Final Farewell....For Now!

I have always wanted to start a blog, but really had no idea what I was doing. That was until I took this class. I have learned soooo much this semester, and I can't wait to use it in my future classroom! I hope to keep a blog going for my students and their parents because I think it is a great way to stay caught up on what is going on in the classroom. Technology can be a great thing as long as it is handled right. Another idea is to post random worksheets, games, or tips for parents to do with their children at home. These wouldn't count as anything, but would be an extra little something for them to keep their skills sharp. =)

I hope you all enjoyed these projects as much as I have! =)

Thank you all for a GREAT semester!!!!!!!!

Glogster

I really wanted to try Glogster, so I signed up for the 7 day free trial. To make this, I used one of their templates, but to my understanding you can make your own from scratch. I absolutely love this app, and will most likely consider buying full membership for my classroom. This can be a super creative way for students to present different topics, or even create announcements to post on your classroom blog. Anything that is colorful and attractive will most likely catch a persons eye, so this is a visually appealing way to get your information across. I was actually sitting here thinking of different ways I could incorporate this into my home life and my Norwex business as well. =) GREAT application! Can't wait to create something else with it!

P.S. I know this is a little wide for my blog format, but I wanted you to be able to see the whole picture! =)

Khan Academy

I didn't find this website to be as useful, at least for me. This website is geared more towards older students. It would be a great website to high school students to log onto and practice their skills. Math seems to be the only website that is geared towards younger students. The lessons are also interactive, but not really what I was looking for.

Opened.io

I really enjoyed this website. I believe this to be a website that I would use in my classroom. I will post my pros and cons below. This website is full of interactive games and activities that would keep even the youngest student occupied during class. With lessons turning more towards computer based lessons, this would be a great place to start. I am not 100% sure, but I think the lessons are already matched up to the standards that our students will need to know. This would make it a lot easier to find assignments that our students need to know, or even need to review. This site has games also. These could be used as "I'm done with the assignment, now what?" type of activities. While they are playing games, they are still learning. This is a good website, and I suggest that everyone should check it out. =)

Teaching about Digital Foodprint

I found a resource that has a pretty good outline on how to teach older children about their digital footprint. It incorporates videos as well as class questions. I don't think children know how important it is to pay attention to their digital footprint and the potential destruction it could have on their future.

Guide on Teaching Student's About Their Digital Footprint

 THIS looks like a GREAT activity and one I would use in my classroom! This video shows a class doing an interactive activity that discusses digital footprints and helps them determine what is safe to post online and what is not safe.

Link to MindMap

Here is the link to my mindmap:

MindMap

Copyright Websites

There are many websites out there that will help teachers explain copyright to their students. I found two websites that I would use in my classroom. I would use Common Sense Media because of the videos. Students respond well to watching videos in the classroom. I feel that it changes things up rather than I be up front lecturing them.

I would also use Copyright Kids. This information is also geared towards students which makes it easier for them to understand. I do like The Copyright Challenge on the website and would most likely have my students complete this so I knew where their understanding of it was.

Build Your Wild Self

QR Code

I decided to do my QR Code activity on Brain Breaks. =) I have found some fun ideas to give students a quick break during class. To use these cards: print them out on card-stock and laminate them. Next, when your students need a break, randomly pick one student to pick a number 1-15 and than they can scan the QR code for their given number. This will pull up the activity for the students to complete. This is a just a fun way to give students a chance to refresh their attention and get back to work. =)

 

Post-it Note

Sometimes I forget things. Sometimes I need visually reminders, like Post-it notes, to write it down so that I don't forget it. I recently had snacks for my son's class at preschool, and I made sure I physically wrote it in my planner so I didn't forget. I thought making a Post-it note reminding parents that they had snacks the upcoming week would be a great reminder tool for them. =)

P.S. - If the picture is HUGE I had to make it x-large so that you could see the text! =)

GoSoapBox & Random Name Picker

I am going to share the link to my paper over GoSoapBox and Random Name Picker. Both of these tools have huge potential to help the teacher make their classroom run more smoothly. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B64RjEouhaWMNVJJeUNWaXRjZjg/view?usp=sharing

SMORE

This is a really great application. I can definitely see the potential in using this for teaching purposes. This is also something I will very seriously consider buying the upgrade for the yearly price. I hope you enjoy!

