Alphabetimals

If you are looking for a fun resource for helping students learn their alphabet then you should check out the Alphabetimals site. They also have an app. Check out the interactive book to hear an animal for each letter. In addition, there are some great resources such as flashcards, coloring pages and wall posters. You can even type your name/words with animals and then print them out, share them via social media or even order items with the name/word. 

Google Street View Collection

Google Street View

Walls in a classroom do not have to create barriers to learning for your students. One way to flatten the classroom wall is to use Google's ever growing street view collection. It allows you the opportunity to explore regions around the US that you never thought possible. 

My first graders explored NASA. In our reading curriculum we read an informational text about astronauts and landing on the moon. The NASA collection allowed us to take a virtual field trip through NASA. 

We also used the Ocean collection when we were reading about sea animals. This gave us a first hand perspective on the habitats that sea animals encounter on a daily basis. My first graders loved taking a dive under the water and staying dry at the same time. 

If you are looking for a simple way to integrate technology into your K-2 classroom, Google Street View can be a great tool for breaking down your classroom walls. 

StoryJumper--Digital Story Telling

One of my favorite tools for digital story telling is a site called StoryJumper. One of the challenges with my first graders is being able to put words onto paper. An easy way for them to start creating their own stories is by using StoryJumper to create stories with pictures.

As a teacher, I create a class and then add my students to my class roster. After I have created my class, I am given a unique log in page that shows all my students' usernames on one page. All the kids have to do is find their username and click it, enter their password and they are ready to begin creating their very own stories. When kids get completely done with their stories their parents have the option to purchase their book. We print them out and make them into our own books at school.

When creating their digital stories, they may choose from StoryJumper's library of props and scenes. Students can click on more props or scenes and access categorized props/scenes. If you would rather upload your own picture, StoryJumper provides that option as well.

At first it may be easiest to have kids make their stories with only pictures and no words. When they are ready to begin adding text to their stories, you simply click the text tab and choose the style of text box that you want.

The work area is very user friendly for primary age kids. It has a dual page display and a ribbon at the top with the pages available in the book. You can customize the book cover as well duplicate pages.

One of the nice features for primary kids is the undo option at the bottom of the work area. It never fails that their click happy fingers accidentally delete something. The undo button can be a tear saver.



Like I mentioned, StoryJumper is by far my favorite tool for creating digital stories. I know their are many other options out there, but I have found StoryJumper to be the best.


Tips
*The first time you introduce this to kids, don't expect to accomplish a lot. Let them play with the props. Then model how to add more props to their tool bar. Let them play with scenes. Model how to add more scenes to their tool bar. Let them play with the text box options.
*When you are ready for more structure, have them repeat after each step that you do. Add a prop, add a scene, resize a prop, move a prop, rotate a prop, remove a scene, add text, delete text.
*There are lots of other fancy options when making their books but don't try to put it all in at one time. KISS--keep it simple stupid. I have saved myself lots of headaches by focusing on simple tasks and expectations instead of reaching for the stars on day 1.

Creative Uses for the iPad

Looking around Free Technology for Teachers, I came across Richard's post by Mike Amante. The Slide Share is embedded below. With my school recently obtaining a class set of iPads, Mike's resources will be a good starting point for determining what apps might be essential across K-6.

Creative Uses for iPad in the Classroom from Mike Amante

Skitch with Evernote as an ePortfolio tool

I previously posted how I have been trying to integrate Evernote as a tool for cataloging student artifacts of their learning. To compliment Evernote, I have also been using Skitch. This tool allows me to annotate over my pictures that I take of the artifacts. Skitch is also available on the app store. I have it installed on my iPad and iPhone to make recording artifacts in my classroom a point and shoot task.



Below is an example of how I used Skitch to capture an image of a student's spelling test. Using Skitch, I made a note that the student knew it was a "D" but wrote the letter "B" in place. This is a very low student. This is great progress for this student to know the two sounds. By taking this picture and annotating, I will have a quick, easy reminder during conference as to why I wanted to share this artifact.

Evernote as a Portfolio

After recently attending the ITEC conference in Des Moines, Iowa, I revisited my Evernote account. With parent teacher conferences quickly approaching, I find myself wondering what I can do differently to provide a valuable experience for parents at conferences. Many times they are confused by the "teacher talk" during these short meetings. I wanted a tool to visually show parents their child's strengths and areas for improvement.

Evernote provides a free tool (limited monthly uploads) to categorize and catalog each student's work. In addition, apps are available for the iPhone/iPad in the app store. I have since created a premium membership and created a folder in Evernote for each of my students. My goal in the future is to allow students the opportunity to catalog their learning experience with Evernote but for the time being I will be using my iPad and iPhone to collect artifacts for the upcoming conferences.

To find out much more on how to use Evernote as an ePortfolio tool check out Rob Van Nood's blog about how he has used it in his classroom for multiple years.

ITEC 2012

I got the privilege of presenting at the ITEC conference in Des Moines, IA. I shared on Tech Tools for the K-2 classroom. When deciding on the tools to share at this conference, I wanted to ensure that I had examples that provided the opportunity to enrich the curriculum. I created a Pearltree to create a visual of all the tech tools for K-2. In addition, I created a Google Spreadsheet to list the items for those of you that may prefer lists versus visual graphic organizers. I had a great audience and I hope they were able to pick up a couple new ideas. Feel free to check out my Pearltree or my Google Spreadsheet.

iFake Text

For the last few years, I have always had atleast one first grader that has had a cell phone. While it is debatable about the parent's intentions for this cell phone, it never fails to at least ring one time during class. I can only imagine that it is a matter of time before more and more primary aged kids are bringing their own devices. While this may be a few years out, I came across a site that allows you to embrace cellular technology now. iFake Text allows you to input a conversation. After inputting the conversation, it creates a "fake" screen shot of your conversation on an iPhone.

