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Mobile Device Videos

Mission: Find three videos that showcase the use of mobile devices in the classroom. I focused on elementary classrooms and was surprised that most of the videos are at least two years old. Perhaps mobile device use is so prevalent that no one feels the need to share their uses in the classroom anymore. I still found a few choice videos to share. First up, “The Pod Squad”! This third-grade class created a video showcasing their use of iPods in the classroom. Check out the part where they make their own tutorials to upload to their class website! The next video I chose was “Smith Elementary BYOD”. They presented a clever turn-of-the-century themed movie, showcasing before- and after- iPads. The final video is by Eric Crouch and showcases his classroom using technology. I watched a few of his videos and noticed he received most of his technology through grants from Donor’s Choose. He does a great job of integrating technology into his first grade classroom.

The videos:

The Pod Squad

Smith Elementary BYOD

Eric Crouch

#edim515

Special Needs Apps/Tools

The group of learners I chose to focus on while searching for Web 2.0 tools is ELL, or English Language Learners. My classroom is inclusive, but I only receive ELL students who are also Learning Support students (identified as having some type of learning disability). It is sometimes difficult to discern whether a student is struggling due to disability, language acquisition, or possibly both. My students are 9-10 years old. Although another language is often spoken at home, students at this age are usually not fluent in that home language (not able to speak, read, and write in that language). In my experience, these students often struggle with vocabulary. Therefore, my search was for a tool that will help students with vocabulary acquisition, practice, and retention.

While searching for a vocabulary tool, I found several that were similar to flashcards. While helpful for practice, I wanted a tool that went more in-depth. It seemed as if vocabulary was geared toward very young learners (my students are more advanced than that) or high school students (too difficult). I came upon a list entitled “50 Essential Resources for ESL students”. It was here that I found Learn That Word.

Learn That Word is an online tool that provides vocabulary activities for all ages. The site is initially free for students and teachers, but some features are for subscription holders. Students are given a basic vocabulary quiz to start out. A definition is given and the student fills in the word (there are blanks for each letter and pictures as well). Correct answers lead to the next word, incorrect answers get immediate feedback. There are several resources on the page for students to choose from to become more familiar with the word: photos, definitions, videos of the word being used in context, synonyms/antonyms/idioms, and usage examples. At the end of the quiz, correct words are added to each students list of words known. Incorrect words are added to the list of words to work on. Lists for students are made from quiz results, providing individual instruction for each student.

Teachers are able to create and assign lists to individual students to work on specific words. There are also pre-made lists that focus on commonly misspelled words, ESL words, SAT words, content words, etc. Students can even browse the word bank and choose words they would like to learn. This is perfect to provide differentiated instruction to the entire class. Tools like this that are relevant to all students provide a greater sense of classroom community.

There are a couple of possible “cons” to this site. The first is that there are SO MANY examples available (users are able to upload photos, videos, limericks, etc.) that some of my students who are click-happy may end up spending more time than is necessary on a particular word. I feel that students would need to be guided through the use of this tool with modeling and practice before being able to use it on their own. The second and most troubling con was when I clicked on limerick examples for “doctor”. The limerick alluded to a “doctored martini”. As I mentioned, users are able to upload content and the site is for “all ages”. So far I haven’t noticed any settings that I can enable or disable to block this type of content. I will keep looking, though, because the way the site is set up could be so beneficial to my students, but I would not use it if inappropriate content cannot be turned off.

Another link to Learn That Word.

#edim515

App/Tool Evaluation

All year my fourth graders have been working on a Paragraph of the Week. We use it to practice writing good sentences, giving detailed descriptions, and “showing” not “telling” about feelings and emotions. We later culminate this knowledge into an Essay of the Month. My goal was to find a tool that would allow students to share their essays with a little bit of flair.

We use laptops in our classroom, so my goal was to find a Web 2.0 tool. Kids Story Builder was an option, but I received a message that I had to upgrade to Windows 10 to install it. I wasn’t quite ready to take that leap, so I decided to find a story making tool on my own. With little searching, I found an interesting tool called Storybird.

Storybird is a free Web tool that allows students to publish a digital book that contains artist-created illustrations. This tool works on all platforms. I was immediately drawn to the array of illustrations available. Registration for me, the educator, was very simple (name, email, verify email). I immediately was able to add a student (myself). Teachers can do this by adding student names or by providing students with a code to join the class. Then I logged out and logged back in as the student.

There was a video tutorial, but I skipped it. I wish I would have watched it because I couldn’t find it again afterwards. First I chose to “read” a few stories to get a feel for what I could create. Students may choose to create a picture book, a longer book, or a poem. I clicked the “create” button to make a picture book. An array of illustrations is available. You choose one that interests you and click a button.

