Once skill that is being practiced in fifth grade right now is creating pie charts. We have been talking about creating fractions, turning them into decimals, then into percents to create a pie chart using a template. We used Poll Everywhere, SMART Notebook and our LearnPads to create an authentic experience for creating our own pie charts. Poll Everywhere To begin the activity, I create a total of five polls to have my class complete. I grouped them within the Poll Everywhere dashboard and labeled it as Pie Charts. Students navigated to my custom URL to complete my polls. One of the five polls was displayed on the SMARTBoard while students completed the survey on their LearnPads. *Below is an image of what my students would see on their tablets. The students were able to see the results in real time as we took the poll. Once everyone in class had made a choice, I used the screen capture tool in my SMART Notebook software to snip the results and quickly put into a slide within SMART Notebook. SMART Notebook After using the snipping tool within SMART Notebook, I change the poll for students to continue completing all five of the polls. After each poll, I used the snipping tool to capture each result and put into the SMART Notebook software. After all the polls were added into the SMART Notebook software, there is an option to export it as a PDF. This would be very similar to exporting a PowerPoint or Google Slideshow as a PDF. LearnPAD Once the file was exported to a PDF, I logged into my LearnPad Portal online. Within the dashboard, where I can see all my students' tablets, I have the option to "Hand out" a file. I selected the "Pie Chart" PDF file and it was automatically sent to all the students' LearnPads. This allowed all of them to access the PDF results on their LearnPads. Pie Charts To wrap up the assignment, students used the data gathered from the Poll Everywhere Polls to create their own pie charts. They used the template above to correctly divide their pie charts. They had to create fractions of the data, convert to decimals and then finally into percents. Once they had the percents, there were able to correctly divide their circles into the correct portions. The students really enjoyed the chance of creating their own data together using Poll Everywhere and then having the chance to turn it into pie charts. Share This:
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Our target skill for this week was conclusions. We began by watching the YouTube video below. After watching the video, we talked about drawing a conclusion. We were able to conclude that the cake was made for his mother. After our brief discussion, we wanted to practice our skill. I put together some QR Codes to assist with practicing conclusions. I had my students use their LearnPads to scan codes using the ScanLife app. In addition, I had created a quiz using Socrative. Students opened up both apps and were able to toggle back and forth. They scanned a code with the ScanLife app and then provided their answer within the Socrative app. The QR Codes provided three of four statements. These statements were clues that students could use to conclude what was taking place. For example, 1) Your mom takes your temperature, 2) You have to stay in bed all day, 3) You eat soup. Based on these clues, a student could conclude that you are sick. If you would like to use the QR Codes, you can access them here. There are a total of six "mystery conclusions" for students to solve. You can add the Socrative quiz by using the following: SOC #: 13411210 This activity got them out of their seats as well as provided some practice with drawing conclusions. During our reading group rotations I had students apply their understanding of conclusions by creating their own mystery conclusions. To accomplish this, students used iClipart for Schools. They located three to six pictures that they could use as clues for an activity of their choice. Once they had their pictures, they opened up the Pic Collage app and created a collage of their three to six pictures. Their collage was saved to their Google Drive accounts. The final step was to create a new post using Kidblog. They titled their post Conclusions and inserted their collage from their Google Drive account. Tomorrow we will be spending time during reading rotations leaving comments on each post about conclusions. We will leave our "conclusion" guess in the comment box on each of our classmates. This process of creating their own conclusion collage required them to think critically about which pictures should be used to represent their activity. In addition, they had to apply their understanding of conclusions in order to leave a comment on each others' blog post. Below are some example collages that my students created during this process. Share This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. One challenge facing any teacher/building/district with tablets is establishing a workflow. How do I get material to students as well as get it back from them. Often times a cloud storage tool comes into play. Google Drive offers many scripts for creating and monitoring shared folders. This is great for GAFE schools, but what about non-GAFE schools? If you are lucky enough to have the newest version of the iPad, you are able to use AirDrop to quickly distribute work to your students. Furthermore, your students can use AirDrop to send the completed work back to the teacher. The pitfall of this is those schools that have older version of the iPad with no AirDrop. The LearnPad offers a very useful feature called Hand in/Hand out. While my class has been using Dropbox as the hub for our paperless workflow, we have been experimenting more and more with the Hand in/Hand out feature. Hand in/Hand OUt Below is an example of how quick and easy distributing work to students can be using the hand in/hand out feature. During our math class we were learning about number grid puzzles. Below is an example. I modeled a few problems to demonstrate the connection between a puzzle you might do at home with mom/dad and a number grid puzzle. We talked about the number grid being the completed puzzle, but we had to fill in these funny shaped pieces with their missing numbers. After modeling a few, we did some together to practice applying our understanding of patterns on the number