Final Reflection

I have found that the Integrating Technology and Literacy course to be one of the most valuable and applicable learning experiences in this program.  Throughout the past seven weeks we have been introduced to all the latest and greatest technological tools that can be used in the classroom with students.  Some examples include blogs, video makers such as iMovie, Animoto, and VoiceThread, Digital Story creators like Storybird, and collaborative tools such as Google Docs and Padlet.  I have learned that by creating a class blog and even having student blogs,  students will be able to write in a way that hones their skills authentically, and parents will have a better understanding and appreciation for what their child is working on at school on a day to day basis.  By integrating technology within the classroom, students are more engaged and motivated to learn, and are given opportunities to see what is going on in the world around them, and to collaborate with peers near and far.  Ultimately one of the biggest reasons to use these tools in the classroom is because this is the way of the world.  By showing students how to use the technology and teach them appropriate ways to do so, they are being prepared to successfully live and work in the digital age.

Google App Launcher

In my opinion, Google Apps offer some great tools for collaboration and composing.  When using Google Docs, it is easy to collaborate with others without ever having to actually meet. With Google Docs, anyone who has access to a document can work on it anytime.  There are so many Apps including spreadsheets, surveys, and slideshow presentations that any tool you could want to use individually, or with others, you can find in Google Apps.  Although other collaborative tools such as blogging offer ways to stay connected, and communicate, Google Apps offer the best variety of collaborative tools.

Creating a Document in Google Drive

Now that I know more about Google Apps, I certainly plan to use them in my classroom.  They get parents involved, teach students about collaboration, and add a dimension of entertainment to the classroom.  The area where I anticipate Google Apps having the most value is professionally.  My district has already made the switch to Google Drive and Google Apps, but now that I am more familiar with these tools and all the ways to utilize them, I see greater possibilities for using them to collaborate within our school.  For these reasons, I have and will continue to recommend Google Apps.

Please take a second to view my Voki, another cool digital tool, for my final thoughts on using Google Apps. 

A Little Survey to Kick off a Thursday Night

Please take my survey!

The New and Improved Digital Story

After sharing my Digital Story with my colleagues last week they offered some suggestions for improvement.  Seeing as though I was looking for ways to make it better I took their constructive criticism and went back into iMovie to change some things around.  The first this I needed to do was to change the position of the pictures.  I was unaware that when you put them into iMovie you have to choose a starting and ending position.  I had mentioned in my last post that I didn't like how the pictures were cut off or didn't show the whole scene, but apparently that is because I had to position them!  So I went back and changed all of the pictures I felt needed re-positioning. The second thing I did was decide to add some music to the background.  When I tried this at first I felt it was too loud and therefore too distracting.  However, again I learned that as the creator you can change how loud or soft the music plays.  I lowered the volume to a setting that I thought added just enough background music, without taking away from the content that was being taught.

My experience with creating a Digital Story and with using iMovie has taught me two valuable things.  First and foremost, ask questions! Even when you think there is no way to change something you don't like about your Digital Story or iMovie, there usually is.  Second, take risks!  Try to include pictures or use formats that you may not be 100% sold on, because it's surprising how well some elements fit together.  It is very easy to edit and change things if you don't love how they turned out at first.  You just have to get in there and play around with the settings. 

  

Without further ado, here is the new and improved digital story on The Steps of Human Hearing.

A Poetry Presentation Using VoiceThread

With the end of the school year comes many reasons to celebrate.  In my fifth grade classroom we have an annual Literacy Celebration that allows parents to come in to the classroom and see all the progress their children have made in reading and in writing.  Students take all the published pieces of writing from the year and create their own writing portfolio using a binder and sheet protectors.  Students also write an About the Author page with their picture on it, and put it out on their desk for display along with their portfolio, Poetry Books, Heritage Books, and Civil War projects.  Each student desk looks like the picture below. 

Student work presented at the Literacy Celebration

Picture of Student Poem

As part of the celebration I also have students choose their favorite poem from their Poetry Books and read them to the parents.  Although this is a great way for students to demonstrate their reading and writing skills for the entire audience, I have run into problems with this format in the past.  Sometimes students read too fast or too soft, so their poems aren't heard or understood.  Additionally, this year I have a student who cannot read and therefore would be unable to read his poem.  For these reasons I felt that this was a good opportunity to turn to the help of technology. 

Picture of Student Poem

 I decided that instead of having students read their poems live, I would use VoiceThread to record their readings, and then play the presentation for the parents.  Once students decided which poem to read, I took a picture of each one and then uploaded them to VoiceThread.  I then called students one at a time (after they practiced of course) to recite their poems as I recorded them.  All but two students read their poems perfectly the first time through, and the other 2 were able to perfect it the second time around.  For the student that is unable to read, I said the words quietly in his ear, and then he repeated them.  The end product resulted in a presentation that was uniform, visually pleasing (since the audience could actually see the poems and how they looked on the page), and representative of their best poetry reading.  Please enjoy our Presentation of Poetry.

Digital Storytelling

If I had to guess I would say that every teacher reads books aloud to their students.  Teacher read to their students to provide them with information, share a story, or purely to entertain them.  As research has shown, there is  much instructional value to read alouds with students of all ages.  That being said, make way for a new way of sharing stories with your students, Digital Storytelling.  As you may have inferred from the name, digital storytelling is using technology to share a story with an audience.  They are different from regular read alouds because they are digitally played for students, provide pictures, video clips and sounds, and a very enjoyable and engaging. 

Digital Storytelling can be done using many different programs such as Storybird, Voicethread, or iMovie.  Each one of these programs offers different features, so it really is up to the preference of the author. 

iMovie is one app that can be used to make a digital story.

The first step in creating a digital story is to have a topic or purpose for the final product.  From there, some research may need to be done in order to be knowledgeable about the subject and the content of the story.  A very important step is next, creating the digital storyboard.  This helps the author organize ideas and images, as well as play around with music and transitions.  For someone just starting out, like myself, there are various storyboard templates available on the internet, or one can be created on paper with sticky notes.  From my first experience with digital storytelling, I will admit that initially I thought the storyboard was a waste of time.  However, after going through the entire process, I can tell you that taking the time to create and finesse a storyboard greatly facilitated the actual creation of the story. 

For my digital story I decided to create an informational story explaining the steps to how humans hear.  My reasoning behind this decision is that what I teach the unit on sound, it is always a challenging process for students to visualize.  Therefore, I thought they would really benefit from seeing it explained in a digital story format.  To do this I first used my district’s resources to gathered images of the parts of the ear, both in isolation and as part of the process.  I then created my storyboard using a PowerPoint template. 

Here is my digital storyboard created using a PowerPoint Template

From here I added text, played around with the order of the images, and read through the content various times to ensure it made sense.  I then uploaded all the photos to iMovie, and used the app to record the content explaining each step as it was displayed.  I will say that I had to adjust the time that each picture was displayed in order to fit the text being read.  Also, some of the pictures did not upload looking the same as they did in my camera roll.  However, for a first draft I am pretty pleased.  I am also open to any feedback that I can use to make this digital story better, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts!  

VoiceThread

Another great cloud application that can be utilized in the classroom is VoiceThread.  VoiceThread can be used by both students and teachers to create a presentation for an audience. 

Many teachers currently using VoiceThread use it to share and discuss documents, present information or student work, or display images and audio files.  A combination of pictures, audio and text can be included on each slide, plus there is the option to record your voice in order to say something about what is being presented.  Having the microphone is great because once a VoiceThread is shared, either with a particular audience or the entire world, other people can add their comments or questions to the slides.  If they prefer not to comment using their voice, comments can also be written by typing them into the space provided, or even texted from a phone. 

Here is a brief sample of how VoiceThread is used.  

Dozer & Madison

Here I have taken a picture of my dogs, uploaded it to VoiceThread, and recorded the comments you hear when you press play. 

Right now I am working on a VoiceThread with my students.  I have taken pictures of the poems they want to share at our Literacy Celebration, and am in the process of recording them reading it.  When the poems are presented for parents, each student will have a slide displaying their poem, and their voices reading them.  This is my first time using VoiceThread with my students, so wish me luck!

More about Storybird

Some of my friends that have read our digital story, Simple Gestures, have been asking me questions about how it was created.  For anyone not familiar with Storybird, it is a website that facilitates the creation of digital stories.  Once you create a Storybird account, you will gain access to a variety of illustrations by numerous artists.  Once you find an illustration that catches your eye, or perhaps matches the story line you are going to write, you will choose the pictures from a collection by that same artist to accompany your text.  Here are a few examples of the collections.

Example collection of illustrations 

Example collection of illustrations 

Once you chose the art collection you want, you can pick pictures from the entire collection

From there, you decide which order you want the pictures to go in, and start to add text to the story.  Some authors go in with a story already created, or have a story in mind, and others use the pictures as their guide.  When writing Simple Gestures, it was our first time navigating Storybird, and we had no idea what we were going to write about.  By perusing the collections of illustrations available for our age group, we found one picture, the cover of the story, that grabbed our attention, and the story was born from there.

Once we had some ideas come together we really got into it, and wanted to create our best story.  Keeping in mind that this could potentially be used with our students, we incorporated story elements that students learn about in 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade.  Some examples include alliteration, writing with dialogue, describing the setting, and using sensory details.  

This text describes the setting and uses alliteration.

Here a lot of dialogue is being used to keep the story progressing.

One of the benefits of Storybird is that teachers can use it to create stories for their students, or the students can use it to create stories themselves.  For some students this would be very motivating, and I’m sure they could come up with a very creative end product.  Other students, might have a difficult time generating ideas, especially because some of the collections are very limiting, unless you really are creative and think outside the box.  When I try this with my students next year, I am definitely going to have them try it in pairs first.  

Give it a try in your classroom, and let me know what you think!

Storybird

Love, Juan and I just created our first digital story with Storybird.  It is aimed at students ages 8-12 and includes story elements that students learn about throughout the year in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade.  We hope you enjoy Simple Gestures. 

Animoto

As I did some research on educational ways to use Animoto within the classroom setting, I realized the possibilities are pretty much endless.  Some teachers use them in lieu of flashcards, helping students to recognize and learn sight words, spelling patterns, and new vocabulary. Other teachers use them as a way to introduce or review concepts and material covered in science or social studies units.  I saw a examples of teachers and students creating Animoto videos to demonstrate math processes in order to reinforce instruction as well as understanding of a given math topic.  Still, there were many other uses, including scavenger hunts, movie trailers, poetry presentations, research reports and oh so many more!  What I can conclude from the various examples I watched, is that if you can dream it, Animoto can help you do it!  

The first video I made was of my students participating in an experiential learning activity as part of our Social Studies unit on the Civil War.  For this simulation the students acted the part of Union Soldiers fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg.  The classroom was set up in stations that mimicked actual places at the battle sight including a campfire and surgeon's tent.  Throughout the day the students learned about the battle and poor medical care during the Civil War, problem solved real Gettysburg situations, ate hardtack, sang campfire songs, treated battle wounds, read and wrote letters to loved ones, and even took cover when they heard the Confederate soldiers attacking.  Using Animoto's "Old Glory" themed template, I added the pictures and some simple text to create an exciting recap of the day for students to enjoy and reflect on.  

The second video I made was also related to our Social Studies curriculum, but this time it served as an introduction to the unit on Immigration and Industrialization.  This decision was based mostly on timing, seeing as though that is what we are currently studying.  However, it was also made to help students see the connection between immigration and industrialization in the United States, as well as provide a visual aid of the immigrant experience to prepare them for their Ellis Island simulation coming up next week. The first thing I did to create this video was extract the Enduring Understandings from the unit  so I could use them as its framework.  Based on the content of the enduring understandings, I found photos to accompany each one in order to bring the words to life and give meaning to the concepts that are being taught.  Finally I downloaded the song, "Isle of Hope" to serve as the music for the video because it is told from the point of view of an immigrant and portrays the highs and lows of the voyage.  The end product is a video that I showed to introduce the unit, and will show again to review the unit.  My hope is that my students were able to obtain some background knowledge on this topic as they start to learn more about it, become familiar with the enduring understandings, and see first-hand accounts of this time period in history.   Although it may not be the best Animoto ever made, I think it definitely serves its purpose!  Enjoy! 

