Follow Me!

My colleagues shared ways to boost traffic to my blogspot so that I can build my Personal Learning Network and share with others.  They had several suggestions such as tweeting about blog posts, emailing potential followers, visiting other blogs and leaving comments, emailing potential followers or people who might be interested in the subjects on my blog, and posting on Classroom 2.0.

I implemented two of these strategies to increase views on my blog and have found them to be successful so far (my views went up about 50%).  One strategy I tried to reply to some discussion threads on Classroom 2.0 and then leave a link to this blog.  As I view my stats, it is evident that several visitors have come to this site from Classroom 2.0.  Doing this also benefitted me in that I was referred to several other blogs that are interesting and will be useful to the continued use of iPods in my classroom.  It's so easy to get lost in reading the blogs of others!

A news story caught my attention a few weeks back about a school system in Maine that was going to purchase iPads for their entire Kindergarten population.  After reading the story I wanted to share my thoughts but despised the thought of creating yet another profile on a news site that is not local.  Instead, I went directly to the school district's website and emailed the superintendent a link to my blog.  In the email,  I encouraged the superintendent to visit my blog and the blogs of some of my colleagues and then share them with his colleagues to inspire them and give them useful ideas and tips.  My stats prove that someone in Maine did view my blog.  I wonder if it was him?

This project of blogging has opened my eyes to the worldwide support that teachers can get if they know where to look and for that it has been a very valuable approach to learning.  We teach our students how to find answers to the questions that they have.  I appreciate being taught how to discover the many possibilities and conversations available at my fingertips and hope that this project continues to help others do the same.

Do you know of other ways to spread the word?  If so, please share!

Can Apps Make Kids Smarter? An App Review and Interesting Conversation

Can apps make kids smarter?  Donald Bell, a CNET editor for iPad Atlas, asks this question in his identically titled article (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20006660-243.html).  According to a study funded by the Department of Education, some apps are proving to have a positive effect on the learning of children.  This particular study reviewed how 90 young children (ages 3-7) used an iPod Touch loaded with a Martha Speaks app from PBS that is designed to help students build vocabulary in a fun and engaging way.  They found that the vocabularies of these children increased 31% in two weeks.

As an educator who has seen first hand the benefits that technology can have on learning, I was not surprised by the findings of this study.  They support what I have experienced in the classroom.  I was, however, interested by the conversation that followed in the comments section.  Several people supported the use of this technology for young children

Commenters responded to the article by raising questions that I think are important to consider and address.


"So you've abrogated your responsibilty to personally teach your child about the world around him and life skills to an inanimate object?" (dennisl59)

Are we using iPods/iPads/iPhones to replace the teaching and interaction that should naturally occur between child and adult?  It's a question that many will ask of educators using iPods and iPads in the classroom.  As integrators of these technologies, it is important for us to share our philosophies and experiences to help others understand the benefits these tools can have in facilitating the learning of new skills.  It is also necessary to demonstrate that these technologies are not replacing the student/teacher interactions that happen naturally, easily, and often in the context of the classroom.  When used properly and most effectively, they become a supplemental tool that help reinforce the skills that the teacher has been teaching.  Yes, technology is one of the best tools we have in our teaching tool boxes but it is not the only tool.  

"When the electricity goes out and the batteries die what are you left with?"  Read an illustrated book. (dennisl59)

Are we replacing traditional illustrated picture books with ebooks?  Absolutely not!  Students in the classroom are exposed to many types of literature including picture books, chapter books, Moving Picture Books, audio books, read alouds, independent reading, Tumble Books (www.tumblebooks.com), and books read by actors sponsored by the Screen Actor's Guild Foundation (www.storylineonline.net).  Another commenter posted a reply to this question that I think addresses the feelings of many app users.  "I can imagine when paper was invented, someone might have said "What happens when the bookworms eat your book?" Use clay tablets. Who is suggesting only having electronic devices and no books?" (QuantumIguana)  I completely agree.  Improvements and change sometimes polarize people.  It is my feeling that as time passes and more information becomes available, people will be less scared about the changes that are happening in education and more likely to see the benefits that can occur through the use of technology.

