Amplify! 2nd Chapter

Chapter 2 was a quick read!  Out of this chapter I took away three main ideas:

1. Find like minded teachers:  seek out school cohorts, online learning communities, teacher blogs, webinars, conferences, social media, or "your tribe".  It is really important to have someone to share, discuss, and brainstorm with when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom.  This is the one thing I missed the most teaching third grade.  There was none to collaborate with or discuss content with.  I found some teachers in Pendleton who are amazing...but they are so involved in their own PLC's in their district they really didn't want to give up more time to work together.  Now that I am moving back to middle school science I feel like I have a whole network I can tap into!  Also, I have another science teacher (HS--one of my former students) to collaborate with!  She is young, but seems willing to learn!  We will be attending the NSTA convention this fall!  I can't wait to see what else I discover and can share with her and my new colleagues!  
2. Play time is important:  We all know that when introducing new content or new tools it is important to provide students time to play with it!  Just like students, teachers also need to take the time also play with technology!  When choosing technology we as teachers have to know not only why we are choosing this tool, but also how to use the tool, at least the basics.  After that, the students will explore and take over the teaching part!  They are natural leaders when it comes to technology!
3. Technology should allow kids to do 3 things: create, collaborate, and connect!  I think this might be one of the most important pieces to consider when picking apps for classroom use.  This idea has been presented at every workshop, conference, blog and webinar I have taken.  They all say, choose one app/tool that does a variety of things--create, interact with others and share with the world--and become a professional at it!  The piece I am struggling with is the sharing piece.  Last year I used SeeSaw to share my third graders work with their families...I didn't teach my kids to upload content themselves and this was a problem.  It definitely made too much work for me to keep up with and I won't do that again with middle schoolers.  I am wondering at this point if using a blog is a better option--like Kidblog.  I wish that I could get other teachers at the school to use it as well, and perhaps they will if I can model for them how to use it!  This might open the door for a PLC at my own school.   It will be interesting to see where this leads within my own school district!

One questions I still have:  on p. 32 (second paragraph), last three lines talks about using Twitter and Youtube in the classroom by demonstrating  their students learning.  I would like to know how these tools are used to enhance learning in their Chicago classrooms. 

Time for chapter 3!

Teaching Science! But I need.... How do I get it?

I am heading back to science!  I can't believe I get to teach science everyday starting August 22, 2016!  I tried to get back into elementary education and found that either students have changed or I have changed and younger kids just aren't a good fit anymore...so now I head back to middle school where my dry sense of humor and passion for science can reign!

I can't explain how excited I am to head back to familiar territory!  Already I have been working out lesson plans in my head and thinking back to prior years and reflecting on what I liked, what worked well, and what I need to change.  I have also have been thinking about what I have learned over the last two years that I can take with me to the middle level.  This elementary background makes me a much more well rounded teacher and I know that my elementary background will help me be a better teacher.

One thing I am looking for are grants to help get the technology I want in my classroom.  I have a vision of what I want in my room and will have to seek out other resources to accomplish my goal.  Here are some ideas I have run across:

Online resources:

• crowdsourcing
• Donor's Choose
• GoFundMe
• Classwish
• Freecycle--see what people are offering to give away in your area...I haven't had any luck here...wondering if this is better in the big cities

School resources:

• PTA/Booster Club
• Parents/family donations--I've had good luck with this...I send home a short text or letter listing the items we will need for the year like: TP and paper towel tubes, glue sticks, masking tape, old digital cameras, etc.... Also, in the past I have had a list of items I hoped to get for the classroom and put them on hands during open house and encouraged parents to look through and grab a hand if they can help.  We were able to get some comfy chairs for reading in because parents were getting rid of them at home!  Often you may find parents who work somewhere that have the resources you are looking for that they can get donated...that's how I got tubes from a trailer building company and microscope slides from a local lab!
• Start a class fund--let parents and community know your goal  and ask them to donate to your classroom project
• School budgets--find out what categories have money and see if you can justify purchasing one item in a nontraditional category...example...I wanted graduated cylinders for science, but there was no money...however, there was math manipulative money and because this item can be used to teach scale and volume (which is in the Common Core Standards) I could get the items I needed using the math funds!
• Talk to the local ESD...often they know of resources or have extras laying around somewhere that they need to clean out anyways.  I actually was able to get a Promethean board and clickers thanks to a school closing down--they were tucked away in a closet at the ESD and they needed to clean it out!

Community:

• Garage Sales:  our town has an annual city wide garage sale event...the city prints out a map and short list of items for sale--very helpful.  We also have another event later in the year that has a community drop off site for a rummage sale--donations are accepted...otherwise it is free!  I was able to pick up craft items for my classroom as well as a shelf two years ago!  Great finds!
• Goodwill/Salvation Army:  if you aren't a regular at these sites you need to be.  Get to know your sales people, find out what their schedules are for putting new items out and how others are marked down!  Also, be sure to check out these stores when you are traveling...hitting up college towns goodwills are great for teachers!  Especially teaching colleges towns!  I have found all kinds of curriculum I wanted as well as the books I love to use in the classroom in hardback!  At no more than $4...they are all a steal!  Remember a lot of people are cleaning out their dorms, homes, and classrooms in the spring--its a great time to hit the stores!
• Local Grants...it is surprising how many organizations have funds available...casinos, local foundations, lions clubs, stores like Walmart, etc....  
• Local businesses--I needed tubes for designing a roller coast STEM project and our local trainer building company was able to donate and cut all the tubes I needed forever..see their carpet for the trailers comes on sturdy tubes...now I have a resource forever as long as the company is around...these are just throw aways for them...why not donated them to a teacher in need!  Not only do you build a long term relationship...but perhaps a link to the real world for your students!  IF you aren't sure what kinds of businesses are around you, talk to your local Chamber office...they might have some ideas on where to ask!

Now that I have shared all my ideas...I guess it is time to start following my own advice!  To work I go!

Amplify! Your Classroom

Currently I am reading Amplify!  by Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke.  Although, I originally bought this book with the idea of continuing to implement technology into my third grade classroom, I am now shifting my focus to middle school science!  I can see so many integrated uses for iPads and tech tools down the road, but have to wait as we will have all new teachers in the building again this year.  It is hard to ask a brand new teacher to dabble in tech when they are still trying to learn their curriculum.  However, I hope that I can provide leadership in this area as time goes on and hope that I can serve as a role model over the rest of my career.

One tool that I can see myself using differently this year is Padlet.  Originally I used Padlet to share resources with my third graders for research projects.  I loved printing the QR codes for my students to access the site and will continue to do this as a middle school teacher.  However, in this book the teachers presented some other ideas for ways to use Padlet in the classroom that I can see using in my new classroom.  

First, using Padlet as a digital bulletin board is perfect!  Padlet offers a variety of ways to share including images, videos, and links.  I can see using this as an exit ticket to check for understanding.  I can see using it as a place to pre-assess students’ background knowledge.  We can also share questions students still have on a topic, we can ask higher level questions and have them work on answering and sharing those answers.  

Second, I love the idea that in order to use technology in the classroom you have to just pick one thing and try it!  Jumping in head first is important and something many teachers are afraid to do.  I think we have to also realize that our students will become the teachers…as teachers we have to know two things:  Why are we using the technology and How do you use the basic functions to accomplish that goal.  From there the students will teach us and their peers all the intricacies of the tool itself.  

As with every lesson you teach…teaching tech is the same:  model, guide, practice, experiment and share!  I can see that my MS students will pick this up much faster than my third graders, but the only  concern is that I only get them 47 min. of the day and still have content to cover.  What that means for me is that if I invest in teaching how to use technology then I better have a reason for taking time away from curriculum to teach those skills.  It makes me really think about what I want my students to be able to do and how to “kill two birds with one stone” while teaching it!

I love the idea of a recording booth and following up after inquiry investigations!  The one-to-one iPads will be a wonderful tool for this!  So many kids dislike writing all the details out and actually will miss a lot of what they learn from labs because they have to write it out!  I think having an oral analysis will benefit my students greatly!  This will especially be try of my special needs kids and oral lab reports will be an important modification.  Things to remember:  provide charts that outline basic procedures and buttons posted around the room.  Of course for ELA teachers this is a great opportunity for you to have students create book talks and save them to either a Padlet for each genre or on classroom websites for others students to listen to and get book recommendations.  