A “desktop” appears with your first page and multiple illustrations in the style and same theme as the first one you chose. You simply drag the illustration you would like to the page. The size of the illustration changes as you move it across the page, so placement and size is very simple and quick. A text box immediately pop up and you begin typing your story. You also have the option of adding a page and coming back to this one. A title page is included in the book as well.

I quickly made a book and chose to save. Books made are automatically saved to the class, but you must click to “share”. Books are only shared with classmates. A link is provided to share the story with parents. As a teacher, I’m able to create assignments for my students as well.

There is also an option to turn on the “fundraiser” feature. When this is done, books are shared with parents and they have the option to purchase a softcover or hardcover version of their child’s story. Proceeds are returned to your classroom. I thought this was a neat feature because parents have the option to purchase their child’s story, but they can preview it online first. Anyone who makes an account on Storybird has the option to purchase a copy of their books, but it’s not normally available from the educator account.

I’m very excited about finding this amazing Web tool that I can start using with my students right away. A published story looks polished. Students will be excited to make a book that looks like a “real” one you would find in the library or bookstore. You can get started making your own book by clicking HERE.

Evaluation Guide

Link to Rubric

Evaluating an app before using it in the classroom, or even recommending it to parents, is an important step. There are so many apps out there available for use, but some are not as desirable as others. The selection rubric from eskillslearning.net focused on the main things I look for when searching for apps for student use.

I liked the rubric rather than the checklist because there are varying degrees to each criterion, and some may weigh more heavily than others depending on the intended use of the app.

One category that is super important for my class is “platform matches school equipment”. We don’t have any Apple products in my classroom (super sad face) so it’s vital to keep that in mind when I’m at home looking for cool apps for the classroom.

“Self-correcting” is also very important. If a student is answering questions incorrectly, just a buzz or “oops!” doesn’t help him improve. Sometimes if students see the answers, or better yet are guided to get the correct answer on their own with hints, they are able to figure out their mistakes independently.

I felt that “meets my students’ needs”, “levels of difficulty”, and “various modes of play” all went together. Students should be able to “level up” to practice more difficult skills if they master the skill that is being practiced. Programs that automatically level the students save time and keep students interested. It also allows for differentiated instruction so everyone is at their own level of difficulty.

Personally, I LOVE the site Graphite. It contains reviews from parents and educators about a variety of educational apps. Users can search by platform, subject, or even Common Core Standard. Combining this rubric with Graphite would make finding and selecting an app pretty simple.

#edim515

Bloom’s Idea

Applying is a level of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy that entails running and operating, playing, uploading and sharing, hacking, and editing (wikispaces, 2013). Students use information that has been learned and apply it to solve a problem or in a new way.

Fourth graders would benefit by uploading and sharing. Students could use tools for aggregation to collect Web sites and links about a specific topic. By carefully selecting resources to share with classmates, students are thinking about the topic at hand and deciding what additional information reinforces or adds to that topic. Students can use timeline tools such as Capzles or tools such as Thinglink to share information about a topic as well. With these types of tools, students can not only link to information on the Web, but can also upload their own work to add to the resources.

The level of applying is important because when students are able to take what they’ve learned and apply it to new situations, they’re demonstrating a deeper understanding of the topic than just recalling facts.

#edim515

This I Believe: Texting

Click here to hear my Podcast: https://www.ipadio.com/broadcasts/MonicaCox/2016/2/21/This-I-Believe-Texting

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Ideas for the use of a 6 word story

Fourth graders struggle with main idea and summarizing. At this point in their academic lives, they’re very skilled at the retell. In the younger grades they take an assessment called DIBELS where they have to retell the story they just read, therefore, they’re taught to retell every possible detail of a story in order to get a higher score. Then we try to teach them to summarize or pick out the main idea and they want to include every.single.detail. The 6 word story can help with that. I see the 6 word story as being an activity we can use to introduce main idea, summarizing, and theme. Students look at a photo or read a text and break it down into a 6 word explanation, including the most important information.

The 6 word story can also be used as a writing exercise to get students thinking about precise vocabulary. We often try to get students to expound on the details of a personal narrative, but for different types of writing less is more (i.e. poetry). We could also use the exercise to focus on specific details: emotions, characterization, and setting.

As students become adept at using six word stories, they could use them to describe historical figures or events or science phenomena. It’s an activity that can be used across the curriculum and across grade levels.

#edim515

Confession to make: I'm your fool.