grids. My first graders were picking up on this new skill and needed some individual practice to check for understanding. I used the Windows snipping tool to quickly cut out only the puzzle pieces that I wanted from the slide below. Once snipped, I can save them as an image. After I had snipped each number grid puzzle piece, I opened Word and created a new document. I inserted both snipped images into the document and then saved the Word document as a PDF file. I then opened up the LearnPad portal. From my dashboard view, I was able to select the devices that I wanted to send this PDF file for students to complete. This was especially nice since some students were absent. I was able to select only the tablets that were present that day. I clicked on "select a file to send" under the Hand Out option. A box appears to locate the file on your computer. Once you find and select the file, a progress bar is displayed to show the upload progress. In addition, you will see little paper icons shoot to each tablet icon in your dashboard letting you know that those tablets have received the file. A notification pops up on student tablets letting them know they have a new handout. They simply click the notification and the file automatically opens up in the annotation app for my students to annotate. I would love to say that I always have everything printed or saved for students to work on. However, you never know when a teachable moment will arise. Since my students quickly grasped this new skill, I needed a quick informal assessment to determine if anyone was still struggling. Using the snipping tool, Word and the Hand out feature of the LearnPad, I was able to create and distribute an assessment in less than two minutes. One big reason I think the LearnPad stands out above the iPad with the workflow management is that you don't have to buy a brand new tablet to have this feature like you do if you want AirDrop on the iPad. Share This:**If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. Assessing: 3 optionsI think it is a safe bet to say that all teachers use assessment tools to gather data and inform instructional decisions. Whether it is formal, digital or just observations, assessing student understanding is weaved into a teacher's pedagogy. With time being a critical asset to all teachers, having some digital options for collecting data can be a huge time saver. As I have implemented both the LearnPad and iPad, I have tried a variety of digital tools that can assist in gathering that valuable information to guide instructional decisions. However, the biggest game changer to date has been having a connected device in the hands of all my students. Regardless of the LearnPad or iPad, the digital tools I explain below are one piece of the puzzle to promote 1:1 learning environments. Option 1: SocrativeWhether Socrative for IOS or for Android, this tool allows you to create a digital classroom to collect feedback from students. Students do not have to register. They simply type in the virtual room number of their teacher's classroom. You can create multiple choice, true/false or even short answer assessments. One nice feature is the ability in add pictures to your questions. You can give quizzes in self or teacher paced modes. It is a very simple and intuitive user interface for creating and administering assessments. You can even share your created assessments. A popular feature is running assessments in "Space Race" mode which creates a little competition. When assessments are completed, you can choose to email the report or even save it as an Excel file. Socrative works on almost any connected device. Option 2: Exit TicketExit Ticket is a new tool that I have only recently started using. There is an IOS as well as Android version of the app. The more I use this tool the more I love it. It's user interface for the teacher is a little more complex than Socrative. However, it is very feature rich and customizable based on your needs. Below is a screenshot of a completed assessment. One amazing option of Exit Ticket is the ability to view the same information below in real time as the assessment is being administered. Much like Socrative, you can set up multiple choice, true/false and free response. Socrative allowed you to insert images with your questions. However, Exit Ticket not only lets you insert images with your questions but also with your answers as well. Option 3: Google forms + FLubarooFlubaroo is a script that auto checks submitted Google Forms. This is definitely a prime example of working smarter and not harder. Google Forms allows you many options for creating assessments. You can add videos, images, multiple choice, short answer and more for your questions. You can even have multiple pages and create actions based on how a student answers a question. So if a student answered one question incorrect, you could have it take them to a second page with some similar questions to provide some alternative options to demonstrate their understanding. We have used this combination for the entire school year. Students watch the daily math lesson and then take a quiz via Google Forms. I run the Flubaroo script which auto grades the quiz. From this information, I am able to group students in math based on their needs according to the Google Form assessment. IN CLOSING These three options are great digital assessment tools to add to any teacher's toolbox. Just like any piece of tech, there is no Swiss Army knife application that does it all. I use a combination of Google Forms/Flubaroo and Exit Ticket based on the skills and curricular areas I want to assess. As I mentioned earlier, I think these three tools help reinforce the benefits of student learning and teacher pedagogy in a 1:1 environment. Not that this couldn't be done in environments that are not 1:1, but the ability to gather real time data puts those classrooms at an advantage when implemented with integrity. **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. We have been learning about the vowel digraph "oo" as in the word cook. We practiced with this vowel digraph as a whole group frequently throughout the week. In addition, students had the chance to demonstrate their understanding of this new digraph by creating a picture quiz for their classmates to complete. Above is an example of a completed