An Arctic Animal Adventure

 

Interested? Students researched an Arctic animal, used PhotoStory 3 to independently make an animal riddle movie, and composed a persuasive essay as a group for a vodcast. The final projects were presented using GlogsterEDU. A Google Form was used to keep track of the votes cast for the most interesting Arctic animal.

innovative? National Geographic's Creature Feature provided a perfect place to begin research - with images, cards, videos, sounds, maps, and a printable fact sheet. The students proved to be capable of more than I initially thought possible! They quickly found 5 facts and were ready to move on. Yet, we took a day of small groups and learned how to successfully use a highlighter with the printable fact sheet and found some important elements were missing in what they had recorded. So, they were encouraged to make them a little more detailed - and did!

A new appreciation for PhotoStory 3 grew recently, as Dennis Grice shared his animal riddle idea that he's done with his students in California. After talking with him about my previous concerns - mostly blurry pictures - and learning that it may have been the result of students saving the thumbnail of an image and not the full-size one, I was excited to utilize this simplistic yet amazing program with my class. Don't let the simplicity fool you though, because my students really utilized the options offered to their fullest potential -

Our Animal Riddle Steps:

Step 1: image upload - A Digital Kit with a variety of PowerPoint backgrounds to provide color, mixed with images from Creative Commons & Discovery Education were easily shared with each student.

Step 2: text - Since they had an organized research paper with their 5 facts already on it, they were ready to type. The chose the font color, type, and size too.

Step 3: voice recording - PhotoStory3's simple start and stop button allowed them to record independently, as well as playback their work to ensure its quality.

Step 4: customize motion - Students were able to add movement & zooming techniques to the photos with text.

Step 5: music - Students really loved this part of creating their own background music for their unique movie!

The group component of the project - the persuasive essay - was well worth the effort. Chris Hyde had suggested a persuasive movie and we adapted it to fit our current project. Student groups met and discussed what three elements made their Arctic animal the most interesting. Some facilitation was needed to keep the groups focused, but each learned how to take the ideas that they all found and put them together in a final writing piece. The Step-up-to-Writing technique that we use for writing assisted them in their format. I'm a huge fan of Step-Up's color-coded basic outline and the organized transition they provide to paragraphs. They practiced and practiced - then filmed their vodcasts.

Final Glog Presentations - Each animal group designed their own glog with each individual's animal riddle and the group's vodcast. They loved choosing their own elements, players, walls, texts, and graphics. Groups really did a nice job taking turns and working collaboratively on the SMARTboard.

I made the glog to link them all together & included a Google Form for the votes to be tallied. Next, I sent out a Tweet, parent email, and this post to see what votes the students would get - just for fun! They are looking forward to the final tally!

IMPACT: My students loved all aspects of this project. Throughout the day they'd inquire when we'd be working on our Arctic animal projects. We've done a lot of group projects and this one the could really "own" with the creation of their PhotoStory3 movies. How neat is it to be a producer and create an original movie about a content-related topic?Also, when you have high standards for research and writing, students will prove they can make that choice to work to their fullest potential.

I had the opportunity to be inspired by ideas that Dennis Grice and Chris Hyde shared. I also had the priviledge to learn new components of PhotoStory3 from Mr. Grice and Cathryn Mascara including the option to customize motion on slides with text. Inspired by Mr. Grice's tutorials for his students, I installed Jing on my computer and have started to figure out how to make video tutorials for my students!

Impressed: The group leaders of each animal group really made me proud! This time I chose students who are capable, but don't always choose to display the leadership qualities that they possess. They were organized, effective, and helpful in a less dynamic way, but in a way that was absolutely beneficial to the group as a whole, but also for their confidence as well. I was also impressed with the final student projects - they have come so far with their cooperative skills and tech skills! They are ready for more CHALLENGING projects!

Fraction Fun

Interested? A VoiceThread of student-created word problems involving finding the fraction that represents part of a group or set. We shared it for any problem solvers on Twitter. Lastly, students added the answers after viewing the comments left.

innovative? Mark Carls finally sold me on trying out VoiceThread this year and WOW we'd loved it! I really needed an idea to make it useful for us. Since we've done our first VT - Meet Mrs. Griffith's Class - the ideas haven't stopped! Plus, we've enjoyed seeing how others utilize it at the primary level. We'd solved some math problems on a VoiceThread that Karen Ditzler's third grade students created and my students were inspired to make their own version on fractions - our current chapter. They'd watched Mrs. Ditlzer's comment that combined the use of pens and video. Last time we'd tried our webcam it wasn't working right with VoiceThread. Thank you for your innovative example, so we could adapt it to be innovators here at RCS!

So, students composed and illustrated word problems in small groups. Since they were already at the independent stage of making voice comments, the transition to video comments went really smooth. The students read the problems for others to solve.

Here's the final VoiceThread -

IMPACT? We appreciated those that we've collaborated with this year such as Mrs. Ditzler, Mr. Carls, and Mr. Grice participating in our project. The students were amazed at how sharing it on Twitter could get other teachers, students, and even a Vice Principal solving problems and interested in this format of making math more interactive. They also thought the variety of ways that people commented was really neat - typed, voice, and video comments combined with the use of the pens. This was one of our best VT experiences yet because of the global connection.

Also, the students were introduced to the concept of equivalent fractions on a different level as a result of the comments. They needed to think about if the equivalent fractions were correct because the answer was different than what they had recorded as a group. Thanks!

Impressed? I was amazed with Twitter and people's response and how this impressed upon my students the importance of working with other's outside our classroom and learning from and alongside them.

Reading with a Whole New Meaning

Interested? One reading group in my class in Randolph, NY collaborated with a reading group in Andrew Kauffman's class in Goshen, IN. We used various modes of communication and collaboration to read Magic Tree House: Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne.

innovative? We'd been using Skype to communicate and collaborate with our classes for a while. Since it had been such an effective means, we chose to utilize it for a Skype-based Literature Circle. Our initial plan was to make two video Skype calls where the students could discuss the roles that they prepared ahead of time and complete a VoiceThread for the final project.

Our first meeting was a success. Student pairs had prepared one of three roles -

Super Summarizer, Artful Artist, or Discussion Director. Their "documents" were also shared through Skype's share feature.

Well, I'm so thankful for how the project took on new directions as we continued to learn new tools and had the desire to integrate them into our classrooms. We added 3 new tools:

Stixy

I love the use of Post-It Notes in class. We use them all the time for so many purposes, so what could be better than an online version. Students in both classes shared predictions. Students could easily create a "sticky" with Stixy! They were excited to type them on a sticky instead of writing them.

FlockDraw

The kids were finding so many facts about the Amazon Rainforest while reading about Jack and Annie's adventure. Flockdraw allows you to write or draw collaboratively in real time. Both groups flocked together for a meeting to record their facts. Students were fascinated that they could see the facts being typed simaltaneausly. A definate benefit to this site - no refresh button needed here!

Wallwisher

Last, Andrew sent our class a "wall." Here we utilized this form of online sticky note posts to make more predictions. It was a more straight-forward, simple, and user-friendly form of stickies for second graders. No invitations needed either - one can just double click and leave a message.

IMPACT? One student's attitude towards reading and school totally changed for the positive through these experiences.

It's vital for learners, both teacher and student, to look back and reflect on one's learning. At the close of this project, students predicted how the story would end, composed a new ending to the story, recorded their favorite new fact about the rainforest, as well as what they enjoyed the most.

Here's the collaborative VoiceThread -

Impressed? Even though these students read independently, it doesn't mean that they are readers who have a desire to read and have a love for it. These readers needed to be challenged and engaged to realize that reading for them has taken on a new purpose - they aren't learning to read, but are now reading to learn. Also, these students learned how to use new tools and have become independent and confident with them - empowerment!

