Collaborate with Digital Tools

Sometimes seeing is believing! Classroom teachers provide many opportunities for students to talk and share ideas related to learning activities. It is a great way for students to learn from each other. However, when it is just talking those powerful student thoughts and ideas disappear into thin air. A great way to capture these moments of communication and collaboration can be through digital tools. 

Padlet is a great way to easily share a collaborative digital space with students. Simply create a Padlet, share the link or QR code with your students, and let the collaboration begin. 

                      


There is an iOS app and a Chrome extension, but this is also web-based internet application so downloading an app is not required. It is friendly across many platforms so you don't have to worry about it working with different devices. 

Some ideas for using Padlet in the classroom:

• Brainstorming 
• Classifying and categorizing ideas and/or objects 
• Book talks with other classes 
• Book reviews
• Making learning connections to real world problems
• Sharing resources 
• Backchannel 

I would love to hear from teachers who are using Padlet in the classroom. If you haven't tried it yet, let me hear how you like it once you do. Please comment below. 

I hope everyone has a restful and happy Thanksgiving Break! 

Relevant, Nonfiction Reading Passages - No Printing Required

Are you using Newsela to give your students access to current articles at their reading level? Newsela.com is free and has news articles in a variety of subject areas including science, money, sports, and more! This is a great site that provides interesting, timely, and relevant reading material which can help encourage student engagement.  

Once you choose an article that complements the standards you are addressing, you can download it at several different reading levels to accommodate the needs of your students. It can easily be posted to Google Classroom to provide access for your students. No printing needed! 

If you want your students to have the article as a PDF so they can annotate (make notes in the margin, underline and highlight words, etc.) using a mobile device, then download as a PDF to Google Drive and post as an Assignment in Classroom using the "make a copy" option.

I would love to hear how you are using differentiated digital content in your classroom! Please share in the comments section below. 

The Student-Centered Classroom: Communicating What Matters | Edutopia

The Student-Centered Classroom: Communicating What Matters | Edutopia

A great blog from a thoughtful teacher about the student-centered classroom.

Digital Learning Cohorts - Blogging Together

Welcome to the INFUSE phase of the Digital Learning Cohort!

As part of the INFUSE course this year, we will be blogging about what is happening in the classroom. I am reviving my Techy Teacher blog to participate.

A little bit about me -
I am passionate about using technology as a learning tool with students. I was lucky enough to experience using 1:1 iPads with students as a 3rd grade and 5th grade teacher. As I tell people, having a mobile device for each one of my students changed me as a teacher and changed the way my students learned. More effective and frequent differentiation of instruction was one of the biggest positive effects for my students. The iPad allowed me to more easily address the needs of my students and adjust the content, process and/or products to help them be more successful. Students were empowered due to having access to the technology and began to take more ownership of their learning. This empowerment meant students having more voice and choice about their learning. Designing and implementing authentic assessments was also a natural result of the 1:1 classroom environment.

I am still a teacher at heart. However, I am now working as an Educational Technology Specialist with a mission to help more students get access to technology as a learning tool. I am excited to be a part of the Digital Learning Cohorts in CCSD. I believe the program we have in place is developing teacher leaders in every school that will eventually result in more student-centered learning environments.

As part of the INFUSE DLC course this year, we are asking our teachers to blog about their professional learning and teaching experiences. I will be blogging right along with them.

I look forward to working with the DLC teachers this year!

5th Grade, Here I Come!

I have been on quite the career journey so far in 2013. When I rang in the New Year I was a 3rd grade teacher, having been there for 6 years and loved every minute of it. An opportunity outside the classroom as an Technology Instructional Coordinator presented itself and by the end of January I took the leap and left the classroom. I enjoyed my adventures in schools all around my district assisting teachers with implementing iPads with instruction. However, the call of the classroom was ringing in my ears and tugging at my heart. I found that as much as I loved working with my fellow teachers as a technology instructional coach, it could not replace the fulfillment and joy I received from working with my own students. Amazingly enough, another opportunity presented itself, this one as a 5th grade teacher. I jumped at the chance and have happily landed back in the classroom. I will continue my journey as an educator integrating technology with instruction. I feel very strongly about providing students access to tools and devices that empower them as learners, creators and collaborators in the classroom. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have had these experiences this year. I am grateful to be going back into the classroom and look forward to sharing new "techy" tips and activities on my blog. 5th grade, here I come! 

Let students' voices be heard!

You can use QR codes to share what your students are saying! 

The website Vocaroo and a QR Code Generator  are all the tools you need to save and share the wonderful things your students are saying. Whether it is reciting a poem, giving a book review, or singing a song - let them be heard! 

Record your voice here

A URL is generated with a variety of options for sharing

Students record their voice at the Vocaroo website. They are given a URL linked to their voice recording. Use that URL to create a QR code. 

You can print out the QR code and attach it to a project, put it on the walls in your school, or email it home to parents. 

Try this one:

Can you think of more ways to use QR codes linked to students' voices? I would love to hear from you! 

Kids love learning vocabulary ... with iMovie!

Vocabulary - one of the necessities of learning new content is learning new vocabulary terms. This can be a mundane task: Write the word, write the definition, memorize, and test. But it does not have to be that way! iMovie on the iPad has many great uses in the classroom. How about giving students the choice to make a movie about their vocabulary words?

A great strategy for using this activity with students is starting with a storyboard. It helps the students make decisions about what images and words they want to use in their movie. It gives them a plan or a script to follow when making the movie. I tell the kids it is just like making a Hollywood movie, you have to plan it out first. Here is a storyboard that I have created to use with iMovie activities in the classroom. You can make it longer or shorter depending on the content and creativity of the students. 

Students fill this in with a simple sketch that represents each of the vocabulary words. They write a short "script" in their own words explaining what each vocabulary word means. They can write the vocabulary word as the "caption". Once the storyboard is completed and a brief conference with the teacher has occurred to go over it, the student can begin the exciting activity of showing their understanding of the vocabulary terms with iMovie. The sketches on the storyboard will help them decide what kinds of pictures to draw in a drawing app on their iPad or search for on the internet and save to their iPad camera roll. They will then insert those pictures into their movie. They will record their own voices reading the script they wrote on the storyboard that goes along with each image.

The act of creating the movie and using the vocabulary in context is a meaningful learning activity. Also being able to share their finished product with others is powerful - students hearing other students examples of making meaning with the vocabulary words helps with understanding. Here are pictures of second grade students in Mrs. Glover's class at Drayton Hall Elementary using iMovie to learn vocabulary. This was a choice at their vocabulary center. 

Completing the storyboard

Completing the storyboard

Making the vocabulary movie in iMovie on the iPad

Making the vocabulary movie in iMovie on the iPad

Now it's your turn. How do you use iMovie with your students? Please comment below if you have any questions or have a fun learning activity you can share that your students do with iPads.