Tool # 11 (YEAH)

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools. I love the new apps that I have learned about. Bamboo paper is pretty neat. Storybird is a fun one too. I think one of my favorites has been the EDUCERATIONS app. I am excited to see our Ipads turn into whiteboards! I plan on solving a math word problem and recording step by step directions so that the kids can take it to their seats during independent work time or take it home for homework help. Pretty cool! Also we can ....put teacher lessons on the web so students can watch them before and after class Showcase video tutorials Add commentary to the water cycle or other social studies models and Diagram a sentence 2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner? I am starting to feel more comfortable about using different online tools and apps in my room. I know I still have LOTS to learn. I think I am way more comfortable in expanding my lessons using tech devices. I need to take the time to really learn how to utilize each tool in my room and with my kids, so we are all confident in what we are doing! SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE! I feel more comfortable using technology in my classroom. I am excited to really, really learn how to use all the various tools with my kids, and to use them well. I will take the time to really set up all my new devices in my classroom, making them as accessible as possible for all children to use. The charging station will keep the devices charged at all times, as long as we go over in detail the proper handling of each device. 3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Yes, there is just SO MUCH out there they we are able to use in our classrooms. The kids get excited about learning when we use technology! I hope to use a couple tools a month and really learn the proper way to use them, teaching each child about that tool and all they will be able to accomplish! IT is a big world out there!!

Tool # 9

1.Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective? I think it is important to tie the technology into our objective because it gives the kids a purpose for using technology. By doing this I think it will clear up any questions the kids have about the learning goal and how they use the technology devices. 2.Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers? We need to hold the kids accountable for the stations/centers so they do not get side-tracked or see these devices as "play" time. Technology can be a fantastic tool to use in the classroom, but it is very easy to become caught up in searching for fun games instead of using the device as it is meant to be used during stations or center time. By holding the kids accountable, they will stay focused on the task given them. 3.Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? One site I used this year in my classroom is MagnaHigh. The kids loved this center during math workshop time. I would load games for them to play, the beauty of this was that the kids were learning or reviewing math concepts while playing fun, fast paced games. As they beat the different levels in the different games their points were stored for them. These points added up and the kids received "medals" which they were very excited about. This site is also multi leveled so everyone could "play" and earn medals. We even challenged other classrooms, and the kids really got excited about that! They were able to see how many points and medals were being earned by both classrooms as well as who was the top scorer. I also used EDMODO in my classroom. I would post a video/article on the site for the children to read for homework. They loved posting their thoughts about the reading on the site and having discussions with other classmates at home. We would have fun reading everyone's posts and discuss the reading. 4.List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? One app I will use this year is Educreations and Bamboo Paper on our I Pads. Using bamboo paper in class will be fun for the kids. They can go around campus and take pictures of different math shapes and write notes about their shapes. I will have them come back and get into small groups to discuss their notes and pictures. Educreations is a super cool app, that allows you to sketch and record right onto the Ipad. The kids can become the "teachers" or experts on a concept. They can demonstrate how to solve a word problem on the Ipad, while recording how to solve it. This can then be used by other students who might be stuck on a problem. I can also demonstrate how to solve problems and allow the kids to use this during independent work time. I am sure that this will be a fun app to use this coming school year. I will hold the kid accountable by making sure that they understand the expectations of how to use the I pads and these apps. I will have the kids sign a contract for using the kindles, Ipads and other tech devices. They will have to review this contract with their parents and we will go over it together as a class and on a needed basis. 5.What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station. Another way we can use the Ipads in our class is to use them during reading workshop. We can download a set of novels onto them and have a group of kids use them in their book clubs. They can highlight/take notes while reading together. There are so many great tools to use while reading, like word meaning, bookmarks and note taking etc. We can use the Ipads during math workshop too. The kids can work in small groups on math facts with the Ipads. They can "race" each other to figure out the problems.