Donors Choose- iPad

I am so incredible excited to say that my donorschoose.org project was funded! My sweet children will finally be getting an iPad. I cannot wait for it to arrive. My project was funded this morning, so I haven't had a chance to tell my children yet, but boy will they be excited.

Adding your favorite website shortcuts to your desktop

I know it's been a while since I've last posted. I thought I'd ease myself in a little with a quick and easy Teacher Technology Tip. Have you ever wanted to create a desktop shortcut for one of your most used sites so your students can get to it directly? Well, today I'm going to show you how!
First visit the site you'd like to create a shortcut for. Next you will want to restore your window down, or make it smaller like I've done in the picture below. Once you've done this, click and drag the icon that appears before the URL onto your desktop.

Just like that you now have a desktop shortcut!

Run with the wolves!

First off I'd like to apologize for my absence lately. I'm trying to get my kids ready to take their end of level exam. Let's just say that it's pretty much taken over. Anyway, I wanted to stop by and advertise for my school. We really want a P.E. teacher next year and we are trying to raise funds for the program. We are hosting a 5k run/2k walk on May 25. Below is the information and if you'd like to attend or just simply donate go HERE!

Dropbox in the classroom

There is not enough time during the contract day. If you're anything like me than chances are, you work at home too. Before I had dropbox I would create things and email them to myself. Once I got to school, I'd have to download it and re-save it if I made any changes to it, then I would re-send it to myself. That got old really fast, so I decided to try the jump drive route. I would work on things at home and then magically forget to bring it to school or visa versa. I even lost it a time or two. That was not working either. My husband had used dropbox in the past to share files with other people so I decided to give it a try.

I love it. It allows me to work at home and save it to my dropbox folder. When I get to school, I can click on my dropbox folder and all my creations are there! I love that I don't have to re-save or re-send anything. I just downloaded the program on each computer that I would be using it on and ta-da!

Another feature that I love about it, is that even if I'm not at home or at school, I can still access my files, by visiting my online account. It also let's me share folders with other people. Here at my school, the third grade teachers have a dropbox folder we share. It makes it quick, easy, and very accessible to share with others.

If you're having file accessing issues, dropbox is a wonderful option!

Google Forms

I have recently re-discovered my love for Google forms. For those who are unfamiliar with Google forms according to Google they are, "a useful tool to help you plan events, send a survey, give students a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way."  I've used it before to create simple surveys, but I've never used it in a teacher setting before. It's amazing how items, or objects can take on a new light when you are a teachers.  Suddenly you start thinking of all the things you can use it for in the classroom. Google forms has been one of those for me. I have created simple quizzes, surveys, or sign up forms.

I think the most powerful thing about Google forms is how it records the responses in a spreadsheet. It is such a simple way to view the results! First of all, it has made grading SO much better. I can instantly see the results and I don't have to lug around a bunch of papers. Second, It has made grouping my students so much easier because anyone who got question 1-3 can now be in a group. Lastly, did I mention how I don't have to cart around all these extra papers?

Would you like to learn how to create a Google form? Keep scrolling for a full tutorial.

First of all, you need to have access to a Google email account (gmail). If do not, you can easily create a new account by click on the link here.

Once you've created a gmail account you'll need to log in. After logging in click on "drive" at the top of the page.

Once you're in your drive you will see any Google documents that you have created or that have been shared with you. To create a form you'll look to the left side of your screen and click on the "create" button.

When you click on "create" it'll will automatically drop down a Google document menu. Click on "form"

When you click on form it will then direct you to a page where you can choose a title and theme. Here you'll need to;

1. Choose a title

2. Choose a theme (what you want it to look like)

3. Click "ok"

Once you've clicked okay it will bring you to a page where you can start created questions for your form.

There are several elements on this page that you'll need to make sure you do. 

1. Write a description of the form. (Only if you choose to)

2. Give the question a title or just simply start typing the question. You may also offer some help text in the box below. 

3. Choose what type of question you want. In the example below I chose multiple choice. This will allow me to have option for them to choose from. 

4. Type in some possible answers.

5. Decide whether or not it is going to be required. Required means that they cannot finish or submit the form without answering the question. 

6. Click done.

You've created your first question! To create another one you just simply click on "add item" and just follow those same steps mentioned above.

Please note that you can change the type of question you are asking. Simply click on the drop down arrow by  "Question Type" and you will be able to choose from a list. 

