Word Cloud

This is the Word Cloud that I created for my final project. It came out really neat! :)

Final Project Thoughts

Before actually doing the final integrated lesson, I thought it was going to be much harder than it was. As I started the project I realized that I have learned many Web 2.0 tools that I hadn't ever heard of or thought they were to complicated to create. It was actually quite simple creating a lesson with these Web 2.0 tools - even for the primary grades! I really got into it and creating the lesson. It was fun incorporating these Web 2.0 tools. I am glad I have learned how to navigate these tools so that I can incorporate them into instruction and classroom. I am excited and looking forward to incorporating them in the upcoming year as a way to communicate with families and engage students! :)

Google Earth

The google earth tool is a fantastic tool to bring into the classroom. I wish I would have known sooner how easy and user friendly it was as I could have brought it into my classroom sooner. For example, we were learning about Montana about a month ago. I showed my students Montana pictures from the internet that I found. However, had I used Google Earth they would have seen what it is really like. It would have been more meaningful to them. It could also be a great ice breaker activity for students at the beginning of the year or for new students who have moved to the area to share where they came from. I always tell my students where I'm from, but being able to use google earth would show them where I'm from. They would be able to put a picture to the name. They could also do the same! It is a great way to show students the world! :)

Twitter

As I was reading an article about homework in the classroom, I noticed that the author of the article posted his twitter account to follow him. As an educator, I think it is important to stay up to date with the current and latest issues in education. Having a twitter account and following such organizations allows educators to know what's what, stay informed, etc. in education. This is definitely impacts your instruction as you are able to stay in tune and hone in on the current events in the educational world and bring that knowledge into your classroom. I will definitely be following such informative authors and organization that will benefit my instruction!

Wordle

I liked the Word Cloud tool. I can definitely see it as a great tool to make posters for my classroom that revolve around what we are learning. It can be a great visual representation for students to refer to. It can also be a great way to create posters that reflect the children in the classroom. The children can make the posters in class at the beginning of the year to share with students. This can be about themselves. It would be a great ice breaker activity for students to warm up to each other at the beginning of the year. This can also be done at home for students to bring to class as it can be an activity for students and parents to participate it. The learning opportunities are endless!

Google Form

I did this Google Form. End of the Year Bash Using Google Forms is a great way to get immediate feedback from parents and students. It is an awesome way to take a survey about your instruction, etc. in which parents have the opportunity to be give immediate feedback to the teacher. This will definitely affect instruction as you are able to see what works for your families. For example, you can take a survey to see what families may think about the homework process and about the homework itself. This will let you know whether or not it is working and whether or not you need to change anything. Of course, the surveys can be given to the students - with the age appropriateness taken into consideration. It is also a great tool to create assessments for students that are able to be customized to what the students are learning. It's a fabulous tool to use with students and families!

Elephants can't what?: A Digital Storytelling

Creating a digital story is a great and innovative way to bring literacy into the classroom. I must say that after thinking of a story for students, the hard part was finding the pictures to go along with the story as you had to stay within a certain theme. It was very fun to create my digital story. I am definitely going to share it with my students as I made it kid-friendly for my students. This simple story that I made can give students practice in all aspects of literacy. I can't wait to share it and get their feedback about it. I hope you enjoy it! Elephants can't what?

Real and Relevant

Providing students with an education that is both relevant and REAL is important. We must not only make connection, but also show them how to use and apply what they are learning to do something purposeful in the real world. This makes learning more meaningful for them. Creating an environment that is conducive to being relevant and real engages the students in their learning. It can and SHOULD be done at all grade levels. Being a first grade teacher and with the examples given in the book, it made me ponder on how I provide my students with real-world connections.  I got to thinking and I am glad to say that I do! For example, my students were learning about surveys in which they had to conduct surveys, organize data, represent data, and interpret data. This was right around the time that the presidential election was going on, so it was a great opportunity to incorporate a current event with surveys. My students "voted" for who they wanted to be president. I did engage students with relevant and REAL learning! YAY! :)

3 Social Networking Ideas in the Classroom

I teach first graders so I would not necessarily use social networking to communicate directly with my students. However, it can be used in other useful and effective ways. 1. I currently use social networking to get ideas from and network with other first grade teachers. This is really helpful in setting up lessons for my students. 2. Another way I could use social networking is to communicate with parents through a class facebook/twitter page. This would allow parents to be familiar about any upcoming events and what we are learning in class. It would be a great home and school communication tool with parents. 3. As a step further into parent-teacher communication, it could also be used to share material, online games, apps, links, ideas, etc. with parents that supplement what we are learning in the classroom. There are many ways to incorporate social networking with students directly. However, being a first grade teacher, it would not be the most effective and efficient way to integrate technology. Like I said, it would be a great way to network with other teachers and as a parent-teacher communication tool for my current grade level.

