Dream Classroom! By Bonnie, Rosie, and Elisabeth

What we would buy for our classroom with an unlimited amount of funding. I'm sure we forgot something...

Technology	Why it is important and how it will be used
Promethean Interactive Board, with activotes	Allows for collaboration among students, acts as a form of ongoing assessment, motivates students, increases interest, allows for integration of video, pictures, and stuff.
Mac Laptop carts w/ Macbook pros	Allows for everyday use of computers, writing, research, typing, increase of general comfort of technology, easy access.
Ipads, one for each student and for the teacher	Easy access for Voicethread, research, interactive communication, draw and explain thinking, save work for assessment. Recording availability. A lot of academic apps available.
Elmo	Presents student work, good for whole group instruction
Mounted projector	For connecting to ipads and elmo, showing films etc.
Digital Microscopes (4)	Delving into detail with science, used for close up looks for life and physical science.
Headsets with microphone, one for each student	For listening stations, recording digital stories on Ipads or computers.
G4 teacher computer and mac book pro for teacher	For teacher use at school and at home.
Front Row Microphone	Useful for hearing impaired students, used for quiet students to present. Getting attention - all students can hear teacher.
Salinity Tester	For physical science and life science, studying the oceans.
Digital video cameras (5)	For digital story telling and documenting classroom life and presentations.
Digital cameras (Canon Elfs) (10)	Digital stories, documenting fieldtrips
Sound system and stereo	For playing music, video
Wireless internet	To be used with laptops
IPhone	For teacher use: instant communication with parents.
Tripods (5)	For video cameras
Color laser Printer and Xerox machine (with unlimited ink)	Use for teachers and printers – used all the time!

Software	Why?
Microsoft Office for Macs	Word processing (Word), graphing data (Excel), presentation (Powerpoint)
Kidspiration	Graphic organizers, create and inspirational brainstorming and outlining.
Study Island	Math practice, instantaneous summative assessment
Reading Eggs	Phonics work for students, can be used at home as well. Motivational.
Unlimited budget to amazon.com for audio books	Fluency, differentiation, and motivation.
Voicethread for the school	Voicethread account for the entire school, all students can have their own account to make comments, create digital stories.
Adobe Addition	Editing for podcasts
Unlimited academic app budget	For purchasing academic apps as they arise.
Lightroom	Editing and organizing photos
Membership to NCTM, NCSS, NCTS	Teacher professional development, lesson plans

The Use of Podcasts in the Classroom

There are so many ways to make use of podcasts in the classroom! As a classroom teacher, we have at our hands podcasts that we can subscribe to for our class which give students the ability to listen “online radio shows” focusing on different content areas such as science and social studies, as well as literacy, music, and art.  The use of such resources can greatly enhance student learning, because it allows students to take their learning outside of the classroom in order listen and see other individual sharing their work and knowledge.

 Not only this, but, as teachers, we also have the ability to help students create podcasts to be published beyond the classroom or school walls.  The use of podcasts allow students to publish their voice in a variety of situations – whether that is the collaborative work of a group of students performing a readers theatre, scientific observations during a science investigation, or the reading of a familiar book to practice reading with prosody.  A podcast, in particular, can allow student to publish their work that can (potentially) be viewed by a world-wide audience! This has a significant impact on motivation and the work that students will produce (Creative Common License; Temple, Ogle, Crawford, & Freppon, 2011).  

The internet is a fantastic resource for general guidelines for creating podcasts in the classroom as well as creative new ideas as well.  For example, creating podcasts of literary circles to be made available online for other students in the classroom to listen to or for later use as a means of comparison when discussing another book by the same author enhances learning greatly (Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom).  The use of podcasts also connects parents, guardians, and other family members with the classroom and their child – the are able to hear their child’s voice and link that with the activities and learning that they are doing in the classroom. 

References:

Creative Commons License. Learning in Hand. Retrieved from http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/

Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://fcit.usf.edu/podcasts/

Temple, C., Ogle, D., Crawford, A., & Freppon, P. (2011). All children read: Teaching for literacy in today's diverse classroom. Boson, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Below are three different podcasts that I found while perusing the many educational options online.  I found these to be some of my favorites that I wanted to share:

The Wild Classroom: http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/index.html#  

This website offers a variety of video podcasts that focus on biomes around the world.  Students have the ability to learn about different biomes through video podcasts, which include oral narration, illustrations, and video.  The podcasts are fast-paced and kid friendly.  The wild classroom seemed to be geared towards upper elementary and middle school students.

National Public Radio’s Classics for Kids: http://www.classicsforkids.com/

This podcast introduces classical music to students through the use of music (of course!), the stories behind the selected composer, and through themes (such as Halloween classical music).  This is a fun and lively podcast that will aid students understanding and appreciation of classical music by using the stories behind the music. 

Harper Collins Children’s Podcast: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/kids/gamesandcontests/features/podcast/

This podcast allows students to “meet the author” of a favorite book. The focus of the podcasts involves the author speaking about their lives as an author and a particular book.  Authors really focus on their reading and writing life as young children, as well as the process that they take in order to write the book they are introducing. Because each podcast focuses on a particular book and author, as a teacher I can select particular podcasts based on the grade level that I am teaching and the interest of my students.  For example, there is an obvious range of authors who write realistic fiction, fantasy, sports etc. In general, however, this books presented gears itself more towards an intermediate and middle school audience. 

My Online Bookmark Library: For Educational Purposes!

http://www.delicious.com/mswertheimerak 

Learning and Growing Through Technology: Innovations in the Classroom

Technology innovation in the classroom is a growing arena, and one that will continue to do.  I am amazed at the opportunities that teachers and students have the potential to use and where it can take learning.  The use of digital whiteboards, for example, from Promethean are changing the way that information is being presented to students.  As the technology grows and improves it has become a much more interactive and collaborative piece of equipment (rather than just a way for teachers to present information to their students).  For example, Cole (2011) describes Promethean’s improved digital whiteboards, which have a multi touch system and also allow multiple students to use different pens on a whiteboard at a time.  This allows for an enormous amount of collaboration on the parts of the students – where students can play educational games, solve math problems, discuss strategy use etc., together.  In comparison to a computer, where only one student is able to manipulate a program at a time, this allows both students to be engaged and active. 

The use of “activotes,” a student controlled remote device that allows entire groups of students to answer true or false or multiple choice problems further makes the digital whiteboard an interactive tool (Promethean Planet, 2006-2011).  It can also help with assessment for individuals as well as the class as a whole.  One issue that I did find with this was the expense of such tools.  While I am still not entirely convinced by this alterative method, I am intrigued by Brown (2011) article which discusses the positive uses of cellphones in the classroom.  In his article, Brown discusses the use of Poll Everywhere, where students text in their answers, both multiple choice and short answer questions.  The online cite acts as a running blog and also gives teachers instant results while keeping students engaged.  They also note that most students, despite assumptions that minority students do not have access to them, do have cell phones that they can use.  I was surprised by this information and feel like more research is needed to make sure that no discrepancies in the classroom would occur.  However, the fact that cell phones are being used in the classroom for educational purposes is intriguing.  It also requires quite a bit of monitoring as well though, to make sure that this privilege is not being abused. 

As a student teacher, I am quickly discovering the effects that technology can have on education.  Today I taught my first technology lesson, showing the power that Voicethread (2011) can have for digital storytelling.  It is one of the most engaged I have seen the students, who are a very, very, active bunch.  It showed me that they need that engagement, they need new ways to be creative.  The You Tube video, A Vision of K-12 Students Today really hit this message home. It was a video encouraging the use of technology as a means of teaching and engaging students and honing in on their creativity and the innovations available to teachers and students today.  After witnessing what I saw in the classroom I am convinced that this is a necessary part of the classroom.  So long as careful monitoring, well crafted lessons that integrate content areas and focus on creative and critical thinking skills, technology innovation, in many forms, can be used in the classroom.

References:

Brown, M. D. (2011, April 3). Handhelds in the classroom. Retrieved from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech083.shtml.

Bjnesbitt (Producer). (2007, November 28). A vision of K-12 Students Today. Retrieved

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

Cole, G. (2011, January 10). Technology in schools: This is a leap forward. Retrieved from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/classroom-innovation-bett/bett-2011-new-products-innovations.

Promethean Planet. (2006-2011). Promethean Planet: The world’s largest interactive

whiteboard community. Retrieved from http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/

Voicethread. (2011). Voicethread. Retrieved from www.voicethread.com

Searching Using Boolean!