Other thoughts:  for early finishers have them read nonfiction articles from National Geographic Kids, sports Illustrated Kids, or Smithsonian Tween Tribune and do a blog entry about it.  This would need to be taught to the kids—not only how to do it, but also what a good vlog looks like.  A scoring guide could easily be designed for this and perhaps at least one a semester should be required?  Thoughts?  I thought about having this as one of the BW assignments each week, but wonder if that is too much to do at the beginning of class.  The Latin and Greek roots is another BW activity that isn’t seeming very realistic for my kids…maybe something we just teach throughout the year and make available as an extension activity for those that finish early or have extra time.  For ELE classrooms starting off the day with a nonfiction read is a great idea.  Illuminates busy work (that we all hate grading—let’s be honest) and provides more time to read!

Finally, another tip I picked up from reading the first chapter in the book was the importance of a classroom website.  I started making one using Wix and am pleased with what I have so far.  But, I need to find a way to post and share things with my students like:  charts, organizers, handouts, videos and other snapshots of student learning.  This is definitely something I will be working on this year.  Many times when I am looking at other teachers websites they have their weekly planner posted, with links to videos, notes, presentations, worksheets, etc….  I think this is a great idea for future use as well as student support at home!  A website is something students can access from any device, any place and any time they want!  Wow!  

So, there you have my thoughts from just the first chapter of Amplify!  Unbelievable…and that was the theory section!  Look out blog world…there is much more to come!

Amplify! Your Classroom

Currently I am reading Amplify!  by Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke.  Although, I originally bought this book with the idea of continuing to implement technology into my third grade classroom, I am now shifting my focus to middle school science!  I can see so many integrated uses for iPads and tech tools down the road, but have to wait as we will have all new teachers in the building again this year.  It is hard to ask a brand new teacher to dabble in tech when they are still trying to learn their curriculum.  However, I hope that I can provide leadership in this area as time goes on and hope that I can serve as a role model over the rest of my career.

One tool that I can see myself using differently this year is Padlet.  Originally I used Padlet to share resources with my third graders for research projects.  I loved printing the QR codes for my students to access the site and will continue to do this as a middle school teacher.  However, in this book the teachers presented some other ideas for ways to use Padlet in the classroom that I can see using in my new classroom.  

First, using Padlet as a digital bulletin board is perfect!  Padlet offers a variety of ways to share including images, videos, and links.  I can see using this as an exit ticket to check for understanding.  I can see using it as a place to pre-assess students’ background knowledge.  We can also share questions students still have on a topic, we can ask higher level questions and have them work on answering and sharing those answers.  

Second, I love the idea that in order to use technology in the classroom you have to just pick one thing and try it!  Jumping in head first is important and something many teachers are afraid to do.  I think we have to also realize that our students will become the teachers…as teachers we have to know two things:  Why are we using the technology and How do you use the basic functions to accomplish that goal.  From there the students will teach us and their peers all the intricacies of the tool itself.  

As with every lesson you teach…teaching tech is the same:  model, guide, practice, experiment and share!  I can see that my MS students will pick this up much faster than my third graders, but the only  concern is that I only get them 47 min. of the day and still have content to cover.  What that means for me is that if I invest in teaching how to use technology then I better have a reason for taking time away from curriculum to teach those skills.  It makes me really think about what I want my students to be able to do and how to “kill two birds with one stone” while teaching it!

I love the idea of a recording booth and following up after inquiry investigations!  The one-to-one iPads will be a wonderful tool for this!  So many kids dislike writing all the details out and actually will miss a lot of what they learn from labs because they have to write it out!  I think having an oral analysis will benefit my students greatly!  This will especially be try of my special needs kids and oral lab reports will be an important modification.  Things to remember:  provide charts that outline basic procedures and buttons posted around the room.  Of course for ELA teachers this is a great opportunity for you to have students create book talks and save them to either a Padlet for each genre or on classroom websites for others students to listen to and get book recommendations.  

