This is my green screen video created in Doink and then in iMovie. This was fun to do, even if the video is a little primitive. Some things that need to be improved upon… the shadows created on the “green screen” cause the background to bleed through in the movie, better lighting would help that part out. Also, trying to create an actual video with still objects is rather difficult. I wished I had a green glove so I could have tried movement with them and tested whether you could make it look like it was actually moving. I think this would work great with students in so many different ways! You could have them create scenes from a book, create a book trailer, do a news video, or create videos for research topics, positivity projects, etc. The possibilities are endless! Our school gas 1:1 ipads for all students, so this is a definite tool to be used in my classes!
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Thing 24: Google Drawings
I gave Google Drawings a try and really liked it as a tool. I am really pleased with the number of things you can do and create with Google Drawing! And… it is very user-friendly so it is pretty easy to jump right in and begin creating. It is also really great as part of the Google Suite that you can create and save it to your google drive which is accessible from any device. I think students will really like using it as well. I can see its use in many places. I personally can use it to create worksheets, graphic organizers, note sheets, charts, posters, etc. I think students can also find it useful when creating posters for assignments, timelines, and other assignments that require a visual component. It would be user-friendly for group work as students could share the image and each have access to change, add, etc. It is a really awesome resource tool!!
As a practice drill, I created the following document that I will use with my 4th grade author study.
Thing 23: New AASL Standards
I have welcomed the opportunity through this online learning to look at the new AASL Learning Standards Framework. It reflects previous curriculum in many ways, with the inclusion of more focus on creating learning communities that encourage interactions and sharing between learners. This reflects changes that have occurred in our everyday lives with the ability that technology has given us to share and learn on a global scale.
In looking at all of the shared foundations of the Standards Framework, I feel most connected with the “Inquire” foundation. I have focused a great deal on trying to incorporate some of the key commitments listed in this foundation with my lessons with students in grades K-8. I have found that students struggle with creating good questions that lead to real inquiry. They require a good deal of coaching to understand how to create questions that encourage further learning and depth of knowledge. When students are allowed to explore a topic of personal interest, it makes the learning much more engaging for the student and gets the student really excited to learn. I really feel this is an important aspect of learning today and is a major change from when I was a student. Being able to add the element of personal interest allows the student an opportunity that wasn’t offered much when I was in school and I think it helps students today connect and become interested in learning.
I went through the exercise suggested in Paige Jaeger’s article with the new standards and it was very helpful to see where I am addressing the key commitments and where there are gaps in my current instruction of certain “key commitments.” I can see where I need to encourage more collaboration and communication between students and as part of the learning process. Looking at different perspectives and sharing different perspectives is included in many ways in the new standards as well as getting students to use communication amongst themselves as part of the learning to increase understanding. This all is a means of creating a learner community with students in the classroom and beyond.
In thinking of technology tools that fit in with these standards I immediately think of the learning management systems like Schoology or Google Classroom that are being used in many districts. These allow for shared work, online discussions, and 24-7 access. I also think about tools we use to create such learning communities as teachers, including social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to professional learning networks like EdWeb.net. Looking at the standards and then looking at the “Tech Tools and Resources” document created by Allison Mackley really gives great picture of global learning being encouraged in many different ways. These new standards really reflect the changes we have seen take place through the use of technology for learning.
Thing 22: Teaching and Learning with Primary Sources
I originally chose this topic because I have a high school Social Studies teacher who is working with primary sources as part of a research project with his students. I first delved into this project by reading the articles on “Using Primary Resources” and “Engaging Students with Primary Sources.” Using Primary Sources discussed the powerful sense of history that these primary sources can give the user. It encourages students to think critically and make speculations about each source. The article, Engaging Students using Primary Resources, is a really complete resource that is very user-friendly and walks a user through the way one can use these sources. It is arranged very nicely into types of sources such as photographs, oral histories, and objects.
I took a look at many of these different sources and was amazed at how much there is available online. I really appreciate the activity suggestions included on several of the sites such that they help direct your ideas as to how to use them effectively. I very much liked the idea of the Historical Scene Investigations. They present students with a historical investigation to “Crack.” At the end the students decide if the investigation can be closed or if more investigation is needed to solve the problem.
I work closely with the grade 6 Social Studies teacher in our school. We have been working collaboratively for several years doing a research project with students based on a variety of topics. In recent years we have had this student research culminate in a project students present in our STEAM Expo. I am very excited to use these primary documents in some fashion with students as part of a future research project. I really liked the digital posters they were creating on the National Archives Experience Digital Vault. (Unfortunately, it appears that source is no longer functioning on the National Archives site.) I think we could develop a very interesting research project for students that could incorporate the use of primary sources and culminate with a technologically-driven project to be shared in Our STEAM Expo.
Thing 10: Search Tools Ninja
Thing 10: Search Tools Ninja
I am always trying to find new search tools to encourage students to use something other than Google for their online searches, so I started my Cool Tools journey with Thing 10. I looked at several different search tools, including Duck Duck Go, Sweetsearch, ListenNotes, and Wayback, as well as kids’ search engines like , Kiddle, KidRex, Dibdabdoo, Sqoolqarium. These are all great resources and most function in a similar format that makes each easy to use. DuckDuck Go is unique in that it does not track you online so you gain privacy over other search engines like Google. This search engine would work for all age levels and its format is very similar to Google. Sweet Search is supposed to be designed for student use. I noticed the results seem to be more heavily commercialized. Sweet search offers a biography link that is very useful for students searching for information on a person. This search engine credits finding some of the web site results that are buried on other websites and posting them first. Sweet Search also offers a news and history search for more specific searching. Listen Notes is a great search tool to locate podcasts. You can search for a specific podcast, search best podcasts or favored trending podcasts, and also save podcasts for listening to later. Wayback is a really neat site that offers a searcher the ability to actually go back and search the actual pages from as far back as the 1990’s. It shows top collections that are archived on the site and popular, as well as how many actual items are in each archived topic. I had to check out the news articles from 911, as was suggested in the article “Archive.org and the Wayback Machine” written by Alan November. Seeing the actual articles unfold as the events were happening is impactful and would certainly give those who did not experience this event a real feel for what it was like. This site offers so many possible opportunities for student learning.
As for search engines for younger students, there are several that are very similar in appearance to google but with a noticeable appeal for younger students. These include KidRex, Sqoolqarium, Choosito, and Kiddle. These sites are more user-friendly for younger students and provide child-safe searching. Sqoolqarium provides a nice link to video material. Choosito is a really neat site allowing you to select the reading level of the material results so they are geared for the individual student who is researching. In addition, it provides suggestions for related searches and allows students to rate the sites based on how useful they find the site. SweetSearch is another great site for children to use for research, and has now added Sweetsearch History which includes many primary resources for students to access and SweetSearch News which includes articles from over 1600 credible newspapers, magazines, and other current events sources. All of these sites offer some viable options to allow younger students the ability to search the web and find information at their level that they can use.
Thing 39: Productivity Tools
There are many great online tools that, while rather simple in scope, provide a quick and easy task that can make our technological lives simpler. I have added four such tools to my “tool belt” from the list of tools included in Thing 39.
The first of these is One Tab. This is a Google Chrome extension that is easy to add and allows you to save a list of tabs in a simple click of the button, saving the need to keep several tabs open at once. It claims to save up to 95% with memory and allows you to access the list where you can share the tabs as a website, save the tabs, delete them, or restore them again. The only drawback I found to this extension is that it currently is not available for mobile devices- a bummer, but hoping a version will come out soon that applies. Students certainly could benefit from the use of this tool as well as teachers.
The second tool I used is We Transfer. This works in Windows and as an Ios app- personally I liked the Windows version better. With We Transfer, you can transfer files up to 2G in size. This works great for photos, which I have many times tried to send via email and they are too large to transfer. There is no set-up to use this tool, just plug in the address of where you want it to go, attach the files, and send.
