Well, I have finally arrived at Tool 11! Yay! This has been a great journey of new learning!
My favorite tools are Wordle, Voice Thread, and Animoto. I had only tried one of them before 11 Tools. I plan to use Wordle as I work with a small group of students in math. I think this will be a wonderful tool that could be used a a pre-assessment tool for students to share vocabulary that they know relates to a certain math topic. I love that two students can be working with the same tool, but typing in vocabulary on 2 different topics depending on their IEPs. For example, one student can type in words related to addition while another student types in words related to place value. Then we can revisit the Wordle and make a new one after doing further instruction and practice so that students can see growth in what they have learned. I'm excited about using Voice Thread for one of my students in particular. He is working on retelling stories by drawing the events and telling about them. We will be able to upload his own pictures, and then have him narrate them!
My eyes have been opened to many possibilities that I was not aware of in the tech world. I have enjoyed trying out different tools and am planning to go back and work on some of them more this summer in order to become more skilled. I have especially appreciated being able to look at other teacher's blogs in order to see the ideas they have come up with. One of the hardest things for me has been trying to figure out how to apply some of these tools in a meaningful way in my classroom, especially because I don't directly teach science and social studies, and don't teach a whole class. Other teachers' ideas have helped spark my imagination on how to implement some of the tools. In addition, comments in other teachers' blogs have helped me when I got stuck with how to embed something into my blog, or when I was trying to decide what tool to investigate. I look forward to continue learning from my peers by revisiting their blogs. I think this project has provided an easy way for us to collaborate on technology that was not present before. After also attending a staff development session about using the iPod Touch, I am now feeling more comfortable with how I can make use of them in my classroom. I think the challenge will be working out a good way for the Resource department to share the 4 devices we will have because I imagine that we are all going to be excited about the possibilities! I know that our students are often more tuned in when they get to use technology. I definitely want to practice using the iPod Touch and find some great apps this summer!
I was surprised that this was easier than I was expecting. With all of the unfamiliar lingo like Web 2.0 tools, Google docs, and PLN, etc., I felt very overwhelmed when I started. I was so thankful for Arlene's support and guidance and the camaraderie of some peers who met and worked through some of these tools in May. I was so thankful for the posts of these peers, so I am surprised at how short some people's posts are. I really got a lot out of the longer posts where teachers explained in detail what they did and how they were going to use tools! Thanks to you!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Tool 10 Underneath it All - Digital Citizenship
I want to make sure that my students understand that netiquette is important. They need to treat other people the way they would want to be treated online just like in person. I think this is a good extension of our TRIBES Agreements, and we need to explicitly teach the concept in relation to cyberspace. Students also need to be aware that bullying is unacceptable online too. If they encounter comments that seem like bullying, they need to ask me for help. Students also need to be clear in their communications, and should reread them to make sure that they are correct. This is a hard thing for young students, so they will need to ask for help with editing before they post. I plan to use the Brain Pop video on Digital Citizenship in order to introduce and discuss these important ideas with my students. I will draw parallels to our TRIBES Agreements of mutual respect and appreciations/no put downs. Students already understand how these work in the classroom, and their experiences will help them to transfer the idea of respect to the internet as well.
Parents need to be aware of digital citizenship. I will share what I am teaching with parents through Open House night as well as in newsletters. I would like to do a better job of sharing educational websites to support students at home.
Parents need to be aware of digital citizenship. I will share what I am teaching with parents through Open House night as well as in newsletters. I would like to do a better job of sharing educational websites to support students at home.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tool 9 Incorporating Classroom-Based Devices as Tools for Learning
It is important to tie technology to the objective so that the technology is serving a purpose for the students, not just serving as an interesting activity. The technology should be a tool to help accomplish your objective for what the students need to learn. There are many options out there in the world of technology and we want to teach students how to use them to enhance their learning. They should not be used only because they can be.
We should hold students accountable for the stations/centers because it is important for them to do the planned task to accomplish the learning objective. When they know that they are going to need to write about it or show their work or thinking in a station, they tend to stay on task more instead of playing. Their reflections or responses from the stations also serve as a tool for the teacher, letting her know which students are "getting it" and which need more help.
I visited LearningGamesforKids.com. I chose a spelling game for short vowels. I then chose short a, and had more choices for games! I tried out several, but I really liked one called Letter Fall. A word was given auditorily and in the context of a sentence. Letter blanks were visible on one side of the screen. Once the word was given, I could move the little mouse character with the arrow keys to catch the letters that spelled the word. As I caught each letter, it appeared on the blanks so that I could see what I had caught and how many letters were still needed. There was an option to hear the word and/or the sentence again. This was presented in a video game type format with bonus points for certain letters and bonuses for catching objectives considered mouse food too! As I advanced through the levels, the letters and objects fell more quickly. I think that my students will really like this game. It would tie into segmenting words, spelling 3 and 4 letter words and short vowels. I could hold students accountable for the station by writing a certain number of words they made on the game or by forming a certain number of words from the game with magnetic letters on the dry erase board.
I set up an account and tried some tasks on Studdyladder. I really liked this one because I think that I can set tasks up for certain students. I saw one task that was a video of a man showing students how to count on to find the sum of 2 groups of fish (made from pattern blocks). After watching this very short video, I could assign an interactive task where students are given pictures of fish in a fish tank and fish in a net to find the sum of. I liked that the activity showed students how many problems there would be across the top of the screen. Each time that the problem was answered correctly, a circle was filled in. If the answer was incorrect, the correct answer was shown. To hold students accountable, I could have them draw a picture of a problem they solved or a similar problem. I could also have them act it out with manipulatives. I can't wait to try this out with my students!
I am excited about trying the app "I Write Words" with my students. They can write letters and then words given a guide. The program does not allow them to form letters from the bottom; they have to use correct top down formation. I think this will be a great way to reinforce handwriting and help my students to practice writing and internalizing the spelling of sight words. I also want to try Everyday Mathematics Monster Squeeze which reinforces number recognition and practices number line concepts.
We should hold students accountable for the stations/centers because it is important for them to do the planned task to accomplish the learning objective. When they know that they are going to need to write about it or show their work or thinking in a station, they tend to stay on task more instead of playing. Their reflections or responses from the stations also serve as a tool for the teacher, letting her know which students are "getting it" and which need more help.
I visited LearningGamesforKids.com. I chose a spelling game for short vowels. I then chose short a, and had more choices for games! I tried out several, but I really liked one called Letter Fall. A word was given auditorily and in the context of a sentence. Letter blanks were visible on one side of the screen. Once the word was given, I could move the little mouse character with the arrow keys to catch the letters that spelled the word. As I caught each letter, it appeared on the blanks so that I could see what I had caught and how many letters were still needed. There was an option to hear the word and/or the sentence again. This was presented in a video game type format with bonus points for certain letters and bonuses for catching objectives considered mouse food too! As I advanced through the levels, the letters and objects fell more quickly. I think that my students will really like this game. It would tie into segmenting words, spelling 3 and 4 letter words and short vowels. I could hold students accountable for the station by writing a certain number of words they made on the game or by forming a certain number of words from the game with magnetic letters on the dry erase board.
I set up an account and tried some tasks on Studdyladder. I really liked this one because I think that I can set tasks up for certain students. I saw one task that was a video of a man showing students how to count on to find the sum of 2 groups of fish (made from pattern blocks). After watching this very short video, I could assign an interactive task where students are given pictures of fish in a fish tank and fish in a net to find the sum of. I liked that the activity showed students how many problems there would be across the top of the screen. Each time that the problem was answered correctly, a circle was filled in. If the answer was incorrect, the correct answer was shown. To hold students accountable, I could have them draw a picture of a problem they solved or a similar problem. I could also have them act it out with manipulatives. I can't wait to try this out with my students!
I am excited about trying the app "I Write Words" with my students. They can write letters and then words given a guide. The program does not allow them to form letters from the bottom; they have to use correct top down formation. I think this will be a great way to reinforce handwriting and help my students to practice writing and internalizing the spelling of sight words. I also want to try Everyday Mathematics Monster Squeeze which reinforces number recognition and practices number line concepts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)