iLearn Technology

Holy Smokes. It has been a CRAZY couple of weeks.  Don’t let anyone tell you that starting a school is an insane amount of work; that is a piece of cake compared to ending your first school year!  Blogging has obviously taken a back seat.  It feels strange not to blog every day after making that a habit over the last 4 years.

Today is dedicated to Pinterest.  I find so many fantastic things that spark ideas for must-dos at Anastasis. I’m sharing a few of  them here. I hope they spark some ideas for your classrooms!

This year we did some composting, this was followed by planting seedlings in newspaper just like this.  Each student made a newspaper “pot” for their seeds. We love that it is biodegradable!

We are ending the year at Anastasis with a Storyline Expo. This is a showcase of student work throughout the year. We wanted to show a progression of learning and a timeline seemed like a great way to do it.

We are making preparations for our first field day.  Water noodle target practice looked like a great activity.  What are we most excited about? A food truck for lunch.  We are cool like that.

We have spent a good majority of the year sharing wishes and dreams. For our storyline expo, we are creating silhouettes of students sharing what they love about our school.

We have done SO many hands on experiments throughout the year.  This one was particularly neat to visualize weather in a cup.

We took pictures of all the kids “holding-on” to rope like this.  They made great bookmarks for our first ever read-in!

Every student created a poster with this quote on it. It so perfectly summarizes what we believe about students and learning.

This is SUCH a great way to practice equations and algebra. Each number on the clock is represented by an equation. Our students made some unique “geeky” clocks this year.

We really wanted students to find freedom in their learning this year.  Creating unique thumbprints with information and thoughts from each student was a great way to kick this thought process off.  They turned out great!

Words we live by daily!

To see the originals of these images (and many more), visit my Pinterest Classroom Inspiration page. Pinterest is my guilty pleasure, I add to it even when I don’t have time to blog!   If you haven’t joined Pinterest yet, I highly recommend it.  Fair warning: it is addicting!

What it is: Planbook EDU is a great cloud-based (a.k.a online) lesson plan book.  Because Planbook EDU is hosted in the cloud, all you need is an Internet connection, your plans travel with you.   Planbook EDU is listed in the Google Apps Marketplace and is a natural fit for schools already using Google apps for education (email, calendar, documents, etc.).  The free version of Planbook EDU has nothing to install, let’s teachers access their planbook from any internet connection, is easy to use with word processor like editing, is fully customizable, works in all major web browser and is iPad/iPhone supported (word processor editing doesn’t work on these devices).

How to integrate Planbook EDU into the classroom: I am a big fan of organizational tools, they let me organize my thoughts so that in the fire hose of ideas what is important (the learning goal) doesn’t get lost. Planbook EDU is a simple way to organize and plan units and your school year.  I love that it is cloud-based so that I can access my plans from anywhere and any time.  The basic features are robust enough to get your planning in place and the extras that can be added on make it VERY useful.

The premium version allows you to embed your planbook directly in your classroom website…very handy for keeping students and parents up to date with what is coming!

Tips: For $25/year, you get all of the free features plus- attach files to lesson plans, assign Common Core Standards, embed your planbook on any website, share lesson plans with anyone, print from your browser, export to Microsoft Word or PDF, built-in spell check and enjoy access to unlimited planbooks each school year.  EVERY user gets a free 14 day trial of all the premium options from Planbook EDU.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using PlanbookEDU  in your classroom!

What it is: You know what I love about a new year? The blank slate. The empty calendar begging to be written on. The chance to take a step back and evaluate how you are working.  I am an organizer at heart. I love having everything in its place. I love label makers, file folders, planners, calendars, and software that makes my life easier.  For Christmas my little brother (always have to have the little in there to remind him of his place in life ) gifted me with the book “Making Ideas Happen” by Scott Belsky.  I am about a third of the way through it and already loving it.  What my brother knows about me (I think it runs in our gene pool) is that I am a creative person. I am never at a loss for ideas. They flow constantly.  The problem: I think every single idea is genius. I want every single idea to come to fruition because surely no one has every come up with something so brilliant before.  Even for an organizational nut like me, this is an impossible task.  And if I’m totally honest, my organizational skills leave much to be desired when it comes to putting my ideas in their place.  Ideas are wonderful things, they make the world go round…but they are only useful as far as they are enacted. When the flow of ideas is constant, many truly brilliant ideas get pushed aside while another round of ideas rolls in.  This post isn’t really about the book.  While it is a good book, it isn’t really inspirational. It is life changing in what you do with the principles it reveals.  Blesky details his Action Method in the book.  I immediately loved this method because it works the way I think. It puts everything in its place and gives you a place to organize actionable items (things you can actually work towards completion right now), reference items (all those bits of notes and websites, and pdfs, and pictures I have EVERYWHERE…seriously my husband says I have a problem), and backburners- those ideas that aren’t really actionable yet but could be some day.  This keeps those brilliant ideas at the forefront and getting taken care of while the flow of ideas has a place (backburner) so that nothing is lost.  Sweet!  My next question was: where can I “do” the action method so that I can and will keep up with it?  Problem solved, introducing the Action Method online. You can put all of those principles to use in one beautiful interface.  Even better…you can access it on your mobile device too.  We all know that is a must in this day and age! The online Action Method has a free version which lets you do just about everything…for some extra shiny bits you can sign up for the pro plan.  The mobile version is a free download. (There is even a paper version for those of you who like to go old school…normally I am in this organizational camp but like I said, the website is right up my alley.) What is better than starting off the new year organized and with money in the bank?

