BP8- Vee and Karen's RILS

Check out this link to my comment on Karen's RILS on her blog.

Follow this link to see my comment on Vee's Educator Studio RILS. Nice work Vee!

RILS Publication

PE5-Audacity

Today we started to work a bit more with Audacity. I gave my students a chance to practice using the microphones on their own. We talked about how to use the tool, and focused on their volume levels as they watched the screen. The levels that appear were a great visual for the kids to use as they worked through their lines. They knew when they should be quiet, and they could figure out if they should go back and rerecord a section if the levels didn’t match.

A great reason to use podcasting instead of video taping with readers theater is to really work on the tone and inflection in the readers voice. As we practice the plays the students are working on how to use their voices to relay the feelings of their characters. Since no one will be able to see their faces or their actions, they are really focused on how fluently they read.

Audacity is a simple but effective tool. After students record their plays we will take the podcast and place it on their Google sites for them to share with family and friends at home. Just the thought of people outside of the building being able to hear their plays has given the students a great authentic task. They are determined to work hard and produce the best plays possible. After they are more comfortable with the process I will have students write their own plays to produce.

We did not get a chance to record a final production this week, but by next week we will have several done. I am eager to share a final product soon.

PE4-Audacity

I am already excited to see what happens during my literacy block with the addition of Audacity. After ready an interesting article about increasing fluency and comprehension with readers theater titled, Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful Match with Podcasting, I decided to try it for myself. The article summarized the research done at an elementary school with the use of podcasting plays in small groups. As the students continued to practice plays and post to a podcast their fluency went up a grade level if not more. Comprehension skills also increased as well as their love of reading.

I have already seen how excited my students were at the prospect of rehearsing their plays and being able to share them with multiple people.

My goal is to start each week with a new play for all of my reading groups and place them on a podcast every Friday. As the year goes we will see how the project is working for my students.

To begin I looked for plays at multiple reading levels for my groups. My students are in small leveled groups during reading. The largest group is five students and the smallest is three. I used several websites to find plays that would interest my kids. I also used a few books from Scholastic that had great short plays. We will also use plays on our content areas to increase understanding in all topics.

My students were thrilled to get into their groups and start reading. I hope to keep that excitement as we continue in this process.

Some websites I used for plays:

http://www.timelessteacherstuff.com/

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html

http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm

http://www.storiestogrowby.com/script.html

BP7_KidBlog

BP6- Vee's Comment

Follow this link to see my comments on Vee's page.

BP5-Rebecca's Comments

Check out this link to see my comment on what Rebecca is up to. My profile does not seem to be coming up so you can just call me the unknown.

BP4_KidBlog

Once again I found myself spending hours digging through all of the Web 2.0 tools that are out there. I found a great deal of good tools, and decided to focus on a blog for my students. Blogging may not be the newest of tools, but I am excited for my students to get involved in writing more, and learning how to respond to their peers. The blog tool that I chose was KidBlog.org. This student blogging site is safe and free to all students. There is no need for a student e-mail, and there are many different opportunities for grouping and sharing.

A quick and easy to follow tutorial can be found on YouTube. This will guide you through the set up, as well as how students can use Kid Blog and groups can be created. Multiple features are available, from importing pictures and videos to changing themes and fonts and styles.

For my class I am going to start using the blog for my reading groups. In the past I have had small groups read novels that they choose. When we meet to discuss the chapters we have read the students would turn in a reflection and I would make comments. I feel that students would benefit from reading each other’s thoughts, and being able to comment on each other and reflect upon what they have learned. This will promote more student collaboration and hopefully a better understanding of the novels.

A second benefit to having all of the blogs online is that students can work on this at home as well as at school. Each group will be able to read other groups blogs to see if a certain book may be one that they would like to read later in the year. I will also be working with students to learn how to write strong and appropriate comments to their peers. A great feature of Kid Blog is that the teacher must approve all comments. I am also able to add a moderator who will be able to read through and approve comments as well.

After we have worked with the blog on our reading reflections, I will decide if this tool is something that we should continue and open up to other subjects.

PE3_iMovie

Talk about a ton of good information! I am sure I will be going back to Lynda.com to watch several of those clips again, but I feel like I have agoodunderstanding of what I can do using iMovie.

The audio sections of the tutorial were very helpful to show how to get rid of background noise and make sure that all the clips are at the same sound level.

I know how frustrating it is when I am watching TV and as soon as the show goes to a commercial the sound is blaring. This is something I would like to avoid in my own videos. I loved that you can take audio from a different section of a video to play where one may n

ot have been the best quality.

There were so many things I want to try with iMovie now that I have watched all the videos. Although we are working on adding movies I really liked that there is a creative way to make a slideshow of pictures. I take a lot of pictures through the year and I typically make a PhotoStory of them at the end of the year to share. I think that iMovie is a bit easier to work, and has more options for me to post and share.

In my class we just finished an activity called The Chocolate Trade Game. All of the fourth graders were together in the gym pretending to be workerswho produce chocolate. Each group had different goals and jobs in order to try to make a profit. As I look back now I wish I had taken video of the kids working instead of just pictures. For now I have created a short slideshow of the kids working to use to reflect on the results of the game. Using iMovie will be a great way to look back at everything we have done, and for students to be able to get the big picture of their projects. It was a great learning for me as well to realize that taking videos will be a good way to add even more to our units.

PE2_iMovie

Did anyone notice the Sound of Music reference at the start of the editing section? Great movie, but now that song is stuck in my head. Hopefully it will be a nice auditory reminder of how to use iMovie tools every time I hear the song.

The second section of the iMovie tutorial was filled with great information. There were so many effects and editing skills to learn and use. I almost want to go back to previous videos and add everything I have learned and see how much better they could be. Just the color tool would help give a more polished look to the finished product.

The trim to selection option would have really come in handy during some of my videos. I like how specific you can be when you are adjusting the clips to fit into the movie and even slip edit as you go. I love that you are able to crop videos as well as pictures. This will be great when working with clips that were not zoomed in enough, or if there is something in the video that is a distraction.

Now the real question is where am I going to put a green screen? My students would be blown away by that piece. I have already been imagining where to use that, and how my students could be involved. One problem is that my school does not have Mac, but I will find a way to make it work. I can see my students standing in the rain forest and tundra as they study biomes, and walking Saturn's rings as we learn about the solar system. The possibilities are endless.

With picture and picture, zoom effects, fading, and transitions, I am looking forward to making more professional videos. What do you think my students would say about an awesome movie trailer presenting each unit?

PE1_iMovie

When the EMDT program started I had never touched a Mac before and it all seemed a bit overwhelming. I have always been a PC girl, raised by a very PC technician father. As I dig deeper I love all the opportunities that are available on a Mac, and how easy they are to learn. Lynda.com is such a great tool to help me with this process.

After watching the first third of the iMovie tutorial I feel like I have a better grasp about how to organize and work my clips. In month one we started using iMovie and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the ins and outs of the program. From the first section of the tutorial I already had a basic understanding of how to import clips and begin a basic movie. Some features that I did not know how to use would include how to tag the clips with certain keywords to find later. I think this is a good feature to have, especially when I start to collect more clips on iMovie. I also liked that you can discard segments of videos that you may not use, but you can go back and find it later incase you change your mind. The favorites category can also be handy to quickly bring up all of the best shots.

It is nice to know what all of the icons on the toolbar are and how I can use them to the full extent. With the advanced tools I learned about how to organize clips faster and highlight what is important for my project or for a future project.

Loading clips onto iMovie seems easier now with the steps that were highlighted. This brought me new ideas to use with old footage I have of vacations that I can now actually do something with, and create a video that I would love to show to others. I am excited to take out my video camera and see what all I can create.

BP3_Dipity

I have to admit I was baffled at how many resources are out there for Web 2.0 tools that I have never heard of. I spent a lot of time going through all the different tabs and finding many different tools I could use during the year. I was excited to see so many reading resources including books that can be read to kids, and programs where students can go and publish stories they have written.

I decided that my focus at this point will be on adding some technology to an upcoming unit. After hearing positive comments about Dipity, I decided to check it out. I liked that there are many options to use on the timeline maker. The instructional videos on YouTube provided a simple run-down of how the program works.

My students will soon be researching people from Colorado history. Last year this unit was very light on technology. I would like to use Dipity for my students to create a timeline about the one person in history they are focusing on.

After students have created their timelines they will upload them to their Google accounts to share with other students, as well as their families. The video and link features will be a great way for everyone to learn new information. I also like that the timeline can be seen in multiple formats. Possible formats are: a timeline, a list, a flipbook, and also a map. The map will be a wonderful way for students to show where their personlived, and how they affected others in Colorado.

I did have a few problems when creating my own timeline with organizing information, so I am glad I have a bit of time to play with the tool and find ways to make this a fun and educational resource for my students to use.

Pictures on timeline from-Googleimages.com

Colorado Information from- HistoryColorado.org

BP2_iGoogleScreenShots

Home Tab

I have to admit it will be good for me to have Twitter a bit closer to my mind. I am not very good at checking or using Twitter, but maybe if I see it more I will remember. I also like the Facebook gadget in a convenient place to check. I included a gadget with quotes because I love finding new quotes everyday.

FSO/AR Tab

I love the box of links. I can't believe I have never seen this before. Everyday at school I search through my bookmark folders to find information I need. I can definitely see myself using this gadget for my school life, as well as my personal life. I am already thinking of adding a page to sort out all of my bills and sites I check weekly. I will be sharing this info with other teachers I work with who I am sure would love to use it. I also included a clock and To Do List to help keep me on track.

Resources Tab

With all the resources I use each week it will be nice to have one place to go to find them. I am sure I will be adding more to this page shortly. The Google Reader looks like it will be a great tool to use with many types of information available. I also included a Wikipedia gadget for quick searches on topics, and just for fun some penguins running around my page to keep me entertained. And to keep my brain always moving I can hop on and play a game of Sudoku.

BP1_Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my adventures in blogging! I am so excited to continue on this journey in EMDT. I look forward to all that we are going to learn, and I am thrilled with everything that I have already added to my classroom to improve student engagement and understanding.

I am a fourth grade teacher at an International Baccalaureate school in Lakewood Colorado. I absolutely love my school and the amazing group that I work with. This is my fourth year of teaching forth grade, and I decided they are a great fit for me. I love that they understand my humor and sarcasm, and they are still excited to learn. I also enjoy that they are willing to have fun with me without the fear of not looking cool. Like today, when we all played Just Dance on the Wii (and yes I won). I only wish I had a picture I could share with everyone.

I love to travel and spent a semester abroad in London. I am now slightly obsessed and can't wait until I have a chance to go back again. One of my goals is to teach abroad, and I am hoping to take my new ideas to other countries and share what I know. This will be a great opportunity for me to inspire others. I have applied for the upcoming school year, so keep your fingers crossed that everything works out!

I hope to use what I learn in this program to increase the amount of technology that I use in the classroom. I am thrilled that by month three I have already been able to add new technology to our everyday learning, as well as convince other teachers to try new things.