A Suitcase Full of Resources
Review the following tech tools and see if you can fit them into your existing suitcase of tools.
Apps Apps Apps - Which Do You Choose?
My iPad App Reviews or Evaluations or Suggestions
I decided that I needed to record my evaluations of the MANY iPad apps that I review as I develop my iPad integration lessons. There are soooo many apps. You may find 10 apps that work on a specific skill and every teacher is different in regards to what technology tools they prefer to use. As a member of our iPad Grant Team, we look at apps, try them out and report their value to the team. Some of us are trying them out on students and getting their opinions, as well. But my reviews were only shared in our meeting minutes. Therefore, I decided to discuss the apps in this blog so that it will be more useful. So here I am...letting you know what is out there and whether it worked or failed.
Today I am going into a 1st grade class and a Special Education classroom. I will introduce some apps that can enhance or assist with their language arts and math curriculum. Two weeks ago, our entire student body had their first iPad experience during their computer lab sessions, in what we call our iTiger Academic Lab. Click iTiger iPad Lab Logo Contest and view our iPad Logo Activity and iPad Pilot Dry Run Labs.
So today will be their 2nd experience. I will review some past apps and introduce several new ones in order to evaluate their effectiveness. (SEE below)
Notes coming later today.....It is still morning Lol!
I decided that I needed to record my evaluations of the MANY iPad apps that I review as I develop my iPad integration lessons. There are soooo many apps. You may find 10 apps that work on a specific skill and every teacher is different in regards to what technology tools they prefer to use. As a member of our iPad Grant Team, we look at apps, try them out and report their value to the team. Some of us are trying them out on students and getting their opinions, as well. But my reviews were only shared in our meeting minutes. Therefore, I decided to discuss the apps in this blog so that it will be more useful. So here I am...letting you know what is out there and whether it worked or failed.
Today I am going into a 1st grade class and a Special Education classroom. I will introduce some apps that can enhance or assist with their language arts and math curriculum. Two weeks ago, our entire student body had their first iPad experience during their computer lab sessions, in what we call our iTiger Academic Lab. Click iTiger iPad Lab Logo Contest and view our iPad Logo Activity and iPad Pilot Dry Run Labs.
So today will be their 2nd experience. I will review some past apps and introduce several new ones in order to evaluate their effectiveness. (SEE below)
Notes coming later today.....It is still morning Lol!
Need Help Understanding Creative Commons Licenses?
Well, I found an excellent QUICK fact sheet on Creative Commons licenses that spells it out simply for all the licensing novices like myself. It is an easy-to-read 2 pager on an Australia website.
SEE the website link and the CC Fact sheet BELOW:
Fact Sheet Link: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/16536016
Creative Commons Australia website Link: http://creativecommons.org.au/weblog/entry/244
2011 Global Education Conference
Yes, I was up at 4:00 a.m participating in this week's 2011 Global Education Conference.
Am I sleepy? You bet, but I am well fed with knowledge I can walk in the door TODAY and practice with my students.
I attended several sessions yesterday and a few this morning. However I listened to the recording of keynote speaker Alan November. Very thought provoking and he turned me onto a video where a presenter and college professor (will input his name later - too early in the mornining) discussed "PEER INSTRUCTION" & The Flipped Classroom Model".
These two concepts together would have our students taking ownership of their learning and retaining the information for deeper learning. I am going to share these
I will add more to this post later, but I must shower and take my sleepy self to work and enjoy facilitating learning today. You noticed I didin't say teach. I must not have been as sleepy as I thought. I LEARNED SOMETHING. Lol!
If you haven't gotten to the 2011 Global Education Conference yet, read below and get the link. It will happen all week (Nov. 14- 18) and it runs 24 hours a day. That's right, you have time to pop in and learn a little. Click on your time zone and begin the learning and connecting with some really great people. http://globaleducation.ning.com/page/2011-sessions-and-schedule
I will add the links to several of the articles and videos associated with each session and post later today. And please pardon any grammatical errors, remember I was up EARLY trying to get some knowledge (Lol!).
60 MINUTES Discusses iPad Apps for Autism
This 60 Minutes episode, "APPS For Autism" was one of the excellent displays how the iPad has greatly assisted people with autism and opened up their world to communicate with others.
This episode hit home because our school is in its first year of full inclusion and I am leading an iPad grant committee. Our first task is to review apps that will service our ENTIRE student population, which includes our autistic student group. These apps have not only opened many educators and parents eyes on what knowledge has been bottled up inside these precious children, but are now their VOICE to the world for those afflicted with silence. How Marvelous!
Full education inclusion has brought wonderful acceptance from our general education students as I watch them assist their new classmates who come to the classroom a variety of disabilities. With full inclusion, teachers are also presented with some educational challenges as they design lessons that will ensure that ALL their students receive the high quality of education they deserve.
This episode hit home because our school is in its first year of full inclusion and I am leading an iPad grant committee. Our first task is to review apps that will service our ENTIRE student population, which includes our autistic student group. These apps have not only opened many educators and parents eyes on what knowledge has been bottled up inside these precious children, but are now their VOICE to the world for those afflicted with silence. How Marvelous!
Full education inclusion has brought wonderful acceptance from our general education students as I watch them assist their new classmates who come to the classroom a variety of disabilities. With full inclusion, teachers are also presented with some educational challenges as they design lessons that will ensure that ALL their students receive the high quality of education they deserve.
The iPad Apps featured in this episode will greatly help our iPad grant writing committee make some decisions when choosing those assistive technology apps that will provide both routine and customized access to the general curricula and cooperative inclusion for students with disabilities.
I am still a PC lover, but Thanks Steve Jobs! Your vision has really impacted the world.
iPad Apps Featured in this episode:
Do you need to a comprehensive presentation to justify the purpose of having Google Apps unblocked within your school network?
Well Kathy Schrock has the answer!
Click on this screenshot I took from Kathy Schrock's website "Bloomin' Google".
Well Kathy Schrock has the answer!
Click on this screenshot I took from Kathy Schrock's website "Bloomin' Google".
She has assembled an EXCELLENT clickable map of ALL the Google Tools based on their use within the Blooms Taxonomy Cognitve Levels. I found this excellent resource on Twitter, thanks to @coolcatteacher.
Techie Lab Teacher Tip of the Week:
Take a look at my Twitter - - #FF = Follow Friday recommendations.
Here are some more of My Twitter Recommendations that can assist teachers with technology resources. Believe me....their tweets will enhance your technology skills and assist you with its integration within your daily curriculum.
Become A NASA Explorer School Teacher!
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| Photo Credit: NES Virtual Campus |
It has been an absolutely amazing ride! And still is!
This opportunity is OPEN to ALL teachers! Its FREE and EASY! ALL you need is your desire to spark your students' interest in the areas of STEM and they may possibly choose to ma
jor in those courses or select STEM careers.
I just returned from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (Orlando, FL) with two 5th grade students who presented at the 2011 National NASA Explorer School (NES) Student Symposium, along with approx 70 other students from around the nation. These two female students were a part of my NASA Science Design Team and they constructed a lunar plant growth chamber as a part of their engineering project. I was also fortunate to have attended the 2009 NES Symposium where my students presented their hydroponic systems and
2010 NES Symposiun where my students where they constructed and presented their lunar habitat. This is a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip and experience for your students to present at one of the chosen NASA Centers in front of world acclaimed NASA scientists and engineers. What a way for students to prove what they learned better than tell real scientist/engineers and have them question their thinking while congratulating them on their work. Wow!
But I must tell you tha t this experience will you will help you bring excitement to your lessons which may result in your students gaining the ability to conduct investigations.
I had a very weak science background (like most elementary teacher) and from being a part of the NASA Explorer School Program (NES) I have gained so much background information from their Aerospace Education Specialist (AES), their summer workshops, free teaching resources, webinars, videos, and most importantly the special oppo rtunities that are available to students and teachers.
I now have a pretty decent scientific tool kit and mind set that helps me to facilitate and teach the process of scientific inquiry on a much higher level. I have learned when teaching inquiry that I have to plan my lessons aro und my students' abilities and understanding of inquiry and keep that in the foreground and keep the science/math content in the background. Does that mean I don't front load them with some content? Of course not, I don't ignore the content. I want to foremost assure that my students are gaining a greater understanding of the subject matter and this is done best when they understand the inquiry process.
Wow! I will repeat it was an AMAZING Ride with NASA!
NASA LEARN (Learning Environments and Research Network) and NASA Explorer Schools have teamed up to offer exciting webinars featuring NASA educational resources for educators.
Received NASA webinar info from:
Kathy Kaiser-Holscott Email: learnwebinars@gmail.com
Wow! Here's A New Free Online Classroom Tool
Collaborize Classroom
A Free Web 2.0 Tool
As we enter times where parents are looking for safer learning environments for their children, online learning has become the top alternative. Therefore free online learning tools and educators who wish to provide this alternative learning environments for these families are heavily reviewing this type of teaching platform. I learned about this tool from a link on the Classroom 2.0 Live Archives and Resources Page as a resource from their "How Online Discussion Can Transform Teaching" webinar. This learning platform appears to be very comprehensive for discussions and easy to use. Check it out and let me know your thoughts. Online teaching is fast and approaching and we need to find the tools that will help make this transition smooth.
A Free Web 2.0 Tool
As we enter times where parents are looking for safer learning environments for their children, online learning has become the top alternative. Therefore free online learning tools and educators who wish to provide this alternative learning environments for these families are heavily reviewing this type of teaching platform. I learned about this tool from a link on the Classroom 2.0 Live Archives and Resources Page as a resource from their "How Online Discussion Can Transform Teaching" webinar. This learning platform appears to be very comprehensive for discussions and easy to use. Check it out and let me know your thoughts. Online teaching is fast and approaching and we need to find the tools that will help make this transition smooth.
"Boost Your Blog" Challenge No. 1 Winner
Purpose of the "Boost Your Blog" blogging challenge:
- Provides fun bi-weekly supportive staff development activities to Johnson Elementary teachers to continue learning and interacting with their new blogs
- Spotlights different teachers' blogs to showcase great blogging while giving other teachers examples of how blogs can be used to support teaching.
Students & Parents can have online access to the weekly classroom assignments
Value: Home-School connection Online hub for assignments for students Current Value: Students are following this blog
Future Value: Parents will see the purpose in following this class blog.
Johnson Elementary Blogs of the Week
Congratulations to ALL Johnson Teachers for beginning this challenge with blogging.
Spotlighted Teachers
Hickenbottom, Jiampa, Robinson, Mead
Blog Info:
- A very comprehensive blog with an array of resources for students and parents
- View the daily reflections of the classroom activities & thinking of the teacher and students
- View schedule for daily classroom assignments & school/community events
Value:
- Home-School connection
- Online hub for assignments
- Online hub for links to academic resources and calendar of events
Students are currently following this blog
Future Value: Parents will see the purpose in following this class blog
Blog Info:
- View photos of Family Friday - Parents were involved with their children's classroom science lesson
- View video clip of a student discussing his learning
- View student engagement during a science lesson
- View photos of student work
- View embedded a thinking map document using the Web 2.0 tool Scribd - http://www.scribd.com/
Value:
- Home-School Connection Family Academic Involvement
- Videos of student thinking a students and this helps them to become more engaged
Current Value: Students are currently following this blog
Future Value: Parents will see the purpose in following this class blog
Blog Info:
- View an embedded online picture book which is perfect for beginning readers Web 2.0 tool used to embed this book was issuu - http://issuu.com/
- View a venue for reinforcing vocabulary with the "Picture of the Day"
Value: Home-School Connection Academic support in reading
Future Value: Students & Parents will see the purpose in following this class blog
Blog Info: Outrageous Ooze! - Read project description regarding Room 3's MSAP Project.
Value:
- Documenting science lessons and/or projects in the classroom
- Online Portfolio of the Room 3's MSAP Project
Learning 2 Use Widgets Effectively
This week in the Teacher Challenge with Edublogs we are learning how to get more out of our widgets on our sidebar.
Well.. Here was my strategy before I placed any widgets on my blog. I had to think about who would be my readers and would they even be interested in my widgets. So first I embedded the common ones Twitter and the subscription option.
But from my Twitter, I learned of two interesting websites and embedded their widgets.
Widget 1: “Let Say Thanks”
This site provides visitors electronic Thank You Cards, created by children, which you can personalize and they would randomly send the cards to individual U.S. Troopers.
Badge link: http://www.letssaythanks.com/BlogBadge.aspx
Widget 2: “FlyLadyTools” which is powered by BlogTalkRadio.
These are daily humorous and informative podcast episodes of helpful hints on how to get your day moving and organized while being being busy with your families and/or careers. You have three widget choices in which you can embed a player into your blog: Single Player, Multi-Player, or Add a Button.
Widget link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/promote.aspx?HostID=19199
Well.. Here was my strategy before I placed any widgets on my blog. I had to think about who would be my readers and would they even be interested in my widgets. So first I embedded the common ones Twitter and the subscription option.
But from my Twitter, I learned of two interesting websites and embedded their widgets.
This site provides visitors electronic Thank You Cards, created by children, which you can personalize and they would randomly send the cards to individual U.S. Troopers.
Badge link: http://www.letssaythanks.com/BlogBadge.aspx
Widget 2: “FlyLadyTools” which is powered by BlogTalkRadio.
Widget link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/promote.aspx?HostID=19199
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