Sight Word video made by kids... for kids

Hello there,

This past week (between CSAP and spring break), my fifth graders have had the opportunity to make a sight word video for younger students to use at home and over the summer! They are already used to using Windows Movie Maker thanks to our wonderful Aimee Stork... so this was not too difficult to plan. We are filming things on the document camera. The kids made all of their props (flashcards and backgrounds) and even wrote sentences with visuals for each list of ten sight words. They are really excited about it and can't wait to have their younger brothers and sisters use it. We only got through 350 sight words and we aren't finished with the final product yet. Maybe sometime soon we will have the opportunity to add to it. This was really a cool opportunity for the kids to show off their creativity and computer skills... and a wonderful break from the ordinary!

Kelly B.

Thinkfinity Opportunities

Global Learners:

Here is an opportunity for you to learn more about Thinkfinity.org:

eNetColorado and Colorado Thinkfinity continues to offer it's highly successful 3-week Thinkfinity Online course for all Colorado teachers through 2011.

There are slots available in the courses that start April 1. May 1, and June 1.

The 3-week online course provides an overview of Thinkfinity.org and instruction on locating Thinkfinity’s online educational resources and integrating them effectively into instructional activities to support student learning. After completion of this online course, educators will have developed their own original Thinkfinity Integration Plan and be empowered to use Thinkfinity resources in their classroom to enhance student learning.

There is a $50 registration fee and participants will be awarded 30 CDE credits upon successful completion of the course or have the option of registering for 2 graduate credits from Adams State College.

Classes start the first of each month with our next class starting in January and we will offer classes each month in 2011.

Individuals can register for the month they want to take the course at: http://www.coloradothinkfinity.org/register-for-courses.html

Group registrations from districts are also available.

For more information, visit
http://www.enetcolorado.org and www.coloradothinkfinity.org

Contact: jane.brown@coloradothinkfinity.org

Testimonials from past participants:

"Up until now I have never experienced so many resources in one place. The National Content Partners\' sites truly give Thinkfinity the strength to have a content rich library."

"Thinkfinity is a treasure trove of education resources for parents, teachers, and students"

"The reputable Content Partners is the aspect that drew me in and validated the reliability and professionalism of Thinkfinity."

"I see Thinkfinity as an educational travel agency for learning. What a great way to view the journey of learning."

"Bottom line, Thinkfinity is a resource that I can personally use to increase my ability to teach."

We Made a Dialogue Book Using Technology!

This week in writing we have been focusing on dialogue. Students have been identifying dialogue in stories and including it in their writing!

Earlier this week we read the story, Goldilocks and The Three Bears. My kindergartners drew pictures from the story and wrote their favorite dialogue from the story. For example, they drew a picture of Papa Bear and wrote, "Someone has been sitting in my chair."

On Friday we made a class book and brainstormed dialogue for each character! Check it out!

http://www.artisancam.org.uk/flashapps/picturebookmaker/captures/stf/index.php?incomingNum=4869

ArtisanCam Picture Book Maker

ArtisanCam Picture Book Maker is a fun and free tool that you can use to create your very own children's book. My children were studying dialogue in writing and we used our prior knowledge of quotation marks, exclamation marks and letter formation to correctly publish our own book. We titled our book, "Vanilla the Gorilla." It's a story about a gorilla who travels to China in search of Ramen Noodles! Click on the following link to read our story and let us know what you think! http://www.artisancam.org.uk/flashapps/picturebookmaker/captures/stf/index.php?incomingNum=4868

Feb. Blog

I found the greatest website that we've been using during ALD. Here it is: www.idebate.org
The students were put into partners to research debate topics I assigned them to, they created a rubric to grade each other and themselves on for the debate, then debated while being filmed. They were then able to watch the film in order to grade themselves. They LOVED the project!

Donors Choose

Hey Busy Teachers!

How many of you have posted Donors Choose grants? I've got a couple posted right now and a couple more under review that should be posted soon, and they are SO EASY to do. If you've never heard of it, Donors Choose is a site where you, the teacher, go online shopping for things you need for your class (it can literally be for anything) write a few paragraphs about your class and why they need these things, then submit your proposal. Once it is reveiwed, donors can come in and look at your proposal, then donate money to your cause! Ive done 2 in the past and both were fully funded within a few weeks. The key is to make them public so more people see them. Link them to your Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, etc and you'll have no problem funding your proposals either. Check out my proposal here for ideas or just to donate to a good cause! Thanks!

myebook.com

According to the website:

" myebook aims to revolutionise the way we create, publish and share ebook content online. Built on a feature-rich social platform, complete with powerful, browser-based, builder software, and a slick reader environment, there's never been an easier way for anyone and everyone to 'get it out there'.

With myebook.com, we've made it possible for anyone to upload, or create from scratch, beautifully simple or adventurously complex page designs and covers online, in no time. What's more, you can publish your book with a single button and release it to the world before the (virtual) ink's dry! You can create as many publications as you want. And it's all free.

myebook, currently available as full-featured beta release, is a culmination of over 2 years research and development. The result is a slick, polished product that harnesses key internet technologies in a way never seen before.

Add to this myebook's powerful yet simple user interface and you have the ultimate ebook platform for any personal or corporate publication, whether it's for novels, childrens books, magazines, comics, photo albums, leaflets, brochures, instruction manuals. You can even embed or link to videos, audio, documents, images and flash files to make your books fully interactive. And what's more, since the whole myebook system is community-based, getting your word out to your audience is easy.

The team behind the project are all seasoned developers, designers, writers, marketeers and are continuously adding features and enhancing the myebook experience as they approach their next milestone release."

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I think that this looks good and I would like to hear from you if you use this.

I am going to try to incorporate it into HS science. We shall see ...

Doug