Teaching an "Old Dog" New Tricks: Transformed by Technology

Whew! Just finished our final project - the conference presentation. While it was a lot of work, it really helped me think about ways to add these tools to my own teaching. While I am not quite ready for summer to be over yet, I am looking forward to sharing these ideas with my students and colleagues.

Here is a link to my powerpoint: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Final reflection - LIBS 602 - August 3, 2014

I didn't know what to expect when I signed up for LIBS 602. It was my first online course - and I was a little wary of the whole thing. One of my friends described an online course she was taking as "easy-peasy." She obviously isn't taking any of library endorsement coursework at ODU! :)

Anyway, I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. I am looking forward to putting to use many of the tools and ideas I've learned this summer. While the final project has been lots of work, it has helped me to revamp and rethink how I teach several key subjects. I'm going to share my powerpoint with our Director of Technology at school and offer to share it at a faculty meeting (if he thinks it's suitable). And - I may just submit it to a conference or two.

As for what I've learned, it's quite impressive when you look at it. I've compiled a handy list that I'm sure I'll refer to in the future. It will help me remember all of these cool apps and tools. (I fear I'm leaving a tool or application out, so if anyone sees a glaring omission, please let me know).
*tools I knew prior to the class

Text Tools
wordle
tagxedo
answer garden

Big Huge Labs
Image Chef
Foldplay (create a book with your pictures)
Tuxpi (add effects to a picture)
Google Images - creative commons

Avatars
doppelme
yahoo avatars
pick a face

Infographics
piktochart
visual.ly
infogr.am
venngage
icharts
ease.ly
dipity

Audio
audacity
*voicethread
narrable
*pandora
vocaroo
audiopal
voki
tellegami

Video
*animoto
pixiclip - animated whiteboard
jing - screencasts
wideo
powtoon
videolicious
tellegami
toontastic

Layered reality
QR codes
aurasma

Digital Storytelling
slideshare
*prezi
blendspace
Haikudeck
narrable
slipp
thinglink
mybrainshark

I put an asterisk next to any tools I had already used. It turns out that I only knew FOUR of them! Did I learn a lot in this class? Yes. Was it worth it to give up some free time this summer? Yes. Will I put these ideas to use? Definitely.
Thanks for a great experience!

Staying Current

What a fantastic tool this blog is becoming. After last week's institute at ODU, I am determined to keep track of the ideas, tools, technology, etc. that I'm learning in this program. This blog is a logical place to "store" information. I did start adding blogs I liked a few weeks ago. But, with our current assignment, I added several more. Some blogs intrigued me simply for their "dialogue" while others seemed to have more concrete ideas or projects for schools.



I liked http://2cents.onlearning.us/ and http://willrichardson.com/ for their ideas. Both seem to write about and comment on thought-provoking (sometimes a little depressing) educational issues. I've added both to my blog roll so I can read them routinely. They have an editorial feel to them.

I can't leave out http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ - what teacher doesn't love free stuff? This blog seems to combine practical ideas with more theoretical discussions.


The AASL website list was chock-full of tools for librarians and teachers. As a first-grade teacher, I do wish even more of their choices were K-12. At any rate, here are a few of my favorite websites:


http://www.vocabulary.com/
As children move through school, one of the areas that can hold them back from comprehending is a lack of vocabulary knowledge. This website's goal is to develop and strengthen vocabulary. It claims to have a way of being able to predict words that a person doesn't know - and will target those words. It also seems to have a logical plan for introducing vocabulary based on a preliminary screening and how a student does on the activities. It seems like it could engaging.


http://www.powtoon.com/
I LOVE this application! It takes the information you might typically present via powerpoint or keynote and gives it some serious flare. I am going to give this one a serious investigation. I've been looking for ways to "jazz up" the presentation I give on back-to-school night. The parents always look so...tired when they arrive - and why wouldn't they be? They have also worked all day, run home, tried to organize/feed/bathe their children and get back to school. I think I owe it to them to be extra interesting. It seems like a useful, fun and engaging tool for any kind of presentation.


http://www.meograph.com/
This looks like another impressive tool for digital storytelling. I love how it can integrate media from seemingly any source (youtube, the cloud, social media, iPhoto) into a story of the creator's choosing. It allows the creator to add audio and music to the story. The sample on the website told an interesting and true story about college rivalries. It amazes me how there are so many apps out there that make it easy to create professional-looking presentations, digital stories - or whatever medium a person chooses.

My goal is to keep my blog going through the rest of my courses. As a matter of fact, I need to add another post that covers some of the cool tools I've learned and used this summer that I haven't talked about in a blog post. No rest for the weary. :)

QR voice

Another handy tool is QR voice. This adds a voice to a QR code. This tool can either be very helpful in certain situations (e.g. it allows access to a message or information for individuals who may have issues with reading print). It can also just be a lot of fun for students to use. Click here to check it out.

Much to my surprise, creating a QR code was not difficult! I used I-Nigma to create this code which provides a link to my school's main website.

