Show and Tell - Digital Presentations

I have combined PowerPoint, VoiceThread, Garageband Audio Notes and Jing Screen Cast to create several projects for teachers and students for various homework assignments for ECU courses.   I have provided links to two screen casts that instructed teachers how to use PowerPoint to make Technology Enhanced Items Practice Slides for their students.  As a SPED teacher, I have to provide accommodations according to the student's needs identified on their IEP.  Several students receive a read aloud accommodation for classroom assessments as well as end-of-year statewide exams.  I created these slides for third grade students to begin to practice as they are are expected to perform.  Our school districts resources are pretty limited.  This may not be the easiest way to create such items but this is the only way I could ensure they would work in my school district.  I am definitely open to newer ideas and resource suggestions.

For these two Screen Casts, I created the slides on PowerPoint.  I used these presentations in workstations that students could rotate to for remediation sessions.  It was user friendly for all students, however, it was more time consuming for some students until they got their hand/click coordination.  

This first one is an example of a Social Studies review on Map Skills for third grade students.

Social Studies Screen Cast

The second one is an example of a Science review on the Phases of Matter for third grade students.

Science Screen Cast

The last link I wanted to share is a VoiceThread I created many years ago for a Reading Course where I was required to make a Literacy Kit.   I also used VoiceThread as the source to present my literacy kit. The topic I chose was Compound Words.  My kit was created as a Picnic Basket because so many visual compound words relate to food.  Several components had to be created around introducing, teaching, remediating and reinforcing skills for K-3 students with compound words.  One of the items, I created was a Voice Thread to accompany a worksheet activity that the students would rotate through different stations on the computer to complete.  The lesson associated with this was first created for first grade students but I used it again for the literacy kit assignment AND this assignment as well.

Compound Words Voice Thread

Digital Storytelling

When I was a student intern, I served as a Special Education Resource Teacher at a Primary School.  When I planned lessons plans, I loved trying to integrate multiple contents into one lesson.  I also conducted theme units where all the different content evolved around a specific topic.  Around President's Day, it was a great coincidence that we were learning about coins.  So, I created a week of lessons where we worked with a different coin each day.  This particular day, I introduced the penny.  I planned an activity about Abraham Lincoln as well because we had to study Famous Americans for the month of February.   I chose Abraham Lincoln to tie into President's Day, Famous Americans and Black History Month. We made black stovepipe hats and beard costumes with black construction paper. We highlighted important details and facts from the video we watched about his life.  I gave each student a line or two on an index card and had them recite them in their costume.  Some of my students memorized their "lines." On the first run, they did so well, that I wanted to capture it.  I hadn't planned on recording it which I regret even still today.  I decided to use my cell phone camera and do it again but on the second run, they got camera shy.  However, they enjoyed watching themselves the next day when I complied their "performances" into one show.  I apologize for the technical difficulties due to volume inconsistency.  The video is over three years old now, I was surprised I still had it on the my laptop.  I now own a higher quality tablet and smarter phone for these spontaneous situations.

My laptop wouldn't allow me to download a YouTube video.  I usually record YouTube videos with Jing Screencasting.  However, here is a link to a YouTube Video that I used last week in my current resource classroom.  The strands of learning for last week in Social Studies were learning about the Early Explorers.  I showed an Explorer of the Day video each day as an anticipatory set (hook).  On the day planned for Ponce De Leon, I showed my students a digital storytelling video of a class who took what I did above to a whole other level.  I can't wait for the opportunity to implement this with my students in the immediate future.  My students really enjoyed it and I hope you do too!

Mrs. Herrick's 3rd Graders - Crazy Explorers - Juan Ponce De Leon

Images on the Web - Flickr

Here is a link of my Flicker photostream.   Flickr

This week’s assignment entailed Images on the Web and specifically using Flickr.  Flickr is a photosharing Web 2.0 App.  Flickr offers free accounts with one terabyte storage capacity.  That means you can upload over 500,000 pictures to your photostream to share and use in your classroom.

Capitalizing on Multimedia in the classroom can provide graphic representations of several concepts of learning that may seem abstract or difficult for students to comprehend. This will stimulate visual literacy for struggling readers.  Providing visual imagery can help strengthen a students ability to recall learned information.  Images can also assist students with real-world applications and self to text connections.

For this assignment, I uploaded pictures to my Flickr account that were obtained from the National Geographic Website.   Patterns in Nature:  Animals

I have used this series of pictures twice in my classroom so far.  Last year, I used this slideshow of pictures as a GUESS WHO OR WHAT GAME for the anticipatory set (hook) of a math lesson on patterns. This year, the second time, I used this slide show was for a class discussion on animal adaptations.  It sparked a great deal of inquiry-based dialogue in regards to how animals survive.  I was able to incorporate several of our key terms and vocabulary during this discussion as well.  (EX:  camouflage, mimicry, instinct, etc.)  My students were highly engaged both times.  In the immediate future, I may try to use the pictures again for a Social Studies lesson possibly when reviewing the map skills unit using the pin location feature on the Flickr account.

Here are the VA Standards of Learning Objectives that were linked to the lesson plan and these photos.

Science – VA SOL 3.04 – Animal Adaptations - The student will investigate and understand that adaptations allow animals to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment.

Math – VA SOL 3.19 – Patterns - The student will recognize and describe a variety of patterns formed using numbers, tables, and pictures, and extend the patterns, using the same or different forms.

Social Studies - VA 3.06 - Map Skills - The student will read and construct maps, tables, graphs, and/or charts.

