If you are anything like me, you start your browser and as the day progresses you are soon inundated with multiple tabs. I have tried keyboard short cuts to toggle between tabs. Move to the next tab in Chrome CTRL + TAB Move to the previous tab in Chrome CTRL + SHIFT + TAB While I love keyboard shortcuts, moving quickly between tabs still seems to pose a challenge. This is where I find the Tab Cloud extension to be a workflow savior. See the pictures below for some more information about this extension. I have only started using this extension and love it. When I turn my computer on to start the school day, I click my "school-everyday" tab to open up my multiple tabs for the day. I also have a "math rotations" tab that quickly opens up timers to display our transitions as well as the time left in our groups.
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When using iPads in the classroom, you may need an inexpensive way to store your newly acquired iPads. If you share them between some team members, you may also need a simple way to transport the iPads back and forth. I have previously posted about iPad Storage. I used a plastic file organizer to create a carrying and storage tote for the iPads. To better explain how I went about creating this storage box, I created a short video. Check out the video below for a walk through of creating this storage box. I came across the Conojo app ($1.99) via Lifehacker. The video above does a great job of sharing the apps functionality in a nutshell. The video instantly made me think of the other screen casting apps such as Educreations, Explain Everything, ShowMe and ScreenChomp.
One of the biggest differences that caught my eye was the collaboration component. You are able to connect via Bluetooth and collaborate together. I have loved the screen casting apps for my first graders because they allow my students to model their understanding of concepts. I think the Conojo app has some great potential to allow more than one student to collaboratively work on representing their understanding of concepts. Recently I had the privilege of attending the ITEC Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. There were so many great teachers and connections to be made. I also was able to present while at the conference. My presentation was about using iPads in the primary classroom. It was geared towards grades K-2. Below is the presentation that I gave. The apps that I shared are linked to examples that I have used in my classroom. These examples include blog posts, videos or student examples. My goal was that this presentation would Croak.it is an app that allows you to record audio for 30 second chunks. It has a very simple user interface. Simply press the giant button with a frog and press again to stop. You can then title your recording. Once titled, your Croak is given a URL that you can share. See my example Vocabulary Practice with Thinglink You can practice vocabulary using Croak.it and Thinglink. Students can hand write their vocabulary word. After writing their word, they can snap a picture of it. Next, they can use the Thinklink app to add links to their image. The links they will add would be their recordings from Croak.it. The recordings via Croak.it could be examples of the word in a sentence. We learn about bossy "r" words during 1st grade. After we have talked about all of the bossy "r" combinations, we use the Idea Sketch app to practice sorting words based on their bossy "r" sound. Below are some visual steps for this process. Below is an example of a final product created by a student. One big challenge with my first graders is when they have to write. Some of my students do great at sounding out words and trying their best. Some of my students shut down when writing because they do not like spelling words wrong. In addition, due to some missing letter sounds and identification skills, sounding out can still be a huge challenge. We have tried two different apps to assist in this process. Moreover, we have two different scenarios for implementing these apps. Scenario 1--only one teacher With only one teacher in the classroom, sometimes it is difficult to assist students in editing their writing. This is where they can use the Google Search App or the Dragon Dictation app. When we are writing our sloppy copies, students are to underline words they are not sure how to spell. When they move onto editing, they can use either app to say the underlined word. Google Search and/or Dragon Dictation will turn their dictated word into text. Scenario 2--Reluctant writers For those students that are lacking some letter ID and sound skills, we use the Dragon Dictation app. Students are able to dictate a sentence at a time. The app will then change their dictation into text. *This may take some practice. Speaking slowly and close to the microphone helps with the accuracy in which the dictation is converted to text. With teaching 1st graders how to read, sometimes having students listen to their own voice while reading can be very beneficial. This helps them see if they are reading like a robot, word by word or paying attention to punctuation. Parents that are not familiar with the term fluency or reading with intonation can have a hard time understanding some "teacher" talk about reading. This is where the Educreations app comes into play. My 1st graders are becoming experts with the Educreations app. We keep digital portfolios throughout the school year. One element that we keep in the portfolio is their development with reading. Moreover, we use these portfolios to show parents what fluency sounds like as well as how reading with intonation can impact the meaning of sentences. Below is how we use the Educreations app for cataloging our reading development. You can take the link and place into the digital portfolio. We use Evernote to create our digital portfolios. You can even take the link and send it to parents. They can open the link to view/listen to their child's fluency. **Students are limited to sharing links only. **You are able to get the embed code if you save as "public" and are not signed in as a student. Below is an embedded sample. We had the great privilege of using Skype to chat with author Howard Binkow. My 1st graders got the chance to find out how Howard got started with his writing. We found out that it has taken him a total of seven years to produce all the Howard B. Wigglebottom books.
During our chat, Howard Binkow shared the book Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns about Bullies. You can see this interactive book along with many others on the We Do Listen Website. After listening to the interactive book, Howard even shared a quiz with my students. One new word we learned was "bystander." After our chat, we were able to talk as a class about what it means to be a bystander in bullying. Not only did we get to learn about Howard B. Wigglebottom and bullies, but Howard shared with us a clip that could possibly be on TV. All my first graders agreed it would make a great TV show. One other element that we got to explore was the vast amount of resources on the We Do Listen website. Kids can practice making their own Howard B. Wigglebottom books. My 1st graders collaboratively put together their very own after our chat. We will be sharing it once we get done coloring in all the illustrations to go with our story. This chat was a great 1st Skype experience for my first grade class this year. We will be referring back to it many times this school year. In addition, we plan to Tweet some questions for Howard B. Wigglebottom to answer for us. If you get the chance to have Howard Binkow chat with your class, I would highly recommend it. You can find out more about setting up a chat by visiting the website We Do Listen. We have been learning all about short vowel sounds. During this time we have been working to sort pictures based on their middle vowel sound. We used the app Pic Collage to utilize our iPads, do a little formative assessment and create some cool collages. I had posted some images around the classroom. Each image modeled a short vowel sound (a,e,i,o,u). Students were to pick one short vowel that they would be hunting for during our center time. Once students chose a short vowel, the mission was set. During center time, students opened the Pic Collage app and created a new canvas. To add an image to the canvas, you simply click anywhere and options are displayed. My students chose the option to use the camera. They would then snap a picture of their short vowel picture. This picture was tacked onto their canvas. They would then repeat this process until they felt like they had found all the pictures for their chosen short vowel. The last two steps were for students to take a picture of themselves as well as add some text. The picture they took of themselves was then added to their canvas. This allowed me to see who created each canvas. The text was added to label which short vowel they were hunting for during this activity. Below is the final product of our short vowel hunt. |
Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |