Back in the groove...

Hello fellow Global Learners!

I was reading through Emily’s recent post and came to realize how much I can relate to her. I am also suffering from the “technology blues” and was so grateful to find out that I’m not alone. I was so eager over the summer preparing for this year, and then school just sort of got in the way. I got comfortable with a couple things – blog comments on our class blog, viewing films on United Streaming, Clicker lessons, and I stuck with those, not really adventuring into anything else. Then I began creating films for this year’s Film Fest, which is new for me, and that has monopolized all of my energy.

But I’m stepping up! I’m trying to refresh and recommit myself. I have some new ideas that I’m excited about. Keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming projects… we’re in the middle of a data and graphing project and we’ll somehow be posting our findings. I also plan to post student poems on our website and blog, and of course our much anticipated films for the Film Fest. I'm trying to get back in the groove.

Poetry Wiki

I'm not sure how everyone else is holding up this month, but I am totally CSAPed out and exhausted. My third graders finished testing today...so that is good! Good luck to you all and the testing yet to come.

I've also been having some technology blues lately-I start a project and then don't finish it, or encounter some issues that I didn't expect, and spend too much time on something ridiculous. Does this happen to anyone else?

One thing I am excited about is the poetry wiki I created. So far my students have published their acrostic name poems there. Soon they will comment on them on the wiki. Please visit and leave your comments if you are so inclined! I decided to use wet paint, which Kelly S. recommended to me. I like how it looks visually, but discovered it doesn't allow for Voki widgets. Oh well, I guess I will keep searching for my favorite wiki site. Any suggestions?

Literacy Lesson Plan Using voicethread

After experimenting with voicethread for a professional quest, I have been looking for ways to incorporate it into my lessons. Seeing, how it is a web 2.o version of photostory, I wanted to use it for my students to publish their own stories.
Here is a link to that lesson plan

Also, Please check out my blog I did liveblogging with my ELA students for the first time. They were very engaged and I think it could be a great thing to do regularly! I think this could really lead to critical thinking! I could really use some feedback on scaffolding!

Trying to share some student work

I've recently updated by algebra blog to include some lesson plans and student work. Check it out here.

153 Useful Educational iPod Resources

I’ve used my iPod to provide PowerPoints for my students. It makes for a great flash card tool. Great for first grade since I have a couple of students who need more help with sight words.

I found this article on Yahoo tech which points to a couple of other educational resources (Online Education Database and Kottke.org) and I thought I'd share it:
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/raskin/18019

The sites they mention are:
http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better
and
http://www.kottke.org/plus/50-ways-ipod/

This link is for some really cool podcasts on Smartboards:
http://pdtogo.com/smart/
This is a cool link too. This is one I use for keeping up on my Spanish. It's a series of free podcasts (costs if you want the transcript) called NotesInSpanish:http://www.notesinspanish.com/ Its a fun way to learn on the go. Other languages resources from OpenCulture: http://www.oculture.com/2006/10/foreign_languag.html -sadly there is nothing under Icelandic languages.
This site has tons of resources for podcasting: http://www.podcasting-tools.com/

Okay so that's more like 154 resources.
So how are you using your iPod?

crossposted on http://http://mrfishergloballearner.blogspot.com/

Photo from Louder: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermida/390819852/

Elementary Multiplication Lesson

(Cross posted on my blog) I taught a lesson on the SmartBoard a few weeks ago on creating large arrays out of 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication problems. The lesson was an accessible algorithm from the Houghton-Mifflen math series that we are piloting in my grade level. We are also teaching multiplication in the traditional way, but this was an opportunity for me to approach the same old lesson in a new way.

I was very skeptical about this lesson. It began with direct instruction with the whole group. The next day, I worked with individual students on creating arrays with 2-digit by 1-digit problems (the 2x2 problems were a little too much at the outset). I was blown away by how quickly some of my struggling students "got it". I grabbed the digital camera and started recording. Later, I had another struggling student demonstrate the process for the class on the SmartBoard. This was also an attempt to model "math talk" where students talk through the problem, and then their peers ask them clarifying questions. This is very much a work in progress. The old ways are very hard to change for both students and their teacher.

I am very pleased with how the lesson went. I think it served as an alternative method for reaching students who otherwise may not have been able to access the skill. It was also a way for students who already knew the "traditional" method to extend their knowledge by representing the problem in a different way.

I posted the video and the SIOP lesson plan on the Global Learner Wiki.

Civil War and Google Docs

I've created some lesson plans using Google Docs to get students to think more critically and collaborate.

Civil War and Google Docs 2

Civil War and Google Docs 1

I used www.scribd.com, a resourced that I heard from Sharon Peters. I'm really excited to find a place to upload lessons and that can be interactive. Visitors can view my lesson plans and add comments and questions. On a side note my student teacher said she had to pay for a service through CUD that allowed her to put in her lesson plans and papers for grading and feedback! After I showed her this service she was a little upset that she was spending money on something that was harder to use. I love Web 2.0, especially when its FREE!!!!

I used the SIOP lesson plan template, which helped me reflect on my lessons from the lens of an ELA Teacher--which I should have been doing. However, the last few weeks I have been so consumed by getting my students to think critically that I've over looked the language barrier. I need to take a step back and make sure they have received good comprehensible input before I get them to think and do things with the information.

I've been thinking alot about essential questions lately, I'd like to think some more about how to use the Essential Questions to create language targets and to allow students to apply and use their background knowledge -- even if they have no understanding of American History.

{this post is cross posted with my website}