Digital Storytelling with Slate

For this project, I used Slate. You can view my project here. The app Slate is free to download. The app was very easy to use. One thing I really liked about the app is that is provided helpful cues as I created the project.

Another aspect of the app that was really user-friendly is that it provided a search engine for pictures. I could search for a photo within the app instead of having to go to Google and save pictures and then put them in the presentation. This feature was really convenient.

I chose this app over others because it was very easy to use and I could also create an Adobe account so I can log-on anywhere and view my project. I would definitely recommend this app to other people because of the ease of using it and also the professional presentation it creates.

I will use this app in my future teaching career, especially for days when I have a substitute. I can prepare a presentation for my students to view even when I am not there. It also ensures that the students are told the material I really want them to know. It is a quick way to make a substitute day productive and easier for the substitute.

 

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CKV: Kansas Dust Bowl

I made a video about a Kansas farmer’s family history. The history of the family is about the family’s farm and how it has survived through four generations. The person I interviewed is the fourth generation to be involved on the farm. This story is interesting because it not only deals with farming in Kansas but also how the Dust Bowl affected Kansas farmers. You can view the video here.

Through this project, I learned a lot about the Dust Bowl history here in Kansas and also how to conduct a video when a person is telling a story. I only asked one question in the video, but the person knew the question I was going to ask. I told him I a list a questions I may ask, but depending on the information he volunteered they may not be needed. I think it is important to give the person the questions before asking them on camera so they can be prepared and so the video is better quality. It also limits the amount of times you have to go back and record and edit.

The video was very easy to record, produce, and upload. I used iMovie to make the video. All I had to do was use my camera to record the video and then drop it into the provided template in iMovie. I think iMovie is an app that will be very useful in the classroom because students can easily make their own creations to share with the rest of the class.

Using Apps in the Classroom: Tag Journal Lesson Ideas

I used the iTunesU app to find this iBook, Tag Journal Lesson Ideas. This collection is made so students can keep a journal on their iPad or other device and easily capture important events throughout the day. They can use this app to take notes and record thought and ideas with text, photos, short videos, and voice recordings. This app can therefore be used as a field journal, lab notebook, and/or writing journal. The app also features GPS location and sound recording.

The subjects included in the app are science, literacy, and history. The ages range from 5-18. There are ideas for activities for each subject and age level. The activities include an objective and also the topic, ideal group size, and time to complete.

This app is found using the iTunesU app and then clicking on the for educators tab. After clicking on that, simply scroll down to the Using Apps in the Classroom heading. From there, there are several different options that can be downloaded.

One of the activities I looked at is the literacy activity for ages 14-18. I really liked this activity because it uses grouping, which helps students collaborate in their learning. This activity also uses a span of five days to connect an everyday observation with at least three different subjects. Then, at the end of the five days, the class creates a T-Chart to analyze “What We Learned” and “Connections.” From the work I have done including Common Core Standards, I think this activity and app will align with standards for English/Language Arts classes.

 

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Interactive Whiteboards and Screening: My First Screencast

I created my first screencast. Unfortunately the app did not allow me to save the video to my camera roll, so to view it you can click here. The screencast I made is about symbolism in The Great Gatsby. I made the video as if a substitute were teaching the class. I made the screencast to get the class started with their discussion so the class could flow according to how I wanted it to go.

The app I used is call ShowMe. This app was free on the App Store. It was also very easy to use. When I first opened the app after downloading, there was a brief tutorial that was very helpful to get started. The app allowed me to import pictures. However, they did not have to be previously saved on my camera roll, which was nice. There were options to get photos from my camera roll, to take a picture, to upload from Google Drive, search on the web, and from Dropbox. I found this vey convenient so I did not have to waste time getting all my photos in one location.

Another nice feature of the app is that there is an undo button. This quickly erases changes you did not wish to make. You can also erase the page, and there is an option of whether you want to erase drawings and photos, or just the drawings. There were also various color choices to choose from to draw with. Overall, the free app provided many options that I was satisfied with.

This app could easily be used in the classroom with students because it is so user-friendly and also free. I could have students take turns teaching the class different class periods and have them complete their lesson on this app to share with the class.

 

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Inspiring Ideas for Teachers: Book Reports

English classes usually contain book reports throughout the year. As a future teacher, I must be constantly thinking about how students can become more engaged and exciting about doing a book report, something they usually do not look forward to.

In order to find the course, the iTunes U app is needed. Then, after accessing the iTunes U app, select the “For Educators” icon. From there, scroll to the Inspiring Lesson Ideas section. In that section, there are several courses that can be chosen from. The course is free as well as the iTunes U app.

 

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The course has a list of 23 different creative assignments to help students become more excited about the book report. The overview states that there are three parts to the book report: a summary and personal opinion, character analysis, and the creative component. The first two parts are what a traditional book report consists of. By adding the creative part, it is the goal that the students enthusiasm will increase. The list of 23 assignments also includes apps that will help the students. The goal of the assignments is to show that the students have read the book, thought deeply and reflected on the book, and have understood the assignment.

One of the assignments that I found in the course that was suggested for students to complete the third part of the book report, the creative component, dealt with a letter. The letter is suggested to be directed to the main character. Not only do they write a letter to the main character, but they also write a letter that the main character would respond with to the letter they sent. The letter can be written on paper, or on a computer or other electronic device. This assignment gives students the option to be creative, but also the opportunity to show the teacher that the read the book and really do understand the main character.

Overall, I think this course is extremely helpful. Students are not always excited about reading a book and then doing an assignment over it. This creative component will be helpful to encourage students to read the book and also enjoy completing the book report.

One Best Thing: Publishing Student Authors on the iBook Store

I downloaded a book on the iBook store recently, titled Creating Authentic Stories for iPad: Publishing Student Authors on the iBooks Store. Right away when I started reading it, one thing that really grabbed my attention is that the subject matter of the book is applicable for teachers of all grade levels. This book as well as many others that are apart of the One Best Thing are free and great resources for teachers.

The book begins discussing that all children are excited to make-up and share their stories, but that excitement fades when they are asked to write them down. They become frustrated, trying to remember what happens next. With iPads, children are able to “do.” They are able to build their stories with their fingers.

After writing the basis of their story, they can add photographs. However, it is recommended to not have the child write the entire story before adding photographs. The search for photos is exciting and encourages the child to continue working on their story.

Another engaging aspect of publishing a book to the iBook store is that the student actually experiences the publishing process. They write the story, add photos, and revise. They go through the actual publication process, much like professional authors do. This is exciting to the students as well as makes them feel that their writing is important, because they are actually publishing it.

While younger students would be more likely to create shorter stories with more pictures, older students who enjoy writing and are considering a career related to writing are able to write fuller, deeper texts to publish. This is also a good way for these students to begin to gain publicity and also gain advice to better their writing.

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Week 7 Reflection: Can Class Blogs Improve Writing?

This week’s blog concerns a topic that most English teachers are concerned with: writing. Constantly, we as English teachers are working on improving our students’ writing. Therefore, we are always looking for tips that will help us better help our students.

In the blog, it mentions that when blogging, students are much more likely to be freer and in turn produce much better writing. Permanent computers in the classroom aide with this, because students are given a constant opportunity to blog during class time. Classrooms without permanent computers are at a disadvantage because blogging does not occur as frequently.

Students also reported that they liked blogging more than the traditional paper and pencil assignments. They like the blogs because they can write anything they want, instead of being told what to write.

Even though blogging is viewed more as informal assessment, students still take it seriously. They took time to organize their thoughts and make sure what they wrote was correct. Students also reported that teachers were much more positive in their comments when commenting on the blogs as opposed to other traditional assignments. The students were more accepting of the comments because they were positive. The students also mentioned that they realized the audience was the entire world, so they had to take that into consideration.