Videos

Videolicious, where have you been all my teaching life? What a fantastic and easy tool! I used it for our video assignment (I made a brief video about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Don't laugh - I take my food seriously). You can do EVERYTHING from your iPhone. I took some pictures then selected them from the Videolicious app. From there, I put the pictures in the order I wanted and edited them to make them fit the screen. Then, I provided the audio about the pictures.

With children, it would be fun to include the audio and video of them talking, but I didn't think video of me was necessary! The finishing touch was adding music. You can use the Videolicious music options OR choose music from your own library. After a quick upload, the video was ready.

In my classroom, the ways to use this tool are seemingly endless. It would be a great way to share with parents information about a big project or a field trip. Parents often say they'd like to be a "fly on the wall." Here is one way you can allow them that chance. It would also be a wonderful way to share with parents "a day in the life" of their child. Take pictures of what the children do in school and have the children narrate what they do. The beauty of Videolicious is that the videos are short, so children have to get "to the gist" of what it is they are trying to share. What a fantastic tool to share information with your students OR to have your students share information with you.

Check out my video here.

Tellagami is just plain fun! I experimented with it and created a cartoon version of myself at Fenway Park in Boston. I then added a "hello" message and sent it to my husband (he thought it was pretty cool). While the app is free, you do have to pay when you create a message. I'm not sure if you have to pay every time you create a new cartoon, but if so, it might get too expensive to use in a class. However, you could use it to create a fun, engaging welcome message on a blog or website. I may just do that (once I figure out how to upload it to a website).

Finally, I investigated Pixiclip. This teaching tool has many possibilities. It reminded me of the Tedx talk with Garr Reynolds. I always intrigued when presentations have slides that are interactive. By interactive, I mean that the slides have what looks like handwriting on them - which certainly adds emphasis. I could see using this in conjunction with a smartboard. A teacher can put an image or text on a smartboard via a pixiclip. With the help of the pixiclip tools, a teacher can highlight important information and SAVE the slide. What a great way to review information or share it absent students.

School library websites

I use weebly to host my classroom web site. I love weebly - it's incredibly easy to use and has ready-made templates that are colorful and interesting. The only downside that I have found with weebly is that you have to upgrade (meaning pay a subscription fee) to use some of the more engaging tools (like post a video). Since this is my first year using it, I opted to stay with the basic (free) membership. However, as I become more adept with technology (in large part because of this class), I may just have to upgrade.

Anyway, here is one example of a weebly library webpage: http://gbhslib.weebly.com/
This website has a several qualities that immediately grabbed me. First, I like the use of an engaging image at the top of the page. The sight of someone obviously enjoying a book seems like an ideal image for a library. I also found the clear placement of research tools and citation tools to be effective and SO useful.  I also appreciated the simplicity of the color palette.

 I looked for some websites that used smore, but I seemed to find more flyers and newsletters from libraries. That is something to keep in mind for the future. I was actually in search of more engaging ideas for my weekly newsletter. Smore might be just what I need!

I did a search for school libraries that use google sites. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of choices. I have used google sites to create a Language Arts webpage for our school. However, I didn't use any fun templates, so I may just have to revise that (once I figure out how to). Anyway, here is an example of a google library site: https://sites.google.com/a/sudbury.k12.ma.us/israel-loring-school-library-website/ This site caught my eye because it wasn't too "busy." Obviously, libraries have to share lots of information. In some instances, the websites just looked so cluttered with links (and confusing). This example may actually err on the side of too simple. However, the links on the side seem to hold all the important information.

For my website, I am going to use weebly. I already know I like it, but I also know that there are a lot of features to it that I haven't used yet. I'm thinking that as I learn about weebly through the school library assignment, I can apply some of these excellent ideas to my class website. I can not believe that I am writing that I am excited to explore a website tool during the summer, but I actually am!

Audio

I am a huge fan of Pandora (listening to the Coldplay station right now), so I was quite excited to learn how to embed Pandora into my blog. I attempted to embed one of my favorite stations into a blog post, but I could not seem to find the HTML code. I'll need to keep working on that.  I'm not certain how I would use Pandora in my classroom blog. I can see using it in a personal blog, but I need some inspiration as to how it would be of use to a classroom blog. Perhaps a teacher could create a station that ties into a unit of study. It might work well with older students. I can envision a history teacher, for example, sharing musical works from a particular time period.

I tested Vocaroo first and (much to my surprise) was able to record myself and post to my blog. What a fantastic tool to use in a classroom! I'm imagining using it weekly on my classroom blog as a way to give the parents a quick overview of what we studied during the week. My goal would be to eventually have my cute first graders be the ones that are audiotaped. I have noticed that some parents rarely check my classroom blog (it seems to be much easier for them to email me directly with questions, even if those questions are clearly answered on my website!) I'm guessing that if they can listen to the children, they will be far more motivated to use the website. It could also be used with project-based learning activities. Narrable seems like another excellent tool. I just set up an account to I have been exploring it a bit. I can see how it would be a useful way for students to give a "modern" report. Depending on the children's ages, they can write/report on a variety of topics and share via Narrable. Hopefully, the children can listen to one another's narrables and learn even more about a particular topic.

