Students Blogging for a Global Audience

Recently, I presented a session at the National Council of Teachers of English Convention on "Students Blogging for a Global Audience." Lots of people expressed an interest in access to the site I created for the conference, so here it is.

You'll find tips and resources to get students blogging. Poke around, and let me know what you think.

Click on the image to access the site:

Thanks for stopping at the site. If you have a few minutes, leave a reply to this post.

100 Top Tools for Learning in 2014

I love when these lists come out, and particularly appreciate when they are shared as a slide deck. This one is on SlideShare.

As I go through these kinds of lists, I tend to reflect on which of the tools I use and how I feel about where specific tools fall in the list.

Twitter continues to hold the number one spot.

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2014 from Jane Hart

Which of the tools listed are your favorites? Were you surprised by any of the choices or their places on the list?

To learn more about how the list was compiled and for a partial analysis, check this post: Top 100 Tools for Learning

Examples of Ways to Use Padlet

Here is the Padlet from the activity we did on favorite children's books. Scroll across to see the full Padlet wall with all of the contributions.

Created with Padlet

This is the Padlet the 2nd graders from Canada and Australia shared focused on facts about their countries. Scroll down to see it al the contributions.

Created with Padlet

Here is a Padlet that Richard Byrne did with a group of teachers at a professional development workshop. The Padlet was used for participants to share project samples. Note each of the contributions is inserted into the Padlet with a hyperlink to access an online resource or in some cases a video. Click on the page icon or video icon in the center of each picture to access the online source.

If you would like to view this Padlet online, at the site, use this link: Mississippi Bend AEA Sample.

In his blog, Free Technology for Teachers, Richard notes the tools that the teachers used for their original creations included: PicCollage, PicMonkey, Canva, and Thinglink. The teachers then used Padlet to insert a link to the web page resource or video they created with the other tools.





Here's a Padlet I participated in at the Building Learning Communities Conference, organized by Alan November's November Learning Company, that draws educators from around the globe. We did an exercise in which the presenter asked us about what it means to be a connected educator. You can scroll around this Padlet to see more of the contributions, and by clicking on any of the contributions, watch as a window opens to view them one at a time as slides. Once a slide pops up, using the X in the corner of the viewer returns to the Padlet to full view.

Created with Padlet

These are four varied ways to use Padlet. As you learn more about the tool, what are some of your thoughts about how this tool can be integrated into schools?

As with many online digital tools, the more we use them and see examples, the more we begin to understand their classroom applications. What tools have become your favorites to explore in the classroom?

Created with Padlet

The Best Children's and YA Authors for Teachers to Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Beyond

Melanie Holtsman on Flickr http://bit.ly/1hxukOr

I was on The We Are Teachers Blog, and found a link worth sharing to help others find authors to connect with online.

 "The Best Children's and YA Authors for Teachers to Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Beyond"

Among the authors featured in the list are the following:

• Patricia Polacco
• R.l. Stine
• Eric Carle
• Mo Willems' Pigeon
• Lemony Snicket

Author Kate Messener has on her site a list of authors who Skype for free. Her list breaks down the authors by intended school-age audience. Check her post: "Authors Who Skype with Classes and Book Clubs for Free."

Have you tried connecting with authors virtually to bring them into your classroom? Did you realize many authors like to tweet, and a good number will reply? A class twitter account is one way to explore working with an author through the Twitterverse.

Haven't Joined the Global Read Aloud Yet: What Are You Waiting For?

No matter what grade you teach, there's something for you and your students to gain from the Global Read Aloud.

We all believe in the importance of developing a love of reading in children today, starting from a young age. We also like to hear a good story read aloud.

Join the Global Read Aloud held each fall. It starts at just the right time of the year to get your students on board. With a month into the school year and routines established, the Global Read Aloud starts at just the right time to introduce a new concept into the classroom.

Check out the selections for the fall.

Regardless of the grade you teach, Peter Reynold's illustrated books are a win. I've used his books with graduate students, watched as the book was read to young children, and participated and watched Skypes in which children from around the world discussed his book The Dot.

Image credit: http://bit.ly/SqOjT7

Happy to see he is one of the features authors for next year.

