And....Cut!! (Final Day of Service Project)

What a wonderful process this whole project has been! Ava decided to make a short movie about Rosa Parks using her own illustrations and voice over. During the time we worked together, we focused on the Unit Plan that was developed for the project. After recording the different shots, I decided that the iMovie application would be the best way to put the movie together. When we filmed the original movie, we had a hard time matching the voice thread to the actual movie. After a few attempts, we decided that it would be best if we just shot the movie with Ava speaking during the filming. Ava held the camera as she recorded her movie. There are a few blurry moments and some of her film is less audible, but it is her "masterpiece". I was especially pleased how she created her own script for the film. The entire project, in my opinion was a success!

Service Day #3

There are so many wonderful things that are happening with the small group! Today I visited the group this morning to go over their information that would go into their spreadsheet and chart. I was fascinated to learn about the different rights that they are proud to have. Based on their survey, it appears that the fact that they can attend school is the most popular one among the small group. I strongly believe that this has to do with the fact that we read a story about Rosa Parks yesterday. The story discussed how Rosa was not able to attend school with white children when she was little and also discussed how she helped start the chain reaction of actions that help lead to the Civil Rights Movement.

We discussed different uses of technology that we can incorporate to our project. We browsed through the internet looking up resources to learn about the Civil Rights Movement. We focused much of our research on Rosa Parks. The group voted on making a movie or short film. Most were very shy about being on camera, so I suggested doing a story book type movie with voice over using VoiceAfter school, we are going to go over the process of putting a short movie together. We will be using illustrations by the children and Ava will be narrating the short film.

Stay tuned!

Service Project: Day #2

I am having the best time with this group of children. Ava is obviously making this entire experience so much fun! 

Today, I met with the group again to discuss the different ways we can look for information about our topic. The children’s teacher allowed us to use their computer lab to search for resources. One difficulty we encountered were the lack of easy-to-find resources on the Internet about the Civil Rights Movement. Although there are clear TEKS on the subject, there is very little information for children to access about this subject. I helped the children navigate through the Internet looking for sites and we realized by putting “for kids” after each search, it narrowed the search immensely. 
When searching through the internet, I reminded the children about the different ways using the internet for resources. 

By using a “guide by side” approach, this allowed the children to take charge of they wanted to look for and in the end we were able to put together a great list of internet resources. The children were asked to make a list about the types of things they are able to do everyday. We explained that these are their "rights".  Tomorrow we will put these on a spreadsheet. I am really excited to see what the children come up with!

Service Project Day #1

When deciding on a service project, I immediately thought it would be fun to work with a group of 1st graders. Fortunately for me, finding a first grade class to work with was easy! I only had to walk down the hall of my sweet daughter's school. This project will be done by a small group of first graders and one almost first grader and led by myself. Ava will be updating her blog as she and her group go through their lesson. 

This group has been working on different history aspect so we will be working on a Civil Rights lesson. When deciding on this lesson, I had to make sure that the subject matter was both in keeping with the TEKS for this subject but also developmentally appropriate. The essential questions proposed for this lesson are in keeping with the target age group as well as thought provoking. By preparing a standard KWL chart, I was able to gain insight on what the students knew about the Civil Rights movement, what they wanted to learn and at the end of our session, what they learned. 

I'm excited about the upcoming days and hope you enjoy the progress as we go! Stay tuned...

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is any device that helps a person with a disability complete an everyday task. As a student, being able to perform everyday tasks can mean academic success of failing a course. This type of technology was recognized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997.  Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Assistive Technology is absolutely necessary for a student with disabilities academic success. Our University has amazing Disability Services to offer on site. While touring the Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi Assistive Technology Lab, I was amazed to see all the equipment and aids available for the students. From assistive listening devices to digital recorders, this lab has everything! 

The following website offers information on different types of Assistive Technology available!! 

RehabTool.com 

Know your Rights! (Copyrights, that is...)

Copyright ©...

We've all seen this symbol. You know.. The little C nestled inside the slightly larger circle..

As educators, we will most likely share material with our students. Here's the thing..

If you don't have permission from the owner of the material, it may be illegal to show or share it!

Here's the GOOD NEWS:

There are ways around sharing works that have copyrights, but you have to know the rules.

Fair Uses

According to the very knowledgeable, Denise Landry-Hyde, Library Extraordinaire at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Fair Use 'gives us, as educators some latitude, to use the material in our teaching and  learning. Most teachers access the information to educate their students rather than use the material for financial gain.  This allows educators to use copyrighted material without obtaining permission.'  

4  factors should be considered when determining if a use is fair use:

1. Purpose and character: The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. Nature of copyrighted work: The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. Amount used: The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. Market effect: The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Guess what? I can use the video above by giving Renee Hobbs, the creator, credit!!

Sharing information with your students can be a great tool, but you just have to know how!

 

 

The Secret Powers of Spreadsheets...in the classroom

Of all the tools discussed in helping to create a well informed classroom, spreadsheets probably have the most uses in the math classroom. The most common use of this tool is to organize data and create charts and graphs, but that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this powerful tool. However, it is up to the user to discover what these uses are. This makes the spreadsheet the ultimate tool for discovery, practice, and an excellent form of assessment. When experimenting with a prepared spreadsheet, it was amazing to see the different ways you can manipulate it to serve your own individual needs. It is a great resource to have in the classroom and in life.

iMovie and Me

Making a movie seems tedious. Making a movie for a class project...even more tedious. I will admit that the whole experience was quite fun. I completely understand the idea behind using these types of tools in the classroom. The entire process takes a great deal of imagination and creativity. It really was interesting to see how my 13 year old wanted to contribute. From the different camera angles to the sound effects, my short movie, The Environment and My Habits, was extremely fun to put together. When researching which program to use, I decided on iMovie. This software was really easy to use and although it had many options, it was simple enough for anyone to use.

The Wonderful World of Digital Storytelling

Doesn't "Digital Storytelling" just sound like an amazing concept? For educators who are trying to keep up with the fast emergence of technology in today's world, Digital Storytelling is a must!

 Not only is this a fantastic way to implement technology in your classroom, it also includes the following student literacies:

 • Digital Literacy – the ability to communicate with an ever-expanding community

to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help.

• Global Literacy - the capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize

messages from a global perspective

.• Technology Literacy - the ability to use computers and other technology to

improve learning, productivity, and performance.

• Visual Literacy - the ability to understand, produce and communicate through

visual images.

• Information Literacy - the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information.

In researching Digital Storytelling for my activity plan, I learned that there are 7 essential elements in Digital Storytelling. I included these 7 elements in my storyboard for my movie...

• Point of view: Outlines the point of the story and the perspective from which the story is told.
• A dramatic question: Sets the tension of the story by identifying issues to be resolved.
• Emotional content: Engages the audience through common emotions and themes (love, pain, humor).
• The gift of your voice: Helps the audience make meaning of images.
• The power of the soundtrack: Sets the mood of the story.
• Economy: Balances the auditory and visual tracks of meaning.
• Pacing: Sustains the attention of the audience by establishing and modifying the rhythm of the story

Digital Storytelling is a modern expression of a long time past time. With Digital Storytelling, students are encouraged to intertwine a story with images, video and almost anything they can imagine.

Internet Resource Explorations

Text messaging as a classroom tool seems as foreign to me as the next person. But according to a study conducted in 2008, the monthly volume of text message usage volume is over 75 billion. Teens are said to use text messaging communication more than they use voice or face to face communication by 54 %.  it just makes sense to try and  implement this tool into the classroom. Students are very aware of the different ways to utilize this particular tool and it allows for a particular interest. It only makes sens eto try and implement text messaging into the classroom.

According to the article, Text Messaging: Basically Addictive or Essentially Additive?

• Text composers must break words down into syllables, and understand  that words are a stream of compressed distinct language sounds.
• Composers of a text message must identify graphemes which represent phonemes, isolate the individual phonemes, deconstruct words into individual phonemes, and. construct a word from a string of single phonemes.
• Text message users must be familiar with the acceptable phoneme-grapheme mappings in written English, and must differentiate the sequence of the discrete language sounds or phonemes in a word.

Although text messaging may not seem like a practical outlet for literacy, teachers need to find different ways to engage their students in their assignments. This can have incredible benefits with the right parameters in place.

Blogs as a Classroom Tool

Blogs as a Classroom Tool



With the ever growing use of technology in today's society, it is almost essential that we expose our students to technology based projects. Technology in the classroom can have many benefits, but the most important benefit is that they will be able to start to view technology as a tool for their future learning which will eventually help them in their future careers. Using blogs as a classroom tool can be extremely useful. Teachers all over the world have discovered that blogs can be an excellent tool to promote literacy and writing skills. Blogging can also increase student involvement because it uses a technique that students find engaging and comfortable. For students who may find it difficult to communicate in an open forum, blogging allows students to communicate without feeling the pressure of being in front of their peers. This is a great way to encourage the students to become comfortable with their peers which may encourage future face-to-face communication. 

What is a blog?

According to the website Teaching Today, a blog (sometimes referred to as a weblog) is a Web publishing tool that allows authors to quickly and easily self-publish text, artwork, links to other blogs or Web sites, and a whole array of other content.

Blogs are set-up like conventional Web sites, with navigation links, and other standard Web site features. Blogs have one standard characteristic, however: the posting. Blog postings are text entries, similar to a diary or journal, which include a posting date and may include comments by people other than the author, photos, links, or other digital media.

What are some reasons we should let students blog?

• Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms.
• Excellent opportunities for students to read and write.
• Effective forums for collaboration and discussion.
• Powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur.
• Allows interaction between teachers, students and their parents.

Useful educational blog sites:

Edublogs
Free Technology for Teachers
Edutopia
Nerdy Book Club

Inquiry and Project-Based Learning in the Classroom

Inquiry and Project-Based Learning in the Classroom



Inquiry and Project-Based Learning are crucial in having students gain better understanding on the subject given. Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) allows students to investigate real world questions. This  type of learning involves higher order thinking questions which does not just allow for a yes or no answers. The students must think about the question and must critically think in order to come up with thoughts and answers. Project-Based Learning (PBL) requires the students to come together to collaborate, discuss, research then convening back to share what information each member has found. This gives the groups aspects of the topic from different sources. It involves real world challenges and problems. When working on my Unit Plan for third grade students about healthy choices, it allows the students to use real life situations and evaluate the different choices they make on a day to day basis. The unit question is: How do healthy choices help us and our environment? This question allows for a broad discussion and can be broken up into narrow essential questions. This unit will encourage the students to think about the different choices the make in regards to food and how this not only affects their bodies but also the environment.