What are your thoughts?  Do you have some of these questions?  How would you address them?

Plastic Eggs and Earbuds

Plastic eggs (available around the Easter holiday) from the dollar store have solved our tangled earbud problem inexpensively!  The earbuds fit perfectly in the egg and keep them stored in a confined space until the next use.  To achieve this, follow the directions below. 



1.  Wrap earbuds neatly around your hand/fingers.  This makes it easier to place the earbuds in the eggs.

2. Place the earbuds in the egg.  Close the egg



3.  Store earbuds until next use.  (We use plastic sandwich containers and they work really well.)

4.  When ready to use, remove earbuds from eggs.  Let the cord drop and naturally straighten.  No knots!

Though it takes a minute to get the earbuds put away like this, I feel this new system of headphone storage will be a huge timesaver for my students.

IPads and Autism

I first saw this video on a blog by Mrs. Coffey  (www.tcoffey.edublogs.org) and wanted to share it with you.  It demonstrates the use of apps that can be used to help students with autism communicate.

Remediation

Two weeks ago, I made a decision to begin remediation with a student that is struggling to master literacy skills such as letter recognition, rhyming, phonological awareness, and concept of word.  This child is completely enthralled with using the iPod Touch and it seemed logical to spend time during remediation using the iPod to learn the skills mentioned above.  What better way to create motivation and an opportunity for learning?  However, it seemed necessary to not only give this chid an iPod and send him on his way, but to spend time with him one-on-one talking about the skills that he is trying to master and engaging in conversation (a pre-literacy skill) about some of the pictures on the apps that he is using.  Everyday, we spend about 15 minutes after school (between the time the first bell rings and the time his bus arrives) playing, talking, and learning. Some of the apps that we have used during this remedial time include ABCMatch, ABC Train, AlphaChomp, and iWriteLetters.   In just two weeks, I have noticed a difference in this child's ability to recognize letters and even connect a few of them to sounds.  His participation in class during whole group opportunities has increased and he begs to meet with me after school for time to play and learn.

As always, it takes time to gather data to gauge effectiveness.  I will continue to monitor this child's progress during remedial times to determine the long term benefits of using the iPod in this setting.  Short-term data, however, demonstrates the engaging and educational potential of using this type of technology in a tutoring/remedial situation.

Tangled Headphones No More!

Tangled headphone wires have become a big problem when using the iPods in the classroom.  Each time an assignment is given, it seems that several frustrating instructional minutes are spent unknotting and untangling the earbud wires.  This is especially a problem in my classroom because my students have two choices for headphones: earbuds or normal headphones.  The two options get tangled together in the students' boxes and many of the children do not yet have the fine motor skill to fix this.  I have been on the lookout for ways to fix this problem but have not yet found any solutions.  However, the following website http://www.ehow.com/how_5261546_keep-ipod-earphones-tangling.html provides several suggestions and solutions.  Though I have not tried any of these, I intend to try putting the earbuds in plastic capsules as mentioned on the site.  If this option is not successful, there are several other options I will try.

There are professional options available for purchase, the coolest and most child friendly one, being the "Earbud Yo-Yo."  However, considering the budget situation at our school, I will first try several Do It Yourself options before purchasing a class set.  http://www.covington-creations.com/

I will keep you updated on how my class responds to this solution.  If you have any great ideas about earbud storage, please share!

iPods and Reading

Several weeks ago, I posted about the listening to reading option that my students have during Daily Five reading instruction times.  I stated that a goal of mine was to sync these stories to the iPod Touch so that the children would have more options.  For the first time this week, my students were able to listen to reading using their own, personal iPod and it went really well.  Before using them, students were given a mini lesson on how to access the books, adjust the volume, and clean the space when they were finished. Next, students were sent to practice what they had learned and they did so with little difficulty and a lot of excitement.  When I felt that they were comfortable and able to access the stories independently, we broke into independent work time, with some students listening to reading on iPods, others writing, Guided Reading, and independent reading.  The noise level in the classroom was drastically reduced (we have been using the computer, and though the volume was low, the stories were still audible in all parts of the classroom).  A student, Y.P., commented during reflection time, "I could concentrate better at my center because I didn't hear the computer!"