How can this be used in my classroom? One way that I have been integrating this into my classroom is for our daily proofreading. I create a conversation on iFake Text. When creating the conversation, I make sure to leave some errors that need attention. My first graders then use the screen shot of the "fake" conversation to perform their daily proofreading. It is a simply tool that provides an authentic experience.

Spelling City

Need a tool to get your kids engaged with spelling. SpellingCity.com has been around for a long time. Choose from one of their pre-made lists or enter your own lists. Students can take a test over the words, learn the words and even play games with the words. It is a fun, free interactive resource for getting your students excited about working with their spelling words.

Google Voice for Running Record

Looking for a quick and easy way to share your students' reading with their parents. One of the tools that all classrooms have is a phone. Google voice does all the work for you. If you do not have a Google Voice account yet, make sure to watch the video and find out how to get set up.

Once you have your Google number, have your student use the phone to call your Google Number and record. After your student is done, simply hang up the phone and you will instantly recieve your student's voicemail in your Google Voice inbox. You can choose to embed this voicemail on a website/blog or what I prefer, send via email to parents. This is an easy way to monitor/share progress in fluency. In addition, kids can monitor their growth as a reader.

Help Students Learn from Their Peers

If you are looking for ways to connect with other classrooms, check out my article about using Skype in the classroom. Skype has been a great tool for breaking down the classroom walls. If you are like my school and lack the funds for field trips, Skype can be a great resource for you.

My students even had the change to talk with our state governor. They were so excited to learn all about him and see that he is a real person just like them.

Help Students Learn from Their Peers in Other Schools and States with Skype

 

Blogs Create Digital Portfolios

When considering a blog to implement into your classroom, you may be perplexed on which platform would be best for your students. My first year incorporating blog writing with my first graders, I tried the platform of Blogmeister. This is a blogging platform created by David Warlick. This was created for utilization in the classroom setting. It allows teachers to monitor posts/comments. You can upload images as well as manage student rosters with little ease.
The second year of having part of my writing curriculum centered on blog posting, I learned about a platform called Kidblog. I have been using this platform ever since. It is very similar to Blogmeister but provides a few more options for students when creating posts.
I have even played around with Edmodo as a tool for blogging. However, considering my goal for students posting online, a blog was more suited to my needs. There are probably other platforms that are out there but I have found Kidblog to be the most user friendly and appropriate for my class needs.

How have I used the blog....

1. Pen Pals--I had a pen pal class that used the same blogging platform. My students practiced letter writing, collaborative stories, sharing movies, pictures and much more with their pen pals. 
2. Stories--My students used the blog as a vehicle to share their creative stories. This allowed all my students to read and comment on the stories versus having one student come up in front of the class at a time to share. 
3. Parent Involvement--I encouraged parents to comment on the blog. This created some genuine conversation between students and their parents. 
4. Digital audio/video vehicle--Any digital projects my students created using audio or video programs were posted to the blog. 
5. Assessment--I have posted math questions and students would respond in the comments with their answers. I have also listed an external link for them to view a digital book then use the blog to write a summary or answer questions. 
6. Writing Portfolio--Starting from early in the school year until the end, writing was saved on the blog to allow change to be seen over the course of the year. 

I know a lot of teachers do not really see how they could effectively implement a blog into the classroom. In addition, you might think your students are too young to use blogs. My first graders do a lot of one finger typing but progress so much with their typing skills. I have had great success with this digital tool.

If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.

Skype in the Classroom: 21st Century Virtual Fieldtrips

Skype is a free video conferencing tool that allows people to connect via the internet. My first graders have been using Skype to connect with other classes from across the United States. We have kept track of our progress on Skype R' Us. This is a website that I created to share the connections we have made, what we have learned, as well as provide a resource for any templates we have utilized to make this technology a great addition to our current curriculum.

Who: We have been able to make a great number of connections across the United States. I have a spreadsheet on the Skype R' US website. In addition, Skype in the Classroom makes it very simple to post a project to get participants. Cherrie McInnes, a third grade teacher from Brewer, Maine has a great spreadsheet of contacts as well at Chatting Across the USA. I have also utilized Global School Net and ePals to post projects for Skype.

Where: The great thing about Skype is that you can contact any place in the world. We have had the privilege of connecting with many classes from the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast.

When: While time zones need to be taken into consideration, as long as the two classrooms can come up with a common meeting time, the virtual field trip can really happen anytime during the school day.

Why: I implemented this lesson into my classroom to provide a more meaningful exploration of communities in my social studies curriculum. We explore the similarities and differences in our current curriculum but in the 21st Century, I knew Skype could expose my first graders to even more similarities and differences that are present in the United States but not so much in our current curriculum.

What: While there are hundreds of projects posted on Skype in the Classroom, we focused this exploration on schools, communities and states. We wanted to find out how we were so much alike yet so different. We have had the chance to chat with schools that had uniforms, classes that had under 10 students and even some schools that didn't even have a 2nd grade due to a lack of students.

While Skype has been a main tool for us to explore schools, communities and states, we have also used it to connect with authors. This helped my first graders gain a better understanding of an authors life. We were also able to see the writing process and how much time/effort is put into making fun and engaging picture books.

Lastly, we have been able to connect with our state's governor. We were able to find out how he helps our community as well as how important our jobs our in the classroom. He opened our eyes to our role in helping not only our community but our state as well.