Here is the Action Method as described on the website:

• ACTION STEPS are tasks that need to be completed. Each Action Step should start with a verb: “Call Y,” “Follow up with X,” “Buy a gift for Z.”
• REFERENCES are notes, links, files, sketches – any information related to a project that gives context to your Action Steps.
• BACKBURNERS are the brilliant ideas that you want to come back to later, but are not yet actionable.
• DISCUSSIONS enable you to manage ongoing conversations across all of your projects with anyone that works with you. All relevant communications (shared documents, solutions to problems, feedback, decisions) are in one place.
• EVENTS are the key occasions/meetings/milestones/etc toward which you (and your team) are working. Events can be used to coordinate deadlines for Action Steps, aiding project management.

Pretty cool right?!  I really like how the Action Method lets you track discussions and delegate tasks easily. Very handy! Need more convincing? Companies like Apple use the Action Method…you know something is working for them!  I don’t know about you, but the thought of having everything organized in one place is giving me some major warm fuzzies right now!

How to integrate the Action Method into your curriculum: The Action Method website and app can be used to organize your school life.  I constantly have ideas for new lesson plans, projects, websites, etc. that I want to use with students.  These can be easily organized with the Action Method.  Create a new Project for each unit or educational focus.  Action items can be the individual lessons and resources that you are going to complete for that unit.  Add any resources you need in the references section.  Saw a cool idea on Twitter that you want to use in your classroom but aren’t sure how it will work just yet? Add it to your backburner so you can go back and review it later.  The Action Method could very well be the only planner you need!  Create discussions with teammates and colleagues (or Twitter colleagues) directly in the program. Delegate tasks  to others on your team or even parent volunteers.

The Action Method could be used to help middle school or high school students better organize their lives and learning.  It would be especially useful for students who help chart their own learning plans.  The site does require an email address (with confirmation) to sign up.

Tips: You can learn more about the Action Method in the book Making Ideas Happen.

Happy organizing!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Action Method in Your classroom.

Empathy is an important cornerstone in character education; developing empathy can help prevent negative social behaviors such as bullying, spitefulness, and alienation.  It is a key social emotion and when developed brings an awareness of ones own emotions as well as those of others.  Using Apple’s Photo Booth and Pages (or Seenly and Microsoft Word), students can make a “How are you feeling?” poster of emotions.  These posters teach students to recognize what their own emotions look like and help them to recognize them in others. If you don’t have access to built in cameras or web cams, digital cameras can be used in their place.  The completed posters can be used for various character education lessons throughout the year and make for a nice year-long bulletin board in the classroom. The posters are also useful when discussing literary characters and their feelings/emotions, as well as an aid in conflict resolution for younger students.  The Feelings posters are a helpful tool for autistic children as they help them recognize facial expressions and emotions in themselves and others.

The lessons in empathy is perfect for kindergarten through sixth grade.  Three templates are included in the lesson k-1 grade, 2-3 grade, and 4-6 grade.  As a computer teacher, I completed this lesson with my students every year from kindergarten-fifth grade.  By the fifth grade, students had a collection of 6 feelings posters that showcased each year of school.  Parents saved these posters as a keepsake.

This collection includes a lesson plan, templates, an emotions card game, and suggestions for sharing the template with student computers.  There are two options for download, one for use with Apple’s Pages and PhotoBooth (or digital camera) and one for use with Microsoft Word and Seenly (or digital camera).  The Pages option is for use with Macintosh only.  The Microsoft Word option is for use with Mac or PC. In this lesson students will practice using text boxes, drag and drop, mouse manipulation, inserting images, and resizing.  Click here to find the Feelings Poster Lesson in Empathy in the iLearn Technology store.

Feelings Poster: A lesson in Empathy

Lesson plan, Pages or Word templates, and game cards to create a How are You Feeling Today poster using student pictures. Students use technology to express emotions and learn empathy. Grades: k-6 Requirements: Pages '08 (or newer) OR Microsoft Word, web cam OR digital camera. Pages templates only work on Apple computers. Microsoft Word template works on Apple or PC.

