Must-See Video Created by 5th Graders: "I Am Art"

In this video, the students act out what art means to them. The video shows their creativity, reflects art's diversity, and is just plain downright entertaining. These students are awesome. Take a look, and let us know your reaction.



I AM ART from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.

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.

Exploring HaikuDeck as a Creative SlideShow Tool

HaikuDeck is a relatively new tool for the iPad that is attracting lots of attention. You don't need an iPad though to browse around the site to find reusable "Decks."

This first one, created by Fiona Walker, includes both slides and text in the sidebar.  Click on the  HaikuDeck icon at the bottom of the slide to view the Deck on the site to see the sidebar notes.

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

Here is another HaikuDeck, created by JD Doctolero, with the notes.  Click on HaikuDeck icon to view at the site for the notes to be viewable. In this blog post, you can only see part of the presentation. The way HaikuDeck works is that if you want someone to see the notes, the deck needs to be viewed live right at the site.
Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad


This deck, created by Susan Spellman Cann, is an excellent example of HaikuDeck's visual power.

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

Here's one by Sam Patterson, a California high school educator, which I caught on his blog, Be the Distraction. He also maintains another blog, The Paperless Classroom. In fact, he recently on April 13 posted "Why Teachers Should Blog."


Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

Educators using HaikuDeck boast about its focus on the visual and the fact that images have a Creative Commons license "free to use."

What do you see as the potential of using HaikuDeck in your professional work or in the classroom? Even if you don't have an iPad, keep in mind you can visit the site and find Decks to use, as I have in this post. How might HaikuDeck offer some advantages that other presentation tools such as PowerPoint or Prezi don't offer?

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.

Looking for an Easy to Use Web 2.0 Tool to Motivate Students

Take a look at Voki, a program that let's you customize an avatar and then make it speak by either recording your own voice or typing in text and allowing one of the built-in voices in the program to speak your words. The program has all kinds of applications, and it's enjoyed by both students and teachers alike. In fact, you need not be a student or teacher to use the program. Anyone with a message to convey can put words to action by using this avatar program.

Vokis can be embedded in blog posts and websites and shared via email and in many other ways. Recently, I read a blog post, "Have You Used Voki with Your Students Yet?" The answer for me is yes: I have used it in a variety of ways including posting one right here in this blog's sidebar encouraging visitors to post a comment.

So if you're looking for an easy-to-use, entertaining Web 2.0 tool that can serve multiple purposes, be sure to check out Voki.

Here is a another quick I just published.

Are You Integrating Technology or Merely Using It?

In my exploration today, I came across this table contrasting technology use and technology integration. Thought I would share it with you for your review and comments. I found it on the TeachBytes blog, and the title "What's The Difference Between Using Technology and Integrating Technology" caught my eye.
What strikes you as a theme? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with?

Excellent Model of How One Connecticut School System is Using Tech

If a picture could talk, this one will give you an idea of what is ticking in one local school system in Connecticut. To find out more, visit the website by clicking on the image below. Explore around the site and blog postings, and come back here to leave a comment about your reaction to what you found and insights you developed.

Interestingly, the most recent post is about the use of Twitter. If you check the site after new posts appear, here is a direct link to the Twitter posting. Just wondering why more of are not using Twitter. Let me know. Click on the image if you need to get directly to the post if it does not show up as the first post when you visit the Regional District 13 site.

No sooner did I post this and return to Twitter to let Michelle know I directed you to her site, another Connecticut person I follow on Twitter popped up with a link to her website, so here is another model for you to explore. Click on the link to find out more, and also notice again how the teacher is using Twitter in her post about that. Click on the image to visit Mrs. Petroski's Class site. 

http://mrspetroski.weebly.com/

So now that you have explored sites by two local educators and seen how they are using both Weebly and Twitter, what's your response to the use of these tools? How do you think the student and parent audiences are being affected by these sites.

Michelle, author of the first website I directed you, has invited you to write comments on any of her posts. She will share what you write with the students. Thanks. 

Neat Tool for Creating Timelines with Maps and Images

MyHistro.com is a site I discovered some time ago and signed up for and forgot about. However, emails popped up with links to look at some of the model timelines others created at the site and I discovered I could embed these interactive timelines into a blog posts, so here are some examples to show you what can be produced with the site. Use the next arrow to navigate through the timelines. You can also use the option to view the story with full functionality at the MyHistro.com by clicking on the link below each story.

The Beatles:


The Renaissance: 




A Young Girl's Story of Hope

Stephen King:
Here is an



Now that you have seen these examples, what's your take on how this tool MyHistro.com can be used in the classroom?

