Thanksgiving

My students worked so well when I put out Halloween centers last month that I wanted to create some new learning centers to use while studying Thanksgiving.  I love to check out TPT every week for printables and get new ideas.  I've purchased many TPT products in the past and eventually convinced myself that, "I could do this.   I could put together a unit.  I mean, I know how to work PowerPoint.  Why not?  

After countless hours of copying and pasting that resulted in aching pains through my back and neck, I finally finished the Thanksgiving unit. Needless to say that I ran into a few snags and eventually "googled" my way through many problem solving tutorials.  As soon as my neck ache goes away I will persevere and continue learning the ins and outs of creating and uploading products to TPT.   I do want to share one thing that I learned this week (in hopes of helping some poor teacher out there who's just trying to upload a preview.)    

I spent a lot of time creating previews on PowerPoint, saving them as (jpeg, pdf, png, tiff:) and still couldn't upload the previews because the file was to large.  Finally, I went to Google Chrome and saved my jpeg previews in an app called "Be Funky" photo editor.  I can't explain why, but my preview was condensed to a size that was loadable for TPT preview.  You can see some of the previews below. Hope that tidbit of information helps someone out.

Check out: Thanksgiving Math and Literacy  

on Teachers Pay Teachers.

(Click on the link above to visit my TPT store) 

Turkey Word Families

Thanksgiving Read and Write the Room 

                                      

Turkey Feather Math 

Digital math stories

IPad 2 vs, iPad mini

IPad 2 vs. iPad mini

Two years ago I began implementing iPads into my kindergarten classroom. We now have some iPads in the Child Development Center and several in first grade. Recently all teachers were given an iPad to allow them time to become familiar with how the iPad works in hopes that we will continue adding iPads to each class sometime soon.

We are looking at investing on either iPad 2 or iPad minis for the media center. I am on the technology committee and we have been assigned with the task of researching iPad management, storage, and transportation from room to room. The BIG question that needs to be decided on first is ..... What version would work best for our school? Do we want to purchase iPad 2 or iPad minis? I am looking at it from a K-3 perspective since I teach kindergarten.
iPad mini is a 7.9 inch screen $319
iPad 4 measures 9.7 inch screen Costs $499
iPad 2 $399 Doesn't have retina display or Siri- which we don't need anyway
Concerns:

• The iPad minis require a different charger than what we're using now. It's just easier if everything is interchangeable.
• The screen size is smaller.
• The iPads are heavy for the younger children.

Benefits:

• The iPad has a larger screen which is great for creating and playing learning games. The keypad is a good size for little hands that are still mastering fine motor skills.
• iPad has better productivity software
• IPad mini would be easier to manipulate when the children are doing projects that require them to take pictures or video. They would also be useful for listening centers.
• The iPad mini going is easier for the younger students to hold and manipulate when playing games.
• The mini can do everything that the iPad can do.
• We can use the same apps because the mini uses iPad apps.

Ipad costs $499 where the mini is $329
We could purchase and store more minis at a lower cost.


These are the pros and cons that I've come up with. If anyone has anything to contribute that would help make a decision please comment below.

Teaching Math with iPads

I have been working on implementing iPads into math in my classroom. Slowly but surely I'm finding apps that the kids like that coordinate with my curriculum. I wanted to share a few of these apps and give examples of ways that I've used them with my class.

Math Magic App

This app provides an encouraging way for kids to work on their math facts! Students simply tap on the answer, and even if it is wrong a voice will express appreciation for the try. After 5 correct answers student gains a colored star. Teacher may adjust the level as well. The students love receiving stickers, cookies, and prizes when the get the answer correct. They will set goals to reach 100 correct and accomplish their goal within a few minutes.

I had the children use bear counters to demonstrate their understanding while working each problem.

The students used the iPad as a camera to take pictures of playdoh math work.

Doodle Buddy

I had the students to Draw a ten frame and add stickers on Doodle Buddy app to represent groups of 10's and 1's

Doodle cast app

This drawing app records students' drawing process as well as their voices as they are drawing! This easy to use app offers many colors and prompts to get students started. These can be shared with friends and family!

Popplet

We used popplet app to record different ways to make the number of the day.

 

iPad Boot Camp

Last week our Kilby faculty took part in iPad BOOT CAMP! In trying to integrate new technology in our school, our teachers received new iPads. Some of our teachers were already familiar with iPads and iPhones but we had several teachers who were completely new to this type of technology. I served as co-presenter in this presentation. While Mrs. Hellums, the Media Specialist,  presented the information, I went from teacher to teacher, helping them get used to their iPad. In this post I am going to show you the slides that we used in the PowerPoint. We got through the first 1/2 of the presentation and will be finishing up in another session. Our teachers are very excited, as they should be. They were charged with practicing with their iPad and trying out new apps to be incorporated in their classrooms.Hopefully, by the end of this year, Kilby will house a new class set of iPads for student use. This should be a smooth transition for our students because our Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes already have student iPads. Check out the slides to see what our teachers learned in BOOTCAMP!

21st Century Learner

The 21st-Century Digital Learner

How tech-obsessed iKids would improve our schools.

BY MARC PRENSKY

http://www.edutopia.org/ikids

Marc Prensky wrote an article in edutopia about the 21st Century Learner. He pointed out that when he gives presentations his population is elderly and gray. He thinks this is interesting, unacceptable and dangerous. Prensky wants to teach his thoughts on technology to a younger generation. One way he has been able to do this so far is to bring his own students to the presentations. Bringing together teachers and students at his conferences allows him to show each group that compromises and adjustments can be made to teaching and learning. Three questions he asks his students when they are discussing technology are:

1. What experience in school has really engaged you?
2. How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?
3. What are your pet peeves?


These questions allow him to address both the students individual level of interest and their own particular thoughts on technology. The younger generation, he found, is bored and frustrated in school. They do not feel engaged during instruction time. He noted in his article that one student said "You (the older generation) think of technology as a tool and we (the younger generation) think of it as a foundation." This further demonstrates the difference between each generations thoughts, beliefs and ideas when it comes to technology. One question raised was how do we bridge the gap and start to use technology effectively?


We need to treat the opinions of our students with care. Prensky stated that we need to introduce new methods into our own classrooms. A PowerPoint is as outdated as a blackboard, noted student. We need to immerse ourselves in the possibilities that technology affords. Limiting our personal use of technology is one way that we can lose the attention of our students quickly. Another way is by limiting their use of technology. Allow students to explore and create with technology. Instead of assigning projects limiting our students use of technology, allow them to choose their mode of presentation. If they use a mode of technology that you do not understand, use it as a method to gain experience. By allowing students to have an active voice in the technology discussion they will in turn become active participants of the classroom.

What 21st Century Learning Has Taught Me About Myself

When I was in college and throughout my educational career I have believed in the research supporting different learning modalities. Just recently I became a student again and as I worked my way through my classes I found that the way I understood better was through auditory means. After teaching kindergarten all day and going through the daily routine of raising three kids of my own I found that I was having a hard time getting my own brain to think effectively using modalities other than just reading. Early in this process I was introduced to TED Talks and was very inspired by these great ideas.
After watching a TED Talk my brain seemed to start firing away and my understanding became clearer. I also began to notice that when I listening to the educational pod-casts on topics that we were focusing on each week it would help aid my comprehension. By wearing headphones and forcing myself to stop and listen, I could then go back to the research articles and better comprehend what I had been reading. I have become more of an auditory learner as I have aged. I also need to visually see a model whether they be videos, photos, illustrations, to help in my learning. I now have a better understanding of why we need to employ all of the modalities throughout our instruction.
One reason that my modality may have changed was because of the technological immersion that I experience at Kilby. If the use of technology has changed my way of thinking and learning in just the few years that I've been using it then how does it effect students who have been immersed in technology since birth. Students today have definitely been immersed at early ages and incorporating digital learning throughout the day is necessary to meet their different learning styles and to maintain student engagement.

Illustrations of 21st Century Learning:

Interesting Videos on 21st Century Learners:

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Games Support Multiple Learning Styles | Edutopia

After reading an article called , Games Support Multiple Learning Styles | Edutopia,| I had a complete Ah-Ha experience. I have a set of 6 iPads that I use in my kindergarten classroom. My group of boys kept getting on the gaming section on the iPad during free time. The boys were over the moon about a game called Minecraft. I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about but I was in my teacher mode and all I could think is that they need to be playing something educational so until I could check it out I redirected them to a Toca Boca app. Little did I know that Minecraft is a huge hit in the gaming world and is one of the most sold downloadable games ever. There are Monsters in the game but the game can be set on sensitive mode and all the Monsters will be removed. The game allows the children to use their imaginations to build and explore. My boys were glued to the iPad, I literally had to take the iPad and pry their hands away.

Minecraft is a 'sandbox" game that let's you build almost anything out of blocks that look like Legos. 

The link below has some great ideas on how work Minecraft into your class curriculum.
Real-world Examples - MinecraftEdu wiki

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