Week 6- Skype with Alan November

I really enjoyed the Skype time last week with Mr. November.  It really put into perspective the ideas and examples that are explained in his book.  I found it very useful the way he presented information as it showed his desire to help technology continue to grow and conquer some of the challenges that are getting in the way, administrators.  I particularly liked when we said we as the new generation to technology with the fresh ideas need to present and teach those who are resistant to the change.  At first I thought that would be impossible but after thought I think if approached appropriately our ideas can be expressed.  It may not work but I think we all have the new tools that we need to share to express the benefits to learning that they each have.  I think of it as "I am going to teach my administrator, ya right" but really they need to understand the tools and the true benefits to the students since this is 21st century learning.  It is overcoming the fear and going working to help this move further and expand!

I also liked the piece on parent communication.  I think it is very important to get parents involved and the resources and tools he offered to make this happen were great!  Megan also talked about this on her blog.  Find the link below where Megan talks about these concepts as well. 
Megan's blog

Here is also a great link I found about education and parent involvement.

   "In this complex world, it takes more than a good school to educate children. And it takes more than a good home. It takes these two major educational institutions working together."
                                        - Dorothy Rich, Author of Megaskills.

Week 6- GoAnimate

This week I also explored GoAnimate.  This tool was different from Animoto.  I found it more difficult to navigate and create as it required dialog for each character to tell a story.  Here is a link to the video I explored with.  I worked on this with my younger cousin who is 13.  She found it fun and thought it would be important to create a video on the subject of making friends and what good friends do.  I think there is a strong message in this story that can be taught to any grade level.  Enjoy!

New Friends

Week 6- Animoto Video

For my Animoto project I decided to take a poem titled Easy Seasons created by Alan Benjamin and add music and pictures to aid in my instruction of not only the season (science curriculum) but also our up coming writing unit on poems.  I would use this poem to teach poetry as well as the seasons.  I think this tool adds a great touch to the poem and makes it more meaningful and fun for the students.   This tool will enhance literacy as students learn the components of a poem by reading.  Phonics can also be taught through this poem.   I hope you enjoy!

Easy Seasons

Week 5- Wiki

While exploring Wiki's this week I came across a great wiki created by a first/second grade teacher, Kathy Collins.  Collins is a teacher in Canada who does truly amazing things with technology in her classroom.  I follow her website and feed which offers great examples and tools for classroom use.  The wiki that I discovered was titled 1000 Names.  On this wiki she was teaching her students about the number 1000 and what it would look like so she asked views to type their name in the cells provided.  Her goal was to get 1000 names for her students as it connected to her math curriculum.  I think this was a great way for collaboration and the digital community piece.   This blog has 1778 names!  Follow the link to see for yourself!

1000 Names- Kathy Collins

Week 5 Browsing Digital Storytelling Tools

This week when I was browsing the many sites with the digital storytelling tools, I can across some great projects that sparked ideas for my own creations.  Our technology specialist created a digital story using StoryBird about rabbits and shared with my class a few weeks ago during our technology session.  The kids really loved the tool and were eager to create their own stories.  On the StoryBird website, I thought it was great that you could browse through and even search for a topic of interest.  Browsing different examples sparked many ideas that I would like to try.  There were many books about rabbits but they were all unique, creative, and much different which made me realize that the possibilities are endless with these digital storytelling tools.  I look forward to using this tool with my first graders!

Week 5-Digital Storytelling

This year I have been trying to use digital storytelling more with my first graders.  I completed one at the beginning of the year whole group about our class after each student created their own to share a story about themselves.  This was a great way for students to get to know each other and gain a sense of community in our classroom.  Currently we are working on a writing unit, Author's as Mentors, where students are studying three authors to learn their craft of writing and then are trying to write pieces following the style.  Students have been very eager to write each story and I have been thinking of ways that they can publish their pieces digitally.  After exploring the many possibilities of digital storytelling I have been trying to think of ways that I can publish their final pieces using a digital storytelling tool.  I have used StoryBird before and was thinking maybe LittleBirdTales but I am not really sure.  Any suggestions or ideas?

StoryBird

Week 4- Articles

The two article attachments from class 3 triggered me to begin thinking about the use of technology at other grade levels.  For instance, I began to think of how blogging and literacy integration could be utilized at the middle school or high school level since I always find myself thinking about first grade only because that is what I teach.  Does anyone think the same way.. do you only think about the grade you teach rather than the whole range of grade levels?  I started to think about the technology possibilities that I would have available if I taught high school.  I began by thinking back to my own high school years and the technology that was offered.  This was difficult as all I remember for use of technology was the internet on big desktop computers.  Now a days the opportunities are endless.  Many times when I look for SMARTboard program files and other ideas through the internet it is much easier to find resources at the upper levels rather then primary.  Does anyone find the same problems? Just interesting to think.  I know there are many resources out there for the primary grades but I think more work needs to be put into place for more opportunities to utilize.