Smartboarding!

After leaving GL training, I made the commitment to myself to use the Smartboard in at least one lesson a day. The Rose Hill 3rd grade team has been collaborating with Sarah Feaster to use power point to introduce/teach Storytown vocabulary, and I wanted to develop some of those practices with matching vocabulary, as well as integrate the board into Math. I found a site which has lessons already designed that one can download: http://faculty.usiousfalls.edu/arpeterson/smartboard.htm I downloaded a coupld good formats and started to edit them to fit our needs and learning goals. What I discovered, was that the lessons I downloaded were great for not only introducing concepts, but then very applicable in following days and lessons to practice. We have had great classes integrating the smartboard into our manipulatives! The ideas keep flowing in!

Happy New School Year!

The beginning of the school year always seems to fill my mind up so much that I walk around in a haze. The haze is slowly dissipating and my mind is starting to work again! I am excited to challenge myself this year to keep using technology in my classroom. So far I have been using the Smartboard to help teach and practice math concepts and have set up reading listening centers on ipods. I also created a film with my class where each student set a goal for the year. It was a fun project which we did together on the Smartboard. It introduced my students to film-making and got them excited to be making films this year. As always I am inspired by my colleagues and other Global Learners and am looking forward to another great year!

cross posted at: http://mstaylorsthirdgradeclass.blogspot.com/

Kidthing

So, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this program/site. It's great to use on the SMART Board and mainly for elementary grades. The website is: www.kidthing.com. You download it onto a computer/laptop and will then be able to browse its store for books, and creative art things and games. I've downloaded it and mainly download the free books and a couple math games. So far, I've got a collection of Dr. Seuss books. This is a great way for students to have interactive reading time with books or games! (And did I mention it's great on the SMART Board?)

Lisa -- I just downloaded First Day Jitters for free!

Glogster

I posted this on our science blog but thought that more could benefit from the suggestions....

After our three day intensive technology brain melt I decided to jump off the high dive and have my AVID students do a Glogster page to introduce themselves to me and thier classmates. There were a few glitches in the beginning like all the accounts were registered as females (much to the consternation of my 8th grade boys), you cannot seem to sign in sometimes no matter how many times you try (we learned to move to a different computer ~ it helps for whatever reason), and if you change your password it sometimes locks out your account all together.

BUT!! We have persevered and managed to create some really cool pages!

Here are some hints for starting your own Glogster accounts:
1. Sign up on Glogster/edu for all 200 accounts. You will need some extras
2. Pick a simple nickname as it will assign it to all of your students and they cannot change it. A good one would be ACHS ~ then the students would be s001.ACHS and s002.ACHS and so forth.
3. If at first you don't succeed, walk to another computer!

Have fun!!

Using StoryTown

Dorothy and I have been using the CD ROMS that came with StoryTown on the Smart Boards! We love the games! I high recommend trying it! The cd is called "Splash Into Phonics". It's really interactive and engaging! Ask your learning coordinator for the CD, some schools didn't have them last year!

Big Universe

Here is a site worth checking out for picture books. At Big Universe you can read, create and share children's books. Each week they feature at least two free picture books to read online. I searched through their books and was able to read several picture books for free. This weeks free books are Kids Around the World and Is a Worry Worrying You?

You can also upgrade your membership, which will allow you to publish books written by children (or you!). The upgrade fees are anywhere from $6 per month to $50-80 per year.

Does anyone else have an online (or other) resource where students can create and publish books?

www.biguniverse.com

WOW!

Good morning all. I have had 7 days of school and now getting ready for the 8th day. In 7 full days, I now can say I'll never teach without my board again. I have used it for more than 1/2 of each day. The only time that I am using my regular white board is when there is something on the Promethean Board that I don't want to drop down at that time. My kids are loving it and at times upset because it does not move as fast as they do. We have talked about blogging and plan to start talking to our other friends in No. Colorado sometime this week. I so enjoyed our days together in Commerce City and hope to see you all soon. Later - Jeri

Smartboard for Assessment Days!