product made by a student. There were pictures posted around the classroom. Students had to snap a total of three pictures. One of the pictures had to be an example of the "oo" digraph while the remaining two pictures did not. When they were done snapping pictures, they had to label each picture with a number. Their final picture collage was added to their blogs. The next day, students spent time looking at all their peers' posts about the "oo" digraph. They left comments with their guess as to which picture was an example of the "oo" digraph. By completing this activity, students had to apply their understanding of the digraph as they sorted through pictures. In addition, by posting it to the blog, students had to differentiate between the images as they made their guess as to which number/picture combination represented the "oo" digraph. So how did my students accomplish this activity. I needed a way for them to snap the pictures, put all the pictures on the same page as well as be able to write a number under each image (1, 2, 3). Check out the methods below that could be used on both the iPad and LearnPad. Pic collage--LearnPad or iPad PicCollage is both an IOS and Android app. It allows you to snap pictures or add them from your library/gallery. You can then add text to your collage. Below are the steps for creating the collage that my students would have followed. When students had the image saved to their camera roll, they would then open up their blogging app (Edublogs on the LearnPad and Kidblog on the iPad). They would then publish a new post with their newly created collage. LearnPad: Lensoo Create App Below is an example of using the Lensoo Create app to create a pic collage. You are not recording with this screen casting app but using it as a blank canvas. You can see the directions below for completing the "oo" assignment with Lensoo Create instead of the Pic Collage app. iPad: Educreations App Below is an example of using the Educreations app to create a pic collage. You are not recording with this screen casting app, but using it as a blank canvas. You can see the directions below for completing the "oo" assignment with Educreations instead of the Pic Collage app. Share This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. As my students have been using the tablets in my classroom, we have been working on a paperless workflow. You can see how the paperless workflow can be done on the LearnPad as well as on the iPad. When my students have finished annotating a PDF assignment, the app they use allows them to export their completed annotation as a .jpg file. This file is saved into their Dropbox folder which is shared with my personal account. By having students save their completed work into the shared folder, I am able to access their files on my own devices, record my feedback and export the video feedback back into each students' folder. There are two methods that I have used to complete this process. I have used the Explain Everything app on my iPad. This app allows you to bring images in directly from Dropbox. This means I don't need to save the images to my camera roll first. Once I have the image opened in the Explain Everything app, I can annotate over the image and use a point to highlight items that need some brief reteaching or praise. Once my feedback is done, I then export the finished product into the student's folder. **The reason I chose the iPad as the winner was based on Explain Everything being accessible on the iPad. It is an Android app as well, but there is a different process for obtaining paid apps on the LearnPad marketplace. One problem with Explain Everything is that it cost money to purchase the app. Another alternative that I have used is the TechSmith Snagit extension for Chrome that recently enabled screencasting. I am able to open to open Chrome, open the web version of Dropbox, open the student's file, view the original size of their file, open the Snagit recording option and provide my video feedback . The only downside to this option is that when I am done, the video is automatically saved to Google Drive. This means that I have to go into my student's Dropbox folder and upload the video file into their folder so they can see the video feedback I provided. If we used Google Drive as our cloud storage workflow option, this method would work seamlessly. It still is a great FREE option for providing video feedback. Explain Everything OptionTechSmith Snagit optionShare This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. My first graders have been working on writing dialogue. This can be a tricky task for any grade level. Figuring out where to put quotation marks, commas, periods, questions marks can be a nightmare. In an attempt to make this more relative to their lives as well as integrate our tablets, we utilized a couple apps to create short videos showcasing dialogue. I will outline the process for both the LearnPad and iPad below, as well as add a video explanation at the end of this post. In a nutshell, students used a paper template to record a question they would ask mom or dad as well as their mom or dad's response. After having their paper script, they used the Tellagami app to create their avatars and record their paper scripts. After creating their two Tellagami videos, they used a video editing app to mash both video clips together. Their merged video clips were then posted to their blogs to showcase their understanding of dialogue when writing. LearnPad: Dialogue Writing Steps Students began by writing out their scripts using a paper template. You can see it below and download it for yourself here. After completing their paper script, they opened up the Tellagami App. This app allows you to create an avatar. After you have created your avatar you are able to record up to a 30 second message which your avatar will speak when all done. After recording a message for both of their characters (themselves and mom or dad), they opened up the Movie Studio Video Maker app to merge both of their video clips into one final movie. Once they had both video clips merged into one movie, they then opened up Edublogs to post their video and share their understanding with dialogue. Below is a sample that a student created. **Within the video editing app, you can trim your videos. We could have trimmed the Tellagami