Putting Students First

I just read about Voki and tried it out this morning. I actually called the number and recorded my voice by talking into the phone. It saved immediately and went into the project. First I created my avatar, then added a background, and finally my voice.  Then I published it. I can put it on facebook, twitter, embed it on my blog or website.  I read where foregin language teachers are using it for oral tests.  I learned about this from Barbara Bray, the ecoach. She publishes a newslsetter with fantastic ideas.  Here is the link to the article:  Interactive Lessons for Read Alouds

Students in all grade levels enjoy using this interactive tool to present their knowledge.  It’s a great way for teachers to assess and help students feel more comfortable reporting to their peers.

I have been researching the use of  iPads  in the classroom and I wanted to see them in action. Luckily, Kitty Tripp, an outstanding 4th grade teacher from Wellford Academy, allowed me to visit her 21st Century Classroom. She did such an incredible job planning her lesson. The students were writing letters about electricity to her using Notes on their iPads, then emailing them to themselves. Next they copied and pasted their writing into an app called PhotoCard . Here is one of the finished products: Photocard

Also, check out the movie I made of these fine scholars as they worked

I am passionate about making connections and building relationships with students in order to create a classroom environment conducive to learning. One way that I found that helps build such a climate is to have a neat, orderly, organized, color coordinated classroom (No Reds, Bright Yellows, Bright Oranges on the walls).  This did not happen naturally for me. I was taught to use the brightest, most vivid colors and to cover every inch of your wall with STUFF.  I found after training with HET Highly Effective Teaching that colors really do alter the tone and setting of your classroom. Keeping colors simple and borders plain, with no designs on the borders, helps focus on the student work that is being displayed instead of away from the board to the edges.  I had to totally redesign my classroom and my thinking after 23 years of teaching. It was very hard at first to take all the STUFF off my walls and only put up what we were studying at the time. I actually painted my main wall navy blue instead of Bright Canary Yellow. That automatically created a sense of calm in my classroom. I covered my cluttered shelves with light blue curtains, I used light blue fabric for the backing on the bulletin boards and for my curtains on my windows. I bought all white baskets to display my books. I painted my book shelves dark blue and gathered all the navy blue chairs from other classes so mine all matched. I added plants to all the children’s cooperative learning tables and had lamps on in the room. I never had all the lights on at the same time, it was too bright and hurt our heads and our eyes.  The kids loved it!!! I loved it and we all felt very comfortable learning in a cozy environment. Notice in the video below how the Procedures are displayed for all to see. The Conceptual Map is displayed so anyone who enters the room will know what the students are studying throughout the entire year.  The Immersion Table is powerful and is a natural hook for visitors and students alike. They can’t wait to see what is on the Immersion table that relates to their learning that week. Have a quiet place for your students to escape to if they are having a horrible, no good, very bad day….. we called it “Australia”.  Students would listen to classical music on the ipod, do some relaxation exercises and relax if they had a bad morning at home. Maybe mom and dad got in a fuss, or a pet died, or a friend was mean on the bus, or you had an argument at recess.  It was a place to refocus and gather their thoughts.  My classroom was the happiest part of many of my students’ day and I designed it that way……… the safest and most conducive environment for learning.

David Jakes makes a really good point in this article about iPads.  This statement is so true: “Devices themselves do not transform classrooms.  They just don’t.  What device, or technology for that matter, has? The mightiest technology of them all, the Internet, hasn’t even transformed learning, at scale, across K-12 education.  And I offer a walk down any school hallway as evidence.”

Here is the link to his article: http://davidjakes.com/words-matter-ipad

Food for thought, as we begin to use iPads more in our schools (with certain select teachers and classrooms) how do we get those teachers down the hall to let their students touch the computers and go on the internet?  That is the reality we face daily and that is our goal as a team: let the students use the technology they have available…….Refresh is bringing more and more laptops and technology into the schools, we have to get the technology in the students’ hands.  Teachers need to give up control.