What Students Want Schools to Be

This video was made by high school students describing what schools should be like. It was posted by Amy Burvall in a Google Community to which I belong: The Educational Technology MOOC. Take a look at the video. Would you consider making a video such as this one with students you know? Why not try it? Based on grade level, how do you think the responses would vary? What might elementary school students say? What about middle school students? These are high school students in this video. What about college students? Undergraduates? Graduate students? You, in this course? In fact, what do you think graduate school should be? Should we record your responses? Do we listen to our students enough about what schools should be like?

Creating a Form with Google Docs

Here are some simple directions:

1) Go to Google Drive. Select Create. Select Form. Select a Theme. (Select a Theme is in the short menu bar at the top of the screen once you Select Form.)
2) Give your form a name. Type in basic directions for the respondent.
3) Begin to author questions. Note the question types: text, paragraph text, multiple choice, check box, etc. Select the appropriate type. Type in the necessary information. Suggestion: make all questions required. You can edit a question, using the pencil icon. Use Add Item to continue to next question. (Note the options to Duplicate and Delete, which are next to the pencil icon. Use Duplicate if your next question will be similar but just will need some wording changes. This option is handy if using the "check box" format, for instance, offering choices such as Yes, No, Undecided, because you won't have to retype the choices, but will just need to type in your question.)
4) Continue the process until all questions are entered. Remember you can use the pencil icon to edit any question.
5) When finished, use the option Send Form. You will have a URL for the form. One option is to embed the form. Select that option if you plan to embed the form in a blog post. However, if you were emailing the link to someone, you can copy and paste the long URL into a URL shortener, such as Google URL Shortener at: http://goo.gl/

Here is an example of a form I created and embedded in this post. Because I am embedding it, you will see the actual form and not a link to it. You need to use the HTML tab in Blogger to paste in the embed code. The embed code will paste in the form with a width of "760," which you can change. Suggested change for width: "375"

To view the responses to your form, go to Google Drive. Find the name of the form. Click to open it. You will see your responses in spreadsheet format (rows and columns). This is just the basics to get you started with forms. If you have further questions, type them in the comment section. Also, let us know how you might use forms in your teaching or professional work. Remember, you don't have to embed a form in a blog post or website to send it to respondents. You can send the URL, but if doing so, it is a good idea to  shorten the URL by using a site such as Google URL Shortener (see above).

Remember to complete the survey, you will need to use the scroll bar alongside the survey. If you were to send the form to someone, this would not be necessary. The respondent would see the whole form. I am inserting a link here for you to see the form in full. To do so, I copied the URL for the form in full, and using that URL, typed text and used the Link option in Blogger to make a hyperlink to that URL. Ice Cream Survey. However, for convenience, the option to embed a form right into a blog post, as done here, makes the process more immediate for the reader/viewer.






Here is a quick YouTube tutorial that reviews some of these basics.






Remember if you have lingering questions, use the comment feature, and also let us know how you might use Google Forms in the future. If you have already used Google Forms, share how you have used it with students or professionals.

Watch This 2nd Grader Demo Evernote

Teachers have been using Evernote to record students at work, but in this video, a 2nd grader explains how she is using Evernote to improve fluency and other skills. She also gives a quick overview of the use of Evernote for recording and storing purposes. Take a look, and tell us what you think. Do you know of classrooms where Evernote is being used in this way?



The teacher is Mrs. Gleason, who has other classroom videos on YouTube. Check Mrs. Nicole Gleason's Feed on YouTube to learn more about what is happening in her classroom.

I recently heard from Mrs. Gleason and she sent me to another video from her class on students developing fluency. Here it is.

Kidblog Keeps Getting Better

For all those Kidblogging or to-be Kidblogging teachers, in case you missed this announcement, I am posting a link to learn about the new features.  Click on the image below to access the information about the 14 New Kidblog Features. And if you're not using Kidblog, you might start wondering why you're not. We already know blogging empowers students and avails them of powerful ways to communicate, interact, and engage.  Although I don't endorse any individual product, I must say the folks at Kidblog figured out a lot to make blogging safe, easy, and productive for students. Plus, the platform easily creates a community of learners within the classroom as well as outside the classroom, especially as students join with other blogging classrooms. And don't let the name put you off. High school teachers, not just elementary and middle school teachers, have adopted Kidblog for its ease of use and versatility.

A great way to explore how teachers use platforms such as Kidblog is by checking #comments4kids on Twitter. Just enter the hashtag and term in the Twitter search box, and you'll find teachers inviting you to read their students' blogs.

For beginners, Linda Yollis, a long-time blogging teacher, suggests these tips for getting started.

And if you say you don't have time for students to blog, check how blogging meets the new Common Core with this resource:

Digital Literacy Demands of Common Core

In particular, note that "production and distribution" are included in the writing standard. Blogging does both and also addresses collaboration, another skill included in the writing standard.

So will you implement blogging any time soon with students? Why or why not? If you already have integrated blogging, how's it going for students? How are they reacting? Are they meeting the standards noted in Digital Literacy Demands of Common Core?