Help Feed the Hungry

This isn't kindergarten level, but I thought I would let everyone know about this program. It is a simple way to contribute to the hungry. When you go to www.freerice.com you are given a vocabulary word and have to choose the word that best matches. Rice is donated by sponsors for each correct answer. Within a short period of time I donated 2000 pieces of rice. It is an activity that keeps a mind sharp while helping to feed others. My son (8th grade) said he spent some time in his computer class helping to feed the hungry. He was proud that he helped out and I am happy he spent time working on his vocabulary. If you have time, it might be something to try.

XO Laptops

I have had some time to surf the internet while on vacation and I found this XO Laptop program. They have a buy one/get one program. I decided to participate and one laptop will be sent to a child in another country and I will get one for my classroom. I took some time to research them and it looks like it is a great program. The laptops are durable, have long battery life, connect to other XO laptops and have some programs on them. I am anxious for our computer to come so the students can use it. I am hoping we will be able to do some awesome things with it. I will post an update when it comes. Unfortunately, the program ends Dec. 31st, but if anyone else is interested maybe the deadline will be extended (it was extended once) or they may open up the buy one/get one program again. I think you would still be able to contribute money and have one sent to a child in another country.

Reflections on using technology in the classroom

I am on Christmas break and I am taking some time to update the blogs and website. I have been reflecting on technology use in the classroom. While I love teaching using technology and know the students like it too, there have been a few frustrations. One frustration is time. Finding the time to update the sites has been challenging. In looking over my work, I see that technology took a backseat to other things in November and December. I have incorporated technology into my lessons and use it every day when teaching, but I have not updated the sites as much as I would have liked. This was due to many factors. The writing I would have had the students do for the classroom blog was replaced by a writing for a different purpose (one more important). We were writing to one of our classmates who was very ill and was hospitalized for a few weeks. Then, we had assessments to do and parent teacher conferences which took up lots of time in November. Which left us ten days in December before break, but we had 3 snow days and a party, which left us with only 6 days to work. We were so busy with our holiday projects that it was hard to find time to even get our Christmas wishes posted.
The second obstacle was equipment failure. The projector went down in November (Be sure to check the warranty on the projector when you buy it. Fortunately, mine came with a 3 year express warranty and I had it back within a week of sending it out.) While the projector was out we weren't able to use the laptop or the ELMO for our lessons. We were able to borrow the school projector for a couple days. The projector came back as good as new and then, the hard drive on my computer went out. Thank goodness it didn't go down until after conferences and I was able to have it fixed quickly at Nitro computers in town.
When people realized my equipment was down, I was often asked "So, do you still like using technology?" My answer was "yes". Even with the time and equipment obstacles, I really like teaching with technology. The time without the equipment made me realize how much I have come to rely on technology and I found out that the students had come to depend on it and look forward to the lessons we do with the computer and ELMO, too.
My New Year's resolution will be to make sure I update my websites more often and to make sure the students start to blog on their own.

Using ELMO & the projector to share reading strategies

When students are reading to self (Daily 5) I have been walking around the room and noting the reading behaviors of the students. Friday, I noticed that Julia was using a reading strategy we had been working on (using her reading finger, pointing to each word and making sure that what she says matches what she is touching). I stopped and talked with her about what she was doing and asked her if she would share her reading strategy with the class using the ELMO. When we came back from lunch, she was anxious to share and the video shows her demonstration to the class. Using the ELMO and the projector the students were able to see the book and what she was doing better than if she had just sat in front of them in a chair and read the book.

More Uses for ELMO, the projector and the laptop

We (Tammie Lewis, Eileen Walsh and I)had a training after school for teachers who are interested in using ELMO in the classroom. We showed how to hook the ELMO up to the projector and discussed some of the uses in the classroom. Every day I find more things to use the ELMO for.
For example, when we came back from the Snow White play the students took a quick bathroom break while I downloaded the pictures I took at the play. By the time they were done using the restroom and getting drinks, I had a the pictures downloaded and a photoshow made. We then had pictures to help our discussion and retelling of the play. We watched the show, discussed the play and the student of the day picked one of the pictures to put in our daily message. We went on the do the daily message which entails the student of the day telling the message while I type it in Microsoft word. The other students watch as I type. When I am finished typing the message we decide which letters and words we want to target. I print the message, Mrs. Keyser takes the message to the office to make copies and then, 3 to 4 students go up to the board with a pointer and take turns reading the message. The students take turns circling the target items. When we are finished Mrs. Keyser is back and everyone gets a copy of the message to highlight the target items. This is the part that is different from previous years. The students would not have had a chance to take the lesson to the individual level. The technology takes the lesson that I have always done a step further and the students were excited that they had a picture of the play to take home.

Using ELMO-the document camera

Using technology in the classroom enhances lessons I have done in the past. This picture shows one of the ways we use ELMO in the classroom. We build names with letter manipulatives and project them on the wall. The students are able to use the pointer to name letters, count letters, read names. They like to use ELMO to project their work on the screen. It makes it large enough for everyone to see and draws the students' attention to it. Before ELMO, we would have used sentence strips and pocket charts. Using ELMO accomplishes the same tasks, but allows us to view it better. I have also found that it cuts down on preparation time that I would have had before using technology. I would have had to have sentence strips, pocket charts, markers, and scissors ready. Now, I just need the letter manipulatives and we can spell and rearrange the letters with ELMO and the students like being able to use the pointer on the screen. The other students are able to see the words better. I am finding many benefits to using technology in the classroom.

To begin with...

I spent a lot of time exploring the web and looking at what other educators were doing. I took 18 credit hours in technology classes (it helped me to get a raise so I could pay for the equipment) and then I set goals for what I personally wanted to accomplish. The best classes were the Cool Tools classes offered through our own RESD. The great thing about the web and web 2.0 is that everyone is willing to share and offer ideas and suggestions. It seems that everyone is excited about what they are doing and they want to get others involved. When I can remember where an idea came from I will document the source and give the person credit. One site I rely on a lot for ideas is Rachel Boyd's blog. (www.rachelboyd.blogspot.com)She is a teacher in New Zealand and is doing a lot with technology.
Setting goals helps me to focus on what is important to me and what I want to accomplish. There is so much available it can be very overwhelming. I have to focus on my goals so I don't get bogged down. In beginning this journey my goals were to:
make a webpage to improve parent communication
learn more about the web and available technology
integrate technology (in a meaningful way, not for play or superficial, showy lessons). The goal was to increase student achievement and improve my teaching skills.

Equipment I am Using

I have purchased the computer equipment I use in the classroom. I have bought it piece by piece as I can afford it (I also received some of it as gifts from my family). The equipment I currently have:
HP Laptop with a media package
Sony projector (2000 lumens)
ELMO document camera
Kodak digital camera (one for my use and one for student use)
HP Color Scanner/Copier/Printer
Wacom Pen Tablet
Logitech Webcam
RCA Small Wonder Digital Movie Camera (This is awesome. It was inexpensive and is great for short videos. It plugs right into the computer with a USB and the videos can be downloaded quickly.
Accessories: speakers, headphones, microphone
Screen-A 7'x8' frame made out of PVC pipe (by my husband). I sewed green material to a white sheet (kind of like you would make a pillow case) and slipped it over the frame so one side is white to show things on and the other side is green for green screen movies. The cool tools class got me interested in movie making as as a hobby.

Technology in the Classroom

School has begun and I am not just playing with technology. I am finding ways to use it and integrate it throughout the day to enhance my lessons. It is so exciting. Taking lessons that I would normally do and adding a technology piece to enhance them really makes a difference in the students' learning and their involvement in the lessons. I do not have it down yet, but am working on incorporating technology piece by piece. I am not the type of person to publish what I do. I do not feel comfortable putting myself out there for the world to see, but I have been asked by others to document what I am doing so they can learn from it. So, with this blog I am going to attempt to do that. This is just technology use as I have figured it out. There is a lot out there and there is no path to follow. I think about the goals I want to achieve and then look for technology to use to help meet those goals and in future blog entries I will talk about how I am incorporating technology.

My Journey into technology

I have always had at least one computer in the classroom, but never knew how to use it for more than games. Incorporating technology was always something that was on my to do list, but there was always something more pressing to pursue. I have now made it my goal to learn more about technology and how to use technology to teach (not just play games). I began my journey into technology after taking a class through our RESD last summer. It was taught by Marilyn Western and Deb Goodrich. They inspired me to use technology in the classroom. That week I purchased a new laptop and dove in. I made and found powerpoints and was on my way. Before school started, I purchased a projector and set my classroom up to incorporate technology. Little by little I have been adding more and more ways to use technology in my room. In February, after taking another class (taught by Joel Woolston through Marygrove) I added to the equipment in my classroom. I bought a document camera and things really took off. I now had a great technology setup and my students were really excited about learning. In May, I took another class through the RESD with Kay Hauck and Carlene Shortz. I had no idea what the classes were about and wasn't sure if they were even appropriate for kindergaten, but I quickly found out about blogging, wikis, podcasts, fickr and more. Yes, they are apropriate for kindergarten and before the year was up my students had the opportunity to add our class blog twice and were able to access it at home. I am taking more classes this summer and am anxious to see what I can add next.