Tag: learning

Webspiration Wednesday

Kelly Tenkely9 Comments on Webspiration Wednesday2605 views

wnm

I’ll be honest, today’s Webspiration Wednesday was a flop.  I wanted to introduce teachers to Daniel Pink’s a Whole New Mind and did a quick video search to see what I could find.  I came up with an interview that Oprah did with Daniel Pink about his book.  It would have been great if Oprah wouldn’t have opened her mouth.  I think she mentioned that she donated 4,500 books to Stanford grads no less than 50 times.  The interview wasn’t great, Oprah didn’t focus enough on the book, she was leading the questions to get the answers that she wanted. A flop.  On the upside, teachers got enough of a glimpse into the book that they were left wanting to read it.  So even though the video was a flop, the inspiration was still there.  Our local library offers digital downloads and A Whole New Mind is one of the audio books available for download.  My hope is that the staff will listen to it and think about how it relates to our classrooms and education.  Daniel Pink has a discussion guide for educators that is free to download on his website.    In the next few weeks, I hope to show Daniel Pink’s TED Talk on his newest book Drive (also excellent).

In A Whole New Mind, Pink asks us to consider the world that we are living in. He calls the age we find ourselves in the Conceptual age.  In this age, many left brain jobs are disappearing.  If a computer can do it faster, someone overseas can do it cheaper, or what you are offering isn’t in demand in this age of abundance, the job will become obsolete.   So then, creativity becomes the competitive difference that can differentiate commodities. Pink outlines six essential senses that need to be developed:

  1. Design – Moving beyond function to engage the senses.
  2. Story – Narrative added to products and services.
  3. Symphony – Adding invention and big picture thinking (not just detail focus).
  4. Empathy – Going beyond logic and engaging emotion and intuition.
  5. Play – Bringing humor and lightheartedness to business and products.
  6. Meaning – the purpose is the journey, give meaning to life from inside yourself.

As an educator, I am interested in how we can help our students develop these senses so that they can be prepared for the world ahead of them.  Here is a clue: it has nothing to do with standardized testing!

Have you read A Whole New Mind?  What take aways do you have for us?

If you haven’t read A Whole New Mind, I highly recommend it.

The Zimmer Twins

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on The Zimmer Twins4989 views

Picture 1

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.

Fotobabble

Kelly Tenkely10 Comments on Fotobabble5543 views

Picture 2

What it is: Fotobabble seems to be everywhere I am lately, and now that I have had a minute to play with it, I can see why.  Just upload a photo, record your voice, and send or embed away.  It is very simple to use and has really fun results!  The only downside for use in education are: 1. on the home page of Fotobabble you can see other members creations, at the time of writing they are all clean but I would hate to send my kids here without knowing exactly what content they would run into; 2. To use Fotobabble as a student, you must first sign up. This requires an email address 🙁 Which means that under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, that children under the age of 13 cannot sign up for an account on the site for their own creations.  I would love to see Fotobabble create an education version that can be used by students under 13 if monitored and signed up by an adult, and without the other user generated content on the home page.  That being said, Fotobabble is a fantastic tool for the classroom.

How to integrate Fotobabble into the classroom: Fotobabble can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom.  For students over 13, it is a great creation tool.  Students could take pictures, or find creative commons images that illustrate vocabulary that they are learning and record themselves saying the definition and using the word in a sentence.  Students could collect and trade Fotobabble vocabulary with other students in the class and embed them in a blog or wiki to create their own visual talking dictionary.  If you teach students younger than 13, have teachers or parent helpers build audio visual dictionaries that can be added to throughout the year.  How neat would it be to have a talking, visual word wall?!  This would be helpful for math, science, social studies, history, and regular vocabulary words that students learn.  The format will be so valuable to your audio and visual learners.  Did you take pictures of that field trip? Upload them to Fotobabble and students can record thoughts, observations, and lessons they learned on the field trip.  Consider creating a class Fotobabble account that you (the teacher) are in charge of.  Upload student illustrations and record a story that they have written using their own voice.  This is the perfect type of project to share at parent teacher conference time.  Parents can get a good idea of their child’s writing, reading, and fine motor skills all in one spot.  If you complete a similar project several times through the year, both students and parents can see the growth and progress that has been made during the school year.  Fotobabbles are an outstanding way to send your young students on an Internet scavenger hunt.  Along the way, record directions with Fotobabble and embed on your class website, wiki, or blog.  Non-readers will be able to listen to, and follow directions for any assignment.   Upload a picture of a landmark or map and have students record fun facts that they have learned about the place.  Send special messages from your class home to parents in the weekly newsletter.  Take a picture of a project that the class has done, or of a fun activity from the week.  Students can record a message about upcoming events, fun highlights of the week in learning, and a list of helpers who have signed up for the week.  Parents will love hearing their kids give the news updates for the week!  Are you wracking your brain for a fun Mother’s/Father’s day activity?  Why not record the kids leaving a special message to their parent with a special picture made just for them? Now that is a keepsake!

Tips: Because younger students can’t sign up for their own Fotobabble account, consider creating a class account that you can be in control of.  For younger students, having a Fotobabble recording center set up on one of the classroom computers might be appropriate.  Since you will control the account, you will be in charge of what content is added by students.

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

Stories of Learning

Kelly Tenkely4 Comments on Stories of Learning3030 views

Picture 2

Stories of Learning is another new blog I am launching this week.  I interact with teachers every day who are innovative, creative, and doing transformative things in education.  We need to collect these stories in one place.  Stories of Learning is (I hope) a place where we can record all of these.  Write a guest post, cross post something that you have already written, I would love it all!

Reading Street Supplement

Kelly Tenkely15 Comments on Reading Street Supplement3828 views
http://web.me.com/jtenkely/Reading/Home.html
http://web.me.com/jtenkely/Reading/Home.html

What it is: Over the summer I worked with a teacher at Marquette Elementary school in Gary, Indiana to supplement their reading curriculum.  They used Pearson’s Scott Foresman Reading Street, but were struggling with the program.  Students weren’t understanding concepts and were really struggling with even the basics.  Marquette held a summer remedial reading program where they aimed to supplement the curriculum and help students to become more successful in their reading.  I took a look at the Reading Street curriculum for third grade and noticed right away that a huge number of concepts are presented, but there is no depth or opportunity for students to really learn and understand the concepts.  My goal was to take the curriculum (in this case Unit 6 for third grade) and supplement it with technology.  My goal was to add some richness to what was presented.  I aimed to give students the chance to learn, practice, and create with the material presented.  Because we were working in a summer program, we were able to spend more time with the material and work with fewer students.  Below you will find my curriculum guide for 3rd Grade Reading Street Unit 6.  Even if you don’t use Reading Street, or teach at a different grade level, I encourage you to take a look at what I did with the curriculum.  I hope that you will find some ideas that you could use to supplement the curriculum you are using in your classroom.  I created a website for Unit 6,  called Reaching for Our Goals,  so that students had one place to access all of the websites and resource they needed. (If you study suffixes, parts of speech, commas, compound words, punctuation, MLK, Space, the Wright Brothers, or Jim Thorpe there are some great links.)   I also created a wiki (this is an example) where they could collaborate and show off their finished projects.  On the wiki, you will find example thinking pages, VoiceThread projects, and Animoto projects.

http://marquette.wetpaint.com/
http://marquette.wetpaint.com/

Do you-want to form an alliance-with me?

Kelly Tenkely56 Comments on Do you-want to form an alliance-with me?47986 views

Happy new year!  2009 proved to be a productive year of learning, sharing, and conversing.  I thank you all for being a part of that and look forward to doing it again in 2010!

Picture 5(iLearn Technology’s blog graph)

A few days ago I came across a blog post on Problogger titled “Let me Show You Inside a Secret Blogging Alliance.” The idea of an alliance between bloggers intrigued me.  To fully understand why I was so intrigued by the idea of an alliance, let me give you a little background about the slow beginning of iLearn Technology, and an article that made me angry enough to long for change.

The Beginning…

My degree is not in educational technology.  I started my teaching career as a second grade teacher.  I had two old computers (circa 1997) in my classroom and had stumbled on Starfall, Book Adventure, and Read Write Think.org.  We had no computer lab in our building, so I used these sites as center activities during my literacy block.  My students asked to use these sites constantly, loving when it was their day for the computer centers.

It was completely by accident that I became a computer teacher the following year.  I was looking for a change in schools and had applied to CHC for one of their classroom teacher positions.  I got a call from our office assistant informing me that both classroom teacher positions had been filled quickly.  She followed with, “I know this is a long shot, but we need a computer teacher to teach kindergarten through second grade. I noticed that you have used computers with students and wondered if you might be interested?”  My first thought was “no way, I can’t do it. I’m not qualified.”  What I told her was that I would think about it and get back to her.  I called my husband to tell him about this ridiculous job I had just been offered. He didn’t seem to think it was so ridiculous.   We were newly married and could use the money, even if it was only part time.  It was getting late in the year to be hired as a classroom teacher.  I wasn’t looking forward to the subbing circuit.  My attitude about the ridiculous job offer began to change.  “Maybe I can do this. It is only part time, I can used my days off to do research, surely I know more about computers than a second grader.”  I called the office assistant the next day to tell her I would take the job.

My hunt for lesson plans and websites was on.   I started a notebook (the paper kind) where I would jot down site addresses that I found, along with a few sentences about the site and ideas I had for using it in the classroom.  I barely made it through that first year, always staying just two steps ahead of my students.  It was in my second year that I started my first website.  I used FrontPage to create pages of links that were easily organized for students to access.  (I was tired of adding every new site I found to the bookmark bar of each computer.)  My notebook of web addresses had turned into three and I started using iKeepBookmarks to organize all of the sites I had found.  At the beginning of my computer lab teaching career, it was nearly impossible to hunt down a list of good educational links.  I was finding amazing websites but couldn’t find any one person who had collected, organized, and shared them all in one place.

I woke up one morning with an email from my husband (@jtenkely) in my inbox.  A single sentence stared back at me, “You should start a blog about technology in education.” Attached was a link to Tasty Blog Snack by @ijustine (not an education blog).  Although what @ijustine does is not easy, she made it look easy, it was just the push I needed to start blogging.  I would be the one to collect, organize, and share education links in one place.  But I didn’t want it to just be a list of links…I had found pages of links with no explanation as to what they were.  Teachers need it to be easier, they need to be able to see, at a glance, if a site will meet the needs of their students.  They also need an idea of what using the site would actually look like in the classroom setting.  This would be my blog.   I anticipated it being useful for the teachers that I taught alongside, they were my target audience. In my mind, even if they never read it, it would still be a useful way for me to organize my ideas about the websites I was finding.

I had no idea what I was doing.  I would type up a blog post, publish it, and hope that someone, somewhere, was reading it.  I had no way of tracking or finding out if anyone was actually viewing any of my ideas.  I needed some direction and decided to find out if there were any other educators who were blogging (I was naive enough to think I might be the first one!).  I found TechnoSpud (now Jenuine Tech) by @jenwagner and 2Cents Worth by @davidwarlick.  They were big.  They were well known.  I was nobody.  I started finding other educators who blogged through the blog rolls on TechnoSpud and 2Cents Worth.  I have never felt so small.  Here were a group of educators who “knew” each other and had debates and conversations about education on a regular basis.  I tried to join in the conversation but got discouraged when my comments weren’t responded to.

iLearn Technology exists today for one reason: I am stubborn.  I believed that I was doing something worthwhile and decided that I didn’t care if no one seemed to notice.  Blogging did something else for me, it made me a better teacher.  I understood the learning process better because I was engaged in it on a daily basis.  Even though I didn’t consider myself “one of them” I started reading other education blogs religiously.  I would occasionally engage in the conversation but for the most part I was happy to sit on the sidelines and watch.

It was around this time that I started Tweeting (@ijustine was Tweeting, I should too).  I had NO idea that educators were Twittering.  I was there to keep up with @jtenkely‘s funny observations, keep track of @iJustine, and keep a watch out for new Apple products that were coming.   I started following @davidwarlick and @jenwagner and a few other edubloggers that I was reading.  I can’t pinpoint when it happened, but suddenly I was getting comments on iLearn Technology, I had regular readers, I was getting emails asking for advice, I was involved in the conversation.  I was a real blogger.