Here are the NC standards I found that are similar to the VA objectives I used for the lessons described above.

Science – NCCOS Grade 4 1.02 - Goal 1: The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to build an understanding of animal behavior and adaptation.

Objective 1.02. Observe and record how animals of the same kind differ in some of their characteristics and discuss possible advantages and disadvantages of this variation.

Math - Grade 2 Goal 5: Algebra - The learner will recognize and represent patterns and simple mathematical relationships.  Objective 5.01: Identify, describe, translate, and extend repeating and growing patterns.

Social Studies Grade 1 - 1.G.1 Use geographic representations, terms and technologies to process information from a spatial perspective. 1.G.1.1 Use geographic tools to identify characteristics of various landforms and bodies of water. 1.G.1.2 Give examples showing location of places.

Grade 2 - 2.G.1 Use geographic representations, terms and technology to process information from a spatial perspective. 2.G.1.1 Interpret maps of the school and community that contain symbols, legends and cardinal directions. 2.G.1.2 Interpret the meaning of symbols.

Don't forget the cliche'... A picture is worth 1,000 words!  Use pictures in your lessons as much as possible!

SYMBALOO - Social Bookmarking

As I reviewed all of the links on the Social Bookmarking assignment, It was hard for me to move past Symbaloo which was the first one on the list.

To open your own Symbaloo Account, click here.

As an SPED elementary school teacher, I gravitated towards Symbaloo because it seemed to be so user friendly and easy to not only set up for my students but for my students to use independently.  After I reviewed the other links, I installed and opened a Symbaloo account for my personal computer.  I made  a WebMix for my daughters of all of the websites they frequently visit.  My 5-year-old always needed someone to type in all of the different urls.  Now she is able to select different websites independently.

Here is a tutorial video that can help explain Symbaloo in more details.

I like the way Symbaloo utilizes icons, graphics and pictures to display weblinks.  This will help my students identify the website links with ease.  In the classroom, this would be a great way to differentiate or set up work stations or centers with different webmixes available for different content areas for students that may need to complete assignments, enhancement activities or remediation and tutorial sessions .  The webmix page can hold as few as 10 urls up to 60 depending on the topic and graph display you would like to set up.

For my digital literacy assignment, I chose eight websites that have teacher tools and resources, articles, blogs, assessments and courses that can be taken to learn how to implement digital literacy tools in the classroom.  Click the Symbaloo Icon below to visit my webmix.

Edmodo - Social Media Activity

I am a SPED teacher for a third grade Inclusion class.   For my Edmodo lesson, I chose the story "The Trial of Cardigan Jones" by Tim Egan.   I was first introduced to this story on the third week of school.  It is a part of our basal reading unit from Houghton Mifflin.

This story is about a moose, Cardigan Jones, who is accused of stealing a freshly-baked pie from Mrs. Brown's window sill.  Eyewitnesses, policeman and jury members are quickly convinced that he is guilty.  However, when the judge gets to see Cardigan in action, he is able to prove his innocence.

For my Edmodo activity, I created two activities for my students to post.  I listed scenarios where they can choose a character from the story to role play and answer a question I posed "in character."  They were also required to reply to a classmate's post "in character.'  The second post was a journal entry activity where they could personally reflect on how it would feel to be falsely accused.  They would also be required to post replies to other classmates.  Their posts could also transition into a whole group discussion using a bubble map to identify the qualities of the judge that made him a good leader.  This Edmodo lesson will help my students gain a sense of ability and importance in identifying positive and negative character traits as well as being able to make connections to self, to text and to the world.

I believe this will be a great read aloud for any grade level for a variety of reasons.  The book is short and visual.  It can be used as an introduction to Social Studies units about trials, jury, judges, and/or court systems.  It can be used as a guidance lesson to discuss bullying, about being a tattle tale and a moral lesson on not waiting for the facts before presuming someone is guilty.  It could be a Drop Everything and Read book with no academic lesson driven purpose just because it's an entertaining story with great illustrations.

BLOG with CLASS

Blogs used in the classroom helps engage students in their learning.  It creates more opportunities to entice resistant readers and writers to participate in reading and writing activities.  Blogs also create a type of  "one stop shop" for all members involved in the educational setting.  Students can use your blog to catch up on missing assignments when absent from class. Your student's parents can gain access to a virtual glimpse inside of your classroom.   Your colleagues can offer their suggestions to enhance the lesson activities, collaborate on other ways to incorporate blogging into lesson plans and/or get inspired from your ideas that are already percolating in your classroom.  Blogging can de-clutter the paper trails.  Blogging cuts down on papers for students to lose or make airplanes with and for teachers less to track and lug around until graded.

As a SPED teacher, I am always searching for ways to not only differentiate lessons but create and implement strategies that give all SPED students the ability to access the general curriculum.   Blogging in the classroom can help level the playing field for SPED students.  For example, I have a few students who have dysgraphia, struggling readers and a few others lack organization skills.  A blog will help a student who is never motivated to write because of poor handwriting skills and laborious efforts.   A blog will also give disorganized students a central location for retrieving and submitting classwork.  Struggling readers may choose to read peer comments over textbooks.

Blogging also provides students and teachers an opportunity to practice 21st century skills by implementing Web 2.0 resources into their assignments and discussions.  This generation is inundated with technology so any assignment using computers, tablets and the internet will be appreciated by students.  Some students may not even consider it hard work and others may not even realize they are learning.

But if you don't want to take my word for it, view this video which are students of all nationalities, ages and gender explaining their approval of blogging in the classroom.

Top 10 Reasons to Blog in the Classroom