Other thoughts:  for early finishers have them read nonfiction articles from National Geographic Kids, sports Illustrated Kids, or Smithsonian Tween Tribune and do a blog entry about it.  This would need to be taught to the kids—not only how to do it, but also what a good vlog looks like.  A scoring guide could easily be designed for this and perhaps at least one a semester should be required?  Thoughts?  I thought about having this as one of the BW assignments each week, but wonder if that is too much to do at the beginning of class.  The Latin and Greek roots is another BW activity that isn’t seeming very realistic for my kids…maybe something we just teach throughout the year and make available as an extension activity for those that finish early or have extra time.  For ELE classrooms starting off the day with a nonfiction read is a great idea.  Illuminates busy work (that we all hate grading—let’s be honest) and provides more time to read!

Finally, another tip I picked up from reading the first chapter in the book was the importance of a classroom website.  I started making one using Wix and am pleased with what I have so far.  But, I need to find a way to post and share things with my students like:  charts, organizers, handouts, videos and other snapshots of student learning.  This is definitely something I will be working on this year.  Many times when I am looking at other teachers websites they have their weekly planner posted, with links to videos, notes, presentations, worksheets, etc….  I think this is a great idea for future use as well as student support at home!  A website is something students can access from any device, any place and any time they want!  Wow!  

So, there you have my thoughts from just the first chapter of Amplify!  Unbelievable…and that was the theory section!  Look out blog world…there is much more to come!

Now that we are working on reviewing go the upcoming state tests, I thought I would write down my favorite go to websites for classroom resources.  I have used many of these resources throughout the school year and plan to continue to use them in the future!

Math

• http://www.commoncoresheets.com
• http://www.math-aids.com
• http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/math/
• http://www.mathworksheets4kids.com/perimeter.php
• http://www.educationcreations.net

Grammar

• http://www.educationcreations.net

Reading

• http://www.educationcreations.net
• 
  

Science

• https://padlet.com  I use this site to compile resources for projects or research, building background knowledge

Social Studies

• https://padlet.com  I use this site to compile resources for projects or research, building background knowledge

Wow, looking back at my blog I see there is a lot of information that I had forgot about!  My goal with this blog was to document my growth in integrating technology into my classroom and I would say that I have been doing that!  Of course there are a few of those detours along the way, but I am excited to be able to see growth over time!  I am really looking forward to moving onto science this year...this is an area in which teachers seem to struggle on how to integrate technology other than just as a research tool!

This is my challenge for this year...how to integrate technology into my 47 min. science classroom.  I can't wait to see where this year goes!

I hope you will follow me along my journey!

Filthsome..that is what it is....Filthsome!

In the words of the BFG, this movie is just "fillthsome"!  I have not seen too many books that have been made into a movie that I just despise...but this happens to be the second one that has ruined a book for me.  Growing up I had several favorite books, one of which was the BFG.  This year while teaching 3rd grade I had a student ask me to read this book to the class.  I agreed thinking that this was one of my favorite books and we could get it done by the end of the school year.  We finished it the second to last week before school ended and all of us were excited to hear that The BFG was coming out in the theater in July!  I really thought they might do a good job with the book, just hoped it wouldn't be too gruesome and bloody for my kids.  Thank goodness they left that stuff out; however, I can't say that I enjoyed it.

There are three parts that I liked and felt like the movie brought the book to life...the BFG's dream cave was absolutely beautiful (although not what I envisioned in my head), the dream country was better than the book and the ending for the giants was much kinder than Roald Dahl's version. However, the movie started off completely different and placed Sofie as an insomniac with control issues.  This is not how it was spelled out in the book and from that point I was pretty edgy.  Then when the scene of the giants fighting came I was insulted by the way Steven Spielberg portrayed that part of the story. It seemed like most of the movie was out of order and the parts where garbled together haphazardly.  I understand the producers are trying to tell the whole story in one hour and 30 minutes...I am sure that is hard....but there are just some books that should be left to the imagination and for me this was one of those books.  Even the BFG's movements were too robotic for me.

So, I did take my own children to the movie...for my 5 year old it was too slow.  For my 8 year old who hadn't heard the book she knows no difference.  It will be interesting to see what she thinks of the book now that she has already seen the movie.  Finally, I look forward to hearing from some of my students about what they thought of the movie.  I wonder if they will feel as strongly about this movie vs. book as I do!

Either way, it was nice to get out for a little while, but now it is back to the grindstone!  I guess the moral of this post is that sometimes technology should leave things alone and just leave them to the imagination!