Here is an interesting article my co-worker just shared with me after reading this post: Mooresville School District, Mooresville, NC

Please watch this video to show you what students think about their learning:

Click here to view a Voicethread by Shasta Looper’s Class about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students Using Technology on PhotoPeach

As I’ve been training teachers for the last few months, I have been using the Screen Recorder in ActivInspire to capture my lessons. I want to post them on my blog and website for teachers to view if they forget how to upload their results to Excel when using the Voting Browser, or how to Drag a Copy when counting using a flipchart, or how to make labels, etc…

Here is a video from the creator of Khan Academy, which gave me the idea to use the screen recorder on Promethean to record my lessons. Khan Video Here is the 60 minutes video about Khan Academy:  60 Minutes Video

Here is an article about Flipping Your Classroom: Five Best Practices for Flipping Your Classroom

I’ll attach a few links to the videos so you can see how you can use this feature in your classroom.

How to Upload Videos to United Streaming

Hand-Out for Uploading Videos to United Streaming

Great Blogs from Other Teachers

Tutorials on ActivInspire

How to Drag a Copy

How to Set up Activotes

How to Make a Name Selector or Magic Hat Trick

How to Make a Screen Recording

ActivInspire Labels/Tooltips

Resource Browser Kindergarten Activities

Assigning the Correct Answers with Student Response Systems

Question Manager

Via: Online College Advice

Happy New Year! As we begin the year 2012, my teaching resolution is to share ways to differentiate instruction with others. Chris Burras and I have been preparing for the ALIVE graduate class and planning for some upcoming workshops this week. Our passion is to make sure students are actively involved in the learning process and that they are actually growing as learners. This begins with the teacher and how well he or she structures the lessons, keeping in mind that all students are not Word Smart or Math Smart . That is why we stress the importance of incorporating  Howard Garner’s Multiple Intelligences into plans.

Today, we will focus on writing Menus or Choice Boards for students.  Here is a PowerPoint that Chris created, simply click on the words and the presentation will open:

Differentiated Instruction PowerPoint

Turn the page…and—
Create
Innovate
Discover
Explore
Inquire
Achieve
Collaborate

Turn the page…
to new worlds
to the future
to where no one has gone before!
to new beginnings
to discover the wonder

Are you turning the page?

Good teaching begins and ends with the learner. Turning the page means we are giving our students opportunities to wrestle with real problems by turning and twisting their minds around challenging ideas and applying content in meaningful ways. We are preparing our students for the 21st Century as we provide opportunities for students to collaborate, think creatively, and solve problems. It is time to teach well with technology, not just differently. Are we turning the page by connecting students with a world of ideas? Do we as teacher/learners engage in opportunities-alone or with our peers-that call for creativity and innovation or are we still on page 1?

Join us at UTC 12 as we turn the page together.

Check out the movie we made using the Hue Web cam! Click here:

The Uglified Ducky

Learn how to use Hue in your classroom!  Click here:  Hue Presentation

You can use your Hue Web cam to take photos, too. This is a great, inexpensive way to take pictures of your students and their work and of your classroom projects.

Learn how to use Photopeach for classroom quizzes and photos on your teacher website:
Dr. Frankie Childers on PhotoPeach

This week I’ve enjoyed training teachers how to use Blabberize with their students. This is a free Web 2.0 tool that will encourage students to publish their research and record their voices.  Go to www.blabberize.com and sign up. You will love it!

1. Sign up for a free account.

2. Log In and go to Make

3. Select a picture from your files. Click the arrow.

4. Crop your picture. Click the arrow.

5. Add a mouth. You will have to move the dots to place on the mouth. Click the arrow.

6. Select microphone to record. Click the arrow.

7. Click the red button to record. Click the arrow and Play your video recording.

8. Click Share and choose either a URL link to copy and post on your website or embed it like I did. Have fun!

Here is a birthday message I made for my niece: