Continuing to Learn with the iPad- Storytelling In an attempt to document the trials and errors of using a classroom set of 20 iPads in our K-8 school, I am adding a new post to the collection of iPads in the Classroom: 5th Grade- Storykit- Creating a story in Hebrew One of the Hebrew teachers approached me with an interest in having her students create a story book in the target language on the iPads. We chose to test the free app Storykit with this project. Students read a poem by Leah Goldberg called: (That’s Not Me). We had the Hebrew letters added to the iPad keyboard by going into: Settings> General> Keyboard> International Keyboards>Add New Keyboard> Choose Hebrew Once the International keyboard is added, a globe appears on your keyboard. Once the storyboards were finished, students were ready to work with the iPads. I showed students how to go to Microsoft Office ClipArt, search for images and download or take a screenshot and edit the image. Students also used each other to stage scenes from their story to take a photo. Like this:
Peg it up, Move it Around, Get it Done. How should we use technology in assessment? I'm looking for brain-storming ideas. You can either share ideas you've tried, or just half-baked ideas that you think would be interesting. Let's make sure not to bash each other in this post, our objective is to think of as many ways as possible to use technology as a tool in assessment. I'll give 10 ways to start the ball rolling. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Stixy: For Flexible Online Creation Collaboration and Sharing
Tune-Ups and Teachable Moments - Finding Common Ground Children are not supposed to be perfect all the time. Adults certainly aren't! When I was in seventh grade I had to go to the principal's office. My early teenage brain had gotten the best of me and I was rude to a teacher, which is something that did not please my mom and I heard about it when I got home. The middle school principal was eight feet tall. The classroom where I made my grave mistake was on the second floor of Queensbury Middle School and the principal's office was on the first floor. The principal talked at me for about five minutes, which seemed like an hour, and I left his office vowing never to get in trouble again. As an elementary school principal, it's interesting to me that students may leave my office feeling the same way that I did in seventh grade. Many parents get embarrassed when their child gets sent to the office, which is human nature. The Principal's Office The principal's office has changed. A typical administrative goal every year is to be visible.
Why Science Teachers Should Write This article, reprinted with permission, appears as part of the “Why I Write” celebration, sponsored by the National Writing Project, and taking place this week across the nation. Science and math educator Marsha Ratzel, who writes regularly for PLP’s Voices from the Learning Revolution group blog, was one of several teachers asked to submit essays for the NWP project. In her piece, Marsha explains why it’s so important that students write as a way to learn science—and why science teachers should write as well. Science needs people who can explain what they’re thinking so that the rest of us can understand the world. That’s one of the reasons students write in my science classes. As students start to strain to learn about science, their work revolves around trying to express what they know, what they don’t know, and asking questions. First, it requires them to create word pictures of what they imagine is going on within the science phenomenon they’re studying. About the author
Rubrics for Assessment | Classroom activities: Assessment and Technology 13 Popular Sites To Download Free eBooks For Your iPad iPad – One of the Apple’s most revolutionary masterpiece is a great gadget when its comes to give a truly amazing multimedia experience. You can watch movies, listen music, play games, check e-mails, video chat with friends and family, chatting and much more. But, you know there are many iPad consumers all over the world using iPad as an reading device. The main reason behind using iPad as an reading device is because of its great high-resolution, LED-backlit screen that makes the text brighter and crisp. Another advantages of iPad as an e-reader is its capability of support various formats such as ePubs, PDFs, Kindle and many more. Even you have the option to flip the pages with the swipe of your fingers giving you a real experience of reading paper books. If you are fan of reading books, I am sure you must be looking for eBooks on the Internet to keep your iPad library full with your favorite eBooks. Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS-feed and follow us on Twitter for recent updates. 1.
Students’ Assessment through Portfolio | School of Educators | Classroom activities: Assessment and Technology How to become a Google Apps EDU Certified Trainer « I Teach Ag Blog I have noticed a pattern over the last few weeks of people asking, how do you become a Google Trainer and what does that mean. The process to become a Google Apps EDU Trainer is fairly straight forward. I think of there being three stages to this process: Using the Training Center, becoming a Qualified Individual, and finally becoming aCertified Trainer. The Training Center The Training Center is available to “teach yourself to become an Apps expert in the classroom.” Individual Qualification If you are interested in testing your new knowledge acquired in the Training Center you can take all six exams. The exams are $15 dollars each and you will need to pass each exam with a score of 80% or higher. Certified Trainer You’ve passed all six exams and have decided to go for the gusto and become a Certified Trainer. The application is not too difficult, but where most people get hung up is the short video. And what will you get out of this Certification: What’s in it for you? Like this:
The “I Don’t Know” Zone: Student-directed and Inquiry-based Learning » The Cloverleaf School of Atlanta Students at Cloverleaf spend the last class period of each day working together on a project of their choice. They recently wrapped up their two-month long elevator inquiry, in which they rode a gigantic elevator, built a working elevator, watched elevator videos, read books about elevators, researched outstanding elevators around the world online, and wrote letters to an elevator technician. We explored the elevator topic in as many different ways as we could think of. I was trained in the inquiry model during my time spent teaching in New Zealand. When students are given the freedom to come up with their own ideas, they immediately feel a sense of ownership over their learning. I’ll be the first to admit, the learning style can at times be frustrating, but in the most wonderful way. It also doesn’t come naturally to me as a teacher (as I’m hoping other teachers/parents can relate!) Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of what the kids accomplished in this inquiry.
Arts Involvement Narrows Student Achievement Gap - Miller-McCune A new NEA study finds disadvantaged students do better academically if they are intensely involved in the arts. Students from the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder tend to do less well in school than those from more upscale families. But newly published research identifies one sub-group of these youngsters who tend to exceed expectations: those who participate heavily in the arts. “At-risk teenagers or young adults with a history of intensive arts experiences show achievement levels closer to, and in some cases exceeding, the levels shown by the general population studied,” a team of scholars writes in a new National Endowment for the Arts Research Report. This will be good news for the characters of Glee, and their counterparts in real life — especially those from poor families. For that group, the authors write, there is a remarkably strong association between participation in the arts and a wide variety of positive outcomes. What’s more, those higher grades paid off.
bloomsapps Using Blooms Taxonomy in education is a highly effective way to scaffold learning for the students. With the recent popularity and pervasive nature of iOS devices in school districts it is essential for educators to understand how to implement Blooms in the classroom using the apps that are available. While this list is by no means fully comprehensive, it will assist educators in getting started when implementing iOS devices in the classroom. This site will change almost daily as it will be updated with new and exciting apps! If you find any that you have worked with in your classroom please email dmileham@e1b.org or tweet @bloomsapps or @dmileham75 with your suggestions. Two Links to some iTunesU courses relating to iOS Integration: 1 iPad by Erie 1 Boards of Cooperative Educational Services ( Movie Making\Digital Storytelling Camera to PDF Free - cool little app that turns your device into a scanner. LiveBinders: I would be remiss if I didn't post this.