For those of us who see 1/3 of the kids by full grade levels for an hour each on assessment days, the Smartboard is wonderful. I used to feel a little like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day! This year I did a crossword, speed find and memory game on the smartboard on these days and it actually made this time FUN! Now the kids are excited and curious to see what we'll do next.

First Full Day

Well, I had all the kids all day today (just like most of you). Still haven't hooked up the SmartBoard. There is just too much else to do, right off the bat. My plan for today or tomorrow is to read First Day Jitters and use the Promethean flip chart for it that Melissa found. I have downloaded Promethean for personal use and it will be interesting to see how it works out when I use a flip chart on a SmartBoard.
Lisa

This is cross-posted on the second grade global learner blog. (We have so many second grade teachers now, we had to make a blog for swapping tech ideas that fit with our curriculum.)

8 Thoughts on How I Might Use Technology in my 09-10 Classroom

After two and a half days at the Adams 14/Center 26JT/Atomic Learning Global Learners Conference (wow that is a long title that I pretty much just made up), my head was really swimming – overloaded with information. Now after a little bit of down time and reflection, I’ve got some clear initial thoughts about some ways I might like to use what I learned about last week...

I've posted this at my professional blog, Ed. Sci. Tech. You can jump right to the whole post by clicking here.

"truth and beauty in math and science by D.B."

so we Glers 2009.2010 have finished our workshop!..., we go our separate physical ways...and so what has the past 3 days meant?... good question...lots of answers... good "vibes"...we will meet again!...physically and/or cyberspace...

we have identified expectations, set goals, established new relationships... set the direction for the future...

for me (an old guy...almost as old as Dave (haha)) it is a time for renewal, re-charging the batteries....learning from Todd, Jon, Lisa, dlo (you rock!), Liz, JD, Emily, Kelly, Sara + all the mentors / mentees... all of us...collectively...

I leave you with a short tedtalk (ted.com) animation...
consider the "truth and beauty in math and science" D.B.,
consider the life of a cell animated to let us all understand...what we may not be able to see..not unlike the subtle changes in our students...

thanks to Glers who believe in 21st C tools and strategies...

thanks Central people (new friends), ACSD14 (old friends) and Atomic Learning.... Ms Chandler, Mr. Miller, Mr. Tarwater and others who support and provide the resources...

so....
"truth and beauty in math and science (aka the inner life of a cell)"
animation only or here on you tube the inner life of a cell




and with the full tedtalk (ted.com)...

truth and beauty (the inner life of a cell) tedtalk

wishing all of you and your students the best year in your teaching career...

The Inner Life of a Cell - Matt Berky

August Post from Tom

I am excited about incorporating my new technological resources into my 8th grade Algebra classroom. I am in the process of creating a classroom website with hopes of having it up and functioning so that my students can get accustomed to it right from the start of the year. Once I have the framework to my website up and running I plan on using blogs, voicethreads, glogster and other resources and attaching them to my website. If anyone has any interest or any ideas about how they could collaborate with an Algebra teacher I'm willing to give it a shot! Wish me luck and good luck to all of you!

Great post

This is a great blog post about adopting technology in the classroom and its pitfalls. (Got it via Twitter.)

August Post from Cheryl

The past few days have increased my knowledge of a 2.0 classroom. As I return to Center and plan my first steps to incorporate technology into my classroom, I am planning on utilizing a blog with my third graders. I am also working on a classroom web-page to share with students and parents. I will be using the Promethean board on a daily basis as a way to take attendance and utilize promethean flipcharts as a part of our power standards. These are my first steps to becoming a flat classroom.

Spezify

This is a fun site for word/concept mapping (of a sort). Go to it and enter any word: Spezify.

There is also a professional networking site for ACSD14 teachers on Ning. Go and join up... all the cool kids are on it!

Cover It Live

"Cool" Website

Hi everyone! If you don't know about Cool Iris you should check it out. It's a website that lets you search and view photos, videos, tv shows and a plethora of other media from google, picasa, flickr and several others.

Finally! YouTube on Video iPod

I finally figured out how to put you tube videos on my ipod! I used: http://vixy.net/ , a service that is free and converts videos to different formats!

Here's the film I did. I plan on using it with my students during our Ocean Exploration IB unit of inquiry.

Wow...

I was feeling so overwhelmed yesterday and last night reflecting on all of the new information! It is truly exciting and I can't wait to try new things. For me, choosing where to go from here is most important right now. I created a class blog yesterday and hope to have a class website soon!!! All of the mentors have done a wonderful job and thanks to everyone for all of the guidance, support and ideas. What an amazing opportunity we have been given!

Very Excited

This new batch of Global Learners is a fantastic addition. I am really looking forward to collaborating. I want to learn more about Promethean boards and using their reservoir of flipchart lessons and sharing our collection of Smart Notebook lessons. While helping with the trainings this week, I have remembered things I wanted to try and things I started and never returned to. I have heard great ideas from so many people and it will be interesting to see what I will be able to incorporate this year.
I am also very proud of all the new Global Learners for jumping right in!
Lisa

Look!! Opportunities to take classes!

Here I am, being nosy on other district websites..... and this particular website had a link to the Rocky Mountain PBS....apparently the CDE is offering a lovely 50% discount for some courses (some of which are for technology based courses!). Maybe we can take some together! Check it out!

Stop, Collaborate, and Create

I am thrilled to be working with such an innovative, collaborative, and passionate group of educators. Introducing us to the MANY different tools available to us and then allowing us to explore and create for ourselves has been extremely helpful. Everyone is eager to help each other become better educators and it is very clear that Global Learners are not competitive; they are collaborative. I can't wait to share my lessons over the course of the year, and I am looking forward to learning from everyone in this group.

The Right Fit

I've decided that being a Global Learner is similar to back to school shopping. It's possible to walk into any store during this time of year and see many things that are appealing to the eye. However, it is impossible to buy everything (no matter how good the "sales" are). Over the last few days I have learned about many new and exciting technology tools that I would like to use in my classroom. At times all of this knowledge seemed overwhelming, but I just had to take a step back and decide what are the must haves. After reflecting on all of this information, I have decided to start off by making a classroom blog. I think it's the best "fit" for me.

On another note, I just want to mention that I am very grateful for this opportunity to learn new things and collaborate with a great group of people! I have enjoyed the last few days and look forward to what lies ahead in the future!

New CSAP Changes

I read this article this morning, and found it interesting.
Hmm....

TGIF

Hmmm, my first post: what to write???? This has been a very overwhelming few days. I am so excited though at all the new knowledge I have and I can't wait to get started. I really appreciate all the nice, "old", global learners and all the help everyone has been so willing to give. I also am so glad everyone is willing to help throughout the year too and that come 12:30 I am not on my own yet!! Here's to a wonderful year full of great technology!

Thanks

This has been fantastic. I really liked the longer breakouts. Gave more time to understand what we are working on. I love my mentor, so understanding and clear on instructions. I am excited to be a part of this experience. Thanks to those who have been the organizers.

My Reflections and Goals for 09-10

I got kind of wordy with my reflection, so I won't say much here - you can skip right to the post in my blog. I basically reflected upon what I'd like to do in the coming year overall as a teacher, and then a few ways that the technology I've learned about over the past two days will help me accomplish those goals.

This is a good time to introduce my "professional" blog. Eventually I want to do more with the domain (like a class website, which is what it was used for last year), but for now it is for me and anyone else who wants to contribute. Working on having good content and promoting it and getting lots of input is something I hope to have happen.

The main site is howatscience.net. Again, the permalink to my GL Workshop Day 2 Reflection is here.

I will say that all of my fellow GL'ers have been a real inspiration to me so far, I can wait to collaborate with all of you over the coming years.

Getting more comfortable

Feeling soooo much more comfortable with some of the applications!!! Yay!

#63 The Short Bus

Well, I've been enjoying this Inservice. Everybody has been just great to work with. I look forward to working with everybody through the year. If you want to know about the title of this post use the following: http://testblogaug09.blogspot.com/ and it will help you out.


JHood

Just breathe...

I am so relieved that tomorrow is a day of practice and asking my wonderful mentor for help! I have started many unfinished projects and am excited to work on them further tomorrow and throughout this year. Thanks to all the "old" global learners for your expertise and training the past two days, it has been great!

Today was a bit less overwhelming, but thanks for all the info!!!!

Thursday

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I found today extremely beneficial. Having the extra time to become more proficient at one or two types of technology helped so much. Thanks to all of you in your planning and flexibility in planning today. You truly took our comments to heart.

Cheryl Shearin

Take Aways....

Today was very beneficial for me because I was able to spend some time doing. I valued the session to work on setting up and exploring the Smart software and board. I also feel like I made progress on Blogging, and am looking forward to having more opportunities to work on things I want to implement in my classroom.

Today

Another packed day! I loved the skype session! I am working on my main idea of having each of my students in 2 classes create their own science website on a domain that I have created. Doug is helping me a lot with this idea and working through the steps. I also want to thank Todd for doing a liveblogging session and showing us how to embed videos, live blogs, and pictures into a blog. A great day!

Bulging eyes and a filled mind...

Today has been a long day on the computer, hence the glow of the screen is running a muck in my mind...even when I'm not looking at it!

Today I was able to design and update some websites. In the past, I have used them for my classes, especially by continually updating a calendar so that students know what to expect. Using that calendar has also forced me to be more organized in my planning. I am excited to use it in conjunction with more applications so that it is even better! To check out the start of my class websites, click here or here.


I also created a blog so that I can reflect on what I'm learning in my attempts at implementing technology in my classroom. For this, I am excited. I have sort of known that a blog was coming...and I finally gave in. :-]

I feel like I have the structure and foundation for utilizing technology in my classroom, but now I need time to plan my classes so that I can use them best. I don't want to get so focused on technology that I lose curriculum...after all, I like my job! LOL

Tita's mood today

This morning was kind of tough for me. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, went wrong. However, this afternoon went more smoothly for me. I think I will go shopping tonite because I feel like shopping. My mood is a lot better than yesterday.

Web Sites and Blogging

Jenny says:
I feel like a got a lot done today! I have created a blog and a functional website! I don't see how people who have jobs who sit infront of computers all day do it! I think I'm more exhausted today than I am when I hang out with 5 and 6 year olds! I more of a mover, than a sitter! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...more work time hopefully!

Today

Today was extremely helpful! I got to work with my mentor about projects and applications that were specific to kindergarten! I find that in a lot of school district events, preschool and kinder are usually clumped together and I feel great that I get to work with fellow kindergarten teachers. We are going to rock it out this school year! Looking forward to creating a cool plan tomorrow!

GL Training 8.6.08

Today's breakout sessions were very beneficial for me because I was able to direct my focus on more detailed aspects of voicethread, blogs, and smartboard software. Tomorrow I hope to gain more info on my requirements as a GL and how to make all of this effective in the classroom.

AVID DIVA Site

Here's my first attempt at a Google Site. I've used the file cabinet feature to store all our essential forms and letters that we send home to parents in our AVID program. This site has really allowed our teacher to take control of these resources and make them thier own.

Take a look and leave me some feedback: http://sites.google.com/site/acmsavid/

Our Favorite Widgets

Here are some ideas of widgets to add some life and personality to your blogs:

Playlist: http://www.playlist.com/

Voki: http://www.voki.com/

Clustermap: http://clustermap.com/

Weather Pixie: http://weatherpixie.com/

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/

Any other ideas?

Do You Have A "Professional" Blog?

