Flickr Fail...

It's been a lot of fun trying out new technology and incorporating it with our geometry math unit...the possibilities are endless! Today I tried Flickr with my students. I set up an account yesterday and tested it out using my iphone and computer. I used the email address for instant upload and it worked perfectly and instantly! So, I had a small group of students go on a "geometry scavenger hunt" around the classroom and take photos of lines, angles, and various shapes we've been studying. I offered up my ipad and iphone for students to use, as only one or two others had devices that could take photos and email. Is there something I missed or another way for them to upload to my Flickr account?  Therefore, there were not enough devices for even partners, so I used a sample group of students during centers. They had a GREAT time taking photos, but the uploading was unsuccessful. Pictures did not come through from students using my ipad or their own devices. They only worked on my iphone where the Flickr app was directly accessed. You can see the few that were successful here. Anyway, I will not give up on Flickr yet. I have heard great things and therefore have some research to do. Perhaps this is just another moment when I realize a tutorial would have been worth my time!

YouTube Playlist

In third grade we've recently begun a geometry math unit which involves lots of vocabulary. I created a YouTube playlist that includes various shape songs mostly from Have Fun Teaching. They're fun and upbeat and definitely get stuck in your head! :-) During centers I had students try out the playlist and listen to some of the songs. It wasn't long until one of my students was singing the songs aloud not realizing the volume of his voice due to his headphones. The rest of the class erupted in giggles. Ha! Following math, I asked students for their thoughts about the playlist and incorporating it into our computer math center. They LOVED it! Responses included "awesome," and "so cool!"

Socrative

When I watched the tutorial video for Socrative I became really excited about trying it out. I utilized the exit slip tool with my third grade students. Following math workshop, I had students pair up as to have enough computers. I walked them through accessing the site and then instructed them to work together to complete the exit slip. Students had to enter their names, choose the multiple choice response that best resembled their understanding of the day's lesson, tell something they learned, and then answer a question I had up on the board. I was worried about how my young students would be able to navigate, but I was actually impressed. I think if I incorporated this more often, it would become extremely easy for them to do. I'm excited to try the other tools on Socrative.

Students entering responses to Socrative exit slip.

Question on board (geometry) for students to answer for Socrative exit slip.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Video

"Don't be afraid to fail." This quote from the video makes me think about myself and my colleagues and how we must be willing to embrace the ever growing and changing technology and new apps and programs that we can use in our classrooms with students. We have to accept that some of what we try may not be successful, but many things we might try will be. We have to understand and accept that and be willing to move forward. I also feel that in many ways teachers in the Lindbergh School District do understand this. This is why we are number one. Arnold also says that if we do not try, then someone else out there is "working harder, getting smarter, and winning." Right now we're the district that I feel is working hard and getting smarter. However, if we slow down and do not continue with the growth and things we have accomplished, then other teachers and other districts might surpass. I like the quote he ended with..."You can't climb the ladder to success with your hands in your pocket."

Free Space - Pinterest

I LOVE Pinterest. And, I love it even more now that I have organized my boards! Until recently, I had a small number of boards titled with academic subjects like "Math," "Science," "Literacy," etc. These boards each had hundreds of pins. I was unable to use Pinterest as efficiently as I could because I could not locate resources hiding in these boards. I made it my job to "undo" this mess by creating boards with more specific titles and fewer numbers of pins. I feared the job would take me weeks, but because of my Pinterest obsession, I managed it in just hours. My board titles now include:

Reading - Building the Reading Community, Guided Reading, Connections, Sequencing/Summarizing, Visualizing, Inferences, Cause and Effect, Story Elements, Schema and Synthesizing, Nonfiction, Poetry, Reading Notebook

Writing - Letter Writing, How-To Writing, Writing Notebook, Persuasive Writing, Writing Skills, Spelling, Vocabulary

Math - Addition, Subtraction, Place Value, Multiplication, Division, Time, Money, Measurement, Graphing, Fractions, Geometry

Technology - Technology in the Classroom, Digital Library

I also have boards for family communication, holidays, assessment and self-assessment, beginning and end of the year, classroom management, and more.

You can view my boards here: http://pinterest.com/pmc5h3/

My love of Pinterest has grown since this "cleaning." I am now using its resources even more, as I am able to save and find items. My hope is that this application will continue to improve. Because I now have so many boards, I would love to be able to "collapse" them into categories like one does on an iphone with apps. For example, the categories I have listed above. I hope this resource continues as I can see myself using it in future as so many resources have been saved.

Consuming Audio

During my first year teaching I did not use too much audio in the classroom, but so far this year, I have slowly incorporated it more and more. I started using Pandora, because it is a resource I am familiar with and have an account for. Sometimes during writing time I would play a soft classical station. I feel that it creates a peaceful writing environment. It also served as a management tool for keeping voices quiet - ability to hear the music. And...my kids really enjoy it! As the holiday season approached, I begain playing a station called "Instrumental Holiday." This was fun for students who were getting VERY excited about the holiday break.
I'm beginning to think about how I can use audio more specifically with our curricular content. For example, in the fall we learned about ecosystems and the rainforest. On a few days during work time, I played a youtube audio clip of rainforest sounds. Students also really enjoyed this and it brought some of our learning "to life." I hope to continue to think about new ways and methods in which to consume audio in the classroom. While students are interested, I feel that I enjoy it, too.
After our last session, I created a Spotify account, but I have not explored it further. I will continue to explore audio and its use with my students as I begin the new year!

Free Space - Twitter

I have had a Twitter account for quite some time, though it is something I never used or fully understood the purpose of. That was probably due to the mass numbers of tweets from friends that would fill up my home page. At that time, I did not see how Twitter could be such a wonderful professional learning network. After "cleaning" my Twitter account, I have successfully started following professionals and educators. I actually utilized google as a tool for searching for the best professionals to follow as an educator ("educators to follow on twitter"). I found numerous lists of information like "Top 50 Educators to Follow" and "Free Technology for Teachers: 10 Teachers to Follow on Twitter." I also found articles like "Every Educator Should be on Twitter!" While I am only beginning my "new" Twitter journey, I am excited about the possibilities of this professional learning network. I am already finding myself opening the app more frequently and using it. I hope to learn new things by using Twitter in a more professional manner.