brand at the end of each video. However, with this being our first experience with the video editing app, we chose to keep the steps simple. iPad: Dialogue Writing Steps The steps on the iPad would be identical up until video editing. Students would have started with their paper scripts. Once their paper scripts were done, they would then open the Tellagami app, customize their avatars, record their message and save to the camera roll. When they got to the video editing, they would open up the Perfect Video app. Once opened, they would create a new project. Once in their new project, they would be able to add in their two video clips. After they had merged their video clips into one movie file and exported it to their camera roll, they would then open up their Kidblog app. Once in the Kidblog app, they would create a new post, add their movie file from the camera roll and publish their post to share their understanding of dialogue. Video Comparison of processShare This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. My first graders have been working with bossy "r" combinations. Recently we spent some time sorting images based on having the bossy "r" vowel sound or not. Check out my previous post about Bossy "R" sorting. To continue integrating the LearnPads into our daily instruction, students created Pic Collages of images representing bossy "r" combinations. The images we used are accessible below. These images were posted around the classroom. Before starting, students had to determine which bossy "r" combination they would be "hunting" for during this activity (ar-images, or-images, ir, er, ur-images). After they decided on a bossy "r" combination, they used the Pic Collage app to snap pictures of only those images that represented their chosen bossy "r" combination. Once their Pic Collage was created, it was then posted to their blog. The following day, students spent time accessing their peers' blog posts with their Pic Collages. It was then their job to comment with their guess as to which bossy "r" combination was represented in the Pic Collage. LearnPad: Bossy "R" Pic COllages Steps for Bossy "R" pic collages Below are the apps we used on the LearnPad. 1) Open the Pic Collage app to get started. 2) Snap pictures using the built in camera. Click share icon when done with collage. 3) Share to Edublogs. 4) Give it a title and tap the airplane to publish live. iPad: Bossy "R" Pic Collages Steps for Bossy "R" Pic Collages Below are the apps we would use on the iPad. *The steps for creating the collage would be identical to the LearnPad until you got to the blog post step. One big difference would be saving your completed Pic Collage to the camera roll before being able to post it to Kidblog. Once the image was saved to your camera roll, you would then be able to open up the Kidblog app and create a new post. Insert the collage from the camera roll, give the post a title and click Publish to make it live. Share This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. When learning to read in first grade, we spend time learning about the bossy "r" or "r" controlled vowels. To utilize our tablets and provide practice, we completed a sorting activity with bossy "r" combinations. The goal of this activity was for students to demonstrate their understanding of bossy "ar" combinations by sorting pictures based on having the bossy "ar" sound or not. Students would insert a background image into a sceencasting app. After the background image was inserted, students then inserted some pre-selected images. Once these images were inserted, students spent time sorting the pictures into a bossy "r" or "other" category. When all images were sorted, a screen shot was captured and in turn posted to their blog. The process is highlighted below for both the LearnPad and iPad. LearnPad: Bossy "R" Sorting I had to do some backend work prior to this activity so that the images were all accessible for students. You can download the images that I used by clicking here. We used the apps below to complete this sorting activity on the LearnPad. Steps on the LearnPad 1) Open the Lensoo app and click create new recording. 2) Click on the landscape icon to insert images from Dropbox. 3) Sort pictures and then take a screenshot. 4) Access your screenshot from the Gallery. 5) Share image to Edublog. Student Sample of completed sort iPad: Bossy "R" Sorting The backend work for setting up images would be identical on the iPad. The big differences would be the apps used for this activity. Below are the apps that would be used on the iPad. *You could use Edublogs as the blog platform as well. My students are familiar with Kidblog on the iPad so we would have used Kidblog to post. Steps on the iPad 1) Open up the Educreations app and click New Lesson. 2) Click the landscape icon to access Dropbox. Insert background first then all other images. 3) After images are sorted capture a screen shot. 4) Open the Kidblog app, New Post, add photo from Library. 5) Add a title and click Publish to make it live. Share This: **If you are unfamiliar with this project, check out my first post introducing my pilot project with LearnPads and comparing them to iPads. I had previously posted about using QR Codes with the LearnPad for my students to collaboratively build compound words. While we continued to work on our understanding of compound words, my students used the LearnPads to show their understanding of building compound words independently. To do this, students used the following three apps: 1) Lensoo Create 2) Dropbox 3) Edublogs Lensoo Create This app was used as a white board for students to manipulate pictures and annotate the names of each picture. Dropbox This app allowed us a simple method of sharing images to the devices which in turn made it possible for students to insert images into the Lensoo Create app. Once images were inserted, they were able to manipulate and write to create their compound words. Edublogs When students had finished moving their images around and labeling them to show compound words, they would take a screen shot, open up their Edublogs app and create a new post. They would insert their screenshot and publish their post. Video Tutorial of process on LearnPad & IPAdStudent Samples of final productShare This: |
Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |