iLearn ezine debut

Well, I had planned to have this issue of iLearn completed months ago….better late than never!  This issue has articles about 21st century literacy, iPods in education, technology lesson plans, 100+ of the best FREE educational apps for the iPod, and tips for managing a computer lab.

It’s Not All About the Technology

 

 

Another article written for The Apple.  If you aren’t part of this teaching community, you should be!  Sign up today and be sure to add me as a friend ktenkely.Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.comThis may seem like a strange title coming from a technology evangelist and integration specialist. But it is true, it isn’t all about technology in classrooms. Don’t get me wrong, technology can and will do amazing things to increase student learning, differentiate instruction, and meet students where they are. Understand, technology alone can’t do this, it isn’t the golden ticket that when plugged in solves all educational problems. I see many schools who purchase the latest-and-greatest technology, software, and infrastructure only to have the technology collecting dust a few years later when it didn’t solve the education problems of the school. This isn’t the technologies fault, it doesn’t mean that the technology has failed to deliver. What schools often miss is that it isn’t really about the technology at all. There is a foundational level that needs to be addressed in schools first.Many classrooms still look the way they did in the 19th century. The teacher is at the front of the classroom giving students facts to memorize, rules about grammar, math, and science. The role of the student is to take it all in, memorize, and regurgitate the information back in the form of an essay, worksheet, or test. The teacher marks up the student work, puts a grade at the top, and returns it to the student. The process repeats itself as the teacher works to squeeze in all of the curriculum before the end of the year. Technology can’t improve this learning environment. In fact, technology will feel forced and unnatural in this classroom model. Technology invites students to problem solve, create, think critically, and collaborate. The focus is not on memorization and testing but on discovery and creativity. In this classroom model, technology may be used to replace the chalk board with a PowerPoint presentation. This may be more visually appealing, but it doesn’t change how students are learning. The teacher is still the center of the classroom and students are still taking it all in and regurgitating back on worksheets and tests. Learning hasn’t really changed so the results continue to stay the same.Students learn by doing. Students learn through making connections to things they already know. Students learn through discovery. Students learn when they are the center of their education. Technology lends itself naturally to this type of classroom. Technology enhances learning exponentially when introduced into a classroom where students are at the center of learning. Think about the most popular technologies with students today outside of the classroom. For elementary students those that top the list are Club Penguin and Webkins. For secondary students they are Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, and Twitter. What do these have in common? They are all social. Each of these tools invites communication and collaboration. Students aren’t interested in technology for the sake of technology, they are hooked by the increased ability to communicate ideas and work together. In the traditional classroom students complete work for one person: the teacher. There is very little communication after the paper has been handed back. What can technology do to make learning more of a collaborative effort? Web 2.0 tools (those online tools that invite communication and/or collaboration) make learning collaborative.Blogs, wikis, videos, slideshows, and websites can be used in the classroom as a place for students to create and share their work with a wider audience. This audience could be as small as a classroom and parents, or as large as the whole world. These online spaces make students the ‘experts’ and put them in charge of their own learning. They have a sense of ownership in their education. It isn’t about the teacher, it’s about them. Technology invites students to discover learning. Students today find very little value in memorization. It is no wonder that this is the case, many of them walk around with smart phones in their pockets. At any given time they can Google anything and be given thousands of resources that will answer their question. This introduces a new requirement of education. We must teach students to think critically about the information they find. Yes, they can Google anything, but will they know what information is factual and what information is bad? Technology allows students to experience things that they may not other wise have the opportunity to experience. For example, taking a virtual field trip to Egypt to see the pyramids, hear an archeologist speak, and ask the archeologist follow up questions. These experiences help students to make connections to their own lives that would not have been possible with note taking followed by a quiz.Technology alone will not change education and student learning. First, the classroom environment needs to change. We need classrooms that value student centered learning, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. We need classrooms that value learning. Our goal as teachers should not be to get our students to pass a test, but to teach them how to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Regardless of the technology being used in the classroom, students need these foundational skills to succeed in life. When partnered with this type of classroom, technology will increase student learning and performance. Before any school looks at hardware or software for the classroom, they need to set up a solid educational foundation. The expectation needs to be set that students will no longer be memorizers, they will be thinkers and creators.