Students were given the opportunity to reflect at the end of the experience.  There were many celebrations as well as a few challenges.

What did you think about using the iPod during Daily Five?
A.K.- "You can pick your own book!"
A.D.-"You don't have to share!  You use your own."
K.C.- "You could push all the buttons by yourself!" (She was not trained on how to access books on the computer and therefore was not allowed to push the buttons)
K.G.-"You can read the books you want to read."
S.C.-"Because you get to have it all for yourself and you get to like, put headphones on and slide buttons."
T.A.-"No books were hard to read!"

Was there anything difficult?
Y.P.-"The sound was moving where I didn't want it to be."
T.D.-"Like, you didn't know when to turn the page.  On the computer, it has that ding."

We are working to fix these two challenges to make the experience of using the iPod Touch easy and beneficial to the education of the students in the class.  However, the experience today was positive and effective overall.  I believe that the use of this technology during independent work times will increase students' literacy skills because it allows for children to choose literature that is high-quality, high-interest, and highly accessible at the touch of an icon.

Math Lesson: Sorting

Math is suddenly more fun for students when they can use their iPod Touch but you may be wondering just how teachers are using these tools to enhance learning in the classroom.  Below is a sample lesson that was taught to my classroom of kindergarteners during our sorting unit.

iPod Touch Math Lesson

Background:  We are at the culminating point in our first math unit where the students have been learning to sort by color, shape, size, and kind.  This lesson will review the concept of sorting using an engaging, developmentally appropriate app on the iPod Touch.  *(The app is called Toddler Treasures but the name is deceiving.  It was developed for children 4+ and fits in perfectly with the SOLs that are being addressed).

Enduring understanding:  Sorting is a life skill that must be used to organize and implement numerous daily activities.  

Math SOLs

K.13 The student will compare the size (larger, smaller) and shape of plane geometric figures (circle, triangle, square, and rectangle).

K.17 The student will sort and classify objects according to similar attributes (size, shape, and color).

Language Arts SOLs

K.7 The student will develop an understanding of basic phonetic principles.

1. Identify and name the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

NOTE:  At the time of this lesson, the students will have encountered the iPods only twice.  They have been trained on how to turn the iPod on, navigate the pages, and treat the iPod carefully.  This is their first of many true experiences working with an iPod in a learning situation.

Process:  

1. Review sorting using the SmartBoard lesson that has been created.  The students will answer the following questions.  What is sorting? (putting things that are alike together, separating things that are different)  What are the ways we can sort?  (shape, color, size, and kind).  Students will view each of these ways they can sort on the SmartBoard lesson.  
2. The teacher will introduce the sorting app (Treasures Sorting) using the SmartBoard lesson.  There are two examples of sorting the students may see during their independent practice and a screen shot of the actual practice that they will be doing on their iPods.  
3. Students will sort themselves by kind to go get their iPods.  Girls will go to a designated area, boys will go to a designated area.  Students will then be dismissed to pick up their iPods and bring them back to the rug to get further directions.  
4. Students will have an opportunity to turn on their iPods and find the assigned app.  They will be reminded that some days they can choose an app to play but today  they should ONLY be using the requested app for today’s lesson.  
5. Students will practice sorting on their iPods for 10 minutes and the teacher will set a timer.  When the timer goes off, the students will be asked to turn off their iPods and put them back in their cases.

CLOSURE:  

After clean-up of iPods, students will sort themselves based on whether they thought the app was hard or easy.  They will put their iPods back in their cubbies and come back to the rug.  

Assessment:  

While the children are using their iPods, the teacher will circulate the classroom and observe children’s interactions with the sorting app on the iPod.  If the teacher notices that a child is having difficulty, she will help the child.   After school, the teacher will collect more formal data about the independent sorting practice using the tool on the iPod that records how many a player sorted correctly.  