Creation Reflection

I chose to use Animoto for my presentation. I like the look of Animoto’s final products. The user chooses a theme, then just drags and drops in photos or videos. Text characters are limited to keep slides specific. I think this is a nice touch to keep the presentation flowing smoothly. The background music is included with the theme, but may be changed if desired.

I was able to complete my presentation in about an hour. Finding and downloading pictures took up the bulk of that time, so the actual construction of the presentation was relatively short.

Animoto is a presentation tool that could be easily used by my fourth graders. I think they would enjoy the process and be very impressed with the final results.

#animoto

Ideas I have for the use of mobile devices in my classroom

Click here to see my Animoto presentation:

https://animoto.com/play/8ltm3OOjK1frgx0jbPmWXg

#animoto

Process Video

I really do not enjoy doing projects that involve me in a video, however, Movenote was pretty simple to use. I like that there is an option to just use voiceover without video. I could see myself using that in the future.

Here it is! https://www.movenote.com/v/skXoELWbxkbqo

#movenote

Assessment Reflection

Making a survey on Survey Monkey is simple and quick. Registration was easy without asking for too much information (username, email, password). Construction of the survey was done within minutes. The drag and drop feature made it a snap. I tried different types of answer choices, such as drop-down multiple choice and short response, but decided upon traditional multiple choice for all three questions.

I took several surveys made by my classmates. The photographs are visually stunning and I was surprised at the variety of places we’re all from. I also noticed my classmates chose to use a variety of answer choices while I stuck to just one.

Polls are something I don’t really use in my fourth grade class, but I could. Recently I asked students to submit ideas to me for reward cards they draw when they complete their homework. Rather than write them on paper, they could have filled out a survey online. Although it was optional, I probably would have gotten a better response if I had added the allure of using the laptops. I also wouldn’t have had to decipher some really bad handwriting. I could still make a survey of the most popular choices and allow students to vote on the ones they would most like to have as a reward. Surveys can also be used as assessment tools to help guide instruction. Being able to look at the results in one glance is quicker than walking around the room and looking at individual answers, or even collecting papers and correcting them. I will be rethinking my use of polls in the classroom.

#edim515

Survey Says...

Click here to take the survey!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QLVPFJ6

Pictures on the Fly

These photos were taken near my home in scenic Belleville, PA.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wilkesclasses/24644595192/in/dateposted/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wilkesclasses/24736144216/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wilkesclasses/24668851861/in/photostream/

Embedding Multimedia

Today’s student has grown up in a multi-media world. Toddlers understand the basics of “swipe right” and young children can work a tablet and open apps. Kids are accustomed to seeing people share thoughts, photos and videos in real time. Some students walk into a classroom that is entirely different than the world they currently live in because of the absence of technology. Here are some multi-media tools that students can easily use in class, providing active engagement with creativity and content learning.

Digital books

Although I love my old books with well-worn pages and that magical library smell, digital books are where it’s at for today’s students. Digital books can be read aloud to students, often while text is highlighted to help those struggling readers identify new vocabulary. They can be models of fluent reading. Students are able to mark up the text by highlighting, bookmarking, and even adding notes to digital text. With apps like Epic! and Big Universe, students have hundreds of books and a variety of topics to choose from.

Presentations

Presentations get a face-lift with tools such as Prezi, PowToon, and Slideshare. Students can add digital photos, video, audio, text, basically anything their hearts desire to any presentation. The possibilities motivate students to do more. My students know that before they’re able to work on their presentations, their graphic organizers including their content have to be superb. It’s a great motivator.

Videos

Videos aren’t just for watching anymore. Students are creating and sharing their own ideas. Again, the possibilities are endless. Make a video of your favorite scene from a text, as a character placed in today’s modern world (think Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice at the mall), a stop-motion video explaining the water cycle, or a rap made up to explain a type of figurative language.

Games

Never underestimate the power of games. Games can simply help students practice multiplication facts or encourage them to use their creativity and math skills to become a Lemonade Tycoon. One math skill game my students enjoy is Prodigy. It’s set up like a video game, but they’re practicing their common core math skills. We use it once in a while in class, but they often log on at home. Minecraft is another game that takes learning to a new level. It’s basically online Legos, but there are many skills students need to use as they strategize and play against each other. They need to use logic, creativity, math skills, spatial sense, and even collaborative skills. Students also learn coding to make new items.

