Forget the Sandbox, Check out my Toolbox!

Wow! I can't believe today is the last day of class. It's kinda like raising kids, Everything seems to be going so slowly and you think the milestones are never coming, then one day, BAM, your kids are grown and gone. And you are sitting at home trying to figure out how to create this darned Powerpoint presentation!  But even that has come to an end, now.

I really did enjoy creating this presentation. I wish I had gotten started on in sooner, but I can't change that. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and keep on moving, and changing, and growing. That being said, check out What's In Your Toolbox?

http://www.slideshare.net/jodonna1/whats-in-your-toolbox-freeman-design-602

Keeping Current in the Chrysalis

Wow! My head is spinning thinking about how much I have learned this summer!  And thinking about how much more I have to learn! Who knew?

I was pretty excited to see that the AASL has lists of Best Websites and Apps. Because, let's face it, we won't be able to access Blackboard. So glad I have been bookmarking things along the way. I wish I had thought of using Symbaloo earlier! Now I need to go back and save those bookmarks in the class mixes that I created.

In looking around the websites on the 2015 list, I really liked Pear Deck https://www.peardeck.com/
for getting students engaged. I went to a workshop last summer at the Math Science Innovation Center here in Richmond, and the presenter used something similar to Pear Deck. I really like that Pear Deck is easy to set up and easy to use. There are a variety of devices that can be used for students to respond during live sessions: computers, tablets, even smartphones. There are lots of ways students can respond to questions from selecting the correct answer (multiple choice) to open ended (short answer). Then student answers can be shared anonymously for discussion, of course, the teacher is privy to how students answered. It also allows for quick "check for understanding" time, where students can share how they are feeling about their learning. Pear Deck has a free version that doesn't offer everything that the pay version offers, but I think it would be a good place to start. I think this site could be used in any classroom or library for pretty much any subject area, with any grade level. Since the teacher is creating the decks, it will be very specific to that class/grade. This would be a great tool to use in the spring when kids are starting to check out but there is still lots of review to be done before the end of the year.

I loved Bookopolis https://www.bookopolis.com/#/ and plan to use it in the upcoming school year with my second graders. Bookopolis is the GoodReads for kids. It's a great social networking site where kids can keep track of books they have read (reading log) and books they would like to read. They can write book reviews, which is great for recommending books to their friends, and for practicing that opinion or persuasive writing. They also can fill out book report forms, which allow the teacher to check for comprehension. There is a way for teachers to make recommendations to students and to monitor student work/progress. Best of all it is free! I think it would be a great tool for the classroom teacher and the librarian to know what kids are reading and what they are interested in reading. It could help with building classroom libraries or increasing circulation in the library.

What Was There http://www.whatwasthere.com/ is a cool resource that connects old photographs to the actual real places using Google Maps. In first grade, I wanted to show my students old pictures of Richmond to go along with our study of past, present, and future. This site would make that so easy. In addition, if you have old photos, those can be uploaded. For some of the pictures, it will actually show you a Google Map street view of the location now. It was very interesting to look at some places around Richmond that have historical significance and see a primary source document, photo, and see a photo of that same place today. What a great tool for compare and contrast, as well, as for the history aspect. I think students would get a kick out of seeing sites from their community as well as using this for research. It does tell you the source of the photo, if you needed further information.

I have decided to follow Shannon Miller's blog, The Library Voice.
 http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/  I really enjoyed looking around on her blog. I loved her post about the new Drew Daywalt book that was just released, The Day the Crayons Came Home. She shared some fun activities that elementary students would like to do to connect with that text. (And it is the sequel to the book that I did my Literature Connections Unit for Children's Lit class this sememster!). Also, of the suggested bloggers, she seemed to be the only elementary person. I know that some of the other bloggers had things that could be used at any grade level and I bookmarked three of them in my Symbaloo Mix for this class. Additionally, I just learned that Shannon Miller will be one of the keynote speakers at this fall's VAASL conference in Williamsburg, so that is exciting.

Digital Presentations...

Digital Presentations...

Honestly, my experience with digital presentations is so limited. I was introduced to Prezi by a student teacher year before last, yes, I know that's kind of sad. I have never actually used Prezi, but at least I am familiar with it. I do like that they have a free membership for teachers, albeit limited.

I really liked Slidely. I think it looks really cool and easy to use. Easy for me, easy for kids! I also like that there are apps for phones and tablets so students would be able to access from home to create own presentations versus the tired old poster board! Being able to add music makes it very appealing to me as well. I think the video aspect of Slidely could be used in place of the costly Animoto, as both are easy, just drop in photos.

I would like to explore Blendspace with my team this year. I think it would be a useful tool to create units of study and be able to share with each other, as well as with parents. There would be no excuses that they didn't know what to do or what was going on in class!

Given that we have such a visual population that we are teaching, I love Thinglink. I had been previously introduced to this site during social studies training. It was suggested that we use pictures and maps and link content knowledge, vocabulary and even quiz questions to the photos. I like the way  the site demos linking YouTube videos. I look forward to more exploration of this site in the near future.

