Exploring WatchKnow DLC #4

I have spent a lot of time exploring educational videos on the WatchKnow site.  I have not had a chance to view any with students yet, but have recommended a few to Diane to take a peek at to use with her fifth grade students around fractions when we get back from vacation.  Two of the videos I liked were actually in song form.  The first was called "Fractions Song" (Basic Overview) and is was a song that used an apple pie to discuss what a fraction was.  The words numerator, denominator, improper fraction, and mixed number were sung and the words were also flashed onto the screen.  It was very basic, but a good one!

The next video was called "Fundamental Interactions of Equivalent Fractions" and it was also in song form.  It was a cartoon man rapping about fractions and how to compute equivalent fractions.  It also had pictures, math vocabulary words, and explanations.  I think kids would find it appealing.

The other two fraction videos I would recommend were by the same person.  They were "Changing Improper Fractions into Mixed" and "Changing Mixed Fractions into Improper Numbers".  The man gave a very clear explanation and I liked how he drew illustrations of a mixed number to go along with his explanation and then showed the quick way of multiplying the whole number by the denominator and then adding the numerator to turn the mixed number into an improper fraction.  He did the same for changing an improper fraction into a mixed number.  He told what the 14 and 3 represented in the fraction 14/3 and went on to draw 14 pieces and showed how it takes 3 pieces to turn it into a whole and circled groups of three pieces.  It was a very clear explanation for students.

Lastly, I viewed some videos on multiplication facts and learned some more cool tricks.  I found that the videos not only would be great to show to students, but also were helpful to me as a teacher, in that they gave me ideas on how I could introduce math concepts to my students.  Watching veteran math teachers and college professors introduce concepts in ways I never thought of was very helpful.  This was inexpensive professional development!  

More New Learning DLC#3

So I had never heard about Google Docs until just recently.  I can definitely see myself giving this a try.  I have typed up so many things as the secretary for the Greenfield Girls Softball League and when I was Corresponding Secretary for the Erving PTO that I would sometimes have people proof.  Not to mention all the proofing I have done for others.  I love how you can create, share, and then edit the document online.  It will be so much easier to keep track of any changes and suggestions.  I also read about how 3rd grade classes wrote a Halloween story together.  That was a cool idea! I will now think twice before clicking Microsoft Word.  I will try Google Docs instead.  Thanks Christine! 

On another note.  Today I introduced a new leveled reader about The Capitol Building.  Before reading, I took my class on a virtual tour using my laptop.  It would have been even better if my ELMO and projector that I had ordered with Title I money was availabe to use.  Hopefully, in the near future.  Technology is definitely on my mind these days.   

Technology Resources I Checked Out DLC #2

Wordsmyth-I like the Children's and Beginner's dictionary at Wordsmyth because they have easy to read entries with simple definitions.  You can also make a vocab quiz or crossword puzzle.  I tried making a quiz with some Reading Street vocab words and the sentences they created as a cloze exercise seemed very basic.  I didn't care for it. 
Lexipedia-I could see myself trying this out.  You can look up a word and it gives you nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, synonyms, antonyms.  Pretty cool!
Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online-This dictionary has an index to quickly connect words to images.  I looked up the word frost and it gave me two images.  I also looked up volcano and it showed a picture of a volcano during eruption and it even labeled the volcano.  That was pretty neat!
Wordle-At school I had difficulty using Wordle so I went with Word It Out instead.  I played around with Wordle at home and I like it so much more.  It seems easier to create your word cloud.  There seems to be more you can do with the color, font, and display of the words.  I am going to try using Wordle next time.  I also took a look at all the ways to use Wordle and got some great ideas like: Having your class reflect on what they have learned, using it to take a poll about a topic, character traits, self-esteem boost where each person writes a word to describe the person or something nice and then a wordle is created all about that person, and using it in math to create a word cloud all about fraction vocabulary. 

I don't always have access to the computer lab during the day because a class is using it.  It would be helpful to have a few laptops that could be checked out for students to use for projects like these.

The Empty Coaster made by Jack at Pic-Lit

The Starfish Story

My First Blog Experience DLC#1

b-l-o-g, blog.  The first time I heard of the word blog was when my son Jack, now in 4th grade, was in first grade.  His teacher set up a blog and showcased their writing pieces.  It was so cool to see the writing Jack had been doing in class.  Sometimes the writing was from a prompt or science lesson, and other times a follow up from a fieldtrip.  After viewing the blog, we were able to leave comments.  The class would check the blog at school and view the comments left by family members.  They were so excited to see what family members had to say.  I actually went back to the school website recently to see if the first grade blog was there, and it was!  Thanks Mr. R. for introducing me to a blog.

I have to admit that creating my blog page has been fun.  I chose a template, added a few pictures, and then wrote about my first blog experience.  It was really easy!  Soon, I will play around and learn how I can improve my design.