Tool # 11

My final thoughts about 11 tools

As I reflect on my training with 11 tools some of my favorite tools are picture and video editing things such as Animoto.  I have actually used it several times when entering into my blog for my classroom.  I put together a slide show about when we made apple pie to share with parents. 

I also really enjoy blogging each week about the happenings in our classroom to the parents.  I feel that it gives parents a closer look at what we do in kindergarten. 

I see now after looking at the tools in depth that even kindergarten students can use technology in the classroom with support from me.  I think at first I thought a lot of things would be too hard to for kindergarten students to do. My mind has really opened up to the possibilities.There are so many ways that technology can really help fuel the minds of these young students, and help create an environment where they can learn from each other. 

One of the big surprises for me was how easy and fun it would be to keep a blog for my classroom.  It is a very small thing that the students look forward to showing their parents.  They are always asking me if I will put particular activities on the blog so they can share it with their parents. It make me really happy that they have another way to show their work and share their experiences with their parents, or even other family members. 

Tool #10

Digital Citizenship

We have a whole unit at the beginning of the year about being a good citizen and community helpers. I think this would be a great time to discuss being a good digital citizen. Starting with kindergarten students is a perfect way to start a culture of digital citizenship rather than something students use only at school.

I feel that I would want my kindergarten students to understand about what it means to be responsible and what a good citizen is. I would also want them to know that just like we would never say anything that would hurt someones feelings, we would never put anything on the computer that could hurt other peoples feelings. I think another important part of being a good digital citizen is telling a teacher or adult when they find something that is inappropriate. I know that it is our responsibility to help filter content as much as possible,but we can't do that 100% of the time and we need a plan for students when they do find something that is not appropriate.

I liked looking at the videos on www.brainpopjr.com that discussed being a citizen. It talked about rights and responsibility in a way that is very kid friendly.

Parents need to have ways of teaching digital citizenship at home. Sending home a letter explaining digital citizenship and our goals for students would be a good way to to share the idea of digital citizenship with parents. I might also include a few websites or literature that they could use to reinforce the concept at home.

Tool #9

Tool #9

I think for you to effectively teach, and for students to learn, everything needs to be tied to a learning objective. Teachers are able to use an objective to have a measurable goal for what they want their students to accomplish. Technology should help in this, not hinder.

When my students are in workstations I am always pulling small groups. It is so important to have students become accountable for their workstation. I am trying to teach them to be independent learners. It is so important for them to know I am looking to see if they are completing their assigned workstation and reinforcing the skills we have learned previously.

I really liked http://thinkfinity.org/games-and-tool there were some good games and one in particular I saw was the postcard creator. Students could create a postcard and read it to a neighbor.

I also saw the site http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ I found a lot of fun games that the students could do working on skills that I have already taught. Students could write about their favorite game or talk about a game that was fun with a buddy.


I looked at the apps listed on the district website and found that I really think I could use in workstations are:
Everyday Mathematics Monster Squeeze
It reinforces number recognition and allows students to practice on a number line.
MeeGenius! Kid's Books
It is a library of kids books. It highlights the word as it reads the book. 


I also noticed a brainpop jr. app and a discovery channel app. I think that it would be great to use them to reinforce a skill that I have taught in Science or Social Studies.  


I feel that to hold students accountable for their time on these devices I would need to have ways to model correct behavior using the i-touch. Luckily for me, my students are addicted to technology.  They really can't wait to get their hands on it.   I am sure the newness of it will wear off after a while, but I feel that if I keep the apps relative to what we are teaching that will help.


I have a list in my desk called "ideas".  Sometimes my thinking can be compared to those commercials where they start with a search on a website for guacamole and then the next moment it is talking about people who live in Paris.  The "idea" list is a way to keep track of all my random thoughts.  I have a lot of ideas on how I can use this new technology in my class.  I can't wait to turn it into a listening station for students.  I have a ton of books on CD that I can put on the i-touch. I am also thinking that students could use the microphone to read their level books into.  We could listen to it and work on expression in their reading.   I am still working on more ideas and they do pop up from time to time.  I really feel that as I play with it more possibilities will pop up.

Tool #8

Taking A Look At The Tools


It looks like Kindergarten will be receiving netbooks and ipod touches. I watched the videos for the netbooks and saw that there is a webcam and that the screens are only 10 inches. I think that my student will be so excited about having more computers in the classroom.  
The ipod touch is very similar to my iphone that I personally have. I am very familiar with how they work and have actually already researched some free apps that I can put on them to get the learning started.  


I think for the management piece of this, I will have to have specific lessons on how to use and take care of the devices. I think at first we we will have to have time to explore the devices, maybe in a small group setting, where I will be able to really explain how to take care of each device.