What it is: Isn’t it great when author’s have websites as enchanting as their books?  Mo Willem’s has a collection of wonderful websites starring his characters including my favorite, the Pigeon.  On the Pigeon Presents website, your students will find fun games starring their favorite characters.  They can learn more about Mo Willem’s books, meet the characters he has created, and even watch video interviews where he talks about his love of writing and illustrating.  In the teacher’s section of the site, you will find printable posters for your classroom.  On the Go Mo! site students will find Cat and her friends.  Here students can play games, learn animal sounds, color online, and see Cat the cat’s gallery.  Here students can see pictures that other students have drawn of cat and even submit their own.  My favorite discovery of all: Mo Willem’s Pigeon has a Twitter account!

How to integrate Mo Willem’s Websites into your curriculum: If you are a Mo Willem’s fan like I am, you will be thrilled to introduce your students to his site starring his characters.  Mo Willem’s has been a Caldecott Award honor for several of his books.  His first, in 2004, was Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  I used this book to teach my younger students about the Caldecott award, and to help them identify shapes.  Since I was in the computer lab, I taught my students to draw the pigeon using computer drawing applications.  This was a great way for my students to learn how to use digital drawing tools, while creating Caldecott worthy results.  The students pigeon’s always turned out fantastic and looked so much like the original that the kids felt like they too could be Caldecott honorees.  If you are interested in my lesson, you can purchase it here.   Mo Willem’s collection of websites would be a great tie-in to the drawing lesson and help students connect to their favorite characters.

Tips: The videos on the Pigeon Presents Get to Know Mo page are really well done and will give students and inside look at how author’s develop characters.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Mo Willem’s Websites in your classroom!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Drawing Lesson

Using computer drawing tools, k-2 students learn about the Caldecott award and how they can create their own Caldecott worthy illustrations based on Mo Willem's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. This collection includes step-by-step instructions, drawing application suggestions, and an ISTE NET aligned lesson. Grade Level: Kindergarten-2nd. Requirements: computer, Internet connection, book "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus".

What it is: Who are the Zimmer Twins, you might ask?  Edgar and Eva Zimmer are 12 year old twins who appear normal but have developed psychic powers.  Strange things began to happen when the twins adopted a black cat named 13.  On the Zimmer Twins website, students can create their own cartoon movie endings to a story starter or create their own animated movie from scratch.  Students can create and edit movies solo or “Collab-o-write” and work together creating a collaborative movie.   Zimmer Twins runs well in Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari making it easy to get to and use in any classroom setting.  You will need Flash 8 (or higher) installed for the Zimmer Twins to work properly.  

How to integrate Zimmer Twins into the classroom: Your students are going to love this site!  They can direct and produce their very own animated movies.  The easiest way to start using Zimmer Twins in the classroom, is to use it as a story starter.  Students can watch a “starter” video and finish the story however they would like.  The first time you introduce the site, it might be fun to complete a video as a class.  Then students can take over and create their own ending to a Zimmer Twins movie.  These video clips make excellent story starters for journal writing even if you can’t take the time to make it into an actual video.  To use as a story starter, show the beginning of the short animation to your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector, then let students take over on classroom computers, working together, or writing a journal entry.  After your students are familiar with the Zimmer Twins website, they can start a story from scratch.  Students could direct “screen plays” of their writing, as a way to publish their finished work.  Zimmer Twins would make an excellent alternative to the traditional book report.  Students could create a movie where the main character is being interviewed, the story is being summarized, or retold.  Students could also create movies about historical events, describing a science experiment or concept, in math as a story problem, to demonstrate understanding of character education or for vocabulary practice.  My students have really enjoyed creating movies to show what they have learned on any topic, it is always a sure winner!  Are you looking for new ways to engage your students? Why not create a Zimmer Twins original yourself to introduce a new topic.  If you are looking for more great ideas for using Zimmer Twins in your classroom, be sure to check out the lesson plans on the teacher page, there are some good ones.

Tips: Students can create a movie on Zimmer Twins without registering; however, they will not be able to save their creation.  Creating an account requires an email address.  If this presents a problem in your classroom you can do a few things: 1. create a classroom account that every student logs into and saves their videos on.  Students will need to include their first name or a class number in the title of their video to differentiate it from others in the class.  2. Set up an account for each student using your email account.  You will have to check this email account to provide your students with their passwords. 3. Ask parents to set up accounts for their kids to use at school.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Zimmer Twins in your classroom.

What it is: The Winter Olympics is here!  There is so much learning to be done.  In my computer lab, my students will be completing the following assignment using Shidonni and various Olympic websites for research.  I have created a Weebly site as a research landing page for students.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Winter Olympics 2010 as a learning event in your classroom.