It isn’t easy to become a blogger, there is a habit that needs to be formed, a commitment to stick with. It is really hard when you are the newb, the nobody.  It is hard to keep that commitment when you are painfully aware that you are the sole reader of your writing.  @janwebb21 reminded me of this as she told me about her own blog.  She has been at it for about a month, has had a few visitors and a comment or two. But it is a slow process. I would have given anything for the PLN, ideas, and resources I have now when I started teaching.

And Now For Something Completely Different…

Since joining Twitter, I have enjoyed conversations with people from all walks of life.  I have been introduced to new ideas, resources, and have been forced to think in new ways.  I have developed a PLN (Personal Learning Network) and have engaged in numerous discussions about education, technology, and learning.  I have been surrounded by greatness and others who are passionate about learning and teaching others to do the same.  I have become convinced that those educators that I connect with virtually are among the smartest, most innovative people on the planet.

On Friday I clicked on a link that someone shared on Twitter, it was a story about the use of iPods in Education (I always want to read more when Apple products are mentioned in the same sentence as education, my inner geek comes pouring out.)  The article was okay, basically just a short story about how a school is using the iPod Touch in education.  What stopped me in my tracks were the comments left in response to the article.  Most were negative comments about the state of education and what a waste of money iPods are for the classroom.  The comment that really made my blood boil was, “Teachers get to press the learn button, kick back, and think about their next week long vacation.”  It became increasingly clear to me that the general public has NO idea what we as educators do.  We are not seen as professionals.  We are viewed as babysitters with a cushy job.  My knee jerk reaction was to respond to each and every one of these misinformed individuals and inform them.  Instead I posted the following on Twitter, knowing that you all would be equally enraged by the comments: “Getting all fired up reading the comments after this article http://bit.ly/51RJsk general public doesn’t understand education even a little.” The comments regarding education made me want to stand up and shout about the brilliance that is my PLN.  I wanted the misinformed to understand just how misinformed they are.  I kept thinking of how different education could look if we were louder.

The Alliance…

After reading the alliance article an idea began to take shape.  What if we, educational bloggers, were to form an alliance.  No need for the secrecy.  This alliance would be a group of educational bloggers who are committed to working together for the mutual benefit of all the members in the alliance.  We all have something valuable to add to the conversation of education and learning.  Each of us has a unique voice, outlook, approach, skills, strengths, and focuses.

The goal of the alliance is two fold:

1. To encourage educators in their blogging endeavors whether they be new, established, or otherwise.  There are so many valuable additions to the conversation that are being overlooked.

2. To create a united network of educators working toward the larger goal of being heard by those not in education.  It is time for the general public to see us for the highly qualified professionals that we are.

How the Alliance could work…

1. Commenting on each others blogs– in the Problogger article, those in the alliance committed to commenting on each others blogs at least once every week day.  The comments should stimulate interesting discussions, and encourage those involved that someone, is indeed, reading their blog.

2. Linking to One Another- This could be linking to related posts on another educational bloggers website, adding them to your blog roll, or naturally as a result of subscribing to one another’s blogs.

3. Social Bookmarking and Tweeting- This is my personal favorite suggestion, Twitter has done wonders for iLearn Technology as my PLN passes on my posts to others.  Promoting  posts on Twitter, Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon increases awareness of what educators around the world are doing that works.  It also connects those new to educational blogging.

4. Guest Posts- Guest posting could be an opt-in option for the alliance.  I know that it isn’t always possible to find time to write a blog post for your blog, let alone polish it enough for someone else’s blog.

5.  Thank You Page Promotions- When someone signs up to receive your RSS feed, they are generally taken to a page thanking them for subscribing.  This Thank You Page could also be used to promote other education blogs.  For example: “If you like iLearn Technology, you should also be sure to check out blog A, B, C, and D.”

Do you-want to form an alliance- with me?

So the question stands, do you want to form an alliance?  If you are interested, leave a comment linking to your blog with your first name (or Twitter username), and a short description of your blog.  Please also fill out this short form so that I can be in contact with you.  Lets make our voices louder through a shared vision and mission, lets encourage each other in our blogging and teaching endeavors, lets make this year a year of real change.

 Subscribe in a reader

Subscribe to iLearn Technology by Email

Dweeber

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Dweeber2114 views

 

What it is: Dweeber is a social networking site for students that encourages kids to get their homework done faster and with more understanding by working with their school friends online.  Dweeber was created to help students understand their strengths and talents, and help them work together more effectively with parents, mentors, and each other.  The goal is to get students working together to help them learn, study and do research.  Working together collaboratively this way is an important 21st century skill that we should be fostering in our classrooms.  Students can invite each other to study sessions where they can work in a collaborative whiteboard type space, chat with fellow students, post successes, and send friends thank you cards for helping out.  Students can learn about their unique learning style and will receive tips for working more effectively (SMART profile) these profiles can be shared among friends.  Students can also earn ‘guru’ points by sharing and voting on favorite websites, helping others get homework done, and pointing out successes of other students.

 

How to integrate Dweeber into the classroom:   I really like the idea behind Dweeber.  This site helps students to understand their own learning, and support fellow students in their learning.  I love the way in encourages students to work collaboratively outside the classroom and celebrate each other’s successes.  This site is easy to use and will make homework less painful.  It has the added bonus of preparing students for the real world where they won’t always be able to work with others face to face.  Encourage the use of this site in your classroom.  Using a site like Dweeber will build a community of learners in your classroom.  Students will support each other in learning and each will be able to shine in their areas of expertise.  Statistically, homework doesn’t generally increase learning.  Often it is a mindless practice that is easy for those who get it and painful for those who don’t.  Those who understood the concept probably didn’t need hours of extra practice and those who didn’t get it just practiced the wrong way for hours.  Why not allow students to collaborate and truly learn the material?  This is a great way to keep learning and discussions going outside of the classroom. 

 

Tips:  Dweeber is designed for students ages 13 to 18.  Students must be at least 13 according to the Dweeber terms of use to sign up for the service.

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

Popling

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Popling2924 views

What it is:   Popling is a free website and desktop application.  Their motto is “Learning without Studying”.  The idea is to make your own Poplings (flash card sets) and every few minutes (you determine the amount of time) while you work at the computer, a window pops up on the screen with your question.  Click on it to see the full question.  That is all there is to it, studying without really studying.

How to integrate Popling into the classroom:   Popling is a little goodie that could help students in their learning.  Set up classroom computers with Poplings about any subject.  As students are working they can also be practicing math facts, vocabulary, geography, etc.  Better yet, have students create the Popling sets!  In the computer lab setting, create Popling flash cards that will quiz students about Internet safety, terminology, or short cuts while they work.  It is like sneaking in extra learning, gotta love that!  Encourage students to use Popling as a study tool at home…they can study for tests for weeks without it feeling like studying.  Install Popling on your interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer.  As you are teaching, have related questions popup.  This will keep your students engaged watching for the next Popling.

 

Tips:  Tell parents about Popling, they are always looking for great ideas for helping their kids with studying.

 

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

RCampus

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on RCampus2716 views

 

What it is:  RCampus is a collaborative environment that is a one-stop shop for everything school related.  RCampus utilizes Open Education Management system that makes it easy to build personal and group websites, manage courses, eportfolios, academic communities, build rubrics, connect students with tutors, and a book exchange.  All of these tools are FREE for students and faculty.  This would be a great place to organize your classroom life and keep your students organized.  Everything is integrated making management very simple.  Students stay well informed and communication opportunities grow with RCampus.

How to integrate RCampus into the classroom:  This is an outstanding place to keep your classroom organized and easily managed.  Eportfolios are a great way for students to showcase learning, RCampus makes it easy to communicate, assess, and assist througout the year as students build their portfolios.  Set up courses where you can manage everything from one central location.  Grade, communicate, and keep yourself organized with the RCampus integrated learning and course management.  Rubrics are fast and easy to create and can be printed out or used with the RCampus click to grade system that lets you grade students from the gradebook with just a few clicks.  Students  can use RCampus to find an online tutor and teachers can sign up to be tutors on RCampus.  Trade books with no fees using the RCampus book exchange.  This is a great place to swap books with other teachers and students.  RCampus has excellent tools for communicating with parents, students, grading, and organizing your classroom, check it out!

 

Tips: RCampus is free and open access, easy and quick, highly secure, collaborative, life long, cross campus, comprehensive, and user centric.  It is the total package for classrooms and schools!

 

 

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