Tool #7

Tool #7 Digital Projects/ Reaching Outside the Classroom

I visited many, many websites trying to figure out the best way to find a collaborative project. I ended up finding a really good resource.

http://www.globalschoolnet.org/

It was really easy to search for projects that were age level specific.  I found a lot of projects  involved sending something to another classroom and getting something back.  Th at inspired me for my project.  

Our grade level does a project about homes around the world starting in November-December. I really thought it would be a good idea to have a project where we ask that people take digital pictures of homes around their community and e-mail them with their location. My kindergarten class would then help to track where we got pictures from, and then compare the houses to decide why the houses might be built the way it is.  For example, if a class sends us pictures of a bunch of houses on stilts we might guess that they live near water, and we can check on the map to see if our guess is correct.  I think that this would be a good starter project.  

Tool # 6

Tool #6 
Using Web Tools to Promote Discussions In and Out of the Classroom


I played around with this tool for a while. I clicked on many of the links and then thought to myself, how can I use this in Kindergarten?  
One that I thought I could use is http://www.wallwisher.com/   
I created a message board and thought that I could share the link with parents. I can put upcoming events on the board, or if a parent has a question they can post it  and have their question answered by another parent or myself.  It would also be helpful for my room mom when organizing school parties.   
The link for my board is below: 
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/smithkindergarten


Another site I already use is http://twitter.com/
I have a classroom twitter account.  I can send out information to parents about upcoming things like "Don't forget library is tomorrow".  I have to say that I am a little sad though, I was super excited about using twitter as another way to communicate with parents. I gave out my twitter information to my parents at the beginning of the year. Sadly have 0 followers so far,but I remain optimistic.


I am really excited about Skype.  My husband and I Skype my Mother-in-law all the time so that she can see my 10 month old, Tommy.  It would be really fun if we could Skype with our reading buddies, or with another school.  I have a friend that teaches Kindergarten in another district, it would fun to have another class to interact with. 

Tool # 5

Tool #5 
Producing With Web 2.0 Tools
First a confession.... I previewed this tool last weekend, and I got a little overwhelmed with the amount of links that there were for me to look at.  My goal in all of this wasn't just to get through all of the tools, but to really learn more about technology and what I can use in my classroom.  With that being said, I gave myself a few days to look at everything before I proceeded with submitting my blog for this tool. That way, I could actually sit down and play with the technology.  
After playing around with the most of the links, I decided that I would comment on a few and make project in Animoto and Big Huge Labs. Those projects are found below, but first let me comment on a few of the tools that I thought were note worthy. 
Tikatok: Basically, you can sign up and create an account for each of your students. They can then create a book from scratch with pictures provided, or you can scan in their art work and have them publish books they have already created.  I have put this one down on my to do list.  I can see this as an end of the year project where each child picks a book from their writer's workshop folder that they really like and then publishes it.  
Makebeliefscomix:  This one was fun! I can totally see my Kindergarten kiddos playing with this one.  We do a whole study on speech bubbles, and thinking bubbles close to February.  That would be the perfect time to introduce this website to them. 


On to the projects!!!!
The first thing I created was a short movie with animoto.com  I used pictures that I took in my classroom and it turned out pretty cute.  The site only lets you make a 30 second video unless you pay.  I didn't mind because I really think that I would use this as a tool for communicating in a classroom blog.  I think a 30 second video is long enough.  
We have been working on patterns in my classroom and I told the students that if they if they created a pattern during free choice centers they could show it to me and I would use my iphone to take a picture of them.  Kindergartners love to have their picture taken, so many, if not most of them decided that they were going to make a pattern that day!!! 
 Below you will find my video.  

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
As I said above, I could use this to put into a blog so my parents could see what fun things we were working on, or I could use it as a tool to review.  Students could watch the video and tell me the kinds of patterns they saw in the video. 


My second creation was a trading card that I made in http://bighugelabs.com/  it was really easy to create and I really think that my Kindergarten Class would be able to make something very similar.  I could find the pictures ahead of time and then have them type the facts about their card.  This could be a good way to introduce the American Symbols that we study. We create a chart in our class for each one with the facts that we learn so this would be a really nice way to organize our thoughts using technology.  I am definitely going to bookmark this link.  


Well, that is my take on tool #5.  I learned a lot, and found some really good ideas to use in my class. 
Becky 

Tool # 4

It is a lazy Sunday and so I have a lot of time to work on things. Here is my take on tool #4
Google Docs and Google Apps


Tool #4
I have spent a lot of time on this tool and really liked a lot of the features that Google Apps has.  