Why innovativeIMPACT?

I'm really new to the wonderful world of blogging, but am realizing that blogs are the most effective if their purpose is easy to identify. I want to know what kind of focus that blogger's posts will have. As a reader, it also helps me when they are organized and follow a similar pattern each time.

My plan: Reflect mainly on teaching that involves my favorite teaching style -
Project Based Learning! Focus on 4 questions and how they relate.

Interested? This section will be an overview of the project. If you're interested in reading further, great. If not, one can move on to something else that's more applicable to one's teaching and learning.

innovative? This part will showcase the technology aspects that were the most creative and new to our classroom.

IMPACT? This area will highlight how the project impacted the students and myself as learners.

Impressed? This question will focus on my favorite aspect of it all. 

Learning with Passion, Innovation, & Leadership

Our school has adopted a new mission statement:

Learning with Passion, Innovation, and Leadership

Our superintendent of schools asked all of the faculty and staff to write about it.

Assignment: Think of a time when you've experienced learning with passion, innovation, and/or leadership. Tell me about that time.

Here were the questions we could use to help us formulate our response -
1. What are the two most important points that you want to make about that learning experience?
2. What was the learning experience like? Please describe.
3. What was your role? How did you fit in?
4. Did it differ from other learning experiences? If so, how?
5. Which of the three (passion, innovation, leadership) in learning do you feel the strongest about? Why?
6. Suppose you are a student in a classroom at our school. How would you react if your classes included learning experiences which allowed you to learn with passion, innovation, and leadership?
7. What would happen if every teacher incorporated learning with passion, innovation and/or leadership into the regular unit planning and design?

Here's what I turned:
"A time" - I've struggled with this since the task was initially given. I guess it's been more of a "process" for me or a journey of learning. But, to sum it up - technology integration.

Technology - I'm filled with passion concerning it, challenge myself to integrate it with innovation, and have realized that I have the potential to take a leadership role to inspire others. Last night I read about passion in Angela Maier's recent blog post - Passionate Learning: Always in "WOW" Mode. I feel like I'm in WOW mode! I should comment on her post with "Passion is... lying awake at night with so many ideas about how to incorporate technology in my classroom that I just can't get out of creative mode and rest my mind!"

I've created a glog this week to share with my student teacher. It's a work in progress that I'd like to continue to edit and update. This sums up my experience - I'm passionate about using these tools, attempted to present them in an innovative format, and desire to be a proficient and compassionate leader to aide Mr. Izana in his adventure in learning and teaching.

So, here are the answers for the provided thought-provoking questions. My two most important points - make time to learn what you love. Also, be self-motivated and have ambition to fulfill your learning goals. This learning experience gives me more drive to keep learning! I'm taking a role filled with initiative - finding avenues to ensure the objectives I've set for myself and my students come to fruition. For example, gather ideas from Twitter, keeping up with my Google Reader blogs, continual collaboration with Mr. Kauffman and his class from Goshen, IN, as well as working with exceptional Mark Carls. This expedition has differed from other learning experiences because a creative, intelligent, supportive, and encouraging network or colleagues and educational professionals is being established. Positive reinforcement, thoughtful words, knowing that others think your ideas are awesome - is so valuable to me, actually more like priceless. I hope that my own children will have classes here at RCS with learning experiences like I encounter daily as a teacher at RCS. If we all incorporate these - our school will become even more exceptional!

Recently, I came across a quote that really hit home and made me think, "You should not confuse your career with your life," - Dave Barry. So many of my learning experiences are my career AND my life. I've chosen passion regarding technology integration! But, as all learners need some down time, I need this upcoming break to refresh and enjoy quality time with my littlest learners at home. Yet, looking forward to comping back to tackle the next learning experience here at RCS!

In the end, this assignment has helped me to remember the importance of reflection as a teacher and how much I really like to write. So, here's to the start of a BLOG!