Global Read Aloud

So, I just signed up to participate in the 2014 Global Read Aloud!  I actually just learned about it today after reading up on the Global Read Aloud blog.  As a teacher I read aloud to my students every day, even as fifth graders.  Research has shown the benefits of reading to students of all ages because it models fluency, expression and vocabulary development among other reading skills and strategies.  When teachers read out loud to students often times it is a book that is too hard for them to read on their own, but one that students are really interested in reading.  When used as an instructional opportunity, read alouds engage students of all reading levels and invite them to participate in conversations, ask and answer questions, and even debate over certain topics and issues.  There is a lot of merit to whole class read alouds, so when I heard about the Global Read Aloud I was intrigued to learn more.  Basically, the premise of this event is to connect students all across the world with one book.  For 6 weeks in October every teacher and class who signs up to participate reads the same book and then shares their thoughts, feelings and reactions to it with students in other towns, states, and countries.  This communication can be with one, two, or as many other classes as the teacher feels suitable, and can be made through email, blogs, skype, and facetime.  Knowing the valuable conversations that take place within the classroom about a book we are all reading together, I can only imagine how rich and meaningful the discussions will be with other classes in other parts of the world.  Additionally, by bringing students from all areas of the world together in such a way, students can see what it's like to live someplace other than their town, and also learn how living in another country can affect the way people view certain topics or issues.  

I am excited to try out this new journey with my students this fall and anticipate many positive outcomes from the experience.  All that is left to do now is decide which book we will read!  

My Favorite Student Project

One of the benefits of teaching fifth grade is that the students are independent, creative, and have a lot of the skills and stamina necessary to complete long term projects.  Starting in April my students start to experience the reality of juggling multiple assignments and deadlines.  For some students this challenge is easily met as they learn time management skills and make good use of their class time, for others it’s a realization that as they move into the upper grades of increasing demands they need to get their time management together ASAP.  That being said, my favorite project that fifth grade students complete is also the longest to complete, and can be hard to manage.  However, the value of the project is irrefutable and students love completing the Heritage Book Project.  

Heritage books are worked on during the social studies unit on immigration and industrialization, as well as coincide with Immigration Day.  The purpose of these books is to give students a way for them to learn more about themselves, their families, and their heritage.  Students choose one country from which they are known decedents of and conduct research on what life was like was like for people living there during the big waves of immigration, why people wanted to come to America, what their journey was like, and what they did once they got here.  As students learn more about their heritage through their family tree, derivation of their last names, parent interview and family artifact they create final products to be put into the book.

Additionally all fifth grade students in my district participate in an authentic simulation of immigrating to America and getting processed at Ellis Island.  A week before the simulation students randomly draw descriptors to give an identity to their immigrant selves.  These descriptions include information about their health, education, wealth, occupation, image and character and make for authentic life stories that reflect real situations of immigrants.  On the day of the simulation students dress up as if they are real immigrants from their country of origin and are processed with the "immigrants" from two other elementary schools through stations at Ellis Island.  There is a lot of waiting in long lines, waiting in silence, unfamiliar faces and fear of deportation, just like at the real Ellis Island.  Throughout the day I take tons of picture of my students and print them in black and white.  The pictures are then added to their heritage books as a way of remembering an experience similar to ones their ancestors faced.  

Once the final projects are put together students have a book that is truly all about them, their families, and their past.  These books not only require teaching and learning across content areas, they provide authentic and meaningful learning experiences that students will remember for the rest of their lives.  In addition to all the new knowledge they acquire, students also gain a keepsake of special memories that they can cherish forever.