Lessons Learned From Master Teachers

Article written by Kelly Tenkely for The Apple

Check out The Apple for great articles, lesson plans, resources, educational news stories, and join in the conversation.

See the original article here.

Last week was teacher appreciation week.  Each year when this week rolls around, I am reminded of the amazing teachers I had in my life who helped shape me into the learner I am today.   In my life, my favorite teachers always seemed to land on the odd grade levels.  My first, third, and fifth grade teachers were particularly memorable.  These women were master teachers.  They  taught me some important lessons and modeled what it means to be a teacher.

1st Grade Mrs. Hebert

Mrs. Hebert was a young teacher.  I am fairly sure that she was just out of college.  She had classroom management down to an art (a difficult feat with six year olds).  Mrs. Hebert made everything we learned an adventure.  One Monday morning, we walked into a darkened classroom to find an UFO at the center of the classroom.  It was flashing and making sounds, it was amazing.   There were glow in the dark stars scattered around the classroom.  She immediately had our attention and had us intrigued with the learning that was to take place that day.  We sat around the strange UFO in a circle and Mrs. Hebert led a conversation about where we thought the UFO could have come from.  We noticed strange purple rocks scattered all over the classroom and talked about what they could be.  One of the boys in the class spotted a book that had a rock that looked the same on the cover.  A few of us suggested that we read the book for clues about the strange space rocks and UFO.

Mrs. Hebert handed out a class set of books (Space Rock by Susan Schade and Jon Buller) so that we could all read.  We read through the book together and discovered where the space rocks had come from.  Each one of us got our very own purple play-dough pet space rock.  We were thrilled.  I still have my space rock. As an adult looking back I realize that Space Rock is a leveled reader, there is nothing really special about this book at all.  It is a cute story but if we had just read the book in a reading group and answered some questions about it on a worksheet, I would not remember anything about this book.  With a little extra effort and preparation, Mrs. Hebert made the lesson memorable.

What we learned that day was more than whatever phonemic awareness skill that was being touched on with the book.  We learned to love reading.  We learned that books can be enjoyable and answer questions that we have and make us use our imagination in new ways.  20 years later I remember a lot about this lesson and many lessons that Mrs. Hebert taught.  She was doing more than teaching us content skills, she was developing a love of learning.

3rd Grade Mrs. Graybill

Mrs. Graybill started every year by sending her new students postcards telling us how excited she was to be teaching us that year.  She often bragged that she had the very best class in the school (I am positive that she told every class this same thing every year).  An amazing thing happens when you are told that you are the best class in the school, you start acting like the best class in the school.  We strived to please Mrs. Graybill.  Throughout the year Mrs. Graybill had us write her notes in our journals.  Sometimes she offered a suggestion on something we could tell her in our notes but we could write anything we wanted.  She responded to each and every note every week.  I remember reading Judy Blume’s the Pain and the Great One in class one day and writing Mrs. Graybill a note about how I feel like the Great One and my little brother was certainly a Pain.  She wrote back a thoughtful response about her brothers and how she didn’t always appreciate them when she was a kid but as adults they are great friends.  Mrs. Graybill made connections with her students.  She knew about our likes and dislikes and what made us nervous or scared.  She was able to tailor lessons to fit our needs because she truly knew our needs.  She made everyone feel like the most special member of the class.  At the beginning of fourth grade Mrs. Graybill sent each of her students a postcard telling us how much she enjoyed teaching us and how much she missed us.  Mrs. Graybill instilled a sense of self worth in us.  She made us believe that we could do anything.