I actually put our Kindergarten road map for the first nine weeks into Google Docs.  I shared it with everyone on my team and asked them to update it.
   I created an agenda for my meeting on Tuesday with my team.  I shared it with them and asked if there was anything else that I should add to it for the meeting. 


I created a form that I can e-mail out to my parents in order to find out more information about their comfortably level with helping their child at home with reading. I e-mailed it to my team members to get their ideas on additional questions we could ask parents.


I really liked using Google Docs and watched a tutorial on Atomic learning so that I could navigate it better. I use Drop Box right now so that I can access documents at home and school, but I think it would be wonderful to have real time updates on documents, and I love the ability to share the documents so that is is an ongoing collaboration with my team.


As far as the other Google Apps I already use several of them in my personal life. I have Google Calendar, and I actually created one for our grade level that I have shared with everyone. I use Google Maps a lot on my iPhone to help me navigate from place to place. I have also used Picnik and Picasa in my personal life to create photo books and edit pictures. I do think it would be really cool to use the Google Video so that I can upload videos that I take in class for the students to watch. I have thought about having the student creating some tutorials about how to clean up a center or how to work in a literacy station.


Well, that is all for tool #4.

Tool # 3

For your Tool #3 Assignment:

Tool #3 is all about using the web to find videos, and pictures that can be used in the classroom.  It also explores the copyright laws and how it effects educators. I have broken this up into 3 parts. 
Part 1: Video
I looked at a few of the sights mentioned, here are my thoughts. 

Teacher Tube: I noticed a lot of lessons that teachers put online.  A lot of videos with songs.  It was kinda of cumbersome to search for something specific.  For example, I thought that maybe I would watch a teacher do a writer's workshop lesson and instead I saw a video of a book that a child made using a program.  

Kid Tube: Full of music videos, Nickelodeon clips, and seemed like a good site for teens.  I typed in Panda Bears to see if I could pull up any movies about them and it actually did pull up a few cute videos.  
School Tube: I liked this one the best.  I went to look at different channels by category and found a national geographic channel that students could use to watch videos of animals. 

I also found a really good video that I can use this year when we teach parts of the plant.  It is to the song by Dr. Jean.  I have it on a pocket chart but, but it would be fun for my students to watch it on the computer or ipod. 
(See the Video Below)

I also found a video on http://www.youtube.com  I am teaching about the Statue of Liberty next week and plant to show this one to my students.  It has a ton of facts and actually shows the steps one would take to get to the crown.  
(See Video Below) 

Part 2
Copyright Law: 
I knew that if you are using something for education there is exemptions copyrighted material depending on the purpose.  I learned that if you're using something in a different way than it was intended or if you change it to improve it or add value than you are not breaking any copyrights. 
Part 3
Picasa Web Albums
I looked at a few pictures that I might use for my homes unit.  We study homes around the world and I read a bunch of books but it might be cool to find some pictures that I could use to have students match the home to the habitat.   

Tool #2

Well It is Friday night and my little one is asleep. Daddy is working late and so I decided to work a little bit on the 11 tools.

Tool #2

I signed up for a google reader account and since I am already following some AWESOME blogs it loaded them right up so that I can see the latest posts. It really is nice to read all of them at a glance.

I started my blog this summer, when I had time. I felt like I was part of that that learning community tool #2 talks about. I found so many good ideas and even participated in a book study on Math Centers.

I am usually more of a reader and don't tend to leave too many comments on blog pages. If I decide to use someones idea or print something that they have I always thank them.

One of my favorite places is

http://www.mrswillskindergarten.com/2011/01/writers-workshop.html
She is so awesome and has a ton of practical ideas. I actually found out about the book study by reading her blog. She also has a lot of good things for sale in the TPT store.


I am also starting to use http://pinterest.com/ It helps to organize images that you like into categories. It reminds me of the cork boards from long ago that people used to pin up magazine pictures. I really think it can be a useful tool and plan to utilize it more often.


Well, that is all of my ideas about tool #2.
Becky

Tool #1

Over the next few weeks I will be documenting my experiences with some features of technology. My district is calling them "11 tools" .  I am looking forward to learning more about these tools and how I can use them with my students in the classroom.
Tool #1
I just finished creating my own Voki.  I have seen them on other blogs but never really looked into how to create one of my own.  It was very simple and only took a few min.  I think the hardest part was figuring out how to actually get it on my blog.  I have played around with design templates and such over the summer when I created my blog, but I have never added a gadget.  I think it will be fun to update my Voki during the holidays. I saw a lot of really cute backgrounds.

Well those are my reflections from tool #1.