Wednesday, November 20, 2013

ReadWriteThink


I wanted to share a site that has been around for years, but I ran across it again the other day, and I noticed that they have added some new features.


I really like the Student Interactives!  This site doesn’t allow students to save their activity, so you must allow time to complete it and print.  Some are games that won’t require printing.  From the home page, hover over the Classroom Resources Tab, then choose Student Interactives. There are many ways to explore…by grade level, by learning objectives, search, etc.  There are plot diagrams, story maps, book cover creator, and timelines.  Check out all of the poetry options on the main page on the “Featured” tab.  Cool stuff!


 Please post a comment below if you integrate this site into your instruction.  Melanie or Laura will give you a star for it!  

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck - "Presentation Software to Set Your Story Free!"

Here is a sample Haiku Deck that I made this summer to demonstrate how you can use the app with vocabulary:



Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

It is a FREE app on the iPad. You can add lines of text on top of a picture. There are many templates to choose from and the gallery of pictures that you can use in your Haiku Deck is AMAZING!

There are many ways to use Haiku Deck - Vocabulary applications, research projects, slideshows and much more. You can easily create a Haiku Deck slideshow of your students at a field trip or working at school and send the Haiku Deck link to your parents.

Here is Angie Stallbaumer's page of Haiku Decks she recently created with her students. They demonstrated their mastery of Science vocabulary words.
Stallbaumer's Haiku Decks

One last thing - Haiku Decks are easy to get off of your iPad. Just make sure your students are logged into your Haiku Deck account while they create their presentations on the iPads. Once they are finished, log in to HaikuDeck.com and your students' projects will be there waiting for you:) You can take the web versions of their projects and email them to parents or embed them into your wiki or website.

Enjoy Haiku Deck! If you have any questions about it, or you have an idea for project and would like some support with it, please let me know! I'm always happy to help.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Posters with Quotes


I came across this on a blog I subscribe to, and I thought it had tons of possibilities!  Recite  http://www.recitethis.com Here is the link to the site, but when a backpack ad comes up, click on the button on the top right to go on to the site. It is a website that you can turn text into a poster that can be printed or saved…just right click on the image and so a “save as.”  It has many styles to choose from.  And, it doesn’t require a log in!
Ideas:
  • Have students summarize a book.
  • Have students reate an advertisement.
  • You or your students can quote a character from a book.
  • Have students design a book cover.
  • You can design instructional quote.
  • You can reinforce classroom management tool by designing a poster.
  • You could upload your own image and have students place adjectives all over it.
  • Have students design a poster with a short poem they composed.


Here are a couple more similar sites...

http://www.pinwords.com - Can upload your own image, no log in

http://quotescover.com - Has quite a few ads, not as user friendly for kids

Please let Laura or Melanie know what uses you come up with for these cool sites!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

iPhone App Suggestions

iPhone App Suggestions 
by Guest Blogger.....RJE's Penney Bell


My Apps tips for saving time with my I-phone:
  1.  I downloaded the Key Ring App to hold all of my shopper cards—you simply scan the card and then you can open the App on your phone at the store to use your customer number. The cashier can actually scan the barcode from your screen. Walgreens, Eddie Bauer, CVS, Ford, Kroger, Lowe's, Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples are all participants that I have added to my list. It also shows you offers and sales, and lets you put your list in the App. 
  2. The American Red Cross App can be added to get weather updates/warnings for any county in the U.S. I have loaded the locations for both my kids, my parents, and my house. It also offers lots of tips on how to prepare for emergencies, and what to do once an emergency has occurred. (When a warning appears on your screen don't panic—it always shows the tornado symbol to let you know it is from that App., no matter what kind of warning it is.)

Monday, October 21, 2013

Screen Capture Videos

Ever feel like you're repeating yourself over and over? Ever want to get a message out and an email just won't do it? Try Quicktime Screen Capture videos. Since we all have MacBooks, screen capture videos are SUPER easy to make. I have used this mac tool so many times. Here are some of the ways I've used it:
- make a how-to video for fellow staff members (such as how to add a printer to your computer)
- make a how-to video for parents (such as accessing iStation or how you taught a particular Math concept)
- make tutorial videos for students (re-teach a lesson or create this video so they can visit it again and "pause" you when necessary)
- Use Quicktime along with your Reflector app to make a tutorial video with your iPad (if you have Reflector installed onto your mac mini, you would have to create your video using your mac mini)

Anytime you want to show someone step-by-step how to do ANYTHING on your computer screen, use Quicktime! After you create your video, your video is saved onto your computer. From there, you can send it to YouTube or Vimeo for publishing.

With Quicktime, you can also make Movie Recordings (my webcam comes open so I can record myself), or just an audio recording. You can record yourself giving directions for your students, or you may want to record your students as they are reading, talking through a math solution, explaining their thinking, etc. There are SO many amazing uses for this application!

 Here is a screen capture video I made about Quicktime's screen capture tool:


Here is a screen capture video that I made today using my Reflector app and my macbook. I displayed my iPad on the screen and recorded myself as I demonstrated how to use the Google Earth app. This way, when your students say, "How do I do that?" or "What do I click on?", this type of video will alleviate that problem:)



With this tool or any other tool mentioned on this blog, please contact me if you want to know more or if you need any help with it. Happy screen-casting!


Monday, October 7, 2013

Screen Capture Mac Tool


Welcome to a new year of Technology Superheroes!  Thanks for joining us. We hope to provide some new learning for you.  It is not too late to join…just email Melanie or I letting up know you want to participate.  If you have an idea for a blog post, please let Melanie or I know.

Last year, I posted about a super handy screen capturing tool called Jing.  Well, my fabulous AP, Michelle Baumann, showed me a tool I like even better because it is already on my MacBook and doesn’t require a download.   If you go to System Preferences, choose Keyboard.  Up in the box towards the top, choose Keyboard Shortcuts, then Screenshot (on the left).  Check the options you would like to use, then you can click on it and rename it something easier for you to remember.  For example, I use the selection options all the time, so I renamed the “Save Picture of Selected Area as File” to Option F (using the option key by the spacebar.)  I also renamed “Copy the Selected Area to the Clipboard Option C.   This feature is great to insert quick little snapshots into emails and such! 


If you are really into using shortcuts, you can see (and rename if you like) them by choosing different categories in the box on the left.  Happy shortcutting!  

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Let's Get It Started!




It's time to get another year of Technology Superheroes started! The purpose of this program is to encourage the integration of technology in your classroom, to introduce you to new tools and ideas and to encourage you to problem solve and help each other with technology-related issues. For anyone who is new to McGowen or RJE, here is a brief explanation of this blog and our program:


1. Email Laura Bates (RJE) or Melanie Burford (McGowen) to let them know you want to participate. We will put a sign by your classroom door on which stars for your superhero cape will be displayed.
2. Watch for an email with a update to our Technology Superhero blog. If you try a tech tool mentioned in our blog, email Melanie or Laura with evidence that you used that tech tool. It could be a picture of a student product, a screen shot on your computer, etc. You just earned a star for your cape! Laura or Melanie will come by to add it to your Technology Superhero sign.
3. If you help a staff member with troubleshooting a technology issue (that would have been a potential Technology Help Request), have the staff member you helped send a brief email to Melanie or Laura telling us how you were at Technology Superhero Problem Solver! You just earned another star for your cape!
4. You will earn your first star just by accepting the challenge to participate!
5. You may use the blog archive to look at posts from last year and use those ideas. (Example: I LOVE Thinglink and strongly encourage you to try that tool, but I won't write a new blog post about it...yet.) If you read an old post and implement one of those ideas, it will count for a star on your cape.

Prizes: 
5 Stars- Fuzzy Fingers to clean your laptop/iPad screen, or a decal for your laptop (We will have several for you to choose from.) 10 Stars- choice of a Hub Man (has flexible arms and legs with a USB port at each to allow you to use more tech gadgets with your laptop or Mac Mini) or a USB memory stick. **  
15 stars - We will look into ordering tech superhero t-shirts this year.

For each 5 stars collected, a raffle ticket will be earned toward a chance to win an iPad Mini*. Drawing will be held on the staff workday, June 6th.
*The iPad will be checked out to you and it is intended for professional and classroom use. In the event of your transfer away from McGowen or RJE, the iPad must be returned.

And, have no fear, because your Technology Committee is here! Please let your Technology Committee know how we can support you.

“If the prospect of living in a world where trying to respect the basic rights of those around you–and valuing each other simply because we exist–are such daunting, impossible tasks that only a super-hero born of royalty can address them…then what sort of world are we left with? And what sort of world do you want to live in?” ~Wonder Woman

**Prizes for 5 stars or 10 stars are subject to change without notice.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Thinglink...Touch the Future of Images

Make your images interactive with Thinglink! Thinglink is a website where you can upload an image and place "hotspots" all over it. I love creating Thinglinks for students to use. For instance, I uploaded a picture of a giraffe to Thinglink and placed research links all over the giraffe. When Kindergarten was doing their animal research, they clicked on the giraffe's "hotspots" and went straight to the websites to gather their information. My Kinder friends could easily remember which spot went with particular websites. They would tell me, "Just click on the giraffe's leg!"

Thinglink is also a great way to "house" videos and links so they're all in one place. For instance, after doing our Penguin Palooza projects, I linked all the classes' projects to a Thinglink so students, teachers and parents could easily view all the projects without having to visit different sites or search for the videos on YouTube.

Below are a couple of Thinglinks I created....one is the giraffe Thinglink we used for Kindergarten research. The other is the Penguin Palooza Thinglink presentation. To make the cool penguin pic, I used the Strip Designer app on my iPad to make the image, then uploaded that picture to Thinglink so I could put the video links on there.

Give Thinglink a try! By the way, I just learned that Thinglink is now a FREE app as well! I haven't tried it yet, but I definitely will do that very soon. If you try Thinglink and come up with a fun, engaging way to use it with your students and/or parents, please let me know. I'm ALWAYS looking for new ideas:)

Giraffe thinglink:




Penguin Thinglink:


10 Time Saving Tech Tips


Who couldn't use MORE TIME?  Check out this link to an entertaining 5 minute video.  You might know some, but I bet you will learn something!