I don’t remember doing a lot of worksheets in Mrs. Graybills class.  Third grade can be a turning point in many schools where desk work increases.  Mrs. Graybill always found interesting ways to teach.  When we learned cursive handwriting she could have just given us practice worksheets, instead she wrote riddles on the board.  We would copy down the riddles in our notebooks, in our best cursive, and try to guess the answer to the riddles.  There was a riddle for each letter of the alphabet.  We absolutely loved this exercise and looked forward to handwriting practice every day.  At the end of the year we had a book of riddles to stump our families with.  I still have this riddle book that I made in third grade (thanks to mom for realizing its value and saving it) and I use it to this day to stump my students with riddles.   The kids love it; it’s become part of our daily routine.  Mrs. Graybill taught me that with a little creativity, mundane tasks, like practicing handwriting, can be fun and worth while.

5th Grade Mrs. Nelson

Mrs. Nelson was amazing in so many ways.  Like Mrs. Graybill she constantly told us that we were the best class she had ever had.  We worked to make her proud.  Mrs. Nelson taught us important life lessons in unexpected ways.  One day we came in from recess to find loaves and loaves of bread piled high on her desk up front.  Behind the loaves were jars of peanut butter and jelly and several plastic knives, plates, and napkins.  Fifth graders are always thrilled when food is going to be involved.  Mrs. Nelson asked us to each write in our journals directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  When we were finished, we would read our directions to her and she would make us a sandwich that we could eat.  The first student got up and eagerly read his directions for Mrs. Nelson, “Put peanut butter on the bread, then put on some jelly.  Put the pieces together.”

Mrs. Nelson followed our directions exactly (think Amelia Bedelia here).  First she wiped her nose with her hand, then she stuck her fingers in the peanut butter and slathered it on both sides of the bread.  This was followed by a licking of the fingers and then a dunk into jelly to wipe on another piece of bread.  We were shocked to say the least.  As the class watched what she was doing we scribbled frantically in our notebooks to give more specific directions.  Wash your hands first.  Use a knife to spread the peanut butter on one face of the bread.   Put the peanut butter and jelly sides of the bread together.  Don’t lick your fingers.  It was great fun to see how everyone’s sandwiches turned out.  Some were more edible than others.  Mrs. Nelson taught us to be specific and intentional in our writing.  She made us think about processes and instructions.

Mrs. Nelson always read us a chapter book after recess.  She had us enthralled with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Wish Giver, Wayside School is Falling Down, and many more.  We begged Mrs. Nelson to keep reading (she usually only read us a chapter a day).  She helped every one of her students develop a love of reading and stories.  She modeled reading for fun and enjoyment.  The librarian always knew what book Mrs. Nelson was reading to us because requests for that book skyrocketed.

I have many great memories of my first, third, and fifth grade years of school.  These teachers went above and beyond the call of duty.  They put a lot of planning and love into their classrooms.  The payoff was incredible, a class of students who all felt like they were the best and brightest, who loved to learn, explore, and read.   I constantly use these incredible examples in my life to teach my students.  I don’t remember a lot about my second, fourth, and sixth grade years.  This is not because I wasn’t learning, but because the learning wasn’t as memorable and engaging.  It is my hope that every child gets to experience life with a master teacher (hopefully many of them).  To all of the master teachers out there, thank you!  Your impact reaches farther than you will ever know.

Ekoloko

What it is: Ekoloko is a virtual world for kids.  In Ekoloko students discover the world, both real and virtual, through fun games and quests.  As they play in Ekoloko, students learn and build values, character qualities, knowledge and skills that help them become more responsible and involved individuals.  Students learn to respect each other and the environment in the safe online community.  While students are in Ekoloko, they are faced with dealing with other characters that are interested in exploring the resources of the world for their own personal benefit.

