Teaching with Technology

Jacqui Sharp from ICT Teaching and Learning posted this great slideshow of different ways to publish writing. It’s great!! It goes from the easiest ways to the more elaborate…but lots of fun things are included. Take a look! Can you think of any other ways?

Want an easy back to school activity that will help you begin to know your students?  Try Wordle!  Here’s an example of an About Me activity using it. Please remember to use only first names if you do this with your students.

 
The instructional ideas for this resource are endless. You can find some of these ideas in this post, Wordle Word Clouds. I also suggest taking a look at the ideas Tom Barrett has collected from many other educators below:

Finally, you may want to check out Jen Wagner’s Guess the Wordle Wiki. There she posts different Wordles throughout the week, and students are encouraged to guess their subject using the words in the Wordle (Monday is an easy wordle, Wednesday is a little harder, Friday is the hardest). She will also be adding a Thursday Wordle that will be about a book (librarians, this might appeal to you)!

If you have your students create Wordles, make sure you direct them to this exact URL (http://www.wordle.net/create) so they bypass the gallery of other Wordles. While most of the examples in the gallery are usually okay, from time to time inappropriate words do appear there. By going straight to the “Create” area, you lessen the chance that students run across inappropriate words. :)

If you have never used Wordle before and would like some help as you explore it with your students, please contact me!

Have you seen the Nicoles’ new Carver library webpage?  Or Victoria Salvat’s Kindergarten page?  If not, check them out!  You will notice they are using a really cool service called Glogster.  Glogster allows you to make interactive poster-like creatives that include links, pictures, and videos all with a really slick looking design.  You can allow these posters to stand alone as wepbages, or embed them in webpage, wiki, or blog.  It works especially well for the homepage of a website.  This is what Victoria and Nicole did to add that extra touch to their websites.  Pam and I also used this for the Trek2India wiki!

So, want to make interactive posters with your kids?  Here’s a tutorial that shows you how!

Always remember to stay on the educational gloster site (http://www.glogster.com/edu) with your students. Otherwise, they may access inappropriate material on the regular Glogster site.

Want to connect for free (or cheaply) with people all over the world?  Want to make video phone calls?  Skpye is a free way to do that!  All you need is your computer, a web cam (and East and GWC each have one you can borrow), and a free download!

Here are the steps:

1. Download and install Skype here.

2. Follow directions to create a Skype account!

3. Start calling.

For a step-by-step how-to guide, click here.

How do you use this in the classroom, you ask?  Lots of ways!

• call another class in a different area of the world to find out about their home
• call an “expert” on a topic you are studying
• have someone dress up as a famous person or book character and call your class
• play a game with another classroom at a different school
• write riddles for other classes to guess
• share writing

Can you think of other ways?

A few of our classes have been using Skype to connect with classrooms in different areas.  Mrs. Barnett’s Fourth Grade at East talked with students in Virginia Beach to learn more about the Tidewater Region of VA.

Mrs. Hall’s Fourth graders at GWC answered the questions of a couple of students in Wisconsin who were doing state reports.

I found a new hobby!  It combines two of my favorite things: nature and technology!!  It’s basically high-tech treasure hunting.  Who can’t get excited about THAT?!

Here’s how it works.

• go to http://www.geocaching.com and sign up for a free account
• search for caches in a specific area (there are 4 at Greenhill park and many more in the area)
• find the coordinates for them and read the descriptions of them (you may also want to look at the hints).
• program the coordinates into your gps
• go hunting.  You will probably want to take a pen/pencil with you.

If you find a cache, there are a few rules.

• If there are items in the cache, you can only take one if you leave a different one.  No food of course.
• Always hide the cache back where you find it.  Make sure you hide it so that it is just a difficult (or more difficult) than it was when you found it.
• Sign and date the log book.  (you’ll probably want to log the find on the geocaching site too).

So, what does this have to do with the TEACHING with Technology blog?  Well, kids love treasure hunts!!  And what better way to get them outside and moving than a treasure hunt!  So here’s how you’d do it in the classroom.

• Figure out a topic (I’ll list some ideas in a minute).
• Hide caches (with puzzles or clues or questions) around the school yard.
• Use the gps systems to make the location of the caches.
• Send kids (groups of 4 would work) to go find the caches and solve the problems.

I had the opportunity to observe a group of third grades geocaching last Friday.  The teacher, Meggen Devlin, developed a Science Lesson that incorporated the gps systems.  She had students find hidden caches full of pictures different types of “trash.”  Students retrieved the pictures, and then based on what they had learned from a previous part of the lesson, used the pictures to make predictions about the rate in which the different items they found (all types of materials) decompose.  The gps section of the lesson was just a part of a bigger lesson, but it sure got the kids excited and active, and make them think!

I’ve also had the opportunity to talk with fellow ITRT, and expert geocacher, Debbie Newman.  Debbie has created geocaching units to help students review for SOL tests.  You can view some of her resources here.