I think a class blog is something I could easily implement in my future classroom. For daily points or in place of exit tickets, some days the students could blog about what we are doing or questions they still have. At this point, they can reach more resources than just me as their teacher.bloggingkids

Week 6 Reflection: Is It Time to Stop Averaging Grades?

The blog I read discussed the practice of averaging grades in the classroom. The blog is written by Dr. Justin Tarte. One thought he included in the blog is that through averaging grades we as teachers are saying that our teaching does not have any impact on student learning. While this is a rather bold statement, it does hold some validity when discussing averaging grades. If a student is able to average a B letter grade, but does this through failing one assignment and mastering the others, we are saying that the concept learned on the assigned an F was given is not important.

Also included with this idea is that students can all earn the same letter grade, but each can get there in very different ways. Dr. Tarte posted the following graphic in the blog:Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 10.15.35 AM

This graphic shows how each student earned the same letter grade and even percentage, but they all got to that grade differently. Student 6 is able to completely not do an assignment and still earn the same grade as a student who performed average throughout the semester, as shown with Student 3. Is this fair?

As educators, we have to think about the message this sends to our students. We are telling them it is acceptable to fail or not do an assignment, if the average grade is still high enough. As educators, each assignment our students complete should be viewed as valuable and therefore we should make sure each grade matters.

Week 5 Reflection: Tech Edge in the Classroom

After watching three different videos, I learned about many effective apps that students can use to enhance their learning.

The first video I watched can be viewed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-edge-ipads-in-classroom/id663440596?i=320093759&mt=2. This video discussed apps that are useful for English Language Learners. Two apps that I really thought were useful were Duolingo and Marcelo the Fox. Duolingo is a game-based app that helps students learn a new language. There are multiple languages available for the students to choose from based on what language they want to learn. The student can set the time they want to use the app for to practice. Then, they have the option to take a test to see what level they should start at. There are images with the text to help them translate and remember the translation. It is a language to language translation where the app uses the language the student already knows and then uses the language they want to learn.

The Marcelo the Fox story helps students translate using an actual story. The story is only available in Spanish and English. The user can switch back and forth between the two languages. The story is also spoken in both languages for the student to listen to. There are also graphics to go along with the text.

The second video I watched discussed word games. One of the apps they discussed in the video is called Boggle. The app is free. The game gives the player random letters and then the player has to create words from the letters. The word has to be a minimum of three letters. Multiple players can play so it is a good game for group work.

Another app that was discussed was Words with Friends. This game is played between two people. It sends a notification to the player when it is their turn. This game is useful in the classroom because many people can be playing together. Also, it keeps track of how many games each person has won and lost.

The last video I watched dealt with emergent literacy. These apps would be useful for ELL students and students who are in the spectrum. ABC Photo Touch teaches students how to identify letters. The app also speaks the letter to the user. This app would not be as useful in the mainstream classroom in secondary education, but it has its purpose for students.

Another app that was discussed was called Phonemes. This app deals with the sounds letters make. When the user presses on the letter, the app shows a person speaking that sound so they can see how their lips move with the sound. It helps kids understand how sounds are made.

Overall, I learned that there are many apps that are useful for students in the English/Language Arts area. These apps are not just games, but enhance learning in the classroom. The apps are also very helpful for students who are ELL.

 

 

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iMovie Trailers: Symbols in Literature

I made an iMovie on my iPad regarding symbolism in literature, specifically symbols in The Great Gatsby. This iMovie can be used to introduce this topic to my students. You can view my iMovie here by clicking this link.

imovie__2013_The app was overall very simple to use. It provided a variety of templates to choose from. After choosing a template, the next steps were very simple. I simply added pictures from my camera roll that I found on Google. Then, I changed the text from the generic text to something that went along with the pictures. The length was not a concern because the template already had a set length.

I will use this app in my classroom myself, but I will also have my students use it. I think they will enjoy using this app more to create presentations. They also will be more professional looking. After they complete the videos, they can easily upload them to our class YouTube page using the YouTube Capture app.