Keep on keeping on

Tool #11

2011-06-21T12:53:00.001-07:00

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 would say that I really enjoyed learning all of these tools and being forced to learn them. Because I liked so many of these new tools, I will say that my very favorite one is my blog. I say this because I have included hyperlinks from my blog and I can go back and use this to help me find my favorites quickly and I can reread what I like about them.
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?
I am ready to challenge myself by learning new things along with my students. I am planning to use much more technology in the classroom and will work this technology into workstations so that more students can be working on the same or different things as needed. I plan to use Menus in the classroom and incorporate technology; ipads, ipods, flip cameras, etc... I envisoin students working in small groups on the floor or in isolation if needed to help guide their learning.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I found this one much easier than the 23 Things. This might have been the case because I have simply used a lot of these programs and can sail through them quicker. I am not afraid of the unknown and know I can probably ask students for help as well as my colleges since they have also completed or will have completed these same tools. Now, I am off to explore more.

Tool #10

2011-06-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

I want to make sure that my students understand how to use digital citizenship, copyright laws, and appropriate online behavior. I will use the Power to Learn Grant as a resouce to help me find sites to teach this. I will use http://www.brainpop.com/, Cyberethics for Kids and http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrt.html as well as many more to aid in teaching my students the importance of being a good digital citizen. I am very familiar with Brainpop and know that will be my first site to use.
At the start of the year I will have students listen to and interact with Brianpop. We will do a short new lesson or review of an important lesson every day that we plan to use technology for research and communicating with others through the internet.
Parents will hear new information either through our grade level newsletters or through their students when I encourage them to share what we have learned. I want students to know the importance of digit good citizenship so they can be respectful to others and to themselves. This is a new world of technology and I will be learning right along with them.

Tool #9

2011-06-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

It is very important to tie technology with the objective in order to keep students enthusiastic and focused on the learning. It is visual and can be very interactive which always supports learning.
We should always hold students accountable for work in workstations otherwise students may not care about their learning and will possibly not follow all of the directions and therefore not learn the objective.
Sites visited
Learning Games for Kids: This site was easy and might be something used for students who need more review. Since there are printables students can be held accountable by turning in these pages. I don't necessarily like this idea but understand that this could be helpful to some students who are struggling.
TES Board: This site seems more challenging and can aid in encouraging deeper thinking for those who are ready for this. Students can blog their findings to help in holding them accountable.
Study Ladder: This is very similiar to a program we use now and can help if you know exactly what you need the students to work on. This one is very overwhelming to the eyes but can be useful when looking for specifics. Again students can blog or write in Wiki their reflections in order to hold them accountable.
I might use the first 2 listed as stations where the kids can look for items to work on or all three if I have specific areas for them to complete while in stations. They might work in pairs or with individually.

Apps. found and liked:
Dictionary: During reading groups students could use this app. to help look up unfamiliar words so students can continue reading and checking for meaning without help from others (meaning teacher)
Discovery Channel: This one is always good when wanting to learn more about specific topics, history or people.
Free Word Warp: This has fun ways to practice spelling and find words within words. This can be during word work time and they have finished assigned lessons.
On This Day: Is an app that kids who LOVE their birthday and want to know the history of this special day. Then they could share tis new foud information on blogs, wikis and emails to friends.

Having this technology in the class will help kids continue to learn while the teacher is working with other students. This will also help kids stay ahead of the technology curve.

Tool #8

2011-06-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

1. I learned a few great things from viewing the tutorials. I love that we will have the advantage to have up to 11 pages of apps. available. I love that we will have our own charging station instead only being able to charge a little at a time or in a different location. I am excited that the Dells will be able to take videos and still shots and it looked easy.
2. Ed Tech helps me find apps., sites, and Flipcharts. I look foward to using this resource to aid in workstations and allowing students to complete research.