Name: Elisabeth Wertheimer

Search: fall – “googled” on it’s own there were 1,620,000,000

Search Keys	Purpose of limiter	What did you find when you tried it? Was this limiter effective?	How many Hits?
AND	Narrows search – will find webpages where both words occur	fall and autumn Very effective, narrowed the search down significantly to the season referred to.	223,000,000
OR	Expands search – will include webpages where either word occurs	fall or autumn Interestingly narrowed the search down more. Similar webpages as the “and” search.	132,000,000
NOT	Narrows search—will find webpages with first word but not the second.	fall NOT autumn Not effective in narrowing down the search (still included both fall and autumn in the webpages)	223,000,000
“                    “	Uses phrases to search for.	“fall” This expanded the search since both the verb and slang for “fall” was included along with the season.	1,630,000,000
*	“Wildcard” – allows for various endings	fall* Expanded the search significantly for similar reasons as the quotation marks	5,900,000,000
- (minus)	Words connect with the – should not appear	fall –autumn Very effective, excluded all webpages associated with the season (much more effective than using “not”)	3,200,000,000
+ (plus)	Expands search – with include words in webpage search	fall +autumn Similar to “and”, this narrowed the search down, with webpages focusing on the season.	224,000,000
5 Others Searches I’ve Found:
+ and -	Narrows search	+autumn –fall Narrowed search significantly – webpages tended to be more science based, all related to the season.	621,000,000
Title:	Searches for the word or phrase in the title of the webpage	title: fall Effective, narrowed search down.  Included films and books along with web-based information.	123,000,000
Link:	Searches for pages linked to a particular website	link: http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalseasons/fall/ Very effective, narrowed the search down significantly and allowed me to look at topics related to both fall and teaching (as the website I viewed focused on)	261
Topic list	List topics from specific to less specific (and by importance)	lessons and fall Effective, narrowed search down significantly	29,100,000
NOT – search with yahoo.com	Narrows search	Fall NOT autumn Effective in yahoo.com in comparison to google – webpages contained the word “fall” but did not refer to the season.	299,000,000

Voicethread -- A Powerful Tool for Student Voice

Voicethread is an amazing tool – and so user friendly. The potential for Voicethread in the classroom is enormous: it is a means of communication among students, teachers, and parents; a huge motivator; and a means of creative expression. In the creation of my own Voicethread I realized not only the potential power of this program, but also the importance of creating my own project in order to understand the intricacies of it and be able to better aid students in their own exploration of such a program. Being able to view other cohort members’ work as well and see their own take on the project increased this value. I appreciated the comments that I received and recognize the program as a means for growth.

This upcoming week I am planning on taking Voicethread *live* in my host teacher’s classroom. We will be using a single account to learn how to record our voice and comment on photos and/or art. Students will have the chance to “muck about” before really diving into their own work. While students will not have their own separate accounts, I hope to use Voicethread as a collaborative tool for students to create a product together – this could simply be the documentation and narration of a class field trip, a chance to share individual artwork, or the creation of a group story (lesson TBD ☺). Students will integrate this technology with writing – creating a script for the photo that they will narrate as well. Most powerful, I think, is the opportunity for students to view their final product and to share this product with parents and caregivers as well. It welcomes parents into the classroom, no matter their schedule, and allows them to take part (and potentially participate if they comment on our Voicethread) in what their child is doing.

Education - Collaboration - Technology

How can technology enhance collaborative learning between teachers and teacher, teachers and students, and students and students?

One thing that I have really learned from this program and being in the educational environment is how busy teachers are. Like, really, really, busy. There are so many people to talk to – specialists, parents, colleagues – but time is precious! Our time should be spent with students. The use of technology can broaden this communication if done properly. Colleagues can share online calendars (such as Google’s), use chat, and, of course, the “oldie but goodie,” e-mail.

The potential out there is huge. And what is significant is that so many of the collaborative applications available online are free! AND they work. I think about the potential that teachers could have with parents with regard to this communication and, at times collaboration. Dropbox, another free application online, gives teachers the potential to share their students’ work with parents in a quick manner. It is a way that lessons and goals can easily be emphasized and a way to share strategies that could used at home with regard to reading or writing or math.

Below I have listed three websites for collaborative technology that could be very useful for educators -- whether among fellow educators, students, or parents – there is enormous potential in some of these new applications. I would like to note, first, however, that there always needs to be a variety of ways to collaborate and we must take into account individual circumstances. For example, as teachers, before we can communicate via e-mail, blogs, dropbox etc. with parents, we must know whether parents have this technology available to them. The key is to have open and positive communication – this means having a means to share the necessary information with parents in a variety of ways if necessary.

