Task 10- Too Many Tools!

Last summer, I enjoyed surfing through the myriad of resources on Discovery Education.  I found many and was excited to go back today to look for more.  I'm having a bit of trouble viewing the videos, though.  I hear them playing after I click the play button, but the picture doesn't change.  It looks as if things are continuously downloading while I'm waiting to view.  Perhaps I should download and save these videos for easier playing ability.   Wait...after playing with it a little, I think I've figured it out.  :)

I played one of the "Horrible Histories" episodes for my students last year and they really enjoyed it.  It was age appropriate, entertaining, and they learned something.  Go figure! I plan to show this video this year to my teaching partners to see if it might complement our studies of the ocean.  The only thing that periodically comes up on DE are the kind of films I used to watch as a child with a blah-blah, monotone narrator spitting out facts that go in one ear and out the other.  We'll have to preview them to make sure they'll be engaging for our kids.

Thanks to Sandy's class, I now regularly read a few blogs and receive email updates from groups on Diigo.   Through both resources, I've been able to find up-to-date resources and kid-friendly websites to use with my class.  I don't often have the time to pour over these blogs, but even in a quick read-through, I can find 2-5 sites to bookmark for use on an upcoming project or lesson.  It has enriched my teaching immeasurably.

Imagine my surprise when I went to Google Reader and found that all of the blogs I follow were already logged in.  I think I have 180 unread posts.  Ooops.  The good news is, the blogs I had subscribed to have already been sending me emails each time a post is added, so I've read those!  (Luckily, that counts for about 115 of the updates on Reader.)  I'm so glad I've figured this out.  There were plenty of blogs I had found last year and kept forgetting to check them out...problem solved.  Sometimes I just wish my brain could hold 10x more information so I could absorb it all...and not forget it!

I've started taking notes on ideas I've come up with this summer.  Ones that can't be completed overnight and will take some preparation.  I hope, Sandy, we can continue to work together on my journey to incorporate these ideas.  I'm so very grateful for all you've done to put this course together.  It fills me with such inspiration!  I know the reason we can claim to be cutting edge is largely because of you!  Your hard work pays off in the end for our students.  I just wish you could work with me every day!  I have plenty more questions and am excited to get to work!  

This was fun! - Go Animate!

This would be a great "reward" for kids.  I had fun, too.
DomoNation.com: Silliness by nealkel


Like it? Create your own at DomoNation.com. It's free and fun!

Task 9 - Tools for your Toolbelt

Last year, I found Kubbu, a website that allows you to create online crosswords or flash cards for a review of whatever topic you choose.  I utilized it to encourage my students to practice reviewing their Wordly Wise definitions after they'd been introduced to them in class.  I could keep track of which students participated with Kubbu as well as their success rate with the game.  The students who used it seemed to like it, but I worried that after a few lessons, the format might have gotten old.

I was thrilled to try BrainFlips!  I loved that it allowed for you to upload pictures to go along with the flashcards.  I worried that it would be time consuming for me to create using Wordly Wise lessons, but since I had already collected clip art for each of the lessons already (see the power point below), all I had to do was quickly save clipart from each slide and upload it onto BrainFlip.  If you click here, you can play my new version of flashcards with Wordly Wise.

Wordly Wise Lesson 1

View more presentations from Kelly Neal.

The only downside to uploading to Slideshare is that the animations are not visible.  When you look at the slideshow above, it looks ridiculously easy.  Here is a bunch of clipart with the vocabulary word right next to it...what's so hard about that?!  The slideshow is presented and reviewed differently in the classroom:  the words aren't visible on the slides, only the pictures, at first.  All in all, when posted to my blog, it provides pictures the students can refer to to help them review and remember the meanings of the newly introduced words.  The flashcards provide the same kind of review as Kubbu, but with more animation.  They will really enjoy it!

I started using Slideshare last year to upload slideshows and homework sheets to my class blog.  I was amazed at how frequently my students utilized the uploaded documents.  It also allowed me to place lessons in the blog so that students who were absent could access them easily.  Previously, I had emailed assignments to families individually, which took as much time and could result in a need for me to resend if lost. 

I also like Slideshare because you can search through the bank of presentations.  I've found quite a few teachers have posted that I modified for use in my classroom.  It is a great resource!

I didn't even check out any of the other flashcard sites, Sandy, because I loved Brainflips so much!  It was so user friendly and appealing for kids.  I'm glad you shared it!  I can also see it being used to review other areas of study in class.  Math concepts (names of angles, polygons), review of social studies and science facts learned, parts of speech...

I have listened to Podcasts before (though not many) and had directed students to them when learning about the Grand Canyon National Park.  However, I hadn't really thought about creating one myself.  After searching through Sandy's links, I found the Our City Podcast program.  As I've mentioned in a previous post, my students are going to be collaborating with another class in California, hopefully sharing information about the areas we live in.   I had considered using Photopeach and blogging, but had not considered Podcasting.  There are a great number of samples made by students across the country.  I listened to this fantastic one about Honolulu. 

Having never created a podcast before, I have lots of questions.  I downloaded Tony Vincent's guide for Podcasting so I can research the steps necessary to create one.  I'm particularly interested in how the students wrote their script.  Perhaps Gail Driscoll could help me build up to this.  I'm not sure if a podcast has to be created in one recording or if pieces can be merged together.  Whatever the case, perhaps teams of students could create "units" of Tampa/Florida history to share.

I'm definitely excited about the prospect of creating a podcast with the students and need to start outlining what kinds of things we can do/manage this school year.

Task 8- Glogster and Google

I used Glogster for the first time last year with my students. They started the year completing a glog about themselves instead of filling out a "Getting to Know You" document and art project. They learned how to navigate the site with great ease. It did not take them long at all to manipulate the program. The hardest part was finding appropriate pictures for them to save that matched the categories selected for their glog, but Sandy's already been helping me to figure that out.

Google Docs is new to me. I've already found a great tutorial for Wordle that had a Google Doc attached to it and was thrilled to use it.

I checked out some other features of Google Docs and realized that when I work with my team to edit and enhance a rubric, set of student directions, powerpoints, or anything else,  we actually do have multiple emails and attachments sent between us, making it hard to forget which copy is the most recent.  It makes a lot more sense to have one document in one location that can be edited and saved.  I love that they've made it so easy to upload current documents and that all versions are saved.  As we enter a new year, I'm looking forward to sharing, editing, and enhancing documents this way with Rhonda and Kristy!

I had seen Google Lit Trips before...and forgotten about them!  Naturally there aren't any novels available at the moment that we utilize in third grade.  However, I started to think about our novels and wondered if we could create something like that ourselves.  Sadly, I don't see it helping us at the moment, since what we read doesn't lend itself to travel.  It would obviously be such an incredible tool to use with books like Number the Stars or Who Comes with Cannons, books I have used in years' past.  Providing such a fantastic visual would definitely help the story come to life.

I'm anxious to look more deeply into Glogster...the teacher controls have changed somewhat and I'm hoping there are a couple of changes...

-Teacher moderated comments so that I can eliminate students messaging each other
-Ability to modify/change usernames easily  (Who thought s009.nea32 would be easy for an 8 year old to remember?!)

Task 7 - Collaboration Tools

Many of the tools mentioned in this task seem absolutely perfect to use in the classroom...when your students all have access to laptops.  Wallwisher would be a fantastic way to require your students to post a(n):

• Reflection about a book, chapter, lesson, idea, or concept discussed in class.

• Prediction for a science experiment.

• Photo/image that represents a mathematical term.

• Opinion on a legal case or controversial topic.

I can also see the benefit of online collaborating with Google Docs or Wiggio.  Students can work in teams and modify the same document.

However, these ideas are best suited for children slightly older than my own.  Gail Driscoll used Wallwisher with my students and asked them to post a definition of CyberBullying.  It was a fabulous idea!  But you can only imagine the difficulty they had finding the site, remembering to add their name to the sticky note, and then...remember what in the world they were supposed to say (and for it to be original).  We struggled to get their attention after posting because they were drawn into something else.  They're still so little.

I attended a conference last month that had a session about classroom clickers.  The presenter asked us a variety of questions that we could answer in a multiple choice fashion.  From there, she could tell who had answered, who had not, and how long it took each of us to answer.  She could also graph our answers to see how spread out our opinions were.  Her question was purposefully difficult (though we thought it was simple enough) and so she told us that some were right, some were wrong...and gave us an opportunity to discuss and change our answers.  It was fantastic!  

It would naturally take planning on the part of the teacher to create and manage just the right kinds of questions to spark discussions.  It would be a way for teachers to more quickly manage student responses than would be possible with Wallwisher.  This might be something more likely to be successful in a classroom without laptops.

I watched about 10 minutes of the Google Doc webinar and from what little I saw, I envision it as another great collaboration tool, allowing groups to work within a document together.  As Sandy mentioned, sharing large files and pictures would be easier this way than with email.  At this point, my students have not put together a group document.  In third grade, we spend a good deal of time getting familiar with programs, improving keyboarding skills, and developing writing skills.  I don't know that they are yet ready to collaborate on a team project of that depth.  We do work in groups, of course, but not with as much detail as the samples shown in this task.  Maybe I'm setting the bar too low for them???  I bet there's a teacher in some remote school  in America with one laptop that has figured out how to get her first graders to use Wallwisher on a daily basis with some magical idea I've not thought of yet.

Up until this month, I've been reluctant to try Skype.  I didn't have a clue who we'd talk to...or what about...or how I'd involve every student.  But an idea is brewing.  I found this...and would love to do something similar to start off with.  A teacher in California would like our classes to work together via blogging or a wiki on possibly state history.  We could develop and share documents about our states/cities, create videos or slideshows...and culminate with a Skyping session.  At first, I'd hoped our students could communicate individually with students from her class, but since the desktops in the labs do not have cameras, Skype will have to be a culminating project done class to class.

I'm almost disappointed these tools are not as feasible with littler kids...but I should be quiet because then, before I know it, someone will move me up!

Task 6 - Digital Storytelling

I mentioned in my last post how much I enjoyed StoryJumper, but I was thrilled to try Storybird this week!  I just jumped right in and tried my hand at it after watching the simple tutorial you can find here.  I was immediately drawn to the "inspired by art" feature, which allows you to select a type of artwork you find appealing to base your story on. Instantly, the bank of illustrations this particular artist has submitted are available on the screen for you to view and use in your story.  That's where I began.  The picture above got me going and from there, I started writing a story (albeit an unfinished one at this point).   I can't even post what I have written yet, because Storybird won't make it publicly viewable since the story is clearly unfinished. In the meantime...there are some points I wanted to note more or less for my own use later on when utilizing this program.

• Though the click and drop feature that allows you to put any one of the available illustrations quickly into your book, I spent a lot of time searching through them to find just the right one to fit my story.  There is no search feature that would allow you to look for specific tags within the group of illustrations provided while editing a book.
• I was able to create a story while simultaneously trying to place the available illustrations into my book, but I know my writing suffered.
• It would be worthwhile to offer students a variety of pictures from the site as story starters, to help get their ideas flowing.  Perhaps they can plan their stories after looking at the picture, write a first draft then use Storybird to add illustrations. 

Zooburst seemed like it would lend itself to be a class favorite. I can tell the kids would love being able to try something so new and inventive.  I would utilize it with individuals who show a love of writing and might benefit from a little enrichment.  I haven't learned how to actually create a 3D pop up book, but I requested more information...we'll see how it goes!
 
One of my favorite finds this past year was the Zimmer Twins.  The students were given a beginning to a movie, then asked to finish it.  I LOVED it!  It is the most age-appropriate introduction to online movie making for my students.  Perfect!!!

I have dabbled a bit with Animoto myself, but this past year was the first time I let students take a crack at it.  Since it was my first attempt with students, it was something only offered to those who were ahead of the game in their National Park studies.  It was amazing how easy they learned how to do it and how willing they were to teach others.  I would like to learn how to add voice to it...that's next. :)

I love the idea of using story boards when planning writing or digital stories.  Gail used them when working with our third graders on the Brain Pop videos they created this past year.  I should ask her for a mini-training.  I have used planning sheets before for story writing, and I think those would apply in the small step my kids could take to online publishing.  When assessing, my students are largely graded on the Six Traits Writing rubrics, since this has been the area of our focus in class.  However, digital or online storytelling involves other key components that need to be managed and evaluated.  

The basic assessment criteria outlined from Jason Ohler was a great place to start:

Short list of basic assessment traits
Writing	Six Trait Standards
Story	Story core clear, articulated, compelling?
Research	Research clear, thorough, integrated (rather than listed)?
Digital craftmanship	Command of the media?
Media grammar	Mechanics of media observed?
Met assignment criteria?	Length, number of elements, audience consideration (poem vs. essay) etc.?
Voice, creativity, originality?	Length, number of elements, audience consideration (poem vs. essay) etc.?

Or...

Example of selective story traits
Story flow	Was it a quality story that made listeners lean forward and wonder what was going to happen next? Did it flow, without bird walks or bumps? If audience members had to work to understand it, was it worth their effort?
Craftsmanship	Was the story neat, clean and complete? Was it crafted with care?
Problem solving and innovation	Is the story original and told with a sense of personal voice? Did the student overcome problems and obstacles to pursue their story?
Effort/Work ethic	Did the student take the time s/he needed to develop his or her ideas? Did s/he use class time wisely?

I think I first need to get comfortable with the media itself...then I will feel better about utilizing it in the classroom.  I'm enjoying "playing" with these websites and look forward to sharing them with my students.

Wikis and Online Writing Tools - Task 5

I started a class blog last fall and have used it mostly to update parents and students on what we are studying in class.  It is a central location for families to find homework, pertinent websites, and missed work.  The students access it regularly, although parents have yet to leave one single comment.  :)  However, I've loved having the control over placing documents and websites in a location my students can access easily.

My students started blogging this past year, but it wasn't with the traditional "blogging" definition in mind.  It was really another location for them to post information learned and persuasive paragraphs.  They enjoyed it immensely, and from the experience were able to learn how to upload videos and pictures to a website.  