Text-Type a short amount of text

Paragraph-Type a large amount of text

Multiple choice-Choose from several options

Checkboxes-Click all the boxes that apply

Choose from a list- Choose one from several options

Scale-Use a scale to describe how you feel

Grid-Column headings and row categories allows the person to select one row per column

Once your form is finished you have the option of creating a message that they will see upon finishing the form. After that you need to decide if you want your students to;

1. Be able to submit more than one response

2. Look at all the responses that have been submitted

3. Edit their responses after submitting 

The last step is to "send the form" or finish it! 

Now that you're finished and you've clicked "send form" you are ready to share it with the world! There are two different ways you can share it! You can either share it using a link, or sending it via email. I usually put the link on my classroom website and my students can click on it from there!

The last thing you need to do is set up a Google spreadsheet so you can view your responses. To do that follow these steps;

You are ready to create a Google form! To visit this form and response spreadsheet again just simply log into your Gmail account and click on "drive" at the top. These documents will appear there. 

If you have any questions feel free to post a comment. 

Technology Training: Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Powerpoint

Hello and welcome! I am very excited to be presenting these training's to you today. Below the picture you will find links to documents that need to be downloaded for today's training. 

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Powerpoint

Podcasts in the classroom:

I wrote a post earlier this year about podcasts. Today I would like to show you an example of a podcast that my students and I created. We were talking about sequence of events this week. We decided to re-tell our weekly story through a podcast. My students were so excited about the opportunity to publish their creations. It was so fun because everyone either got to see their artwork on display, or hear their voice. They could not wait to show their parents and the principal!!

This podcast was created using the "record and playback" feature in Interwrite Workspace. If you do not have this software you could use something like Educreations, or StoryRobe.

Digital Voice Recorders

I recently purchased 5 digital voice recorders for my classroom. So far I am in love with them! They have been wonderful for fluency. I have the students record themselves reading a short story or poem. They then can listen to themselves and listen for accuracy, rate, and expression. This is fun for them because they can hear their mistakes and try to fix it the second time around. I also have my students read a long with their own recording.
Another thing I love about this particular model is that you can connect it to your computer and import the audio onto your computer!

It's such a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom and empower my students to read fluently.

Olympus VN-701PC

Do you have digital voice recorders in your room? If so, how do you use them?

Technology Tip: Getting students excited about demonstrating their knowledge

Technology Tip

Our last technology tip was about the "record and playback" feature in interwrite workspace. This tip will build on that same idea but allow you to add to it. Instead of primarily thinking of the teacher pre-recording things, this tip will focus on letting the students record podcasts or tutorials. This is a great way to get students excited about demonstrating what they know. This also gets them thinking about their thinking. I created a brief podcast on podcasts for those of you who are still not quite sure what a podcast is.  (I want to apologize in advance about the audio during the podcast example.)

Technology Tip: Increase effectiveness during small group time

Technology Tip

 

Do you find that you spend a lot of time explaining what your students are supposed to be doing while you are working with a small group? Take 2 minutes to watch this video and find out how you can increase time spent with small group students and decrease time spent explaining what other students should be doing. This video specifically highlights the "record and playback" feature within Interwrite Workspace.

 

Another member of my district technology team shared this with me and I am eager to share with you. One thing I failed to mention is that in order to record your voice you will need a microphone. If you do not have Interwrite Workspace software, you can use other things like the Educreations App or the ShowMe App.

Technology Tip: Increase Classroom Engagment

Technology Tip

Classroom Engagement

Looking for ways to increase classroom engagement? Believe it or not, students get very excited about the possibility of using technology in the classroom. If you are fortunate enough to have an interactive board like me then use it to get your students' attention. This technology can aid in our never-ending endeavor of keeping our students engaged.

When you notice your students are off task, or not fully engaged with the lesson you can simply hold up your interwrite pen and tell your students that you are looking for someone to come up and help you. I will then restate my expectations (someone who is sitting tall with their eyes on me). This serves as a quick reminder about your expectations without actually stopping your lesson. I’ve included a very short list of things you can have your students come up and do during the lesson.

The following is a quick list

1. Allow a student to come up and show how they solved a math problem
2. Allow a student to display their work under the document camera
3. Allow a student to advance the powerpoint slide
4. Allow a student to point to words on the board as the class reads