My Favorite Blog

My favorite blog is not well designed.  It is not fancy.  In fact it is rather crowded and overstimulating.  All that aside it has fantastic information on it for teachers who want to keep up to date on technology tools that are available.

My favorite blog is http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

Digital Devices in the Classroom

Image courtesy of http://www.educationnews.org/

There are many types of devices that can be used in a classroom; each having its own special purpose.For student use I think that Mac Books or a Windows based laptop are the best options.  I think the flexibility and 'real' world experience students get with this type of laptop is definitely a notch above the Chromebooks that have become so popular.  I understand that Chromebooks are cheap and there is less stress involved from a tech support point view when there is nothing stored on the machine but they are too limited. Also, when you consider real world applications with devices student should be taught how to install, uninstall software, how to identify the system requirements, and basic maintenance

I think that more classrooms should have digital cameras available for student work.  Instead of students searching for examples to add to presentations on the web they could seek out the real thing.  Providing students with digital video options could add engagement opportunities for students who struggle with writing.  Projects could be presented in a video or picture format.

Since I am a STEM person I would like to see laser cutters and 3D printers added to all classrooms as well - or at least in the school. I truly believe we are missing out on showing students the opportunities they have after they leave school.  It would be wonderful to get kids excited about STEM careers starting at a young age.

Things to considers should include what training is available for teachers.  Adding digital devices to the classroom adds a whole new layer of management need. If the teacher doesn't know how to trouble shoot the technology there will be issues there as well.

Gamification Idea - Publishing Company

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If I could design any gamification to use in literacy.  I have struggled to get my students excited about writing this year.  That was until I found website that would let us collaboratively write a book that will actually be published when we are done.  My gamification would be a publishing house.

         Students would work in teams.  Each team would decide what type of publication they would produce.  After they decide what the  Roles can include writer, illustrator, editor, type-setter (of course the modern version of it), content packaging, webmaster, and sales.  

y will produce they will decide on which role each will play.

         Each guild would have deadlines they have to meet, much like a real publishing house.  The first publication of the guild will be a simple article about something they decide on.  The second will be an interview with someone important in their lives.  The third could be a movie review or music review.  The fourth could be a how-to.  By changing the type of writing I am able to incorporate each of the text types and genres that are part of the fifth grade curriculum.

The articles they write will be uploaded to their magazines website by the webmaster.  Students will switch “job” every time they finish an article.  Each time they meet a goal and publish a new article they receive some sort of life/coin/medal/promotions.

The end result of all of their work will be a printed magazine.  Students will be able to share their magazine will friends and family.  This “published” work will increase their engagement and motivation.

I haven’t worked out all of the details of my gamification yet but the more I think about it the more I would love to see it come to life. It may become my summer mission!  I can change the way we teach writing in elementary school. I see many opportunities to incorporate 21^st Century skills into literacy instruction.

First Experience with Yammer

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I had never heard of Yammer until we were assigned to post on it.  I like that it is a "closed" social media setting.  I can see many uses for it with my students.

Using the Assure Lesson Plan Model

I wanted to use the Assure Lesson Plan model for an actual lesson I will teach in my classroom. Unfortunately I do not currently use a ton of technology in my classroom. This will change!!! So, here is my lesson plan:

Week Five Reflection

Love, love, love, the gamification option for lessons.  Creating mine this week made me think about how it would look in my classroom.  My recent experience with Boomwriter in my classroom showed me just how much more my students will/can do when sitting at a computer instead of using paper and pen.  I keep going back to how I could implement my publishing house idea in my classroom.  I really want to connect with a web developer to create a site for this gamification to make it even more effective.  I think having the ability to assign goals, let students use a web site and publish their work to a site would enhance the work even more.  Providing them with a genuine audience would also add to the engagement level. 

Seeing the games, simulations, and gamifications that my group mates came up with just added more options for my classroom.  Can’t wait to have the time to dig deeper into them.