Looking into wikis, though...I wasn't sure how I could use them, but discovered a great idea today.  I have tried to create a tangible bulletin board where children could post summaries of books they've read and would recommend to their peers.  You know what happened:  I never gave the kids enough time to do it and the computer tables, being right smack in front of the bulletin board, made it completely inaccessible.  There goes that idea.

Oftentimes, children come to me for book suggestions and I either draw a blank or have a hard time finding the perfect fit.  It seems to me a wiki would be a wonderful place for students to post and share that information.  If you click the stack of books picture above, you'll visit a school wiki with the same idea in mind.

My thoughts are to start the students off by discussing and identifying literary genres and then progress to lessons on how to find a "just right" book.  At my former school, all the books in the library were color-coded by reading ability.  After assessing students for a general reading level at the beginning of the year, they were shown what color code on the spine of the books matched their reading level, making it somewhat easier for kids to find "just right" books.  It might be worthwhile to help our students understand what a traditional "grade level" reading scale means to them.

After that, it would only take showing them how to access and add to the wiki before they could get started.  It might help keep them focused on what information to provide on the wiki by giving them a half sheet of paper, indicating what information is necessary to provide;  Title, Author, Genre, Reading Level, Summary, and Why Recommend? 

MIXBOOK, TIKATOK, SCRAPBLOG

When I used Tikatok with my students, I struggled quite a bit.  The students did all of their writing on paper, and I had to transfer it online myself.  Students could not work simultaneously on a class book.  Plus, the design of the textboxes were not as easy to work with.  I've seen Mixbook used in other classes and it was much more aesthetically pleasing than Tikatok.  Scrapblog was fun for me personally, but not something I can see my students using in the classroom yet.

My students really enjoy interactive writing online (Story Jumper, Storymaker, and Kerpoof), the hard part has been how to balance attention to quality story-writing with the animations.  I've found when they start writing at one of these sites, the quality of their story-writing suffers because they are so excited about the animations.  A few key points:

•  Of the three, Kerpoof is my least favorite, only because the graphic selection is incredibly limited, especially in "story book" mode.  (Kerpoof in and of itself is a LOT of fun, though!)  

•  Story Maker was animated and super fun for the kids, but they could not save their work or go back to it to edit. They were given a code to access their story later, but it was a long series of numbers (hard to remember)...and I really think it was only to have access to print the story, not to edit. 

• Story Jumper allowed for the most variety in icons/graphics that were easy to locate.  Also, you can save your work and return to edit it later...making it my favorite site to use. 

I think to find the best way to balance writing with the joy of animation, I would have to encourage the students to develop and write their stories first...with the online source being an avenue for publishing.  Does that defeat the purpose?

I have been afraid of comics for sometime.  Honestly, it is so challenging to utilize 4-5 frames to create something witty and worth reading!  However, I did allow my students to use the comic creator from Read, Write, Think.  The problem with this program was the limitation in available icons and backgrounds. Then we had issues with one frame repeating itself over and over...with some frames not showing up during printing.  Just a tiny bit frustrating.

I think Toon Doo was the site Mrs. Driscoll let the students play with in the computer lab this past year.  It definitely had more options and the children LOVED it.


So maybe I need an lesson idea that would lend itself to being displayed in a comic strip.  I looked over "26 Ways to Use Comic Strips in the Classroom" and these were some ideas I thought might work:

• Describe a scientific principle using How Toons
• Illustrate a page that was "missing" from The Secret Knowlege of Grown-Ups by David Wisiniewski
• Change the ending to a novel
• Design a background and/or characters for a beginning, middle, and end of a story as a pre-writing activity
• Provide a comic where one of the character's speech bubbles is empty.  Have students write in what would fit the character and compare. 

I had seen Museum Box before but was hit with a great idea today!  Third graders have been studying the zones of the ocean for a few years now and have been presenting their information with hand-drawn art and hand-written sentences.  Although I would still like to offer them the opportunity to draw by hand, I can see a great way to gather all of their research in one location via Museum Box.

After playing with Museum Box for awhile, I see that pictures are only allowed a small caption, and text must have a full side to itself.  With that in mind, I could ask the students to create one box layer with x number of facts about each zone with pictures.  A second layer could be pictures of three creatures with three sides describing the creatures' features.  


I've had trouble going back into my 'box' to edit. I can't quite figure out how to do that.  The link I provided doesn't seem to work and though I want to go back and change the font size and color, I don't see how to do it without having to clear the side and paste in the text again.  I've submitted the cube for review and hopefully you can help me out, Sandy.  :)  I wonder if all the typing, saving, and uploading will be hard for them so early in the year.  Maybe it would be better suited for the spring...Sandy, perhaps you can give me some more direction in our Tech Ten meetings in the fall.  I'd really love to use the program.


Also, with the school being registered already, how do we go about registering our students so that each teacher can access her students' work more easily?  Does this answer my question?