Do You Have a PLN?

The last couple of weeks I have had some technology issues that I had either forgotten about or had never heard of before. I started to think of what my resources were to try and find the answers to these issues. My first issue was with flash items no longer working on a SMART Board. In the past, I would call SMART tech support and I could be on hold for a long time. So, I just kept thinking about how I could find out how to fix this problem. Then it hit me, ask my PLN (Personal Learning Network). One of my favorite PLN's is Twitter. I posted the question about flash not working anymore in SMART Notebook and asked how to fix it. I then remembered that I was following @SMART_Tech (SMART Technologies), so I went to their twitter feed. What do you think I found? That's right! I found the answer to my question. In less than 10 minutes, I had a solution to the issue. Here is a link to the solution: http://knowledgebase.force.com/articles/Troubleshooting/You-re-unable-to-interact-with-Adobe-Flash-Player-objects-in-SMART-Notebook-software-after-updating-to-Adobe-Flash-Player-11-9-X?utm_content=Active+X+issue+in+11.9&utm_campaign=Software+Updates+EDU&utm_source=Twitter%3A+SMART_Tech&utm_medium=post&WT.mc_id=Twitter%3A+SMART_Tech_Software+Updates+EDU_Active+X+issue+in+11.9.

My next technology issue was how to import a document into SMART Notebook. This time I went straight to Twitter and posted the question directly to @SMART_Tech. I also am a member of a SMART Notebook Users Group in Edmodo, so I posted the question there. Within 5 minutes I had the answer to my question. As soon as I saw what the solution was, it was a head-smack moment. I remember that from when I first learned how to use SMART Notebook but I had forgotten about it. The answer was open your document (pdf, word, etc.), click on File, click on Print, and print to SMART Notebook. Simple, right! 

My point in sharing all of this is how awesome having a PLN is. My main go-to's for learning is Twitter and Edmodo (after my awesome co-workers and boss of course). If you are not a member of either, I encourage you to join. They are both free and have great educators that are willing to help.

Image was created using Wordle. 

Read More

Collaboration in the Digital Classroom

Want to learn more about collaborating in a digital classroom? I am going to offer an online facilitated professional development course called Collaboration in the Digital Classroom. This is from Intel® Teach Elements. Below is a QR code that links to a flyer and video explaining more about the course.

Here is a description from Intel® on Collaboration in the Digital Classroom: 

"Provides an in-depth look at collaboration with a focus on online collaborative tools. In this course, you will see how collaboration helps students develop 21st century thinking skills, deepen content understanding, and prepare them for the global world. You’ll learn how to plan and manage collaboration activities that integrate online collaborative tools—increasingly part of our globally connected workplaces.

• Learn how to find and choose the best Web-based tools to support collaboration
• Learn how to manage and support collaborators
• Understand and promote ethical, appropriate, and safe online behavior.

The course offers opportunities to apply the collaboration concepts with action planning exercises."

The start date of this workshop will be September 23, 2013 and we will end on Friday, November 15, 2013. We will have an optional face to face meeting to cover how to navigate this moodle. The optional face to face meeting will be on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 4801 Bethania Station Road in the IRC computer lab from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. This workshop is limited to 15 participants.

Read More

Inspiring Curiosity with Cloud Shapes

Several weeks ago on Twitter someone posted a TED Talk. This TED Talk was by Gavin Pretor-Pinney: Cloudy with a Chance of Joy. Now why would I blog about that? Watch the TED Talk below and see what comes to your mind!


 

A couple of things that I really liked was when Gavin was talking about unplugging from everything and just laying back and watching the clouds. He talked about several cloud formations and that got me to thinking about different science standards and how they have to do with cloud shapes. Wouldn't showing this video be a good idea for introducing a unit on clouds? I think so!

The grade levels and the content standards are listed below:

7th Grade: 7.E.1.4 Predict weather conditions and patterns based on information obtained from:

• Weather data collected from direct observations and measurement (wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity and air pressure)


• Weather maps, satellites and radar


• Cloud shapes and types and associated elevation

5th Grade: 5.E.1 Understand weather patterns and phenomena, making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.

•  5.E.1.3 Explain how global patterns such as the jet stream and water currents
  influence local weather in measurable terms such as temperature, wind
  direction and speed, and precipitation. 

Another great idea is using Wonderopolis. They have a great wonder of the day #591: What is a Lenticular Cloud?