Last year, one way I collaborated with a fellow mentee and our mentor was via a professional blog. (Click here to view it.) We didn't post too many entries, but it did serve as a place to host our live blogging sessions (via CoveritLive), our podcasts of professional conversations (via Skype), and more recently, "help" videos of relevant Web 2.0 apps. Consider keeping a professional blog with your mentor/mentee or simply on your own. It's a great way to show off all the work you accomplish throughout the year.

Happy Blogging!

Liz

3 - 2 - 1

What have I learned?
1. How to use different internet items with students.
2. What is a Blog and Wiki.
3. What Global Learning is all about.

Questions I have...
1. What is an audacity file?
2. What is a Podcast?

What Question do I still have?
1. How can I remember all this stuff?

3-2-1

Jenny Ceretto says:
Three things I learned today:
1. I can turn my audacity file into a MP3 and post it to my google site
2. The differences between blogs, wiki, and websites
3. How to have my students create posters online

Two things I want to explore
1. Setting about websites
2. Collaboration across the internet

One Question
1. Do have more professional development thoughout the year?

three, two, one

Please post a reflection about today's training! Leave a comment and include: three things you learned, two subjects you want to explore more tomorrow, and one question you still have!

Mary reflects on GL: Day 1......

I learned...

1. how much is out there! And I especially learned that diigio ROCKS! At diigio, I don't have to find all those amazing things; a lot of people have already done the hard work of discovery, and I just get to celebrate and steal!
2. that I get to make some bonus $$$ being a GOOD global learner. I'm in! This I solemnly swear, to complete my global learners' duties with honor. I do...
   
3. that ceaser salad is quite yummy on an empty stomach. Mmmmmmm.

Tomorrow, I want to learn...

1. How to use voicethread and audacity in my classrooms to engage my students.
2. How to start with standards and use technology to BUILD on those.

I wonder...

1. How the heck I will choose from the PLETHORA of tools out there. There is so much. How do I choose effectively and meaningfully?
   

321

Three things I learned:
1. Google Sites updated their formatting and made it easier to develop sites in a timely manner.
2. Cell phones can be used as clickers (textthemob.com).
3. Diigo is my new best friend.

Two things I want to learn about tomorrow:
1. Smartboard features
2. Voicethread

One question I have:
1. Are there certain tools I should learn first in order to make other tools seem more user friendly?

Pictures from today

Here are some pictures from the day... enjoy!

Global Learners 2009

I am excited about the new games for the Smartboard that have been shared with us.
The Koosh ball activity is awesome! I can't wait to use it the first day of school. I think students will love it and it is a great way to break the ice. I have created a simple one for 2nd grade. The questions vary. Some are as easy as "What is one thing you did this summer?" and some are a little harder such as "What sound does short a make?" If the student can not answer the question, it is no big deal, we will try to answer them together then as a class. I think this is a great way to get students comfortable and excited about the new year. If anyone would like to copy the koosh activity I made, please let me know. I would be happy to share.


Sara

New Global Learner training, day 1

One of the most fun things about this activity? Watching it.

links to sample blogs and a google site

Welcome new Global Learners!

Hi all. Here are some examples of blogs used last year:

http://09chemistry.blogspot.com/ 9th grade chemistry

http://www.apibbiology.blogspot.com/ (11th - 12th grade biology)

and a couple I am creating for this year (in progress)....

http://achsibchem.blogspot.com/ which links to some live scribe files

http://ibmypbioatachs.blogspot.com/

also a link to a google site on how to create a google site....

http://sites.google.com/site/staffdevelopmentacsd14/

Hope this helps, please feel free to contact me anytime....

Doug

iknowthat.com

Hello Everyone,

I thought I'd share a great website I found courtesy of the list of great websites from the Smart board workshop. Check out iknowthat.com. It is designed for K through 6th grade and my favorite is the paintball punctuation. I am not sure how to attatch the list of links to this post, but if you want the entire list e-mail me at pjbortner@adams14.org.