Not to spoil the fun, check the selections from Pernille Ripp's Global Read Aloud blog. Recently, she posted

The Top 10 Reasons to Join Global Read Aloud

And more recently, she created this post, "Why The Global Read Matters," showing how this project through books has connected children globally.

http://bit.ly/1kuCtUr

Should Schools Have Internet Filters?

"Teach Kids to Be Their Own Internet Filter," an article that appeared in Mind/Shift, highlights building trust in students by not blocking websites. The article includes a student-produced video made at the end of the year to introduce incoming students to media resources at the school. The premise behind the video is that teachers, administrators, and students need to work in unison to build an environment of trust. Here's the video, produced with iMovie.




For further information, refer to the article: "Teach Kids to Be Their Own Internet Filter."

What is your position on schools blocking sites? Should schools have filters in place? Should we trust students to act responsibly online? How can an environment of trust be fostered in schools?

Visual Dictionaries for Students

Are you using visual dictionaries with students? Find visual dictionaries to consider from this blog post, on the Free Teachnology For Teachers Blog post: "Five Free Visual Dictionaries and Thesauri for Students." Let us know if you plan to use any of the resources Richard lists in his blog post.

Halloween Ideas

The Teaching Channel has a Pinterest board with ideas for Halloween. You can check out the board by click on the image below. Post a reply if the resources on the board are helpful to you. Also, reply with your own ideas about plans for celebrating Halloween with your students.

If you're a fan of Pinterest, you also might want to check other boards of the Teacher Channel. Click on image below to get to the Channel's boards, where you will find plenty of teaching resources. 

Let us know if you found the Teaching Channel boards helpful.

100 Top Tools for Learning

This slide presentation in a few slides tells what are the top 100 tools for learning. It is worth going through the slides. Interestingly, Twitter is in the number one spot this year. Other popular tools at the top of the list include YouTube and Google Doc. Check the presentation, and leave a comment about which tools you find helpful for learning and which you want to explore in the future. If you prefer, you can view the slides in full screen. Remember to use the arrows to advance through the 14 slides.

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 from Jane Hart

Learning to Use VoiceThread in EDUC584

This is a practice VoiceThread we created in EDUC584, spring 2012. That semester, we Skyped with authors and a few teachers. We photographed and video recorded the sessions. We used pictures from our Skype sessions to create this practice VoiceThread. This one was used just to demonstrate how the site works and is not intended as a finished product. The VoiceThread is being embedded, but following it are hyperlinks to VoiceThreads that teachers taking EDUC584 created for use in the classroom or with their students.




This link goes to a VoiceThread a teacher created in which her students do the voice recordings.

Ms. Field's First Grade Animal VoiceThread

This one was created by a teacher to tell students about herself at the beginning of the school year.

Jamee Introduces Herself to Her Students

Maribeth's VoiceThread with Her Students' Drawings (Pre-School)

How might you consider using VoiceThread in your own teaching? The site has some samples for review, so you can also check those for ideas. Here is a link to some that I saved for reference.

The site also showcases VoiceThreads on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

Here's a link to those showcased this past month.
Here's a link to ones showcased during a week.
Last, these VoiceThreads were showcased on a specific day.

Overall, what is your impression of this tool, which can be used on computers, tablets, and even phones? What ideas do you have for using VoiceThread with students?

News, Book Reviews, and More for Kids

I've heard numerous teachers extol the value of using the DoGo website with students. Here students can find current events to read about and then have writing projects in their class based on what they read. They can also read book reviews written by kids, and better yet contribute their own reviews to the site. Check out the book review section. Click on the image below.

Explore this part of the site to see the reviews students have written. After you have explored around, then check the Dogo News for Kids section, by clicking on the link image below. Notice news is listed in categories. Also, notice the tabs: Teachers and Kids.

After browsing around the site, let us know if you would recommend this site to teachers or if you would consider using with your students?

So What Can Kindergarteners Do with Digital Tools

Matt Gomez, a kindergarten teacher in Texas, does amazing things with his students. Check his blog, and check this recent post about how he uses blogging with students. The post includes links to a variety of projects his students are doing.

Click on the image below to access the specific post:

If kindergarten kids can do all of these things with digital tools, think about what kids in general can do when teachers expose them to digital tools for learning and creating.

Here are  some screen captures from the post to give you an idea of what students are doing.

So what's your reaction to how the kindergarteners are learning with digital tools? After exploring Matt's blog and some of his posts, what have you been motivated to do with your students using digital tools?

Great Apps for Classroom Use

I found this excellent post at the TUAW website and had to share it verbatim. Full credit goes to the site as indicated by this direct link there.  If you click on the image below, you will go directly to the source. Of the Apps noted in this review, some of my favorites are Explain Everything, Weebly, the Camera (so obvious but not used enough and will have a separate blog post about it coming up shortly), iMovie, Dropbox (though am using Google Drive often for cloud storage as well), Puppet Pals (especially for younger students, but fun for all), and Popplet (a graphic organizer, web generating tool). These apps are ordinarily used on iPads, but some are available for any device or other devices (such as iMovie on a Mac) and Dropbox for any device. Weebly is a web-based tool that can be used on any device. It is an excellent tool for easily creating a website. Let us know which of the teacher recommended apps interest you or you use.

Apps teachers use to tame the classroom and teach their students

by Kelly HodgkinsSep 6th 2013 at 4:00PM

It's the start of a new school year, which means you've probably got a stack of new books on your desk, a drawer full of new pencils and an iPad that desperately needs some new apps. TUAW is here to help you build a new app list, and we did so with the help of some friends.

We consulted with students, teachers and some of the top tech and educational bloggers to generate this list. In this article, we highlight the teachers who lead the classroom. Here are the apps that they use:

Kelly Tenkely of Anastasis Academy in Centennial, CO.

What makes Anastasis unique is our approach to learning. We are an inquiry based school that believes students must be involved in their own learning. We have a 1:1 iPad program that is a BYOD (bring your own device), and the iPad is the only supply on our supply list.

I chose the iPad as our common learning device because it is so incredibly intuitive. Preschool through ninth grade can pick it up and immediately put it to use for a wide variety of learning activities without being taught how to use it first. We are paperless in that all student work gets digitized. Even building projects get captured digitally. We purchase the educational apps that the students need as a school. Below is a list of our favorite titles.

Meraki This is Cisco's free device management platform. We use it to manage devices (including restrictions) while students are on campus. Meraki lets us purchase apps through the Volume Purchase Program and push them to student devices as needed. There is also a virtual backpack that lets us share files and documents with teachers and students. Fantastic tool and free cannot be beat!

Evernote We use Evernote as a complete ePortfolio solution. All student work is documented in Evernote. Evernote is a great ePortfolio because parents can access it easily, it is easily searched, and students can record learning that is both natively digital as well as not. If students create a physical model or project in our prototype lab, they can easily take a picture directly in Evernote. We also love the sheer number of apps that integrate seamlessly in Evernote. If students complete a project in iMovie, Keynote, Pages, etc. that does not seamlessly integrate, students create a note with the title of the project and list where the project can be found on their device. This makes it easy to keep track of all learning. Teachers and students have shared notebooks to share work.

Camera This is an obvious app but one not to be overlooked! This is probably our most used app. Students are constantly documenting their learning with the camera. Whether it is field work on a field trip, a project that they are documenting steps of, or a presentation they are giving, our students have a HUGE collection of evidence collected with the camera.

iMotion HD This has become one of our students absolute FAVORITE ways to document learning or progress. Students use iMotion HD to reflect on learning, tell a story, document scientific process, and as a creative outlet. Kids of all ages really love this app! http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=4257

Koostik Because we use the camera so often, our students discovered that they need a way to prop their iPad up for recording. While many cases have this ability built in, they leave a lot to be desired. One of the great field trips we took was to the Koostik headquarters where our students saw how iPad and iPhone sound could be amplified without power. While we were there, our students commented on how cool it would be to have a Koostik that they could use for recording. Koostik created special stands for our students that are perfect for keeping the iPad propped and stable during recording (we used to use stacks of books!) (Technically, this isn't an app, but it's used with an app, so it's cool!)

Voice2Note Lets students turn their Evernote voice notes into text. This is a fantastic app for students who struggle to get their ideas out in writing (often a problem with Dysgraphia). Also wonderful for emerging writers who have a great vocabulary but struggle with spelling and limit their writing as a result.

Postach.io This is an app that works with Evernote to turn notes into blog posts. This is the way that students "publish" their finished work to share with others publicly. We use the #comments4kids hashtag on Twitter to help our students get feedback from other educators and students. Our kids love getting comments on their hard work from around the world.

Dragon Box This is the most amazing math app I've ever seen. It is the perfect complement to our program because it lets students (as young as 5) play with and discover algebra without knowing that they are actually doing it! It is a little bit of a virtual card game that helps students recognize patterns and rules found in Algebra. Brilliant! Number Pieces- This is another math app that helps students develop a deeper understanding of place value. We love the hands on discover approach that it offers!

SketchNation Lets students create their own app. They can use Sketch Nation to prototype ideas or creatively reflect on learning by creating a game.

Weebly Lets students easily create their own website. Our students created http://LSGWfoundation.weebly.com to raise awareness about social justice issues during one of our inquiry blocks.

Paper A beautiful way to sketch out/share ideas. Students use this app for ideation when they are working on design thinking.

Skitch Skitch is another ideation app we love...integrates seamlessly with Evernote!

Composer Pro students can create their own interactive ebooks without knowing a lot of coding.

Tapose Students can do research and take notes side by side in this app. Very useful for new learning!

FactorSamurai a fun way to practice math facts :)

Explain Everything a recordable whiteboard where students can record their thought process. This helps them break down learning and allows teachers to go back through their thinking one step at a time.

Rover Let's students access flash content from their iPads. We only wish it was a little more reliable!

Other common Apps that we use regularly: Pages, Keynote, iMovie,iBooks, Kindle, MobiCip (filtered web browser), Dropbox.

Glen & Monique Storey, husband and wife teachers from New Zealand

Glen & Monique Storey are teachers in New Zealand. They're lucky enough that each child in their classroom has a MacBook and access to iPads. They're passionate about using apps that engage and motivate learners in the classroom. As developers they bring their experience as teachers and their love of technology to create great apps such as Silent Light and BookBot.

OS X Apps

Skitch (OS X) A free, easy way to annotate and modify pictures, pdfs and websites.

Wunderlist (OS X) A really easy and simple way to be organised. Great design and support.

Mindnode (OS X) A really simple and elegant way to create and manage thinking.

Pixelmator A great way to edit and create more complex pieces of art.

And, of course, the obvious OS X apps that everyone probably knows about: iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand.

iOS Apps

Explain Everything If I was only allowed to have one app on my classroom iPads, it would be Explain Everything. An absolutely fantastic way to create and share evidence of learning. We use this every day, with every student in our math program and it shows real evidence in developing student learning. (We have examples of kids' work if you need them).

Puppet Pals 2 A really fun and creative way to create narratives or share writing. Kids love Puppet Pals and can quickly and easily create great content.

Silent Light We have a large, open-plan classroom, and Silent Light is one of our essential tools at helping kids manage their own learning and noise level.

100s Board, Rubber Chicken Apps Although a simple app, 100s board is a fantastic tool to use with kids when teaching them about numbers, addition or place value.

Type Drawing A fantastic way to merge writing and art in a creative and unique way. (We have examples of kids' work if you need them).

Poplet The best brainstorming tool that we've ever come across. Simple and adaptable to whatever you might need. Brainstorms can be emailed, saved to camera roll etc.

Math Slide (a series of apps) Great motivational and multiplayer apps to help kids learn their basic facts.

Action Movie Action Movie is great at providing a bit of incentive when writing as a class, especially for boys.

Thank you again to this specific web page for this information which is acknowledged accordingly, and as noted the information has been copied and credited. For those who want the URL as well, here it is, long as it is:
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/06/apps-teachers-use-to-tame-the-classrom-and-teach-their-students/

Amazing Use of LiveBinder to Showcase Students' Web 2.0 Projects

Just caught this excellent LiveBinder that catalogues middle school students' use of Web 2.0 tools including Animoto, Google Sites, VoiceThread and Glogster. What a wonderful way to celebrate student achievement.

Take a look, and see if you glean ideas for using LiveBinders or any of the tools featured.  Have you ever considered using a tool like LiveBinders to archive and showcase students' projects?

Here is the link to the Live Binder: Web 2.0 -- A Celebration of Student Work. Below are screenshots form the Blogging and Google Site sections.

50 Educational Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

Lists like this one proliferate, and you wonder how you could every know all the digital tools recommended on these lists. Thought I would share this one, though, because the recommendations are diverse and solid, and they come from a well-respected source in the field of education: Edudemic. If you don't have Edudemic in your RSS feed or are not following the site on Twitter, you should figure out some way to follow all the wonderful leads provided.

Here is the link to Edudemics' post, "50 Educational Tools Every Teacher Should Know About." The link has been tweeted out approximately 2,500 times, so obviously others also find the list valuable.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by ScratchEdTeam

After going through the list, let us know which tools on the list you use regularly, which you use occasionally, which you would like to try out, and which you believe should be omitted from the list.

Too Many Options, Too Many Choices

Every day it seems I come across another way to expand teachers' professional development. We no longer need to rely on our school systems or attending conferences to keep up to date. Much is available to us at our fingertips.

For instance, I use a variety of tools to curate resources that I find online. These include Pinterest, Diigo, Scoop.It, Live Binders, and Pocket, as well as the iPad apps Flipbook and Zite.

Recently, I signed up for another resource, which looks promising not so much as a curating tool, which it is, but as a visually appealing way to share resources on a particular topic. The tool is Edcanvas, which is an appropriate name for what this tool does.

Given the emphasis on pushing for the integration of digital storytelling in the curriculum, I thought    I would share an example I found from a colleague who has been using EdCanvas. This specific Edcanvas focuses on digital storytelling. Edcanvas: Digital Storytelling, by Kimberly Powell. 

Once you sign up for an account, you can save canvases others have created to your own account for future reference. In that regard, this site reminds me of LiveBinders, another resource to check out if you have not already.

Edcanvas is fairly new, but I like the various options it offers for sharing. In addition to sharing a canvas by providing a direct link to it, canvases can be sent to and shared through accounts like YouTube, Flickr, Blogger, and Twitter. Here is a screen capture of Kimberly's Digital Storytelling Canvas. Note where I have marked with arrows the options to Play, Copy, and Share (+, which when clicked opens a list of places to share a canvas.)

When you hit the Play Canvas (see arrow in upper left corner), the resources that have been archived on that canvas will play as slide show. Additionally, from the main page of a canvas, you can click on the chain icon to go directly to an archived resource, and then if that resource is of interest to you, click on its image to go directly to the resource on the Internet. 

In some ways, Edcanvas reminds me of Pinterest, but Edcanvas seems easier to use for sharing resources on a specific topic or area of interest. Overall, I like the slide view and the ease of sharing canvases with others as well as copying a canvas to your own Edcanvas account.

The site features on its Gallery page canvases others have created by subject areas. Here is a partial screen capture to show how featured canvases are organized by subject area.

Edcanvas is intended for educational use as its name implies. When you have a few moments, look into Edcanvas: Digital Storytelling, by Kimberly Powell. This example will offer a glimpse of how Edcanvas works for curating and sharing and how to navigate around a canvas. 

Happy exploring, and if you do explore, please leave a comment to let us know your impressions.

Can Teachers Avoid Digital Resources?

In a recent national survey of teachers, conducted by PBS Learning Media, it was found that a high percentage use digital media regularly in their teaching. The landscape of the classroom has changed from the old days of a reliance on printed books and students writing on paper. The following infographic shows the results of the survey.  Review the infographic. Where do you stand?

Do you agree educational technology motivates students?
What do you see as the benefits of educational technology?
What are the tech tools you use most often?
Consider other data available in the infographic. What is your reaction?

image Image via iStockphoto, sturti

On a related note, the House of Representatives is reviewing a bill to increase access to technology in schools and teachers' professional development in this area.  On Feb. 6, 2013, the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) posted this information: "Great Start for Digital Learning Policy in 113th Congress: Comprehensive Technology Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives."

Overall, how do you feel about the influx of technology resources in the educational setting? Would you rather see the pace slow down, speed up, or go in another direction?