Speed Geeking

In my technology class last night, we spent the majority of the time reviewing many devices and tools very quickly - or as my teacher called it, "Speed Geeking". Through doing this, we learned about 7 different devices and 9 tools in less than an hour.

Devices:

• Acer Chromebook
• Samsung Chromebook
• Lenovo Chromebook
• Nexus 7
• Kindle Fire
• iPad
• Surface tablet

Tools:

• Write About This
• iMovie
• Educreations
• Popplet Life
• Lucid Chart
• WeVideo
• Powtoon
• Padlet
• Educreations

My favorite device: the iPad. My favorite tool: Write About This.

My least favorite device: Chromebook. My least favorite tool: Powtoon.

Strictly my opinion, but let me explain...

I chose those two devices as my favorite and least favorite for many reasons, but I will admit, my early childhood degree sways my opinion on this one. For students PreK-3rd grade, I believe the iPad is the best tool out there and the Chromebook is not appropriate. However, that does not mean I believe the Chromebook is a bad device. I think it is a nice, cheaper option for older students. I believe the iPad is the best tool because it's interface is student friendly, it is easily carried by students, and through the App Store, there are a multitude of tools to further the students' education. I also have the most experience with the iPad - working in an elementary school that is 1-1 I have seen it implemented in classrooms successfully.

Write About This is my favorite tool out of the tools we reviewed. It provides students with writing prompts: photos, a starting sentence, or directions on what to write. I think this is a great tool to use with elementary students. It avoids the response, "But I don't know what to write about!" I did not like the tool Powtoon because I think there are other simpler tools that teachers are more familiar with that do relatively the same thing. There are so many tools out there and as teachers we must decide what's worth spending our time to learn and what is not. In my opinion, Powtoon is not worth spending our time on. It is very similar to Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Presentation with a few "fun" additions.

If I chose a device for my classroom, I would choose an iPad. I would use the iPads for many things, but here are a few examples:

• To hand out assignments virtually
• Conduct spelling tests
• Record students' reading
• Practice math facts and spelling words through game-like apps
• Quickly assess during a lesson
• Daily journal writing assignments for students
• Behavior management
• Conduct running records
• Explore the world with Google Earth
• Communicate with pen pals from across the world

Every device can make a difference in your classroom. It takes time and research to find the best tools within that device to further your students' education, but the extra effort is worth it!

I updated two of my previous blog posts with a more in-depth review of the apps I discussed in them. Check out Live and Learn and Pic Collage to learn more about how you can use Toontastic and Photo Collage in your classroom.

Digital Equipment for the Classroom

For my technology class, I chose to do my Digital Classroom Project on "Digital Equipment for the Classroom." I had to state what kind of hardware and computer access I thought should be available for grades K-12, while backing up my opinion with reasoning and evidence to support.

I chose the topic "Digital Equipment for the Classroom" because I have the most experience with this topic. I work at an elementary school which is 1-1 with iPads, each teacher has an audio system that serves as a microphone to project their voice throughout their classroom, every classroom has a projector, and I also went to a 1-1 laptop high school. With this experience, I felt that I had a good stance on this topic.

When we're thinking about "digital classrooms", I think the most important aspect is educating the teachers. Working at that elementary school, I see so many times teachers struggling with the tools provided for them because they were never educated on how to use them. Simple tasks become impossible without education. Professional development can solve this problem. It will take time and effort, but it is worth it in the end to provide a better education and ensure that the money spent on technological tools is put to use.

I created a presentation to compile my ideas of necessary hardware and computer access for each classroom. Below is a summary of my presentation:

A K-2 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Lab of mobile devices or mobile device for each student

A 3-5 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Mobile device for each student

A 6-12 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Laptop for each student

Again, this is all my opinion based on my experiences and some research I've done. Every students' needs are different, every school district is different, and the need for technology will depend on all this. Check out my presentation for more detailed information!

Kindergarteners or Paleontologists?

This semester I am placed in a kindergarten classroom for my science field experience. I have been teaching them about dinosaurs and they LOVE it! It's amazing how motivated they are when something interests them. As I was planning my lessons I was struggling to come up with something hands-on for them to do with dinosaurs because I don't have dinosaur bones to show them! After some brainstorming with my cooperating teacher, we came up with a plan to engage them.

To begin we had a surprise "visitor" in our classroom. I took the kids to a bathroom break and when we came back there were items strewn all over the carpet.

The items included:

• Diaper
• Onesie
• Pacifier
• Tiny sock
• Tiny shoe

We had to look at the clues our "visitor" left because no one saw the visitor in our classroom. We made a list of what the clues told us:

• It was a baby.
• It could've been their ESL teacher because she just had a baby. (wasn't expecting them to make this connection!)
• It was a boy because the clothes were blue.
• It was a small baby.