One idea of how this could be used in the classroom would be as an introduction to your unit. Watch Gavin's TED Talk at the beginning of the unit, then give students an assignment to just look at the clouds they see (maybe over a weekend). They could also take pictures of these clouds to identify later. Another idea is after taking these pictures and identifying the different types of clouds, they could blog about the cloud and maybe mention what type of shape they saw in the clouds.

How will you see joy in the shapes of clouds?

Read More

Nonfiction LIteracy and Current Events

I heard of a great web site on Edmodo this morning. The website is Newsela. This has informational text and current events in several different subjects. This web site is free, has leveled reading passages, and built in quizzes (for some of the articles). 

Teachers need to register for this site, but they can then create a classroom for their students to join. The terms of service state that you must be 18 to create your own account, but teachers can create accounts for students under 18 with parental permission.

On several articles there is an anchor with a number beside it. This is the ELA Common Core Anchor Standards. When you choose an article to read (teachers who create a class can assign articles to students; read about it in the FAQ section), on the right hand side is a blue bar. This allows you to differentiate between Lexile Levels for your students. Not all articles have quizzes attached to them, but those that do give you the grade level and standard that it meets. These articles would be good for grades 3 - 12.

If you would like to know more about Newsela, they have a wonderful FAQ section.

image created by Dorene Bates at wordle.net

Read More

Reading is Great!

Here are some great reading resources. These resources can be a great resource to share with parents also.

Remember Reading is Fundamental? The website reads books to students. There are reading logs, activities, games, and lesson plans. Parents will have to help students under 13 to join the RIF club.

We Give Books is a resource that teachers can use to read books on IWB (interactive white boards). Teachers will have to join (it is free) in order to read all the books. Here are some activities that go with this web site: http://www.wegivebooks.org/resources.The activity that I liked the best is an Information Text Scavenger Hunt.

Two websites you might be interested in looking at are ReadWorksand LearnZillion. These websites are correlated to common core. Teachers will have to register for both of these, but they are free. Find reading passages for the holidays this month: Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving.

My very favorite online reading resource is Mrs. P Magic Library. When you first click on a story to have read to you, Mrs. P introduces the story and then makes a connection to it. I love listening to the way she reads the stories.

There are many more online reading resources that are free for teachers and students.

image created in Wordle 

Read More

More Election Connections!

This morning Melissa wrote a blog post about Let's help students make connections with elections! This reminded me of some more election resources, but through Edmodo. When you are in Edmodo, there are several election communities that you can follow. (Remember you can follow any of these publisher communities in Edmodo by click on the Browse button next to the word Community). In these communities, you can connect with other teachers teaching about the election or find resources on the election. Here are a couple of communities that you might be interested in.

photo credit: Vaguely Artistic via photopin cc

Bill of Rights Institute: There is a video on the history of voting, and teaching with current events. You can sign up for lessons to be mailed to you on current events, voting, free press, the constitution, etc.


Election Insights: Activities for the debates, election, etc. Click on the button Collections for more resources.

iCivics: Constitution resources, branches of government resources, etc. Click on the button Collections for more resources and games.

Edmodo has some ideas for teaching the election: 3 Ways to Engage Students through Edmodo.


Image from PhotoPin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaguelyartistic/61275039/

Read More

Back to School with Edmodo

photo credit: Avolore via photo pin cc

What do you do with last year's groups? You want to keep the group name and all the information, but you want to clean the group up to start fresh. 

Your first step would be to rename that group. For instance if you have Social Studies per 1 group, you might want to rename it SSper1. To rename a group, click on the group, then click on Group Settings and change the name. One of the reasons to rename your group is that you cannot create groups with the same name. Then after renaming the group, you should archive the group.

To archive the group, click on the group you are going to archive. On the right hand side, click on Group Settings. You will notice a button at the bottom of the box that says Archive Group. By archiving that group, no one else will be able to join the group but the teacher can access the group if it is necessary. Then the teacher can create a new group (with the original name) and all the files and links the teacher had in the original group will still be available in that group.

For more information from the Edmodo blog, click here: "Your Back to School Checklist". Make sure to read the teacher rollout resources and review the best practices. There is some great information located here.

Image from Photo Pin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52636849@N00/204934333/

Read More

Help! I Changed Schools ...

... How do I get all of my information from my old school in Edmodo and be connected to my new school?

Never fear, this is very easy for you to do and without losing any of your information!

The first thing you will need to do is to log into Edmodo. Once there, follow the directions below.

You will be asked for the new school code. Talk with your Tech Facilitator or email Dorene Bates  for your school code. Please make sure you put what school you need the code for.

Read More

Thinkfinity in the Classroom

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting one of my favorite workshops - Thinkfinity in the Classroom. One of the reasons that I like this workshop so much is because there is something for everyone in Thinkfinity. Several of us have written blog posts on what you can find in Thinkfinity and what some of our favorite partner sites are. Below is my Symbaloo from the workshop.

Read More

Because It's Fluffy!

This morning I was scanning my Twitter feed and came across this tweet from @eol (Encyclopedia of Life):

I checked out the website http://www.flickr.com/groups/encyclopedia_of_life/discuss/72157630109103478/ in order to find out what it was about. The Encyclopedia of Life has a contest for people to send in pictures of fluffy things. This got me to thinking about how this would be a fun activity to do in the classroom!

Here are some ideas that I thought of:

• The idea above for something fluffy, something furry, something smooth, something sharp would reinforce those words with images.  
• Have students take pictures of things that look like the alphabet, shapes, numbers, specific colors, etc.
   
• Take several images to reinforce the concept of beginning, middle, end; for example, taking a picture of a piece of wrapped candy as the beginning, starting to unwrap the candy as the middle, the unwrapped candy as the end.


• Taking pictures and then showing to the class and have students write what they think happened right before the image was taken or what happened next.


• Take pictures of angles or other math concepts.

What are some ideas that you come up with?

I must admit the first thing that came to my mind about a fluffy contest was a line from one of my favorite movies, "Despicable Me". Do you remember it?

http://youtu.be/SNLJDR-XbVY 
From Despicable Me: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323594/

Read More

SMARTcon12

Registration is now open for SMARTcon12. Come and join us July 19 & 20 at Speas Elementary School.

Special thanks to Melissa Edwards and Evan Herreid for helping to create the picture above.

Read More

Summer Fun Resources

When I was at an elementary school this week, a 2nd grade teacher asked for some web resources to teach about summer and seasons. I found several and wanted to share them in case someone else might want these same resources.

Summer Learning Explorations: lesson plans, activities, and field trip information. Includes art, math, and science. Click on the Resources and Tools tab to find interactives pertaining to summer.

BrightIdeas for Summer: fun reading lesson plans.

SummerFun for Kids: crafts, activities, games, etc. for students.

SummerActivities: want to learn to make ice cream? Create stories with a summer theme? Find the information here.

Ideas for Summer Fun: more crafts and activities for students with a summer theme.

Summer Holidays: students can learn more about the summer holidays; what they are and when they are celebrated.

SummerFun Lessons & Activities: lessons and activities pertaining to summer.

Seasons: students can learn about all the seasons with lesson plans and videos (scroll to Four Seasons Videos and check out Winnie the Pooh)

These lesson plans and activities would also be good extension activities for families this summer.

Read More

A Different Type Of Professional Development

 I love checking things off on my list!


First Edcamp

 

First presentation at Edcamp 

Last Saturday, April 21 was the first ever EdcampNC. It was held at Poe Hall on the North Carolina State Campus. I wasn't really sure what to expect because I had never attended one before. I had heard about others around the country: EdcampPhilly, EdcampDenver, EdcampSocialStudies, etc. I really wanted to see what it was all about.

The first thing that was different was that no one put in proposals for what they wanted to present on and no one had any "prepared" presentations. The morning of Edcampnc we all arrived at Poe Hall to see a list of times, room numbers, and blank sheets of paper on the wall. It didn't take very long for people to start writing things they wanted to learn on the blank sheets of paper. There were a lot of good ideas on the board, now what to choose?

I very much enjoyed the professional sharing that went on during the day. I was able to meet so many wonderful educators and catch up with others that I chat with on a regular basis in Skype and/or Twitter.  During each session I attended, I was so impressed by the discussions that were being held. In a regular conference, you don't necessarily get to have conversations during the presentation. At an unconference, it is much more laid back and everyone who wants to can voice what they think or how they do something with their students.

I created a list in my Diigo account of resources that were shared at various sessions and on Today's Meet from EdcampNC.

I had such a good time at EdcampNC. I can't wait until next year!

Image: 'check' http://www.flickr.com/photos/81833876@N00/5227436224

Read More