ahhhhhh, change...

Ok, so can I just tell you... I love Diigo!

I constantly bookmark pages for fear that I will lose the information. Then if I seek that page out commonly enough I just start typing the first letters into my address bar and up it pops (I love cookies, too!). But I never, yes never, actually go back into my bookmarks because if it is just some useful information I rarely look at it is out of sight, out of mind. But with Diigo I don't have to hunt through bookmarks, recall what page I saved for what purpose, or even clutter my toolbar with bookmarks. I just spent an hour Diigo-ing (not sure how to turn that one into a verb) all of my bookmarks and tagging by keywords I would be likely to reference. Time well spent!

technorati :(

I just tried to use the technorati watchlist (page 81- Richardson text) to monitor whenever someone refers to my blog- thought it sounded neat. But unfortunately the error message sounds pretty final.

Using Animoto with Your Students- Set up Dummy Accounts

So those of us who teach first grade are probably very familiar with the "all about me" writing of the past. But today's "all about me" is about to look very different in room 222. I love Animoto and wanted to know if there is a way for the kids to all log on to it at once. I found the answer and it is YES! Click here to learn how to set up dummy accounts from your Animoto by assigning each kid your email+1, 2, 3, etc. These emails are instantly recognized as legit but the program doesn't actually recognize the +# so the emails go to you, but each kid has 180 days of their own free educator animoto account. Just use the educator code you got when you first applied for every kid. I already set my class up and it was easy, took about 20 minutes tops, and worked flawlessly as directed :)

how to set up fake emails for your students under you animoto account

Free Icons

Thanks Judy! I found this while exploring your public Diigo.
free icons- wahoo!

Scootpad

I am so excited about this new program scootpad with my classroom. It was free and super simple to sign up. It is for K-5 teachers. Here is a presentation that explains the program. It has both reading and math practice/ assessment AND it links directly to the Common Core! And I made this great screen capture using the Diigo capture tool :)

Diigo

Thanks to this video I am feeling more confident in using Diigo. I also love the idea that it can be accessed via my ipad. It's a lot like dropbox (the online cloud part), but much easier/ faster. Now I only have to decipher delicious.com!

Pinterest Links to Technology (esp. for Special Ed)

Here is an iPad website (pinterest) I found when I was searching the pinterest account of the presenter whose workshop I was scheduled to attend two weeks ago. Unfortunately it was cancelled, but what a wealth of knowledge she shares on this account! Here is her home page (cmcormier) and here is another pinterest page (jjotat), which is filled with ideas, especially for special education teachers in the primary grades.

Google Reader

I think this is the same guy who made the video we watched in class about the wiki.

kidblog for dummies :)

Animoto to teach social skills

Here is an animoto I made to include in my morning meeting slides for this month's social skill theme. I am working on next month's already. The kids in my class loved this, especially the hotdog. And they seemed to understand the terms peer pressure and confidence better after watching and discussing the video.

Animoto and MLK

Here is another animoto that was posted on the teacher's blog, http://room6kindkids.blogspot.com/. I love how she took the children's simple drawings and turned them into a message through music and motion. I am combining elements I see in her animotos as I create my own.

If anyone is interested, this is the site I maintain for my official work website. It is a google site and it takes some getting used to, but it's a great program. It's just like google docs and you can set it so that other people can edit it as well as view it. I recently created a penguin site for my whole team to collaborate on. That one is a work in progress, but a work that we all do together!
 

This image really speaks to me when it comes to new technology! Does anyone else feel like they are excited about all of the possibilities while everyone else is trembling in fear?

http://themodelife.com/2012/02/24/why-cant-we-all-just-get-along/smiley-face/

Blogging and Wikis

Our most recent chapters were nice easy reads about using blogs and wikis. While I like this site (blogger) as an adult, I don't recommend it for children simply because it is hard to mediate those comments/ posts. However, I have already been exposed to the wonderful world of kidblog and that is one I do recommend. This would have been a helpful read as we began our own blogs, although some of the information is outdated already- like the issues with spellcheck, I see that Blogger has already addressed that as it is telling me right now as I type that "spellcheck" is misspelled!
As far as wikis go (chapter 4), I actually found them easy to use and quite motivating when I taught 6th grade Language Arts. I used wikispaces and loved it. It was an easy way to organize my three classes, assign homework, and get the kids interacting about books by choice. I have not ever used wikipedia in the classroom as a tool (although I hate to admit it but I am on there ALL THE TIME for personal use). I think it's amazing that we can co-author informational writing without even knowing the other people. But I always question how efficient a watchdog this sight has (how often are they checked, are they checked by actual experts, and just how many people out there publish misinformation for their own entertainment?). The wikijunior is intriguing, although a little hard to navigate and find something I think is appropriate reading material for 1st grade.


Check out this video that says that it is related to our text. It is a neat way to use the wiki program in a classroom with older students. It also touches on diigo.

What to blog about????

So if you are like me, and tend to get over excited about all new things you learn (especially techie stuff)... you may have found yourself wondering how to use this amazing kidblog program with primary students in a meaningful way. The answer is  Johanna Cleary's  suggestions for blogging that include book clubs, animal reports, and all about me projects!

As we gear up to begin our all about me unit, ideas are literally pouring out of me at an overwhelming pace! I am going to have the kids start collecting pictures and clipart of their favorite things... should I incorporate Animoto? I say yes!