Once we had a good idea of who our visitor could've been, I made the connection back to dinosaurs. No human has ever seen a dinosaur, so scientists who study dinosaurs have to look at their bones like clues or pieces of a puzzle! I introduced the word paleontologist and we watched a video about what paleontologists do. The video was perfect because it illustrated for them what a paleontologist does much more than just me talking about it.

The most exciting part of our activity came next. The students were able to make their own fossils! They put a small animal into play-doh to make an imprint. Then they moved around the classroom and tried to guess what the animal was by looking at only the imprint. We were paleontologists!

The kids were so engaged throughout the whole lesson! I am excited with how well it went.

Using Twitter to Connect

This week I learned how useful twitter can be for educational purposes. We participated in a live interview via Google Hangouts with Toby Brown, a professor at Oklahoma State. He discussed why and how he uses twitter to grow professionally. I learned that twitter chats are a great way to share information and ask other educators questions. By simply hash-tagging during a chat on twitter, you are instantly connected to others.

The twitter chat I observed this week was Elementary Counselors Chat, #escchat. It took place on a Thursday at 7-8 central time. The topic was art therapy. I think this topic was chosen to be discussed because it is a common way to have children discuss their feelings. Rather than talking about things, children can draw what they feel.

It was so interesting to watch the chat live. I had seen some of my followers use hash-tags before but I had never searched a hash-tag and watch the chat happen. To begin, all the teachers all introduced themselves. Then they began answering questions that one person posed. They used letters and numbers to communicate which question they were answering, for example the first question would be labeled: Q1 and would have answers labeled: A1. It was so cool to see teachers communicating back and forth, sharing their lesson ideas, successes, and failures. They offered to help each other with tools that other teachers were not familiar with. I really enjoyed it and I look forward to doing this again. I think the hardest part about the chats is remembering when they happen! Once you have a specific area of teaching that you want to connect with other educators about, it would make participating in these chats much easier.

I follow many of my friends on twitter but before this, followed few educators. I don't personally know very many teachers who use twitter professionally. I decided to put myself out there and follow a few well-known tweeters who I can learn from. Here are the people I decided to follow and why:

• Jamie Fath (@jamiefath) - my instructor for the technology course I am taking this semester. I know she uses twitter well and I look forward to learning from her!
• Toby Brown (tbbrwn) - he is the professor I mentioned earlier in my post that we interviewed on Sunday about twitter. He had a lot of great ideas and participates in the chats on twitter regularly so watching his tweets would be beneficial to become connected to other educators.
• Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) - Toby recommended we follow him. I am looking forward to learning whatever I can! He also participates in the twitter chats regularly.
• Scott McLeod (mcleod) - I followed him about a year ago. My dad is a friend and colleague of his so I had the opportunity to meet with him him last year. He founded CASTLE, a center whose focus is on school administrators need for technology. I highly recommend following him on twitter and also checking out his blog called Dangerously Irrelevant.
• Jacob Short (mrshort2005) - He is a teacher at Saint Edmond high school, my alma mater. He occasionally participates in the twitter chats and also is a great example of how to incorporate technology into a high school classroom.

There are so many other great tweeters out there, but this will do for now! I look forward to creating authentic connections with people in the future. Similar to my blog post about being a connected educator, we must create relationships, not just internet interactions.

I think the twitter chats are helpful and I will participate in the future. I am connected through social networks already for personal purpose, I might as well follow some educators too and hit two birds with one stone! I know a new and unknown tool can be frightening to use, so here are some tips for teachers new to twitter:

• Follow at least 5 people who are tied to the education field. 
• Watch a twitter live chat. Check out this link to find the times and dates of different topics discussed: Twitter chats
• After you have slowly immersed yourself into the twitter world, tweet at an expert with a question!
• Push yourself even more, participate in a chat!
• Slow is key. Don't overwhelm yourself.

Diversify Your Library

Exposing our students to many cultures is extremely important. We want to ensure that they receive a well-balanced and diverse education. Check out this great article, Picture Imperfect, about why it's important to diversify your classroom library so students are exposed to a different cultures through read alouds and books written by a plethora of authors.

"I want to make sure all children can see themselves in books," she says. "I want children to know their history matters - they matter," says Kelly Starling Lyons, an African-American children's book author.

Monica Brown, a Peruvian-American author of children's books about multiethnic identity, states, "It's important that we have these books in our schools because not every family can afford to own them."