Finally, our very own Victoria Salvat tried geocaching with Kindergartners!  She had parents help with the activity.  She hid Easter eggs full of sight words, and had students use the gps units to find them, and then read the words to the parent.  Here’s a video from her blog!

So what are some other ideas for using geocaching in the classroom?  Here are some ideas adapted from From: Jen Deyenberg on Twitter (@jdeyenberg):

• Have students create shapes by marking waypoints for each corner.  Create a grid map showing the shapes and waypoints.
• Hide caches with coins or other math items.  Have students solve math problems and bring back the correct answer.
• Have students measure objects at each cache (pencils or some other object).  Have them find the average length.
• Each cache has a clue to answer an ultimate problem.
• Waypoint the corners of a space and then find the perimeter of it.
• Have them find a type of triange at each cache.  When they are finished, have them sort by properties.

Some other ideas:

• Have students find certain trees in the school yard.  Have the decide if it is deciduous or coniferous.
• Hide objects dealing with a famous person.  Have the decide which person. (ex. peanut for G.W. Carver, baseball for Jackie Robinson, and so on.
• Geo-Bingo!  Have students match pictures of items at their caches with a bingo card they carry.  I think we are going to do something like this with careers…matching careers with tools…in a Guidance class.

If you get fancy, you may want to place a travel coin or a geobug in a cache, and track it with your students!  Or create your own cache, and track who visits, and where they are from!

We have a classroom set of GPS units that you can use in the classroom!  Just let your librarian or I know, and well be glad to make sure the set is delivered to you.  I would love to help you set up and run the activity as well.

Does anyone have anymore great ideas?  If so, please post below!

Image: ‘Slightly north of here‘
www.flickr.com/photos/98092274@N00/210369709

Here’s a Presentation from Tom Barrett listing a variety of Interesting ways to use an Interactive Wipe Board. It keeps growing, so bookmark it and come back and look every now and then!

I love Animoto (and have blogged about them in the past here and here).  It’s an incredibly easy way to create a sophisticated video from still pictures.  While you can create 30 second videos with a basic account, they also offer accounts for educators which allow you unlimited access.

It’s very simple to use.  Just upload your pictures to the site, add text (if you want), and pick your music (they have a lot to choose from).  Then Animoto does of the work for you by putting your music and pictures together in a professional looking way!  Here’s a quick animoto of some of the younger grades at East Salem using technology.

I’ve blogged about Animoto in the past.  To read more or see other examples, click here and here.

Want to quickly make Jeopardy games to play with your class without the hassel of editing a bunch of templates?  Check out this amazing new resource, Jeopardy Labs!

Here’s a sample game.  Students click on the point amounts to view questions, and then keep score at the bottom of the board with the + and – signs.  It will allow you to keep score for up to 10 teams!

Creating your own game is easy too.  You just click in the Title and categories to edit, and click on the point amounts to add new questions.  When you are finished creating a game, the site will give you a web address to your game.  Hang on to it to find your game again!

This is hands down the BEST resource I’ve found to date to create your own Jeopardy game!

Flip through the Technology ABC Voicethread below!

• Which terms/sites/items have you used before?
• Which ones are new to you?
• How can you use these things in your classroom?

As you flip through the Voicethread, click on the link to explore more about each “letter,” leave a comment or two if you are familiar with some of the topics and have ideas on how to use them in your teaching , and stay tuned for some more detailed posts!!  I’d also be interested to know if you can think of anything to add.  AND, if you want to learn to use something new in your teaching, I’d love to help!  Leave a comment for that too!

About this Project

Awhile ago, maybe even this summer, some discussion arose in Twitter and/or Plurk about the idea of a technology ABC poster (I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly WHO started the discussion to give credit.  If it was you, leave me a comment please).   And through those discussions, Pam Elgin and I came up with the idea of a Technology Word Wall and started adding to the list using things that our teachers might use.  Pam recently worked very hard to create PowerPoint slides for this project on each letter, which you will soon see in our schools’ computer labs.  Meanwhile, I thought it would also be fun to post the final product in virtual form via VoiceThread, complete with links to each of the topics.  Hope you learn something from it!

Update:  Pam has posted the actual powerpoint file for you to download or print slides here!  Thanks, Pam!

Wordle is a really fun, east web tool that turns words into art called “word clouds.” These word clouds emphasize words that are used more often in a piece of text. Wordle makes text clouds from text you enter, from blog RSS feeds, or from delicious tags. There are even options to change font color, type, and the design of the words.

Lots of people, including Pam Elgin, have been tossing around ideas for the use of Wordle in classrooms. Here’s a few you might want to try!

About Me

Have students type their name three times (this will make it bigger than other words). Then have them type words that mean something to them. This would be a great back to school activity.

Describe a Famous Person or a Literary Character

You could do the same activity, but with a famous person.

