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  Are you sick of foraging through the library for nothing but outdated nonfiction books?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.

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/

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

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.

 

Fun, Quick Technology Projects from BigHugeLabs

A teacher at NHS showed this to me, and it is worth passing along.  BigHugeLabs has a wealth of tools available that could be used to help teachers create fun technology projects with their kids.  How about having students create a magazine cover summarizing their last Science unit?  Or maybe they could make up "trading cards" for famous Virginians.  There are tools to create lolcats and motivator posters, as well as jigsaw puzzles and movie posters.  Here is a quick Trading Card that I made just for this blog post:

Of course, anything can be added at the bottom of the card. There are many tools available on the BigHugeLabs website.  Take a look, and do something inspiring with your students!

http://bighugelabs.com/