True or False Prezi! :)

Back Up Plan!

This week my computers were not working, so I had to go with a backup plan. We learned about the life cycle of a butterfly.  We read about it and wrote about it. I originally had planned for my students to describe and illustrate pictures about the life cycle and later on in the week they were going to create the life cycle out of grains/pasta. However, since we did not have access to computers I had to implement a new center. That's where our butterfly of a life cycle concept comes it. Instead of a technology center, I had a science center. In this center the students created the life cycle of a butterfly out of the following grain/pasta:

Rice: Egg

Spiral Pasta: Caterpillar

Shell Pasta: Chrysalis

Bow Tie Pasta: Butterfly

The students loved this and were definitely engaged in the idea of the life cycle of a butterfly. Of course, I tied it into our learning as they were reading and writing about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Partnering Classroom Setup/Levels

As you all know, this week was our leading discussion week in which we presented the idea of "Moving To Partnering as a Pedagogy". There were great ideas of classroom setups that were presented. My classroom is setup in five tables of four. They have access to computers, ipods, listening centers, working with words centers, etc. Having students work in groups/partners helps them grow academically, socially, and emotionally. I provide my students with center-based activities at their level and they are able to work at their own pace. My level of partnering is very dependent on the concept they are learning, with basic and guided partnering being the most used. At the beginning of the year there is a ton of learning involved in just working together as they learn the parameters, expectations, etc. It is very rewarding to see their growth in collaboration as we gradually move through the year. :)

Podcasts & Vodcasts!

We learned about Podcasts and Vodcasts! I really like the idea of incorporating them into education. I don't think they would be appropriate for my younger students to create and produce. However, I think they do have promising potential in other ways in the classroom. They can be used to bring educational interviews into the classroom, on days when you have a substitute in order to explain concepts to children, or as a way to sort of keep in touch with parents. That is, we can incorporate them in order for parents to listen to at home if they need clarification on a topic. They would be great tools for English Language Learners. There is so much potential in them that the ideas are endless, but of course keeping in mind what is most effective and beneficial for our students.

Partnering in the Classroom

I really like the idea of partnering in the classroom as a pedagogy.  Partnering allows students to be problem solvers, learners, and teachers! In order for partnering to work at its full potential, the climate control (also known as classroom management) must completely shift from the traditional mentality of “teacher lectures, students listen” to one that embraces student interaction with peers and teachers.  Partnering is completely different from the traditional teacher directed environment where students play an inactive role. Instead, partnering revolves around a student centered learning environment that allows them to be self-teachers. I think this is very important to student learning as it allows them to be discoverers, which is more meaningful and purposeful.

Partnering is also technology friendly as it allows technology to be easily incorporated to student learning. For example, technology can be incorporated in a meaningful way in which students are able to be explorers, learners, and teachers – all at the same time.

I incorporate technology into my students’ learning through partnering with my younger students. I bring in two of my own Ipods and use two school-issued computers. I am able to allow students to use technology daily through centers in which students become partners with each other as well as myself. I serve as a facilitator of their learning as they are able to seek help, help others, or simply work on their own.

Simply put, I cannot wait to delve into more information that Prensky presents on the topic of PARTNERING!

Technology in the Classroom

It’s very important for me to integrate technology into my instruction as kids are growing up in a generation with a vast amount of technology. I currently incorporate technology through the use of Ipods and computers that reinforce our standards. For example, they play a game called “Sight Word Bingo” to help them recognize sight words. The apps/games engage students in an purposeful and technological way. In the future, I plan to incorporate blogs as a means of communication with parents. Being a teacher of the primary grades, I think it is an effective way to use them. I am eager to learn more ways that will allow for me to incorporate technology in a meaningful and purposeful manner.

Blogs

I have learned many valuable uses for blogs in education this week. Up to this point I have been looking at blogs to supplement material in my classroom. However, I have not exactly been a blogger and followed them, nor had I created one. As a teacher of the primary grades, I really like the idea of using blogs to encourage parent-teacher communication as it allows communication to be readily available to parents and teachers. It is a good way to allow parents to see what is going on in the classroom. I also liked how blogs could be used for student engagement, such as problem of the day, etc. After learning about their valuable uses, I will definitely implement blogs in my classroom.