Innovation in Our Classroom!

Voice Thread for the classroom!

(click for great facts and a tutorial)

 In Mrs. Kirkland's 5th grade class we are using an internet tool called Voice Thread in two ways...

First we are using the tool to document photos and facts for our Family History Project. We are studying our own time lines and discovering where we came from, what our ancestors lived like, and what our heritage is. 

Mrs. K decided to start a timeline video for her daughter Azriela, who just turned one.
The students made a timeline video using multi-media (voice, photo, and music)!

(* a cool feature Mr's K discovered, was the instant upload tool. With just a click all of my Facebook photos were loaded onto my Voice Thread account! Easy!)

Mrs. K also discovered that her free subscription to Voice Thread only allowed her to upload 50 photos...which, for Mrs. K, was not enough!

We are also using Voice Thread in our weekly news pod casts! Each student group is assigned a section of our news broadcast, which rotates monthly. Here is a great example of another classroom using Voice Thread in their new pod casting! 

Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.

(O. Wilde)

-Mrs. K

OTEN

Team-viewer 

is a program for the ultimate couch potato! 

(and a great program for the ultimate classroom as well!)

Let me explain how we are using team-viewer in our 5th grade class...

Each student has a lap top that they are able to take home each night, and bring to class to use each day. We do many activities, including math on our lap tops in class.  I can access any student's lap top from the front of the room via my smart-board or the computer at my desk thanks to team viewer. This comes in very handy when I am helping a student with a complex algebra problem and I need to demonstrate how the problem went wrong Or perhaps the student made a common miscalculation, I can display the problem on the smart board and walk through it step by step with the whole class. This also works great for journal sharing, and collaborative works. 

Team-viewer also came in very handy on my last sick day. I was able to access all the computers in the classroom and check journals, assignments and help a few students all from my home. 

As long as both your computer you are working at and the computer you are connecting too have the program, you can basically work remotely from your living room on any work station...ANYWHERE! (see why this may promote couch potato-ness?)

Just check this out to get a better idea of how you can use Teamviewer!!

-Mrs K

The WIDER world wide web....2.0

Web 2.0 refers to a new style of internet usage that allows us to not only view the web, but participate in creating, manging and interacting in it as well. Websites generally allow us as users to view the site, passively, meaning we cannot affect it’s content at all. Web 2.0 sites allow that door to remain open!

So what does a WEB 2.0 site look like?!

Twitter, Facebook and Myspace!!

These sites make it easy to share, comment and respond to information. These tools can even be useful in a classroom setting. College students can create groups to hold discussions and collaborate on homework assignments. Classrooms can even have private pages that allow the classroom discussion, and activities to be viewable from the home. 

Blogging!!

Another great tool in the realm of web 2.0. Many fabulous attributes of blogging in education can be found in my previous post!!

YouTube!

(Your video got how many hits?!)

Video Sharing sites like YouTube are another example. Users can post videos, create “ channels” which are a kind of portfolio of videos, and comment on and re post other videos.

And all of this can be useful in the classroom! 

You have an endless stream of connection between students, and the work they do!

There are many examples of Web 2.0 out in cyberspace. It comes down to the fact that this new way of computing allows us to access our own  information and resources from almost anywhere. It allows us to interact with people from all over the world. It puts users in the driver seat!

-Mrs. K

It's Not Just for Grade Books Anymore!

The Google tool box is not just for teachers! Students and parents can benefit from the resources also! 

The spreadsheet application, complete with graph capabilities is one way to share information, stay organized, and keep track of facts! It also helps students to complete more complex tasks than they may be ready to do on their own, such as creating  pie charts and bar graphs!

Here is a great example of how to use Google tools in the classroom! This spreadsheet consists of three parts.

FIRST! 

An overall grade sheet for the entire class, each student can be kept confidential by using ID numbers. 

SECOND!

 In Mr's Kirkland's class we are researching populations around the world as an introduction into our World Cultures unit. Here is an example of the assignment completed by one student in the class. Each student used Google spreadsheets to learn how to implement mathematical formulas, and visualize and create complex graphs that may be beyond their capabilities mathematically, but with the help of Google they can begin to experiment and read this information!

THIRD!

A personalized progress report. This document is kept "private" and only shared with Kevin's parents. It helps us work together and understand things that may be affecting Kevin's grade, such as Basketball season ;-)

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

- E. B. White

-Mr.K