Newsela - Non-fiction Literacy and Current Events

from guest blogger Adam Hopkins:

Tired of not having enough nonfiction selections for your class?  Trying to teach comprehension using articles?  Upset about not finding enough on your class’ diverse lexile ranges?  Are you sick of foraging through the library for nothing but outdated nonfiction books?  You can relax now.  Newsela.com is a new website that seems like it was made with exactly these concerns in mind! 

            The mindboggling selection was the first thing I noticed when I stumbled upon newsela.  The articles are broken down in seven subsections ranging from articles about money, to articles about sports, and even one that keeps the class updated on current events.  If our students are interested in it newsela.com has articles about it.

            “Yeah but are they reading in their lexile ranges?”  Sound familiar?  I’m sure you’ve heard it once or twice at least as an English teacher but now we have the power to CHANGE the article’s lexile level.  Yeah, you heard that right!  Each article comes with a slide bar that allows the reader to seamlessly transition from as high as 1250L to as low as 700L. 

            The final benefit of newsela.com is the ability to sign your classes up.  (For free I might add, so nobody will make you feel bad about filling out a purchase order.)  After signing each class up you have the ability to assign articles to your classes.  When they login to the website they will have an online folder with anything you have assigned to the class.  Still not sold?  Then maybe the fact that most articles come with a comprehension quiz will get you interested.  If nothing else newsela.com could be just one more tool in your tool belt. 

Happy reading,

Adam Hopkins (AMS)(PPRD)

Posters with Quotes

I recently read an article about several websites that allow the user to create a poster with some sort of quote and thought teachers could make use of these sites in many ways.

1. Create posters for your classroom.  While many of the sites want you to purchase a printed poster from them, several allow you to download the poster and print it yourself. Perhaps a poster of your class rules?
2. Use a poster to peak your students’ interest in an upcoming topic.
3. Of the sites I tried none required any type of log in so students could:

a.      create a poster about the topic you are studying.

b.      use a quote from a book they are reading.

c.       create virtual postcards.

d.      write short poems and “posterize” them.

e.      summarize a book in poster format.

f.        create book covers or posters for a film or book.

The possibilities are endless. Each of the sites is different, but they all allow you to combine typography with pictures into an attractive piece of art.

1.       Recite (http://www.recitethis.com/) – go to the website, type in your quote and then choose from one of the many templates displayed with your quote. While your options are to order the quote printed on canvas, or share it on sites that are not allowed in ACPS (Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr) you can use the snipping tool like I did to grab the image and print it yourself (for free).

2.      QuotesCover.com (http://quotescover.com/) – choose a quote from a database of famous quotes, ancient proverbs, greetings & messages, or invitation wordings, or create your own quote.  Next step is to choose your editor (Facebook cover, Google+ cover, eCards, Wallpaper Maker, and For Print). You can then rotate, scale/resize, move your quote, change the font and color scheme, and then upload a picture for the background. Download your finished product to print.

3.      Pinwords (http://www.pinwords.com/) – “instantly add beautiful text to your images”. If you don’t have an image you can choose from one the site offers. Choose from one of six styles, write your quote, choose the font style, choose the font color.  I used the snipping tool to grab the image.  You may email it if you choose.

eMediaVA.org

Now what does that title imply?  e for electronic, Media--makes you think of video files, audio files, interactive lessons, etc.  and VA leads you to believe that this is somehow special to Virginia.  If those are the things you'd assume from the name of the website, you would be correct   Putting all of this together you might get the idea that the site is something like Discovery Education (DEstreaming, unitedstreaming).  Once again, if that is what you would assume, you would be correct.  Indeed eMediaVA was created with the thought that one day DEstreaming would become cost-prohibitive for divisions to maintain their annual subscription. WHRO and the Hampton Roads Educational Technology Association (HRETA) began developing a product that could eventually fill in the void.  Indeed, Mathews County no longer subscribes to DE streaming as the cost became too much for a school system that has made drastic cuts in teacher positions.

eMediaVA is relatively new and is adding more content all the time.  They are underwritten, in part, by the Virginia Department of Education.  Therefore, the content is searchable by SOL rather than by the Common Core Standards.  At this point they have over 8000 videos, over 500 audios, and over 650 interactives, as well as links and documents (mostly background material supporting the videos, etc.)  Trying to determine which of the two services provides more content turns out to be no small tasks, and is not important for you to know.  What is important for you is; How much content do they provide in your field?  The answer seems to vary greatly depending on what field you are referring to.  I didn't find much for French, but I found a lot in other areas. I think you'll like the search engine. You can sort through their content based on specific SOLs, or other filters which include subject and grade level (which is done with a slide bar).

