Well, we did it again. We (my classroom full of wonderful students) learned a French song for a Global Collaboration project that @zbpipe coordinated.
She is completed with her project and here it is.
I love how she has taken the time to include all of her PLN and will continue to throughout the year.
On with the show:
December 16, 2009
December 8, 2009
Google Forms
What a tool! Google Forms, I mean.
Here's the back story. I am the webmaster (IMHO, a bad one at that), and technology support person for my school. I do the school announcements and coordinate the use of some of the technology on campus.
We open classroom doors at 7:50a (school starts at 8:15a) to help students get in early and provide breakfast in the classroom as well as Channel One news. We have been doing all this since we got back from Fall break in October. Personally, I don't mind it at all, because it gives me time to talk to my students, interact with them before the academic day begins. I have found out plenty of information beforehand that has helped tremendously later in the day.
But I have digressed , as usual.
Channel One is a current news program put together by teens for teens. It has many current headline stories and feel good stories of teens helping their local communities.
Here is where Google Forms (GF) come in. I was asked by my principal to create a survey which garnered the effectiveness of the news program and what if any changes could be made to make it better for our students.
Since I had no experience with GF, I decided to use it. I had seen it in action (@web20classroom and @mcteach?) and I liked it.
After opening a help document in Google Help, I got started. I quickly closed the document because GF was so easy to use! The sections for the question text was clear and I could even change the question type AFTER typing in my answers and it saved them. I liked the feature of dragging and dropping the questions in the order I wanted them to appear. The part I liked even more was the theme I could add to the survey. So many to choose from and very colorful.
After I completed it, I did wonder how I would be able to edit it, but quickly found the editing buttons. I had to edit it after more revisions and was able to figure out how to send it in email or as a link to those who did not use Gmail.
My conclusion- I love it! Easy to use, clear and concise, and open to all types of educational uses. I can see it used as a summary device, or a what-do-you-think response collector.
Do you have any other uses for Google Forms? Let me know in the comment section.
Here's the back story. I am the webmaster (IMHO, a bad one at that), and technology support person for my school. I do the school announcements and coordinate the use of some of the technology on campus.
We open classroom doors at 7:50a (school starts at 8:15a) to help students get in early and provide breakfast in the classroom as well as Channel One news. We have been doing all this since we got back from Fall break in October. Personally, I don't mind it at all, because it gives me time to talk to my students, interact with them before the academic day begins. I have found out plenty of information beforehand that has helped tremendously later in the day.
But I have digressed , as usual.
Channel One is a current news program put together by teens for teens. It has many current headline stories and feel good stories of teens helping their local communities.
Here is where Google Forms (GF) come in. I was asked by my principal to create a survey which garnered the effectiveness of the news program and what if any changes could be made to make it better for our students.
Since I had no experience with GF, I decided to use it. I had seen it in action (@web20classroom and @mcteach?) and I liked it.
After opening a help document in Google Help, I got started. I quickly closed the document because GF was so easy to use! The sections for the question text was clear and I could even change the question type AFTER typing in my answers and it saved them. I liked the feature of dragging and dropping the questions in the order I wanted them to appear. The part I liked even more was the theme I could add to the survey. So many to choose from and very colorful.
After I completed it, I did wonder how I would be able to edit it, but quickly found the editing buttons. I had to edit it after more revisions and was able to figure out how to send it in email or as a link to those who did not use Gmail.
My conclusion- I love it! Easy to use, clear and concise, and open to all types of educational uses. I can see it used as a summary device, or a what-do-you-think response collector.
Do you have any other uses for Google Forms? Let me know in the comment section.
December 1, 2009
#Edchat 12-1
Tonight I participated in #edchat 12-1.
The topic was
The conversation was very fast and furious. I agreed with most of comments by the other participants. The moderator @web20classroom created a Google Form to fill out to summarize our own thinking of the topic.
You can read more of what was said here, and the archive here.
Below is my personal reflection.
Necessary skills- flexible in the moment, rigid to stay on task, wide enough to cover all personal, social, and academic aspects of a single student, narrow enough to care for that student, Able to learn with students, unable to leave the students alone to learn, give every student the possibility to learn, withhold the ability to give up on an unmotivated student.
I believe all these are important because we are the models for students.
Skills that should be de-emphasized - Teaching with a script, excellent thinking inside The Box.
Skills that should be considered and valued - Caring, sharing, collaboration with other teachers, ability to let others in and be transparent.
Closing thoughts- All teachers need to be open-minded and willing to take risks. It does take time and effort to adjust to change, but it is worth it.
What do you think are the Primary Skills of a 21st Century Educator?
The topic was
What are the Primary Skills Of 21st Century Educators?
The conversation was very fast and furious. I agreed with most of comments by the other participants. The moderator @web20classroom created a Google Form to fill out to summarize our own thinking of the topic.
You can read more of what was said here, and the archive here.
Below is my personal reflection.
Necessary skills- flexible in the moment, rigid to stay on task, wide enough to cover all personal, social, and academic aspects of a single student, narrow enough to care for that student, Able to learn with students, unable to leave the students alone to learn, give every student the possibility to learn, withhold the ability to give up on an unmotivated student.
I believe all these are important because we are the models for students.
Skills that should be de-emphasized - Teaching with a script, excellent thinking inside The Box.
Skills that should be considered and valued - Caring, sharing, collaboration with other teachers, ability to let others in and be transparent.
Closing thoughts- All teachers need to be open-minded and willing to take risks. It does take time and effort to adjust to change, but it is worth it.
What do you think are the Primary Skills of a 21st Century Educator?
November 27, 2009
Global Collaboration Animoto Project
We were a part of an international project. My students were very excited. I didn't tell them what it was about, at first. I played Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands", then we read the lyrics. We discussed, at length, the message it has for us. We did some brainstorming of possible pictures we could draw that would show what we could do to change the world . Next, we actually drew the pictures of our thoughts and ideas.
Here is the Animoto Project we worked on with 3 other international classrooms: Jen Deyenberg, Picture Butte, AB, CA; Zoe Branigan-Pipe, Hamilton, ON, CA; Mike Poluk, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CA.
Please view the video, comment and share it with other teachers and students.
Here is the Animoto Project we worked on with 3 other international classrooms: Jen Deyenberg, Picture Butte, AB, CA; Zoe Branigan-Pipe, Hamilton, ON, CA; Mike Poluk, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CA.
Please view the video, comment and share it with other teachers and students.
November 25, 2009
Perfect work
You knew I would be posting a commercial here some time and here it is
Thanks @larryferlazzo for the link.
Thanks @larryferlazzo for the link.
November 24, 2009
Reflection-GW/CFL/THINK!
I begin writing this knowing I won't be able to finish it in one sitting as I usually do, but here goes.
Since we last met, many things have happened. I got more Google Wave skills under my belt, as well as invites. I have increased my following count n Twitter, because I need to branch out more. I have read many blogs dealing with various topics that made me smile, laugh and cry.
I'm sorry no links to them now.
Today, Tuesday, I want to participate in an #edchat topic for once so I can be a part of a larger conversation. Here is the link to the topic in Tweetchat just in case you want to be a part of it, too.
Sunday, I learned more about the Canadian Football League (CFL). I LOVE it! I watched it online, no I'm not telling where. The game I saw was the Calgary Stampeders v Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was a pretty good game. The winner punched its ticket to the the Grey Cup (CFL version of the NFL SuperBowl, also the 2nd oldest championship series next to the NHL Stanley Cup) The winner: Saskatchewan Roughriders. They had to come from behind to win. I watched it with my boy on my lap for part of the time, but tweeted with @jdeyenberg (surprised?!) during the game. We had a great time. Even @jkdham and @kathycassidy got in the fun. I will be watching the Grey Cup this coming Sunday. Thanks Jen!
OH! I remember now! My class completed its THINK Project. I have to put together the pictures into an Animoto this week. I'll vent about it in a future post. I say this _______________________________________________________________.
(Taught not to say anything if I have nothing good to say) I will reflect on the lesson and tell you later and send you a video.
Project number 2 is coming up. Here is the tweet I received from @zbpipe.
Join my flat class in singing a French song (D'où viens-tu, bergère) with your class.Collaborative video with holiday message, world wide.
I mentioned it to my classes and they were excited to join. So, we will be learning the French song to sing with other classes from around the world.
One more thing, I'm so glad to have Discovery Education Streaming. It has made my electricity lessons more exciting and understandable for my students. They have really taken to the terms and comcepts and are ready to get to Magnetism.
If you'd like a list of the videos I used in my class, please leave a comment and contact info. I'm happy to share.
Thanks for coming back and reading.
On to new and old things alike. I'll be back with more to say.
(BTW, I was able to write this in one sitting, YEAH!)
Since we last met, many things have happened. I got more Google Wave skills under my belt, as well as invites. I have increased my following count n Twitter, because I need to branch out more. I have read many blogs dealing with various topics that made me smile, laugh and cry.
I'm sorry no links to them now.
Today, Tuesday, I want to participate in an #edchat topic for once so I can be a part of a larger conversation. Here is the link to the topic in Tweetchat just in case you want to be a part of it, too.
Sunday, I learned more about the Canadian Football League (CFL). I LOVE it! I watched it online, no I'm not telling where. The game I saw was the Calgary Stampeders v Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was a pretty good game. The winner punched its ticket to the the Grey Cup (CFL version of the NFL SuperBowl, also the 2nd oldest championship series next to the NHL Stanley Cup) The winner: Saskatchewan Roughriders. They had to come from behind to win. I watched it with my boy on my lap for part of the time, but tweeted with @jdeyenberg (surprised?!) during the game. We had a great time. Even @jkdham and @kathycassidy got in the fun. I will be watching the Grey Cup this coming Sunday. Thanks Jen!
OH! I remember now! My class completed its THINK Project. I have to put together the pictures into an Animoto this week. I'll vent about it in a future post. I say this _______________________________________________________________.
(Taught not to say anything if I have nothing good to say) I will reflect on the lesson and tell you later and send you a video.
Project number 2 is coming up. Here is the tweet I received from @zbpipe.
Join my flat class in singing a French song (D'où viens-tu, bergère) with your class.Collaborative video with holiday message, world wide.
I mentioned it to my classes and they were excited to join. So, we will be learning the French song to sing with other classes from around the world.
One more thing, I'm so glad to have Discovery Education Streaming. It has made my electricity lessons more exciting and understandable for my students. They have really taken to the terms and comcepts and are ready to get to Magnetism.
If you'd like a list of the videos I used in my class, please leave a comment and contact info. I'm happy to share.
Thanks for coming back and reading.
On to new and old things alike. I'll be back with more to say.
(BTW, I was able to write this in one sitting, YEAH!)
November 13, 2009
Mobile Blogging/Crash/#Fail
Well, I guess I'll have to translate the last two posts.
"I am trying a different feature within Blogger. The mobile blogger. So I'm on my phone laying in bed composing this. Not sure why I'm doing it now, but glad to lay down for a while. Anyone know of a good way to recover a crashed laptop hard drive? I have much info on it I'd like to recover."
Guess the mobile didn't work so well. About two minutes after sending the post from my phone I got a message saying the post made it to my blog. hmmm... no, it didn't do it correctly.
Guess it is another thing I have to figure out soon.
"I am trying a different feature within Blogger. The mobile blogger. So I'm on my phone laying in bed composing this. Not sure why I'm doing it now, but glad to lay down for a while. Anyone know of a good way to recover a crashed laptop hard drive? I have much info on it I'd like to recover."
Guess the mobile didn't work so well. About two minutes after sending the post from my phone I got a message saying the post made it to my blog. hmmm... no, it didn't do it correctly.
Guess it is another thing I have to figure out soon.
November 11, 2009
Mobi-Twit-Moto
I finally get to post what has been going on. I'll have to break it down in to sections (as normal)
Interwrite Mobi - Well, i took some time to get to know it and what do you know?! It's features are very similar to SMART Notebook! There are some differences: location of buttons, submenus, interactivity modes, nice additional features that I'll discuss later. All I had to do was sit down and take 15 minutes nad just look throught the buttons and play with a few of the features.
Reminds me of other teachers. 1) Some are not taking the time to even LOOK. I believe if they just take time and LOOK at the different tools they have at hand they could develop an interest in it, use it themselves and then use it effectively with students. 2) Others teacher won't TOUCH the different tools. They have been to the "trainings" and used it at that time, but then just leave them alone. They don't take the next step in using it themselves which will hopefully translate into using it with students.
I have read a lot about educators, admin and faculty, saying things like, "Oh, that is great for you. Keep it up and I'll make sure you have all you need. But, I'll come to you for help if I use it myself." What do you mean "IF?" It should be "WHEN."
(take a breath) Moving on.
Twitter/PLN- I have really enjoyed my PLN in twitter. I received a tweet from @frankiesuther on 11-3 about static electricity!
It was exactly what we were beginning to do in my classroom. They loved the balloon, sweater and wall simulation. They could see the microscopic charges moving from one object to the other. I saw plenty lights come on during this activity.
After school, I looked at the site a little more to see what else it had. I found Electric Field Hockey! Electric fields were next on the list so I downloaded the simulation and used it as a research/assessment activity. The students were amazed. At one time, every student wanted to come to the board and try it. In one class, the novelty very quickly wore off and several students were not paying attention. I tried my best to bring them back into the conversation we were having, but no go and more students quickly dropped out. So, unfortunately I had to stop the simulation and move on. I felt a bit frustrated, but I know that whole group discussions leave out quieter students and those who don't have the necessary background or even the words to use during the discussion. So I will bring it back at a time when smaller groups can play with it and discuss it among themselves.
BTW, my other class, ATE IT UP! Every student had eyes on the board and trying to figure out how to win. On the 12th try, a student won. The whole class cheered for her and she was beaming from ear to ear. It was great to see the community lift up a fellow student.
We worked on a collaborative project with 2... (if you have been reading this blog you can probably guess who. I won't tell you right now). This project is about Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands". We were given the the task to create some artwork and captions that fit the last two stanzas of the song and send them to be compile for an Animoto video. Since we have made a few of these videos before, we were in. We listened to the song a few times and discussed what we could do to change the world with our hands. I was kind of surprised that it took more time to draw out of them what THEY could do, but I believe the majority began to understand and were busy drawing and writing. I'll put a link to the finished product in a future post.
Did you guess who yet? I'll tell you... later.
I have more to share but realized that some of them are on the left! Check out the embedded widgets on the left and keep coming back or subscribe to the RSS feed. You won't be disappointed
Interwrite Mobi - Well, i took some time to get to know it and what do you know?! It's features are very similar to SMART Notebook! There are some differences: location of buttons, submenus, interactivity modes, nice additional features that I'll discuss later. All I had to do was sit down and take 15 minutes nad just look throught the buttons and play with a few of the features.
Reminds me of other teachers. 1) Some are not taking the time to even LOOK. I believe if they just take time and LOOK at the different tools they have at hand they could develop an interest in it, use it themselves and then use it effectively with students. 2) Others teacher won't TOUCH the different tools. They have been to the "trainings" and used it at that time, but then just leave them alone. They don't take the next step in using it themselves which will hopefully translate into using it with students.
I have read a lot about educators, admin and faculty, saying things like, "Oh, that is great for you. Keep it up and I'll make sure you have all you need. But, I'll come to you for help if I use it myself." What do you mean "IF?" It should be "WHEN."
(take a breath) Moving on.
Twitter/PLN- I have really enjoyed my PLN in twitter. I received a tweet from @frankiesuther on 11-3 about static electricity!
It was exactly what we were beginning to do in my classroom. They loved the balloon, sweater and wall simulation. They could see the microscopic charges moving from one object to the other. I saw plenty lights come on during this activity.
After school, I looked at the site a little more to see what else it had. I found Electric Field Hockey! Electric fields were next on the list so I downloaded the simulation and used it as a research/assessment activity. The students were amazed. At one time, every student wanted to come to the board and try it. In one class, the novelty very quickly wore off and several students were not paying attention. I tried my best to bring them back into the conversation we were having, but no go and more students quickly dropped out. So, unfortunately I had to stop the simulation and move on. I felt a bit frustrated, but I know that whole group discussions leave out quieter students and those who don't have the necessary background or even the words to use during the discussion. So I will bring it back at a time when smaller groups can play with it and discuss it among themselves.
BTW, my other class, ATE IT UP! Every student had eyes on the board and trying to figure out how to win. On the 12th try, a student won. The whole class cheered for her and she was beaming from ear to ear. It was great to see the community lift up a fellow student.
We worked on a collaborative project with 2... (if you have been reading this blog you can probably guess who. I won't tell you right now). This project is about Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands". We were given the the task to create some artwork and captions that fit the last two stanzas of the song and send them to be compile for an Animoto video. Since we have made a few of these videos before, we were in. We listened to the song a few times and discussed what we could do to change the world with our hands. I was kind of surprised that it took more time to draw out of them what THEY could do, but I believe the majority began to understand and were busy drawing and writing. I'll put a link to the finished product in a future post.
Did you guess who yet? I'll tell you... later.
I have more to share but realized that some of them are on the left! Check out the embedded widgets on the left and keep coming back or subscribe to the RSS feed. You won't be disappointed
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