The article provides a list which is a good starting point to add some diversity to your library:

An Inclusive Children's Reading List

• Benjamin and the Word, written by Daniel A. Olivas
• Black is Brown is Tan, written by Arnold Adoff
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition, written by William Kamkwamba
• Brick by Brick, written by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
• Courtney's Birthday Party, written by Loretta Long
• Ellen's Broom, written by Kelly Starling Lyons
• The Great Big Book of Families, written by Mary Hoffman
• Kate and the Beanstalk, written by Mary Pope Osborne
• Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match, written by Monica Brown
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale, written by John Steptoe
• My Princess Boy, written by Cheryl Kilodavis
• Nappy Hair, written by Carolivia Herron
• Oh the Things Mommies Do! What Could Be Better Than Having Two?, written by Crystal Tompkins
• The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom, written by Bettye Stroud
• The President Looks Like Me & Other Poems, written by Tony Medina

Another point to keep in mind is that every classroom is full of different kids. In addition to this list, try to find books that relate specifically to your kids and their lives. 

I love my career

On Friday, I was able to participate in my first ever professional development. The dork in me was very excited! Sitting in the commons surrounded by the K-12 faculty, I felt like a real teacher.

The superintendent is retiring at the end of this year and I heard his touching 'thank you' to all of the staff. It was so powerful to hear him say how much he has enjoyed his time because of all the teachers. The school is such a community and it was wonderful to feel a part of that.

We received instructions on how to map out the curriculum for the year with a program called Curriculum Mapping. We then broke into grade level teams and began working! I worked with the 1st grade team, which consists of 4 female teachers of all different experience levels. They had already mapped out their math for the year, so we began with literacy. Literacy is broken into 6 categories:

• Foundational Skills
• Informational Skills
• Writing
• Speaking and Listening
• Literature
• Language/Grammar

Mapping out the whole year is a very daunting task. For a few minutes we all just sat and wondered, "Where do we begin?" Once we got into a groove it was a much easier task to tackle. The teachers had a document which aligned all of the Iowa Core Standards to their curriculum, Basal Reading Program. Rather than having to type all of this information into the program, I helped them discover how to upload files. Once we knew how, we scanned the pages that applied to each category in the program and uploaded them as PDFs.

Once all the standards were aligned with the curriculum, we added in the teaching strategies that they use to teach each category. Many of the teaching strategies apply to more than one of the categories. Some of the strategies they brainstormed are:

• Word sorts
• White boards
• Sight words
• Reader's Theatre
• Modeling
• Think aloud
• Story maps
• Venn diagrams
• Whole group discussion
• Think, pair, share

It was very rewarding for me to sit in on this process. I saw a team of teachers work collaboratively together to finish a project. They supported each other and all contributed. I will be a new and unexperienced teacher in a little over a year and it is very scary to think about walking into an empty classroom and preparing to teach a group of kiddos. It was comforting to know that maps like the one we worked on are available for teachers to help them know where to begin with teaching. The team of teachers also discussed how much your team will help you as a first year teacher. I feel much better about the idea of being a new teacher, it's going to be here before I know it!

Overall, I am very thankful for this experience. I look forward to growing professionally in the future!

A Connected Teacher

Being able to be a team player, work collaboratively, and communicate with colleagues are crucial characteristics of great teachers. This week I did a little research on being a "connected educator". For those of you that are not familiar with this term, it simply means a teacher who is connected through technology tools with other teachers. For example, not just 'following' other educators on twitter, but tweeting back and forth, creating relationships, and carrying on conversations. Here is a great visual that Dr. Alec Couros created which illustrates this idea.

[Retrieved from http://dmlcentral.net/blog/howard-rheingold/professor-alec-couros-connected-teacher]

Through my research, I found that a lot of people are talking about Connected Educators online. There is a Connected Educators project, a month dedicated to Connected Educators, books for sale on the topic, the information was overwhelming! I found a site with ten tips for becoming a Connected Educator. It is a great starting point, I recommend checking it out!

Benefits of being a Connected Educator:

• You can learn from other teachers' mistakes and successes.
• You can use resources created by other teachers and share your own to save time.
• You can create relationships with teachers all over the world which will last much longer than any tool.

Am I connected? Not nearly as much as I should be. Sure, I blog, tweet, post and buy things on Teachers Pay Teachers, search sites for lessons created by other teachers, follow blogs and educators on twitter. All of those things I'm doing are great, but I have not taken the next step to create a flow of communication back and forth. I plan to challenge myself to do so. This is what I will do to become connected:

• I will comment on other's blogs when I see an idea I like.
• I will participate in EdTech tweet conversations using hashtags.
• I will contact teachers to question them about lessons they've created or done that I find online.
• I will create relationships with teachers I do not know or have not met yet.

"The tools come and go, but the relationships endure." - Dr. Alec Couros.

I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and create deep connections with other educators!