Tool #8 Taking a Look at the Tools

Three things I learned about the new technology:

• The netbooks will have a camera (Cool, because I set up a Skype account)
• That, as a center activity, I should have all the students sign in to every device the first time
• When I download to the I-Pod Touch, I should select I-Phone apps (I didn't know this because don't have an I-Phone)

Management:

• Write the device name on the back of the device
• Assign students the job of taking out and putting up technology tools (and trouble-shooting to inform me). Model for everyone in class how the removal and storage should look.
• Discuss with class what collaboration looks and sounds like when using technology. Add comments to our Collaborator's Code posted on the wall.
• Post alternate assignment on board for students who find it difficult to live up to technology usage expectations (30 or more math problems or several work sheets, spelling practice, etc.)
• First several sessions, walk around room checking screens and behavior. Hope to catch someone breaking the rules, even for a minor infraction, and assign alternate work.All students will come to a clearer understanding of the level of expectation tied to their use of the technology tools.

Tool #7 Reaching Outside the Classroom

My students are beginning to find the fun in writing and I would like for them to continue growing in their enthusiasm and comfort level as they polish their ability to critique their own work. At this point, though, they are still not well skilled at analyzing writing with the insight of a writer. I want to use Google Docs to anonymously present a personal narrative or a sample of expository writing by a student in my class and see what feedback will be given by students in another fourth grade class. My class could critique a writing sample from the other class at the same time. This is an activity I see fitting into our writing plans in coordination with up-coming lessons on personal narrative. We could use it several times before the STAAR writing test in the spring.

Tool #6 Web Tools That Promote Discussion

With the time demands to research numerous sites, I've left Rose to do what roses do and I, the earth-based teacher, am responding.

In my investigation of tools to encourage expanded dialogues, I researched what "back-channeling" meant. I also spent a great deal of time learning about Edmodo. I found a very helpful YouTube video that offered a number of ideas for Edmodo: 20 Ways to Use Edmodo / I'd like to use the voice feature to have students take dictation in order to check their punctuation and spelling. It would be cool to use a Voki with my own voice. I also think parents would like seeing my homework posted on Edmodo because I have several students who don't write legibly or who forget to write their homework. When I tried to set up the Edmodo account, I saw that I needed a special password from the district. So I emailed a request for that and moved on.

Next I researched Diigo as a replacement for Edmodo, and I watched two YouTube videos. When registering, I couldn't seem to drag a diigolet up to my Favorites bar. So, I abandoned that effort thinking that I would register with Edmodo later anyway and that's the one I really wanted.

Still intending to complete this tool this weekend, I moved on to Wallwisher. That site was cool! I made a bulletin board with a question supporting our science content. Weathering, Erosion, Deposition Bulletin Board / I uploaded a picture and a video to see how to do that. There's plenty of room for more notes. I'm eager to make another bulletin board to support math content. I'll write, "If the answer is 24, what is the question?" That should spark a flow of responses. Once the extra technology comes to my classroom, I'll make Wallwisher a regular workstation, simply changing the question periodically.

Lastly, I set up a Skype account. I was thinking that I could link up with an author I know in Jakarta, Indonesia and have my students learn about her writing. I also know someone in the Patagonia mountains in Chile. I thought that my students could ask questions about that biome because we will be studying the topic soon.

Tool #5 Producing with 2.0 Tools

This is Miss K. posting for Rose while the Prince waters and cares for soil around her on their asteroid.

On earth, I found the 2.0 offerings interesting and exciting to consider in connection with teaching. I made a comic at Make Beliefs Comix, but am not totally happy with the site. I found that you can only put one of any type of item into a frame. So I could not make two characters holding cell phones in one frame. I also did not see any "go back and edit" button after I went to the print screen. So I used the back button and lost the whole thing. I wanted to go back and see if it would come out larger when printed in landscape layout. Fortunately, I did get it printed, but I had to scan it to save it to the computer. I also forgot to title it.

When I watched the YouTube about Make Beliefs Comix I saw other videos for Toondoo, which I learned about at Teacher Summer U. I watched a video for that and think that site would be more satisfying to use. I'd like to have students make cartoons to explain earth science concepts and steps in math operations.

The other thing I did was make a poster in Big Huge Labs. The poster shows many things that have measurement scales and the purpose is to make students notice that not all scales advance with the same number pattern. I'm going to use it when we study measurement in math, but it is also useful as a reminder to students when we read beakers, thermometers and other tools in science.

I'm not sure how to get the pdf of my comic into this post. When I upload the message says my image is corrupt or in an unrecognizable format.

Tool #4 Moving Up to the Clouds

Oh joy! Technology is getting closer to Asteroid B-612 as it moves up to the clouds. I used my four thorns to type out a little poem in Google Documents and shared it with friends thinking they might find it a useful example of free-verse. Hopfully, they will comment on how to punctuate it or improve it.

Before I attempted to make a document form, I thought there would be a lot of possibilities for various form styles. It would have been nice to make a form to show the sixty-four times the sun rises and sets on our asteroid. Miss K. would have liked to create a form with the names and times for her parent conferences. But I discovered that the form is only for various test or survey questions. I created a survey question for my teacher friends back on earth. As a single bloom, I have only one small head that can manage just a single question at a time. Thank goodness the Little Prince waters me and keeps me in full and beautiful health or I might lose many petals over even that much!

Sadly, I do see a few petals on the ground. Perhaps they fell during my frustration with how to use the documents and forms as I could find no instructions or button that offered an uninformed rose some help.

Miss K. likes the instant feedback from ACTIVote surveys with her flipchart, but she mentioned that she would use the Google Document forms to make a test or ask for feedback from students and parents on issues that allow time for responses to flow in at a slower pace. I am excited to share the results of my survey question with her. Then, maybe she will be more enthusiastic about writing a survey question of her own.

Tool #3 - Videos and Images by flower and friend

Can you hear it? That's the sound of a flower wilting on Asteroid B-612. And I am the only flower here. I have learned much during this venture into videos and images. I loved looking at the images in Picasa in an album labeled "By Giles REVEMONT." I am not sure if that is a first and last name or a first name and a title for the album. There were lovely flower photos and a scientifically useful one of a bee. I even figured out how to download photos to my computer. One is now displayed under my blog profile in hopes that it will make you think of me up on Asteroid B-612. As I am in my fourth hour at this, I must stop and absorb some energy from the sun. So, I have reached out electronically to a friend I met while on earth. Miss K can attest to the usefulness of videos and images for her needs.

Thank you Rose. I am very excited to see the close-up photo of the bee with loads of pollen on its legs. I will definitely use that in my science class. Another photo in that Picasa album will serve as a perfect dandelion illustration for a poem my students recently wrote. I know that I can use these photos based on Fair Use because I will repurpose and add value to them with poetry and science notes.

Also, my sweet smelling pal, I went video hunting. At Blinkx, in a search of the water cycle, the website turned up 19,000 videos. That's nineteen THOUSAND!!! I searched at Khan Academy but could not figure out how to embed from there, so I found two videos on YouTube (see below). The parents of my students will appreciate these when I embed them on my classroom blog. With different methods to multiply and divide, my students quickly learned new math skills, but their parents remain confused. Your venture into videos and images has enlightened but exhausted me as well. It would have been nice to absorb some energy from the sun, but now the moon is out.

Love, Miss K.

Tool#3 - Embedded Videos