You may be aware that with Discovery Education you may download the videos (so that you don't need to use up bandwidth by streaming them), but you can not keep what you download for more than a year--you are supposed to do a fresh download with each school year.  One difficulty you will find with eMediaVA results from the fact that they have obtained their content from various sources, meaning that some you can download and show in perpetuity and others you cannot download at all (but will need to stream).  If you can't find the link that allows you to download, it is most likely because you can't.

eMediaVA has some features I'm not going to review today.  However, you can go to the site, log in, sample and download content, and explore the other features for yourself. As you do so, don't overlook the interactives. You have an account that has been set up for you (thanks to Melissa Rollosson).  Your login is your school email and your initial password is "welcome".  Your students also have accounts--although they probably aren't any more aware of that than you were until you read this.  Their login is their school id. and their password is their first name.  So, go have a look and you can comment below on what you find.

For years now I've been recommending that teachers use DropBox.  As with Edmodo some teachers have begun using DropBox at my suggestion, others have not.  However, the idea of using tools such as DropBox and Edmodo is beginning to gain traction. 

I understand that all NHS teachers were set up with DropBox accounts at a recent teacher's meeting.  At AHS I was in attendance at a teacher's meeting when the recommendation was made that teacher's use DropBox.  By now, if you aren't familiar with DropBox, you might be wondering what it is?  DropBox is one of those websites which offers online (cloud) storage.  Online storage is a way to back up your files so that if your computer crashes beyond repair, you don't lose these files.  An added benefit is that your files can be accessed from any Internet connected computer.   DropBox offers 2 GB of storage free.

You could establish an account, and take advantage of it in its simplest form--you could open your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) go to dropbox.com, log in and upload a file of any kind.  

A better way to accomplish the same thing is to install the DropBox program on your computer.  If you do that, DropBox creates a folder on your computer.  Anything you store in this folder (or subfolder) is automatically synchronized to your DropBox account on the web.  Your browser doesn't even need to be open; DropBox just uploads it to the web while you continue to work on something else.  If you do not have an internet connection, DropBox will upload it next time you are connected to the web.  If you are working on a computer other than your own--say a library computer, you can upload to your online DropBox account and the next time you boot up your computer it will automatically download that file to your computer--your online DropBox folder and the folder on your computer are kept in sync.  

Although in the above paragraph I repeatedly refer to “your computer,” I should point out that there are DropBox apps for any IOS or Android device.  You can have DropBox on your phone, your pad and your computer all at the same time.  The DropBox folders on each of these devices will automatically stay in sync.

In addition to these features, there are a couple more really neat things you can do with DropBox.  Within your DropBox folder there is a subfolder named “public”.  Any file you place in the public folder has a public link--a web address you can share with students (or friends) allowing them to access that folder.  This is useful for sharing worksheets, etc. with your students.  

DropBox also allows you to create a subfolder which students can upload to, thus allowing them to turn in homework on the web.  To take advantage of this you go to dropitto.me and establish an account there.  DropItToMe creates a folder within your DropBox.  A student who goes to your drop it to me internet page can enter a password and upload a file to that particular DropBox subfolder – without having access to your DropBox other than the ability to upload a file to it.  They never see the contents of your DropBox.

Finally, DropBox can also be useful for photo sharing--you can share a whole folder full of pictures with your friends and relatives.  

You might want to go to DropBox and establish an account right now, or, you can send me an email stating your interest--I’ll send you an invitation to join DropBox.  There will be a link in the invitation, if you use that link to establish your account I’ll get additional free 500 MG of storage space in my DropBox.  So, now you see that I just might have an ulterior motive--not only will this be a benefit to you, but it will benefit ME as well.

Padlet--Simple and Flexible

Padlet is a handy tool that everyone ought to be able to use during the coming school year.  I can easily see some teachers using it every day.  To put it simply, Padlet is on online refrigerator door.  A teacher can place a “sticky note” to the web page (door) and have students respond by adding notes.  Much more complicated tasks can also be done of course, but, let’s talk about some of the more obvious and simple ones first.

Getting started is very easy.  You actually don’t even need an account, you can just go to “build a wall.”  Once there, double click and type something.  If students go to the same web address they can add notes of their own.  (I’d put the url as a link in a portaportal—to make it easy for the students—see you friendly, local ITRT about this)  I envision the teacher displaying this page on their screen, students adding notes, the teacher reloading the site and there you have it, a more engaging class because you’ve made the assignment interactive.

Here are some ideas for using Padlet.

1. Brainstorming / Ice Breaker activities.  You post a question, students give a brief response, the class views them—if you are using laptops with cameras built in, students could post pictures of themselves.  One note, Internet Explorer 7 does not support some features—such as dragging the picture to the wall—it would have to be uploaded instead.  Click here to see a sample ice breaker.
2. Short excersices, in English class students might: a) use the word of the day in a sentence, b) practice tense, c) give an adjective to describe a character in the reading, c) come up with a synonym and an antonym,
3. Writing activities – there is a 160 character limit within which students could write descriptive paragraphs, poems,  essay plans, short stories, etc.  One student could write the first paragraph of a story, and subsequent students could add new notes continuing the story.
4. Posting assignments, notices, etc—students can post questions on the assignments.
5. Post numerous math problems and have different students post their answers to different problems.
6. Notifications – the most obvious 
7. Speaking Activities – for those who don’t like to speak in front of a class.  Students could record a comment on a photo, an opinion on a current issue, etc.
8. Kick off a topic with a KWL chart where students paste notes on what they know and what they want to learn about a topic.