Tool #7

2011-06-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

After examining Class2class- math projects students can answer a survey question and get data in an organized fashion. Then using the same survey other classes can answer the same question. Then students can compare information. They will get practice in answering math vocabulary ans skills. An example was to use M&Ms with students to count out colors of candies. After all classes completed their survey they could start answering the objective of likely, less likey, more likey, certain, impossible chances of finding sertain colors in their bag and how the company distributes candies into bags. I would use this plan later in the year when probability is assigned in our curriculum. Materials for this would be graph paper, markers or colored pencils, and computer to log information.
The plan would be to give each student a small bag of M&Ms and tally each color. Chart on graph paper and include findings in the Class2class and compare information with other 3rd grade classrooms.
There are many times that we have toured classrooms to find answers to surveys for individual students. This would save in doing this and students would love the new technology.

Tool #6

2011-06-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Using Poll Everywhere you can ask for a poll to get to know your students' preference of book genres. I was thinking I could use this polling system before a book fair and then use this new information to select books to purchase for the classroom library.
I also plan to use Edmodo to ask questions for reading groups. I can state a different question for different group and then allow them to post their answers or views.

Tool #5

2011-06-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

I used the trading card from www.Bighugelabs.com and the wordle tools. I think that these are great ways to assess students on what they learned about a particular topic. I played with the animoto as well. My son made a father's day animoto, which was a big hit. This could easily be made into another way to assess their learning. It is also a fun easy way to grade instead of constant pencil paper assignments. The wordle could be used as a fun way to show a table of contents. Or even a checklist for students as a fun different rubric rather than the same old boring style used for so many other lessons.

Tool #4

2011-06-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! This tool was so much easier for me than tool 3 (and for me tool 3 1/2).
The way I hope to use this is bascially the way we used Sweden and find new and different documents that my team is using and we can edit these to best fit our new needs. I can share tests and surveys with my students to answer on line all at once in the computer labs or in workstations on the computer.
This tool is really easy and makes me feel safe. I like how we can share this with only certain people and not everyone needs to view it.

Tool #3 1/2

2011-06-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

I am trying hard to be patient with this. I am trying to post this 2nd video from Youtube. It has been very trying.

I have visited both Youtube and Discovery Education as well as Brain Pop. I love all of these and wanted to try Youtube only because I know that the district does not allow access easily to this and I wanted to see if I can download it into my postings.

I posted both videos from youtube and they are there whether they are on tool 3 or tool 3 1/2.

I realize that I need to watch for any copy right issues and am worried that since I have opened my blog for anyone to read and comment on does that mean I can no longer use the education clause of allowing copy righted videos and pictures to be viewed by students?

I would love to know the answer to this. If you are reading this and know this answer, please educate me.

I went to the Picasa site, and it was very easy to use. However, I wasn't able to find the remix tool. My students usually use the google images and flickr for pictures. My students can use Picasa while doing research and adding images to their research. This reseach could be landforms, famous Americans, holidays, timelines, etc...

I can't wait to introduce this to my class.

Tool #3

2011-06-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am only able to include one video which is very , very frustrating to me when everyone else is able to do what is requested so smoothly. My plan is to add another tool 3 posting but tool 3 1/2 with the additional video. I am hoping this will help and I will include all other comments on that posting. Wish me luck!

Tool #2

2011-06-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Adding websites onto the reader seems like a great way to keep updated with what is going on in the areas that I am interested. I hope to read this and add new sites as needed. I will have it send me emails to help me get into the habit of opening this up and reading it.
3rd Grade Social Network Using this social network will help me gain new ideas for teaching and better yet this will be from other 3rd grade teachers. I enjoy sharing my thoughts anywhere and with anyone. However, I think that voicing my comments online for anyone to read is a bit scarier. I think I will be more restrained than I would be with a face to face meeting. I don't mind trying this and using it as long as I can learn something new.

Tool #1

2011-06-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is just a fun way to earn my 11 Tools hours. I love playing around with all of these gadgets. I am glad I was able to work along side my team otherwise I feel I would have met some challenges , but because we worked together we were able to work through this quite smoothly. Thanks team!

