More "Storybird-ing"

I recently created another tale for second graders using Storybird.  It is a story about a young girl named Caity Jo.  Caity Jo doesn't think she belongs in her family because she looks so different from the rest. Her search for others just like her leads her to an elephant named Miranda, who helps her realize what family really means. When creating this story using Storybird, I started my work by searching for images that matched the story outline that was quickly forming in my head.  I typed in “penguins” and was directed to artwork by “Nidhiart”.  After scanning through the images and finding them adorable, I decided to change the outline for my story.  I also decided that I could incorporate some of the scientific “animal group names” learning that was part of our old math curriculum into a lesson using this story.  Therefore, I could use this digital tale to teach animal group names which would lead to students solving addition and subtraction word problems involving animal groups from the story.  I could also use this tale as the read-aloud during our first “Getting to know our Characters” unit, where students are taught that characters learn lessons in most stories.  Overall, I think the story came out the way I intended and that I used all the possible artwork from the suggested slides that I possibly could to fit my story outline.  As a read-aloud used during a lesson initiation, I think the length of the story is also appropriate. If I were to take on another Storybird project like this, I might find more images that could be used in conjunction with math lessons so that students are more fully engaged at the beginning of the lesson.  I’ve found that second graders love my math lessons that start with some sort of story. If the students feel like they are trying to solve a problem that the character from the story had, they attend to the problem with much more enthusiasm and don’t give up so easily.  The only impediments I foresee with the use of this technology are the moments when my Smartboard decides to freeze or when my desktop computer (which is ancient) “has a moment.” Otherwise, I don’t see any issues with my use of Storybird during a lesson, whatsoever.  I think that it would take a lot of planning and patience on my part to teach my whole class how to use Storybird to create their own digital story but that if I taught them in small groups, or even made the mini-lesson part of a Friday Station, we’d have more success. I definitely see myself using this tale and this technology with my second grade this upcoming school year. 
  

"Your Reading Life" Survey

This is just another Google Survey I started the other day and recently finished.  I plan on having my students take this survey the second week of school during our second visit to the computer lab.  Every little question I ask them about their reading lives, no matter how insignificant it seems, helps me get to know them that much better as a reader.  The questions I included in this survey have answer options that can really give me a good idea about a student's attitude toward reading.  As I've come to know, attitude makes a world of difference! I may add more questions/edit the answer options before September, but this is the survey for now.  Feel free to take it for fun so I can practice tracking responses!

My Course Reflection

June 23, 2014

Wow! What a quick 7 weeks it's been! It feels like just yesterday I was walking into class, nervous as could be because I didn't know what to expect! You see, my anxiety was not unwarranted.  My sophomore year of college, I signed up for one of the mandatory computer classes the university offered and was completely lost within the first five minutes of class.  No one checked in with me to see if I needed help or redirection and being someone who grew up in a home with no internet and a computer that was more ancient than the dinosaurs, I panicked just a bit.  When I finally got the instructor's attention and asked him to re-explain the first 10 steps, he smiled politely and said, "Ask a neighbor for help."  Looking back, I must have seemed almost unreal to him because of my lack of computer skills and know-how. I don't even think I knew how to copy and paste using the keyboard (among many other things).  But, I've come a long way since then and can now confidently say that I've created several Animoto online video slideshows, my own Storybird online story based on borrowed illustrations, contributions to threads on VoiceThread, a Padlet entry, a Blogger account with embedded material, and I am definitely comfortable with KidBlog (among other things)! The Voki below is just another snippet of what I've learned from this course about how to integrate technology into my classroom.  I had so much fun choosing my "person" and my voice (which accent, which accent?!) until I realized I could just record my own voice.  I see myself using many Vokis a week next school year and recording myself using silly voices to keep the kids engaged. 

There are so many possibilities for using this technology and enhancing my students' learning each and every day.  I wish I had had even more time to explore these different online tools during these past weeks, but because of some personal/family situations and having to work offline a lot I was unable to reach my hand into the cookie jar as far as I'd have liked.  I should have more time this summer, though, and plan to master the use of some of these tools, in particular. After my wedding I'll be living in my own house full-time with uninterrupted internet access!  My goal for next year is to get my second graders involved in KidBlog.  I will take the advice of our Google Hangout guest last week and start small so I'm comfortable, but I think the possibilities are endless.  Thank you, Judy for being so patient with me and not telling me to "ask a neighbor"! Also, thank you classmates for sharing such amazing resources through your blog posts.  You are all technology superstars now! 

Literacy Project

June 22, 2014

My Literacy Project was a small group strategy lesson that involved the use of technology.  Because of the use of technology I knew that this lesson would take up more time than a typical strategy lesson.  I used Animoto to create a slideshow of vocabulary and proper nouns from the Walt Disney version of Beauty and the Beast.  Animoto was the technology that I felt most comfortable using at that point in our course. Additionally, I knew from my experience showing other educational videos to my students that they would be positively engaged as they watched an Animoto video, especially one with animation and set to a song they were all familiar with.

My class had been studying folk tales, fairy tales, and fables for a few weeks and we had already read other versions of Beauty and the Beast, practicing identifying and retelling the important parts and using vocabulary from the story and proper nouns as we did so.  However, those were whole-group lessons and based on my most recent DRA2 assessment data and what I already knew about some students’ recounting abilities, I decided to reteach similar objectives in a smaller group.  After my modeling and during the read-aloud of the tale, I had the students actively identify the vocabulary that was unfamiliar to them and turn and talk about what it could mean.  The Animoto’s purpose was to reinforce the new vocabulary and proper nouns found in the story.  At the close of the lesson, I assessed students’ abilities to retell an important part of the story in partnerships using relevant vocabulary and proper nouns. 

Overall, my small group lesson went as close to planned as it possibly could have.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the Animoto and each student used at least two words from the slideshow and/or our master whiteboard list when they retold an important part of the story.  Eventually, I would like to use more Animoto slideshows to have students practice sight word vocabulary and other content-specific vocabulary, showing any related images to help them remember the meanings.  I also plan to use Animoto in the beginning of the next school year to make a slideshow of my students’ “Hopes and Dreams” to share with parents at Open House. 

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Just Some Plans for Padlet

June 19, 2014

After seeing the functionality of Padlet for the first time last week, I am determined to get my second graders using the site by the mid-year point next school year. When I check out the link on our class site that had suggestions for what Padlet could be used for, I was inspired by the KWL chart idea. However, I would use Padlet for creating a whole-class Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction chart.  With technology so accessible through our class Smart Board, I can easily demonstrate how to make a Padlet page entry for my students and then get them to work, possibly jotting and editing their thoughts on actual sticky notes first.  I’ve been using half of a bulletin board these past three years every time we create a new class RAN chart about another nonfiction topic.  Padlet will help me save space in my classroom and using it will boost up my students’ technology skills!  

This site could also be used individually for students as an online board for sharing new learning about a nonfiction topic or for students needed extension opportunities.  I could have those students research and organize their notes for an information book through a Padlet board!

The Ed and Alma's Grandchildren Video

                June 16, 2014

I wanted to share the Animoto video I made a couple weeks ago that I blogged about previously.  This weekend I was investigating the ways to embed the videos that were shared in class and in the class notes and I finally feel like I got the hang of it! This video is completely unrelated to my second graders but as I said before, it was one of the first videos I made on Animoto so it helped me become a more efficient video-creator, which is a skill that will continue to benefit my students!