 

Promethean Planet

I was really unsure about this program when I first downloaded it. The only way for me to learn new things like this, and how I can potentially use them in a classroom is to do some kind of project with it. I can now see this software being very helpful in the classroom, as you can project it up on the white board. You can make things brighter of softer which might hold the students attention better. I did a very simple project with ActivInspire. I took a few of the PowerPoint slides that we had to create for our final project in our Classroom Management class, and transferred them into this software so that I could project it on the white board to go over with my students on the first day of school.

Click on image to get the file

Click the image to get the file

Click the image to get the file

Click the image to get the file

Index Cards

I have seen this idea floating around Pinterest, so I thought this would make the perfect index card assignment! If I implement this in my future classroom, I would put velcro on the backs of the cards and on the students desks. They can neatly keep these three cards in their desks, and when we are working on a new (or old) concept, they can take the card out that best fits their understanding that way I know who understands it and who still needs help.

My second index card assignment, I can't take full credit for. While browsing Teachers Pay Teachers I found a free resource for parents. I just took the idea and created my own. This index cards lets parents know if/why their child didn't complete their homework assignment. I would staple this to the top of the assignment before I put it in the students folder to take home.

Hope you enjoy! =)

Google Form

This is an online, interactive forms for parents to fill out so that I can get to know their children and the important information we need to know as teachers! 

I wanted to share a funny one with you this morning! =)

 

Kid-Friendly Search Engines

As I looked into some kid-friendly search engines, two of them stood out to me. They are KidRex.org and SafeSearchKids.com. I have found some pro's and con's to both search engines. 

Pros:
*It looks inviting and kid-friendly
*The main screen is easy to navagate
*Search results are easy to navigate through

 Cons:
*I couldn't find a place to search for images

Pros:
*You can search for images 
*Good resources come through the search results
*Parents and teachers can control the filters

Cons: 
*I don't like all the different links on the side of the page, this makes it easy for the students to get off the main website

Kidspiration

I stumbled upon Kidspiration while researching Inspiration Software. This software offers visual representations of ideas and the ability to link them together. This program does waaay more than I thought it would. I actually went to Google.com and searched for images of Kidspiration. After looking at some of the screenshots I decided that this might be worth purchasing. It was a little more than I would of liked, but I can see the potential in it. I even found a couple of things that my boys could benefit from right now. 

Not only does this program help students map out their reading and writing concepts, they also have Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. There are different activities within each section. I will warn you now, there might a few too many pictures by the time I get done with this post, but I want you to be able to see what this software is capable of. 

Here is the main menu for Kidspiration.

Here is the view after you select Reading View from the main menu. I added a whole bunch of clipart to the picture so that you could get an idea of the variety of the clipart offered within the software. 

This is the writing view.

This is the math view. From here you can go into different activities using the tools provided. I will provide a screenshot inside the Color Tiles option.

I have selected the Reading and Writing Activities option. This brings you to a menu with a variety of different activities you can do. I will post Beginning Letters below. 

You get the same type of menu to pick activities from with Math, Science, and Social Studies. I will just post one activity from each subject below. =)

 Time of the Day activity.

 Balanced Meal activity.

And 50 States activity. =)






 

ReadWriteThink.org

As teachers we are always on the lookout for new tools to keep in our back pockets for future reference. One tool I will keep for sure is ReadWriteThink.org. I explored this website and discovered that is has a lot of templates that students can use to help them organize their writing process. I did a PowerPoint presentation showing how to set up a book cover.

 If I need to list out my steps in a comment because the pictures are too hard to read, please let me know!