educator Madeline Levine, author of Teach Your Children Well.
:She sites the five areas of change  that "Challenge Success" brings to schools and attempts to modernize the obsolete system in place today. Challenge Success is a school training program at Stanford that’s been incorporated into about 100 schools across the country  The five criteria are:
PROJECT BASED LEARNING (stress collaboration)
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT (show what they know in different ways)
SCHEDULING (later start time for school to allow needed sleep time -she suggests 10 am! - and coordination of test days)
CLIMATE OF CARE (especially in large public schools)
PARENT EDUCATION (keep kids within their developmental zones and manage time)

She begins her article with the point that really ties into what has been a focus of our Elite training - that the job market is changing and many jobs are becoming obsolete. (A point that hits home to a wife of a marginally employed glazier!) We need to make sure we are preparing our students for success in this rapidly changing world so that unemployment isn't their future.

I also really liked her point that classrooms should mirror what our kindergarten classes look like - active and constantly engaging. What a dream for students of all ages! Who didn't love kindergarten?? Definitely got me thinking about revamping a couple things in my room.

An interesting article with some great links. The author has some nice archives on the
Mind/Shift How We Learn wesite.
 http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/author/tbarseghian/ 

"8 ways to use Facebook to enrich class" blog post

I read the blog post "8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Shoening's First Grade Class" by Lisa Nielson. I also checked out some other posts on her "The Innovative Educator" blog. She posts daily. Most of them are short and make good points. The Facebook post was one of my least favorites, but I did find some uses for her tips. I am glad I went to it because she does have a good blog.

The worst thing about the Facebook blog was that blogspot stopped responding and the webpage had to be recovered every time I tried to scroll down! It was also written in July 2010 when Facebook was becoming more popular. As an older adult/educator I feel not many older parents are using Facebook. I feel that all eight points can be accomplished through my blog that the parents who do use technology are accessing.

The eight points she highlighted were:

1. Providing Families a Window to the Classroom
2. Celebrating Student Work
3. Sharing Events and Announcements
4. Using Facebook Notes to Update Parents
5. Using Facebook Notes to Share Student Writing
6. Having Private Conversations with Parents and Families
7. Use Videos to Share Tips, Advice, and Lessons to Parents and Students
8. Connecting with Other Classes

Other than the "Facebook Notes" tips, I feel I do these with my blog. Granted, I need to get better and post more, so these are points I want to be sure I am covering. I love using my blog to post pictures of student work and I have received great feedback from my parents on this. I also have a shutterfly account linked to my blog where they can view/order pictures for the scrapbookers out there! I want to include instuctional videos - this is my next blog goal. We will be starting multiplication soon. I think this would be a great place to start!

I think the use of the word "private" was not appropriate because I feel nothing on the internet is private. I questioned Ms. Nielson's credibility, which is what led me to her more recent posts. Nothing else has jumped out, so I will keep up with her blog.

My only other concern is with students getting on Facebook. I know many parents who do not want their younger children on it. I feel my blog is a safer place that parents can be more confortable letting their kids access.

Diigo List!

I enjoyed working on my diigo list during elite today. My favorite part was linking it to my blog so my students and parents can access recommended websites. I've been looking for a way for my students to get to where I want them to go more easily. I made a Web Resource tab on my blog and I feel this will solve that issue. I only have a few sites listed per subject area as of now, my trusted favorites. I'm debating on how much is the right amount. I think a few more would be good, but too many could overwhelm.

Still loving working with diigo. I have installed the button on all the computers I work on. I haven't received feedback from any parents of my students yet, not sure if this is a good sign or bad. I do think it is a great resource, almost as good a Pinterest (that was for you, Collin!). I do like the safety net of how the sights I use will be saved if a computer crashes - and not having to take the extra h drive step.

Here is my diigo link:My Diigo Library

Ed. Tweeters

I started following some educational tweeters and bloggers.
Here is one link from Twitter that I  found really interesting  on Educational Leadership      
http://t.co/tyymEXky. It was called:
Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say, and Do. 

This is a great list! Super helpful for reflecting on personal strengths & weaknesses, & finding areas for improvement.

Found this yesterday. The sequential date didn't even dawn on me! Had fun with this lesson as morning work!

Today is 10-11-12. Have your students calculate the next dates that will also be sequential numbers.

I also added a blogger that I really like that I found on pinterest in my google reader. Her blog is

 3rd Grade Thoughts
http://www.3rdgradethoughts.com/

One of my favorite things she does is take pictures of her anchor charts and post them on her blog. What a great way to help parents see what learning is happening in the classroom! I am so gonna start doing this.

 

10 Tips for PLN Educators Reflections

Dr .Mark Wagner wrote "Personal Learning Networks for Educators: 10 Tips". I like that this article was kept simple, but had links to further pursue if interested. It was broken up nicely and made some great points. The first 4 tips fell under the category of:

Learning to Network and Networking to Learn

 

Great title.
 

1. Connect

2. Contribute
3. Converse
4. Request

I feel like we do a great job of this at our weekly PLN, just not on a global level.

Next was:

Networking Tools and Anecdotes

 

This area seems to be being taken care of through Elite trainings.
 

5. Blog 
6. Tweet
7. Join Classroom 2.0 
8. Use Google+

 And finally 

Final Thoughts

9. Be Patient 
10. Be Authentic

I think this is a great article to get started networking. I honestly wish I had more time to dedicate to this.  I am fortunate to not feel isolated in my classroom (as Dr. Wagner says some educators feel) and to have an abundance of support.
I can see how it can keep me connected to the larger learning community and be a benefit to my education and therefore my students. Dr. Wagner says  "All educators (and learners) can benefit from extending their own personal learning network online – beyond the walls of their schools, the boundaries of their districts, and the limits of their experience."  and I agree. Doing more networking and connecting to the global learning community is something I definitely want to further pursue once I get my first year back teaching under my belt. I feel a summer project coming on! I do feel it is something for more experienced educators. I feel like I am just learning the ropes of my curriculum. I need to focus on it and my students now. I am enjoying the benefits of other's experience and wisdom right now and hope to be on the contributing end soon!

diigo group reflection

I joined a diigo group called EdTech and found some cool resources. I used one during a lesson on ecosystems last week. It was called Animals and Plants: Biomes of the World. My favorite part of was finding the website it came from called "the wildclassroom.com". It's main title is The Wild Classroom: Biology Videos and Podcasting via Ecogeeks. Great site!

 The video showed an Oahu tree snail in its environment on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. All the remaining species of this snail are threatened with extinction in our lifetime.  My students loved this video and we had a great lesson on ecosystems as well as food chains and ecology.

This is such a great time to be teaching because there is an infinite amount of resources right at our finger tips. I can find current and meaningful lessons to work with any lesson I am presenting! In seconds! I'm not sure if the diigo group necessarily helped, I may have found this site by simply googling biomes or ecosystems, but no matter how I got there, we rocked that lesson!

I watched the video on technology and learning presented by David Jones and David Warlick to complete my Elite 2 tic tac toe. They gave a virtual tech forum on the impact of of social media in schools. Their focus was "Embracing and Responding to this Powerful, Disruptive Technology". The first point they made was social media should be about learning, not students or even teaching. We need to present ourselves as learners in front of our students through our use of technology and social media.

Where we are today, we need to use technology to do our job in education. We need to "keep up in a time of rapid change". Our curriculums need to have digital abundant content in order for our students to be learning in a contemporary informational environment. I like the analogy Mr. Warlick used in comparing books and technology. He said not teaching with technology today would be like our teachers not using books as we were learning. It is that important.

As a kind of "old school" teacher, having graduated just when the internet was developing, I like how Mr. Jakes talked about valuing the skill, not the technology. If I think a skill is important to my students, I need to present it in digital context. Then I extend that skill to a higher level with social collaboration. My students benefit and work towards becoming more skilled in environment they will be graduated in.

This contemporary education environment is presented in a "this is where we are at, this is where we need to go" context. We need to "go together" on this. Time and money need to be dedicated to move our students to where they need to be. I have seen evidence of the this all around me in Lindbergh. Great strides are being taken to be sure we are giving our students the best tools they will need to be successful.

Mr. Jakes and Mr. Warlick concluded their discussion by saying we are successful as educators when not only the technology becomes invisible, but the walls, the bell schedule, and the boundaries that divide teachers and students become invisible. We have succeeded when our educational curriculums are defined by their lack of limits. I love this take on technology and its limitless capabilities. I feel we have only scratched the surface with how far we can take learning if we have the tools to take us there.

Technology Lesson Observation

For my second X on the tic-tac-toe board, I observed a colleague teaching a technology lesson taught by a colleague on Monday, Sept. 9, 2012. Not wanting to be out of my classroom anymore than neccessary and selfishly wanting to give my students the best opportunities, I had Sarah Valter come to my room and I observed her there. She taught a Math lesson on logical reasoning for our Chapter 2 Lesson 4. The learning objectives were to understand Base 10 and utilize regrouping in 3 digit numbers.Technology resouces used were the Elmo with imagemate, smartboard, and a flipchart using clickers/activote for assessment.

The lesson began with Mrs. Valter presenting a problem that small groups needed to work together to figure out. The problem was Mr. Hamby (principal) and Mrs. Clancy (me) were having an argument whether a 3 digit number could or could not be made without using hundred blocks. Their challenge was to show a 3 digit number correctly without using hundred blocks to find out who was correct.

After directions and job descriptions for group positions were given, each group of 4 was given a different 3 digit number. First they had to demonstrate their number using hundred blocks and a picture was taken with imagemate. Then the hundred blocks were taken away and they had to go back and demonstrate the same number without them. Another picture was taken when they figured it out.  Students then had to explain who was correct and why.

Finally, after all groups had both their pictures taken and assessments turned in, students went back to their seats for a powerpoint activity using activote. This was the first time my students were able to use the clickers to vote this year and they loved it. All students were engaged in the activity and focused on their tasks.

After the smartboard activity, they went to their math centers and small groups were called back to work with me. We focused on some more regrouping strategies. Centers included using the smartboard with an interactive regrouping activity, laptops for math games, file folder games, and recording student readings of 6-digit numbers on my smart phone.

The use of technology completely engaged the students. It is what these kids are into and an interest boost that cannot be ignored! These fun and motivational tools "sneak in learning" and keep the kids active and interested. I have used all the resources except the clickers in my daily lessons. I'd LOVE to have them and can't wait until they can be in my classroom. They were one of the most effective tecnology tools used in the lesson when in comes to accountability and having all students engaged.  The students of course loved the imagemate and use of my smartphone. The lesson was interactive and fun from start to end! Our objective was achieved as assessment showed students had a good grasp of regrouping.

See below for pdf's of the starting activity. They are good examples of higher level thinking on down to basic.

Sept. 8 - Dalton reflection

I just watched young Dalton Sherman's keynote speech. I have a question: Do YOU believe you can train Cohort 16?! I believe you can! I believe I can grow as an educator through teaching and learning at Lindbergh. After watching this 9 year old deliver his message to the educators of Dallas, everyone, especially those in the education field, should be inspired.

This little boy's speech is inspirational in many ways. The sheer courage it took to stand up in front of 20,000 teachers, educators, and administrators is astounding. His presentation touched all those who attended and now who are watching him on YouTube. The impact of his delivery had the audience on their feet and listeners wanting more.

Dalton begins his speech by saying "I believe in me, do you believe in me?". This simple question asked with amazing conviction sets the tone for the entire speech. As an educator, I am reminded why I do what I do. I want to inspire my students to believe they can "do, be, create, dream, and become" whatever they want. It is my job to help them achieve this passion for learning and becoming their best. This has to begin with belief in themselves and a desire to be the best they can be.

Dalton points out educators need to believe, trust, and lean on our colleagues. This is where I feel my team at Sappington as well as those in Central Office are my biggest allies right now. In just the first month of this journey through my first year back teaching full-time, I have received the help and support  I need. This continuing support helps me feel confident in my ability to do my job.

Part of my job is to believe in my ability to help my students reach their fullest potential. I love how Dalton conveys that educators need to believe in themselves in order to help students do the same. It is imperative that my students feel I believe in them, and as Dalton contends, in some cases, I may be all they've got.

My goal is to help my students get to where Dalton is today-full of faith in themselves and their abilities and the belief that they can achieve whatever they set out to achieve. I want to give them the skills and strategies they will need to be successful. I know this will be a team effort with myself, my students, their families, Lindbergh, and our community. Together, I hope we can inspire them and give them the support they will need to get there.