Technology and Learning

PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. check this one out!!  I LOVE photography, but I have NEVER seen so many amazing pictures by amazing artists - just look below: The site is TwistedSifter and there are SO many great pictures to use - why not try one in your next inferencing lesson, or to start discussion, main idea, topic, etc... COOL! I will give you more in a few days - WOW:)! Mrs. I:)

   Session 2 at TIES for me was on flipping your classroom.  Steve Graves, a science teacher from St. Francis Public Schools, showed us how he has flipped his classroom and the success he has had.  He showed a YouTube video called "What is a Flipped Classroom (in 60 seconds), which pretty much sums it up in a minute - check it out:   Everyone has heard about this - and YES - everyone would be able to do it - but taking the step to actually TRY it in the biggest challenge most teachers face. Here were his basic steps in a nutshell: 1. Talk to other flippers - check out Flipped Learning for a collaboration of ideas and information 2. Communicate with administration 3. Send a letter home to parents 4. Don't flip EVERYTHING - ease into it 5. Determine in class product for understanding 6. Create your own or find GOOD videos 7. Create a web base for your videos These are ALL great ideas from him - but I would add - HAVE THE KIDS DO VIDEOS:)!!  Wha...

   Every year, Mrs. Askegaard, one of our fifth grade teachers, has the kids write Christmas poems.  It's just one way for them to work on word processing, changing fonts, size, color, spacing and importing photos.  She did it this year in Pages, as this is what the kids have on their iPads.  They are SO great!!  Here is an example: These were made on the Pages App which all the students in grades 3-12 have.  The best word processing one available in my opinion!  Mrs. Askegaard also teaches the MOVE 21 rotation, which consists of technology with the iPads and art combines - LOVE. HER. IDEAS!! Happy Weekend - I will still try to get our TIES sessions 2-3, Mrs. I:)

   Now, I know that this IS the 21st Century - so NOTHING should really surprise me in terms on what kids are doing on devices.  However - I walk down the hallway today, and this is what I see: PRICELESS!!!!!  Not only that they are sitting in fold up lawn chairs, that they keep IN their lockers, but the fact that they are having breakfast, drinking coffee and maybe finishing up some last minute homework - OH 21ST CENTURY!!! AND BEST PART - I come back to my office and Mr. Spouse brought me this: What is BETTER than a Starbucks soy vanilla latte and Bison tickets?  NOTHING:) Well at least - not today:)!!! I am STILL compiling things from TIES - I will give you sessions 2-4 today Happy Friday, Mrs. I:)

Here is a QUICK overview of who I went to see and what I learned from my sessions at TIES 2013 .  Now remember - if you want to go and look at ANYTHING that was there - you can actually access almost ALL the sessions by creating an account and then looking at the presenters and their presentation information!  I would HIGHLY.RECOMMEND.IT!    The first session I attend was "Engaging Readers with Technology."  Jennifer Erickson and Sandy Wisneski are teachers and technology learners from Catalyst Charter School; which just opened this fall I believe.  They had SO many great ideas to share about incorporating various sites and projects into their Language Arts Curriculum - here's a brief recap: 1. Use videos to engage students with lessons.  They talked about  Komando Vidoe , which is a site that could be used to model thinking, questioning and connecting.  One could also use these videos right before reading articles or novels to get their m...

  Well - Day 2 is here!  I just want you to see what I see: 3,800 people in attendance that's QUITE a Conference!  AND - look below as these are the sessions we had to choose form EACH and EVERY day: My first session was on Tip & Tricks for the Mac and iPad .  Pete Markham, an Apple Engineer, did a really good job sharing all the new features with iOS 7 and iOS X8 for the Mac.  This site will give you SO many things that you may not have learned!!  The other thing he shared which I am SO SO glad Apple came out with was a TRUE Apple Keyboard Shortcuts !  YES.YES.YES.  You will find this SO useful especially if you are typically not an Apple user.  Look at these AMAZING, GREAT, and INNOVATIVE teachers hard at work!!! YES!  This is pretty much what we looked like after EACH session trying to download ALL we had gained in knowledge and resources before jumping to ANOTHER one to just do the SAME. THING!  However ...

  TIES 2013 - I AM HERE!!  AND - I.AM.OVERWHELMED. ALREADY!!!  WOW - I have only gone to one session and my head already HURTS:)!!  Here I am just about ready to listen to "Steps to Help You Flip Your Classroom,"  and very excited for this one, too!!  We have a social studies teacher, Mr. Krause, who has already flipped his Grade 10 classroom, and one of the English teachers, Mrs. Gross, is actually doing her thesis on flipped classrooms and will be flipping one of her classrooms in the spring - so we are starting to move a little in that direction.  Also, Mrs. Askegaard, a fifth grade teacher, is going to attend some sessions on it as well - so there might be a LOT of FLIPPING. GOING. ON! I will TOTALLY email as the days progress - and then take a moment to reflect and absorb - so I will FOR.SURE. let you know about ALL the dandy and amazing things I find out and learn here! Happy Monday, Mrs. I:)

  One of our math teachers here, Ms. Brown, is getting her Master's Degree in Technology.  For one of her classes she had various assignments.  She was willing to let me blog about them and post here for use if anyone would like them!:) 1. Netiquette - This page was written for young adults in the context of a high school classroom. However, the ideas and guidelines discussed are also applicable for any internet-using adults. 2.  Web Assessibility - This page is intended for undergraduate students studying the basic principles of web design. However, this page would also be appropriate for graduate students or adults of any age that are beginning to learn about web design. 3.  Solving Quadratics - This page was designed for high school students in Algebra 2 who are learning about solving quadratic equations.  4.  Measures of Central Tendency - This jigsaw activity was designed as a cooperative learning experience where you will learn ...

  I have been looking this morning for Language Arts curriculum, especially digitally, since this is up for review this year.  However - as I continue to search I find some AMAZING and ADORABLE idea. 1.  The blog Mrs. Patton's Patch had this great idea: As the kids learn a new app, she puts in on the large iPad so the kids are aware of the ones they CAN go to and the ones they have yet to learn - brilliant:)! 2. CarnazzosClass used Google Earth and the apps Skitch and Scribble Press to create a project on landforms - cool:)!   This classroom also used the app Pic Collage to create a collage on all the ways to make certain numbers.  They took pictures of the pattern blocks and snap cubes they used and then wrote the families - LOVE:)!! 3. Common Sense Media created this cute and basic poster for handling and using the iPad in the lower elementary - so simple but so effective with the pictures to go with it:) 4.The blog Zig-Zagging Through...

  Mr. Schmitt, one of the science teachers, wanted to create a document that kids would be able to interact with.  After looking through some resources and reading online, there are many things to do this with, but everything was an app or download that the kids couldn't do.  We also looked in the Widgets in iBook Author and found it wasn't really what he wanted!  We started thinking and came up with a Pages document.  If you create a document, and float your images, the kids would then be able to open the document in Pages, put the images where they belong, and send to him via Schoology.  Here is what I made as an example:   Now this is SUPER basic - the kids could simple drag the pictures where they belong chronologically in order.  They could also add dates, information about each image, etc...  but the idea being that the kids are the ones interacting and recreating it!!   I will TOTALLY blog about what Mr. Schmitt comes up with ...

    I have been reading about the SAMR Model on various sites and really like Kathy Schrock's.  This whole idea of moving from a strictly substitution model to one of redefinition is something I would LOVE to see in Barnesville.  The transition is coming along, and it's truly not going to happen overnight.  We have done SO many more things this year than last, and I know that next year will be even better than this year.  Each year will continue to show steps in the model.     Looking on the Internet and Pinterest, I came across this model which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, and makes total sense to me!  Plus the fact that I LOVE Starbucks and Caribou coffee - the pictures and names just "stick!" Happy Weekend, Mrs. I:)

   Brochure is finished - CHECK!   iPads are fixed - CHECK!  Learning more and more - CHECK!!! I have been playing and looking on Thinglink and HOLY COW there's a LOT here!  There are SO many great and already created thinglinks that you can access - use the codes for - share with your students - and actually CREATE in the Thinglink App .  Here are some that I have found to be SO great: 1. Explain Everything - I wanted this one in September when I was showing 2nd and 3rd graders how to use the app Explain Everything and what all the icons mean - LOVE IT:)!! 2. iPad App Basics - This is Apps 101 and which ones you might want to start with 3. Digital Citizenship Survival Kit - this is a neat one on all the basic things needed to remember:) 4. Sites for Your Classroom - plethora of information and sites for your classroom! Ok - gotta run for now - there are SO SO many more that I can post! Happy Thursday Night - heading to Michael W. S...

  Sorry I have been SLACKING lately - ugh!!  BUT that might actually mean that things have been going ok here thus far - which is NOT a lie:)!!  Just a few things that have STILL been frustrating: 1. Found out through Apple that ALL our iPads will need to be stripped and reconfigured this summer - YAHOO - SOUNDS LIKE FUN:!(!  The guy I talked to really wasn't sure why - I was telling him about my inability to remove apps without ungrouping them - and he thought that some where along the line with updating - there are some bad files in there; long story short - wipe them!  SO even though I am not THRILLED about this - it's probably a fine thing to do this summer.  With iCloud and Dropbox, the things that kids REALLY want to keep can be sent here! 2. Still have trouble with the Firmware on some iPads - it says that it can't install iOS 7.0.4 because of a firmware that I have to remove - eventually it works - but again - NO CONSISTENCY!!!  Well, not a...