I have also used voicethread previously. I loved how the students projects looked and sounded. It was fairly easy to use and the children loved it. But, we did have lots of trouble sharing the children's voicethreads with their families.  Some families simply never were able to access their children's projects. That was disappointing (and stressful).

Vocaroo Voice Message

Vocaroo Voice Message

Thoughts on my first infographic creation

Well...I'd say I have some work to do in the creativity department. I used piktochart to create my infographic. The infographic was designed to be used in my classroom. Young children need what seems like endless reminders to put away their belongings when they enter the classroom in the morning. I thought that creating an infographic might be helpful. It took me a little while to navigate piktochart. It reminded me a little of the program Pages. It's fairly user-friendly, but I need to play around a lot more with uploading more interesting pictures and graphics. The stock images they have (in the free version) are just plain boring. When I create my next one, I plan to use more engaging visuals (since that is the whole point!) I do think my infographic is very clear and easy to follow. I also think it will help some of my first graders in the future. They can refer to the infographic (or I can direct them to it).
As for using this with students, I think younger children would need some assistance with manipulating the spaces and images. The whole clicking and dragging move can be hard for little fingers. But, I think they could certainly help with the design of it. For older students, it would be a helpful tool for presentations or simply to convey what they've learned about a topic in a concise manner. If you can't be concise, you may not really understand what you're talking about, so an infographic would help students consolidate their understanding of a topic.

Infographic

More image work

Emperor Chicks at Seaworld. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2014.

Here is my first attempt at:
1) finding an image online though google advanced search that is "legal" meaning it's free to use and share.
2) running this image through tineye.com to make sure it really is one that I can use.
3) trying to figure out the correct way to cite it.

I was particularly interested in penguins because we do a month long unit on the polar regions with our first graders (fittingly, in January). As you can imagine, first graders are fascinated by penguins. They are just plain cute, but there is also such a wide variety of them in the world. I realized (much to my dismay) that we've been using all kinds of cute images of penguins without properly citing them. That will change next year!
With these images, the children can do so many activities - such as sorting by location, size, etc. We usually have the children work in pairs to create their own life-size penguins. We hang the children's drawings with the actual image of each penguin in our hallways.  Again - we'll need to be sure to cite these images next year. The children could also display some of the information they've learned about penguins with Big Huge Labs.

I also found Foldplay intriguing for so many activities in the classroom. It could be a fantastic way to get children to write stories (particularly those reluctant writers). The children could take pictures and then use those pictures via Foldplay to tell a story (fiction or non-fiction). We could also use take pictures on a field trip and then retell what we did/learned on the trip via Foldplay.

An application like Image Chef is one that my first graders would love. With its large image and limited text, it would help children get down to the "gist" of an image's meaning. I'm thinking about Halloween. Our first graders arrive at school in costume for a big costume parade (it's quite a scene - all the parents and older children line the sidewalks to see the kindergartners and first graders). We could use their individual pictures in costume to encourage the children to create short, descriptive "blurbs" about their costumes (similar to what I did with an earlier blog post and my dog, Henry).

I must admit...I'm excited to try these out next year!

Tuxpi

This is a fun app, too!  Here's another look at Henry (who is sleeping at my feet right now).

Playing with images

I had no idea how many fun apps are out there for using images. I played with Image Chef tonight. I couldn't resist using my dog, Henry, as my subject.

avatar

I played with one of the avatar tools tonight. I need to figure out how to use this. I'm trying to change my profile picture on google+ to this one. That's me - and one of my dogs...fun(ny)!

Wordle

I have always wondered how people make really cool "pictures" with words. Little did I know they have a name - a word cloud. This is my first attempt at using Wordle. First, I had to download Java to my laptop. Success! Then, I created a Wordle doc with a focus on my first graders. I hope I can figure out how to save it and post it to my blog.

Yay! It worked. Oh wow - I love Wordle.

Jumping right in

I have been in education for 24 years. TWENTY-FOUR years. How did that happen? When I first started my teaching career, I hadn't even been alive for 24 years. And yet here I am, jumping into a new (fingers crossed) chapter in my career. Currently, I teach first grade. I love 6 and 7 year old children. They are a funny combination of sweetness, curiosity, impulsiveness, and stickiness. They are slobs and can be so disorganized. They don't seem to notice the literal trail of paper they leave behind. They also have endless amounts of energy and creativity. I just love them. I especially love working in small reading groups with them.

And yet, despite my complete love of teaching the youngsters, I like change. I don't like to do the same thing over and over again (well...that's not entirely true. I never seem to tire of a great glass of red wine).  I have also always loved books. I loved going to the library as a little girl and checking out books. I kept a list of the Newbery Award winners on my desk - and made it my goal to read them all (I have not succeeded yet). My first graders share this love. They can not wait to visit our school library during our regular Friday morning time. Watching them sparked an idea. Perhaps it was time for me to shift my career focus from a single classroom to a much larger classroom - the school library.

And so here I am....taking my first step towards earning my endorsement in library science.