Adjective Collage

Create a collage of adjectives. In the Wordle Text box, type the noun you want to describe three times (this will make it appear bigger than the other words). Then list all the descriptive words you can think of to describe the noun. Here’s an example:

First Name Welcome

This idea is a great one from Pam. Create a Wordle with the first name of the students in your class to hang on your door. (Example by Kristin Kap)

Type in Spelling or Vocabulary Words

Use for student practice with spelling or as a way to introduce new words in a unit! Students will love making designs and changing font, color, and layout after they have finished typing in their spelling words.

Use as a Hook or a Visual Cue

Create a Wordle to introduce a new unit of student or to help give students a visual of a concept. Here’s one for question words:

Create a Funky Twist on an Acrostic or ABC Book

If you want the words to fall in somewhat ABC order, make sure to check “prefer alphabetical order” under layout.

Quickly Make a Funky Sign

Brainstorming on a Topic
(Music example by hbryson)

Book Review

Have student list all the words they can think of to describe a book or a chapter. Remember to have them type the important words more than once so they are bigger.

Vocabulary Words to Practice Reading
(Dolch Word List)

Letter Hunt (for Kindergarten)

You could do different versions with different fonts!

Pre-Reading Strategy

Show students the words from a poem or story and have them predict what it will be about. The Wordle below is from the poem Cannonball by David Crwwley.

Misuse of Common Words

Have students type in a story to see what words they use the most. Make sure they choose “Do Not Remove Common Words” under “Language” to see them all. Here’s an example from one of my summer school student’s blog (most used words include I, like, and):

And another in which the student started almost every sentence with “He.”

I could go on and on and on…I LOVE this tool! What kind of things can you think of?

Word of Caution: Be cautious about the Gallery. I’d recommend you NOT allow your students to browse through it….anyone can make a Wordle, and some are not as nice as others.

Update: Just learned something new, thanks to JBlack’s Awesome use of Wordle! You can keep words together in Wordle if you use a tilde (~) mark between words. So here’s another idea (and yes, I promise to stop now)!
Idioms
Create a Wordle with Idioms. To keep words together, put a ~ between each word in the idiom. (Spill~the~beans.) This may be a little tedious for younger kids, but shouldn’t be too hard for older ones!

A group of technology educators on Twitter have been passing around this great site for Early Readers on the Smartboard. It’s called LookyBook, and it presents picture books in a format that you can use on the Smartboard (or any computer, really). Here’s an thumbnail example I felt was appropriate for this time of year. Click on the book once to turn pages and twice to see the larger version on the Lookbook Website.

Using the Smartboard, you can present a picture book in a way that all children can see it easily (or allow them to present it), AND you can WRITE on the book. Cirlce rhyming words, highlight descriptive words, pick out punctuation…all using the Smartboard pens. *The writing in a few of the books is pretty small, so you’ll have to check them out first to see if this will work.*

Another neat feature is that the site will allow you to customize your own virtual bookshelf where you can store your favorite stories. Currently there are over 300 books to choose from, but more are being added every day.

Check it out here!

While looking for resources for Earth day, I came across this video. It’s an ad for Discovery Channel, but I thought it fit nicely with Earth Day too.

Maybe you could have your students write their own version of this song…what do they love about our world?

I finished “A Whole New Mind” a month or so ago, and am still going through many of the resources Daniel Pink included in the book. One resource is called StoryCorps, and it’s located in the chapter where Pink describes Story as one of the six high-concept, high-touch senses needed in the Conceptual Age.

Storycorps in a non-profit organization that specializes in stories…yours, mine, people we love. It records stories in booths all over the United States, and even sends out traveling kits for you to record individual stories. You can listen to some of them in itunes or on their website. What a super idea! In looking at the site, it appears they are going to be in our area next fall…Sept. 25-Oct. 18, 2008 at the WVTF radio station. I’ll have to keep a lookout for more info!

The process of recording a story of a loved one reminds me of something I did in college…a journal for my parents with questions about their lives. I didn’t have much money one Christmas while I was in college, so I bought two blank journals: one for Dad and one for Mom. At the top of each page I wrote questions like

• What were your grandparents like?
• Who was your favorite teacher?
• How did you meet dad/mom?

I put a note in the front of the journal asking them to write the answers and give it back to me the following Christmas. They did give them back to me the next Christmas, full of stories. I can honestly say those two journals are my most treasured possessions, especially now that my mom has passed away.

So, what’s your story? What are your parents’ stories? We all have them, no matter our age. Even our students have stories! Wouldn’t be neat to have students record their own stories, or even stories of their loved ones? It could be a writing assignment, but also a lesson in learning to tell a story. I do have 4 or 5 portable mp3 recorders you can use if you are interested in doing this!

I attended a bunch of sessions at VSTE with presenter Tammy Worcester, and Instructional Technology Specialist.  She has published a variety of books with ready-made lessons for the classroom, but she also has some great free lessons, tips and tricks, and internet resources on her website!