Karen Lirenman's Blog

While reading the Online Collaborative Inquiry: Classroom Blogging Ventures and Multiple Literacies document, I came across the familiar name Karen Lirenman. I have already checked out her blog as I explored the world of blogging in first grade. But a section in particular caught my eye- Karen Lirenman Skype/ Facetime. My children use these programs all the time at home to connect with friends and I have toyed with the idea of incorporating it into my classroom. This was super inspirational... now all I need is a class I am comfortable enough making this connection with for my first time out! I also really like this teacher's top five post Learning Today Looks Nothing Like Learning in the Past.
This blog is an unending stream of useful information, suggestions, and ideas well worth checking out!

Carnival Sensation 2012

My 1st attempt at a personal Animoto...

Room 6+6 Kind Kids: We Are Thankful!

This is an Animoto from http://room6kindkids.blogspot.com/ combining photos of a classroom lunch and the things that the children have to be thankful for. I bet they enjoyed making the video as much as the teacher. Kids love to have their photos taken and be "stars". I am now imagining all kinds of uses for Animoto, from teaching vocabulary, to sharing field trips, class events, culminating activities, and more!
I also like the blog overall. I began using kidblog last week with my class in response to the work they have done with Martin Luther King, Jr. and to their overall feelings about the iPads/ technology in the classroom. Of course, some of them are as young as 6, but I am very excited to see what we can do with all of these great sites!

Preparing to make an Animoto Video

After playing around on Animoto for a bit, I googled how to make a video and came up with this youtube video. Not really informative, but it sure makes it sound cool!

ARTICLE- Teacher Preparation: Educators Focus On Improving Quality of Teachers

Teacher Preparation: Educators Focus On Improving Quality of Teachers

I love the part of this article that calls on Universities to collaborate with actual schools, educators, and administrators. Learning how to teach from text books or learning how to teach from real live teachers...
However, I can't help but wonder how many teachers are actually recent graduates at this point with our economy having been as it is for so long.

Martin Luther King Jr.

This is an Animoto video of kids singing. I am not sure Animoto was the best medium for this video... but it is a good example of how to use the program for video (not just photo).

Thanks for this list of blogs!

Check out this post about iPad apps for teachers!

Blogging Etiquette From the Experts

Watching Netflix... 3 feet from the TV!

Blogging in Grade 1?!

First of all, I have NEVER written a blog in my life. However I am familiar with them enough to navigate this assignment. I think there are many valuable blogs readily available that teachers can and should frequent in order to gather ideas. However, I am a very private person and know that once this assignment is complete I will probably never have the urge to publicly share my thoughts again (there's that generation gap- that has changed our definition of privacy- in action). That is also why I do not have a facebook account or similar social networking account. I just don't have that much to say to anyone I don't already say it to.  But I do see tremendous value in technology, the knowledge of it, and it's role in the modern world! I strongly encourage my coworkers to stop fighting the technology and use it to reach their students, expand their territory of expertise, and supplement their worksheets. 100+ math problems in 10 minutes vs one cut and past worksheet is invaluable!
The text Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson describes the shifts occuring to our world as a result of technology and it reminds me of a video shared (via youtube!) in a previous class that said something along the lines of... the top jobs today didn't even exist ten years ago. Children need to be adders of information. The "participatory journalism" is really critical literacy in every sense of the word. And teachers need to stop being hypocrites by resisting the opportunity to learn what they do not know. Engaging our students as teachers is an amazing experience for both us and them.
I am very interested in incorporating blogging professionally, even if I don't use it in a personal way. Using iPads, I am going to try out the ideas from the text about blogging rather than journaling on paper all of the time. Unfortunately- 1st graders are slow typers and therefore this will have to be a limited experiment. But who knows, I have been surprised so many times already. I love the idea that this is an "online filing cabinet" (page 24). After checking out Mr. C's Class Blog I was really inspired to find ways of incorporating video to remind students of lessons/ share what we are working on, but more in the way that it was done on the 1st grade video posted on our class blog. I also prefer the format of the write blog.
There is definite value in embracing technology... both for you and your students!

NETS- Critical Literacies and Technology

NETS for kids

http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students

What are NETS for kids? My understanding is that these are the standards that we are responsible for in regards to technology and translate as:

Safely using technology with enthusiasm (Digital Citizenship), students must make a product (Creativity and Innovation) to share/ work on their ideas with others (Communication and Collaboration) based on information they have sought out (Research and Information Fluency) and demonstrate understanding of learning (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making) and technology (Technology Operations and Concepts).

Children live in a digital world and need to be prepared to comfortably use technology to their advantage!




NETS for teachers

http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Likewise, NETS for teachers are the expectations we must have for ourselves in the instruction and use of technology in the classroom (and at home).

Teachers must prepare/excite children for the use of technology (Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity) to participate in digital lessons (Design and Develop Digital Age Learning) while watching us engage in digital tools (Model Digital Age Work and Learning) in an appropriate/ legally responsible way (Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility) based on our own ongoing personal and professional "techie" development (Experiences and Assessments).

We can use these new standards in the classroom by developing lessons about topics we have always taught but incorporate technology, student driven research, digital publishing, and standards of behavior for the use of technology. I recently developed a Mimio unit on penguins based on previous years of teaching. But this year I developed pages focused on particular topics like diet, species, anatomy, etc. I linked youtube videos and several safe websites for each type of penguin. Then I explained the basic safe behavior expectations that would need to be followed and allowed children to select a penguin to research and prepare slide content on. They loved the assignment and are happily viewing/ reading/ and typing away!

Help! I'm becoming a hunchback!

Does anyone else walk with a crook, have one should that sags lower than the other, or actually own one of those boxes on wheels? Down with paper!

http://www.teachersdiary.com/teachers-diary/2009/12/5-reasons-to-stay-organized.html

Since last year I have made it my personal goal to reduce the amount of paper that I am lugging home, only to lug back to work the next day. Thanks to this website

freetech4teachers

I have actually gotten my right shoulder to level back up an inch or two.