Included in the SuperTeacher tools is a tool called Instant Jeopardy Review. This tool does exactly what the title says- allows you to create a jeopardy-style game to use in the classroom for students. You can create review games for any subject, and the product is very straightforward in creating your questions, topics, and answers. I teach classes in Family/Consumer Science, and I was able to quickly create a Jeopardy game that I can use in the next two weeks with students to allow them to review for their final test.
The final tool I explored was SafeShare TV. This tool allows you to copy and paste the URL’s for online videos ( YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) and then have the video transferred into a “safe view,” free from commercials and other potentially inapproriate content. Since many people turn to YouTube and Vimeo for video content today to use in the classroom, this is a handy tool to access. You simply go to their website, paste in the address for the video you want to use, click “generate safe view,” and then submit. The video appears ready for play, or you can copy and embed the link provided for asafeview version.
All of the above tools are handy, easy-to-use, and quick time savers for a teacher on the go!
Thing 41: Anything Goes Google
I really like Google’s products because they are always very user-friendly and I can pick up on using them quickly, so I was very excited when our school added student accounts for Google at the beginning of the school year so they could access and use these great tools. For this blog post I decided to explore Google’s note-keeping tool Google Keep. I am always making lists, saving website links, writing down to-do lists, etc. but never seem to keep them in one easy-to-locate place and then I inevitably lose them. Google Keep will save me from this poor habit by allowing me to access any lists,notes, web links, etc. all from the Google Keep app. It is a very easy to use app. Matt Miller walks you through the setup in a very helpful tutorial on his Ditch That Textbook blog, “10 Ways to Use Google Keep.” You can take pictures of things using your mobile device and upload to Keep, attach notes, make lists, save links, and even share your notes with others. The notes can have labels added so you can organize your notes into work, personal, etc. You can also color code your notes to make locating items easier for you. Because Keep is part of Google’s core product, you can add Keep as an extension to Google Chrome which makes saving websites to Keep a breeze. You can even add reminders to Keep by place or time- alerting you to needed messages by time or when you enter a certain physical location set by you( ie. when you enter your work parking lot).
Eric Curts explains further how Google Keep can be used for adding grading comments to Google Docs in his article “Using Keep for Grading Comments in Docs” in his Control Alt Achieve blog. He walks you through the steps needed to set up a list of commonly used grading comments in Keep and then sync them with Google Docs so you can easily copy and paste comments when grading student work. This is a great idea and great time saver. Google Keep can also be used by students during a research project to save notes, links, etc. for further access when conducting research. I have begun using Google Keep personally and look forward to using it with students so they can benefit from its possibilities.
As a side note, I really enjoy the blogs Ditch That Textbook, Control Alt Achieve, and Shake Up Learning! I find them very full of information regarding the Google products and plan to continue to follow them! All great resources for learning more about Google products and technology!
Thing 29: OER- Open Educational Resource
Thing 29 introduced me to a totally new topic, as I have not previously heard of an OER, or Open Educational Resource. This is a cutting-edge sharing of educational resources, and a wonderful opportunity for educators to maximize materials and save money in often-shrinking school budgets. I read through most of the articles included on this topic and then decided to set up accounts for the three sources I thought would be beneficial for myself- Curriki, CK-12, and OER Commons. All three were easy to navigate and have a vast amount of material on different topics. I only touched the surface in my searches and will have to revisit these to further my searching for usable materials. As I tried to curate a list of resources, however, I started to feel inadequate in really knowing what I was doing, so I decided to view the webinar, “OER: Issues, Possibilities, and Promise of Curation” with Joyce Valenza and Brenda Boyer.
The webinar helped me gain more insight into the beginnings of this new educational movement and what the overarching goals are for these resources by the visionaries. It seems to be an evolving topic and base of resources, with much more collaboration needed to guide these in the direction of what educational leaders like Joyce Valenza envision. Many states have not yet become a part of the initiative. I believe as educators become more aware of these resources, which in part we as librarians can “spread the word,” this movement will grow vastly. I am wondering, however, how the materials will remain free when so many companies, etc. could risk the loss of revenue if this idea really spreads. The district for which I work is a 1:1 school with ipads and I genuinely think the faculty could really benefit from these resources for use with their classes. I plan to learn more of what is available and share with our school faculty in the next school year.
Thing 17: Digital Literacy
I have been incorporating more digital citizenship curriculum into my classroom teaching and therefore wanted to explore the topic more with Thing 17. I began by reading through several of the different articles, including Teachers Guide to Digital Citizenship, DQ Project, and What Your Students Really Need to Know About Digital Citizenship. There definitely seems to be a general consensus on the major topics to include in instruction with digital citizenship, including acting with respect online, being aware of one’s digital footprint, basic online safety, and information literacy. I really liked the way the author Vicki Davis summarized her topics in the article “9P’s”- passwords, privacy, photos, property, permission, protection, professionalism, and personal brand. I think this sums up very nicely the most important considerations for the topic and I plan to use this as a guide for my own classroom instruction. I think the idea of a “personal brand” is an interesting way to encourage students to think about what kind of digital tattoo they are creating.
I then proceeded to dig into the digital citizenship curriculum from Common Sense Media. I downloaded the curriculum books that are part of the program onto the ipads accessible in the library and decided to use it with students in grades 4 and 6. I downloaded the teaching materials and resources onto my own ipad and chose certain parts of the curriculum to use with my students. The lesson plans included are quite detailed and worksheets and activities for students can be completed online or printed out for use. The students become quite engaged in the curriculum and seem to enjoy having the opportunity to explore and discuss the topics. I have actually had an issue with finishing the lessons anywhere near the suggested times included in the curriculum as students discuss and share a lot of information which extends the lesson time considerably. I find trying to follow their lesson plans a little confusing, but the content is very thorough and works really well as a guide for instruction. A technical issue I have experienced is difficulty getting the video clips to play from an ipad when trying to share them with a class. They seem to work fine from a computer but run into issues from an ipad. All in all, I like the curriculum and the way it build in scope from grade level to grade level. I think combining the Common Sense Media curriculum with suggestions from Vicki Davis will make for a strong digital literacy curriculum.
Thing 11:DIY
Our school purchased a subscription for the 3D creation software, Makers Empire, this year. We have a need for a 3D design software in our school that is encompassing of all age levels with a user-friendly interface and this was decided as a product to use. I have chosen this as my “DIY” topic, as I am often involved in 3D projects with students and have wanted to explore this tool. The following is a summary of the basic components of the tool.
Makers Empire is a 3D design software that can work with Windows, Apple, and Android. It is useable via it’s website or by app. It is a user-friendly design that can be used with students from age 5 upward. It includes a teacher dashboard that allows the teacher to set up a class of students and manage student work. Lesson plans are included for teacher use and individual teachers can add lessons as they see fit. There is also a Professional Development portion of the software that offers online video tutorials which will teach the basics of the program.
Once into the program, students are given the following options- Shaper, Character, Blocker, Toy Maker, Cogger, Doodler, Challenges, and Competitions. Shaper allows a student to use geometrical shapes to build. Character allows one to create a boy, girl, or troll and then animate their movement. Blocker uses building blocks, similar to Minecraft, to create various designs, buildings, cities, letters, etc. In toy maker, you can create various 3D toy designs. Cogger allows students to design machines with gears. With Doodler, students can use a pre-created design and then alter it by sketching to create their own design. Challenges and competitions allow students to enter their created work into competitions with other student users. All of the options operate in a game-like fashion so that students use the software to create. They earn coins which can be saved up and then cashed in to purchase more design options for creating.
The software is, for the most part, user-friendly and adaptable to students of varying ages. I found some frustration in trying to use the design software at various points. Some functions were very easy to pick up and other functions were more difficult to understand and control. The tutorials included, however, are very helpful and with practice it became much easier to navigate the different program options. Students seem to enjoy creating with the software and pick up the mechanics of the site very easily. Design from this software can be used with the 3D printer.
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