"Lazy summers seem ideal to students as well as teachers. The school year has been filled with packed schedules and a lot of demands. Unfortunately, that idyllic, lazy summer has a consequence: loss of skills. Summers off are one of the main causes of underachievement in our schools and though it may feel far off, summer is right around the corner. CK-12 has a simple solution. We offer a program that students can use on their phone, tablet or computer that will allow them to do three important things:
http://www.ck12.org/summer/ I've included their flyer about the program, as well as the parent letter. Hopefully, our students will keep their brain "flexed" over the summer.
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Finally, a kid-friendly search engine that is "easy peasy, lemon squeezy"! KIDDLE.coKiddle a visual search engine that is much more user friendly for your students than just "googling" something. It was created using Google's Custom Search, but is not affiliated with Google.
It is a safe search, that has kid-oriented results, with large font and thumbnails, and they don't collect personally identifiable information! Your students can even search for images on Kiddle, just like they would on Google. We have zscaler that filters the internet for us, but Kiddle filters out things that zscaler doesn't. Which makes it even safer for elementary kids. I think it is awesome! For more information on Kiddle, check out this article or Kiddle's "About Kiddle" page. Maker Space is being discussed more and more lately in the #EdTech world. Check out these links/resources for getting started:
CLICK FOR EVEN MORE Maker Space ResourcesTurn your students' writing into an animated video!Plotagon is a free app that allows you to type your script and the avatars will act it out. You can add facial expressions and gestures to the characters as well. You can download it on your computer or your iPad. Check out the video below to see all about Plotagon in 60 seconds! Sound interesting? Go to plotagon.com to find out more!
Google Classroom is a great tool for organizing student work with Google Drive. This video includes a brief tutorial for setting up your Google Classroom, as well as showing you an overview of how Google Classroom works with Google Drive. My favorite part of Google Classroom is the fact that it gives teachers the option to make a copy of the assignment for each student. If students have to make a copy of the teacher's file first, it can be complicated and time consuming! Google Classroom lets you avoid all of that with just the click of a button!
Wilson County Schools has started using Google's resource calendars for staff members to sign up for various equipment. As with all new things, there is an adjustment period.
I've created a screencast to explain how to sign up for resource (iPads, Laptop Cart, etc.) with your Google calendar. Click here to watch the tutorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. This website: http://indianajen.com/2013/10/15/dont-let-google-drive-leave-tire-marks-on-your-lesson-plans/ has some great ideas to keep in mind when using Google Drive with students for the first time.
"...to save yourself from being inundated with electronic documents, you need to be sure that part of your lesson preparation includes effective workflow planning. Otherwise, you may find some tire marks on those carefully constructed lessons as Google Drive’s powerful features careen out of control."
Many schools are using Daily 5 or Words Their Way to incorporate writing and spelling into their ELA curriculum. Sometimes it can be hard to find word work for upper elementary students, and it can be even harder to find a way to incorporate technology.
The site iPaddling through Fourth Grade - Encourage...Engage...Enlighten...Empower was created by a fourth grade teacher in Nebraska. She explains several apps that can be used for word work with upper elementary. I think it would be worth your while to check it out! You can use your Google calendar with the Calendar app that comes on your iPad. You just set up the account in Settings, the same way you set up your email. (If your email has been set up, your calendar is probably already accessible.)
However, if someone has shared a calendar with you (for example, that calendar will not show up on your iPad. An easy way to fix that is to go to: https://www.google.com/calendar/syncselect All you have to do is put a check by the calendars you would like to see on your iPad and click "Save" at the bottom. This works the same way on your iPhone. It has simplified my life. Hopefully, it will simplify yours! :) |
AuthorI am an Instructional Technology Facilitator for 5 elementary schools in Wilson, North Carolina. This is my second year as an ITF, but I have a total of 10 years of experience in education. Archives
April 2016
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