Tool 11 - Self Assessing and Reflecting

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.

I will start the year off with digital citizenship, regardless of what grade I am teaching.  Assuming I am in Kindergarten, I will make sure that our first few visits in the computer lab introduces them to google docs.  This will require me to train my parent volunteers so that they are able to assist the students, but I will also show the kids on the activeboard how to create and save.

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?My vision for my classroom changed when I watched the video by Sir Walter Robinson.  It made me think about how technology can meet the different types of learning styles that students have, many of which are thought to be ADHD.  Being able to better meet their needs means an approach to higher tolerance, less medication, and hopefully a greater interest with these students and less discipline issues.  The changes I will make will be incorporating these tools into our daily lessons.

3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?  I was completely surprised by the effect that the video by Sir Walter Robinson had on me.  I am also surprised to say that I will take additional video courses to enrich my teaching.

Tool #10 Underneath it All - Digital Citizenship

1. Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens.

Being good digital citizens crosses over with general rules of good citizenship.  I want my students to be safe at all times.  This means knowing the rules of the computer and sites they can and cannot visit.  If unsure, always check BEFORE proceeding.  I want them to understand how communication can be misconstrued without voice and they are to use their manners.  They are never to type anything that they would not be willing to say outloud.  Finally, their passwords belong to them and are not to be shared for any reason.

 

2. Share at least one of the resources mentioned above or on the Ed Tech website that you plan to use instructionally.

I think the first visit to the computer lab, the older students should be required to visit Brainpop.com.  From there they can choose Digital Citizenship.  Although all of the topics under this umbrella would be great, my biggest concerns are that they watch Digital Etiquette, Cyberbullying, and Online Safety.  This will undoubtedly be a review for most students, but it can't hurt them to hear it again.  They can follow the video with the test.

 

3. Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students.

See #2.

 

4. Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents.
I would explain my requirements for the digital world at Back to School night, but this same information would be on my website and go home in the first newsletter.

Tool #9 Incorporating Classroom-Based Devises as Tools for Learning

I can't believe how much time I have wasted on this tool.  Actually, I do not consider it to be waste in anyway as it was thought provoking and I have learned so much!  Listening to Sir Ken Robinson was amazing.  I actually listened to him twice as I was was worried that I missed a few of his thoughts.  I agree with 99% of what he said and I found it very enlightening.  The idea that ADHD "epidemic" basically is driven by standardized tests.  I agree with this as students are forced to conform in the classroom while material is being reviewed and forced down their throats at times.  Students begin to think they are not good at school because their "gifts" are masked by scores comparing them to other students in only a few areas.  We are sucking the fun out of learning.

Many of the divergent thinkers Robinson speaks of are those that we are tranqualizing with medication so that they are anesthisized to their creative way of thinking so that we might have a student who can self regulate.  Although there are times this is necessary, what is missing from 40 or more years ago in school is the medication and the discipline at home. 

The one point I do not see eye-to-eye with Robinson on is the joke he made that we put the students through the system based on their age as if this is a factory date.  Although this is the rule, so many parents retain their children so that they will be older for their age.  There are times when a child would benefit from another year, the retention rate is so great in some areas that we are really dealing with a mixed classroom by 1st or 2nd grade.  As a rule, children do hit milestones at a similar rate developmentally.  Retaining some children means they are off kilter for their entire school experience.  I think that students should follow the birthday rule in their state and start school when they are supposed to.

1.  Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective?

I think it is very important that the technology meet the objective so that it is a tool to strengthen the learning and better meet the needs of that student's style.  Technology is ever changing, but the objective in the content area is only being enhanced by the tools we use.

2.  Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?

Students should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their age.  If they are old enough to use technology, they have to have a routine and system in place to use it.  This is a form of self regulation and personal growth that all children need to be able to accomplish.

3.  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 visited tutpop.com first and cannot wait to use it!  I did the math facts and the spelling.  I love that they are playing against someone else!  If students were to use this as a station, they could email their results or record them on a piece of paper as verification that they had completed a ccertain level or amount of time there.

I also visited Learning Games for Kids and thoroughly enjoyed using the social studies states game.  It asked many states and capital questions and other ones were just asking what state certain cities were in.  5th grade could really use this for practicing for their states and capitals!

4.  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?

Sight Words - kids can practice their sight words.

Brainpop - it doesn't get much better than this and offers a quiz and score.

5.  What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station

Itouches can be used in all literacy and math stations with the younger grades.  It really creates a fun learning environment for the students.

Tool 8

For Tool #8, in your post:

1.  After watching the videos/tutorials, list two to three things you learned about the device(s) that will be in your classroom this fall.

Finding out we will receive more itouches brings up mixed emotions.  Although I want to be greatful for any and all technology, I would be happy to give up any and all itouches in the 5th grade classrooms.  There is no applicable learning going on when students have these in their hands and they are a distraction to those who have not completed their work.  I realize that itouches are capable for use in research and actual learning, but 5th graders see them as a use for games and fun only.  I would rather have an additional mini, laptop, or ipad over all of the itouches.  It also prompts them to pull out their own iphones and pretend they are using an itouch, but after close observation I find that they are using their own phone.  It has presented a problem on more than one occassion.

If I was in a primary grade, I would welcome the itouches.  They would be an excellent station or rotation for the kids to have a turn with.  Listening to books is very relaxing and it's easy to download a book to the itouch.  It's just one more resource that kids get excited about.

On another note, the Dell mini's are something I am very excited about for any age.  Just having the opportunity to have additional computers in the classroom is more than welcome.

2.  How do you plan to manage the device(s) in your classroom? Do you have ideas/suggestions that others may find useful?

In all grades, it would be easy to assign a student the job of managing the itouches.  They would have to make sure that everything is assigned to a specific spot to be returned to or checked it out of. 

Tool #7

1. After visiting the resources above, design a collaborative project with another classroom.
2. Post the following about the project:
   1. Content objective
   2. When you plan to implement
   3. What tool(s) you plan to use
   4. A brief description of the project (plan - two or three sentences)
   5. If you need to find another classroom - We can begin networking with other classrooms right here!

I visited One World Classrooms (amazing) and Class 2 Class.  Interestingly enough, I found a few ideas on Class 2 Class that sounded so much fun.  Just connecting your classroom to another group would be of interest to them.  So much could be learned if you were to choose a different culture! 

I found a project on Class 2 Class that I thought was enlightening.  The project was called, Learning the Game of Go, and was started on February 1, 2003.  This was an attempt to connect many classrooms and learn how to play the ancient Chinese game of Go.  What blew me away was how out of date this already is.  The concept of connecting to other classrooms and learning to play this game together is a great one.  The out of date part is that they are using Blackboard, which is a program that colleges use with students as a simulation.  Although this is still in effect, there are many other tools that could be used to connect these classrooms much more effectively.  Technology is almost a thing of the past before it even begins.

I would love to use another project I read about called Global Johnny Appleseed Project.  The objective in this case could be science related and the importance of trees to our atmosphere or social studies and connect with a different culture that you could learn about while attempting to increase the number of trees in the world.  If teaching a primary grade, I would implement this in the fall when farmers are harvesting and apples are in season.  I would solicit help from parents who could possibly assist us with planting the trees and the preparations that would be necessary.  I have a good friend who teaches in Maryland and I would love to use Skype and connect our classrooms.  In addition, we have some neighbors currently living in Kazakhstan and would LOVE to connect with them and learn about their culture.  It would be great to speak class to class on Skype, but possibly using Class2Class to share our results would be even better.  We would have to plan our tree project from deciding whether to plant seeds or a small seedling that had taken root.  Skyping with a farmer or someone from a tree company would be of interest in getting started.  I think the kids would LOVE THIS!!

Tool #6 again!

Here comes that word frustrated again...I was typing my entry for Tool 6 and it just shut down and my entry is gone.  So mad!

1. Choose at least two of the tools from the above list. Create an account for each.

Edmodo:  I like this! I really like that you can specify a group to direct, which would make this an excellent tool on spiral days!  If you are a GT teacher, there are times when you need enrichment for those who do not leave your class and this could be a way to broaden a subject area studying!  I really feel like those under the age of 3rd grade will be challenged to use the technology and stay on task in the content area.  Maybe I am wrong though.  This could also be used for reading groups or book clubs.

Poll Everywhere:  I feel this should be reserved for secondary levels only.  Although more elementary students than I prefer have cell phones, there's no need to point out those that don't.

Todays Meet:  This seems great for secondary education as well.  It seems very easy to manipulate "sticky notes" and share thoughts with the entire class.  Very interactive without mass chaos in the classroom.

2. Use each of the tools you choose to create a sample of how you would use it in your classroom.
3. Embed the sample (preferred) or link to the URL.

I gave examples of how I would use the above tools, but plan to embed it only once it is actually used.  Seems a bit pointless to embed a fake sample.

4. Share your thoughts on how you see the tools being integrated into your classroom. How do you see them encouraging participation?

I think that students will be very much in favor of participation in these tools.  It creates organized participation, rather than chaos, and students can feed off of each other's thoughts and ideas.  Kids love technology and it's always a plus to be able to add any into a lesson.

Tool #5

  This was pretty cool.  I created a wordle titled "5th grade" and listed the many activities that 5th graders no longer experience once they move on to middle school.  I included recess, square dancing, birthday celebrations in class, class parties, walking in lines, etc.  I saved it, but can only find the link to share, not the actual wordle itself.

  <a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3839723/fifth_grade"
          title="Wordle: fifth grade"><img
          src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/3839723/fifth_grade"
          alt="Wordle: fifth grade"
          style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>

From there I went to ABCya, which I was not familiar with.  The first thing I did was create basically another wordle.  What I really loved was that I noticed on the bottom that you could choose a grade level for specific activities.  I chose 5th grade since I taught that last year.  From there, I chose Cup Stack Typing.  It gives a picture of a bunch of stacked cups with letters on them and you are supposed to type the letters you see, when they are lit up in black.  Each letter you type lights up another one.  It continues for about a minute and then gives you a score.  This would be excellent keyboard practice! 

I finished Tool #4!

Ok, I have a new outlook!  I created a great form for the first day of school with a list of all of the papers the students will be returning from home.  Every year the parents are bombarded with forms that the students take home for completion.  The list includes the signature page on the Student Handbook, the clinic card, the Big Form, etc.  With a complete class list, a grid could be created to check off who has returned what.  Of course, I could just as easily create this in Word or Excel, but it is nice to know it can be created here as well.  I sent it to 3 other teachers and am waiting for a response.

As for the document, I could never share mine, but was able to receive and open one that others sent.  It was like IMing and we could see each other's immediate response. 

Tool #4

Frustration is my new buzz word.  I created a document, but it won't let me share.  This is crazy.  I love the idea and ease of being able to share documents, forms, etc., but it is much easier in theory than in reality.

Tool #3, yet again

I am over this.  The last line of the instructions say the following:

Login to your Picasa Web Album through Google Apps. Search for a few pictures. Use the remix filter. How could you use this in your classroom?

I pulled up Picasa and have 2 pictures saved there.  I cannot find the remix filter anywhere and in fact, pulled up very inappropriate pictures when I typed "remix" into the search button.  I had my school librarian look at it and we cannot find the remix filter anywhere.  I find this very frustrating.  I could see using Picasa to find photos that might be fun to use on the blog and would copy and paste them.

Tool #3 again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCZhYZoS24

This is a great tool that could be used in the classroom.  It is more or less a video of sight words being flashed on the screen one at a time.

Tool #3

http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=18360&title=Power_Teaching_Kindergarten_Class_Rules

This is kind of cool.  Students are taking turns reviewing the class rules with the rest of the class.