2010-05-06T14:02:00.001-07:00

Looking at the comments, I have noticed that a lot of you were confused with #25. It is actually pretty easy. Remember the purpose of all these stumpers is to encourage you to think differently with math. The 1st dozen even #s are 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24. Now find pairs to add that give the same sum for each. Now, you should be getting it. Now, it is too easy. If you are intersted in having more posted, please comment that you are interested and I will find more.

Math Stumper #32 and 33

2009-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

#32 How many different ways can you pay a clerk exactly 25cents? What are the ways?

#33 What number is between 1 and 40
not an even #
not less than 16
not greater than 26
a # you hear when counting by 5?
Find 3 items (things) which show this number in the real world.

As requested...More Math Stumpers

2009-04-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

These math stumpers come from Marcy Cook's Primary Starters and Stumpers. The #s I write next to the stumpers are for me to remember which ones I have given to you. Enjoy trying to figure out the answers to these problems. Don't forget to comment.

Math Stumper #22
How many nines are there between 1 and 110?

Math Stumper #23
1+11+111=1111
Move one of these lines to make a true equation.

Math Stumper #25
Take the 1st dozen even counting numbers. Put them in pairs. The sums of the pairs should all be the same.

Additional Homework Options...

2009-03-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in doing a little something different or a little more challenging, please try out these activities and let me know what happens.

Math:

#38 of Primary Starters and Stumpers by Marcy Cook

What 5 different numbers have a sum less than 11?

Science:

Paper Magic(Pop Bottle Science)

Can paper stay dry in water?
Materials:
wadded-up paper, an empty 2 liter bootle with the top portion cut off, a bucket or large bowl filled halfway with water
What do you to do...
1. Stuff the paper into the bottom of your bottle. Check to be sure the paper stays in the bottom and won't fall out when you turn the bottle upside down.
2. Turn your bottle upside down, and push it straight down into the bucket of water. (Be sure the bottle is vertical, and don't tilt the bottle!)
3. Lift your bottle out of the water. (Again, be sure not to tilt the bottle.)
4. Remove the dry paper.

Let me know if it worked and why you think it worked.
I can't wait to hear from you.

Thing 18

2008-07-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

GoogleDocs is a great way to easily type up information and send it out either through email or sharing it with the public. I can open it from anyone's computer without having to email it first. I went ahead and typed up a spread sheet for averaging some grades, which I obviously would not share with the public but would keep on my documents on my gmail account. I also started a letter to mail out to my students, but again this won't be for the public. However, with our SBISD laptops, I don't see this as a necessity. I pretty much either work at home with the laptop or at school with it. I can see how this would be beneficial for older classroom students, and a communication tool with teacher and students. It is a little confusing to me when I am allowing the public to view this and when I am not.

Thing 17

2008-07-14T21:26:00.001-07:00

Wow! I feel like a million bucks! I fiddled a bit with the Rollyo site and was actually able share one of my entries on my blog! That is huge for me. It helped that I was able to go through and read advice through others blogs and comments left for them. I think I feel more comfortable to go back and add and delete things on my site. But I am still so excited that I was able to do it and put something on there that I might really be able to use this year in the classroom. I put a children's lit. search on there so I can search books that I can use with the students. By doing this I can look up a particular book that I plan to use and get ideas from others on how best to interact with the story. Fun!

Thing 16

2008-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wiki is wonderful for so many things as long as others are familiar with it. I guess if they aren't, I could always give them the wiki link. But as I have tried to play with it, it is a little overwhelming to me. I will need to give this more time. I have thought that if I taught my parents how to use this, then we could use wikis to organize for class projects: needed materials, parent volunteers, etc... That way everyone knows what has been taken care of without all the reply all emails. I am sure there are other fabulous ways to use this, but this is where I am now, without having had extra time to play around with it.

Thing 15

2008-07-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

I have often wondered about this very topic. Leaving the way we know it and searching for better more interesting ways to teach in order to keep the students learning. It scares me, but at the same time I do see the need for the change. Now, if someone would just fill me in on how we are supposed to accomplish this, that would be very helpful. I can't see a complete benefit from leaving the hard copies, but that doesn't suggest there isn't another way that will help get these students ready for what lies ahead. I don't mind change as long as I understand it, and it has been well thought out. I feel like in the elementary school ages, at least in the primary years, we still need to teach them some of the old fashioned ways, but does that mean I don't totally understand what is coming their way in the future? I just think about reading good books with students and family. Does this stop, and we would get out our very portable laptops and read from those and create our pictures to go with the text? I still think what we have taught thus far is important, but I think there needs to be a better blend of technology teaching as well as the basic fundamentals. I mean what's the point in working on the web and doing different kinds of experiments if the kids can't read,write or do math? But does this mean we just teach these fundamentals differently too? I don't know where to begin to do my part. I am excited and nervous about what lies ahead...and not so very far ahead!

Thing 14

2008-07-11T14:02:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I went onto Technorati and searched the blogs for on school libraries. I found it very interesting where you could go with this. It seemed like I was going into totally different subjects (with a small common link). It is like going to the grocery store only to get 3 needed things, and while you are in there you end up purchasing 20 items. I went into the blog looking for information on "school library" and I ended up using tags and taking me to infertility. I guess if you set up your own page with tags going to the places that you like you can stay focused. This would be important for your class...keeping them focused.

Thing 13

2008-07-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so tagging overwhelmed me a bit in the earlier activities. However, it isn't that difficult at all once I was able to follow the registation steps from delicious. I plan on using this new found information to set up pages for research. We have a bird unit every year in science as well as many others that this would be very helpful for. I could set up a page with tags on individual birds, and those kids who are researching a bald eagle could click on that tag and read about it. This helps to keep the research friendly for the students. Of course that is if I set it up student friendly. I can't wait to practice this for lessons that I can actually use.

Thing 12

2008-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Being a teacher and now a blogger I see a lot a similarities:
1. When leaving a comment (on a blog or an assignment) make it meaningful. This helps students improve their work just like it it helps to get more information to the blogger.
2. Ask ?s to get comments: When writing letters back and forth with students, it really encourages them to respond if you ask a ?. This is the same with a blogger. If you ask questions people are more likely to comment about them.
3. Be nice: I always try to start off with a nice comment (of course meaningful too) before I let them know what they need to improve on or let them know my point of view. For the blogger, leave a nice comment telling your point of view.
Something else that I have always been curious about is how to do the hyperlinking. I will need to practice this. Maybe now...maybe later. You'll have to wait and see if it's on my blog yet. Keep checking. When you see it you'll know I have figured it out.
Commenting on other people's blogs: I have now commented on at least 5 bloggers easily with my blogger name signing off, but I came back later and incorrectly left a comment with my actual name rather than my blogger name on 1. I tried to fix it, but it was too late.
Well, I am off to check out other people's blogs and see what gets my attention.
Okay, I have checked out information about recycling and how to get started in my home. I learned some important information about disposing of light bulbs as well as getting new recycling bins. I also commented on these blogs thanking them for the new learned information. I can't wait to read more blogs as well as comment when necessary.

Thing 11

2008-07-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

I really do see the benefit to this Librarything! I really have enjoyed this site. I went ahead and added books that I have read recently as well as a couple that I have read in the past. I think I will also start a kids section of books that I have enjoyed reading aloud to my family or to my class. This would be an easy and fun activity to have the class start at school and share what they have read and liked with each other. I will need to play around with it a little more.

Thing 10

2008-07-01T13:41:00.001-07:00

Here is one of my examples of "having fun." It is in memory of my mother-in-law whose grandma name was Zsa Zsa. Her birthday is tomorrow and she died 2 years ago of pancreatic cancer. We miss her dearly! I looked through the sites where I wouldn't have to use any of my own photos because I was too lazy to either
A. switch to the computer with the pictures or B. load photos onto the computer I am always working on. When doing this activity I would have to be careful not to steer the students in the wrong direction. There are some images that are a little too revealing. We could use these as covers for books or bill boards when giving a review for a book. I also enjoyed making a poster fo my own children when I actually decided to switch to the computer with the pictures. That was fun, but I am struggling to get that one posted. I have made the trading cards with my class, and I fiddled with that for a little while. As a project we had the students create the life cylce of a ladybug onto 4 different cards and fill them with important facts about each of the stages. They loved it!

Thing 9

2008-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

After trying out the different search tools, I would say 95% of my votes would go toward Google Search Blog. It always had great links for my search topics. The most confusing one for me was Topix.net because it was too wordy. I felt overwhelmed by it. Using Google search I was able to find information for my husband who is interested in a new car as well as science experiments. I just used the news button to get the most recent news information. I think I feel the most comfortable with this one because I have already used it so much prior to this project.

Thing 8

2008-06-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

Boy! I think this RSS "thing" should count for a lot more than 18 hours alone. It took me so long. I understood the concept, but I struggled with the basics to actual start creating this. I went ahead and shared some of the sites I liked. I thought 1 news site was enough for me but still needed. Then there are the movies that I never manage to get to but can't wait to one day. I put a children's book site as well as a children's experiment site. I thought I could get some good ideas from these for the school year. For motivation, I added quotes. I usually like those and they are nice and simple. What I like about this tool is that it is right at my finger tips. And I finally understand what that orange symbol stands for. I think that I will be able to best use this technology in school because I can find the book site quickly to help decide what would be a good book to use for the class lessons. As far as how it will benefit me in life well, I can look up books for myself and or family as well as movies that we want to know when and where they are playing without starting from the beginning each time. I can also find out what is going on in the news. In fact I should add a weather site. I think libraries could use RSS by setting up content specific sites for certain topics with appropriate information for users. For example, experiment sites for those who need ideas, or computer game sites for extra practice. If one gets bored with a site, he only has to go right back to the RSS to find another appropriate one. Anyway, I think it will take some getting used to as I move along the web and my thing 8 RSS page. Yuck!!! Hopefully I will start to enjoy it more than I loathe it! :)

Thing 7

2008-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

I tried out the Google Advanced Search as well as the Google Calendar. I tried some other things as well, but these were the easiest for me to manipulate at this point. The calendar seems great. You can set it up for different people in your family so you know who goes where when. I could set it all up and send it to my husband so he could help me get kids going in the right direction. As far as how I could use this at school, I could set it to anything assigned throughout the year and I could share it with my team or parents. I really enjoyed this tool, but I think it will be difficult for me to remember to open it daily.

I also did the Google Advanced Search. I really like that you can look up particluar power points that someone else researched and completed on their time, not mine. I could use this to share new concepts with the class on whatever unit we are working on. My concern would be that I would need to make sure the information is accurate. I also don't know other uses for it right now besides power points.

Thing 6

2008-06-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, this looks like a lot of fun. I have done trading cards from this site with my class, which was a bit of a struggle for 2nd graders. But it can be done! I am eager to start getting more pictures downloaded from my own albums, so I can really start exploring. But here's what I have so far.

Thing 5

2008-06-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! This activity was a little too much for my liking! I struggled with understanding the purpose and the 7 parts of Flickr like Tagging. Anyway, I think I get the jist of it: looking at and sharing pictures with private friends or with anyone. This one was a bit much for me. But here is the picture from Flickr. I chose this one because my husband and I went to Greece last summer. We were able to go to Rhodes and actually see this landmark in person. It was nice to see other people's pictures and what they were able to capture. This picture to your right was by pantherina_hd.

Thing 4!

2008-06-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

I am registered! And I am ready to explore!