Dropbox:

This is an impressive application for collaboration. Dropbox allows individuals to share large amounts of information between computers – whether that it is between your home computer and your phone, your colleagues or you family. I find this to have huge potential. As teachers this allows us to collaborate amongst each others and share large documents without filling up precious email space. My host teacher and I plan to share a dropbox so we can share such things as the weekly newsletter, reading responses, and lesson plans – without having to email these particular documents back and forth. Everything is available. I think that this could also have huge potential for parent and teacher communication as well. Being able to store evidence of student work and growth, photos, art, and even video could be an effective way to involve parents in their children’s educational lives – even if their demanding work schedule doesn’t allow them to be in classroom on a regular basis. The potential for collaboration with this tool is very big.

Google Apps:

I am constantly amazed with Google – maybe I’m a little biased. But Google apps is made for collaboration. What I am impressed with is how easy it is to use and that all of your work is connected: your e-mail, your calendar, your docs, your chat – it’s all right there. What is more, for collaboration this can be key. Google docs allows for collaboration among colleagues – working on collaborative lessons for example. You can share your calendar with colleagues or the school. For example, at Harborview, Tom McKenna set up a google calendar that would allow teachers to reserve the computer lab. It gives people the autonomy to take their schedule into their own hand, while working collaboratively on projects. The same can go with our collaboration with parents and with our students.

Twiducate:

At the Alaska State Literacy Conference I had the opportunity to attend a seminar on i-pod applications used for educational purposes – specifically literacy. I was especially interested, and surprised by, the use of Twitter as a use for literacy. One of the suggestions for Twitter was for the use of student collaboration. For example, students can use Twitter to create a story collaboratively – each individual adding to it. I found this interesting, however the issue of privacy and distractibility of students is a valid concern. Learning about Twiducate is a viable alternative to Twitter for schools. Created by teachers for the classroom, Twiducate allows students to communicate with each other, their teacher, and even other schools. It allows a teacher to share information with their students and with colleagues – all through a “private social network.” Children’s privacy is a large priority and the aim is educational.

References:

Alman, Jennifer. (2011). Twiducate. Retrieved from: http://www.twiducate.com

Dropbox. (2011). Dropbox. Retrieved from: http://www.dropbox.com/

Google. (2011). Google Apps for Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/

Lieghtonimages. (2009, February 5). Using Google Apps in Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leuvce3v5BM&NR=1

I am an Educator

Technology Integration in the Classroom Today

The integration of technology and educational instruction is spreading rapidly.  It is taking education to a new level – adding a wealth of information to students at the touch of their fingers, new ways to communicate and share their work, interactive lessons and practice, the list is endless, inspiring, and, at times, intimidating.  No matter your stance on technology in the classroom, research shows that integrating technology into the classroom can have a positive effect on learning goals when the objectives of a lesson have been clearly stated before the technology is introduced (Pitler, Hubbelt, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  This question is – how is it being used.  Today’s students have grown up in a fast-paced technology-driven environment.  They are used to a lot of the equipment that many adults,  find uncomfortable.  The frustration lies, quite frequently, in the lack of knowledge and/or training that teachers have been given for the technology that is often available for them.  This gap must be bridged in order for students to be able to take advantage of many of these tools and the positive ramifications that it can have in the classroom and education in general.

One way that this gap is being bridged is through the use of standards based education (Pitler, Hubbelt, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  These standards require that teachers integrate technology into the curriculum.  For example, in the Juneau School District (2003) students, beginning in kindergarten, should know how the standard operations of a computer, how to listen and record one’s own voice, and access files from a computer.  The way that these requirements can then be integrated into the classroom are plentiful and can enhance and motivate learning. 

There are a number of ways that teachers and students are using technology in the classroom.  From basic word processing to online research, students are using computers and the Internet to learn about and interact with our globally connected world.  I find this to be an important aspect to learning.  Every day, as teachers, we must consider how to integrate higher-order thinking skills into our lessons and learning.  The use of the online research encourages students to think about the information that they are reading, judge it, characterize it, and synthesize the material (Arends & Kilcher, 2010). 

Personal or classroom websites, blogs, or Wiki sites allow students (and the teacher) to communicate beyond the classroom walls.  Showing students work online, photographs of classroom activities, and student voices, give power to students in what they do.  It is a huge motivator for the work that they are willing to immerse themselves in and can have an enormous impact on their lives (T. McKenna, personal communication, October 5, 2011 and Pitler, Hubbelt, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

Further, technology acts as an important tool for differentiation.  ELL students, students with special needs, and at risk students especially benefit from the use of technology in schools.  “It is nonjudgmental and motivational; facilitates frequent and immediate feedback; allows teachers to individualize learning through designs to meet students’ needs allows for more student autonomy; and provides a multisensory learning environment incorporating images, sounds, and symbols (Pitler, Hubbelt, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 3). 

The results of using technology are significant.  It is a just a matter of the successful integration of technology by teachers and whether students have access to it.  Both are necessary in order for this integration to truly happen. From this angle, I believe that we still have a ways to go before this truly can happen. 

Reference: 

Arends, R., & Kilcher, A. (2010). Teaching for student learning: Becoming an

accomplished teacher. New York, NY: Routledge.

Juneau School District. (2011). Elementary Technology CORE/GLD:k-5. Retrieved from

http://www.juneauschools.org/district/instructional_services/curriculum

Pitler, H., Hubbel, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with

Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. 

Digital Fairy Tale - Enjoy!

An Interview with Tom McKenna: 4th grade teacher and technology whiz/wonder!

The four MAT’ers at Harborview Elementary School, Jessica, Rosie, Bonnie, and I had the pleasure of speaking with master teacher, Tom McKenna, on his integration of technology and education.  Tom has been integrating technology into his classroom since he first began his teaching career in 1991 in Unalaska.  As a teacher in rural Alaska, Tom used technology to connect students with others outside of their town.  He explained that, while the students’ response to the technology wasn’t huge, however, it was “mind blowing for them to receive responses not only from other students but from professors and experts…it was life changing for some of them.  They felt like they had a voice.” 

Now, as a master teacher at Harborview Elementary, Tom continues to push students to find this power of communication through technology.  From basic word processing using laptops and Alphasmarts to publishing podcasts of student interviews on the class blog to recording teaching and learning methods for parents, Tom’s integration of technology is impressive and inspiring.  I was especially inspired by a beginning of the year activity that he does, “The Golden Line,” when students are given a chance to record questions about the upcoming year, using Tom’s i-phone.  These podcasts are then posted onto the class website to be shared with other student and families.  His use of digitial photography to “slow down science” and allow students to student specific moments in time allows for great depth and understanding within the scientific field. Most importantly, the use of technology “gives students an audience outside of the classroom” and allows them to communicate and connect with each other on deeper levels.

To integrate technology so well takes a lot of patients and drive.  Tom recently wrote and received a grant from the Juneau School District for i-touches to be used in his classroom and he uses his person i-phone for numerous recording projects.  Technology has its glitches and it takes time to learn the equipment and getting it operating correctly – it takes patients.  The payoff seems huge – students are motivated, parents are more involved, and the classroom is only the starting point for learning. 

Harborview Elementary School Technology Inventory:

Building level purchases:

• ·      32 G4 Apple desktops in computer lab
• ·      8 G4 Apple desktops in library
• ·      2 laptop carts with 20 Apple laptops (roving)
• ·      3-4 Apple desktops or laptops in each classroom (teacher’s choice)
• ·       Software—Study Island (available on internet), Reading Eggs, Pages, Mavis Beacon, Inspiration, Safari, Microsoft Word, Powerschool
• ·      JSD e-mail address – all staff
• ·      Wireless Internet (does not work in every classroom)
• ·      Elmo/Document Camera/Projector—In every classroom
• ·      Front Row Microphone—Available to every teacher
• ·      Interactive Smart Board—Available to every classroom (not in use due to lack of tech support)
• ·      Smart board—In computer lab (donation for teacher of the year)
• ·      TV—In half of the classrooms (available on demand)
• ·      Printers—one B&W in each class, one color printer in staff lounge, office printers (wireless printing)
• ·      Copy Machines—Two in school

Individual Classroom’s Technology:

• ·      4 I-Pads (Steve Byers mini-grant)
• ·      6 I-Touches (Tom McKenna mini-grant)
• ·      30 Alphasmarts (technology grant dollars) in classrooms
• ·      Projector, Large screen, Stereo with surround sound (gym)