How to integrate Ekoloko into the classroom:  This safe virtual world is a great place for students to practice their netiquette in a controlled environment.  In Ekoloko, character qualities are valued, leadership and responsiblity are encouraged.  This is a great way for students to learn how to be good online (and offline) citizens.  Along the way, students can also practice being good stewards of the environment.  Ekoloko reminds me of  and would be another great site to introduce to students in preparation for Earth Day.  I really appreciate the character values encouraged by this site.

 

Tips:  To view the site in English, select English as the language in the bottom right corner of the site.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Ekoloko in your classroom.

Xtranormal Text-to-Movie

What it is:  Xtranormal Text-to-Movie is another outstanding site that I learned about from @danreeve on Twitter.  This site lets students create and direct their own animated movies.  Students can choose a set, actors, and music for their videos.  Xtranormal allows students a huge amount of control of exactly how their movie will look, they can choose camera angles, animations, expressions, looks, points, and sounds.  The site is very intuative and user friendly for students in third grade (with a little guidance) and up.  I was able to create a movie without reading any instructions in about 5 min.

How to integrate Xtranormal into the classroom:  Xtranormal is a great way for students to express what they know creatively.  Students can use Xtranormal to create mocumentaries on any subject, students could interview historical figures, report on geographical occurances, or create public service announcements.  Xtranormal would be an excellent alternative to the traditional book report.  Students could interview one or several characters from the book or create a little review show about the book.  The Xtranormal interface is intuative enough that the focus will be on the learning, not on the tool.

 

Tips:  Xtranormal is a great way for students to create movies.  Many times schools are restricted from putting videos featuring students online, this is a great way for students to put their creations online without their actual picture being out there.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Xtranormal in your classroom.

Artopia

What it is:  Artopia is an interactive website that lets students learn more about and interact with different mediums of art virtually.  “Students can closely examine important works of art and take part in activities that teach about styles, principles and processes of each art form. They can write about the artworks online, collect art cards in a virtual portfolio and view videos of professional artists at work. Teachers may exhibit their students’ artwork in a virtual gallery and both students and teachers can communicate with other artists in an online message board.”  Artopia teaches students about dance, media arts, music, painting, sculpture, and theater.  This is an outstanding addition to an art classroom!

How to integrate Artopia into the classroom: Artopia is a nice addition to any classroom.  The site can be used to develop a greater appreciation for the arts.  Students can be recognized and encouraged in their own art in the sites online art gallery.   Artopia introduces students to important works of art and teaches them how to think about art.  This site would be wonderful for working on critical thinking skills, creativity, and innovation.  

 

Tips:  Check out the Teacher Resources for lesson plans using Artopia in your classroom.  Pass this site on to an art teacher, they will be thankful you did!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Artopia in your classroom.

The Hobby Shop

What it is:  The Hobby Shop is an amazing interactive site where students can learn about science.  Students can learn about a compound microscope, dissecting microscope, catapults, chemistry, and rockets.  Each section of the hobby shop is completely interactive and has students discovering learning through virtual experimentation.  Students can look through microscopes, each step of the way they are taught how to do things like prepare petri dishes, and clean up properly afterward.  In the chemistry lab students can create an ingredient found in chalk, make a chemical used in photography, make liquids change colors, or test chemicals for electrical conductivity.  Students are led through each step of an experiment just as they would do it in an actual lab.  There is an interactive periodic table of elements that students can use to learn about different elements.  Students can create their own rocket in the rocket lab choosing the body, nose cone, and fins of a rocket and then test it out.  Students can also test out catapults with water balloons.

How to integrate Hobby Shop into the classroom: Hobby Shop is a wonderful place for students to experiment and interact with science in preparation for doing the experiment in class.  It is interactive enough to take the place of experiments where the science budget doesn’t allow for a class set of materials.  I am SO impressed with the way that this site leads students through each step of the process to complete an experiment.  Use this site with the whole class using an interactive whiteboard, invite students to come up to the board and conduct the experiment.  This site is also perfect for use as a science center in the one or two computer classroom or for individual use in a computer lab environment.  