David Pogue- Ten Basics You Think Everyone Knows (But They Don't)

Email Melanie or I with a "new to you" tip, and we'll add a star to your cape!



Monday, April 29, 2013

Skype and FaceTime





Bring the world into your classroom! With all the technology that we have at our fingertips these days, why not invite visitors to your classroom without them actually being there? Use Skype or Facetime to connect with other classrooms, authors, community helpers, etc. A first grade class at McGowen recently connected with Dori Butler, author of the Buddy Files series. Shana Prugh(McGowen first grade teacher) contacted Ms. Butler and asked about visiting via Skype. Mrs. Prugh's class had just finished reading The Case of the Lost Boy. They loved the book so much they wanted to talk to the author themselves so they could tell her just that!

Before the visit, each student in the class wrote a question for Ms. Butler. This way, the students would feel more confident when it was their turn to speak to Ms. Butler. They didn't have to worry about what to say or fumbling on their words...they were well prepared! Also, to make sure the network worked properly, we did a practice skype visit with another classroom to make sure our voices were loud enough and to practice where to stand, etc.  We simply plugged Mrs. Prugh's macbook into the SMARTBoard and made the connection. It was simple to do, since the macbook has a built-in webcam. You can easily do this in your classroom by sharing your macbook screen with your mac mini. Click here to find out more about screen sharing on a MAC.

Many authors will do Skype visits for free - you just have to ask! Here are a couple of resources to help you get started.

http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com

http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/






Thursday, April 18, 2013

Padlet (formally known as Wallwisher)


Remember Wallwisher?  It got a makeover and is now called Padlet.  It is a cool web application that is like a virtual bulletin board of sorts.  You post discussion questions and students can create a virtual sticky note to join in the discussion.  It could also be used for group projects, brainstorming, collaboration,  and much more!  Check out the homepage and click on WHY PADLET for some quick intro videos.  You can also peruse the Gallery for ideas.  With the makeover, Padlet now has the ability to download and print.    

Sign up and give Padlet a try to earn another star for your cape, and let us know how you are using this versatile and FUN web tool by posting a comment below!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Twitter



Twitter is an amazing social network to use for professional growth and with your students. You may think Twitter is tricky to use with elementary students, but here is a way that it is being used at McGowen in a 3rd grade classroom.

In Mrs. Karls' class, students take turns posting a tweet to Mrs. Karls' twitter feed. They post something about what they learned during the day, then finish the tweet with their initials. Before the tweet gets published, Mrs. Karls approves it:) We got this idea from TCEA this year at a session about communicating with parents and community. We thought this approach would give a great snapshot to families about what their children are doing at school by using something other than a standard weekly newsletter. Here is a link to Mrs. Karls' wiki so you can scroll through her twitter feed.

Mrs. Kasper, 4th grade teacher at McGowen, also uses Twitter in her classroom. She also posts many pictures showing samples of student projects. What a great way to share what is going on daily at school!  Click here to see Mrs. Kasper's twitter feed.

Give Twitter a try in your classroom! Explain to your parents how you are using it. Our elementary students do not have their own twitter accounts. They are just given permission to post tweets on their teacher's accounts.  If you want to try Twitter, I'd be happy to help you set it up. Once it's established, make it a "job" for one of your students and the twitter feed will be taken care of! 

Get a twitter feed going and earn another star for your superhero cape! If you're using it or have other ideas for using Twitter, please share in the comments below.


CopyPasteCharacter.com

I love a fun emoticon in my text messages, but I never knew you could put them in emails or documents!  Check out copypastecharacter.com.  This site makes it super easy to insert special characters in all things digital.



Need a unique math symbol?  How about a special graphic shape or a 👍? When you need to use a special character, go to the site, FIND then CLICK on the desired character.  It will be copied to your clipboard, then you can head back to what you are working on and PASTE.  Poof....it's there!  Be sure to notice the drop down menu in the top/middle of the webpage that lets you toggle between the different sets.  Yes, it is THAT easy!😉

Edmodo - social networks for students


McKinney ISD has been using Edmodo a LOT this year! At McGowen, weve used it at almost every professional development day – to collaborate, to post answers to questions, to turn in assignments, and more. 4th and 5th grade teachers have used it this year to implement a flipped classroom model. Edmodo has been used to organize virtual book clubs, so students can talk about their books without having to be in the same room.

Ideas for using Edmodo in the classroom:
  • ·      Professional development
  • ·      Book clubs
  • ·      Flipped classroom
  • ·      Use folders within Edmodo to keep files for students and teachers for future use
  • ·      Set up an Edmodo group for new teachers so they can comfortably ask newbie questions.

Below is a few screenshots of Edmodo examples and how theyre used. Thanks to Ms. Ellison and Mrs. Evans for sending me these!





If you have used Edmodo in your class or with your teachers, let us know so you can earn a STAR for your superhero cape!