Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Post # 11

I was very surprised at the number of resources available for classroom use. Using technology in the classroom doesn't seem so intimidating anymore, and I  actually learned a lot more than I thought I would!! I think that the students will be more engaged in learning if I incorporate more technology especially using the Ipads. One of my favorite tools was just using Skype to communicate with a local weatherman.  The kids were so engaged and excited that it made learning about weather so much more exciting that just reading from a book. I also loved all the apps available for the Ipads/touches.  The kids really love those and there seems to be something for every topic that we teach. 

Post #10

Being a good digital citizen requires the students to be able to make appropriate decisions for their own safety as well as others. Students also need to learn to be responsible for posting and creating appropriate material to share with others and also using technology appropriately and productively. I really like the Brainpop lessons on cyberbullying,digital etiquette, and online safety.  My students are familiar with Brainpop and really like the lessons and review questions after each lesson. I also liked the resources available on the I-Safe website and that along with the Brainpop would be a great way to teach digital citizenship.  Our monthly newsletter would be a great way to share this with parents

Post # 9

It is important that technology is used in a meaningful way  so that the objective and the activity are aligned.  When using the new devices in a work station the students must complete some kind of meaningful activity, produce a product, or write a reflection as evidence of learning.  I found several interactive websites that would be great to use in a math and science center/workstation.  Storyladder would be especially helpful for all the science vocabulary words that we learn in Fifth grade. I also like the MangHigh math games because all the games/activites cover required TEKS. I really like the idea of having each student write a reflection or an exit slip after completing each activity.
I loved the Idea Sketch app for creating a concept map.  We do a lot notetaking/concept maps and timelines in  social studies and using this app would be really useful . I also liked the Grammar Jammars app for reinforcing grammar and parts of speech.  It is hard to make grammar fun and I think this would be a great way to do it. Using some kind of checklist/rubric for students as they complete activitieswould be a great way to keep them on track and responsible for their own work at each station.
Another way to use the Ipads would be to video projects or reports and then present to the class.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Tool #8

 I was wondering how I was going to use all the different types of devices in the classroom. I discovered that you can accomplish many of the same things but by just using a different device.  The students can create a presentation and use the webcam on the netbooks and Imacs and Ipads to create a presentation.  I also found some great apps for use in the classroom and I  especially like one on Social Studies/American Revolution. The only problem was that most of the apps that I would like to use with my Fifth Graders were not free.  I think that making sure that a schedule is used to keep track of which students are using what device would be helpful.  I think it is important that the devices are rotated so that each student will have the opportunity to use each device.

Post #7

Every yaer in Fifth Grade we read Scranimals to our students and they create their own unique Scranimal and write a poem describing their Scranimal.  Last year we also made a Scranimal with our First Grade book buddies.  I think it would be fun to have the kids work together and create a Scranimal that can be posted online and create an electronic version of a class/book buddy book.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tool #6

I created a Diigo account to store and share information with my students.  I called it DeansGroup and started gathering websites and videos for our upcoming research paper on Endangered Species.
 
http://groups.diigo.com/group/deans_group

I also set up a Skype session with KHOU meteorologist Gene Norman . Our kids came up with questions concerning weather and forecasting to coincide with our science unit on Weather.  The kids did a great job and even ended up on the 5:00 news!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

TOOL # 5

Periodic Table Wordle


I used WORDLE to create elements from the Periodic Table of Elements. I can use this when we are learning chemistry and the structure of an atom.  I also created an Animoto for our poetry unit. I created a 3 line haiku about flowers and added music and photos to match the poem.

http://animoto.com/play/v49dKwY5ugZCnpBFdiG8SQ

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Tool #4

I created an assignment/activity menu for our Literature Circle groups using Google Docs and emailed it to my teammates for review. I think I will use Google Apps when we write our next composition and the students can peer edit  and then share with me.