 

Tips:  Check out the Teacher Resources for standard alingment, correlating worksheets, and other pdf files.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Hobby Shop in your classroom.

Book Wink

What it is: Book Wink is an absolutely incredible site to motivate students in 3rd through 8th grade to read.  Through podcasts and web video Book Wink introduces students to books that will help get students excited about reading.  Video book talks are about 3 minutes in length and introduce students to a topic, and the additional read-alikes that can be found on the Book Wink website.  Books can be searched by grade, subject, author, or title.  Subscribe to the video podcats to automatically receive the newest book talks.  This months book talk introduces students to the heist.  Check it out, it is fantastic!

How to integrate Book Wink into the classroom:   Book Wink is an outstanding way to excite and motivate students to read.   Use Book Wink with a projector and introduce your whole class to a book talk.  The book talks are engaging and will have your students wanting to check out books on the subject for silent reading time.  Each book talk gives a related list of books along with their age appropriateness.  This makes it simple for your students to find a book that will capture their attention and help them gain a love of reading. Check out the Book Wink archives to find a genre or topic that fits with your current curriculum.  Topics include: heists, World War II, Sharks, 19th Centrury, Love, Mythology, Volcanos, Mermaids, Museum Mysteries, Sea Adventures, Parallel Universes, Popularity, South America, and Endangered Animals.  A new book talk is added each month, this should have your students excited about reading year round!  Book Wink would be a great site to have bookmarked or set as a homepage in the school  library.  After your students have become familiar with the book talk format on Book Wink, encourage them to host and record their own book talks.

 

Tips:  Book Wink is free to use.  You can support Book Wink through purchases from their online store or through a donation.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Book Wink in your classroom.

My Award Maker

 

What it is:   It is that time of year again, time for end of the year award ceremonies where we remind our students of how far they have come this year and celebrate their achievements.  My Award Maker is a site I learned about from Kevin Jarrett’s blog NCS Tech.  He found this site just in time for it to be useful for me so I thought I would pass it on so you could benefit as well!  My Award Maker is a free, very easy to use award/certificate creator.  Choose from one of hundreds of great awards, fill in the information that best fits your needs, and print.  It couldn’t be easier and the results are fantastic!  This is going to save me from going to Lakeshore or US Toy to hunt for awards for this year, they are as good if not better quality than those you can purchase.

How to integrate My Award Maker into the classroom:   At my school, we have a formal end of the year award assembly where students are recogized and celebrated for their hard work throughout the year.  This is the perfect place to find an award or certificate for any occasion.  Don’t wait for a formal award ceremony, tell your students how proud you are of their achievements and effort year long with class awards and certificates.  

 

Tips: My Award Maker has a special section of Tips and Tricks for making special occasions memorable.  Check it out!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using My Award Maker  in your classroom.

DoInk

 

What it is:  DoInk is an outstanding free illustration and animation creator.  The site has tools that are similar in feel and function to Adobe’s flash.   DoInk creates custom animations right inside your Internet browser.  There is an explore section where you and your students can get some inspiration for animations.  DoInk provides tutorials for illustrating and animating making it easy to get started.

How to integrate DoInk into the classroom:   Adobe products not in the budget?  DoInk is a fantastic alternative to Flash.  DoInk would be a great way to familiarize students with the basics of animation that will lead nicely into using more robust programs like Flash.  Allow students to create mini animations to demonstrate science concepts (think life cycles, rock cycles, water cycle, etc.).  Students can also create short animations to display an understanding of verbs.  Since verbs are action words, an animation is a great way to show the action.

 

Tips: DoInk requires registration with a username and password.  For elementary students, I find it helpful to create one class account where students can create.  This keeps you from having to keep track of a class full of login information.  It also makes it simple to keep track of student work.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using DoInk  in your classroom.