SmartBoard Lesson Visuals from Process Step 1:

                    

                                                           Slide to demonstrate how to complete the upcoming task. 

                         

                                                                          Slide 2 to demonstrate upcoming task.

Slide to show what the actual app looks like.  

App Folders

Screen Capture of Folders

With so many apps and limited reading ability, it is often times difficult for my students to find a specific app when given an assignment on the iPod Touch.  Luckily, iTunes has a feature that allows for creation of app folders and it is so simple to do!  With this new organization, my students have been more successful and independent iPod users.  Another major benefit of the app folders is that the apps are organized by the skill they facilitate.  For example, during independent word study, my students can click on the "Word Study" folder and choose from any of the six apps that are displayed in this folder.  They enjoy this because it gives them the freedom of choice, yet each of the choices are appropriate for the task.  If you would like to set up folders on your iPod Touch, see the short instructional video below.  Also below are photographs of each folder so you can view the apps that are in each folder.  Grouping them, though procedurally easy, was the most challenging part of this process due to the fact that I wanted great choices in each folder. 

Since we are a community of learners, if you have any app suggestions to add to different folders, please share them.  I would love to build my app choices with high quality, instructional apps. 

TO CREATE FOLDERS:

Folder Examples:

                        

Publishing Photos

Two weeks ago, I sent a release form home with each student to gain permission to use photographs on our class blog.  (See the post below titled Family Privacy-To Post or Not to Post)  Many parents chose to allow their child's picture to be used in this documentation process so look for new photographs soon.  Hopefully, viewing photos will help you visualize what it looks like when students are using technology in the classroom.

Reading Instruction and Technology

Listening to reading is an important component of literacy instruction.  When children listen to experienced readers, they too become better readers.  In my classroom, I have struggled to offer students with a way to listen to reading.  As a relatively new teacher, I have access to an old cassette player, yet audio books are so much easier to access through iTunes or available mostly by CD.  This created a problem for me.  I wanted to implement this read to self option for Daily Five reading instruction, but I didn't have the right materials.  Recently, I began purchasing these stories from iTunes and collecting the books through book clubs or used book sales.  I also began importing my books on CD to my iTunes account and linking them to pictures of the book covers to make selection of the audio file and the actual book easier.  For the first time today, students were able to easily listen to new and favorite stories.  Since I have not yet had time to sync these stories to the iPod touches, I trained four children to be "team leaders."  These children easily selected already downloaded books from my MacBook and their groups were able to listen to stories that were too difficult for them to read independently during their selected time.  They fell in love! 

As I reflect on the "listening to reading" experience today, there are many positives.  Students were engaged with high quality literature while I worked with small groups and some groups were able to use high level cooperation strategies to choose books together.  Everyone agreed that the time they spent listening to reading was fun.  However, I am thinking about making some improvements because, as with any new thing that is introduced, there were some glitches.  When groups chose stories that I had only one hard copy of, it was hard for each child to see the pages and words  It was also hard for one group to agree upon a book to listen to and much time was wasted in the decision making process.  Syncing these books to individual iPod Touches would be beneficial because both of these problems would be avoided.  Students would feel that they had a choice in book choosing, which helps teaching them an important skill: how to choose appropriate books.  As I work to perfect this independent reading instruction option, I will let you know what works and what doesn't.

Responding to the 2011 Horizon Report

The Horizon Report is an annual report created to showcase up and coming media and technology.  Members of a board examine and rate new media and technology and this research is used to create a report outlining technologies that are likely to be mainstreamed into daily lives and education within the next five years.  "On the near-term horizon" technologies are likely to take off within the next 12 months, while "the second adoption horizon" and "looking to the far term horizon" tools and technologies are likely to be more fully developed and usable within the next five years.  This blog post will focus on electronic books, a "on the near-term horizon" technology, because reading instruction is at the forefront of the professional development that is occurring at my school and is a personal interest of mine.  However, each of the 6 described emerging technologies are very interesting and more information and the full Horizon Report can be accessed at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report.pdf .

Many, if not most of us, are aware that literature has become available online in recent years.  In the context of everyday life, many people choose electronic books over old fashioned books.  However, as the article mentions, when we download and read this text, we are simply accessing electronic copies of a typical book.  This creates a convenient way to carry around several titles at once but does not really facilitate interaction.  This report states that electronic books will become more interactive in the coming months as the technology continues to be developed.  In the context of the classroom, where we as educators are working hard to teach students to make connections, think critically, and comprehend what they are reading, this could be a really powerful addition to our reading instruction.

Currently in my classroom, students have access to apps called "Moving Picture Books" on the iPod Touches.  These books, though not interactive, use moving, bright colorful pictures, as well as a text highlighting feature, to keep students engaged in the story.  The students are very excited to participate in reading these stories because they do keep their attention.  I can only imagine the added layer of interaction that the Horizon Report suggests is just around the corner.  I feel that students would gain a tremendous amount from this technology.

Now curious, I will continue to research this up and coming instructional tool and share that information with you on this blog.  If you are currently dabbling in the use of this technology, please share any information that you have.

Student and Family Privacy--To Post or Not to Post

As I work to develop this blog, an important question has been raised about posting photos taken of my students during the day in the classroom.  As technology-using teachers with many opportunities to publish photos of our students, we need to be conscious about their privacy and security, as well as school and district policies about using photographs.  As suggested by the Director of Instruction in my school division, I will gain permission to use photographs and videos on my website by sending home a permission form.  I will make sure to maintain the privacy of those students who do not have permission to appear on my blog and will ensure that I never use a student's full name if their parents give permission.

If you need to get permission to use pictures on your blog or other published site, feel free to make changes and send home the permission slip below.

Dear Parents,

Our class has an exciting opportunity to create a blog documenting our use of technology as a learning tool in the classroom.  We will include photographs and videos taken during the school day on our blog posts.  When using these photos, I will ensure that your child’s identity is kept private by not using his/her last name, school name, or other sensitive information.  As always, I value your opinion and wishes.  Please indicate below that you give permission for your child’s picture to appear on our class blog.  If you have any comments, suggestions, or special wishes regarding this issue, please write them in the space provided or contact me by phone or email. 

Feel free to check out our blog at __________________________

Thanks so much!

 ________________________________________________________________________

I give permission for my child’s photograph or video recording to be posted on the blog (http://www.blogname.com/).

Child’s Name ________________________________________________

Parent’s Signature ____________________________________  Date ______________

Please do not use my child’s photograph or video recording on the (http://www.blogname.com/)

Child’s Name ________________________________________________

Parent’s Signature ____________________________________  Date ______________

Comments, Suggestions, Special Wishes

What If Education Came to Life?

What if education moved us?  See this inspiring video. 

21st Century Education

This is a video I viewed in a current class that I am taking at Radford University.  It is an eye-opening and thought provoking presentation about how 21st century learners, otherwise referred to as "Digital Natives" learn.  Check it out and feel free to leave your comment below. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  Its creation is my most recent endeavor in experimenting with how to best use technology in the classroom.  My goal is to use exciting, accessible ways to engage students meaningfully. I will use this blog to showcase student progress and work samples, as well as provide stories about my experiences.  My goal is two-fold; to enhance student learning and create a personal learning network where educators, parents, and students can share ideas and anecdotes.  Please feel free to join in on the conversations by leaving comments, suggestions, and/or ideas so we can learn from each other.

Let's start with a little background information.  I am a very fortunate Kindergarten teacher in Southwest Virginia with access to a variety of technology in my classroom because of my school district's participation in an exciting grant opportunity from Apple.  It is a partnership between Radford University and local schools in the area.  My students benefit because they have, at their fingertips, iPod touches, and macbook computers, as well as the standard technology that our district already had.   As the teacher, I am often excited yet overwhelmed by the idea of using these tools in the classroom.   I feel obligated to use them in a conscientious and appropriate manner.  Management and set up can also be an issue.  In the coming weeks, I will explore these issues in the classroom and post the results.  In the meantime, check out more information about this amazing opportunity at http://gameslab.radford.edu/iLearn/.