Integration

How can these tools be seamlessly integrated into any lesson? Just look at what your lesson already includes and see if there are ways it can be improved with digital tools. Here’s an example. My fourth graders are about to start a unit on Geometry: Perimeter and Area. First I assign them Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter on Big Universe, which they can access from their devices. Some of my students struggle with reading, so the book can be read to them if needed. I also don’t have enough hard copies for everyone. While reading, they are to define perimeter and area and find the formulas needed to find them. They can post this information in the note-taking section of Big Universe. Next students watch a short video from our math series, explaining the concepts. They get to check their understanding in the “quick checks” offered in the video. Our textbook matches up with the video, so they’ll do a few problems while I walk around and monitor their progress. I’m able to stop and help students who need it while the others are able to move on. Although I probably wouldn’t for such a short unit, I could ask students to create a presentation explaining how to do this type of problem (Khan Academy style). This could also be something I ask students to do at the end of a longer unit: choose one topic from the unit to teach other students about and create a presentation. Not only would students be using their higher-order thinking skills to create and teach, but I would have an additional resource for students who are struggling. With gameplay, I can assign this topic to students to reinforce their understanding. Games like Prodigy, Frontrow, and V-Math all allow me to do this. I also know that during Free Play, students will come across questions from this topic at some point, providing a review for the rest of the school year. We could also play a rousing game of Kahoot to reinforce those skills.

Multi-media allows us so many opportunities to engage students to make them want to learn and do more. With mobile devices, students just have more opportunity to do so.

Resources

Multimedia applications for the classroom

http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=106

Benefits of Using Multimedia in the Classroom

http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/gradcourse/multimedia/benefits_pg1.htm

This I Believe: Classroom Practices

Click here to hear my podcast: http://ipad.io/v0Bt

#edim515

Successful Practices Reflection

Rethinking BYOD: AKA A-ha moment!

I’ve read about BYOD and my staunch stance has been, even up to last week, that for my kiddos, 1:1 is the only way to go. Not all of my kids have a device (we’re just 4th graders) and I don’t know enough about all of the different platforms to really help them, etc. I had a lot of really great reasons for not implementing BYOD. To me, it was always more of an upper-grade thing. This week my perspective changed. Not because of my readings or research or even my classmates’ shared experiences (although those things helped). Nope. It was my kiddos.

Earlier in the week, one of my students pulled out a tablet while waiting for his bus to be called. He looked at me sheepishly, then said, “I just wanted to check my battery to see if it’s dead”. I guess he thought he would get in trouble for having his tablet out. Instead, I started asking him questions about it. He brought the tablet to use on the bus to and from school. He also had his cell phone, to use as a hotspot for Internet. I was surprised. I didn’t know he had been bringing a tablet to school every day, and I was impressed that he knew about hotspots. The next day, he pulled his tablet out again. This time it was a little earlier, so another student was still in the room. He looked at him incredulously and said, “You have your tablet out!?” then looked at me, waiting for me to tell him to put it away, I presume? I said, “Make sure you put it in your backpack when your bus is called so you don’t drop it on the way out.” To my surprise, my other student pulled a tablet out of HIS backpack! He also brought one to use on the bus! THE.BUS.

That was my A-ha! moment. I’ve been begging to get some iPads in my classroom, and here were two sitting in lockers all day! So my goal for this week is to find out just how many devices are sitting in lockers and see how we can incorporate them into our classroom. The article, “Five Tips for Managing Mobile Devices” is a good place to start. We already use laptops pretty regularly, so we’re familiar with including technology in our classroom. My kiddos are also good at working with partners, so creating a culture of sharing is already there. My focus right now is finding ways to make sure those devices are being used to “challenge and engage” my students.

According to Lenny Schaad, “Mobile learning is about changing instruction. Because if instruction doesn’t change, then allowing kids to bring in their devices will do nothing.” This is what I’m looking at now. The main thing I’ve gleaned from most of the articles is that I have to change the way I think about instruction. I need to figure out when the devices are most useful and when they’re not. I’m really excited to take the leap!

RSS Feeds

An RSS feed may be used by students to follow blogs or sites that are relevant to projects they’re working on. They may also use them to follow their teachers’ or classmates’ blogs. Imagine a Snow Day when the teacher could still continue a discussion by making a blog post and students could check their RSS feed and then respond!

As a teacher, I use RSS feeds to follow topics I’m interested in, such as Genius Hour, which I implemented this school year. I also follow a few “teacher blogs”, so the feed allows me to quickly see if I want to read the newest post or not. Who has time to go to each blog and check for updates? Not me.

As mobile learning continues to evolve and become more integrated into our daily classroom routines, it’s important to research what others have done, but also to think about our individual classrooms and what mobile learning can bring to them.

Resources:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may15/vol72/num08/Five-Tips-for-Managing-Mobile-Devices.aspx

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/09/05/how-to-launch-a-successful-byod-program/

#byod

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