What are AR and QR, really?

Okay, I'll admit, I was pretty familiar with QR codes. I have used them some in my classroom and have even created a scavenger hunt for our faculty last year using them. But AR, it's not Accelerated Reader anymore!

I was playing around with some of the links in some of the articles in this week's sandbox.  I created this little beauty, which will take you to my website.



Here is another handy one that links to your Google or Android Calendar.   Would be great to add to newsletters for important dates you don't want parents to forget.



AR is not just Accelerated Reader anymore

So I had a little fun playing around with Aurasma. I created a funny little ninja that popped out of my iced tea glass. I know it's not very librarian of me, but it's been a long day and it made me laugh. I look forward to messing around with it a little more in the morning, after a good night's sleep. Here's hoping there are no ninjas in my dreams.

Grab the Popcorn! It's Movie Time!

I had a great time playing around with the video tools. Knowing how to use these will be a great asset, as kids are much more engaged by video than any other medium.

Powtoon was really cool. I could see students enjoying creating their own videos. I made my own video (just tweaked one of theirs) for an introduction that I may use next school year. I realize it needs more work, but it was fun to play around with.
https://www.powtoon.com/show/fl7OflOFlGE/ms-freemans-introduction/#/

Animoto is a tool that I have used in the past. It's too bad they no longer have a free version for educators. It's so easy to use and students and parents love it. It is a great way to culminate a field trip, unit of study, or end of the year. Here's a little video I made of my kiddoes from last year. Even though school is out, I have sent this link to my parents so they can view and show their students.
https://animoto.com/play/rqXqwGVnYTrrHs3UM2FyKg

Sock Puppets is a great app. Last year I had 4 iPads in my classroom. The kids loved using this app to create their own "puppet shows" using the sock puppets and their voices. We used them to retell stories, explain content vocabulary terms, and to read original writing. The app is very easy to use and kid friendly.

The Wonderful World of Websites

I am a little late with this post. Between my "Website ADD" - you know, when you start looking at one thing and follow all sorts of links down the rabbit hole, until you realize 45 minutes later what you were supposed to be looking at/for is not actually what you are currently seeing on your screen? Between THAT and trying to get things ready for my son to come home on leave from the Army (it's been 6 months!), I lost track of time. 

I did enjoy looking at some great websites. I did check out some for middle and high schools, but felt the pull back to elementary. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://elementarylibrarian.weebly.com/ I really liked how things were organized on this site. There were some great things for kids and parents. The authors' links were a neat idea, yes I bookmarked it. I am not sure what the "Morning Calm Award" really means, but obviously kids are voting on books. I think this would be a good way to get involvement and traffic on your website. If you haven't checked out this website, or if you did but didn't watch the video at the bottom of the homepage, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, I highly recommend. This was my favorite "rabbit hole" of the week!

http://neslibrary.weebly.com/ This website it very attractive and inviting. I thought the links were easy for kids to use and follow. I really like the Shelfari widget and would be interested in using this on my webpage. I especially liked the link for class projects. I think this would be a great buy-in for classroom and resource teachers. Plus, it could really help parents find appropriate materials when helping kids with  project or homework. 

http://lowelibrary.weebly.com/whats-new.html My favorite of the sites I visited. I liked the homepage a lot. I thought the graphics along with the information were presented in a clear uncluttered way. I like the slideshow of kids and teachers in the library. I wish the librarian had used her own voice on Voki, instead of the robotic voice. All of the links showing ways to find books is very helpful to the students, teachers and parents. I loved lots of ideas from this website. The Dr. Seuss Cafe (borrowing that one in the future), book fair tie-ins with grandparents, Genre Wizard (probably borrowing that one, too), connections for teachers by grade level, and there was even a tab for the librarian. I think this website must be very useful for the community it serves. 

Now, on to work on my own...

Podcasts and Vodcasts - a lot to chew on...

I really enjoyed sampling some of the podcasts and vodcasts that were available. One of my favorites was about Giant Pandas on untamedscience.com It's amazing how the panda is so appealing and well-loved by so many people, and yet it is on the verge of extinction. I found this vodcast to be very informative and I think my first graders last year would have liked seeing it, even though some of the information would have been a little over their heads.
http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/giant-panda/

I was also pleased to find on their site that in addition to their blog and podcasts, they have video links to youtube. I found a fun little video about matter and one about the water cycle, which I will be teaching next year, in second grade.

I think using podcasts or vodcasts in the classroom would be a great idea. With the access to the internet at our fingertips with smartphones and tablets, and knowing that our kids are natives to this type of technology, it's kinda dumb not to use these tools! I love the idea of recording and posting some of those "back-to-school" things: supply lists, classroom rules, homework expectations, etc.
It could be something that parents and students have access to 24-7. I really want to try this at the beginning of the next school year.

I bookmarked most of the sites, so that I will remember how to get back there when needed later.