 Now, more complex uses could involve students making individual walls posting multiple pictures and telling about them.  If you have done projects where students have produced online slides shows, videos, posters, etc., you could use Padlet to have them post or link to their best work of  the year.  Of course I could suggest many more possibilities, but to spur your imagination it might even be better for you to look through the gallaryof samples offered by Padlet.

While in the "more complex" category, I should note that there are various privacy options available in Padlet.  You can change the settings so the wall is private, so that it is only viewable, so that viewers can add only posts which you approve, can add post but not change the wall, or have the liberty to change the wall.  In other words you can lock things down and be super secure, or leave it more freewheeling as in a classroom discussion. 

For other sites similar to Padlet click here.
Now might be the time of year to experiment with Padlet and evaluate it as a tool for using next year.

Have a wonderful, relaxing summer and come back all refreshed and ready to teach.

Putting the "E" in STEM Education

Science, Technology, Engineering and  Math.  Each of these areas has SOLs.  Two of these areas have SOLs which are tested—science and math.  Technology and Engineering SOLs are not tested.  Which do you suppose get more emphasis in the classroom? 

I, naturally , am an advocate for technology.  However, not for the sake of technology.  Rather, I advocate using technology to teach other areas.  Technology education should be a by-product of its use to teach math, social studies, etc.  Engineering may be different.  If we focus on engineering, the by-product might be learning in other areas.  Engineering, simply put, is problem solving.  “Children, just like engineers, are creative, innovative, and imaginative when it comes to solving problems.” (Cox-Boniol, 2012)  Why not harness the child’s natural enthusiasm for problem solving in order to teach math, science, team building,  and communication skills (required to work together and to present)?  “Hands-on activities and  project-based learning are fun and effective ways to help students learn and retain more math and science concepts.  By choosing to teach engineering, teachers can help students make the links between classroom learning, their everday lives and the wider world. (Cox-Boniol, 2012)

A teacher might start by giving students an understanding of what engineering  is and what engineers do.  Some suggestions from the authors cited above include making Hollywood connections.  For example, ask students to identify scenes in which Willy Wonka, the chemical engineer, did engineering work.  Have them investigate how engineers developed the iPod.  Have them imagine other designs for skateboards.  Show how engineers worked to design video games, cell phones, etc.  A valuable resource along these lines might be www. Howstuffworks.com.

To access design briefs, listed  by grade level and SOL, and submitted by elementary teachers from Chesterfield County, Viginia, click here.  To access many other links which lead to more design briefs and resources, click here.   A design brief is the paper you would hand out to the students explaining the assignment—here is the problem, here are the materials you have to work with, have your group create a solution.

I’ve kept this post brief, giving you time to view some of these design briefs and consider their use in your class.

Work Cited:

Cox-Boniol, C. B. (2012). Teaching Engineering Made Easy; A Friendly Introduction to Engineering Activities for Middle School Teachers (Second Edition). Springfield, OR: Engineering Education Service Center.

Open Educational Resources

Please note: this article uses inline links. Please click on the links for more information.

This past weekend, I was faced with a perplexing dilemma.  One of the blades on my riding mower had to be replaced.  I had never done this particular procedure before, so I did what anyone living in 2013 is likely to do:  I Googled it.  I found diagrams and photographs, and even downloaded the manual for my particular model of lawn tractor.  I also found numerous videos on Youtube that showed in precise detail how blades are changed on that mower.  Years ago, I would have had to rely on the expertise of someone else to accomplish this task.  I would have had to take my tractor to someone who knew how to do it, or I would have to find a friend with the required free time to come and wrench on it in my yard.  In short, I would have been stuck.  I was able to affect the repairs myself, because of all the materials freely available online.  I didn't have to pay for a book or a manual, I didn't have to pay for a mechanic to fix it, and I certainly didn't have to pay for someone to teach me how to do it myself.

The incident with my tractor pretty fairly sums up the topic of this discussion: Open Educational Resources.  The idea is that educational resources don’t have to be expensive.  In fact, some of the best materials can cost nothing at all.  Schools and classrooms across the country are moving towards open source software to support education.  Instead of paying thousands of dollars for licenses for Microsoft Office, they are using Open Office, which does most of the same things, but for the low low cost of nothing.  Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations… it’s all there.  Instead of paying for Photoshop, people are downloading and using GIMP, which has most of the functionality but is, again, without cost.  This paradigm is transferring to educational resources as well, including textbooks and instructional videos and interactive simulations.  When my daughter needs help in a few years with Algebra, I will show her what I can.  Later on, when she needs help with more advanced topics like trigonometry or calculus, she very well might turn to Khan Academy or some similar source of Open Educational Resources. 

There is, and always will be, money to be made in educational materials.  Many people will say “you get what you pay for.”  This is true to an extent, but it is interesting to note that MIT has been posting course materials online, including texts and lecture videos, since 2007.  Anyone can study thermodynamics from MIT now.  However, you have to pay tuition in order to get a diploma from them.  As school divisions and teachers struggle to pull together the ends of the educational funding rope, it is good to know that there are resources available to them that can supplement, if not supplant, the materials they are already using.

When you are ready to explore the options out there, here are a few more places to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources

http://www.oercommons.org/

http://kihd.gmu.edu/aim/policies/

Penzu--Just a Journal

 

I recently saw where a fellow ITRT in another district highly praised “Penzu.com”, a site I wasn’t familiar with.  He stated that it was one of the more heavily used sites by his teachers.  I decided to check it out and upon reading about it, I was puzzled, it seemed to be just another blogging site.  But, after going to the site and using it, I began to see what makes it distinctive—its simplicity and security.

Penzu is very easy to use, even for those who aren’t too computer savvy.  Click here and you’ll see what I mean.  What comes up is a window which looks like an old fashioned sheet of writing paper.

You can immediately start journaling.  By running your mouse across the icons on the top of the paper you’ll find buttons to create a new entry, save, print,  insert a photo, and change the appearance.   All in all though, it is a lot quicker and easier to use than your typical blog.  There are self-apparent reasons why an English teacher  would want their students to journal,  so let’s look at Penzu from a teacher’s perspective. 

Penzu is not set up for classroom use, it is intended for individual use.  To sign up for an account, one does need to have an Email address—if this seems like an insurmountable barrier to student use, see your friendly, local ITRT and we’ll  help you out here.    The creators set Penzu up to have advantages over a paper/pencil journal.  For example,  it can’t be lost or destroyed—it is stored on line (although you can download entries).  One can access their online journal from multiple platforms—iPads, Android devices,  or any internet computer.  My immediate reaction to this was—yes, but the big disadvantage compared to pencil and paper is its vulnerability in the area of privacy.  A quick investigation revealed how wrong I was.  Not only can it be set up so no one except you can access it, but it can also be encrypted with government/military level  encryption, one reviewer called it the “Rambo” of such sites. 

You might be wondering, if it is so private and super-secret, how does it fit into a classroom?  Well, it can be private, but, it can also be shared.  You can Email the entry (anonymously if desired) or you can share a link to the entry.  Comments can be allowed at the author’s discretion. 

One more observation, part of the charm (for me) of Penzu, is its appearance—it looks like a diary I might have kept “back in the day”.  However, that appearance may not have the same appeal to today’s student.  All  in all, I’m impressed with this and site find it an option worth considering for a teacher that wants to have their students do some journaling.

More technology recommendations from ACPS teachers

I've learned a lot about different types of technologies. I have tried a lot of different activities with my students and a few stand out. My QR Code lesson went really well, and my students loved it. BigHugeLabs has a lot of great activities on it that I want to try with my students. I have learned to try new things. Not everything works for me, but I've given it a try. I want to try to master Prezi. I think it is a great and interesting tool for students and I want to be able to use it. Technology can be a great vehicle to success for many of our students.  Amanda - NHS

Nanoogo is an excellent site because it allows for and basically encourages student creativity to flourish. For instance, you could have students write a poem with illustrations, present a paper with illustrations, create their own cartoons, etc. Students loved using Nanoogo in my class, and as some sites good old after a while this site never did. Also, I wanted to say that after we introduce some websites which students can use, give them the option to pick which ones they feel comfortable using because the results are only going to be better in this case. Edmodo is an excellent site for many purposes, it engages the students, allows shy students to seek help, is good for organization, and best of all is ideal for parent communication. Quizlet is an excellent way to create and review flash cards, because it has exciting games and offers pictures for those visual learners. And finally, flip cameras really have no limits on creativity, all it takes is a creative mind and you instantly have a cool project.  Steve – AMS

The tools that I have used the most in class are Edmodo and Flashcard Machine. I like to be able to post assignments and notes so that students will have access to them outside of the classroom. Flashcard machine is great. I have seen a major change in the vocab grades since using this.  Connie – NHS

I've had a good time bringing what I've learned in class back to my team. I have collaborated with the English teacher on a few projects. We used Edmodo as the vehicle for our students to turn in their WAC papers. The English teacher joined my groups and I made her a co-teacher. This meant that she could also see their writing and help with the grading. I also shared Study Stack with her, and now the students are putting their personal dictionaries on Study Stack. I really like Study Stack because it is easy to use, I don't have to set up student accounts, and the different options it gives for review. The more we all share with each other and make use of the technology, the more competent our students will become, too.  Nancy – NMS

I didn't know you could monitor your student's progress using Khan Academy. Have students create their own free accounts and have them check you as the coach...they can have more than one coach. Coaches have access to all of their students' activities and achievements. It is an easy way to assess and provide feedback to the teachers.    Suzy – NMS

If usage time of tools during this class is any indication, student-generated videos and new presentation tools, such as Kizoa, will have the biggest use in the library. Both were fairly quick and easy to learn, and both are easy to work in to the library setting. I have enjoyed using both in efforts to promote reading. Another valuable benefit is that students are using technology to promote reading by using a Flip camera, computer, and LCD projector. I hope to have students create other and more presentations that promote reading and display them on a computer and LCD projector. My experience has been that students respond very strongly and positively to the videos of themselves and their peers, and, furthermore, many of them check-out the books that are recommended on the presentations. It’s been a beautiful thing.  Mary Margaret – NMS

Many of the 21st century technology tools, studied in this class, are great to help students learn. Many students have been using online flashcards to master essential knowledge. There are quite a few excellent U.S. History flashcards on Study Stack and Quizlet that have been proven to be extremely beneficial to my students while we have been preparing for the SOL test. I will also be using presentation tools to help students’ master essential knowledge. These presentation tools can really jazz up dull, boring Power Points. Therefore, I will be using online flashcards and presentation tools most often with future students.    Mary – AMS

I set up Edmodo for my class and the kids LOVED it. They were talking "math" on the weekend! We did a poll and they communicated with each other about the project they are working on. When they got ready to dig into the meat of their project, we set up groups for them to communicate in. They liked being able to ask me questions from home, and I liked seeing them excited about learning!  Angela – NMS

ACPS Teacher Website Recommendations

ACPS teachers who were enrolled in my Advanced TSIP class were asked which new technologies they planned to use the most in the future.  Here is how some of them responsed.

 10 Marks is a free online tutoring service ... for teachers. Teachers can assign math practice problems that are aligned to SOL's and are all SOL based ... stem questions. The site offers an online tutorial that helps students when they get stuck or stumped by a concept. There are reports that can be printed or emailed to the students' parents that shows their child's progress with the skills. I have used this program in my classroom only a couple of times, but my students seemed to like it. I hope this explains a little about the program..it is really worth looking into and the best is that it is FREE!  
Michelle Conklin -4th grade mes


 I found writecomics.com. I think my students would enjoy this website. They can pick from a variety of backgrounds, characters, and write a dialogue. It seems easy to use and it will help my students with their writing skills. In the past, I have printed out comic strips for the kids to add the dialogue, but this website is so much more. They create and write it.  
Veronica Thompson - CES

After viewing the "Free Technology for Teachers" blog, I found a website I thought could be helpful in small groups and at home for some of the students. ABCya.com. I enjoyed this site because it was easy to manipulate and I thought the children could do well with this. Instead of using sight word cards to help children, they could play a game. I also really liked the keyboard user. I thought this could be very helpful to getting the children familiar with the keyboard. I know for many of us, this may seem second nature but as I have learned with my children many times, they use the mouse for most everything. Trying to get second grade students to type anything takes an extremely long time. For those reasons, I think this website could be extremely useful in the classroom and at home.  
Renee Ritchie - MES

I love ABCya.com. My students use it at the Smart board during center time. They choose a game and play it on their own or with a partner. My top group students are able to pick a different grade level to give themselves more of a challenge.  Dennise Johnson - AES

I, also, use ABCya.com and love it. I use it to differenitate with reading and math. I love the variety of educational games and the kids look forward to getting on that website. - Veronic Thompson - CES

I tried the Character Scrapbook at Scholastic. My students loved it! The are really into books that have crazy characters, so this was fun for them. They came up with great descriptions for the characters. Some of them had to have help typing in their response, but they caught on to the "drawing" quickly. I'm going to use this for an end of the year activity. Each student is going to pick a favorite book and do their own scrapbook of the characters to take home.  
Melody Howard - CES

 I found one [an iPad app] called Little Story Maker which is published by GrasshopperApps.com. On this site students can create their own custom books. The site provides templates for students to use and then they can use their own images and apply their own text. They can also record the text. You are able to save the created books in a library for future use. Students can read the books themselves or have the book read to them. We are always looking for apps for the Ipads and I think this would be a great tool to use with all of my students, but especially my students who find writing a challenge. This is a program I will explore with students as soon as testing is over. If I find it beneficial, then I will use it next year to promote writing since the 5th graders have to take the Standards of Learning assessment every spring.  Debra Lewis - CES

After reviewing several online resources I was extremely impressed with readworks.org I think all teachers who teach reading in the elementary school would benefit from this fantastic resource. It is a site that can be used by every grade level as a reference source. It has the reading skills with reading materials (passages and books. The passages are printable and have multiple choice(SOL formatted)questions. The passages are leveled by grade and Lexile level. There are lesson plans included. Check it out! Its free! - Stephanie Hale - CES 

I agree. I love the site, too. I used several of the reading lessons with my children. Colleen Kean - CES

Oh my gosh! I love that website. I am so glad that you posted about it because I wouldn't have looked at it otherwise. I am definitely going to be using the lesson plans and passages in my classroom now. This is something I really need to use for corrective instruction. Those students that are struggling with certain skills, I can easily go on this site and find some passages to help reinforce the skill that are missing. THANKS!  Danielle King- KES

After previewing many sites,and experimenting with them I have found several that I would to use with my students.I have used ReadWriteThink.org in the past for many useful purposes in writing and reading.One of my groups compared two characters using a Venn diagram online. They worked on it as a group and then printed it out for their notebooks.Dipity is a digital timeline that is really cool but seems more complicated than other ones I saw. Another digital timeline I previewed and really liked was Timetoast.It has a visual and text view with date, event titles and descriptions can be added. Great for sequencing activities.

I really love the idea of using Build Your Wild Self. I want to have the kids go make one and then use their picture to do some writing.  Colleen Kean - CES

The Little Bird Tales site is great because it allows the student to tell the story in their own voice. They can write it, read it, hear it, and illustrate it. The StoryBird is good too. It’s easy to use and has cool illustrations. My kids had a lot of fun creating a digital story. Colleen Kean - CES


I have loved Kidblog.org. My kids love it!! I post a few questions a week on what they are reading, a generic question (ex. favorite restaurant), and a higher order question for the kids to respond to. They seem more aware of their responses, which has improved their writing skills. I showed them how they can pick out their own icon and backgrounds to personalize their pages. They enjoy seeing what the other kids post and my responses. - Veronica Thompson - CES

Out of all of the websites and technology tools that I have learned about and been introduced to in the class, I would have to say that LiveBinders is my favorite. LiveBinders is a place where all of the websites and various items that I use can be placed into a live interactive binder. I am hoping to add my Virginia Studies notes into the binder over the summer so that my students can have access to the binder at the beginning of next year. This is great for students that have internet access at home. They will be able to access their binder online and it will avoid pages falling out and missing. I would recommend this site to anyone! :)  Michelle Conklin - MES

I like using using www.quizlet.com the best. It will help me teach vocabulary in a fun way. I love the idea that the students can play these vocabulary games on the I-Pad at our school.  -Ruth Tankard - MES

I loved quizlet as well. I found a huge assortment of vocabulary words for Virginia Studies that were already made up. I would love to have a classroom set of IPads that my students could use daily. The IPad app was a little different and interesting!   - Michelle Conklin-MES

I scanned through quizlet and immediately took a liking for it. I plan to use this site for science. I like that they have games with the words. You can't ask for more. Children love to play games. -June Gordy - KES 

Prezi is going to be so much fun to play with next year. I think that the kids will love how the presentation works and want to continue to learn with the presentation. Taylor Crawford - KES

Chromebook

I was pleased recently to have the opportunity to examine and review a Google Chromebook by Acer.  The Chromebook is a “non-traditional” laptop running the Chrome operating system, as opposed to a Windows operating system.  Chromebooks are made by a number of different manufacturers in cooperation with Google.  They are non-traditional in that they depend on the Internet rather than a processor and hard-drive for most of what they do.  All of the typical productivity programs—programs for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. are housed on the web.  The documents produced are also intended to be stored on the web (although they can be stored locally on the Chromebook.) In fact, without an Internet connection a reviewer in the CNET Community states that “these laptops are pretty much like a paper weight.”

Because of their reliance on the Internet, rather than high end processors and enormous hard drives, the price for Chromebooks start at around $200.  At that price ACPS could by five of them for what we have been paying for a single laptop computer—and we would save on the cost of software as well. There can be little doubt, that somewhere in the future, school systems will supply computing devices on a one to one ratio with their students.  This price puts that day within reach.  Thus, our technology department is taking a close look at them. 

I was quickly impressed by a couple of things with the particular Chromebook I looked at. First, by eliminating the frame around the keyboard, the 11” by 8” case is able to house a keyboard as large as the one on my laptop.  Second, after using our current laptops, one also has to be impressed with the start-up time of a Chromebook.  They boot up in seconds and once started, you generally close the lid, they go to sleep, and they wake up instantly when you open the lid.

One of the drawbacks of this particular model is the relatively short battery life of four hours. The machine I reviewed has a 16 GB internal memory, although, at the same price Acer currently offers a model with 100 GB of memory. I should also mention that in the interest of keeping the Chromebook light weight and portable, they do not come equipped with CD drives. 

The low cost of Chromebooks seems to invite comparisons to iPads and other tablets.  One big advantage of the Chromebook over most tablets is that they have more ports—USB ports, a VGA port, a place to plug in speakers.  I gave these a try—I plugged in speakers, an external monitor, and a keyboard.  They all worked immediately without any of this “found new hardware” rigmarole.  As far as storage devices go, I plugged in an external hard drive, a USB drive and a memory card.  I found that the Chromebook had no problem reading jpgs, document files or MP3 files created on my Windows computer.  I didn't try my USB turntable (for vinyl records) because there is no Audacity type software available for the Chromebook at this point. 

Another interesting point of comparison with an iPad is that whereas Flash doesn't work on an iPad,  Java and Silverlight will not work on Chromebooks.  As a consequence of that, sites such as Successmaker and Imagine Learning will not work on a Chromebook without some type of virtualization.

The lack of an Audacity type program brings out one disadvantage of “cloud computing” as opposed to running programs locally.  Audacity is the only program I found, in my one week trial, that didn't have a free substitute available through Google or the Chromestore.   There are free, on line, photo and movie editors which work just fine on Chromebooks.   I understand that if you are into gaming, a Chromebook is probably not what you are looking for.  Because it is being done over the Internet, I experienced a bit more delay in response time as I made changes in word documents, etc.  The speed of one’s Internet connection is a big factor with a Chromebook.

There are, however, a number of advantages to cloud computing.  The files I create are available not only from the Chromebook but from my school issued laptop and iPad and potentially from  a smart phone.  When opening the Chrome browser, from any device,  I can scroll through home pages displaying thumbnails of frequently visited webpages (similar to Internet Explorer) and Icons for various apps from the Chromestore.  To me, these apps seem something like a hybrid between a web page and an iPad app. 

Overall, if one keeps in mind their limitations and realizes that they are not suitable for every application, then they are an excellent machine for the price.

Google Apps for Education

This past weekend I spent two days at Charlottesville High School immersed in a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Summit.  While we are not yet ready to adopt GAFE, I did learn some useful information, particularly surrounding the Chrome browser.

I’ve used Google Docs for years, even before it was Google Docs and was known as Writely.  With Google Docs, now Google Drive, there is really no need for Microsoft Office – as long as you have Internet access.  You can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, along with drawings and forms that have many uses.  Any of these can be downloaded in Microsoft format.  The best thing, though, is they are automatically saved to your Google Drive account which you can access from any device with Internet access –smartphones, tablets and computers.  These documents can easily be shared with others – fellow teachers can collaborate or simply have a copy.  In GAFE schools the teacher can share a template or other document with their students who then make their own copy and share back with the teacher.  The teacher can then follow progress on the document, even leaving comments for students just as with a paper document.  No need to print anything unless there is a need.

I spent many sessions at the summit learning more about Chrome, one of the fastest browsers.  While I have long been an advocate for Google Apps for Education I was really thinking simply in terms of Docs/Drive, calendar, maps, etc.  I wasn’t thinking along the lines of apps for the Chrome browser.  If you have a Google account and log into Chrome and then switch devices, your Chrome “experience” is the same.  For instance, I tend to use one laptop at school and another at home – I can add apps and extensions to either laptop and they automatically appear when I open the browser on the other laptop.  With the dictionary extension double click on any word on a web page and you will get the definition along with an icon to click to hear the word.  There are plenty of apps, many of which are free and most of which automatically direct you to a webpage.  There are apps for Quizlet, StudyStack and many other flashcard generators.  Want typing practice?  There’s an app for that!  More than one, actually.  There are math game pages, mostly geared towards math facts for elementary students.  Higher level math courses can make use of graphing calculators and equation editors.  Those teachers might also want to look into Geogebra and Sketchometry.  Biodigital Human offers the human body, male or female, in 3D layers.  You turn on/off the skeleton and numerous other systems of the body – lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, endocrine, digestive, etc.  There are apps and extensions for home, school and business.

While our students don’t have Google accounts, these apps can come in very handy in the classroom as long as you have an account.  Most teachers now have an interactive whiteboard (IWB) of some type, simply display the app and let students interact with it on the IWB.  If you don’t have a Google account (you don’t have to create a Gmail account, you can use your ACPS email account), you will need to create it at home.  Once you have it created you will be able to sign in and use it in the school system.

 

Kidblog in the Classroom

Guest Blogging this week are Candi Conner and Casey Gillikin.  In my travels I learned that they had began this year to use blogs in their fifth grade classrooms at Metompkin Elementary School.  I asked if they woiuld be willing to write a Treasure Chest Post about this experience and they promptly produced the piece below.  My comments are added in italics.

     At the beginning of the year we decided that we wanted to use technology in our classrooms in a way that engaged the students and made it easier for us to share information as teachers. We created blogs with the intention of giving resources to students and parents and getting feedback from our students. We also wanted the students to learn how to use technology in an appropriate way. We use our kidblogs to post links to websites we like for different subjects, to give project rubrics, to allow students to write their writing pieces, and for editing in writing. (Teachers can give grades and comments to individual students which only they can view.) Students may ask questions to us or the other students and may upload anything they create. This allows for parents to see the products that their child creates at school and to feel like they have a sense of what is going on in the classroom. With technology being all around us we feel that the blog has made students more accountable for what they say and do which has taught them online etiquette. We approve every comment made on the blog before it is posted. The students simply log in with their name and password and get to work. Throughout the year we have thought of many ways to incorporate the blog for the years to come. The link below is to one of our blogs.
www.kidblog.org/msgillikinsclass

If you click on the link above, rather than reading through their student's postings, you'll learn how secure this site is.  Ms. Conner and Ms. Gillikin have their site set up so that only class members and their parents can view what has been posted.  Their are many security settings a teacher may chose between.

Kid's Reaction: Students love anything technology and anything that they can call their own so the blog increases student engagement immediately. It also is a great way to decrease the student excuse of, "I lost it" because anything can be posted. When students are able to login to their own space of the blog the quality of work that you receive changes. They know that their peers can see what they are working on and they feel more of a responsibility.

 Also, by having a classroom blog you as a teacher will begin to feel more comfortable with technology and branch out to other forms. The blog is great because you can use it as little or as much as you want. It's very easy which is important for the hectic life of a teacher! Students also like easy and if they can have all their materials and expectations in one place they can focus on what really matters.
   
To set up a blog site for your class, simple create an account at kidblog.org.
If you'd like help or suggestions on ways to use a blog, see your friendly neighborhood ITRT

Children's Engineering Convention

I went to the Children’s Engineering Convention not knowing what to expect.  A few initial observations: 

·         This was a national convention, with people from all over the U.S., it has doubled in size in the past two years.

·         Mainly elementary teachers attended, this means that the convention on engineering was 85% female, which seemed a bit odd to me, but, it figures.

·         Both sessions I attended started out making a  big distinction between science and technology.  My reaction was—Who cares?  But, the feeling seems to be that teachers must come to appreciate this distinction if they are going to be convinced that engineering and technology need to be included in their instruction.

I had expected to get a blog post per session out of this—giving me eight or so posts by the end of the conference.  However, I was called home suddenly and unexpectedly when we had a little family emergency.  Therefore, I expect this will be the only post directly related to the convention. 

 

You’ve heard a lot about STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.    You might get the impression that a big emphasis is being placed there. International  standards for engineering have been developed, and there are SOLs for Technology.  However, these standards are not tested on the SOL tests, and that means they are typically ignored by teachers.  The convention seems to have been birthed to address this problem.

The term “design brief” was new to me, but perhaps it is already moving into the “buzz word” category.  During the process of becoming certified in technology integration, I stopped using the 1970s term “simulation” and upgraded to the latest jargon-- “PBL” meaning project- or problem-based learning.   In PBL, if the simulation requires engineering to arrive at a solution, then the correct terminology for the assignment itself is “design brief.”  The teachers brief the junior engineers on what it is they have to design.   

To explain this further let me tell you about a session I attended in which the session participants simulated being part of an engineering team.  The facilitator read  us an abridged version of the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (English SOL—reading comprehension).  We were informed that we were to build a windmill which was to be a freestanding 60 cm (or more) in height and would withstand the “wind” from a hair dryer.  Our materials included a sheet of paper, 12’ of masking tape, 2 straws, 4 craft sticks (popsicle sticks) and  a small  container of Play dough, and, most importantly, a pinwheel.  For tools we were given a pair of scissors, a ruler and a meter stick. 

The challenge, evaluation criteria, materials and tools are referred to as the “design brief”.  We were then to follow the “technology design loop” or the “design process”—state the problem, brainstorm a solution, create the solution we thought was best, test our solution, and evaluate our solution.    The measuring addresses math SOLs, writing up our experience addresses additional Language Arts SOLs, and plenty of science SOLs are addressed, such as 3.11, investigating renewable sources of energy.  

The assignment clearly brought out the engineer in each of us, our group had a great time solving this problem—yes, I’m pleased to say that our windmill met the height criteria and withstood the wind—not all the groups could say that.  I have always felt that the “Unit Study” approach is the best approach to teaching.  Students from different grade levels could work on this project together if need be.  Again, math, science,  technology, engineering, English, and literature were all involved.  Come to think of it, the story of the boy who harnessed the wind also involves social studies.   What a great way to stir up some enthusiasm for subjects students might otherwise think of as boring.  

I return from the convention with a changed point of view.  Prior to attending I figured I was going because I was asked to go, but, it really didn’t concern me too much, it doesn’t involve computers and computers are my job, right?  Now, I see the value of this type of assignment and figure that if my job description doesn’t  include engineering, well, it should.  During the next couple of weeks I’ve decided to do a good job of something that I had been halfhearted about—probe ware.  ACPS has purchased probe ware—equipment for measuring temperature, light, impact, and I don’t know what all-but, I intend to find out.  You will probably see future posts on my findings, and perhaps I’ll be volunteering to come into your class and demonstrate the use of some of this probe-ware of which you may be only vaguely aware now.   Hands on investigation—I’m inspired now.