Explore Screencast

I watched a prepositions screencast by a teacher that explained the meaning of  a preposition and prepositonal using a visual and examples. I thought it was very effective. The voice was clear and easy to understand. The pace was just right and it had a visual aid to help those visual learners. 

I also watched a third grade model drawing screencast by a teacher. This screencast was very informative and helpful. I could see how beneficial this could be in my classroom as we are using a new math program, Engage NY, at my school that is a completely different way of thinking about and doing math. Screencasts would not only help your struggling learners, but would be extremely helpful to post to my class blog for parents to see a sample problem explained the way their children have been taught in class. 

After watching a few screen casts I felt I was ready to create my own.  It is important to speak slowly and clearly. I realized after completing my screen cast that a stylus would be helpful when writing to show your work or explain material. I write very big and I had difficulty fitting all my work on the screen and have it be legible.  Here's a link to my screen cast. 

I think using screen cast would be extremely beneficial for students to show their work. We are implementing a new math program and this would be highly engaging for the students who struggle with explaining how and why they got the answer. I plan to use my screen cast to show parents a sample problem so they can get a better picture of what and how their child is being taught. I think screen casts could also be very helpful if you are not able to be at school.  How awesome would it be to be able to show your class how to do an activity even though you are not in the classroom.  I also plan to have students use screen casts during our number talks. They will be able to show and explain their number sense and math reasoning.

I think using screen casts during math to have students explain their reasoning and thinking falls under redefinition on the SAMR model. For instance, ShowMe helps redefine how students show and share their work in mathematics, as they are able to describe and illustrate every step in solving particular problems

Presentation

Parts of Speech Prezi

Suggestions

I enjoyed using Prezi to create this parts of speech presentation. We use mentor sentences every week in class. We label each part of speech in every sentence. This will be a great review to display before we begin labeling.

I think my students would enjoy making their own presentation in class. I think it would be important for them to diagram the presentation on paper first in order for them to create their presentation efficiently.

Using Prezi in the Classroom:

~My students could make a presentation as a review for a science unit. This assignment would be in  the Redefinition stage of the SAMR model as students would be creating this presentation to teach and review concepts taught with the rest of the class. 

~ My students could also make a presentation to display their findings for both their state and president research projects.This would fall under Substitution on the SAMR framework.

~My class could make a presentation that highlights the figurative language, parts of speech, and strong word choice of different song lyrics we use for our close reading lessons.

Photo Enhancement

Original photo

Enhanced photo using Photoshop Express

I've also used Skitch in the classroom 

Students had to make their own plague to put on the Titanic to inform people that the Wreckage should be left in peace. 

This picture shows the height of this group's tower. 

Photo Editing

Original photo

Modified photo

I use pictures all the time in my classroom. I like to use student photos to enhance lessons and/or activities. Just recently my students completed a narrative writing piece about a lonely scarecrow.  Instead of scanning all if their stories to upload on their digital portfolio we just took pictures of each page. In addition, I've sent pictures to parents via email and text messages to show how their child is doing. I also have a class photographer each week. It is their job to capture important photos throughout the week. I could also have students take screenshots of apps they are working on. For instance, if a student is using Doodle Buddy to practice their spelling words they can take a screenshot of their work to send to me.  

Connecting and Communicating –Video Cal

My class enjoyed our first Skype call with our Mystery Skype class. We look forward to learning more clues to figure out where they are located (Iowa). This project ties in nicely with our social studies curriculum. We study the regions of the United States. Therefore, we will be able to use our knowledge of the different regions to help us figure out where our Mystery Skype class is from.

In the past, we have Skyped with a student’s father who was on a deployment in Kuwait. This was not only exciting for the soldier’s child, since our whole class looked forward to our Skype dates.

I can also Skype or Hangout with my colleagues from home so I can collaborate and discuss lessons or ideas.

I plan to incorporate Skype of Hangouts more in my classroom this year. Here are a few ideas I have so far:

• -          We have kindergarten book buddies, so we could try to Skype or Hangout with them in our room instead of always visiting their class.  
• -          We will soon be teaming up with another fourth grade class from Dearborn to become pen pals. I hope that we will be able to share our writing pieces with for them to give us feedback.

Staying Informed: Flipboard

I created a Flipboard showing how teachers are integrating technology in the classroom. I think I could use this when I'm writing grants for technology integration. It would also help to link some of our Twitter posts that show our class utilizing the technology we have available.

I also plan to use Flipboard when we do our state research project. Since each student will be researching a different state they could update their Twitter account with links, videos, information, and photos that they are collecting.  

Explore and Share News Apps

Collaborate in a Shared Digital Space

I chose to use Padlet for this activity because it was quick and easy to use in an elementary classroom. Our school wide character trait or word of the month is Positive Attitude. The fifth grade teachers passed out posters for each classrooms that said "I Choose to Have A Positive Attitude." Each student was then supposed write how they choose to have a positive attitude on a separate piece of paper to display around the poster. I chose to have students post their positive attitude statements using Padlet to display instead.

This activity went very well. I didn't have any complaints or problems with using the program.

I think I could use Padlet in the classroom to have students brainstorm character traits of a book character. They could also use this as a graffiti board where we list fancy words to replace our worn out words during writing. Another way to use Padlet is to have students respond to an open ended question to review concepts.

I also set up a Google Doc for students to type summaries of our read aloud, so if a student is absent he/she can read what they missed the previous day(s).

Staying Informed

What opportunities and drawbacks do you notice about using Twitter for learning and staying informed?

I think there are many opportunities available when using Twitter. For instance, Twitter allows teachers to build their PLN, reach out to authors/illustrators, and keep parents and families up-to-date on important information and informed of classroom happenings. The only drawbacks I have noticed so far from using Twitter is that you the amount of text you are trying to tweet is limited. We were trying to send a tweet to Katy Perry in regards to her song "Roar" because we were using this song for a close reading lesson. However, it was difficult to communicate our question with a word limit. 

Pedagogy - SAMR Model

After viewing three different videos that show technology integration I was able to analyze and reflect activities that can be categorized on the SAMR spectrum.

Augmentation- :23 “Quincy fifth graders learn throughwetlands project"

Students were able to capture real life videos to support, explain, and enhance their project. In addition, the students are able to show their audience what the money for the wristbands will be supporting rather than just telling them. This would be under creating on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Modification- :46 “Quincy Fifth Graders Learn Through Wetlands Project"

Students are able to direct, create, and produce their own commercial to advertise their project rather than having to make posters to spread the word. This would be under creating on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Substitution- :29 “iPads Impacting 5^th Graders Learning: Reflections”

Instead of having students to the traditional paper/pencil Rocket Math program students are able to accomplish the same goal, practicing their math facts, with technology.  This would be under Bloom’s applying skill.

Redefinition- :33 "Chicago"

At a time when schools are facing extreme budget cuts the iPad allows teachers to expose children to virtual field trips since traditional field trip money budgets are becoming nonexistent. This would be evaluating and analyzing under Bloom’s.

The following video also helped me connect activities I'm doing in my own classroom to the SAMR model. The SAMR Model with App Examples

After reflecting on both SAMR and Blooms’ levels it is evident that if a skill is high on the SAMR model it is also a higher order thinking skill on Bloom’s.

Customizable Screen Shot

Organizing apps into folder will definitely help locate and keep track of apps more efficiently. Not only will a customizable home screen benefit me, but my students will also be able to navigate and locate the apps they need in a timely manner. For example, I have all my Listen to Readung apps in a folder. Therefore, during Daily 5 time students aren't wasting time scrolling through all the apps to find the particular interactive storytelling app they are looking for. 

Rushing